The discovery of a few hundred dungeons really put a wrench in the works. Rud found himself frozen after the discovery, unsure how he should proceed. Sure, he couldn't do anything while Elm worked her magic, but he couldn't bring himself to start. Instead, the druid stood by the base of the Sacred Tree and scratched his head.

"One foot in front of the other," Ban said, her encouraging voice filling his mind.

"You're about to take thirty steps," Rud said, looking up at the branches of the tree. The blooms glittered with light, rivaling the dappled sunlight that found its way through the canopy.

"I'll delay as long as I can," Ban said "I'm close to a breakthrough. That's a partial lie. I've already made the breakthrough. I found a way to steer this excess energy into myself, but it'll take a while to absorb. The way you've been eating the dungeons inspired me."

"Hah! Glad I could help," Rud said. "Speaking of… Anyone care to get overpowered? We got about a billion dungeons in the Grove for me to eat."

"Yet we have no adventurers to clear them."

"Not true. I know a small group of plucky adventurers who would be thrilled to clear some dungeons," Rud said, puffing his chest proudly.

"As eager as they are, I don't think they can clear this many dungeons."

The tree was right, of course. A handful of adventurers wasn't enough to take care of what they had. Rud was even assuming that the dungeons he had observed were roughly the same level as the others the adventurers had taken care of. An even larger wrench—perhaps one making a rude gesture—would be thrown into the works if that were the case.

"No worries," Rud said, waving her concerns away. "I got this under control. Gotta get my Custodianship level up anyway, so I'll go have a chat with our current stock of adventurers."

"A good starting point at any rate," Ban said. "Good luck. I'm sure everything will work out."

It wasn't as though Rud had left the adventurers and the southwest portion of the grove to themselves. He was keeping a close eye on them every time he went to make a report. In his observatory, they were working through the dungeons at a pace that seemed to increase every day, and they relied completely on the pathways he had etched through the tangle of trees.

Those adventurers were currently resting outside of yet another dungeon they had destroyed. However, as he counted them, he realized one was missing, and he feared the worst. The druid found the nearest bush in the sacred trees clearing, passed through it, and appeared before the adventurers, slamming his staff into the ground.

"Is everyone okay?" Rud asked, putting on his bravest voice. "Where's that mousy woman with the pigtails?"

Each adventurer was dirty and beaten from the dungeons, but they shared a look and then smiled amongst themselves. The man in the heaviest armor was the first to answer. "She's making a run to town," he explained, "just dropping off our supplies before we head to the next dungeon."

Rud relaxed in an instant, breathing a sigh of relief and nodding along, thanks to the comforting words from the adventurer. "That's good," he said. "I feared the worst, but I'm afraid I've got bad news for everybody."

"What?" the armored guy asked.

"We have more dungeons," Rud said, waiting for the reaction of the adventurers to register on their faces. But they just looked confused, a few even cracking smiles. "Maybe 100 or more."

The smiles of the adventurers grew wider. Two even hugged.

"That was supposed to be bad news," Rud reminded them.

"Sorry, great spirit," the armored man said, bowing his head. "But you can't present us with riches beyond our wildest dreams and expect us to be upset. We have our dungeon-clearing method down to a step-by-step process. We're about to test something that would speed our pace of clearing significantly. Talking about two or three dungeons a day."

"Really?" Rud asked, brightening up as he looked at the adventurers. They had earnest smiles on their faces, as though they were indeed prepared to clear so many dungeons in a day. If they could only bring in a few more teams to learn this method, things would go a lot better, as he truly wasn't the best with matters related to mortal nature. The druid planned to lean on their expertise to understand how to proceed.

"Really," Mr. Armor assured him.

"Are you willing to show other adventuring teams the ropes?" Rud asked, rubbing his chin. "You might be aware of the outworlders who came to tackle the tower. They scared off all the other adventurers, and now we're left with just your party."

"Oh, we heard of them. We just don't care. I won't let some person who isn't even from this world tell me which dungeon I can and can't clear. Yeah, you bring me some other parties, and I'll give them the process. Just make sure they've got two people who can manipulate mana in their party, one stealther, and someone who can take a hit or the plan won't work."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Any specific rank?"

"Rank 1. That's all they need."

The predatory smile on the armored adventurer's face was everything Rud needed to see to have his worries extinguished. This dude knew what he was doing. If the boldness of his words wasn't evidence enough of that, then the ten dungeons they had cleared since the last time the druid had been through here were indisputable proof of exactly what they were doing. They had brought their dungeon clearing technique to the next level.

"I'll have your parties," Rud said, feeling something stir in his chest. His Custodianship skill was extremely close to leveling. "Anyway, can I get you some more supplies?"

