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Chapter 151: Problems with the Foret Noir Dungeon

A few days after returning from the Ibrudia Empire, I asked the core members of the clan to gather in the core room.

In addition to Black Thunder, the members present were also Ars, Irs, Urs, Barbaru, and Quereble.

We had already talked about what happened in the Ibrudia Empire, and about the demon factions – “Satanas” and “Onimeshu”. As a result of the discussion, there was not much difference between what Astrue and Brakylls said, so we assumed that it was mostly true. Zoa even told Kinu that he’ll come to see me someday, so I guess I’ll ask for more details then. Even though it could end up in a battle, we have put that topic on hold at the moment due to a lack of information.

So putting aside the Onimeshu for now, our concerns are regarding Satanas. What is particularly important is that the Demon King will be resurrected in five years. There is a high possibility of a great war that involves the entire world at that time, and also that incidents such as the one at the Ibrudia Empire will occur during these five years.

We have, however, come to the conclusion that we will not take any proactive action regarding these matters.

The reason for that is because it is not possible for us to predict their whereabouts or what Satanas will do next in the future. And considering that their base is on the Magic Continent, our current means of transportation are limited to flying in an airship or crossing the ocean with a large ship. As for airship travel, there is a 80% chance of failure, considering the issue of lack of magic ore fuel and safety. And as far as the sea route is concerned, there is no record of a ship crossing over to the Magic Continent, so the risk is even higher.

In this case, it would be better to ask the world leaders to come up with countermeasures and provide information when necessary.

However, I have no intention of spending these five years in silence. Within that period of time, our military strength is likely to grow significantly, and we can possibly build a defense mechanism using the dungeon functions.

「Well, that’s how things are on our side. How are things on your side, Barbaru?」

「On my side, it’s just the progress of the development of Plainevelt. In terms of architecture, the government has been supporting the development of Plainevelt on a large scale as we accept immigrants from the royal capital. Thanks to that, the development is progressing at twice the planned speed.

However, the projected size of the entire town is likely to be nearly twice the size of Recuria’s territory, so it will take 2-3 years at the earliest for everything to take shape. Now that we have finished constructing the buildings that will be used as an inn with priority, we have finished securing a place where all the immigrants can stay for the moment.

From here on, in order to systematically create an attractive town, we will proceed with exterior wall construction and street maintenance in parallel to bring out the personal characteristics of each section of the town.」

「It’s great that everything has been going well…. Rather, have you been getting enough rest? 　Not only do you look considerably tired, you also have skills like [High-speed Calculation] and [Parallel Processing] in your status…」

「Well, if you continue to work without taking a break for a few months, your skills will naturally grow… But I think the most difficult part has passed, so from now on it will be a little easier. Most of the things that need to be rushed are done. I am going to take a two day break starting tomorrow.」

「You deserve it. Thank you for everything.」

「It’s fine. But once I have some free time, I am going to do the things that I want to do!」

「Of course. I think I have placed too much load on your shoulders. Let me know if you want anything. We can also get rewards from the kingdom.」

「I am fine for now. I shall let you know when the time comes!」

It must have been too much of a burden for Barbaru… He had been working so hard that he acquired new skills. On the other hand, since the development has progressed this far, I probably won’t be able to help anymore…

I think it’s only natural to think that I should at least give him some kind of reward.

「Let’s go with the core group next. I have already received the report, but I want everyone here to know it as well. Ars, I’ll leave the explanation to you.」

「Umu. This will not become a problem right away, but it’s a problem that has to be solved eventually. Several months have passed since the entrance to the Foret Noir was closed, and the total amount of magic essence that can be absorbed from the surroundings seems to be dropping. If the entrance is kept closed like this, it will become a huge problem.」

「Didn’t you say there would be no problem if we kept using dungeon points?」

「Umu. That’s how it was at first. But the amount of absorption is gradually decreasing. It seems that the entrance to Foret Noir will need to be reopened in the future. However, considering the current rate of decline, it won’t be a problem for another half a year.」

This was only reported to me the day after I returned from Ibrudia.

We have measured the amount of magic essence absorbed daily for the past few months, but looking at the data, it clearly started to decrease two months after the entrance was closed.

It temporarily recovered when dungeon points were used, but in the long run, it is hard to imagine what will happen to Foret Noir unless some sort of countermeasure is taken.

At present, however, the income from the Plainevelt Dungeon is overwhelmingly higher and we have a considerable amount of savings. So we still have time to think up a plan of action and implement it.

