Dungeon Battle, Fierce Fighting

"There are pitfalls right at the entrance?!"

"Send the Goblins ahead! Find the pitfalls by stepping on them!"

On the [White Trial] side, Haku's retainers in charge of offense were frantically dealing with the traps.

The pitfalls got them right from the start. Several had already been swallowed up.

Normally, if this weren't a dungeon, they could just pour in enough bodies to fill the holes with corpses, but unfortunately in a Dungeon Battle, corpses are absorbed immediately.

Still, once they identified where the pitfalls were, they could just avoid them and advance.

"Alright, pitfall locations identified! Resume the invasion!"

"Tch! Wait, a Minotaur fell! … Guh, skewered and out, instant death!"

"Why?! That spot should've been fine since the Goblins just passed through there…!"

But [Ordinary Cave] had pitfalls that didn't trigger for Goblins, only for Minotaurs and Lizardmen.

"Pitfalls that choose their targets…?! Something like that should use quite a bit of DP… Are they trying to decide the battle right from the start?"

"Aah! Another Minotaur! Eleven remaining! Lizardmen down to thirty too! Do your job as a scout properly, Misha!"

"I'm telling you, the Goblins already went through there!"

Another Minotaur fell, reducing their numbers further.

In a different location, a platform that two Goblins and a Lizardman had stepped on simultaneously collapsed into a pitfall.

Haku didn't miss the moment the platform collapsed.

"… I understand now. The reason the Goblins didn't fall… I'm certain of it, it's distinguishing them by weight."

"I see, if the conditions are that rough, DP consumption would be reduced and they could prepare a large number… They've thought this through."

"The floors above the pitfalls should be hollow underneath. It'll take time, but advance while tapping the ground and checking the sound."

"Yes ma'am! Goblins, move out!"

 

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"Crap, a malfunction. The Goblins didn't trigger the pitfall… I made that area while sleep-deprived, so the floor thickness isn't uniform… Ugh, my mistake. Guess it wasn't thin enough."

"Ah, look Kehma. A Minotaur fell, you know?"

"Seriously? Hey Niku, the pitfalls are doing great work."

"I-I'm glad I could be of help!"

On the [Ordinary Cave] side, these were unexpected results.

 

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"We've broken through the first floor of the enemy dungeon! … On the way, we took damage from persistent ambushes. We're running low on Goblins."

"The swords that shot out and skewered them when they tried to open the wooden door were brilliant."

"Oh my, I'd like to try using that in our dungeon… How's the defense going?"

"Enemy forces have reached the third floor! … The fire traps are holding back some of the rats!"

The fire trap was literally a trap that spewed fire.

This time, it was set to shoot flames at fixed intervals. If it constantly spewed fire and completely blocked the way, the trap would malfunction and become useless, so it couldn't stop them entirely.

"… Since the opponents are rats, our valuable Lizardmen aren't very useful against them. How about our offense?"

"The enemy's second floor is… a labyrinth!"

"Hmph. Challenging the [White Labyrinth] with a labyrinth, are they? Split the forces and search."

Of course, unlike when used against adventurers, labyrinths weren't very effective in dungeon battles.

They could map it out and give directions from the command center based on that.

"Muu, there seem to be Golems wandering around. Groups of five, and… b-bows?! The Golems are split into vanguard and rearguard, with the rearguard providing covering fire with bows! The Goblins don't stand a chance!"

"Tch, mere Golems imitating adventurers? How bold of them. We have no choice but to respond with Lizardmen… Have the Goblins act as sentries and send the Lizardmen, then Minotaurs, forward in that order."

"Uwaaah?! The enemy weapons are too strong! The Lizardmen's swords were cut through?! T-this Golem squad… all three vanguards are equipped with magic swords!"

"What did you say? … Golems with magic swords?!"

Even if Golems were DP-efficient, they weren't strong enough to warrant equipping them with magic swords.

Magic swords used up quite a lot of DP as it was, so they were better given to stronger, more mobile monsters.

"More importantly, it's been nothing but Golems this whole time. Does he really like Golems that much?"

"… Maybe he has some sort of attachment to them? But that kind of sentimentality will be his downfall. Merge the forces and pincer them with Minotaurs!"

"Yes! … H-huh?! W-wait a moment, the map is acting strange, here, why is there a wall there?!"

"…?!"

They compared the map to the monster's field of view, but the path that should have been there was gone.

While they were confused by the change, the unit that had been trying to merge was completely wiped out.

"No way, a [Transforming Labyrinth]…! That's impossible, there's no way this scale could fit within 100,000 DP!"

"They're probably designating only key points, pinpointing specific spots. If that's the case, 50… no, 40,000 DP could manage it. But most likely, this is the last big trick up their sleeve."

