NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
After the Great Unification War led by the First Emperor, the Tumainist Empire was established, uniting the nations that divided the continent under the empire’s flag.
With the noble spirit of the Emperor, humanity’s wars finally faded into the annals of history.
Entering an era of peace without war, humanity underwent many changes.
First, by cultivating the black soil, the agricultural society stabilized, naturally increasing food production.
Moreover, thanks to advancements in papermaking, literacy spread, and newspapers were no longer the exclusive domain of the nobility.
Children received basic education at schools, and those with talent learned magic and swordsmanship.
Sick citizens of the empire were treated in hospitals, and with the royal family leading urbanization, humanity had undeniably progressed further in time.
However, rapid development often came with side effects.
As food production increased, the population surged, and as if it were a cruel joke of fate, an unexpected famine struck the agricultural society.
Furthermore, the hasty urbanization led to rampant crime throughout the empire.
As some cities declared themselves free cities and promoted trade, tenant farmers bound to their fiefs often fled to these free cities in desperate attempts.
These cities not only bred fugitives and crime but also became breeding grounds for the Black Plague, which caused more casualties than the Unification War.
Slums where beggars and the impoverished gathered were indeed cesspools, teeming with rats, which directly spread the Black Plague.
With humanity’s own issues already overwhelming, the military had to wage war against the monsters that crossed over from the Magic Realm.
A chaos worse than war. At this rate, it was evident the empire wouldn’t even make it through its first hundred years since its founding.
If a significant problem arose, somewhere there would be a hidden solution.
The answer lay in the 72 dungeons.
The miraculous cure for the plague, once deemed incurable, surprisingly came from dungeon flora.
Upon hearing this news, the impoverished from the slums flocked to the dungeons, turning it into an opportunity for their jobs.
The dungeons served as both a solution to the problem and an unparalleled blessing for humanity.
The byproducts from the dungeons became a groundbreaking cornerstone for humanity’s advancement.
At this current point, with the wars concluded, the empire turned its eyes to the dungeons.
When humanity unites, a common enemy is bound to emerge. If none exists, they must create one to distract themselves.
The royal family understood that a common enemy was necessary to maintain humanity’s unity.
Moreover, if that enemy promised significant benefits, hesitation was out of the question.
While the empire’s enemies were said to be the monsters and the Magic Realm, this was false.
The real enemy, as proclaimed by the military, was the 72 dungeons.
The origin of the Magic Realm lies with the monsters, and their origin is the dungeons.
The dungeons are indeed the lairs of all evil, birthing the monstrous Magic Realm.
Thus, humanity’s final task rests within the 72 dungeons.
With the royal family’s declaration, humanity’s will was unified, allowing the empire to reap both justification and benefits.
Even when tackling the dungeons, new ones would emerge. This signified unlimited resources for humanity.
After declaring the 72 dungeons as enemies, the empire’s military transformed into the Suppression Command.
They revamped all existing conventional weapons designed for human combat, mass-producing weapons specifically for monster extermination.
Roving knights no longer sought lords but dungeons instead.
Soldiers were no longer mobilized for war but deployed to dungeons.
Mercenaries no longer chose employers but picked dungeons.
Nobles, knights, soldiers, mercenaries, and beggars alike dove into the 72 dungeons, capturing the attention of all citizens of the empire.
Thus began the era of dungeon raids.
In this changed era, the empire’s Suppression Command actively took part in the endeavors.
Every time we conquered another dungeon, the strength and unity of humanity grew even stronger.
As time passed, the Empire poured their heart and soul into conquering dungeons.
But despite numerous attempts, there were seven labyrinths that were absolutely impossible to conquer.
Outlier dungeons. The Empire’s shame. Humanity’s puzzle.
People referred to those dungeons as The Seven Lairs.
We couldn’t just leave The Seven Lairs as an unknown territory forever.
“The Four Heroes will conquer the untouched The Seven Lairs!”
The Suppression Command set out to challenge The Seven Lairs, led by the Four Heroes.
With all four Heroes mobilized, it was a challenge that had to succeed.
No matter how many humans deemed The Seven Lairs impossible to conquer.
Some said that if we succeeded in the conquest, humanity would take one step—no, one leap—higher from that moment on.
“The Four Heroes did it! They conquered The Seven Lairs!”
“The Shadow Beast of Ban-Go has been slain!”
“Long live the Four Heroes! The Empire has succeeded! Humanity has succeeded!”
The grand conquest of The Seven Lairs could indeed be called a great success.
