The Dangerously Cute Dungeon Volume Two [A Dungeon Core LitRPG]

2.21 The Empty Dungeon

Another two weeks passed much as the first two had after Violet unlocked her second floor. The only ones who showed up day after day were those who had signed contracts with her. David was just as hot and cold as ever and Avorn and Camellia were quiet and caused no issues for Violet whatsoever. It wasn't a bad life and it certainly allowed her to have more time to think out how she wanted to build her dungeon, but Violet still couldn't help but worry about what was going on outside of the dungeon.

Sure, she could have tried to ask David about why no one else was showing up to the dungeon, but she got the feeling that would just lead to him giving an aggravating answer that was more likely to sour her mood than actually be helpful. As for Camellia and Avorn, they hadn't approached her to talk or trade and Violet could only assume they enjoyed having their space. She didn't quite enjoy the unpleasantness of Avorn's fear of her either. He had been slowly, ever so slowly improving, but giving him time to process things seemed better than exposure therapy in this case, not that Violet was much of a psychologist.

Elivyre not showing up to the dungeon was the most disappointing thing of all. They were supposed to be friends and Violet didn't get the impression that her friend was afraid of her. So, unless there was genuinely something wrong, why hadn't Elivyre shown up for nearly a month now? If it were a lack of being able to carry through on her promise to trade for the potions, Violet would rather her friend just ask her for more time than avoid her completely.

A surge went through the dungeon and she felt a sense of calmness wash over her. This was a common occurrence lately as Violet couldn't help but worry about the state of things. When the dungeon was so empty after seeing so much success, she couldn't help but worry that she had done something wrong, that she was at fault for the empty dungeon. It was even becoming difficult to feel up to developing the dungeon when it just felt like all her efforts were for nothing.

Well, Violet had already slowed down her building by quite a bit. She had used some of her excess mana at night to invest in a small coin pouch to store paper, ink, and a quill as well as lots of sweets and tea to enjoy with the pixies each night. The tea still had to be brewed by leaving it out in the sun, but it was still just as tasty. The nights were peaceful and the pixies were always so eager to hear about her plans for the dungeon. Jasmine and Daisy were especially excitable as they loved to point to her various sketches and ask what things were, offering up their opinions on things quite freely.

Lily was still as shy as ever, but she did stop hiding behind Cedar long enough to wave hello to her now. It would seem she was slowly, but surely warming up to her, which made Violet feel relieved. Lily's behavior wasn't aggravating like the adventurers since it was clear she was just super shy rather than being afraid of Violet. Still, it would be nice to see her come out of her shell and relax as the others do.

Feeling the familiar feeling of someone entering the dungeon, Violet knew it was time for her nightly swordsmanship training. Violet let out a heavy sigh as a thought occurred to her. David's tributes had been rather low-effort lately, even to the point of seeming passive-aggressive. She could easily guess what he had brought tonight was likely to be the same.

Violet wasn't entirely wrong either. David felt frustrated by how infrequently Violet wanted to trade with him. After the initial long wait for her to be willing to trade with him, she had ended up limiting him to only having the opportunity to trade with her once a week. Considering this was throwing off his plans to feed his family delicious food during the cold season and get rich in the long-term, he couldn't help but feel frustrated.

Of course, there were other factors at play as well. There was a distinct lack of merchants coming through the town to trade with and the only one he could depend on buying the goods from him right now was the local tavern owner. The new alchemist would purchase any plants that he brought her, but there weren't many options for selling luxury food items. That also meant that it was difficult to get anything worthwhile for trading to Violet as well, much less bringing new and interesting [Items] for tributes on a daily basis.