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TL: ALT
Chapter 141 – Day 33 of the Strategy Life
I’ve been in the desert since early morning.
I woke Chel up, put Ka-Ryu on my back, and took off running.
“There were several dungeons in the military base. They were probably used as training grounds and warehouses.”
Based on Ka-Ryu’s testimony, we are searching for the dungeons.
Golems have also appeared in the desert from underground, so we must search carefully, or they may jump out at us.
“Is there a Retaining Mountain inside the military base?”
“Yes, there was one a thousand years ago. But isn’t it buried in the sand now?”
“Since it’s a military base, Satra contractors wouldn’t be able to enter easily, so the Retaining Mountain’s foundation wouldn’t have been moved, would it?”
“The Magic Sealing Clan is involved, so there shouldn’t be any careless construction. Is there anything around it?”
Below the chains is a vast desert. Underground, however, there should be a pyramid-shaped structure resembling the Retaining Mountain.
“No, if I release magic underground, golems will appear, so I’m hesitant. Last time, seven of them appeared, and I panicked.”
When I told Ka-Ryu the truth, she looked up at the sky, trembling.
“They must feel the same way. After all, someone stole seven golem cores at once.”
Ka-Ryu seems to refer to the iron cubes as golem cores.
“That makes sense. Then, let’s dig in as a greeting. Chel, wake up already.”
Yawning, Chel removed her magic-sealing bracelet and cast a water spell on the ground at her feet.
“I’m tired from being made to run all the way here first thing in the morning. Here we go.”
She formed the sand into a sphere, made it float, and threw it far away.
I spread my magic cube wide, created a block of sand, and threw it far away. As we started digging, a sandworm quickly approached us.
“If only we could get it to dig for us…”
“We should have brought Sylvia with us.”
Sylvia and Chel were awake, but when we told them we were going to the desert, they didn’t seem interested in coming with us.
Chel sighed deeply and thrust five flames from the ground, impaling the sandworm. The sandworm’s body burned, and a foul odor wafted through the air.
“Killing a monster you can’t eat makes me feel like I’m missing out.”
Since it was still early morning and the temperature was low, active sand coyotes and desert salamanders approached. However, they were driven away by the sandworm’s foul odor.
We were just digging in the sand dunes and wouldn’t kill them unless they got in the way.
The work was tedious. Even after digging a large hole, the sand kept flowing in, slowing our progress. Chel had no choice but to dig while using water magic to solidify the sand. It was a tedious task, but for the sake of the dungeon, we gradually widened and deepened the hole.
As we took a break in the shadow of the dune and drank water, a golem suddenly appeared and began scooping up the sand, but it didn’t seem like it was going to attack us. Instead, it seemed more interested in Ka-Ryu, who was behind us.
“I am Ka-Ryu, a knight of Yggdrasil and keeper of time. I would like to inspect the dungeon inside the base. I request your permission!”
Hearing these words, the golem placed its hands on its chest and responded.
“Is that okay?”
“It seems fine.”
Ka-Ryu nodded. Having Ka-Ryu present alone caused such a change in their behavior. Certainly, from the perspective of golems who had been underground for so long, we were just suspicious strangers who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The golem entered the wall of sand.
“No, it’s difficult for us to enter the sand because we have physical bodies…”
As I said this, the sand around the golem swirled and flew out in small whirlwinds. Several whirlwinds passed between me and Chel.
Looking back, I saw that the whirlwinds outside the hole had grown into a sandstorm that covered the desert sky. Were the golems causing the sandstorm?
“Makyo, we’re moving forward.”
A passageway formed in the direction the lead golem was heading. The walls and ceiling seemed to be made of solid sandstone. We could proceed without armor.
“Makyo, it might be better not to use magic too much. There’s something buried inside the rock.”
“You have good eyes, Chel. It’s probably some kind of device for measuring magic power.”
At first, it was difficult to discern, but there were small holes in the sandstone walls, and a glow resembling magic stones could be seen. When I had used sonar magic to scan the ground earlier, it had seemed to be just rock. Perhaps I had damaged the measuring device inside the rock, though. It made sense that the golems were attacking us.
“I might have done something wrong. Ka-Ryu, tell the golems I’m sorry.”
“We don’t know yet. Besides, Makyo is the current master of this demonic land. There’s no need to apologize.”
The passage led to a spacious room. Perhaps it was part of a buried building.
In the center of the room, a door stood vertically. There was nothing supporting it, so I had no idea how it was standing.
“All dungeon entrances are the same.”
Chel exhaled deeply in relief.
“Is that so? I’ve never seen one before.”
“Did you bring the key?”
I took a doughnut-shaped stone with a lightning bolt pattern engraved on it from my pocket.
“This is it, right?”
There was a round, donut-shaped indentation in the center of the door.
“What? I have to open it?”
The golem and Ka-Ryu looked at me.
