Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Dungeon's Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
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A short while after Ferguson dealt with the beastkin party.
Balak's invitation activated.
Due to the invitation's first effect, the dungeon entrance was sealed.
Ferguson soon confirmed this and returned to the boss room, where everyone welcomed him.
"Second bro, good work."
"Nice job, Brother Ferguson!"
"Branch manager! You're here!"
"You've really been through it."
"Now that the branch manager's here, let's all head out!"
Seeing this scene, Ferguson briefly recalled what the beastkin had said.
But he just laughed it off and walked over to his family.
Then he told Balak about the new arrivals this time.
"Beastkin, huh... Looks like the Empire's properly opened the path to the dungeon."
"Seems that way, just like you said, bro."
"Then once the assembly ends and the dungeon opens, the insides will be crawling with beastkin. What do you think of them, Ferguson?"
"...Ahem."
"You think they're kinda iffy too, right, Ferguson?"
As Ferguson held back on commenting about the beastkin, Karian, who had been watching, spoke up.
"Lord Balak, it's best not to expect too much from the beastkin. Most of them are weak savages who can't even reach the safe zone."
"No kidding, that bad?"
"They're stuck in their tribal alliances to begin with. And with so many races banding together to form a nation, what do you think the internal situation is like?"
"Survival of the fittest between races would be even more intense."
"Exactly. Aside from a tiny elite holding power, they've got a structure where they all hinder each other's growth. Anyway, enough about beastkin—let's get moving."
After that, Balak's group set aside talk of beastkin for now and distributed magic tools to those heading to Pepira's village.
"So this is the magic tool Kairel had?"
"Yes. Here's how to use it—"
Karian explained the magic tool's usage to Pepira, then upgraded the teleportation devices that Kairel and Ophelia had.
"Thank you so much, Master!"
"Hahaha... Then you should get some good rest this time too, Kairel."
"Got it! Alright, boss, we'll head out now!"
"Take care~"
"Father, I'll take good care of Pepira and Sister Kairel."
"Good, I trust you. But you have fun too."
Kairel's group said their goodbyes to those remaining and activated their magic tools.
Pew!
Now that they were gone, only the dungeon's original crew remained in the boss room.
"It's weird... It's been so long since it's just been us."
"Yeah, tell me about it, Brother Ferguson."
"No more reminiscing about the old days—let's head out too. Oh, skeleton merchant, you're really going separately?"
"Actually... The boss room adjustments aren't quite finished yet."
"Heh~ You could do that later, though. Is it really that urgent?"
"Hahaha... Can't help it when it means avoiding double the work."
"Tch, fair enough. We'll go on ahead then."
"Understood, Lord Balak. It'll be quick."
With that, Balak's invitation truly unleashed its power.
Balak and his sworn brothers were swiftly transported to the 50th floor.
And in front of Karian, left alone on the 1st floor—
"Just as I thought..."
He could confirm that the portal to the 2nd floor had opened.
************
The last time Balak had entered the management room with the Demon King, the portal to the 2nd floor hadn't opened, leaving the Elder Council puzzled.
But then the hypothesis arose that the Demon King's management room might be included in the 1st floor.
To verify that and countless other hypotheses, Karian had stayed until the end.
Now that the hypothesis was confirmed, Karian had only one task left.
The spells he had secretly embedded during the boss room upgrade activated.
Wooooong!!!
Soon, a transcendent spell—even higher than grand magic—activated, and the portal to the 2nd floor began to fade.
Just as the spell was about to complete.
Karian recalled when his master had told him about this spell.
'...So when the spell embedded in the boss room activates, even if Lord Balak leaves from there, the portal won't open for about a week?'
'That's right, my disciple.'
'But if that's possible, why can't we completely block the portal?'
'Not yet, but once we gain over half the dungeon's internal authority, it will be. So if a portal appears before you, you know what to do, right?'
'Yes, Master.'
Honestly, even if the portal opened while Balak was away, it wouldn't matter much anymore.
But if he could completely eliminate all those "what if" scenarios, it was the right move.
Karian felt a twinge of guilt for hiding this from Balak.
Still, for Balak to truly act freely in the abyss's depths, this was an essential measure.
Thus, as long as the boss room—the spell's medium—didn't completely vanish, the portal wouldn't open for a week even if Balak left the 1st floor.
And since Karian would repair the spell whenever he visited the 1st floor, it was practically an absolute barrier.
With everything done, Karian now worried whether his close friend was up to no good in the city.
Karian quickly teleported to the 50th floor as well.
Thus, after the dungeon opened.
For the first time, the 1st floor was left with a cold silence.
*************
Before Balak's invitation activated.
Spring had come to the 50th floor, just like outside.
The dungeon bosses and their minions gathered at the city entrance, waiting for the Elder Council to assemble.
