Dungeon of Niflheim

"That went better than I thought, at least there's no hard feelings between us." Frost muttered as he sank into his office chair. Thankfully he'd been expecting Borris to come give his notice otherwise he wouldn't be feeling so relieved.

"Please let this be the only hiccup as we progress over the next 2 weeks." Frost would likely come to regret saying these words but at the moment the only thing on his mind was his next task.

"Yuna how many representatives will be attending the meeting tonight?"

"Everyone bar the head farmer; he stumbled and broke his leg the other day so he's unable to attend." The representatives Frost mentioned were the influential people residing within the Camp that were not under his dominion i.e. sapients.

Such people included those from the major guilds, Ringwald from the adventurers guild, Calder from the merchants guild -who recently moved over to help develop the trade caravan routes, An older woman by the name of Rana from the labourers guild, Darak who was not only the head farmer but also involved in handling the entirety of the produce and meat of the Camp as well as a few big wig businessmen who operated the larger shops.

With Frost as the Lord, Daki as head of the smithing operations and Khuno the head of the Camp's defences made up the improvised council. Most major decisions and developments passed through this group who'd give their input though in the end Frost had the final say.

"That's good, Darak's role isn't really needed with the current development, so his absence won't affect things but have someone deliver him food from the Sleeping Fenrir and ask if he needs anything else." Though Darak had a relatively minor role in the past with the growing amount of planned fields and even meat being procured from the Dungeon his workload rapidly expanding along with his influence.

Frost wanted to take care of such a promising individual who could possibly become a true backbone for his territory.

"As you wish master. Is there anything else you need me for, or shall I continue to fill in for you until the meeting?" Yuna flashed her eyes with expectation always keen to receive any and all manner of tasks from her beloved master.

"No, just keep abreast of any developments and only call me if something urgent crops up, I need focus for my next task." Though Borris was a rather pleasant interruption it was an interruption, nonetheless.

"Understood." Yuna bowed her head before returning to her own office that was established just outside his own.

Frost then teleported back to the training space so he could commence his next task.

"Unlike last time I should be able to finish the basic layout within a few hours." Frost brought up the Dungeon menu and manoeuvred towards the monster section before opening up the monster design function. Frost planned to design his second unique monster species, a species that would solve his lack in workable manpower.

"I don't need fighters since the Ronsos cover that part and I don't need magic users thanks to Yuna and her Yuki-onnas." Leaders and war commanders were also covered by Findley and his ice trolls.

"What the Dungeon needs right now is specialty manpower, a species with tradecraft skills and a more amiable appearance thus allowing them to be easily accepted by the locals." Though his ronsos were rather fierce looking monster kin their limited numbers, role as protecters and the presence of the B-rank Khuno helped restrain those with inherent bias.

It would take quite a while before his residents grew to the point of accepting monsters in other roles however but unfortunately time waits for no man. Thus he planned to bring up a certain project that had been in the works for some time.

The territory's residents probably wouldn't like it, but Frost no longer cared. The only saving grace was that his planned creation would have a less aggressive appearance hopefully making the transition easier.

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Frost cracked his fingers, neck and shoulders before getting to work, letting the ideas that had been flowing in his mind surge forth, directing his hands as a new species slowly came into fruition.

Frost sat in the same position in front of the dungeon menu for 7 hours straight with a strained expression before finally smiling from ear to ear.

"Finished, at least the rough draft is finished." There was still a lot of refinement needed in terms of evolution paths and other areas, but the basic outline was done.

"Niflheim gnomes, gnomes unique to my territory and my territory alone." Frost stretched his body until loud cracks reverberated from his bones before saving his progress and closing the Dungeon menu.

With his initial experience in refining the Ronsos as well as the recent updates Dark made to the designer system Frost's second foray into designing a unique monster species was far smoother, with the initial draft taking but a fraction of the time.

There was still a lot of work to do but the heart, the core of the species was already complete.