“It doesn’t matter who opens it. If it’s the master key, it should open. Give it a try.”
I did as I was told and inserted the stone into the indentation.
“Put some magic into it and turn it a little.”
As Chel instructed, I tried, and the door glowed blue and white, then disappeared, leaving only the keystone behind. In its place was a black passageway.
“Is this a dungeon?”
“That’s right.”
I went around to the back of the door, but there was only the frame where the door had been. It seemed that the space only existed within the frame.
While I was observing, the golem Ka-Ryu and Chel entered the dungeon.
“Wait a minute! Don’t leave me behind! This is my first time in a dungeon!”
“Makyo, you’re being too scared.”
“I was scared at first, too. I didn’t understand subspace either.”
“I still don’t understand subspace either.
The golem kept moving further down the black corridor. In the distance, a sound like an alarm could be heard, but it didn’t seem to bother them.
Suddenly, the passageway ended, and we emerged into a spacious area surrounded by sandstone. It was probably larger than the castle hall I saw in the royal capital.
Guardian spiders lined the walls, and humanoid golems appeared to be performing maintenance.
“Could those be the guardian spiders I blew away?”
“No,”
Replied the golem guiding us.
“You can talk?”
“If I can speak, then they can too. More importantly, are there any golems with eyes?”
Among the golems performing maintenance, there was one with a magic stone embedded in its head. Some had iron arms, while others had iron wheels for feet. Most of their bodies appeared to be made of sand.
“Maybe that’s what they’re using to see. It looks like golems have eyes.”
“I see. I’d like to get one, if possible. Could you attach one for me?”
“Unfortunately, there are no magic engineers left.”
“I see…”
I guess I’ll have to bring in a modern engineer after all.
In addition to the Guardian Spiders, there were other large, bird-like machines with wings and iron structures as big as houses. They showed no hostility, though, and didn’t seem to care about us.
In the back, there were rows of potted plants taller than us. There were many pots, which seemed to be used as partitions.
The golem passed through the gaps between the pots and guided us.
“Director, I have brought the Knight of Yggdrasil.”
In front of the pots was a desk and a chair. A golem about the size of a child was carving a stone tablet.
“Ah, I see. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken. I hope the magic circle isn’t dirty. Can you hear me?”
The child-sized golem began to speak.
“I can hear you. Everything is fine,” Ka-Ryu replied.
Ka-Ryu replied.
“Then that’s good. I am Gussenbach, the dungeon director in charge of this military base dungeon.” Unfortunately, there are no living beings in this dungeon. Only those whose souls have been transferred into golems remain. Those who were cryogenically preserved have likely perished due to repeated magic depletion.”
“Do the technicians performing maintenance have free will?”
“I don’t know. Some of them ascend to heaven without warning. There are probably fewer than 30 beings with free will left in this dungeon.
Could the population of the demonic land have just increased? That depends on whether you count golems as people. In any case, there seem to be beings capable of communication.
“Are you the dungeon master?”
Chel asked Gussenbach.
“The Dungeon Master died long ago. The position remains vacant. You’re a living being, aren’t you? Did a demon drift here?”
“Director, there are two living beings here, and their magic power readings are abnormal. Also, the knight appears to be serving as the Keeper of Time.”
The golem who guided us reported this to Gussenbach.
“Huh? Where did you two come from?”
“I’m from the Kingdom of Estinia.
“I’m from the Kingdom of Meiju.”
“I was resurrected as a golem by Makyo, the current lord of this demonic land. I was given the role of Keeper of Time.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been living in the dungeon for so long that I’m unsure of the current situation. How many years have passed since the military used weapons? Or maybe the botanical garden got out of hand. No, the genetic research institute’s invasion would also work.”
It seems like a lot has happened in the demonic land.
“I don’t know, but it’s been 1,000 years since the transfer from Midgard.”
“Then what happened to Yggdrasil?”
“It’s gone, and it’s now known as the demonic land. It used to be part of the Kingdom of Estinia, and now I am the lord of the demonic land.”
“Huh? What?”
He seemed quite confused, so Chel and I carefully explained the current situation in the Demon Land to Gussenbach.
“I see…”
Gussenbach listened to our story and seemed to think about it for a while.
“I must report this to everyone. We also need to decide on a plan for the base—or rather, the dungeon. Please wait a moment. Is that all right?”
“Sure, but could you give me the parts for the golem’s eyes?”
“If that’s all you want, take them.”
Gussenbach immediately had someone prepare the golem’s eyes and gave them to Ka-Ryu.
We made plans to meet again later and left the dungeon.
“I wonder what will happen…”
“At least we got Ka-Ryu’s eye, so that’s good, right?”
“There seem to be a few more dungeons left.”
“Are dungeons just a single door like that? Maybe we missed some.”
“Never mind that. I’m hungry.”
As the sun set over the desert, we ran, chatting aimlessly.
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