Chapter 62
It has been a month since the dungeon full-scale construction begun.
That being said, there hasn’t been much change in what I do.
I wake up in the morning, eat magic stones, make drawing mannequin, eat magic stones and sleep, create golems in each area, eat magic stones and sleep, help Elibel, and eat magic stones before sleeping. That’s my cycle.
What busy days they are.
Isn’t this a complete violation of labor laws?
Well, I guess there’s no such thing in this world.
But I feel fulfilled.
Both creating golems and building the dungeon are extremely enjoyable.
I finish activating the drawing mannequin golem as part of my morning routine.
I have no idea how many thousands of those type there are now.
The number has already become tremendous.
If we’re talking about quantity, they overwhelmed the number of antlings.
But in return, they have a short lifespan.
Recently, the magical power of the drawing mannequin type I created at the beginning has finally run out, and they were brought to the depths.
The newly created drawing mannequin crush the discarded ones and return them to the soil.
And then they are rebuilt into new drawing mannequin.
Other activated drawing mannequins dive into the teleportation gate and head to the entrance and the construction of the dungeon beyond the middle floors.
They operate 24 hours a day, so the dungeon is being constructed at an astonishing pace.
The dungeons at the Add Mountain Range, Yuguru Great Forest, and near the Guor Volcano, which serve as entrances, have already been built up to the tenth floor.
However, only the dungeon itself has been completed, while the “other parts” have yet to catch up.
Now then, today I have to help Elibel with setting up the teleportation gate.
Currently, Elibel’s ruins and research facility have been transported to the depths.
I move through the passageways of the depths.
This place is also temporary, and once the residential area for us is completed further down in the depths, we will be moved there as planned.
After walking for a while, I arrived at a corner of the deepest floor.
This is Elibel’s research floor.
It has transformed into an unusually different space compared to the rest.
It’s like suddenly finding an operating room inside a cave, creating a sense of mismatch.
There are various unfamiliar tools scattered all around.
These are apparently magic tools that Elibel created from scratch through “alchemy.”
Furthermore, there are more than forty brilliantly colored sphere floating here and there, reflecting various sceneries above them.
『Are these… views from the outside?』
They show scenes from the Eld Desert, Yuguru Great Forest, Add Mountain Range, and even the town of Agur.
Various landscapes are being projected, mostly in an aerial view.
These are probably the outside views observed by the bird-shaped creations I made.
By linking the bird’s field of vision with the brilliantly colored sphere, they project the images.
I remember doing something similar with Una before.
Oh, I can see Ann and forest monsters in the projection.
They completely disregard privacy.
Well, I guess there’s no concept of privacy in this world anyway.
Oh, Ann seems to be unsheathing her sword.
And the snake and dog also appear to be in a state of readiness.
『…Are they fighting something?』
I can only see Ann and the others in the images, but it seems like they’re engaged in a battle.
Well, they seem relaxed and capable, so it should be fine.
I carefully walk, making sure not to touch any equipment.
It’s quite challenging to avoid touching things since my body has grown larger.
It would be convenient if I could use Fly or something.
Oh look, I’ve found Berg.
Wow, he’s incredibly dirty.
And he’s drooling while rolling his eyes back.
「Fufufu… Miss Elibel… I’ve finished gathering the materials… Fufufu…」
…I wonder how many consecutive nights he’s stayed up until now?
Muttering to himself, grinning, and hallucinating?
He’s moving his hands towards the empty air.
There are various unknown plants, fruits, and animal carcasses scattered around him.
I guess they’re research materials, but he looks like a dangerous homeless guy at first glance.
…Let’s just leave him alone.
Now, where is Elibel?
I look around.
Ah, there she is.
She’s sitting cross-legged on the ground, working on something.
…What is she making?
Looking closely, she’s engraving something like magical inscriptions on small objects that resemble magic stones.
Elibel seems focused and hasn’t noticed me.
『Oi~, Elibel! I’m here!』
I send a thought transmission.
Ah, she doesn’t notice.
After sending thought transmissions about seven times, she finally looks in my direction.
「Oh, Earth. You finally came. I was tired of waiting.」
No, that’s my line.
I almost felt like crying.
『What were you working on?』
「Hmm, this? It’s for this, you see?」
Elibel says that and looks at the magic stone she was tinkering with earlier.
「It’s a magic stone to be incorporated into the drawing mannequins. With this stone embedded, the drawing mannequins can use limited magic.」
『Oh… Is that possible?』
It’s quite convenient.
『But drawing mannequins aren’t suitable for combat, right?』
They’re super weak.
They only have the power of an average, non-tiring human with a lifespan of one month.
「Well, you’re right. They’re not meant for combat. They can only do what they’re programmed for. I plan to use them for trap construction in the middle floors and beyond.」
『I see, I understand.』
In this dungeon, in addition to primitive pitfalls and falling rocks, we plan to set up magical traps as well.
However, among us, only Elibel, Berg, Una, Dos, and Tres can actually use magic.
We are severely understaffed for creating the dungeon.
To compensate for that, we’re enhancing the drawing mannequins.
「With the magic inscriptions set in these magic stones, we can create traps like Ann’s suggested ‘Skewer Room’ and ‘Inferno Floor,’ as well as the ones Una came up with, such as the ‘Crushing Wall’ and the ‘Threaded Water Marsh.’ The drawing mannequins will be able to create them too. It might be difficult to mass-produce, but I think it will increase the speed of trap creation compared to now.」
Well, that’s a big help.
Thanks to the drawing mannequins and the increased number of antlings created by Ann, the dungeon itself is expanding smoothly.
