Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Research
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Count Wolfhaufen returned to his territory.
He had high hopes for this Dreamland raid.
But the intel he brought back amounted to just two lines.
"This is a catastrophic outcome."
"……You did your best."
It was an undeniable failure.
And the price was far from cheap.
The Winter Wolf Knight Order, the core of the territory's defense, had been halved in number.
The massive fortune spent on escape scrolls had vanished into thin air.
The capable retainer Dragred was dead.
Time and resources had been utterly wasted.
Catastrophic didn't even begin to cover it.
"I told you from the start it was reckless."
"We funded those escape scrolls expecting results. This is a real problem."
The count faced sharp glares.
From opponents and supporters alike.
"……."
He had nothing to say.
The responsibility lay with him.
Zone 5
1. To avoid death, make loud noises.
2. Raider spawn points are random.
Nine knights sacrificed.
Nine escape scrolls lost.
And yet the result was this pathetic.
Even as territory lord, he couldn't act freely.
He no longer had the right to utter "Dreamland raid."
"Fuck."
The count returned to his office.
He sat in his chair, not looking at the piled-up documents, but at the raid log.
The contents were brief.
All knights had been teleported to the newly added Zone 5.
And all had perished.
For that pitiful scrap of intel.
"Fuck."
There was no way to conquer the dungeon.
Mana stones were a pipe dream.
When Avaloris spoke of Dreamland in his domain, the count felt like fate had called.
A dungeon richer in treasure than any other.
Mana stones aside, it came with legal justification to claim them.
But it was all delusion.
The count wasn't some fairy-tale hero.
"Fuck."
The man sitting here now was a failure.
No hopeful ending like "He saved his daughter and lived happily ever after."
-Lord Count, where is my daughter?
-You said you gave her an escape scroll! She's a knight for the people! But, but, like that…….
-Did he die meaningfully? Like his last words, for Wolfhaufen and North Kingdom's peace, did my husband have to sacrifice himself?
"Fuck…."
The faces of the dead knights' families haunted him.
A filthy sense of guilt.
He admitted it.
All this stemmed from greed.
Not for North Kingdom or Wolfhaufen.
For saving his daughter.
Uza's mistake.
No more repeats.
Yet.
The count still clutched the raid log.
A sigh escaped him.
He lit a cigarette he'd quit.
Tssk, chiik—
"Hoo…."
Staring blankly at the world through hazy eyes.
Maybe the dim lights, but everything seemed darker than usual.
Still, the world turned.
Count Wolfhaufen returned to work.
A backlog from the dungeon raid.
The count focused on his duties.
The raid log sat wedged in the bookshelf corner.
His eyes fixed on the papers.
"……."
Beluga watched him.
She still didn't like her brother.
But this was fine for now.
Back to normal—that was enough.
Dungeon raids were a fantasy.
Mana stones unobtainable.
If her brother realized that, it sufficed.
The count took A's hand.
"Daddy."
"Yes."
"It hurts so much."
"What should Daddy do?"
"I don't know. It just hurts so bad. Hurts, hurts…."
A's whimpering voice.
"Hurts that much?"
"Yeah… really."
"Daddy will stay by your side."
"But I'm so tired."
"What do we do with our girl suffering like this."
Bloodshot red eyes.
Cold sweat dripping, nosebleed stains.
His daughter increasingly resembled his dying wife.
Painfully familiar.
He felt the same helplessness again.
"It hurts so much…."
A didn't have much time left.
The count bit his lip.
After that.
The count often stayed up all night, eyes wide open.
Couldn't comfortably lie in bed with his sick daughter.
"Milord. Lorensia, 5th Circle mage of the Flame School, has come to visit."
"…Lrensia?"
"Yes. She says she has urgent business with you."
Dark-circled eyes fixed on the servant.
He told them to bring her to the office.
What could it be?
With the Dreamland raid a failure, she had no business with him.
Lrensia arrived at the office.
They exchanged brief greetings.
"You look awful."
"Yeah, well."
"From the dungeon raid?"
"…Yeah. My daughter's very sick. Only mana stones can save her."
Lrensia was intrigued.
What talent did this girl A have?
To make the count cherish her so.
'Irreplaceable?'
But that wasn't the point.
She got straight to it.
"What if we tried raiding Dreamland again?"
"…What?"
The count stared at Lorensia in shock.
Lrensia explained.
The best raid was thorough prep for a one-shot clear.
"Dungeons feed on intruders. Blessed intel says escape or death, same thing. And quality? Strong intruders nourish it more. Real pain for us."
But.
Dreamland made it impossible.
Extreme first-try kills.
Near-impossible to grasp anomaly rules in one go.
