Volume 9 Chapter 9 (1/2)

We had entered the [Pig] Demon Lord's dungeon.

Apparently, this dungeon had 12 dungeon floors, meaning it had 36 dungeon rooms.

That was a lot and I had no plans to take my time on each one.

”Everyone, double time! Anyone that can't keep up will be left behind”

”Understood!”

”Mhm, I will do my best”

”Fufu, don't underestimate my speed, master!”

My monsters enthusiastically replied so and walked faster.

I wanted to break the enemy's crystal as soon as possible.

My worry right now wasn't the potentially strong enemies and deadly traps lying in wait somewhere for us. Rather, it was my crystal being destroyed before I could break the enemy's.

Duke, Ruhe, and several Avalon-Ritters remained in Avalon to handle its defense.

It was unthinkable for them to lose in a head-on battle, but many other things were possible. One such thing was the enemy having some kind ability to instantly arrive at my crystal room without any battles.

That said, worrying wouldn't change anything.

The only thing we in the attacking force could do was to beat the enemy's dungeon as fast as we could. To that end, a lot of the members of the attacking force were what one could call quick-footed.

While walking along the way, the Ocean Singers gave me a report. According to them, the other dimension was currently just as empty of enemy monsters as the dungeon room we were in.

Could it be possible that he simply wasn't able to obtain an other-dimension type medal?

As great as that would be, it was more likely that this was some kind of trap designed to lull our judgment. So, I gave out instructions to be alert.

An hour like that passed…

”Oto-san, this dungeon's weird. There's no one in here”

”Even my wind isn't picking up anything. This has got to be a trap.”

”Try not to mind it. There's nothing to it but to move forward. They're likely lying in wait somewhere.”

Dungeon room after room, we ventured deeper into the dungeon.

Other than the very first dungeon room in the first floor, every dungeon room we passed was more or less what would be called a labyrinth-type room.

We had already progressed to the 2nd dungeon room of the 4th floor, but we still haven't encountered anyone.

The same was also true in the other dimension.

Could it be that they've decided to pool their war potential somewhere and clash with us en masse? No, that can't be it. They should've learned from their initial encounter with the Avalon-Ritters and the white knight what would happen if they simply rushed at us in large numbers. But then, what else could it be? It's almost impossible for them to be missing and not have a plan.

”Aura, be more rigorous with your wind scan than usual. Rorono, also be more rigorous in your trap perception.”

”Mhm, understood. I'll send it via our data link”

Rorono was an earth magic expert. As such, she was able to gain information on anything that had any contact with the ground.

That made traps visible in plain sight.

That wasn't all. Tablet-type access devices had been handed to the monsters that were filling the role of leaders, and thanks to that, those officers were able to readily view information Rorono had gathered. Without a doubt, this was a much faster and much more accurate method of relaying large amounts of information than oral communication.

Overall, this allowed for ultrafast dungeon exploration.

”Rorono, I've been thinking of adding more dungeon floors, but I wanted to hear your opinion first.”

”I am of the same opinion. In times of [War], the more floors, the better. It makes buying for time easier.”

”Yeah, that's what I thought. Even without monsters to man them, just having additional floors that takes time to traverse makes quite the difference. Using the remaining DP I have, I'll make dungeon rooms with difficult terrain as well as those filled with traps.”

”I support it. And if we can sequence the rooms properly, the time we can make our enemies waste will be even greater.”

When talking about monster deployment, a dungeon room needed to be easy to fight in for certain monsters, but when it was simply about making the enemy take as much time as possible, something like a [Lava] room full of nothing but magma might suffice.

But then, enemy flying monsters wouldn't have any problems at all. In that case, placing a [Labyrinth] room with a ceiling that was as low as possible right after the [Lava] room should slow the advance again.

These were just a few examples of how effective sequencing of dungeon rooms with special terrains could impede, sometimes even halt, the enemy's dungeon conquest. In the above example, if a [Lake] room was added after the [Lava] and the [Labyrinth] rooms, only a small group of monsters would have been able to progress quickly.

It was an exceedingly simple method, but because it was simple, it was effective and hard to counter.

”Well then, let's proceed to the next room. Brace yourselves.”

Everyone nodded, and we went to the next dungeon room.

At that moment, a sense of dread came to me.

And then, there was this feeling like I was floating. It was almost similar to being Transferred.

No, it's not almost similar, I am being Transferred! So, it's that dungeon room, huh. It's troublesome, but we have no choice now than to deal with it.

◇

There were various kinds of dungeon rooms that could be bought from the [Demon Lord Book]. [Grasslands], [Plains], [Lava], [Sea], [Wasteland], and more.

The simpler the room was, the cheaper it would be. Conversely, the more special the terrain it had, the more expensive it got. For example, a [Lava] room was three times more expensive than a simple [Plains] room.

Additionally, if a dungeon room had some kind of magical function to it, its DP cost would be even higher.

The [Treasure Vault] room, which periodically produces a treasure chest, was a fine example of this.