“I might be able to create branching paths too.”
“Oh, that would be nice. Up until recently there were branching paths and mazes and all sorts of things in here. Then the Heroes leveled it all to rubble…”
There she goes — Lady Fiona slipping into negative mode again.
“I’ve lost my subordinates, and here I am alone in a bare dungeon. …Perhaps after all, sleeping here for several tens of thousands of years would be the better—”
“N-no, that won’t do at all.”
“But then people might assume the Demon Lord has been sealed away.”
“A-and besides, you’re not alone — I’m here.”
“…So you are. I have Rei.”
Lady Fiona seems pretty worn down…
Not that I can blame her. Everyone else gone, every stronghold destroyed — I completely understand the urge to fall apart.
But if she sleeps for tens of thousands of years, I’ll die of neglect long before she wakes up.
I need her to feel like we’re in this together.
“Well then — why don’t we try building a room.”
“That sounds good. Right now this is nothing but a bare cave.”
Create Wall: Mana Cost 1 Create Floor: Mana Cost 1 Create Ceiling: Mana Cost 1 Create Door: Mana Cost 1
Four walls, two doors — one at each end — comes to 8 mana total.
My own mana alone won’t cover it, but if I can draw on the dungeon’s mana, that’s another story.
…How exactly do I use the dungeon’s mana, though.
I try fumbling at it — just tapping the number that seems to represent the dungeon’s mana.
The number lights up white, same as the currently usable menu entries.
That seems promising.
I follow up by selecting Create Wall. A wall materializes, and the number ticks down to 49.
“Create Wall.”
Same approach — touch the dungeon mana, then issue the command by word and intent.
Both methods work. I can build using the dungeon’s mana.
Alright, I’ve got the hang of it. Building a room should be straightforward from here.
“My, that really is impressive. A full room in just a few seconds. Basic repairs are going to go much faster than I’d thought.”
“I’m flattered…”
It was easy enough, but this room can take a beating — it’s the same construction that gave the beast-kin trouble when they were trying to tear through. And all of that for 8 mana.
Maybe the Dungeon Master skill is actually something?
“Oh… more text.”
Several new glowing entries had appeared in the menu.
Probably unlocked by building a room.
There’s no explanation, but one of them makes it immediately obvious.
Create Room: Mana Cost 5
“So this builds the same room I just made?”
I want to try it.
First I’ll need to ask Lady Fiona where to put the next room.
“Lady Fiona. I’d like to build another room — where should it go?”
“You seem motivated. It appears I’ve gained quite a capable subordinate.”
Good — her opinion of me is going up.
And I get to experiment with the skill at the same time. All upside.
“This direction, then, if you would. Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes.”
Out of the room we just made, down the passage, and I build the next room at the end.
I see — so the area near the entrance isn’t very wide, which is why the structure chains rooms together along a corridor like this. The deeper sections are more spacious, so that’s probably where branching paths come in.
Create Room: Mana Cost 5
I spend dungeon mana and build the room.
Just as expected — identical to the first one, without a hint of difference.
And slightly cheaper on mana than building it part by part, which is a welcome bonus.
“I used to station subordinates and monsters around this area.”
“To drive back intruders.”
“Well… they were all defeated in the end…”
“I’m here now, so it’ll be fine!”
It won’t necessarily be fine, but better to reassure her before the spiral sets in.
Though — since both sides can speak the same language, is peaceful negotiation really out of the question?
Actually, why are people breaking into the dungeon at all… to defeat the Demon Lord, obviously. Talking it out is hopeless.
“People who invade — their goal really is to defeat you, isn’t it, Lady Fiona…”
“Yes. To slaughter every last demon, myself included.”
“Is there any room for negotiation…”
“As with those beast-kin — the general understanding is that demons are enemies to every race and must be killed. It would be very difficult.”
Like them… they came at me the moment they registered my race. No room for words at all.
And someone as weak as me doesn’t have the option of talking my way out of anything.
Full retreat or fight back with everything I have — those are the only choices.
Anyway — building that room has expanded the menu again.
Create Hall: Mana Cost 10
Create Maze: Mana Cost 20
“Hmm… I really can’t use these without thinking carefully.”
“Did you unlock more options? You’re quite capable, Rei.”
“Thank you. I can now make a hall and a maze, but the mana cost is steep…”
“You can build things like that… but please don’t push yourself. It can wait until the mana has built up.”
That’s a relief to hear.
10 or 20 is well beyond what I can spend right now.
And there’s something else I want to try first.
Three more entries unlocked when I built the room.
Create Treasure Chest: Mana Cost 5
Create Trap: Mana Cost 5
Create Monster: Mana Cost 5
Setting aside the treasure chest — the other two look very promising for repelling intruders.
I’d rather spend my mana testing those than building more rooms.
And all three at 5 is very convenient — right at the edge of what my own mana can just barely cover.
“I’m going to try making a treasure chest.”
“Alright. A treasure chest… treasure chest?”
Traps and monsters can wait.
Spending 5 mana means I’ll black out the moment I use it.
If a trap triggers or a monster goes out of control while I’m unconscious, I’m dead.
So for now, I’ll put all my mana into the one that seems safe — the treasure chest.
With that decided, here goes — spending the mana—
“What do you think you’re doing?! You’re about to pass out again, aren’t you?! I can tell you are!”
I’m sorry… I already selected it…
Ah… the darkness is coming…
“I told you not to push yourself…”
◇
“So the Hero is dead.”
“Yes, the signal has gone dark. They had penetrated the underground demon realm and were making good progress — but most likely, the Demon Lord’s hand…”
“The Demon Lord really is in a category of her own…”
“So it would seem. The Beast Kingdom’s strongest warriors also took the opportunity to challenge her, but the result was the same as our Hero.”
“Exactly what you’d expect from those animals. My guess is they intended to let our Hero and the Demon Lord exhaust each other, then move in to take the glory.”
The one speaking with contempt is the human king.
In his mind, not only demons but every other race’s nation was an enemy.
The only reason open conflict hadn’t broken out was that the Demon Lord existed as a common enemy. Remove that shared threat, and the other races become adversaries.
That future was easy enough to predict, which was why the king trusted no one outside humanity. And every other race thought exactly the same way.
“Recovery of the Heroes?”
“Unfortunately, according to the knights’ investigation, the entrance to the underground demon realm has been sealed shut by a formidable wall. As a result, only their souls have returned.”
“…Which means the equipment is unrecoverable.”
“Yes… however, the Heroes’ resurrection is underway. It would be advisable not to move against the underground demon realm until they have regained their strength.”
“Agreed.”
The king is no fool. He hadn’t made the blunder of sending his Heroes against the Demon Lord poorly equipped.
Losing the equipment is painful, but if the Heroes can be resurrected, the loss can eventually be recouped.
And in this interval, the wise move is not to act rashly — to treat it as a preparation period.
“Reincarnates will be the key to defeating the Demon Lord, then.”
“Ten years since the last Great Reincarnation. Reincarnates should be appearing across various regions before long.”
“Yes. I want as many as possible secured for our kingdom. Deploy the knights to full capacity — have them watch every corner of the country.”
“Understood. I’ll notify the captain of the knights immediately.”
The bulk of the knights would be sent out to search for reincarnates.
Ostensibly to defeat the Demon Lord — and underneath that, to ensure no other nation got there first.
Small mercy, perhaps, that whatever the motive, it was still in service of the country.
Even if a reincarnate would end up fighting the Demon Lord, and then afterward the other races — both would ultimately be in defense of the human kingdom.
Or so they told themselves.