"Can't be helped. That's Dreamland's power. Sadly, we must respect it."
Thus, Dreamland required multi-run raids.
Essential.
"Best is shoving in easy fodder: regular soldiers, peasants. 'Elevator's one-person. Don't go dark hallways.' No aura or magic needed for that."
But.
Using them as raid fodder? Impossible.
"Yeah, no go. Dungeon Master's strong. Normal soldier squads fail repeatedly. Weaklings get no mercy."
Unchanging law.
Why knights in war.
Normals can't compete.
Sending normals into Dreamland?
Like jumping into lava.
Suicide.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Thus, needed someone stronger than the Dungeon Master.
"At least dwarf soldier level, or no challenge. Your past method's second-best, but issues there too."
Info manipulation.
Memory wipe.
Worst gimmicks blocking multi-runs.
High-end investments burdensome.
But minions rendering them pointless existed.
Impregnable.
"This way, pointless. Without a miracle, dungeon grows faster than we conquer. Dungeon Master can exit. That's why it's uniquely dangerous—Blessed leave it alone for reason."
Did Lorensia crave Dreamland conquest?
Mesmerized by its power?
Raids meaningless.
That's what she'd argued.
Yet telling him to raid again?
What was her angle?
The count narrowed his eyes.
"Haha, don't look so mad. I'm saying refined methods might make it possible."
"Refined?"
Lrensia nodded.
What she meant.
Current raids were brute force.
Multi-runs, first-try deaths, dungeon growth, Master intervention—those were givens.
Dreamland's quirks beyond our control.
But.
Other parts improvable.
For example.
"I had an idea inside: cast ambush spells. No jamming in Dreamland. Freer magic than anywhere."
And.
Her idea was spot-on.
"Fortnight later, spells lingered. Could be Master's bluff, but he'd know my intent—no reason to leave them. Can't disrupt magic? Huge dungeon weakness."
Free magic in Dreamland.
We exploit it.
Past logs lacked detection/comms magic interference.
None at all.
Lrensia spoke calmly, like a merchant pitching wares.
"When raiders exit, memories fade, notes alter. Inside? Nothing happens, right?"
"True… no way."
The count was stunned.
Finally grasped her point.
"What if we leave Dreamland intel inside?"
Physical? Impossible.
Master erases it.
But.
Magic changes everything.
"Like engraving 'magic inscription' on walls… or such."
"Too easy to break."
Inscriptions don't last.
Modifiable, but.
Master uses mana tweak or wrecks terrain—no jamming needed, crumbles easy.
"I'm thinking fixed-location magic vault. Indestructible structure. Store 'rulebook' inside—no info manipulation. Only I open/close a sturdy, complex vault? Makes raids rational."
Lrensia smiled faintly.
Simplified for magic-ignorant count.
"Like Blessed 'inventory'—subspace—at spawn."
Impregnable fortress.
A tiny crack in its gate.
She claimed.
Count Wolfhauen found Lorensia's proposal quite reasonable.
Build vault inside dungeon.
Store rulebook there.
Info manipulation, memory wipe.
Likely triggers on dungeon exit.
No in-dungeon reports.
Memory wipe unavoidable.
But vault blocks info tampering.
Leave intel inside—no alteration.
Of course, theoretical.
Not 100%.
But high odds.
Dreamland's weakness: anomaly intel.
Puzzle-solving.
Know answers, difficulty plummets.
Elevator proved it.
No memory, but.
Zone 5 info from last raid.
Zone 2 added—solid.
Elevator useless.
But.
"I get your point. But is it feasible?"
For it to work.
Dungeon Master can't interfere with vault.
Vault must persist.
Realistic?
Subspace Blessed-exclusive.
Magic replication?
Hard to believe.
"Research now. Space School help for prototype. Subspace example. No jamming—Master can't touch physically, like ambush spells. Long-duration fine…."
As expected.
Not immediate.
Count disappointed.
Naturally.
He needed mana stones now.
No time.
Didn't know how long A could hold.
Not instant raid method.
Not that appealing.
"Our domain can't raid Dreamland anymore."
Count signaled refusal.
Last failure revoked his raid rights anyway.
"…I see."
Lrensia turned away, regretful.
"Lrensia."
"Yes?"
"Why do you want Dreamland?"
She paused.
Then.
"To research a god, once."
She smiled faintly.
Dropped the enigmatic line.
Lrensia left.
And a micro slime watched the scene.
Lrensia.
This woman really planned to leave info in the dungeon.
Impure motives, a touch of madness, tenacity—optimized Dreamland intruder.
But.
What to say.
"Did I worry for nothing?"
Of course, see when it happens.
No complacency.
But manageable, right?