Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Checkmate
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While Vallak and his companions were atop the walls,
in a hidden space within the Abyss of the Deep Pit, certain beings were engaged in a fierce argument.
They resembled humans in form,
but in truth, they were entirely different entities.
Who else could they be?
The Administrators.
Kwaaaang!!
"Then are you saying we should just sit here and watch that nonsense?!"
"We absolutely cannot move! There's a reason they're holding such a brazen festival!"
The grand festival unfolding on the 50th floor was an outrageous provocation that scratched at the Administrators' nerves.
Who were the Administrators?
They weren't mere aides helping frail mid-realm beings ascend to true godhood through their own power!
Moreover, they had been entrusted by the gods who created them with the mission to correct any anomalies in the dungeon.
They bore that mission with pride, standing tall as noble beings.
But for these prisoner-like intruders trapped in the dungeon to hold such a massive festival, utterly disregarding the Administrators' presence!
In a situation that denied the very reason for their existence, they were outraged.
And so, they split into moderates and radicals.
Of these two factions, the moderates held the most orthodox position.
"From the start, everything we heard from Father and Mother doesn't match the current state of the dungeon at all!"
Look at that lunatic deployed on the 1st floor.
There wasn't a single being in the current mid-realm capable of breaking through him.
On top of that, wasn't it suspicious that nearly all the floor bosses had allied immediately upon entering?
Where had the early Administrators gone, and why were most beings' levels of power far beyond imagination, and so on.
The moderates insisted on accurately assessing the situation before acting.
But the radicals were completely different.
"Remember the mission Father and Mother bestowed upon us! And tell me, why are we skulking around like rats?!"
They were perfect beings from the moment of their birth!
What reason was there to fear mere prisoners like those?!
And in a crisis that denied their very existence, they couldn't just stay silent, and so forth.
They argued that they must confront it head-on right now.
However, there was a reason the Administrators had become so passive.
"The reason we're skulking around like this is because of you lot!"
"W-What?!"
"Damn it, if you hadn't acted so carelessly!"
Right after the dungeon opened.
The Administrators had been bewildered by the past circumstances.
But some stepped forward to resolve it,
and among them, the current radicals had acted unilaterally without even hearing out the other Administrators.
They tried to manipulate the minds of the Elder Council bosses, who were the de facto leaders of the alliance.
But these were supreme beings who had survived every injustice in the mid-realm.
'What is this?'
Huh?
Ting!
The semi-divine beings were immune to the Administrators' authority altogether.
And with the Elder Council's incredibly sharp instincts, the moment they moved, the Administrators' true nature—which must never be revealed—was exposed.
The Administrators who had escalated the situation then desperately tried to control relatively weaker bosses and minions.
But did those targets fail to anticipate this?
They instantly created magic tools to block mental manipulation and scattered them across the entire dungeon, while Alterion went all-out to seize the Administrators' authority.
As a result, the top-tier Administrators were forced into a defensive stance, locked in a tug-of-war with Alterion and unable to move for a while.
As time dragged on, the Elder Council bosses eventually pinpointed areas where the Administrators' authority was extremely weak.
And they built a city there—that was the 50th floor.
"That place has a theme where challengers create their own rest areas, so our authority is extremely limited there. And you want to charge in? Are you insane?"
"Tch…."
The Abyss of the Deep Pit currently spanned 100 floors.
What should the exact midpoint, the 50th floor, be?
Naturally, a mid-reward room and rest stop.
That's why endless resource-farming "spaghetti" spots were placed there.
Even if not on the scale of the city built by the dungeon bosses, the moment they established defenses in a monster-free zone,
it became a farming ground and rest stop supplying unlimited resources for challengers to reach the 100th floor.
It was a place where the challengers' massive autonomy shrunk the Administrators' authority.
And they had seen through that to build a city!
Thanks to some radicals' actions, an enormous snowball had rolled,
but the radicals had their own grievances!
"You're the ones who grabbed our pant legs and held us back, letting that city get fully built! And look at that!"
"Urk?!"
Honestly… if the Administrators had acted directly from the start, things wouldn't have escalated this far.
