[Dungeon Merchant] Backstory Chapter 2 – The Start of the Expeditions
When discovery meets ambition
Roughly sixty years ago, the dungeon had long been quiet—its shifting halls sealed off from most of the world, with only whispers of danger or ancient magic to keep it in rumor.
That changed when a small monster appeared near the surface. It was spotted near the outer chamber of the dungeon’s entrance—weak, but unmistakably not from this world.
The King of Gildcairn, alarmed by the sighting, immediately dispatched a battalion to investigate and eliminate the threat. The monster was swiftly slain, but what happened next would alter the course of history.
The creature’s body vanished into dust—but in its place, a single object remained: an Iron Shield, impossibly durable and unlike anything forged by the kingdom’s smiths. Word spread quickly. Scholars examined it. Merchants appraised it. The shield alone was worth a fortune.
Soon, another unsettling truth was confirmed: monsters drop items when they die. How or why—no one could explain. But the implications were clear.
A New Economy Awakens
The people once hesitated to disturb the dungeon’s depths, now saw opportunity. If monsters carried treasure, then the dungeon itself was no longer just a prison—it was a resource. A goldmine. A new frontier.
Within a decade, the continent saw the rise of Dungeon Startups—companies and collectives built for one purpose: to explore, fight, extract, and profit.
Armed with scrolls, gear, and just enough courage, they ventured floor by floor, always hunting for the next drop, the next rare item, the next legendary artifact.
The dungeon had become more than a seal.
It had become an industry.
Echoes of the Architect
Still, some remembered the warnings of the past.
The Architect had built the dungeon to trap evil—not to farm it.
And beneath every expedition, behind every startup, a question lingered:
What happens if we push too far?
P.S. The ideas and story are mine, but I used AI to help shape the writing into full paragraphs.