Chapter 144
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After Purume En Dynast boldly conveyed the dangers of the Sealed Domain to many brave warriors in Skuld, numerous matters were discussed at the meeting.
These included efficient ways to deal with the Sealed Domain, party divisions aimed at efficient Fog hunting, and the order in which parties would rest. These were considered top priorities to be decided according to the advice of Boldaf’s top leaders, who were already experienced in Fog extermination.
Normally, adventurer parties or clans of moderate standing would selfishly assert their own interests, but among those gathered, there were no misguided individuals.
Even the magician groups, mostly composed of noblemen like Honest, refrained from interjecting unnecessarily.
Of course, patriotism played a role, but these individuals were gathered for the sake of the country at Chancellor Madison’s call, with the promise of ample rewards. Moreover, it’s undeniable that they saw an opportunity to gain a favor from the renowned Chancellor Madison.
For these reasons, preparations for Fog extermination in the Virtuous region progressed smoothly.
Perhaps due to these efforts, Fog extermination in Virtuous proceeded without a hitch. As expected of professionals, no one slacked off even in situations that could be described as small fry hunting. Purume and the others demonstrated their ability to handle the increasing Fog with composure.
However, the tide that had been gentle until then changed when Yamada and his group set foot in the Sealed Dungeon.
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Something that even Yamada and Sensei failed to notice was that the flow of time inside the Sealed Dungeon differed greatly from that of the outside world.
From Yamada and his group’s perspective, the time from entering the Sealed Dungeon to returning to the outside world felt like two to three days. However, in reality, a week had passed since they first set foot in the dungeon.
And a week was more than enough time for the situation in Virtuous to change.
As they progressed deeper into the sealed dungeon, the battle situation in Virtuous, which had been going relatively well, gradually changed.
As the small fry monsters that overflowed in the Sealed Dungeon were rapidly exterminated and the vicious floor bosses were defeated, the number of monsters, including Fog, appearing in Virtuous increased. This simple fact caused numerous problems for those protecting Virtuous.
On the first day Yamada and his group entered the Sealed Dungeon, those with keen intuition merely tilted their heads in puzzlement, sensing that something was different from before. However, by the next day, they became convinced that the situation had clearly changed and reported this to the upper echelons of their clans and to Purume.
Fortunately, coordination was maintained, so information was shared effectively. The problem, however, was that they needed to quickly shift the mindset that had once relaxed due to the easy victories over the Fog. While skilled veterans and those who had been on the battlefield before could manage this sudden shift in consciousness, it was quite difficult for the lower-ranking clan members and younger individuals.
Moreover, due to the sudden increase in Fog, the rotation for extermination was changed, increasing the burden on each individual. This led some of the more capable individuals who had been spoiled due to their abilities, as well as a considerable number of noblemen, to start complaining, 「Why should I do such dirty work?」
Complaints spread like a disease.
Even those who had been working diligently before might think, 「Well, there’s some truth to that,」 and this would become the seed of discontent.
If they sensed an ominous atmosphere where everyone around them seemed to be thinking the same thing, that seed would grow rapidly, and eventually, they too would start saying, 「Why should I?」
Fortunately, the clans that had been summoned were all top professionals. Of course, their leaders were all individuals who had made names for themselves globally.
Subordinates with weak mindsets were scolded without mercy. Those who still wouldn’t listen were sometimes met with violence, and those who were beyond help were told to leave.
In this way, the Virtuous side managed to deal with the difficult situation.
However, the complaints were merely suppressed, continuing to smolder within them. This resulted in a decisive decrease in motivation.
Decreased motivation — this would sometimes lead to critical mistakes.
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The root cause of this situation was a group of magicians composed entirely of noblemen.
Their core members were magical nobles called Ambitious, who were rivals to the Honest family. Many of them were among the members hired by Chancellor Madison this time.
While their abilities were indeed genuine, the problem lay in their pure nobility-ism and the abundance of arrogant, big-headed individuals who knew no hardship.
They continued to complain and behave haughtily even within their assigned parties.
At this point, it was useless to say, but such people should not have been added to this monotonous but crucial battle for national survival, which involved continuous Fog extermination. Because their superior abilities were well-known, no one could have imagined that they would not only slack off but also drag others down.
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In the Ambitious family, there was a young man named Klein who was regarded as their hope.
From a young age, he demonstrated magical talent unprecedented even in the prestigious Ambitious family.
Originally from a branch family, his talent was recognized, and he was adopted into the main family without consulting his family, completely severing ties with them — such was his ambition.
Even after joining the main family, he was often scorned by others with comments like 「branch family origin」 or 「tarnishing the Ambitious bloodline,」 but each time, he demonstrated his power and subdued them.
Eventually, within the Ambitious family, fewer people directly complained to him, and many began to flatter and curry favor with him.
Due to his original temperament and this upbringing, he became a warped, extremely self-centered individual.
Coincidentally, when he was made to participate in this Fog extermination, he was assigned to a party composed entirely of noblemen.
Originally lacking motivation, he frequently threw out comments to the party like 「This is boring,」 「Let’s take a break,」 and 「If I got serious, this would be a piece of cake.」
This occurred on the fourth day in the outside world after Yamada and his group had entered the Sealed Dungeon.
Many were feeling anxious and impatient due to the rapid proliferation of Fog. Even the upper echelons were no exception, and those who had attended the meeting in Skuld were taken aback, remembering the prophetic advice of the 「Blue Flame Purume.」
Many devoted themselves entirely to Fog extermination, but there was still some room for flexibility. While it’s true that they lacked composure due to the sudden change in circumstances, if they could calmly and surely deal with the situation again, it was still manageable.
However, there were those who couldn’t understand this situation.
The party members who had already been negatively influenced by Klein, the treasure of Ambitious, were dominated by the thought, 「Even if we take a little break, there are so many of us. Someone will cover for us.」
Also, several parties composed mainly of noblemen and newcomers who were influenced by their party thought, 「Well, it should be fine to slack off a little.」
At this point, a decisive mistake was inevitable.
And finally, they started to waste time without following the patrol routes determined by the upper echelons’ discussions, or even if they did patrol, they would finish their rounds carelessly without conducting thorough searches.
And then, the next day…
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