Across Nova, Gnomes were a far rarer sight when compared to their dwarven cousins. These very short creatures could easily match the stature of goblins when it came to height and were far less stocky in appearance than dwarves but in comparison their longer arms and thin fingers allowed them to surpass them when it came to artisanal skill.

Perhaps due to their rather weak forms and pure battle capabilities gnomes tended to recluse themselves away from other races, dwelling deep within mountains or even underground caverns, rarely seeing the light of day.

There within the safety of the earth they congregate and locate vast veins of minerals to mine with their powerful senses. Given enough time a tribe of gnomes could fashion a glorious underground metropolis that could put many elven, human and beastmen fortresses to shame.

It is at this point that the rather wary species would then deign to perhaps explore beyond their defences and if confident reach out to nearby territories to trade with.

It was well known that if a nation was ever approached by a gnomish emissary fortune was abound. Successfully striking up a deal with them would ensure vast riches of high quality ore and minerals flowing into their nation allowing them to develop far beyond their rivals.

Frost's Niflheim variant changed little in terms of the basic gnomes appearance. They were still short, roughly 1 metre tall and though far less stocky than their dwarven cousins their arms were by no means weak thus allowing them to easily swing a heavy forging hammer.

Their skin however was blueish silver, similar to that of the Ronsos but a few shades lighter, a trait often seen with species of the ice element.

In fact the only real difference these Niflheim gnomes had compared to their regular gnomish brethren was the ability to conjure and manipulate cold flames as well as mould ice like it was clay.

This however wasn't just a simple case of copy and paste. Where the ronsos' cold flames granted them devasting strength the cold flames of the gnomes focused solely on crafting, unable to effectively threaten a living being. Therefore even with the ability to summon cold flames these gnomes were laughably weak, but it was a trait Frost was happy to accept.

The other monsters under his command could handle the battle aspects, leaving them a more supportive role.

The lowest ranking Niflheim gnomes were to be called lesser Niflheim gnomes and would start as D-rank monsters though their inherent strength would see them struggle with even the weakest E-ranks. But in terms of work efficiency and building capabilities these lesser Niflheim gnomes would put even his ice dwarves to shame.

A heavily skewed species but one the Dungeon was in dire need of if he wished to complete the next phase of development within two weeks.

"Given the legends of the gnomish race, their unthreatening appearance and paltry strength I doubt many will complain." Frost was particularly proud of his achievement and wanted to get started with their creation right away but unfortunately it was nearing 7pm. The final touches and Dark's approval would have to wait until after the meeting with the Camp's council.

"Clean" Frost first used magic to clean his body and robes before teleporting to the private space to do a quick check-in with the family. He had unfortunately missed the family dinner but given his workload Maya didn't hold it against him.

"Where's Daki?"

"In the shower, don't worry though she doesn't plan on dressing up for the meeting." Frost sudden despair was quickly remedied by the latter part of Maya's statement.

Last time it took hours upon hours for the two of them to choose their desired outfits but if she didn't plan to dress up it means she'd be showing up in her smithing work clothes which would be appropriate given that she was representing the Camp's forging department.

Though there was a flash of desire in Frost's eyes as he entertained the idea of joining his lovely green enchantress in the shower, time was not on his side.

"What about you, do wish to join the meeting tonight?" Though Maya didn't have a specific department she was in charge of she still held a lot of sway with the council given her relationship with Frost.

"From what you've told me it'll be a completely business oriented meeting ergo boring so no I'll stay here thank you very much….However you might want to bring Loki, he's been wanting to take up a larger role in managing the Camp and Dungeon."

"Hoh is that so." Frost's eyes opened up in surprise, this was the first time he was hearing of such interests at least when it came to running the Camp side.

"He's still a bit young but I guess I could bring him along to observe." Though he wouldn't place any responsibility on his shoulders given his age, learning the ropes early couldn't hurt.