「Well, that’s the situation right now. With that said, I’ve been thinking about the future policy of Foret Noir Dungeon in my own way for the past few days. This is going to be quite a big deal, so everyone’s cooperation will be essential.」

「Umu. I will leave it to Aun to explain the next part.」

Ars was already grinning, standing next to me. I understood exactly how he felt.

Even though we told everyone it’s a problem, due to the air of excitement surrounding the both of us, no one had a worried expression.

「Well, solving the problem is easy. Just open the entrance.」

「If that’s the case, won’t the function of Foret Noir as a “safe base” collapse?」Drake.

「Yes. However, I think safety could be ensured by improvising the location of the entrance a little. And so, I decided to make the entrance to Foret Noir on the top floor of the Plainevelt Dungeon.」

「Huh!? A dungeon entrance within a dungeon…Is that even possible!?」Drake.

「I actually tried it with Ars and Irs yesterday, and it was possible to install it without any problems. What’s more, the dungeon points increased significantly by opening the entrance.」

「Oh! Which means, we can secure the safety of the base by strengthening Plainevelt!!」Drake.

「Yeah, but there’s a problem with this too… I think in order to absorb the magic essence from the Forest of Eternal Darkness, the main body of the Foret Noir Dungeon is still located in the Forest of Eternal Darkness. Moreover, if you enter the dungeon entrance located in the Forest of Eternal Darkness, you’ll be transported to the first floor of Plainevelt Dungeon, which is the town.」

Most of them seem confused by the explanation just now.

Having said that, I’ve also tried to verify various things over the past few days, but the dungeon’s specifications are so vague that I can only understand it intuitively.

To sum up what we know at this point…

1. If the entrance to Foret Noir continues to be closed, the amount of magic essence absorbed will decrease dramatically and the dungeon may not be able to survive.

2. It is possible to place the entrance to Foret Noir on the top floor of Plainevelt.

3. At that time, a direct connection to the outside is not possible, so an entrance is created in the Forest of Everlasting Darkness.

4. If you pass through the entrance in the Forest of Eternal Darkness, you will be teleported to the Plainevelt town, which is the first floor of Plainevelt Dungeon.

5. If we tamper with the appearance of Foret Noir, it can be seen even from the outside.

For example, if we change the exterior of the dungeon to look like a temple, then a temple will suddenly appear in the Forest of Eternal Darkness.

As expected, it is too difficult to keep the entrance closed due to the nature of dungeons, in which people are lured in to engage in combat to secure the absorption of magic essence. Still, the reason why it hasn’t been a problem until now is probably because it has only been several months after the entrance was closed, and because a considerable amount of dungeon points were continuously used to renovate Foret Noir.

「Aun, isn’t that pretty bad? For scholars who are studying dungeons, it would be more than enough information to conclude that a Dungeon Master is involved in the connection between Foret Noir and Plainevelt. Moreover, the Plainevelt city being on the first floor of the dungeon is likely to be discovered…」

「Yeah, it’s exactly as you say, Nelfie. But there’s a way to hide it because I control the dungeons. People should simply not know that the destination they’ve been teleported to is the Plainevelt City streets. Luckily, the city is quite large, so all I have to do is create a hidden room and set up an entrance to the second floor.」

「In short, does that mean there will be two entrances to the 2nd floor of the Plainevelt Dungeon? But they will still realize that there is some kind of relationship between Plainevelt and Foret Noir…」

「The most important thing is that we don’t want them to find out about the fact that Plainevelt City is the first floor of the dungeon. They will likely realize the existence of a Dungeon Master to some extent, and as long as they don’t know that I am the Dungeon Master, there is no real problem.」

「Certainly……」

「Also, I thought of revealing the connection between these two dungeons from our side first. If I put a sign in the hidden room and write something like “Only those who have cleared the Plainevelt Dungeon can enter beyond”, people won’t think that they are in the Plainevelt City. In short, revealing the secret to some extent makes it easier to hide the most important point.」

「As expected of Aun-sama.」

「In other words, if we strengthen the Plainevelt Dungeon, we can ensure Foret Noir’s safety. So it won’t change what we were planning to do from the start, right? So how should we help with this?」Drake.

「Fufufufu… it means that Plainevelt is not the only dungeon to be strengthened.」

「Does that mean that Foret Noir will also be strengthened?」

「Yeah. So here’s the main subject… It shall be named “Foret Noir Shadow Dungeon Plan”!!」