第１０２５堀：事実は意外とつまらない時もある (Part1)
Chapter 1025: Sometimes the Truth is Surprisingly Dull
Side: Yuki
"I have sent all the collected data. Please review it. We are currently constructing a means of transit to what appears to be a hidden room on the lowest floor and will begin our investigation."
"Understood. Please do. Don't let your guard down."
"Yes."
I had given Kirika and her team permission to continue the investigation, but...
"It really is a strange situation, isn't it?"
Taizo-san, the very person who proposed this dungeon investigation, spoke to me as I stared at the information sent over, wearing a troubled expression.
"Taizo-san. Yes. It’s far too mysterious."
"To think that even in this dungeon, there has been absolutely no movement from the enemy."
Exactly. As Taizo-san pointed out, there hasn't been a single sign of the Dungeon Master who should be hostile toward us.
The speed at which a dungeon is seized depends on its scale. The larger the scale, the slower the process. Therefore, the theory is that the enemy should have launched an attack on us during that window of time, but there wasn't even a hint of that.
Even if they were letting us seize the dungeon on purpose, I can't understand why they didn't aim for our biggest opening. After all, the control range expands outward from the core at the starting point; if they had just taken that out, the dungeon invasion would have stopped.
They should have known exactly where we were, yet they didn't move at all.
...Yeah, it makes no sense. It’s nothing short of bizarre.
"For now, the dungeon we've seized has 63 floors. Besides the labyrinth and the hall where the core is housed, there’s an area that looks like living quarters, so Kirika is heading there to search for clues."
"I hope we can get some information there. By the way, what is the scope of this dungeon?"
"The dungeon's territory is minimal, just like ours. It’s a 1km square."
It really is the textbook definition of dungeon creation. If you keep it to a 1km square, the land cost isn't high, and it’s better to add more floors to intercept enemies to protect the core.
"Hmm... we won't find the answer just by standing here. No, let’s start by checking the data for each floor that was sent over."
"I agree with Taizo-san's suggestion. Let’s see if there’s anything characteristic about it. Even if it’s just data for now, we might be able to figure something out."
"That’s true. I might be able to help a little bit, too."
"As Reye-kun says, I’ll help as well."
"Though I am a Dungeon Master, I was completely hands-off, so... I’m not sure if I’ll be as useful as the rest of you..."
All eyes turned to Arwin at those words.
"Hands-off... what does that mean?"
"Oh, come to think of it, Arwin. How did you manage your dungeon after you built it? You were always training with your sword, right?"
"Yes. I believed that sword training couldn't be done in the tepid space of a dungeon. At the time, being a Dungeon Master meant I was far from serious practice. Well, that’s just a testament to my own immaturity."
Man, I think Arwin’s training is way too stoic. But that’s fine; what I want to know is how he managed the dungeon while he was out risking his life.
"Arwin-san. Let’s save the training talk for later. So, how did you manage it?"
"Ah, my apologies. Even if I call it management, the method was quite simple. I would just deposit a large amount of DP in advance. That is all."
A very straightforward and simple answer.
"No matter how high the maintenance costs are, compared to the funds needed for actual people to live, life with DP isn't that difficult. Ah, of course, that assumes people are actually coming in and out of the dungeon. As for the supply method, unlike you, Yuki-dono, I had no concept of connecting dungeons via gates to manage them, so I would go to the dungeon myself to do it. That said, dungeons that attract people never run out of DP, so in practice, it was just a matter of depositing DP at my hideout-like base beforehand."
Hmm, I see. Thinking about it that way, it’s no wonder old dungeons still remain today.
"And, this is just based on my own intuition... but even if the dungeon Steve-dono and Kirika-dono seized became uncontrollable, if I were the Dungeon Master, unless I happened to be in that dungeon, I would only think the core had been stolen. After all, these convenient notifications and contact features on the call screen were only improved after you arrived, Yuki-dono. When I was a Master, notifications only reached my mind vaguely. In other words, I would only recognize that the dungeon had been cleared."
"Ah, so that’s it. That makes sense. No, I had completely forgotten, but we were only able to use this convenient dungeon construction system after you taught us, Yuki. Back in the day, the most we could do was look at a floor map, right?"
"Yes. It was the same for me. When I was cleared by you and your group, Yuki-san, control was being taken away, but I was stepped into before I could even sense where the starting point was."
Ah, I see now.
"I don't really understand. Could you explain it to me?"
While I was completely convinced, Seraria tilted her head, looking as if she didn't know what we were talking about. Well, it’s natural for Seraria, who doesn't know the old ways, to be confused.
"Right. How should I explain this? In short, the system they’re using to control their dungeon—the 'Dig-It-Up' system we use—it seems their version is quite low."
"An old version?"
"Yeah. According to Comet and the others, the old 'Dig-It-Up' system could at most grasp the dungeon's terrain and monitor enemies and allies. It wasn't online; it didn't have special alerts if something went wrong in a distant dungeon."
"...Wait, so you mean there's a high possibility that the enemy doesn't even realize their dungeon has been taken from us?"
"Exactly. Hearing this, I’m convinced that possibility is overwhelmingly high. Right, Taizo-san?"
"Yes. We have been operating under the assumption that the opponent is an equal or a superior. That’s why we judged it strange that they weren't moving despite knowing we were there. We hadn't considered the possibility that the opponent was inferior, or rather, lacked the technology. Well, in that case, there’s no need to panic."
"And we hadn't established criteria for judging if the opponent was inferior."
That’s right. We were operating under the assumption that the enemy was superior, and since we had no criteria for judging them as inferior, we had no choice but to think their behavior was nonsensical.