“Welcome to the Drakonid nation. It has been some time, Emperor Vandalieu-dono. So… why are you in a fighting pose?” asked the female Drakonid warrior who had come to welcome Vandalieu… the female swordsman Rowen who had been sent as a representative to the n.o.ble Orc kingdom.
“I thought that there would be a battle to start off with,” said Vandalieu.
“… Ah, so that is how it was at the Kijin nation. I’m sorry to say that it is impossible for us to do what they do,” Rowen said with a bitter smile.
Perhaps it was a little lonely for a guest to the nation to be greeted by only one person, but in the land within the Boundary Mountain Range, everything outside the gates of the nations was a Devil’s Nest where monsters prowled.
If large numbers of people came out for a grand welcoming, there was the risk of monsters flooding in towards this abnormal event. Thus, it had become custom for only a few skilled individuals to welcome guests, like Kidoumaru who had waited alone at the Kijin nation.
“Us Drakonids are a race that thrives on battle, serving the role of managing the Dungeons that appeared on the eastern side of the mountain range as a counterpart to the Kijin nation to the west. But we teach that one should not take part in needless struggles,” said Rowen. “And one of our guardian Elder Dragons, the crystal-horned dragon G.o.d Lioen, has sent a Divine Message telling us explicitly to not fight you.”
It seemed that Lioen had become very nervous after his experience of meeting Vandalieu in Mububujenge’s Divine Realm.
To Vandalieu, it had been nothing more than a slight irritation that he had already forgotten about, however.
“Then what about a dance compet.i.tion or acrobatic flying? If it’s a drinking compet.i.tion, I’d have to have Borkus represent me, though,” said Vandalieu.
“No, we will not have any compet.i.tions of that sort. Drinking compet.i.tions are strictly forbidden,” Rowen said.
It seemed that many Drakonids loved alcohol, unable to stop themselves from drinking until they were in a stupor after the first sip… Even with resistance Skills, they would continue drinking until the limits of those Skills were overcome.
Thus, ways of drinking that encouraged others to drink more were forbidden in this nation.
“So, there won’t be any challenges…” Vandalieu muttered in disappointment, as he had been looking forward to it a little.
But as his voice was flat-toned as usual, Rowen took no notice of that.
“That is why the four Drakonid Elders are hoping that this time will be spent on discussions and a meal together,” she said.
The four Drakonid Elders were the spokesmen of the four guardian Elder Dragons that protected the Drakonid nation; they were the politicians that managed the nation in a parliamentary system.
Vandalieu realized that he had to respond to these politicians wishes.
“… The four Drakonid Elders are particularly interested in discussing the importation of curry powder,” said Rowen.
“Come to think of it, I gave the remaining curry powder to this nation as a gift after the victory feast in the n.o.ble Orc kingdom, didn’t I?” said Vandalieu.
It seemed that curry had charmed the tongues of the Drakonid nation’s politicians.
“Vandalieu, you can conduct diplomacy involving things other than muscles, too. I’m proud of you!” said Darcia.
“Gourmet diplomacy, I suppose,” said Vandalieu. “Well, I don’t think it was just the power of curry powder.”
And so, Vandalieu was given a warm, peaceful welcome into the Drakonid nation.
The nameless B-cla.s.s Dungeon that Vandalieu had created as a result of his failed attempt to create an cla.s.s Dungeon before he left to visit the other nations. Privel, Gizania and the others hoping to accompany Vandalieu in clearing the Trial of Zakkart were leveling up in here.
“… This is a B-cla.s.s Dungeon, right?” asked Privel.
“It should be. At the very least, that is what he said,” said Gizania.
The two of them had just finished stripping the Magic Stone and particularly valuable materials from some enormous, one-eyed Cyclopes.
Munching noises filled the air.
The remaining meat and organs were being devoured by the Zombies Rapiéçage and Yamata, who could gain Experience Points (though in a miniscule amount) by consuming dead flesh. They were not able to finish eating all of the huge Cyclopes, however.
“… I want… jaws.”
“Kugigih… Not enough… fangs.”
