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Chapter 125 – Day 17 of the Strategy Life
In the morning, we start moving southwest.
As usual, Ka-Ryu, who is on my back, is amazed by the demonic land.
“You can’t see anything, and yet you understand so well.”
“Even though I can’t see, I can still sense something strange. It’s even scary to think that if I had all the parts of my visual system, I would be able to see.”
“If you had all the parts, would you be able to see?”
“Of course, I would. This body is nothing but a pile of dirt. They must be buried somewhere.”
“But we don’t have the technology to move it.”
“Sigh, if only there were a dwarf engineer…”
A dwarf. Park, the magic tool craftsman who was here a hundred years ago, was a dwarf, but he’s already turned to bones.
Whoosh!
Hel’s arrow pierced a bird-like monster flying in the sky.
I ran and caught the monster’s leg as it spiraled down. It spread its wings and was about five meters long. It was a desert eagle.
“Did a desert monster get blown all the way here?”
“Probably by a tornado. It was already staggering. It’s a miracle that it’s still alive. It’ll be eaten eventually. We must eat it for its own good.”
Hel jumped down from Lipa’s flying broomstick and said proudly.
“All right, we have breakfast, so let’s take a break!”
Everyone plucked the feathers from the desert eagle and held them over the fire, waiting for the fat to drip down. The bones were used to make bird soup.
“What a luxurious meal. Do you always eat like this?”
Ka-Ryu asked. I had questions of my own, but since Ka-Ryu often seemed confused, I decided to ask as much as I could.
“Yes. We eat wild plants and monsters that we hunt in the demonic land. We tried to plant a field, but it was too difficult.”
“With monsters everywhere, that would be impossible… You’d have to create an enclosed environment.”
“Like a floating island?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“But we don’t have that technology anymore.”
“Then what about a dungeon?”
“A dungeon… Come to think of it, is that a dungeon egg in that leather bag?”
I showed Ka-Ryu the leather bag.
“It’s useless. I can’t tell what it is now. But if it’s a hybrid creature of a snake and a slime, then it’s definitely from a dungeon.”
Suddenly, Ka-Ryu said something important.
“So dungeons are monsters, after all?”
“…It depends on what you consider the difference between life and death, but dungeons originally started as dwarf ruins.”
“So the technology is older than Midgard?”
“Yes, much older. It’s a story from the world of mythology. The technicians of Midgard deciphered this mythology and somehow created what is called the ‘dungeon egg.’ The ones outside Midgard are also artificial dungeons. They’re far from the real thing, but they’re easier to handle. Is this something you dug up?”
“It’s something that one of the P.J.s left behind, and I took it with me when I became Lord.”
“I haven’t met the P.J.s, so I don’t know.”
I explained to Ka-Ryu that adventurers went to the demonic land 100 years ago, rode the giant magic beast, and went to Midgard.
While we were gnawing on the meat of the desert eagle, Ka-Ryu looked up at the sky. She couldn’t see the blue sky or the white clouds, but she seemed to sense the air of the demonic land.
“We’re really going down pathless paths, aren’t we?”
I ran ahead, often using my back fist to knock away monsters and rocks and cut down branches that got in my way.
“Sorry. Is it shaking?”
“No, it’s not that. I just realized there’s no path…”
“It’s all underground. There used to be a ring road, right? Lute showed me on the map.”
“That’s right. There was a road system in Yggdrasil. It was run by a group that used earth magic, but they lost their power after Midgard was moved to the Dungeon.”
The demonic land has its own history, and Midgard has its own history.
“Huh? What’s that huge rock?”
Ka-Ryu pointed to a sleeping Guardian Spider.
“That’s the magic machine that protected Midgard, right?”
“Does it still work?”
“Yes, it will attack if you have a weapon. Even Hel hides her crossbow when she passes through here.”
“I see. The monsters from the Colosseum were captured by the Guardian Spiders when they escaped.”
“But Makyo can defeat them with a single blow. That’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?”
Chel interrupted our conversation as we ran.
“One punch? I can’t believe it.”
“It’s nothing to show off. Only when necessary.”
“Is that true?”
“For Makyo, the common sense of 1,000 years ago is the same as the common sense of today.”
With that, Chel started to run ahead.
“Kyoeeeeeeee!” The voice of an imp could be heard. Soon, the swamp would come into view.
Before that, we passed through an excavation site.
Rocks and monster corpses fell from above, but the ruins were intact.
“According to Lute’s map, it looks like there used to be a large colosseum here.
I checked the rough map.
