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TL: ALT
Chapter 184 – Day 15 of Management Life
I woke up early and followed the bloodstains marked on the Sealing Clan’s map.
I didn’t expect to find anything special, but I came across traces of stone markers buried underground. There were also signs of a nearby river, but it was all buried in sand.
Occasionally, flower buds as tall as a person suddenly burst forth from the sand. They opened their large petals and fed on creatures such as Sand Coyotes and thorny lizards that wandered the desert carelessly.
The flowers probably sensed the vibrations of the monsters walking and attacked, but Kahiman and I ran without making a sound, so it wasn’t a problem.
We planned to rest when it got hot, but, surprisingly, there were no sandstorms. We were able to take a break at the military base before noon.
“Kahiman, you’re running faster.”
“I figured out that I just need to keep up the momentum. If I tense up, my speed drops. It’s super easy now.”
“It’s good to be fast and comfortable, right?”
“Yeah. But if someone from outside the demonic land tried it, I think their body would explode.”
“Huh? I wonder…”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
When we tried to eat inside the dungeon, we saw a completely exhausted Chel sitting in front of the campfire.
“Ah, you’re back?”
A pot hung over the fire, warming soup. Skewers were also stuck beside the pot.
“What? Couldn’t you defeat the boss?”
“That thing isn’t the kind of monster you can defeat. Magic didn’t work at all, and channeling magical power was pointless. I couldn’t even stop it.”
Chel seemed utterly crushed by how powerless she was against the Nushis.
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you how to defeat the Nushis? Since magic power spins at high speeds inside their bodies, you just need to change its properties…”
“Makyo, you knew?”
“I thought I told you. Normal magic gets deflected, you know? You have to strike properly with your fist or palm to penetrate and work.”
“You should’ve told me!”
Chel angrily began eating the soup and skewers in front of her.
Since she’d made extra, Kahiman and I got some, too.
“But we only need to know the location of the Nushi’s nest. The goal is to pinpoint where the earth veins flow. Not to defeat the Nushi.”
“No, that’s not good. Nushi have strong territorial instincts. If dungeon dwellers or Midgard monsters invade their territory, they’ll attack immediately. Some Nushi lurk underground, so monster groups can vanish suddenly.”
“Is its territory really that large?”
“It’s huge. Most of the fights I see between large monsters are probably over territory.
I’ve seen several fights between large monsters in the demonic land.
“Huh? I blew away a large monster before the giant magical beast arrived, but it didn’t put up much resistance.”
“Well, maybe it wasn’t a boss. There are big monsters that aren’t bosses. Though it might belong to some boss’s territory.”
“So they’re organized like that?”
“Yeah. At least the big bear and ape bosses mostly stick together with their own kind. The insect types seem scattered, but you’ve seen their breeding season multiple times, right?”
During breeding season, monsters gather en masse.
I spread out the Sealing Clan’s map and had Chel mark the Nushi nests and territories. The Nushi nests were indeed off the path of the giant magical beast.
Most of the forest belonged to the Nushi; only the entrance area seemed to be unclaimed.
“We haven’t explored the northern rocky areas yet, so I can’t say for sure. But even within what we know, we can’t say anything about Nushi living underground. There are lots of caves in the valley, so it might be even more complicated.”
“Looking at it this way, the dungeon dwellers, who stick together by race, and us—who are hard to categorize—are the irregulars in this demonic land.”
“Coexistence is rare.”
“I see.”
After we finished our meal, I taught Chel how to deal with the Nushi. I explained that unless she dampened the momentum of the magic power within their bodies first, her attacks would be deflected.
“You change the magic power like honey from the honey ant.”
“What the hell is a property change? How do you even learn something like that as if it were a secret art passed down through the generations?”
For some reason, Chel was furious.
“People can do anything. Just try.”
Ignoring Chel, who was growling and casting spells, I went to check on Saketsu, who was training in golem creation.
“Makyo-san! Everyone’s out and about, and I’m stuck cooped up here. Sorry about that.”
Saketsu was getting information because this dungeon served as a relay point for everyone.
“No, Saketsu. Just focus on your own tasks. More importantly, are you getting proper rest?”
“Yes, the golems told me to rest at night since I’m just a regular person. They’re also making sure I eat well.”
Apparently, the golems were serving dessert. They were using a kitchen that hadn’t been touched in years.
“I see. That’s good. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I was just checking on things and was about to leave when I was called back.
“Ah, Jennifer-san and Katan found the ‘insect repellent herbs.’ But they’re helping Lipa-kun with training exercises with the dungeon folk.”
“Got it. So they didn’t just dig up the village?”
“If you have a message for anyone, I can pass it along.”
Saketsu seemed to be compiling the information.
“Tell them, ‘If you hit a wall, it’s okay to come back to base for now.’ There’s no point in worrying like Chel does.”
“Understood. Where are Makyo-san and the others headed?”
“We’re heading to the western coast now. Probably to meet up with Hel and Sylvia.”
“Understood.”
Saketsu was diligently taking notes.
“Sorry to have a magic tool engineer doing clerical work like this.”
“Huh…! No, I’m sorry. I can only do so much.”
When I apologized, Saketsu looked incredibly surprised.
