A man mistakenly becomes the city lord of the land, conquering all the heavens and myriad worlds.

"You mean... sealing off the underground city?!"

Loki slightly opened his narrowed eyes, a hint of confusion in his voice.

Hestia frowned, a question mark popping into her head.

"Did Chen Hai just say 'seal off the underground city'?"

"Yes, I am here now as the 'Lord of the Underground City'."

"..."

"let's go."

"No, wait, there's just too much information at once. Let me process it!"

Hestia wasn't given that chance. This time, it was Chen Hai's turn to take the goddess's hand and walk towards the second floor arranged by the guild.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"You're not joking, bro?"

On their way to the second floor, Loki didn't stay behind but followed them, asking questions.

She hadn't forgotten what Chen Hai had just said.

"There's no need to joke around. I'm focused on efficiency now and believe that a quick victory is better."

After unlocking all the features, Chen Hai felt more confident.

Even if he couldn't teleport outside the dungeon, the magical skills he learned from the dead dragon were enough to help him solve the problem.

But in Loki's eyes...

Although people believe that the 'Dungeon' is a conscious, living entity with a special relationship with the gods and harbors hatred towards them, but...!

For thousands of years, there has never been a hypothesis about a 'city lord'.

And then? He showed up!

Loki was skeptical, but recalling everything she had seen before, she had no choice but to accept it.

The person named Chen Hai in front of them had indeed used his powers to seal off the 'underground city'.

On the other side, Hestia, whose left hand was being held, lowered her head, her mind filled with questions and exclamations.

The person I helped turned out to be the city lord who came out of the underground city on business!?!

To be honest, she thought this was outrageous!

"Um... what is Tatsumi-kun planning to do? Come to Orario?"

Hestia ultimately chose to ask a question.

Chen Hai analyzed this from his own perspective.

"I think adventurers are currently exploring dungeons inefficiently and with little workload. They need to be more diligent, which is why I came to the Adventurers' Guild to discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation or something..."

"Adventurers love exploring dungeons, don't they? I'll give them that opportunity, but they'll have to follow my rules."

For Chenhai right now, the situation is as follows—

Adventurer = working class, dungeon = big company, Chenhai = boss.

Therefore, Chenhai needs to standardize its processes and create a highly efficient 'dungeon exploration and experience acquisition mechanism'!

Chapter Seven: Dungeon Limited Liability Company (Please add to your favorites, give flowers, and leave a review!)

"Please, please have some tea..."

In the second-floor lounge of the Orario Adventurers' Guild, the staff brought tea to the room and then quickly disappeared.

Chen Hai, who was thinking to himself that he was not going to eat people, looked at the tea in front of him but did not taste it immediately.

Adventurers' guilds are full of shrewd guys; they might put some weird stuff in there.

"The tea is delicious!"

However, Hestia was completely different.

"And this cup is so pretty, I wonder how much those potato balls are worth."

Poor goddess, her worldview has turned into 'fried potato balls'.

From now on, Hestia will automatically convert the value of all items into 'equal to how many potato balls'.

"Chenhai, aren't you going to eat this snack?"

I'm not hungry right now.

This is the truth.

The fruits from the Abyss Floors have a strong satiating effect; I feel like they would be very popular if sold as 'diet meals' in Orario.

Instead of all that nonsense, Hestia started cooking.

"Then I won't be polite."

She devoured a pastry in one bite, looking quite pleased with herself.

Upon seeing his colleague's 'freedom,' Loki, who had come to the scene with him, revealed a subtle expression.

However, Loki's focus shifted to Chen Hai.

Previously, adventurers reported to the guild that all exits of the dungeon were blocked, causing those who went to adventure and explore the dungeon to be trapped inside.

The dungeon does indeed contain a variety of resources.

There is no shortage of water or food.

However, some things are surrounded by monsters, or located in areas full of traps and extreme terrain, and sooner or later they will run out of resources.

unless……

Unless the adventurers eat the monster.

Loki stopped thinking about these things and turned to Chen Hai, who called himself the 'Lord of the Underground City'.

His expression appeared very calm, without the slightest hint of tension.

They must have other trump cards that would prevent them from being punished even if their identities were exposed.

Therefore, Loki knew very well that the following conversation had to be cautious and well-paced; she didn't want to become Chen Hai's enemy at this time.

"Hey, Chenhai, can we continue with our previous topic?"