"Kyaa~ It's finally complete!"
"Whew, it was a long road."
"Seeing it like this, it's totally different..."
"Yeah, and that's gonna be our home."
They were various monster races who had fought daily battles with major factions outside, living unstable lives with makeshift homes.
But this city, built using every skill the bosses possessed, boasted massive infrastructure, so everyone was excited.
Soon after, the Elder Council finished their tasks and gathered at the city entrance.
Thus, the 90th floor boss, Succubus Queen Bellesa.
"Ooh~ Seeing it up close, it's really impressive!"
The 91st floor boss, Grand Witch Ella.
"Isn't this all thanks to whoever worked hard on the city planning here?"
The 92nd floor boss, Lich Alterion.
"It's not all thanks to me. In the end, it was everyone's efforts."
The 93rd floor boss... was out cold in her lair after finishing work, so she didn't show!
So the 94th floor boss, the four-armed purple-skinned demon Siren, clicked her tongue.
Hearing Siren's complaints, the 95th floor boss, progenitor Serena, laughed it off.
"Tch... The Fairy Queen, as expected."
"Can't be helped since Mabel's like a kid."
With the early 90s-floor folks gathered on the right side of the entrance, the late 90s-floor beings now appeared.
The 96th floor boss, ancient entity Grutula with the octopus-like head.
"Ugh... No matter how I think about it, this place is too dry."
The 97th floor boss, giant Titanis.
"Hang in there a bit longer, Grutula. The event will end soon."
The 98th floor boss, fallen angel Sharriel.
"If it's too hard to bear, why not ask Lord Zarkan before the event starts?"
The 99th floor boss, demon Lihel.
"Jeez, such a drama queen."
Finally!
Boom!
"Alright, everyone's waiting like that, and Grutula's suffering, so let's get this event over with quick."
As the 100th floor boss, ancient dragon Zarkan landed atop the massive high walls, the event began.
The city completion ribbon-cutting itself was very simple.
Zarkan simply cutting the pure white ribbon at the dungeon entrance.
Of course, first...
"Thank you all for gathering like this. We could build such a beautiful, magnificent city because everyone put in the effort to succee—"
The old dragon Zarkan's boring, pedantic speech began.
The Elder Council bosses glared at Zarkan to shut up already.
"And our unity and bonds will only grow stronger—"
But the old dragon knew how important this event was and ignored their stares.
Finally, Zarkan's endless "furthermore"s wrapped up, fanfare echoed across the entire 50th floor.
Zarkan sliced the white ribbon at the entrance with his huge claw.
Snip!
Bang!! Boom boom!!
Clap clap clap clap clap!!!
Fireworks burst over the city as everyone at the entrance applauded, blessing the event.
The diverse races at the entrance soon entered the massive city and were very satisfied with their assigned homes.
"It'd be great if we could all keep smiling like this from now on."
"Indeed, Lord Zarkan. But the Champion's a bit late."
"That was my doing."
"Hm? Alterion, did you tamper with something?"
"He said he was really looking forward to this festival. But I thought about how he'd feel if he arrived full of anticipation only to wait forever at the entrance."
"Ahem! I thought it was a tad long myself, so sorry, everyone."
The Elder Council was a bit disappointed Balak wasn't there for the ribbon-cutting.
But as Alterion said, they'd rather the Champion be a little late than endure Zarkan's dull pedantic ramblings.
With the event safely concluded.
The Elder Council entered the city to prepare for the arriving Champion, and Balak's invitation activated.
***************
Alterion's subordinates, tasked with guarding the massive 50th floor city, were checking entrants at the entrance.
"All the festival participants and minions have entered, right?"
"Everyone except three."
"Ah, the Champion and his sworn brothers?"
"Yes!"
The undead, waiting for Balak's group—the last to enter—chatted idly.
"Guard captain, one thing I'm curious about."
"What is it?"
"Excluding those at the very front, shouldn't about 90 participate in the banquet hall deeper in the city?"
"Ah, that?"
The current city guard captain, Dark Knight, took the roster from his subordinate and explained.
"You know this place is made of various dimensions. But not every dimension has a boss."
"You mean there are dimensions with just gimmicks?"
"Yep, and sometimes the boss is just a beast, or mindless entities. Plus, when the supreme beings conquered this place, some idiots rebelled, leaving spots empty."
"Then once the Champion and his brothers arrive, we're done."
As the guards discussed Balak.
Like a tiger appearing when mentioned, massive mana surged at the dungeon entrance.
Pewwoong!
"Is this the gathering spot for the assembly?"
"Huh? Brother Balak, this is totally different from what we expected."
"What can I say... It feels incredibly vibrant."
The three brothers arrived at the city entrance.
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