82 An Upstart Dungeon Master VS An Experienced Dungeon Core!

Hey, Shun here!

I've never experienced how it is like to become a general in a war but I guess it would be fun to experience it atleast once…

Hey, I wonder if I would be a great general or something? Or am I more suitable to become a warrior who would lead everyone in the battlefield?

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(Shun's POV)

And so, three days have fully passed and it's the night of day 29, close to a month of me staying in a fantasy world. Looking at my current quest and its progress, I'd say I made a decent amount of progress during the span of a month.

✽✽[A World With Dungeons!]✽✽

Type: Chain Quest

Status: Incomplete

Participant(s): (1/1)

Participation: Mandatory(Voting)

Time Limit: None

Description:

Explore the wonderful world filled with fantasy creatures and dungeons. Complete all the quests in order to receive wonderful rewards!

Reward(s): 10,000 d-coins, 2x Random D-coins Chest, and 1x Random Reward Coupon to everyone. Extra rewards for the participant.

Invite one girl: Ongoing

Become a Dungeon Master: Complete!

Upgrade an Ultimate Skill to Level 5: Ongoing

Reach a total accumulation of 5M Dungeon Points(DP): Ongoing

Earn 1,000 Gold coins: Ongoing

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Well, completing one out of the five quests after a month couldn't be said to be fast but it's a decent amount of progress, right?

"Whew! We managed to finish all of our plans in time!" Rokuko heaved a sigh of relief.

Even Zenko and Ikumei was quite spent as they dozed off seven hours ago while we are doing the finishing touches. We didn't really do that much during that time as we just tinkered things here and there.

"Yeah… It's a good thing we finished things in time."

"Squeak! Tsuka, helped too!"

"Yes yes, Tsuka is a good girl. She help us out a lot."

Well, to be exact, Tsuka help us be energized while we are doing our work. She's been our little cheerleader for these past three days.

"Um… Is it really alright to not summon a strong boss monster?" Rokuko asked, rather skeptical about my decision to not summon any strong boss monster.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Rokuko? We have me and Tsuka here. Why would we need a strong boss monster?"

"Squeak! Tsuka, strong, you know?"

"Uh… Yeah… Tsuka is the best!" Rokuko hesitated for a moment before she eventually agreed at the huffing and puffing Vorpal Bunny.

You don't want to see her get angry. A mad Vorpal Bunny is going be a nightmare to face, I just know it.

"Right, Shun! What scrolls did you buy earlier? Can I know? We're partners, right? Tell me! Pleaaasse!?" Uh… Should I call foul on her because she's using the puppy dog eyes trick on me?

"Well, it's not like it's a secret, anyway. For starters, I bought us five the magic scrolls of [Wallet (600 DP)] for our money's storage."

"Ohh! That will really be useful!"

"Then, I bought a magic scroll of [Storage (10,000 DP)] for our adventuring use for now. I'll buy you guys one of each and teach you how to use it after this Dungeon Battle is done…"

"Yeah… It's really expensive after all…"

"What are you saying, Roluko? We still have about 110,000 DP saved up for a rainy day, you know?"

"Eh? We saved up that much DP!? But we did so many things…"

Well, it's kind of a given that Rokuko is surprised. I, too, was surprised by just how useful and efficient Construction Golems or Golems are in general. They helped us save up a whole lot of DP.

If we used the [Add a Floor (10,000 DP)] service and [Add a Room (300 DP)] we would've spent around 90,000 DP just from constructing the dungeon alone. We saved around 60,000 DP by using the Construction Golems to carve an initial path before buying the [Add a Floor (5,000)] service.

Not only that but my Golems could even make an entire room without using the service. Pats on the back for making those Construction Golems, me.

"More importantly. You look stunning today, Rokuko. The outfit really suit you, now that you have some training with the sword."

"Heheh, of course! Do I have that similar aura to yours when I first summoned you?!"

Currently, Rokuko is in her Princess Knight mode. Due to the training she's been subjected to for over half a month, she now exudes a pretty intimidating aura.

However, Rokuko, my and your aura is still far away.

"But really, our dungeon really changed a lot, huh…"

"Hehehe… It's all thanks to Shun!"

What she said us true, our dungeon had been completely revamped. From a dungeon with a single room called the [Ordinary Cave], with nothing but rocks and dirt inside of it; our little cave had turned into a real, full-fledged dungeon.

Eh, I'm really feeling quite emotional at how we progressed. However, our progress shouldn't just be credited to just me alone.

"Heh, you, Tsuka, Zenko and Ikumei did some good work too. Right, girls?"

"Fufun! Of course! I'm your partner, after all!"

"Umm… Thank you, master!"

"…Thank you…"

"Squeak! Tsuka is bestest!"

I rubbed the girls' heads one by one. While I did so, they leaned heavily against me.

Really, these girls were a huge help.

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(Haku's POV)

"How are the preparations proceeding, Chloe?"

