Chapter 51 Part 5) Making A Deal (Patreon)

“This seems to be the place…” Desaray stood in the sky looking down at a tribe of humanoids with eight arms and many eyes on their head. “They seem to be in a tribal state. They are at least wearing clothing. The dungeon entrance must be over there…”

Desaray sighed as she floated down to stand just far enough away to not affect the tribe below with her aura. “People of the arachnid tribe. I would like to enter the dungeon.”

Her voice was clear and carried far quickly getting the attention of all those present. The tree tops even shook as heads popped out from between the leaves to stare at her. But no one answered, they only stared at her not saying a word.

Desaray did not know what to do. She was about to call out to them again when an old woman with long white hair seemed to float up into the sky and stood before her. She did not seem to be affected by Desaray’s aura at all. “Dragon child turn back. This is your only warning.”

“I can not. I need to enter the dungeon here for my evolution. Please allow me access to the dungeon. I did not come here for a fight.” Desaray politely bowed her head. She did not know how strong this old woman was but she was easily standing in the air in front of her so she had to be on par with herself. She could use her appraisal but she did not dare to in case the old woman could detect it and took it as a hostile action. Only if the old woman attacked first would she use it.

“Even if you need to enter the dungeon I can not allow you to tread upon my tribes land. So dragon child please return.” The old woman would not budge.

Desaray sighed. She did not want to fight but there were not many level one hundred dungeons that she could solo right now. She needed to solo the dungeon in order to evolve. Desaray thought for a moment before asking: “What if I gave you something in return? A form of payment if you will? I can capture a year’s worth of food for you and your tribe to eat this way you can prioritize other things. Or I can build an ice wall around your tribe’s lands to protect it from invasion. Maybe both. I would rather solve this peacefully than end up fighting. I have to enter that dungeon.”

The old woman did not say anything. She seemed to be thinking about it. They had just appeared in a new place with many strange things all around. Anyone who dared tread upon their lands would end up captured and eaten. But this dragon child had not stepped foot on their lands but was also trying to compromise.

“Two years’ worth of food. And the ice wall. But only you may enter the dungeon.” The old woman decided it was fine to compromise. If they were to fight many lives might be lost.

“Deal. I will even make a room to freeze the meat so that it will last and not go bad. You will only need to take it out to thaw it before cooking.” Desaray replied with a smile. “I can do the ice wall now but I will need you to show me where you wish for it to be and where you want the entrances located.”

“Follow me. Do not go near my kin.” The old woman did not want to take any chances. She floated through the air while Desaray followed her and began pointing out the tribe’s territory. It was not large at all in fact it seemed a bit too small.

“If you do not mind why don’t we take this time to expand it a little? With two gates you can have two people guarding it. If your tribe begins to grow, the walls will hinder expansion so if we make it a big bigger taking up a larger area, you will have plenty of room to grow for many generations.” Desaray suggested.

The old woman looked at her and thought for a moment before nodding her head. “Can you go to the river to the north and the forest edge to the east? And then west to the valley and south to the dungeon?”

“Of course.” Desaray smiled and with a wave of her hand, she did as the old woman asked. She created a hundred-foot wall of ice all around the territory allowing plenty of room for future growth.

The old woman’s eyes open wide for a moment before returning to normal. “This is enough. You may enter the dungeon. But wait one day for me to inform the tribe. Then you can enter our lands. As for the food. With so much space we can hunt ourselves.”

“Then I will return here tomorrow.” Desaray gave the old woman a small bow before heading over to the next dungeon to scope things out. She did not know if she would be able to escape a fight with the bee humanoids.