“Is this the Colosseum of Arl Verona? We have been moving fast! We were in the north this morning…”
Ka-Ryu, who couldn’t see it, seemed surprised.
“Huge monster bones are often found in the swamp.”
“I bet. It was a lively city. It’s my hometown…”
“Perfect. It’s not far from our base.”
“It’s mostly buried in the hills, so if you remember any notable buildings, let me know. We’ve just excavated what looks like the remains of a gate.”
Hel explained briefly.
“A gate… That brings back memories. It must be the remains of the Magic Dome.”
I don’t know what the Magic Dome is, but it seems to hold memories for Ka-Ryu, so I’ll ask her about it later.
Passing through the ruins, along the edge of the swamp, and through a field of dormant flowers and clumps of razor grass and bendgrass, we reach our familiar home. The slope leading up from the swamp is littered with dead branches, but the cave seems undamaged.
“I thought we’d have to dig out some more debris and mud, but it doesn’t look like there’s much damage this time.”
Jennifer looked around the cave. The unused magic circle room in the back seemed to be in the same condition. We’ll call it the transfer room and use it to transport flour to Midgard one day.
“The ham is safe!”
Chel cut the ham and immediately started making sandwiches.
Everyone put down their luggage and gathered around the campfire to eat lunch.
“We’re back!”
Chel said without a trace of her accent. She must have meant it. She had returned to her homeland of Meiju, the kingdom of the demons, only to immediately get caught up in dealing with a giant magical beast. Maybe she had finally settled down.
It was the same for everyone.
The northern base was in the same cave as the Well, but it had an underground lake and glowing mushrooms, which gave it a different atmosphere.
Everyone rested and calmed down. The attack by the giant magical beast had been an emergency, and their bodies were still tense.
There was no sign of any monsters, and the evening passed without incident.
“I think I’ll clean the bathtub and take a bath…”
Ka-Ryu was in the middle of casting a spell with Hel. It would be fine without her staying by my side the whole time.
I went to the swamp and rearranged the broken stones to rebuild the bath. I interrupted the flow of water and wrapped my fist in fire magic to warm it. The small crabs I boiled will make a nice snack later.
When the water was just right, I jumped in with a splash.
“Ugh!”
My circulation gradually improved, and the accumulated fatigue melted away.
“She mentioned she needed parts… Dwarves, huh…”
I remembered Ka-Ryu’s words.
If we could excavate the golem parts from the ruins and attach Ka-Ryu’s eyes with the help of a dwarf technician, the differences from 1,000 years ago would become much clearer.
Normalize relations with the Elf Kingdom, invite the Dwarf Technicians, transport flour and other food supplies within three months, and establish trade with Cliff Garuda and the Meiju Kingdom. I’ll ask Ka-Ryu and start excavating the ruins.
“There is so much to do. We really need more people, don’t we?”
I asked Hel and the others who were gathered around the campfire in their night clothes.
Chel and Jennifer were already asleep in their rooms.
Hel was grinding dried herbs into powder, and Sylvia was sharpening her knife. Lipa had finished swinging his wooden sword and was relaxing.
It seemed as if they would quickly return to their daily routine.
“But if we suddenly open the demonic land, won’t it be filled with corpses?”
“That’s true.”
Hel was right.
“S-should we start by letting the army use the entrance area for training?”
“Let’s surround it with a mound and prepare it. They’ll have to be able to handle slime, at least. Let’s only gather monsters that aren’t too dangerous.”
“However, it’s important to observe the demonic land, so I think they should stay there for a few nights. They won’t be able to understand it in just one day.”
Lipa also seems to be getting the hang of life in the demonic land.
“Yeah, you’re right. Hey, where’s Ka-Ryu?”
“She’s resting.”
Hel pointed to an iron cube placed on a cloth. A faint light, like indirect lighting, came from inside.
“Is she okay in that state?”
“She’s just in a dormant state, not using her magic. She seems to have gotten used to the iron cube. I’m curious about the golem parts.”
“It would be nice if we could invite a dwarf engineer from the Elf Kingdom…”
“J-j-just dig a hole in the northern mountains and kidnap them.”
Sylvia sometimes says extreme things.
“If Makyo would go and bring back the heads of the elders while you’re at it, I’d feel so much better…”
Does Hel also get extreme at night?
“Do you want to use a broom?”
Lipa suggests that I use a flying broom.
“Don’t take it seriously.”
I looked up at the starry sky and thought, “This won’t happen overnight.”
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OMG, lol. The difference in strength between them and regular people is insane. Invite people to the demonic land will become corpses.
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