Moreover, all four Heroes returned safely, laying the groundwork for the next conquest of The Seven Lairs.
Bam!
“Why the hell did they have to die!”
In the Empire’s Suppression Command.
Even though an emergency meeting of bureaucrats and generals had been called, Commander Macdmil slammed the round table without a care.
No general present could fault Macdmil’s rampage.
In fact, they all shared the same sentiment and wished to express their anger like Macdmil.
“Balmunk… how did he end up dead…”
The valiant Warrior Balmunk died suddenly.
The hero who had safely returned after conquering The Seven Lairs had perished in the newly reborn The Seven Lairs.
The shock was doubled since it wasn’t during a conquest attempt, but a sudden death.
When they tried to cover up the incident, it was already front-page news and everyone in the Empire knew.
Macdmil was truly flabbergasted.
For the revival of humanity, shouldn’t everyone unite for the Empire?
Even in the face of such a great cause, were they really putting their trivial interests first?
“Someone say something. We’re all gathered here for that reason, right? A hero has died. A hero of the Empire who is celebrated by the people. And in the newly conquered The Seven Lairs at that.”
“…”
“Damn. The noise from these pigs is about to become tinnitus.”
“We must conquer the new The Seven Lairs.”
At one general’s words, everyone’s attention turned to him.
“What is it that we’re most concerned about right now? It’s the people’s gaze and their anxieties, isn’t it? It’s the chaos caused by the hero’s death that’s the real issue. The current situation speaks to that.”
Murmurs and nods of agreement.
Reading the room, the general spat out his thoughts with fervor.
“Do you know what type of stories and plays are trending in society these days? Revenge dramas. The masses are thirsty for revenge. Aren’t we in a similar situation? If we present a satisfying revenge to the Empire’s people, everything will be resolved.”
“What nonsense is this… Are you saying it’s just for revenge?”
“No, it’s a justification. It’s merely a justification that would be nice to have. Now, let me ask you, when is a dungeon at its weakest?”
As if it were obvious, anyone would pinpoint the moment it is newly reborn.
“Are you saying that since it’s a new dungeon, we should strike now?”
“That’s not a good enough reason. Sure, new dungeons have many flaws, but we lack information. General, the opponent is The Seven Lairs. What do you think was the reason we succeeded in conquering Ban-Go’s Shadow?”
“It’s true this gap is concerning, but we lack information. General, our opponent is The Seven Lairs. What do you think is the reason we succeeded in the assault on Bango’s Abyss?”
“The advantage of information.”
“While the other The Seven Lairs constantly change in preparation for assaults, Bango’s Abyss maintained the same structure with traps and monsters.”
“They just didn’t say it, but everyone here knows it was easy due to the dungeon’s poor condition.”
“We know very little about the new The Seven Lairs. The only thing we know for sure is that the boss is an Irregular Death Knight.”
“That’s exactly it. Since the boss is Undead, most of the monsters will be Undead as well. So, could there be another suitable candidate besides the Solar Hero?”
At that, everyone doubted their ears.
“So you’re saying… we should send the Solar Hero?”
“Exactly.”
“Ha!”
The boss is Undead, so let’s send someone who matches that? Such a one-dimensional idea came from the General’s mouth.
Most were dismayed, but those who saw through the General’s true intention had different expressions.
“Now that you mention it, the Solar Hero…”
“Right! Didn’t he awaken the Holy Sword two days ago?”
“That’s correct.”
Wilhelm, the Solar Hero, had owned the Holy Sword but had only possessed it before awakening.
Only the noblest can wield the Holy Sword, and only those who received the Sun God’s revelation can awaken it.
And just two days ago, Wilhelm’s Holy Sword awakened.
The power of the awakened Holy Sword might, to exaggerate a little, send one of The Seven Lairs into the annals of history.
It had already demonstrated its power during the Grand Unification War, leaving no room for doubt.
“The two heroes were the closest of friends. I see the Sun God’s revelation as a blessing for my friend’s revenge.”
Balmunk and Wilhelm were heroes with similar yet different values.
Even though they were of the same faith, their directions of belief diverged. Their ways of expressing it were also the opposite.
Balmunk scorned Wilhelm, who prayed every moment, while Wilhelm frowned at Balmunk’s singular focus on training.
Fighting like that inevitably leads to friendship.
They grew closer and became inseparable friends after owing each other their lives in Bango’s Abyss.
Thus, there was ample room for interpretation that Solari had become the blade of vengeance.