On top of that, the delay had allowed the chimera—Grand Administrator bioweapons—to be completed.
Chimeras were artificially born inside the dungeon, like Vallak's son Anima.
In short, they were super-soldiers created with all the bosses' collective knowledge, innately resistant to the dungeon's coercive force, and immune to most Administrator powers like mental manipulation, forced teleportation, time control, and so on.
So when the radicals claimed, "This mess happened because you lot dawdled"—
"T-This is our fault?! Hey, you done talking?!"
"Hah, finally dropping the mask, eh."
With their filthy strong pride, the moderates—who only blamed others—and the radicals dug their rift even deeper.
In the end, this Administrators' meeting fell apart.
They just wasted time in futility and scattered.
But the radicals thought differently.
"Top Administrator, will you finally move now?"
"Yes, those cowards will never budge."
"T-Then!"
"The longer we wait, the worse it gets for us. Better to face death head-on than wither away like cowards."
And so, some Administrators began to act.
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An ominous air deepened in the Abyss of the Deep Pit.
But there was an eavesdropper: Zarkan.
"Tsk tsk tsk… In a time-sensitive crisis, you have to swallow your pride. Beating yourself up claiming you're blameless? They're young, so young."
In combat, war, duels, and so on, information was always paramount.
That's why all the authority Alterion had seized—except when sending Anima outside—was being used to monitor the Administrators' movements.
Plus, when Vallak had caused chaos before, they'd investigated every anomalous spot in the dungeon, roughly pinpointing the Administrators' locations.
And when low-rank spirits from the Spirit Realm threw tantrums wanting to visit the mini-dungeon last time.
For Zarkan, a being of such immense presence that even the near-otherworldly dungeon felt his influence,
how could he fail to overhear conversations from pinpointed Administrator spots?
Having fully grasped the Administrators' movements, Zarkan summoned Alterion.
"I never imagined the Administrators would take forms so similar to humans."
"Zarkan, think about the Abyss of the Deep Pit's location and purpose."
"If Anima's intel is right, the dungeon's positioned in the Empire's heart to preferentially nurture human heroes blessed by the Heavenly God. So even if scout heroes encountered Administrators, making them humanoid fosters familiarity?"
Discussing the Administrators' forms, they soon shook their heads at their arrogance.
"Haa… Who'd have thought they'd just watch us through screens and play spy games without realizing…."
"That's how overflowing with confidence they are, or maybe inexperienced. Or perhaps fools among them hating 'rat-like' behavior—it's only natural."
"Heh heh, idiots born thinking they're perfect like gods, so we have to let it slide. Anyway, it's working out just as we want—fortunate."
"Zarkan, it's going too smoothly; that's what's worrying."
"Ho ho ho, if it weren't, that'd be the real problem, no?"
The supreme beings held the festival on the 50th floor for three reasons.
First, literally a festival.
They designated a commemorative day to build unity within the dungeon, fostering belonging to prevent potential betrayals.
Second, to provoke the Administrators and gauge their reactions.
If they stayed silent with no response, it would raise the threat level.
But exploding from just a light poke confirmed they were far too immature.
Their division was the best outcome—and it had just happened.
Third was….
"The 'trap' we confirmed last time is perfect, right?"
"Not all of them are moving, so we can seal them perfectly."
"It's thrilling how this whole city will activate."
Alterion had designed the current city, Astra.
Thus, its boulevards, building layouts, landmarks—all were strokes forming a magic circle.
This kingdom-sized city was one massive magic formation.
The other supreme beings had added and refined the details.
Now, invading Administrators would be trapped in a sub-space by power akin to divinity.
Finally—
"Lich, Champion—you sure he's moving?"
"I heard it myself."
"Checkmate."
Not under control, but an absolute ally was mobilizing.
To grant Vallak even freer movement in the sub-space, they gathered their comrades with time to spare for adjustments.
"Hey~ All set?"
"Kyaa~ Now that's a festival!"
"Hahaha! Let's get moving, quick!"
For the supreme beings, a time like festival was approaching.
.