Each adventurer shared another one of their looks, their heads turning to him at the same time. "Food," they said without missing a beat.

"And tea!" a woman in leather armor said, clapping.

This was something Rud was more than happy to take care of for them. With his Custodianship skill active, he bid farewell to the adventurers and headed off to his various stores. The druid was thankful he had kept up with his chores, even though nobody else was milking the cows every day. He had plenty of cheese ready, and although he managed the tea garden, his stock of dried leaves was fatter than ever. The only thing he was lacking was jerky, but that wasn't an enterprise he handled by himself. Still, there was enough frozen meat for the adventurers to have a decent meal today, and he could do his best to remember to deliver more to them daily.

An idea flashed through his mind, but he would have to wait. Rolling over to rank one was more important, and then he had to find the adventurers. He would float the idea by another member of the grove before going through with it, but now it was time to feed the masses. He headed back to their camp and presented his wares, pulling them from the pink backpack and sending them to the ground with fanfare each time.

"And a wheel of cheese," Rud proclaimed, doing some sweet jazz hands to express exactly how delicious and bolstering the cheese was. Of course, the adventurers knew how nice it was.

"Huzzah!" someone shouted, pumping their fist in the air.

"Huzzah!" Rud shouted, joining them by thrusting his staff into the air. As though calling down the power of the system, or some other entity, he earned a message.

[Rank Up!]

You've performed enough actions with your Custodianship skill to gain a new rank!

Custodianship is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Custodianship skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

And another…

[Rank Up!]

You have gained enough experience in three skills to achieve Rank 1 in your subclass! Your general power has increased.

You have gained a free ability pick.

Of course, this was huge. Rud's first plan was to go off and eat all the dungeons he could before heading back to town. However, it took a while to choose the upgrades he wanted for his subclass and the skill itself.

The first upgrade Rud selected for his custodianship skill was called Transient Guests, and it allowed him to mark mortal beings, making them immune to the effects of the grove. He could add as many people as he wanted to that list, and he could toggle it on and off anytime he wanted. Yet only one name was on that list, and it belonged to Elm. The list of options he could choose from was extensive, but he narrowed it down to those that would help people in the Grove while they were there. He refined it to a short list, whiling away his time by sitting on a log and snacking on trail mix before coming to a conclusion. The one he landed on seemed powerful.

[Champion of the Grove]

Custodianship Upgrade

Description:

For those of us who are mortal, but really, really like all these trees.

Effect:

Allows you to designate a single Champion of the Grove. This champion is a trusted mortal who gains all the benefits of being a member of the Grove without signing a pact.

This bond is considered a lesser version of the contract-based bond. This pact may be dissolved at the will of the champion.

Rud knew exactly who he would mark as the champion of the grove. There was a selfish part of him that didn't want to use it on Elm. He wanted her to choose to become a member of the grove on her own. Yet, this would give her the flexibility. If his intuition about the upgrade was correct, it meant she could break the bond at any time, and he could choose another. However, there was no one he could think of who deserved the title more than her. So, he made his selection and moved on to looking at the upgrade for his grove custodian subclass.

The first upgrade for his subclass Rud had taken was Efficient Custodian, which tied the power of his custodian skills to the sacred tree itself. This was often a massive boost in power, considering how strong Ban was as the druid flicked through the many available options. He looked for things in a similar vein, initially finding five but narrowing it down to two, then one. He inspected the last selection, nodding to himself with approval.

[Empowered Custodian]

Grove Custodian Ability

Description:

Hug the trees harder than ever before.

Effect:

Depending on your bond (closeness) with nature and the Grove, the power of your main class's abilities, spells, and skills increases.

If Efficient Custodian affected only his Grove Custodian stuff, this one helped his Druid junk. Which was overpowered and awesome and Rud couldn't say no. The moment he accepted the ability, he felt power rushing through him. His fingertips stung with the potential, electricity dancing on his skin.

"Unlimited power!" Rud shouted, reaching out to the nearest tree and twisting it with his shape-planned spell. He continued like this for a few minutes, testing his mana drain and the power of his spells based on this new ability. He estimated a rough increase of 25 percent in general power. It wasn't enough to make him the baddest druid that ever walked the surface of whatever this planet was called, but it was good. He sent a message directly to Ban. "What is this planet called, anyway?"

"You already asked that."

"Refresh my memory, please."

Ban sent a giggle back. He could practically feel her rolling her eyes. "Asevar. We're on the Aiswyn continent in the Hornfen Region. You're currently standing in the southwestern section of Gladesbale Grove, approximately thirty-eight feet from a rock I've named Dennis."

Rud spun, spotting the small boulder she was talking about. He waved. "Yeah, looks like a 'Dennis'… Thanks, Ban I love you."

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