I’ve just eavesdropped on the dungeon delvers in their second-floor forward base, and the dungeon seems to be in an… interesting predicament. It seems I was right not to become over-aggressive against the dungeon delvers in their investigation. The normal ones are leaning toward doubting there is an actual threat against the people living in the surrounding areas. However, that one guy who is most likely not a dungeon delver is adamant in continuing down the dungeon. If he gets his way, he’ll probably destroy the dungeon core without a second thought. I can see the Tristar pantheon pendant hanging from his neck, but he’s much more fanatical in his views compared to the dungeon delvers who also wore a pendant. Maybe he has his own reasons, but either way, he’s an enemy that I have to seriously consider eliminating. The problem is that he won’t be easy to isolate and get rid of without alarming the dungeon delvers. Maybe if I don’t do anything , then the dungeon delvers will ignore the zealot’s desires. Is the right answer to just do nothing? I think the best answer really is to create an actual incentive to preserve the existence of the dungeon, specifically through renewable mana crystals. But to do that, I still need more time to earn enough Entropy to buy them, so I guess it’s time to wait and train.

  ?

  …

  ?

  Two more days have passed, and there has been some progress on all fronts. My ‘Illusion Magic’ went up another level, and the rest of the training monsters have picked up a few levels in their weapon masteries. In Vesta’s case, she gained ‘Thread Manipulation’ as a skill, so her webs are more versatile and dangerous. Mors’ skill in archery is slow going, but he’s picking up ‘Mana Manipulation’ pretty quickly. I wonder if being an undead skeleton helps with it in comparison to an organic monster. Vulcan and I both have a relatively high level in the skill, although I purposefully trained it constantly. The second-level evolution monsters have been improving their teamwork and fighting skills, so they should be capable enough to handle one of the vanguard parties at a time. Due to the circumstances, they’re all still level 1, but that looks like it could change pretty soon with the changes in the dungeon delvers.

  ?

  The main force of 25 dungeon delvers had finally arrived in the dungeon, proceeding down to their second-floor forward base. The leader of the main force was a man in halfplate armor, wielding a large battleaxe and notably having the ‘Berserker’ skill. If it’s anything like ‘Blood Rage’, I may be able to exploit it in the future if I have to confront him. He talked to the leader of the Scouts and the zealot in a “private” meeting, where they relayed their reports. The scout reported the layout change of the fourth floor from previous records, but the rest of the dungeon is the same. They never spotted any abnormalities, nor did they find evidence of unique monsters. His team also ran into the strong party of dungeon delvers that had reached the sixth floor a few days ago and learned that the dungeon was undergoing recent expansions. That party had also crossed paths with the other party on the fifth floor and informed them about the state of the sixth floor. From what I can see, they’ve also turned back to return to the dungeon after exploring to the midway point of the sixth floor to verify the first party’s claims. Everything that was reported seemed to be in my favor, which must have infuriated the zealot as he gave an impassioned speech as to why the dungeon needed to be probed further and seriously considered a threat to mankind. The Scout looked exasperated with him, but still treated him with a modicum of respect. Complex political dynamics are probably the reason why they still defer to them despite their own opinions on the matter, but he’s really becoming a pain in my side. Unfortunately, the main leader decided to extend the investigation, although he looked reluctant to do so.

  ?

  Using human wave tactics, they were easily able to get to and set up another base at the end of the fifth floor. That is where they currently are, resting once again in preparation to conquer the rest of the dungeon in the following days. They’ve only suffered minor injuries at the worst in a couple of encounters, but I doubt any of the spawned monsters patrolling the dungeon will be able to stop them completely. If I want to resort to force, I’d have to modify the tunnels on the fifth floor and start guerrilla warfare tactics on the maze-like fourth floor. Doing this might force them to deem the dungeon too much of a threat without any reward to balance it out. I don’t know if I can win that fight, but Vulcan’s team is getting more restless each day that passes without a fight. Pulling the trigger would mean all-out war, but I continue to hesitate until I’m left with no choice.

  ?

  I’m keeping a watch out for the notable figures of the dungeon delvers, and in one corner of my awareness, I feel the zealot moving away from the third floor forward base down to the fourth floor. I focus my attention on him and hear his muttering about the blindness of the dungeon delvers to “this great evil”. He’s probably referring to the dungeon, but I don’t get why he’s going out all alone. I soon see the answer as he stops in the middle of the first room, taking out a metal canister from his robe. He twists the mechanism at the top of the canister, sets it down, and returns to his camp. I identify the object, and its description appears on a screen.

  ?

  Chaos Infuser: A device that quickly releases stored mana of the Goddess Chaos. Capable of being used on the creations of Chaos, including monsters and dungeons. Effect: Infuses monsters and dungeons with the mana of Chaos, increasing the strength of monsters temporarily and increasing spawn rates in dungeons.

  ?

  Shit. He’s trying to force the dungeon delvers to act by stimulating a rapid change in the dungeon. If it goes off, they’ll have every reason to believe the dungeon is too dangerous to be kept around. Immediately, I send a slime in the room to devour the device. I can’t teleport Vulcan there; the forward base is blocking the first two rooms from the function, and he’ll take too long. At the same time, I sent a Hobgoblin pack that was staying at the edge of the room to destroy the device. Wait, why didn’t they attack the man when he came down? Dammit, now’s not the time. I sent both to try to intercept the device, but it’s already too late. I can feel mana emanating from the device, matching the red and gold mana in the dungeon core, as it rapidly expands into the room. Both the slime and the Hobgoblins freeze in place, shaking as they’re bathed in an iridescent light. It’s similar to the light of evolution, but there’s a dark undertone to it, slightly tainting its radiance. The slime had changed into a devouring Slime, an offense-capable, large blob of acid, while the Hobgoblins had become Hobgoblin Brutes and Shamans. The mana was quickly spreading down the floor, affecting everything it touched, although the degree of change lessened from the initial area. More, stronger monsters were spawning, and they were all making their way up the stairs to the third floor. There is no more time to wait; the fight has come to us.