Haku was impressed by this method of operation.

Using a small amount of DP extremely efficiently. Truly excellent. Though it was provisional, this was a Dungeon Battle premised on using the same amount of DP. What determined victory or defeat was how you used it.

Using less DP to shave away more of your opponent's DP, that was the nature of this fight.

If they really fought using only the same amount of DP, could she beat Kehma…? No, she could tell that Kehma was definitely the superior one.

"Fufu, the pity is that this is only a 100,000 DP battle."

Yes, if this had been not just 100,000 but 1,000,000 DP, the fundamental difference in fighting strength could have been overcome. But it was only 100,000. From Haku's perspective, no matter how she looked at it, this could only be a short-term battle.

 

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The mass-produced Golem Blades equipped by the vanguard Golems. Only the blade portion was iron while the rest was stone, a modest cost-saving measure.

By doing this, multiple Golem Blades could be made from a single iron ingot. The stone was free since it came from excavated waste material.

I made the bows and arrows haphazardly too. The arrows also used scrap material. What I spent on those was… if I had to say, labor and Mana Potion (barrel).

Also, normally these weapons would be Golems too, so they'd show up on the map as a squad rather than a party, but by making them Golem + Equipment, they weren't unnecessarily displayed on the map. Quietly convenient.

And while watching the map, I moved the wall Golems in spots that were complete blind spots from the enemy's perspective.

"Alright, wall Golem moved without being spotted. Huge! Success!"

"That's… the thing Niku punched and destroyed the other day, right? It could move? Even though it doesn't have legs?"

"It's a new model. I put tires on the bottom so it can roll around."

By the way, the price of this self-propelled wall Golem was, surprisingly, 0 DP. Made by hand using scrap materials. Since it was only meant to operate inside the dungeon, it didn't even use a magic stone.

The keyword was "eco-friendly."

 

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By the time they broke through the labyrinth, [White Trial]'s side had also been conquered up to the fourth floor. There were still over 150 rats remaining. Perhaps because they were receiving instructions, they cleverly avoided the fire traps. Still, they'd managed to reduce quite a few by stationing Lizardmen to defend at the stair room.

"To think we'd have to go down once and then climb back up… I thought the third floor was a labyrinth, but it was actually a grand labyrinth spanning two floors."

"Rather than an adventurer, it might be good to have him work as an advisor for our dungeon…"

And beyond the labyrinth was an ascending staircase… Two floors' worth. If they considered the original entrance as floor 1… would this be floor 0? Or maybe negative floor 1?

"… I'm not sure what to call it."

"Using something underhanded like this in such an obscure spot… I'm designating it Upper Floor 1!"

"Yes ma'am, understood, Upper Floor 1… there's a door!"

Through the monster's field of view, that door looked extremely sturdy.

And right next to it was an ostentatious sign.

"… What does it say?"

"Let's see… it appears to be a riddle. I'll read it aloud. 'The answer is Easy. Do not overthink this. State the method to divide one silver coin among three people.'"

"Divide one silver coin among three people…? … Um, if you convert a silver coin to copper coins, that's 100, so, um…"

"I've got it. First, exchange one silver coin for 100 copper coins. Then, distribute one coin at a time to each of the three people, and whoever did the dividing keeps the remainder as a handling fee."

For a Dungeon Core with Haku's experience, a riddle of this level was child's play.

"As expected of Ojou-sama!"

"With that, there's certainly no room for dissatisfaction."

"A perfect answer."

"So there you have it! Give up! Know that a riddle of this level won't work on Dungeon Core No. 89-sama!"

"Wrong. Please leave."

""""Eh?!""""

An awkward silence fell over [White Trial]'s Core Room.

Just like that, the entire room's floor became a pitfall… and where they fell to was the entrance floor.

"Why? My answer should have been perfect…!"

"L-let's calm down for a moment?! Look, we didn't send all our forces into the room so we can still answer! Ah, damage report?!"

"Ah, um, o-one Minotaur sprained its ankle, can't return to combat… Two went straight into the pitfall and died instantly… For Lizardmen, three are safe. Goblins… um, no good! Remaining forces: 6 Minotaurs, 12 Lizardmen… 3 of which are separated, and 8 Goblins!"

Gritting her teeth, Haku pressed her temples with her hands while squeezing out orders.

"Have the surviving Lizardmen help evacuate the Minotaur with the sprained ankle… Kuh, to fail a riddle I was so confident about… How humiliating…! Stuff that Minotaur with the sprained ankle and display it so I never forget this disgrace…"

"O-Ojou-sama, let's try again, this time with just Goblins! If we get it right, we can send in all our forces!"