The two of them were patchwork Zombies, with Rapiéçage possessing the limbs of an Ogre and Yamata possessing the torso of a Hydra, but their mouths were those of women. The amount they could consume at one time was limited, and many of Yamata’s upper bodies did not have fangs. Thus, they faced difficulties when eating raw monster corpses.
Cyclopes were Rank 8 monsters that were considered to be a race of descendants of the true Colossi that became monsters. They were over five meters tall, possessing a fearsome amount of monstrous strength and Vitality as one would expect from their appearance.
They were ferocious and preferred solitude, seeing even other members of their own race as enemies outside of breeding season. Thus, they did not form groups to attack their enemies; this was true for Cyclopes both in Devil’s Nests and inside Dungeons.
That was supposed to be the case, but the Cyclopes in this Dungeon were attacking in groups.
“The monsters appearing in this Dungeon ignore the boundaries of common sense as if it were only natural to do so,” said the Empusa Myuze with a sigh as she wiped the blood and fat from her sickles with a cloth.
It was a well-known fact that monsters that appeared in Dungeons behaved differently from normal, as their minds were controlled by something else.
Even monsters of different races would cooperate with one another to eliminate intruders from the outside. Other than when monster rampages occurred, they didn’t climb the stairs connecting different floors, nor did they pursue or ambush intruders. They didn’t move between floors of their own will.
They avoided the pitfalls and other traps, knowing their locations by instinct.
However, even monsters sp.a.w.ning in Dungeons did not have their minds completely controlled by the Dungeon’s will. Thus, it was impossible for them to behave in a way that was too different from their natures.
An example of this impossible behavior was these Cyclopes, a race that was supposed to prefer solitude, forming groups and using teamwork, albeit in a poor fashion.
“The monsters are hiding inside the pitfalls and chasing us into stairwells… they are free, just like natural monsters,” said Myuze, as if complaining.
“It seems likely that Vandalieu-sama’s will for this Dungeon to be an cla.s.s Dungeon has manifested in the Dungeon’s difficulty surpa.s.sing the limits of a B-cla.s.s Dungeon,” said the Vampire Zombie Isla.
Her calm a.n.a.lysis was something that one would expect from a Vampire who had lived for tens of thousands of years.
But in the next moment, a trance-like expression suddenly appeared on her face as she placed a hand to her chest and looked upwards.
“The monsters that sp.a.w.n in Dungeons created by Vandalieu-sama have no souls. That’s why this Dungeon has complete control over the monsters’ minds. In other words, this is a part of the trial given to us by Vandalieu-sama! This difficulty shows how much Vandalieu-sama expects from us! Ah, my lord, I will overcome this trial, so please watch over me!” she declared, pa.s.sionately swearing loyalty to Vandalieu once more.
“… Isldono, I have to question the value of shouting with an unpleasant expression on your face on a child’s education,” said Gizania.
Isla was one of the strongest, most dependable people in the party. She would not be defeated even when facing multiple Cyclopes on her own.
But she was a little troubled, often shouting words to a Vandalieu that only she could see.
“Pauvinchan, was this person always like that?” Privel asked.
“No, she didn’t shout like that until she got that collar from Van,” said Pauvina.
“… So, she was always like that.”
Isla had always been a little insane even while she was alive, but she had managed to keep it under control to some extent. However, it seemed that she had lost all restraint after becoming an Undead… though it seemed that her former superior Eleanora hadn’t noticed, as she had half-ignored Isla.
Incidentally, when Vandalieu was nearby, Isla lost sight of everything except him, so her speech and behavior became close to normal. That was why Vandalieu was the only one who was unaware of her eccentricity.
“It’s amazing that she’s way stronger than us. When Vampires become strong, is it normal for them to turn into strange people like Eleanora and Miles-san?” Privel wondered.
“Don’t compare me to that woman,” Isla said sharply, turning her head at the mention of her rival’s name.
“It seems that you have suddenly regained your sanity,” said Myuze.
It was likely that Eleanora wouldn’t want to be compared to Isla, either. Incidentally, she was currently with Braga and the Ghoul group, leveling up on a deeper floor of the Dungeon.