“You’re helping us out, so go ahead and work on what you want to do, too.”
“…Yes!”
Saketsu probably hasn’t adapted to the demonic land as well as the other two dwarves because he’s been holed up in the dungeon. I shouldn’t spoil him too much, but it’s not a bad idea to let him find his role in the demonic land.
“All right, let’s go.”
When I called out to Kahiman, he cheerfully responded, “Yeah!”
“Kahiman seems happy.”
“It’s fun when you can do more things. What’s this?”
“It’s called growth. You can feel your body becoming more responsive, right?”
“Yeah. It feels like I was an idiot before.”
Kahiman had lived in hiding in the Elven Kingdom, so it’s not surprising that he spent time learning about his own body. Since coming to the demonic land, he’s also become quite skilled at manipulating magic.
“Just keep it up without dying. Getting cocky will kill you.”
“Yeah.”
We leave the base and start driving west.
The sun was setting, and the temperature was dropping.
A tornado formed in the distance. Sand swirled into the sky, and grains of sand fell down. A large scorpion monster, tossed up by the whirlwind, came crashing down as well. Of course, it was already dead.
Perfect. We used the scorpion’s corpse as a windbreak to create temporary shelter. Since waiting for the sandstorm to stop was boring, Kahiman and I poked holes in the scorpion’s tail and started collecting the venom.
“I heard big monsters don’t usually have very strong venom.”
Kahiman must have learned that from Hel.
“That doesn’t really matter in the demonic land, though. Most of them are poisonous. See? Nothing’s clogging up its digestive tract.”
It probably hadn’t eaten in days.
“Maybe if they’re bad hunters, their poison gets stronger?”
“I see.”
We filled the bottle with as much venom as possible, then took a nap. Gradually, the temperature dropped.
When I opened my eyes, it was completely dark in the desert.
“Let’s run to warm up.”
“Yeah.”
Running to warm up your body, rather than running fast, helps your body start to heat up. Creating a thin membrane of magic between the skin and the outside air prevents the cold from entering. It’s like a slimy membrane.
“Can you do it?”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
When I taught Kahiman, he tried it right away.
“Whoa!”
He was already skilled at manipulating magic, having practiced rotating it in his dantian. He instantly mastered the slime membrane.
His stealth is top-notch. But using stakes and poison as weapons? What exactly is Kahiman becoming? Is he planning something?
“Kahiman’s becoming more and more like an assassin, huh?”
“An assassin… I’m not good at killing people. I’ve never done it.”
Was I worrying for nothing?
“Yeah, I was wondering what to do since assassins aren’t needed in the demonic land.”
“It’s impossible to kill people in the demonic land because they just don’t die.”
Kahiman said this and laughed.
“I want to be someone who sets traps or spots them.”
“Ah, that might suit you.”
“I don’t know what that job’s called.
Probably something like a scout or a tracker.”
“It’s fine. If it doesn’t exist, just make it up.”
“A trapper?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll become the demonic land’s trapper.”
“Trapper, it’s time to work. What’s the wind direction?”
“The wind’s blowing from west to east. It’s probably downwind from the mountains.”
“Any scent?”
Kahiman took a deep breath of the wind.
“I think I smell a hint of charcoal mixed in the sand.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone’s burning a fire?”
“Who?”
“Hel-san and Sylvia-san.”
“Look! I can see the firelight now.”
Golems were gathered around the fire, too. They all looked tired and huddled close to the flames.
“Hey!”
When I called out, they all turned around at once.
“S-see? Just as I thought.”
“Exactly. I knew you would come if we waited. Actually, you were surprisingly quick.”
Sylvia and Hel laughed while eating skewers dripping with meat juices.
“It seems like you knew we were coming.”
“Yeah. While digging up the stone markers, we found an orc skull. Hel thought it might be a patient with the Beast Demon Disease. When we roused it from the underworld to question it, it said, ‘We are the Sealing Clan.’ So, we figured Makyo would eventually show up.”
Ka-Ryu explained in their stead.
“More importantly, our magic is nearly depleted. We didn’t gather many magic stones along the way.”
As magic flowed into the golems, they regained their form and took on distinct human shapes, as if coming back to life.
“I thought the Sealing Clan was mostly in Midgard, but it seems different.”
Hel said this while handing a skewer to Kahiman.
“Seems so. There were lots of bones from patients with the Beast Demon Disease left inside the dungeon.”
“The Beast Demon Disease patients made the magic tools within the Sealing Clan.”
“Th-there was a hierarchy within the clan. The patients with the disease worked like slaves while the others managed them.”
Sylvia handed me skewers of liver and offal.
“So what does that mean?”
“Only the useless administrators were transferred to Midgard. Those who possessed the technology we seek were branded ‘monsters’ and forced over the mountains toward the western port.”
“All we found at the port were bones and ghost-type monsters. We didn’t see any signs of magic circles being used, though.”
“And beyond the port?”
“A cursed sea teeming with ten-thousand-year-old turtles. It’s a decent place to hide from persecution. Their descendants might still be there.”
Life is possible atop a turtle as large as an island.
“Shall we go?”
“””Let’s go.”””
Our destination was decided.
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