“Everyone knows that Elder Balmunk and Sir Wilhelm were close friends. Some theater company even made a play depicting their camaraderie. What if it were none other than Sir Wilhelm executing that revenge?”
“But sending three heroes will take quite some time. If that dungeon catches wind of our plans, won’t it make things even trickier?”
“True. It’s common knowledge that defense is way easier than offense. If we delay and our movements are read, it’ll ruin the entire assault from the start.”
“Then how about sending in a minimal elite team?”
Forming a large hunting party would inevitably reveal their movements, practically declaring war on the dungeon.
If it’s not a foolish dungeon like Bango’s Abyss, it’s only natural that they’d prepare defenses accordingly.
The dungeon takes advantage of its defensive benefits to repel hunting parties.
The hunting parties leverage the advantage of information to assault the dungeon.
It’s a well-known principle of dungeon raids.
Knowing that, if they formed a large hunting party and leaked information, it could backfire.
Thus, the command’s dungeon raid was split into two approaches.
A large hunting party that could push through even after being read.
A small elite hunting party assembled with a surprise attack in mind.
“Hmm….”
“Mmm.”
The room was in deep thought.
It was implicitly decided that the newly emerged Seven Lairs would be tackled.
Now the dilemma was whether to organize a large-scale hunting party or just a small paladin squad.
“If we consider the possibility of failure, the latter makes more sense. We’ve poured time and money into this, and failure would have massive repercussions.”
“I agree. Besides, if we do fail, how can a small group be covered? We can’t let the people down twice. We should attempt the assault secretly to embrace minimal risks.”
Even the generals who had been silent supported this opinion.
“I heard the new dungeon has undead. Their defenses are weak, and they’re vulnerable to holy power, so I think the likelihood is high. Didn’t they say the Holy Sword was awakened recently? That would be comparable to the hunting party that tackled the Darkness of Bangol, wouldn’t it?”
“I think the same as the general. More importantly, what’s the purpose of Solari’s revelation if it’s not for a friend’s revenge?”
“Ha ha! That’s right! Even the gods are on our side!”
For numerous reasons, everyone’s opinions leaned toward the latter.
Commander McDmeal, who had been coordinating the opinions, made the final call.
“It’s decided then. We will mobilize the paladin squad centered around Sir Wilhelm.”
They believed without a doubt that the newly emerged Seven Lairs would soon be conquered.
*
The skeletal throne in the boss room always made me uncomfortable.
Although Charlotte designed it for me, deep down, I am still human.
“I just can’t get used to this.”
If I were to discard it and replace it with something else, it would render Charlotte’s hard work pointless, so I just put up with it.
I sighed a cold breath and opened a newspaper.
With no internet in my world, I had to kill time reading the newspaper that Charlotte had brought from the outside.
Once I step out, the neighborhoods would be noisy with insects and vampires.
I feel bad for Charlotte, but I simply want to spend some quiet time in a peaceful place.
[The Faithful Hero Balmunk, Falls Alone in the New Seven Lairs!?]
“Wow, that spread fast.”
Or is it that information travels faster in medieval times?
I flipped to the next page with little interest.
Immediately, an event pivotal to the world caught my attention.
“…The awakening of the Holy Sword.”
The hero of Solari, Wilhelm, has awakened the Holy Sword.
Thinking back, I remember when the named NPC Wilhelm awakened the Holy Sword— it was about this time.
It was just a passing NPC line, but I remember every single one of them. After all, I’ve clocked in thirty thousand hours.
“What did he say?”
At first, I didn’t understand the purpose of the revelation. But now, faced with imminent doom, I’ve come to realize.
The timing of that statement coincided with the chapter of Calandas’ invasion.
The awakening of the Holy Sword signifies a revelation from the Sun God.
It directly points to Calandas preparing for the extermination of humanity.
‘That Calandas bastard. The school bully has shown up.’
In the game, clearing the Putrid Cave leading to death is impossible solo.
I must keep Wilhelm alive and rely on his assistance to progress through it.
You’ve fallen behind twice now, you corpse.
My situation is no better than the dungeon boss, and if Calandas’ influence thrives, it’s only going to be disastrous for me.
Wilhelm still doesn’t understand the meaning of the revelation.
But what if I leak information about Calandas’ wicked plot?
“If I play my cards right, I might switch places with the fifth place!”
If I could strategically make off with the Necronomicon while benefiting from this, that would be great. Time to look after Charlotte.