Second Dungeon Battle, Commence

"Yo, Kehma, you ready?"

"Yeah, good to go anytime."

"Kuhahahaha! That's the spirit, human! Hurry up and make your way to me, yeah? Otherwise I'm gonna be bored outta my mind!"

"R-roaring won't do you any good, you know?!"

The day of the dungeon battle. Rokuko and I were on standby in the Master Room.

Niku and Ichika were also waiting with us… Eh? What about the inn? Well, the inn and the whole surrounding area are part of the dungeon, so I'd know if guests showed up. I just needed to teleport someone to the reception or dining hall before they were missed.

Worst case, I had the backup option of having golems handle the service.

This would be quite the marathon with the battle lasting a full day, so I needed to be in peak condition. Considering I'd be sleeping partway through, my beloved pillow was essential… That said, battles between Dungeon Cores who can go without sleep can apparently last for days on end, so a single day is actually considered a short, decisive battle…

"Final confirmation. The battle is one day, twenty-four hours. No offensive from our side, defense only. If I win, I get fifty gold coins, five silver coins, and the other crystal statue. If Kehma wins, I'll give ya enough of [Flame Cavern]'s territory to run a cave through."

"Hey now, you're leaving out the victory condition and the bonus. If I break through the fifth floor… if we reach the sixth floor or beyond, that's my win. And in addition…"

"I ain't forgotten. If ya touch the Dungeon Core on the lowest floor, I'll give ya half of Tsuia Mountain. That good?"

"That's right. Don't forget it, okay? By the way, what floor is your lowest?"

"Hahaha! You an idiot? No way I'd tell ya that. But don't worry, it ain't three digits."

With the conditions confirmed, I checked with Rokuko and the others to see if they were ready.

"Goshujin-sama, the golem squad is ready to go anytime."

"When'd ya even make all these… Erm, we're good to go too."

I'd entrusted golems to both Niku and Ichika. Our main fighting force this time would be the golems. After all, materials were available in unlimited supply… essentially free, so numbers were power. Sending out rats would just be throwing their lives away for nothing.

"Alright, shall we start then?"

"Sure, go ahead—"

… Not exactly inspiring, but that was the signal to start the dungeon battle.

I'm the one who said it, so I can't really complain, but is this really okay?

Anyway, our dungeons' spaces were now connected.

[Flame Cavern]'s entrance at Tsuia Mountain's crater connected to a room on the fourth underground floor of our [Cave of Desires] where adventurers never came.

Since we could connect somewhere other than the entrance, we could hold the dungeon battle without closing the dungeon to visitors… If they could attack us from here in reverse, we'd lose instantly. This starting position was only possible because we could attack one-sidedly.

… By the way, as for the crystal golem, it seems to have been put away in a locked treasure vault, so it's not looking usable.

So then, time to invade using the method I'd been preparing for a while now.

"Alright, Ichika. Open the door."

"Roger～"

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

One week since the agreement. Today was the long-awaited dungeon battle.

When was the last time I did one of these…? Ontentoo tried to remember, then stopped. Now wasn't the time for that.

"Attacking's more my style though," he muttered.

This time was a defensive battle. His first dungeon battle in this format. Humans defending their bases against raids was one thing, but he'd never heard of doing that in a dungeon battle before.

"That guy comes up with interesting ideas."

"112! Am I gonna get a turn too?!"

Obviously reaching the lowest floor would be impossible, but they might unexpectedly breeze through to the fifth floor.

"Alright, get pumped up, Redra!"

"Yeah! I increased the red lizards to ten times the normal amount just for today! The passages are overflowing with red lizards!"

Seeing red lizards crammed not just in the rooms but spilling out into the passages, Ontentoo reflected that maybe he'd summoned too many. But his wife Redra seemed happy, so he decided it was fine.

"… Well, if we're just throwing monsters at each other, this should be about the right number…"

"Alright, shall we start then?"

"Sure, go ahead—"

With the spaces connected, he realized that Kehma's lackadaisical greeting just now had been the starting signal.

… If memory served, normally you'd start with something more spirited and rousing… he thought.