When faced with Loki, the supreme god who squinted at him and spoke to him, Chen Hai, who had nothing else to do at the moment, did not refuse.

"You want to talk about 'new rules for exploring dungeons,' right?"

"That's right, that's right. Assuming what the young man said is true, as the 'Dungeon Lord,' what new rules do you plan to establish? Why are you trapping those adventurers?"

"The new rules are designed to make adventurers explore dungeons more efficient."

Ding--!

While Chen Hai was chatting with Loki, his experience points were calculated again.

Now we've reached LV121.

It seems the trapped adventurers are taking action throughout the dungeon.

"Secondly, the adventurers I've sealed in the dungeon are the materials I'm using for negotiations. You should understand, right, the chief god of the 'Loki Familia'?"

“I understand, I understand, of course I understand. If I do nothing and just call myself the ‘Lord of the Dungeon,’ I’ll be seen as a crazy person. But… if I come directly to the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild, aren’t I worried about being attacked by everyone? After all, the greatest wish of the adventurers in Orario is to conquer the dungeon and take all the wealth inside.”

Once the 'Dungeon Lord' is defeated, the labyrinth may collapse due to the loss of its leader and cease to be a threat.

Of course, Loki also considered the possibility of 'the city lord disappearing and the dungeon going berserk'.

"You agree, Hestia."

"Yes, this dessert definitely has chestnuts and glutinous corn in it! It's so delicious."

“I didn’t say that… Oh dear, I’m used to you being like this; you were kicked out of the Hephaestus’ house because you were lazy and good-for-nothing.”

During the day, she dared not do anything, but during meals she would eat like crazy. This was probably Hestia's daily routine.

This sounds somewhat similar to a goddess named Aqua from another world...

Upon hearing this, Hestia, who was eating a snack, stopped eating, her mouth puffed out.

"I-I didn't."

She tried to swallow it all at once, but there was too much and she choked.

Chen Hai quickly picked up the teapot and poured her a cup, while Loki patted Hestia's back.

After a flurry of activity, Hestia, panting heavily, gradually returned to normal.

"That was close... I almost got carried to the heavens by these delicious things."

If the main god of Orario uses divine power or is killed, he will return to the heavens.

The thought of going back filled Hestia with lingering fear, and she pushed away the remaining snacks.

"Let's get down to business."

Chen Hai and Loki exchanged a glance and nodded silently.

Chen Hai then continued the conversation.

"Just as Orario has a 'familia system,' I have also developed a new 'system' for my own dungeons."

"What are the specific details?"

"To be more specific, it's similar to a 'company'."

Chen Hai plans to create an 'Underground City Limited Liability Company'.

The future business is simple: adventurers (workers) explore dungeons, fight, and search for rare ingredients and minerals. The combat experience points they gain along the way are used by Baili to level up.

"Today's adventurers are too unprofessional and inefficient."

For example...

"Some low-level adventurers choose dangerous floors, only to be killed or forced to flee in disarray. If they made a wise choice, they could fight longer and accumulate more experience."

"..."

Loki fell silent, thinking to himself, 'The dungeon lord is quite kind, actually worrying about adventurers exploring the dungeon.'

Hestia finished her tea.

"Does that mean we should assign exploration floors based on the adventurers' strength, so they can stay in the dungeon longer?"

“That’s right, Miss Hestia. Every adventurer must find the floor that best suits them, and at the same time… I need them to explore, fight, and take turns around the clock.”

"I still don't quite believe that Chen Hai is the 'Lord of the Underground City,' but if you really are, why do you want people to cause trouble on your turf every day?"

"Because I also need adventurers to train my subordinates, which are those monsters."

Of course, this is a lie.

All Chen Hai needs is combat experience points.

Only by having adventurers fight in shifts around the clock can he level up quickly.

And this is the main effect of the 'Underground City Limited Liability Company'.

Chapter 8: The Orario Adventurer's 'Five Insurances and One Fund'

"After so many years since its founding, Orario is now undergoing another major transformation."

After saying this, Loki drank the tea in front of him in one gulp.

Seeing this, Chen Hai also took a sip and found it rather bitter, not as good as the juice from the 'Abyss Floor'.

"Mr. Chenhai, as the 'Lord of the Underground City,' you didn't come here to talk as an 'enemy,' did you?"

Hestia was somewhat uneasy.