"… S-such a pathetic display… No. 695-chan is watching too, you know?!"

"This is a time when we must endure…"

"T-the fourth floor has been breached! The rats' movements are refined, we can't catch them!"

"Ojou-sama…!"

Chloe's unspoken message was clear: there was no more time.

Haku, because she was excellent, made her decision.

"Understood… I will deliberately, de-li-be-rate-ly! Here! Send the Goblins!"

 

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"Distribute according to contribution in acquiring it!"

"Wrong."

"Make the remainder party shared property and divide the rest equally among everyone!"

"Wrong."

"… Split the silver coin into three pieces and give each person one!"

"Wrong."

"Two of these three people are slaves or equivalent, so one person takes it all and doesn't distribute!"

"Wrong."

"Entrust it to a fair third party to distribute!"

"Wrong."

Oh my, oh my, they've fallen for it splendidly.

As expected, from the second time onward they started sacrificing one Goblin at a time… Having a weight requirement to qualify for answering would've been interesting too.

"Hey Kehma, this riddle…"

"Ah, Rokuko. You're the one who got it right in three seconds. You're amazing, seriously impressive. You didn't even listen to the end of the question."

"B-because they said the answer right there! But, for Ane-sama to end up like this…"

"Smart people fall into these loops precisely because they're smart. Your Nee-chan's pretty damn smart, isn't she? I think it's actually impressive how she keeps coming up with all these answers."

While glancing over at them, I steadily sent the rats, now much fewer in number and easier to control, deeper into the enemy dungeon.

… Maybe I won't even need to use my hidden ace?

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"—Wrong."

"Gohff!"

"Ojou-samaaaa!"

Haku had fallen completely into the trap.

No matter how much she thought and thought, wrong, wrong, wrong…!

"Kuh, how terrifying… To think they'd launch such a psychological attack in a Dungeon Battle…"

"Um, Ojou-sama… Is this really a [Gate of Wisdom]…?"

Gate of Wisdom. It was a special trap that tested the wisdom of those who came to the dungeon.

It was an extremely sturdy door, but once the riddle was solved, anyone could pass through.

Haku had also been attempting to solve this riddle with that assumption.

"… Wha, y-you have evidence for that, don't you? Chloe."

"Yes. First, it should be impossible to exceed Ojou-sama's wisdom. That's one point. And then… considering the DP consumption so far, is there really enough DP remaining to install a [Gate of Wisdom]?"

"…!!"

Indeed, just earlier when exiting the labyrinth, Haku herself had said it. "This is probably the last big trick."

A [Gate of Wisdom] cost at least 30,000 DP at minimum. The simpler the question, the sturdier the door became, but the more difficult the question, the more fragile the door became and the more DP was required.

That was a very significant setup for a 100,000 DP battle.

"So that means… this is…"

"There's a possibility it's just an ordinary door meant to be destroyed… Or perhaps, a pitfall activates whenever an answer is given in front of the door."

What a despicable trap that would be. No matter how many answers they gave, even if the riddle's answer was correct, it was meaningless. The moment they stopped to think there, they had already stepped into the quagmire.

T-terrifying… Kehma, what is going on inside that man's head…!

"W-what an advanced and cowardly trap!! This is just unfair!!"

"Moreover, if we hadn't realized it, we would have kept falling for it over and over…"

"Uu, but the one being deceived is at fault. I shall meekly accept my defeat here. Fufu, however, you saw through it well, Chloe. As expected of my right hand, you splendidly supported me when I had fallen into tunnel vision."

"I am deeply honored to receive your praise."

"Um…"

At that moment, the pink-haired werecat girl, Misha, timidly raised her hand.

Among these five retainers, she was the person furthest removed from riddle-solving.

Simply put, she was an idiot.

"What is it, Misha? I've already decided to destroy this door by force. Are you going to interfere?"

"No, perish the thought! It's just, that, maybe the answer is… 'Easy'? I thought…"

"Huh? … Easy? W-what are you talking about, Misha? Ah, yes, it's certainly easy, plain and simple. This trap has no answer!"

"N-no, that's not it, um, but, didn't it say 'The answer is Easy' at the very beginning?!"

The air froze.

"N… no way… no, that can't… Hahaha…"

"N-no way Misha, th-that's… not…"

"A-hahaha, what are you saying, Misha-san…"

Their voices were strained.

The other retainers began to think the same thing: "Could that actually be it?"

And so did Haku. And Chloe.

"… Chloe. Just once more, we'll try it…"

"… Yes…"

If this was the correct answer… her heart would break. Steeling herself, Haku personally gave the final answer.

"Correct."

—It broke.