Live Dungeon!

Tsutomu went to purchase the Exchange’s excess Magic Stones from the Dwarf girl, and then to the medical unit to convince the Forest Apothecary lady to evacuate the city.

Afterward, he went to meet up with Ealdred Crow, and came up with a plan to lay traps and obstacles along the northern highway. However, when they tried heading out of town, the barrier refused to open.

Rook turned to the raised platform where House Babenberg’s eldest daughter was. Her reaction suggested that she too, did not know why it was happening, which made Rook arrive at a certain conclusion.

“…Tsutomu, we should get out of here.”

“Huh?”

“You there. Halt.” A voice called out to Ealdred Crow’s group just as Rook was about to hurry away.

It was the eldest son of House Babengerg, looking quite stern all the while walking through a group of Explorers as everyone made way for him.

Then he gave a condescending look to the whole Ealdred Crow group and stared specifically at Rook.

“You’re not heading out of town, are you? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“Actually, yes, we are. I’d like to re-confirm the locations of our Golem-construct bases…”

“That is not necessary! Just behave yourselves, stay in the wall, and help the others prepare! Or do you have some other objective? You’re not doubting House Babenberg’s barrier, are you?” The eldest son went on a mini-rant; Rook’s statement was quite suspicious, as apparent from how he averted his eyes.

“Oh, nothing of the sort, sir.” Rook replied calmly.

The eldest son, annoyed further, groaned and proceeded to say, “Then stay put. Devourer Dragon or whatever, it is powerless against our defensive magic. All you need is to be ready to intercept it.”

“Yes, sir. Apologies if we were out of line, sir.”

“Apology accepted. Now get back to work,” the eldest son said, then immediately turned around and walked over to his sister.

Watching the man leave, Tsutomu instinctively took a step forward, and was promptly stopped by Rook.

“You’re better off giving it up, I say.”

“But if things go this way, it might not end well…”

“Please. You were seen with Ealdred Crow, so if you cause any trouble, we’ll be in hot water as well.”

“All right…”

Tsutomu relented, not having any point to argue with. All he could do now was look at House Babenberg’s son walk away, waiting for the latter to finally be out of sight.

Although Tsutomu wanted to do all he could to hinder the Dragon’s progress outside, he knew that going through the official channel would take too long to get an approval, and even then, the nobility’s attitude meant that approval was unlikely.

“…So what should we do now, Tsutomu?”

“I don’t even know where to start. Seeing that guy’s attitude, he wouldn’t let me lay traps inside the barriers either, would he?”

Tsutomu tapped his feet on the stone-paved ground, while Rook stayed silent and only nodded. Getting that non-response, Tsutomu could not help but facepalm and shake his head. He sighed, frustrated that the one strategy he had been counting on may not even go off the planning board.

The Devourer Dragon was a bipedal, wingless creature, similar to a dinosaur. Since it most definitely traveled exclusively on foot, Tsutomu had figured that laying traps would likely be effective.

He had brought along Ealdred Crow’s teams of capable personnel on a plan to set up pitfalls and bogs. But then, that plan had failed to get off the ground, stopped by House Babenberg’s command. If they were to try moving in grounds to lay traps inside the barrier, they would likely be stopped for some other arbitrary faults. Breaking apart the stone-paved ground would be too loud, and the group was too short on numbers to do it any other way. All in all, the plan was impossible to carry out without the nobility knowing.

“But you know, House Babenberg isn’t necessarily wrong to be that confident. Haven’t you seen the barrier in action? It defended against all of the Dragon’s attacks, no problem at all.”

“I did see it, but still, we should do whatever we can. Laying traps is a no-go now, but there are plenty of other options available.”

“Okay, let’s do it.”

Rook had seen Leon’s obviously unusual reaction, so he decided to go along with Tsutomu’s proposed preparations despite still thinking they were excessive. In the end, they proceeded with making minor preparations that could be carried out in small groups.

An hour later, the Stampede’s monster force appeared, just as Leon had reported they would. They rushed toward Dungeon City, injured and missing a good chunk of their original numbers. In fact, they were more like a pack than an army when their numbers were compared to the standard Stampede.

Moreover, the monsters did not attack and simply went around Dungeon City, heading south as if they were running away from something. This unprecedented turn of events disappointed those who had been anticipating the action quite a bit.

It was a common belief that the monsters of Stampedes were targeting the huge quantity of Magic Stones in Dungeon City, but this time, their actions seemed to contradict that theory. It was clearly different from how Stampedes usually played out.

Once the monsters went past the city, beginner and intermediate-level Explorers were told to evacuate, as advised by Leon. About half of those Explorers stayed behind, however, with the intermediate ones being overconfident of their skills, and the beginners wanting to test their mettle. The Security Team did not take any special action, as a forced evacuation would only create confusion. As such, those Explorers were put to work either in minor attack squads or on miscellaneous tasks.