"We have no issue, my lady."

The [Ivory Proving Grounds] was a Branch Dungeon of the capital's [Ivory Labyrinth]. It had suddenly appeared a short distance away from the capital itself.

Of course, it was in truth a dungeon that Dungeon Core Number 89… No, that Haku had prepared for her Dungeon Battle with Rokuko. It had been named by Haku herself. She planned to register the dungeon under that name to the Adventurer's Guild.

It was a dungeon with seven floors in total, dug out using 70,000 DP. Minotaurs wandered its halls and traps were placed everywhere, with loaded crossbows hidden and spears prepared to fly out of holes in the floors and walls.

There were even lizardmen placed about. And among those monsters, many of them held Enchanted Weapons which would cost 10,000 DP each. That's right. Multiple monsters.

"By the way, Chloe. I feel as if many weapons are missing from my armory. Do you know anything about this?"

"I would guess some thieves stole it from your armory without us noticing."

"I see. There's no helping that, then. I feel as if I've seen the axe that minotaur over there is holding before, but it must be something else entirely."

"Indeed, that axe is actually quite common."

"…Oh my, it seems that lizardmen have gotten into our dungeon."

"There was a lizardman nest around this area to begin with."

"But that has nothing to do with us, does it?"

"Indeed it does not. We are not responsible for native creatures inhabiting our dungeon on their own."

…Their dungeon had been prepared using more than 200,000 DP, and their conversation revealed how that was done. Of course, they hadn't broken the rule about not using more than the set amount of DP.

What they were doing was completely legal. As for the mysterious thieves, let's just pray that no random person would get caught up by the aftermath of this.

The [Ivory Proving Grounds], despite being a freshly made dungeon, was already difficult enough to pose immense danger for beginning adventurers. Even a party of C-Rank adventurers would struggle to conquer it.

If you included the army of monsters waiting by the entrance for war to begin, the dungeon's difficulty would increase even further, all the way to B-Rank. The attacking force alone was thirty minotaurs (3,000 DP), one hundred lizardmen (150 DP), and two hundred goblins (20 DP).

All of those monsters were favored by Haku for how balanced their strength was with their DP cost. Perhaps out of the goodness of her heart, or perhaps to avoid suspicion, none of the monsters in the attacking force wielded Enchanted Weapons.

"Now then, shall we begin? I'm going to contact them, Chloe."

"Understood, my lady." Haku opened up the Menu and sent a transmission to the [Ordinary Cave]. Yet again, such a thing would normally require extensive preparation and resources.

"Can you hear me, Number 695?"

"Sister! Yes, I can hear you! I'm so happy I get to see you again!" An adorable voice came out from the menu, causing Haku to smile.

This time, Rokuko was wearing a cute set of dress armor. She looked so cute in it that Haku wanted to seek her out on the battlefield to capture her.

Haku found herself lovingly absorbed in Rokuko's angelic, cute smile that was dripping with clear enthusiasm for her first Dungeon Battle. This little cutie would surely start to cry with tears and snot dirtying her beautiful face if Haku were to mercilessly attack her as planned.

…Hot. Very, very hot. But I must take care to not go too far and make her hate me, thought Haku.

"Fufu. I hope I'm not rushing you, but are you ready to begin?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Very well. Dungeon Battle, start!" Haku's words marked the beginning of battle.

The moment she finished speaking, a gate appeared near the entrance to her dungeon. It was large enough for a platoon of knights to pass through easily, and on the other side awaited the [Ordinary Cave's] golems and some menacing looking white rabbits that carries two short daggers on their hands.

"I see, I see… Golems certainly are a good choice for an army's vanguard. Clay Golems in particular are cheap and therefore easy to gather in large groups. However, I wonder what those little rabbits are?"

Since golems could move for essentially no cost thanks to free mana from the dungeon, they had the least upkeep necessary out of any monster. However, despite being offensively and defensively powerful, they are very slow.

That's not what caught Haku's attention the most, though. It was the rabbits who are now, menacingly, standing in front of the battlefield, squaring off against the likes of Minotaurs and Lizardmen.

"I don't think I've seen such monsters before. Have you, Chloe?"

"No, princess. They… seems to be a unique kind of monster reserved for a Rabbit Dungeon Core."

"Do you think they got some external help, then?"

"No, I don't think Shun would turn to doing such dirty tactics just to win. He doesn't peg me as that kind of person…"

"Certainly, he reminds me of those strong but cunning knights of the past… Very unlike that bastard… Anyway, please attack with the lizardmen."

"Understood… Lizardmen, attack!"

Both armies charged towards the gate. Haku, determining that the golems would simply crush her goblins, prioritized attacking them with her lizardmen.

The goblins would mainly work as scouts to help with conquering the dungeon itself. Losing them early on the battlefield would be a tactical failure.

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ Alright. This is the start of the Dungeon Battle. And yes, the rabbits are summoned by Rokuko. Shun helped her out as well.