They were already capable enough to accompany Vandalieu to clear cla.s.s Dungeons and the Trial of Zakkart, but the Dungeon that was newly-created by Vandalieu seemed to have piqued their interest.
“I’m just swearing my loyalty to Vandalieu-sama. To treat that as the behavior of a mad person is… well, it’s fine,” Isla muttered. “Just to be sure, are we continuing to clear this Dungeon?”
“Hmm, it’s starting to get a bit hard for me. I’m not injured or anything, but sorry,” said Pauvina as she exhaled, having finished wiping off the Cyclops blood and fat on her mace.
“No, I’m amazed that you were able to follow us this far,” said Privel.
It was amazing that Pauvina, who had just turned six years old – about nine years old if converted to human years – was able to partic.i.p.ate in clearing a B-cla.s.s Dungeon at all.
At this age… even a n.o.ble child or the child of a first-rate adventurer receiving special education for gifted children might be fighting against a single Rank 1 monster under adult supervision at most.
Pauvina had partic.i.p.ated in a battle against Cyclopes, contributing without being a hindrance to her companions. Even considering the fact that she was three meters tall and equipped with a Death Iron mace and Orichalc.u.m shield, her strength was astounding.
“But I couldn’t defeat any of them,” Pauvina said. “Stopping their attacks with my shield was the most I could do.”
Still, she hadn’t been able to defeat any Cyclops on her own; it seemed that drawing their attention and acting as a diversion had been the most she could do.
“I’m telling you, the fact that you can stop them is amazing,” said Privel.
“I think even with an Orichalc.u.m shield, ordinary people would be knocked down,” said Gizania.
Not receiving any great injuries while drawing the attention of a Rank 8 monster was no small feat. The strength of the Orichalc.u.m shield was a large factor, but even without that, Pauvina had strength unimaginable for someone of her age.
“But the Trial of Zakkart is impossible. It’s become hard for me to level these days, too,” Pauvina said.
It would probably be impossible for her to partic.i.p.ate in clearing the Trial of Zakkart, a Dungeon of even greater difficulty than an cla.s.s Dungeon. There was still over a month left, but she had reached a wall in her development.
“Developmental walls really stop your Level from going up, don’t they? I defeated a ton of monsters today, but I haven’t even gained a single level,” Pauvina complained; this was her first time encountering such a wall.
Everyone other than Rapiéçage and Yamata, who were still eating, gave her bitter smiles as they agreed.
“Apparently everyone hits multiple walls. I’m on my second now, I think,” said Privel.
“This is also my second wall,” said Gizania. “Van-dono overcomes them forcefully by defeating powerful enemies, so I think it didn’t seem so troublesome when watching him, but it really does take time.”
Developmental walls where it suddenly became difficult to increase one’s Level normally took time to overcome. Several months at the shortest, up to several years. There were even some who had faced a developmental wall for more than ten years.
The time needed to overcome them depended on talent and hard work, and whether the individual was blessed with the opportunity to do so.
“It’s only natural for it to be troublesome. If they were overcome easily, there wouldn’t be any adventurers in this world burning out and retiring at D-cla.s.s. But you have Vandalieu-sama with you. You can definitely overcome it. The rest of you, too,” said Isla, encouraging Pauvina, Privel and the others with teachings from the outside world as one would expect from a senior.
Indeed, as they received the effects of Vandalieu’s Guidance: Dark Demon Path, it might take time, but they would certainly be able to overcome their walls.
In fact, it was due to the effects of that Skill that Pauvina hadn’t encountered a developmental wall until now.
“But it would probably be best for you to put that effort in the shallower floors or in C-cla.s.s Dungeons,” Isla added.
“So, that’s better after all? It’s true that we can’t really fight as we are now,” said Pauvina.
The amount of Experience Points gained in battle depended on how much one contributed to the battle. One could gain more Experience Points by repeatedly fighting weaker monsters that one could defeat on their own than by fighting powerful enemies that they could only contribute small efforts against.