As the sun began to set and the logistical support team prepared to illuminate the combat areas, a Birdkin man caught sight of the Devourer Dragon that Leon had been so terrified of.

The Dragon ran at a great speed, its body bent over, its head shaking erratically, and its thick legs pulverizing the ground with each step. Its body was dark, giving off a somewhat poisonous impression, and its tongue stuck out constantly from its mouth, from which dripping a waterfall of spit. In stark contrast to its large head and legs, its arms were strangely small.

At a closer look, its overall appearance closely resembled that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, considered at one point to be the greatest carnivorous beast on planet Earth.

Under the reddened evening sky, the Devourer Dragon, its mouth dyed blood red and its feet rumbling the earth, approached Dungeon City.

――▽▽――

Amy was startled at the first sight of the Devourer Dragon, her shoulders shuddering and her tail curling in between her legs. Garm’s indigo dog ears folded back, suggesting that he was upset as well. Other Beaskin and Birdkin also had similar reactions with their tails and ears, perhaps instinctively afraid of the powerful enemy.

Camille and Melchor felt what seemed to be a sinister aura from the Dragon. It was more powerful than Fire Dragons, so Camille felt quite disheartened — but only briefly, as she had attained control over her emotions after being intimidated by a Fire Dragon once. Not to mention that this time, she was not fighting in a group of three. That fact helped Camille to stabilize her mind.

Rook, Bruno, and most of their allies looked calm, apparently not feeling anything in particular. It was the same for the other human Explorers and the military force. Still, they could tell from the others’ reactions and the Devourer Dragon’s appearance that this enemy was going to be a tough one.

The band’s Conductor started directing the Minstrels to begin performing. Music echoed through the area, boosting everyone’s status values. Those who heard the performance recognized the tunes as ones that were always played during Stampedes, and gradually regained their composure.

The Devourer Dragon pushed forward, its breath heavy; the Golem-construct bases did nothing to slow its progress. Its body, practically a mass of pure muscle, plunged on as if it was not up against any obstacle. Moreover, its highly advanced sense of smell enabled it to track even the faintest smalls of its prey; this had also caused it to detect the vast amount of Magic Stones in Dungeon City.

The only time this creature was ever satisfied was during a meal. In every single moment not spent eating, it was hungry and would be on the hunt for more food. Its nose had sniffed out the best prey it could hope to ever find: the sheer quantity of Colorless Magic Stones in Dungeon City — that was why the creature’s legs were leading it here. Obviously, along the way, it had devoured almost all of the Stampede’s monsters in its path.

Now, it was making a beeline to where it could smell the most Magic Stones coming from, but on the way, it found its progress halted by a wall.

The wall was transparent, and thus invisible to the Devourer Dragon; it was none other than House Babenberg’s barrier. The Dragon, confused as to why its body had bounced back, proceeded to walk toward the wall again, after which it realized that it was being blocked by something.

Then it roared, its voice raspy as if all the creatures it had eaten were trying to get out of its stomach.

Those who heard the roar felt as if they were being eaten; all except Tsutomu, were frightened by the Dragon. They reacted in a myriad of ways, some taking a few steps back in panic, and others falling down under the pressure. Tsutomu, having been welcomed into this world by the Corroded Elder Dragon’s roar, did not wince, but still slightly stiffened his expression.

The whole band’s performance stopped at once, replaced by the Devourer Dragon’s roar, which absolutely dominated the area.

The Devourer Dragon, eyes bloodshot, flexed its legs so hard that the ground caved in… and then it tackled the barrier, shaking the entirety of it.

Constantly screaming as if it was a beast in heat, it attacked and attacked, eventually cracking the outer barrier, producing a sound similar to teeth grinding together.

More than half of those present were on the verge of panicking; the menacing Dragon was roaring closer and closer to their ears, and the supposedly invincible barrier had cracked. Thankfully, another, more dignified source of sound drowned out the monster’s voice.

The band’s Conductor had resumed the performance, directing all the Minstrels to play. The tunes began to resound with a volume no less than the Devourer Dragon’s.

The skill they used, all in unison, was [[War Deity Instrumental]]. It could only be performed with musical instruments, but it had the valuable effect of boosting the STR of those who heard its tune.

The performance served to encourage all of those who were frightened by the Devourer Dragon’s roars. The band’s volume increased more and more. Eventually, the Dragon’s roars felt as if they were part of the music, which in turn let the music effectively calm the panicking fighters’ minds.

That did not change the fact that the barrier had cracked, however. The magic-shooting squads near the barrier and the anti-monster magic tool-operating military forces were especially aware of that threat.

