“Hmm…?”
“What’s wrong, Rey?”
While looking at the menu, something strange is happening.
Fiona-sama is peering closely at it, but since the menu is only visible to me, her action doesn’t really mean anything.
“I feel like the dungeon’s magical energy is increasing.”
But that alone wouldn’t be something strange.
After all, we usually increase the dungeon’s magical energy by defeating invaders.
So, the sense of discomfort I felt was due to the speed of the increase.
Dungeon Magic: 211
Dungeon Magic: 212
Hmm. It feels like it’s increasing faster than usual.
Could it be that a massive massacre of invaders occurred in some dungeon?
“Pilkaya~! Is there a large number of invaders dying somewhere~?”
“Hmm? No, I don’t think so. Why? Have you finally started wanting to wipe everyone out?”
“No, that’s not it… I see, it’s just business as usual, right?”
“Yep, business as usual. The shops and inns, the traps and monsters, the users and the defenders, everything is progressing in a nice, balanced way.”
That means the magical energy is indeed increasing due to some other factor.
What’s the cause? There’s only one possibility. It’s not something new, just an increase in the number of facilities that were previously just consuming magic without any real result.
“Could it be the effect of the heat energy conversion room?”
“It didn’t seem to change anything visually, but maybe something’s happening around there?”
“That’s possible. Let’s observe more closely.”
Fiona-sama and I are watching the entrance of the Beastman Dungeon with intense focus.
Today, both the shops and the inns are bustling. More and more customers are coming in.
Dungeon Magic: 213
Dungeon Magic: 214
Hmm? There’s an increase in magic again, even though nothing special happened.
Could it be that someone’s arrival is triggering the increase in magical energy?
“Heat energy… Could it really be stealing kinetic energy or something? But if that were the case, the guests at the inn and the shops should be weakening…”
“There’s no sign of anything unusual. Tokito and Okui are working just like usual. Those two are hard workers.”
At first, I was worried they might betray me, or rather, I was expecting them to betray me, but they’ve been working harder than I expected.
However, just like Fiona-sama said, they don’t seem to be getting exhausted quickly.
“Group of guests. This is from Rigma.”
The beastmen’s group went straight to the inn to secure sleeping quarters first.
It’s a group of about ten, and it seems they’ve finally given up on trying to tackle the dungeon solo.
Dungeon Magic: 225
“That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
The dungeon magic increased by about 10 at once.
That matches the number of beastmen in the group.
“…Could the heat energy conversion, or the entry of invaders into the rooms, be generating magical energy somehow?”
“So, it’s an entry fee?”
“That seems to be the closest comparison.”
The beastmen move further into the dungeon, but nothing happens when they do.
Even after the apparent source of magic depletion leaves the room, the accumulated magic doesn’t decrease.
As the beastmen leave, other beastmen return from the dungeon.
However, once again, there is no fluctuation in the dungeon magic.
“Pilkaya~. Once things settle down with the customers, tell Okui and Rigma to step outside for a moment.”
“Got it. The customers should be tapering off soon, so I’ll have the two of them do the experiment.”
That probably means the magic will increase by 2.
And if that happens, I’ll be able to make even more improvements to the dungeon than before.
“I just don’t get what the Demon King is thinking…”
“Ahaha… Well, it’s not an easy order to understand, but it’ll be over quickly, so let’s just get it done.”
I was ordered to go outside with Dartle.
Dartle scratches his head, looking puzzled, but it was definitely a strange order.
Well, it’s not a bad one, so let’s just get it over with.
“Alright, Okui-chan, you go in first.”
“Yes!”
Okui responded with great enthusiasm, perhaps more than usual.
As she walked toward the entrance, she thought to herself that she might actually have a natural aptitude for working seriously.
There was nothing in particular happening. No changes.
As Dartle said, sometimes the Demon King gives orders that are hard to understand…
I mean, the Demon King was frantically touching a treasure chest earlier.
“Next, Dartle.”
“Wasn’t I treated a bit roughly earlier?”
Dartle muttered as he approached me.
It seems like there was no change in his case either, so in the end, I still didn’t understand what the Demon King was thinking.
“Okay, next. When you find an invader in the dungeon, let one of them in, but only one at a time.”
“Uh, isn’t that going to be hard to do? Even the beastmen are cooperating to challenge it now.”
“I’m not saying they should clear it alone. Just have them enter ahead by about ten seconds.”
“Well, that’s manageable…”
Having been asked to go out and take action like this, maybe it’s a sign of some trust?
…No, it’s probably more because Pilkaya is watching, so if anything strange happens, he can step in at any moment.
A strange thought crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside as I saw a trio of beastmen approaching.
“Hey, you guys are challenging the dungeon, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right, but what’s up, old man? A human like you here of all places?”
“Ah, well, the human world got tough for me… so I started running an inn in the dungeon to make a living.”
“Ah, so you’re the crazy human running an inn in the dungeon.”
