Welcoming the Intruders (2)

If they just threw out random numbers for the spiral staircase's step count, they'd eventually stumble on the right answer. But by combining that with the color of the door at the bottom, which you couldn't see from above, you'd have no way of knowing without going down. That was the idea.

"You have to go deeper into the dungeon to solve it… this is a lure."

"Damn, did we let our guard down too much? We should've known this would be totally different from the old [Ordinary Cave]."

"Oi! Brace yourselves if you don't want to die! This isn't an E-Rank dungeon anymore. Treat it like you've wandered into an A-Rank dungeon!"

Oops, my mistake. Looks like I got them all fired up.

… Well, that works out. They need to be giving their all if I'm going to properly test our performance.

While all that was going on, the knight order advanced into the [Spiral Staircase Area]. It was an open shaft with plate-like footholds jutting out from the walls in a spiral pattern. They were checking each step one by one to see if it would collapse… Their concern was justified. Some of the footholds here were designed to fall away under a person's weight.

"There are collapsing footholds mixed in. Watch your step."

"Yeah. Let's proceed carefully… Do we count the collapsing ones too?"

They checked each step one by one and descended slowly. As if I'd just let them go down peacefully, though.

"Alright, Rei. Kinue-san. Nerune… The enemies have entered the [Spiral Staircase Area]. Push."

"""Understood, master."""

This Spiral Staircase Area had an open shaft. Besides looking cool, there was a proper reason for that.

What we'd set up there were thick… incredibly thick, wider than the staircase itself, stone wall golems.

And as the knight order descended the open spiral staircase, the stone wall golems embedded in the walls slid out. What happened next was, simply put:

"Wha—?! M-move, quickly! It's a trap!"

"W-wait, go back!"

"Idiot, this side too… h-hiii, uwaaah!"

They were pushed off and fell. Simple as that. The four who had been too focused on the collapsing footholds were late to escape. Shoved off by the stone wall golems, they plummeted through the open shaft… from the second above-ground floor to the third underground floor. Even though they were already partway down, those four people shot through four floors' worth of open shaft at top speed and became red stains that would definitely need mosaics when they hit the bottom.

The DP we gained was about the amount from four E-Rank adventurers… Hmm, so it doesn't double even if we take them out while they're trapped.

But still… ugh, this is worse than I expected. I've been slaughtering bandits since coming to this world, so I don't feel guilty at this point. But visually, it's rough. Maybe because of the weight of their armor, all four of them went headfirst and burst open. Gross. This is the kind of thing even late-night anime would black out with shadows. Blech, I can't eat meat today…

"Tch, we lost four, huh."

"What do we do? We can't go back."

"… … No, look. The walls have already retracted… We panicked because it was so sudden, but the speed they came out wasn't that fast. And there were gaps when they extended. If we rush through all at once or climb over the extended walls, we should be fine. Though we did end up getting chased all the way to the bottom."

… Six remaining. As expected, the higher-ranking ones are unharmed.

They were collecting intact equipment and valuables from the corpses. What amazing mental fortitude. I could learn from that.

"I'm sorry, I could only push off four of them."

"No, this is just right. It's impressive you even got four… Six left. Let's have them help with our combat training."

I deployed a haniwa golem at the top of the spiral staircase. A normal one that was originally meant to be a boss but never got its turn. A sad existence. I had the cavalry-type haniwa golem slowly make footsteps as it descended the spiral staircase.

"Oh, this is the door at the bottom, huh. It's red. Alright, let's head back. How many steps were there?"

"… It was 160. Whether that includes the top and bottom is… wait, commander. Something's coming down. At least Unique-class."

"From above? Where did it come from? … Can we take it?"

"No idea. It's a form I've never seen before. Too many unknowns. Stay on guard."

The haniwa golem was an armored golem mounted on a golem horse. With a haniwa face. Its concept was a soldier that protects my peaceful sleep.

Normally I have it patrol on auto, but right now Niku was giving it instructions and piloting it.

"Then first, I will demonstrate, so please watch."

The haniwa golem had been carefully descending step by step… but the moment the surviving six assumed battle stances, it leaped down through the open shaft.

Normally you'd want to ambush them before being noticed, but this time was for training Rei and the other newcomers in golem piloting, so I had Niku, who had by now become a complete veteran pilot, demonstrate.

Using the horse portion's legs fully to absorb the landing impact, it smoothly drew the magic sword golem naginata from its back. The armored golem was about 1.5 times larger than an ordinary human, with a horse golem scaled to match. The sheer size difference was quite intimidating.