However, the crucial traps and special environments have fallen behind in progress.
By special environments, I mean creating simulated forests and rocky areas within the dungeon.
So far, we have successfully created four areas in the middle floors and beyond: rocky terrain, swamp, snowfield, and lava zone.
Creating swamp golems, snow golems, and lava golems proved to be effective.
We moved them directly to the middle floors and had them increase their physical bodies.
Of course, each area is separated from the others.
Especially the lava zone has a tremendous impact on maintaining and affecting the surrounding floors due to heat and temperature.
Adjustments are needed in this area as well.
While lost in thought, Elibel starts adjusting the second magic stone.
「Shall I let them create the traps I came up with too?」
『Are you talking about the one that explodes only when male and female adventurers are in a certain distance?』
「Yes, exactly.」
A trap that explodes only when adventurers of both sexes are within a certain distance to each other.
Personally, I call this trap the “Normies Killer.”
Apart from that, many of the traps Elibel came up with are triggered under specific conditions.
However, the condition often involves “male and female” adventurers.
What’s up with that? Did she have a grudge against couples in her past life or something?
「Hehehe, I can just imagine the faces of those fools writhing in pain.」
Oh no…
She looks incredibly delighted.
This trap seems to have a lot of personal grudge behind it…
Just as I’m feeling slightly unsettled, I hear clattering noises.
Curious, I look to see a group of skeletons coming from the depths.
There are quite a lot of them. Around thirty?
『Elibel, what about them?』
「Oh, they’ve arrived. Perfect timing.」
The skeletons come to a stop in front of us with synchronized movements.
They look like an army.
Some of them are carrying stretchers.
They’re well organized, just like Ann’s antlings.
「…32 out of the 100 have returned. Not bad progress」
Elibel comments, looking satisfied at the group of skeletons.
Wait, these skeletons…?
I activate my magic sense.
Just as I suspected.
These guys aren’t your ordinary skeletons.
They have quite a strong magical presence.
Could it be…?
「They’re Soldier Skeletons. Intermediate-class monsters. I sent them to my dungeon through a teleportation gate for training」
『Training…?』
「Yes. In my dungeon, there are also layers focused on undead creatures. I had them absorb plenty of miasma and souls there. More than half of them didn’t make it, but well, I can always ‘recreate’ them later. Oh, and let me introduce this one too.」
As Elibel says that, she snaps her fingers, and a magic circle appears.
From there, a massive blue fireball, almost three meters in size, materializes.
Uarghh! It’s a huge scary monster!
I quickly step back in surprise.
「Why are you, the Earth Dragon, scared of undead creatures…」
Elibel sighs with a slightly exasperated expression.
Well, scary things are scary, you know.
「This is Nightmare Mist. It’s an advanced-class creature. It’s an enhanced version of the Wraiths we encountered last time.」
『Enhanced version? But there are no more evolution magic stones, right? Did you make them again?』
「No, I didn’t. Unlike other monsters, Wraiths have a more expedient method of enhancement. We don’t have spare magic stones since they’re used for the dungeon and given to the creatures in the Yuguru Great Forest. So, I took a different approach to their enhancement.」
『What approach?』
「Cannibalism. They wouldn’t have been useful as they were, so I had around a hundred of them cannibalize each other, forcing this one to undergo forced evolution. There are about sixty of them remaining. They might have decreased in numbers, but they’re stronger as a fighting force. The rest are currently out hunting other Wraiths outside, and I’ve also asked them to gather corpses.」
Whoa…
Undead monsters are quite impressive, aren’t they?
They create such a grim atmosphere.
If you look closely, you can see decaying corpses scattered in the background.
Are those the ones that will become the new skeletons and wraiths…?
『…When you mentioned ‘recreating,’ were you referring to those corpses?』
「Oh, that? No, it’s something different. Those are for new recruits. By ‘recreating,’ I mean this. Watch.」
Elibel gives instructions to the skeletons, and they carry something on their backs.
They reveal it, and it turns out to be bones.
In an instant, a mountain of bones forms.
Then, Elibel murmurs something while infusing magical power into the bone mountain.
Gradually, the bones take shape, and nearly fifty skeletons are created.
I see now. As long as there are bones, it’s possible to create skeletons again.
「I am an Arc Skeleton, you know. Necromantic magic like this is one of my specialties.」
The evolved Soldier Skeletons, along with the resurrected skeletons, turn around and disappear into the depths of the dungeon once again.
They must be going back to Elibel’s dungeon to continue their training.
They’ll likely repeat this process until they reach the rank Elibel desires.
It’s like an extremely wicked training regime, surpassing even a regular army.
「If I give them these orders, they will naturally become stronger. Undead creatures like these are truly convenient and easy to use.」
Undead creatures, more so than the monsters in the Yuguru Great Forest or Ann, are a species that unconditionally submits to higher-ranking beings.
They probably don’t even have the option to defy Elibel.
This person is even more ruthless than I am…
And then, a few months later, Elibel’s immortal army, with her at the top, is completed.
「Well then, shall we go set up the teleportation gate?」
Ah, right.
The impact of the undead was so strong that I almost forgot our original purpose.
By the way, here’s the state of the skeletons in training:
Skeleton A: “I’m exhausted… even though I’m just bones.”
Skeleton B: “Hang in there! You don’t want to die, right? …Though we’re already dead.”
Skeleton C: “Once this training is over, I’m going to get married… though I died before that happened.”
Skeleton D: “Our master doesn’t have any blood or tears… Well, it’s impossible since we’re just bones.”