“Yep, yep, and since you’re here, why not stay the night?”
Naturally, Dartle-san started chatting with the beastmen.
This guy is really good at this kind of thing.
Maybe that’s why the Demon King entrusted him with managing the inn.
“Ah, that works for us too.”
“Well, sorry about that. The reception’s right up ahead, so could you check in first?”
“Yeah, it’s better to secure the room first so we can tackle the dungeon with peace of mind.”
“…Ah, sorry, but could you go ahead and check in alone?”
“Why’s that?”
The beastmen looked confused at Dartle-san’s words.
Maybe they thought they were being tricked.
“Your two companions have got mud on their shoes. It’s more efficient if you go first while they clean them off, right?”
“Ah, you’re right… When did you two get so dirty?”
Indeed, the two beastmen had mud and some silver-like metallic dirt on their feet.
Metal, huh… I think there was a map with some kind of mercury mixed with the mud.
It was a place where you could collect material items, but now that I think about it, that could have been the base of Rigma, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Since Rigma’s body is made of mercury, while resting in that area, mercury must have mixed with the mud.
“So, Okui-chan, sorry but can you help them out?”
“Ah, yes!”
Dartle-san’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
He’s really good at getting things done. And he always makes sure to give me a task, so he’s very observant of his surroundings.
The beastmen seemed to have fully let go of their suspicions, and Dartle-san successfully sent just one of them into the dungeon first.
Still, wanting to send just one person in… I really don’t understand the Demon King’s reasoning.
Well, we’re not demons, so I guess the reasoning behind it only makes sense to demons.
◇
“What was that old man making you do?”
Afterward, I had the beastman who entered the dungeon first come out and then re-enter.
Rigma, who had been asked to do a lot of strange things, looked at me with a puzzled expression, so I explained to everyone about the heat energy conversion room and its effects.
“Looks like the heat energy conversion room is installed throughout the entire floor where Rigma and Okui are working without any issues.”
Based on the increase in magical energy, the earlier experiment’s results must be accurate.
“When Okui and Rigma re-entered the dungeon just now, there was no change in the dungeon’s magical energy.”
“Well, yeah… because you two didn’t die.”
“But when just one beastman came in afterward, the dungeon’s magical energy increased by 1.”
“…Huh?”
Rigma responded with an interested tone.
Considering the situation when the group of beastmen entered, that makes sense.
“I think the heat energy conversion room converts the kinetic energy, or something like that, into magical energy when an enemy enters.”
Strictly speaking, it doesn’t seem like kinetic energy or heat energy, but it’s named after the Dungeon Master skill, so it doesn’t really matter.
The important thing is the effect: the more intruders there are, the more the dungeon’s magical energy increases.
What a great facility. I really apologize for calling it useless.
“I see, so that’s how the facility works… Huh!? So, if you use it 10,000 times a day, you could get free gacha pulls!”
“Well, that’s probably too much to hope for.”
If it were completely unrestrained, this facility would have been terrifyingly good for endlessly accumulating magical energy.
I could have had Rigma and Pilkaya split into clones and make them jump around the heat energy conversion room.
Or, I could have ordered a bunch of monsters or captured other races to do it.
But it didn’t work with Rigma or Okui.
Magical energy only increased when the beastmen entered.
It wasn’t that only beastmen could trigger the effect.
Okui, who is also a beastman, didn’t work either.
The only other factor that might matter is whether or not the intruder belongs to the dungeon.
Rigma is naturally part of the dungeon, and Okui, even though he’s forced to work, is also a dungeon beastman.
Even if such people enter, the heat energy conversion room doesn’t activate.
“I think magical energy can only be gained from those who challenge the dungeon. And it seems you can’t collect from the same person twice.”
Whether this is permanent or resets daily, I’m not sure, but I’d hope I could collect again after a day passes…
“Hmm… so does that mean we need 10,000 intruders a day? I really don’t want to attract that many intruders.”
“Yeah, probably. So, we’ll need to balance things out.”
Even so, the efficiency of magical energy increase in this facility is incredibly high.
Maybe I should set it up on every floor.
…But it seems it’s not possible. The menu is no longer selectable.
Does that mean there’s a limit to the number of these facilities that can be created?
Setting it up in other dungeons… doesn’t seem to be a problem.
So, it must be that only one facility like this can exist in a single dungeon.
Originally, all of them were part of the same underground demon world, but I wonder if the walls separating them made the judgment less strict.
In any case, at least the dwarves’ dungeon should have one.
As for the humans… I guess I’ll go ahead and make one. After all, attracting around 60 intruders won’t be that hard.
“Finally, passive income…”
The next day, Rigma intentionally made one of the guests forget something, prompting the same guest to re-enter the dungeon the next day. As a result, magical energy increased by 1.
Now I understand: magical energy is collected once per day. That’s the effect of this facility. Truly passive income.
Thanks to that, I can now use it for future dungeon creation, and if things go well, I might even be able to help with the treasure chest gacha.