The barrier had never gotten so much as a scratch before, but this time, it had been cracked by just one creature. By the nobility’s orders, almost everyone had been positioned further from the barrier than before, so the ones closest to the action now were the attack squads… and naturally, some of them were now starting to take steps back.

“Stay calm, people,” the head of House Babenberg said nonchalantly through a megaphone-like tool, seemingly aware of the attack squad’s unease.

The eldest son and daughter jumped down from a watchtower, then cast [[Fly]] to break their fall, landing safely beside their father.

“Heh, now that is some awesome power. I’ve never seen anything crack even the outer barrier before!” The eldest daughter laughed heartily, greatly amused by the sight.

“Curses! Those commoners must be SO HAPPY that they doubted us…” The eldest son grumbled, apparently worried about his future reputation.

Both of them held up their hands, and the crack in the barrier was immediately repaired.

Their father then raised his right hand high in the air. This was a signal to be prepared to engage at any time. Seeing that, the attack squad got ready to fight, albeit while still surprised.

Just like the Dragons from before, however, the Devourer Dragon was expected to immediately attack upon the disengagement of the barrier.

“Focus defense on the inner barrier. Carefully time the disengagement of the outer layer.”

“We’ve got this, dad.”

“I won’t let you down, father.”

The two bowed to their father then turned to look at the Devourer Dragon, and saw that its constantly dripping drool was a bright red. The Dragon’s eyes were full of hunger, as if it was starving. The eldest son showed no fear, however, for he had absolute faith in the barrier — one that he, his sister, and his father operated together.

The Devourer Dragon moved a short distance back, charged up its strength, and lunged at the barrier. A crack formed on the barrier once again, which the monster then tried to push through with brute force.

“Hah!”

Then, when the Dragon was about to land another strike, the barrier’s outer layer disappeared. The creature’s missing its intended target, caused it to fall over forward, but its momentum carried it on a collision course against the inner layer.

The oncoming crash looked like it would be quite a loud one. Before that happened, however, the head of the noble house held up his hand and cast a spell to modify the barrier’s attributes, making it soft and elastic. The Dragon ended up slamming into the barrier so hard that it got its head stuck.

With it stretching the barrier inward, the Dragon’s face was now getting closer to the attack squad despite the latter having stepped away a few minutes ago. Their eyes met, but thankfully, the monster had already lost its momentum.

Then, once the Devourer Dragon stopped, the elastic barrier bounced back as if reflecting the lunge it had taken. The Dragon’s force countered in full, it was knocked away and fell on its backside.

“OPEN FIRE!”

The head of the house wasted no time to issue his command, and at almost the same time, the barrier was disengaged and the attack squads’ skills rained down on the Devourer Dragon. Unlike the previous battle, there was only one target, allowing them to concentrate their attacks on it. As if to counteract their fear of the monster, everyone put all the power they could into their skills.

Arrows rained down, and magical cannons hurled one fireball after another. Magic blasts flew from Mages’ staves, landing on their target and bursting into flames. The Devourer Dragon, even with its mass of tenacious muscles, could not withstand the storm of hundreds of attacks, eventually failing to keep its posture.

“Those who have expended all their energy, switch out! Permission granted to use Blue Potions as needed! Keep the attacks going!”

The head of the house, seemingly aware of the Devourer Dragon’s odd presence now, gave orders to ensure that the stream of attacks never stopped. The Blue Potions in question were special — they had been made with the Forest Apothecary’s special recipe; even a single sip would restore a large amount of mental energy, but the Potion itself was quite costly. Still, this reluctant approval for them to be used liberally was to maximize the defending force’s firepower.

Fire, lightning, wind — all sorts of magic spells streaked through the air, and volleys of expensive Holy and Dark-elemental arrows flew at their sole target. Ice blasts, lightning storms, heat waves — all elements mixed together to attack the Devourer Dragon. All the while, the attack squads drank vial after vial of Blue Potion, the empty vials dropped to the ground and left rolling around.

“[[Meteor]].”

By the time the attack squads were almost out of Blue Potions, they closed things off by unleashing the currently most powerful attack known to Black Mages. Expending the maximum amount of energy into it, the meteorite turned gigantic, and its mass was further boosted by the Black Staff’s power boost. It fell and crashed down on the Devourer Dragon, producing a thunderous explosion on impact.

Dust clouds and pebbles flew all over the place as the head of the house re-engaged a layer of the barrier.

Then, after a little while, the quaking subsided. The barrier was once again disengaged, and the Black Mages and Spiritualists cast the wind spell [[Blast]] to clear the dust away.

All they saw now was a round, giant meteorite. Cheers echoed through the area, coming especially loud from the Explorers who had seen the meteorite crash onto the Dragon with their own eyes. The civilians who had remained to watch the action also celebrated, in awe of the tremendous power displayed by that attack skill.