Despite being surrounded by six armed people, the golem showed no agitation. As if it had eyes in the back of its head (well, since we were watching through the monitor, there really were no blind spots), the tension was so thick that nobody could even inch forward.

"Here I go."

Niku's murmur was directed at us. The next instant, the horse golem alone shot forward as if launched, slamming one person into the wall. Just a split second later, the armored golem that had dismounted swung its naginata at knee height.

Two people whose reactions were delayed by the horse golem's charge had everything below the knees cleanly sliced off. They slid and crumpled to the ground.

"It huuurts!! Commander! Help meee!"

"Run! —The staircase is blocked, head deeper in!"

What the haniwa golem, what Niku, had been aiming for was blocking the staircase. The first person the horse golem charged was knocked unconscious. With the horse golem trampling that person who had been positioned in front of the staircase, and the armored golem guarding it further with its naginata at the ready, glaring them down:

The escape route was sealed. And at the same time, three people were instantly incapacitated.

Since our DP hadn't increased yet, they weren't dead. And half were left for the newcomers' combat training. My orders were followed perfectly. Magnificent work.

The remaining three fled into the Golem Warehouse.

"… Perfect."

"Thank you very much, Goshujin-sama."

… Wait, huh?! Could the horse golem always launch that fast with those movements?!

I did use gears to sacrifice some output and let it move somewhat faster, but, Niku, how did you just do that? Hey?!

"By smoothly shifting weight through the entire body and operating all joints simultaneously at maximum, you launch it. Then by kicking off with the rider on top as well, you add even more acceleration to achieve this speed… I practiced with Rokuko-sama. This is a technique Rokuko-sama can also use. As bosses, you should be able to do at least this much."

So please learn it, Niku explained to the three newcomers.

When did they… well, while I was sleeping, obviously. I thought I was the best at using golems, but apparently not.

"What should we do with those three, and the rest, Goshujin-sama?"

"… I'll add a prison cell adjacent to the Golem Warehouse. Neutralize them and throw them in there. We'll squeeze DP out of them until they die… As for the rest, chase them while fighting them. But don't take them down. Getting taken down yourselves is fine. There are various golems, so try different ones out."

"""Yes, master."""

Iron golems and stone golems relentlessly chased them around the Golem Warehouse Area's corridors. There were animal-shaped ones, ones with four arms, ones with four legs, ones with bows and arrows, ones with spears. Every single golem had features unusual for ordinary golems.

"Damn, damn, what are these monsters, what the hell, what the hell, what did we even do!"

"This way, there are fewer over here!"

"Hiii?! A spike ball?! Uwah, don't come, don't coooome!!"

"This four-legged golem is slow, but it can draw a bow stably from any position."

"A broom as a weapon isn't suited for combat."

"Heee～, just running with the hedgehog golem is intimidating enough～, so easy～"

I had the three use whatever prototype golems they liked to drive the enemies through designated checkpoints.

At those points:

"Uwah, a-a net?! Damn, I can't get it off!"

"I'll rip it off!"

"Igyaaah! G-guh, damn, there are barbs on it!"

"Oi, they're behind us! Hurry!"

"Uwaaah! That thing, that thing is coming!"

There were traps set up, and the haniwa golem circled around to cut them off. Chasing, herding, making them run endlessly.

"Haa, haa, damn… th-this is—!"

And finally, where they ended up was the spiral staircase room. Their only way back.

"A different room… no, it isn't… but the bodies are gone. Already disappeared?"

"This dungeon is insane. It's dangerous."

"We're getting out of here alive… count the stairs, count again! Don't miscount! Watch out for the walls too! …! It's him, he's comiiiing, hurryyyy!!"

As a final push, the haniwa golem herded them on. Clack, clack. The hard footsteps characteristic of golems, one step at a time.

I let them climb without triggering the walls. The collapsing footholds were still active, though, so they kept almost slipping.

"Master, is this okay? Just letting them go home like this?"

"No way I'm letting them go… If I released them like this, our dungeon would go from beginner-friendly to high-alert… I've set up a little prank, so hopefully they'll enjoy it."

And so, the three survivors arrived at the riddle room.

"The riddle! Hurry, before he gets here! Did you count the steps?! I got 160!"

"Same here! 160!"

"160! The door is red!"

"Alright, here's the answer… …?"

The three froze. Before them was the riddle.

But it wasn't a question asking for the number of steps and the door color.

"… 'I've specially made this a problem with an [Easy] answer! What is 25 + 39?'… What is this…"

"The question changed?!… But even I can answer this one. It's 66!"

The moment the commander gave that answer, the room's floor turned into a pitfall.

… He had a "Why?!" expression as he fell, but honestly, I didn't expect him to get that wrong either.