"Mrrgh, way to kill my fighting spirit…"

"It's so absurd it's actually amusing. If his goal was to dampen Redra's momentum, he did a magnificent job."

However, nothing seemed to be coming through even though the gate was open.

There was only one day, twenty-four hours, and yet he was taking his sweet time. Was that really okay?

But that thought was immediately retracted.

A massive volume of water came flooding in from the opened passage.

"… Huh?!"

Water surged through the passage like a tsunami. It hissed against [Flame Cavern]'s hot floors and walls… The water swept away the red lizards in droves.

"… Huuuuuuh?!"

It was an unbelievable sight.

This was a volcano. The only entrance was near the summit. At most, a little rain would get in.

And yet, enough water to fill the entire passage poured through… At its front, red lizards caught in the water's momentum tumbled along in a mass.

The water raced through the dungeon, reaching the stairs in no time and flowing down to the second floor.

Drowning, smashing into walls, getting crushed by other red lizards. The green dots marking allies dwindled rapidly.

"W-what's happening?! What the hell is this?!"

"Ha, hahaha… What is this…?"

Moreover, this tsunami was registering enemy signals. On Ontentoo's monitor, there were numerous… no, enough red dots to paint the entire map solid red.

In other words, letting this water through was bad news. It had already passed through the second floor and reached the third. Less than thirty minutes had elapsed.

(If they can break through two floors this fast… couldn't they breach fifty floors in twenty-four hours? Kukuku, so he was serious after all!)

In fact, at a pace of two floors every thirty minutes, that meant ninety-six floors in twenty-four hours. They could handle nearly double his dungeon's size.

"But I'm not just gonna let this continue. Time for this."

Ontentoo's response was precise. He opened a horizontal tunnel leading outside the dungeon on the fourth floor, which the water hadn't reached yet.

He couldn't remodel floors where enemies were present. He'd have to give up on floors one through three.

The water promptly reached the fourth floor, but this time it flowed toward the outside of the mountain. A large number of red lizards and enemy signals flowed out with it.

"… Kukuku, not bad, Kehma. Oi, Redra!"

"Eh, ah, huh?! What just happened?!"

"Kukakaka! Who knows, but they broke through three floors! I'm sending ya to the boss room. They'll be there soon, so get your head in the game!"

"Ehhh?! Isn't that way too fast?!"

"I'll pull ya back if it looks like you're gonna die, but don't let your guard down and get killed, yeah? They've definitely got 'something' up their sleeve!"

"R-right!!"

Redra was teleported to the fifth floor's boss room in a fluster.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"What the heck, that's brutal…"

"What do you mean? It's a water attack. Basic strategy, right?"

"That's basic?!"

I mean, if the only entrance is near the summit, of course you should flood it.

Besides, it would actually be rude not to pour water into a fire-type dungeon. The moment I heard the information from Haku-san, this was already a foregone conclusion.

So I'd set up a [Water Source] on the ceiling of one of the dungeon rooms… well, a big room, and sealed it completely shut. Then once the battle started, I opened the door and let it all come gushing out.

Of course, it wasn't just plain water. I'd mixed in water fleas (incredibly economical at 1 DP for a batch of one thousand). In a world without microscopes, nobody would be able to see them in the water. They're so tiny that they're extremely hard to work with on my end too. I can't move them freely, and I can't use their eyes either. But they did show up as allied dots, and they enabled mapping.

I'd also tossed in some water golems shaped into balls just in case, but those actually self-destructed from the impact when the water slammed them against walls at T-junctions… Water golems are fragile unless you wrap them in something.

Still, Ontentoo reacted quickly. Opening a hole in the dungeon to drain the water, huh.

But this was within expectations.

"Now then, I didn't use this last time, but here comes the second wave: invasion by the golem corps. Rokuko, Niku, Ichika. We're going with Plan B. Ready?"

"All set… But, Plan B? You're serious about this?"

"Yes, ready anytime."

"Honestly, I'm barely keepin' up with Niku-senpai here… but I'll give it my best shot."

Hearing the three of them respond, I nodded.

"Alright, Golem Army, move out!!"