The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#053

 

The Tokyo Dungeon, which has been conquered up to the 53rd floor, has a total of 10 base camps.

 

During the process of reaching the final camp, the 10th Camp, Sung-jun provided tremendous convenience to the raid party.

 

First, he stored all the massive amounts of supplies that needed to be moved from upper camps to lower camps in subspace, greatly saving the stamina that would have been consumed during the process of moving heavy loads.

 

Moreover, he removed the base camp’s waste that would normally have to be carried to the surface by people with carts with just a gesture, and solved the supply of drinking water, which was usually difficult to transport due to its weight, all at once.

 

The help from this was so great that just Sung-jun’s participation alone required restructuring the entire composition of raid members – his influence was enormous.

 

“With Sung-jun’s cooperation, we might really be able to build a proper camp.”

 

In the central tent of the 10th Camp, which they reached only after two weeks since entering the dungeon, Shindo Ayaka was organizing the next raid plan based on Sung-jun’s abilities.

 

Since she had confirmed that Sung-jun’s teleportation magic had nearly infinite capacity, it seemed possible to construct a proper camp in the form of wooden buildings rather than the tent-style temporary shelter she was currently in.

 

They wouldn’t even need to use precious labor to assemble materials inside the dungeon.

 

They could simply assemble structures outside and summon them whole into the dungeon through Sung-jun’s teleportation magic.

 

Shindo Ayaka was happily designing the form of temporary base she wanted to install at the base camp together with her clan members.

 

“No amount of water is ever enough. How about installing a super-large water tank at the camp? Maybe install two 20-ton capacity water tanks in case of damage from monster attacks?”

 

“That sounds good. While we’re at it, let’s install beds too. I’m sick of sleeping in sleeping bags.”

 

“Then let’s install shower facilities too. Since it would be impossible to have all the security personnel sleep in the temporary base, until the facilities are somewhat stabilized, we’ll operate by rotating between personnel sleeping in tents and those sleeping in headquarters.”

 

Like children drawing the house they wanted to live in the future, the Guidance of the Goddess clan members each added the facilities they wanted to the blueprint one by one.

 

Then Sung-jun, who had been silently watching them from inside the meeting room, threw a comment at them as they were excited with enthusiasm.

 

“I never said I would participate in the next raid…”

 

“What?”

 

“Why are you so surprised? I clearly stated from the beginning that this was temporary membership when I joined.”

 

“That’s true, but…”

 

“Sorry, but my goal isn’t to belong to any clan and conquer specific dungeons. This time I only participated as a kind of observation, and I need to visit the large dungeons in Osaka and Nagoya too.”

 

Because Sung-jun used his abilities so readily, Shindo Ayaka had mistakenly thought that Sung-jun’s heart was completely devoted to the Guidance of the Goddess clan.

 

And now that she knew this was a mistake, as the clan master, Shindo Ayaka absolutely needed to change Sung-jun’s mind.

 

Currently, depending on whether Sung-jun participated in the next raid or not, the quality of comfort they could provide to clan members in future raid conquests could be completely different.

 

‘Regardless of whether maintenance is possible, being able to create a proper temporary base could have a tremendous impact on clan members’ condition.’

 

Naturally, since Awakened are also people, they have the physical desires that humans inevitably possess.

 

The desire to eat, wash, and sleep – and if possible, to satisfy these needs in a comfortable environment.

 

One of the biggest reasons why most large clans failed in conquering the deeper layers was precisely because of this.

 

It was possible to repeatedly conquer the lower layers that could be completed as day trips or round trips within 2-4 days, which had less profit but much less risk and allowed dungeon conquest in relatively comfortable environments.

 

The biggest concern of current raid clans was that no one wanted to fight life-threatening battles in smelly, dirty spaces for nearly 20 days.

 

And now, only Sung-jun’s abilities were the sole key that could solve that problem.

 

Knowing this well, Shindo Ayaka spoke to her clan members with a voice filled with firm determination.

 

“Everyone, please step outside for a moment.”

 

Several clan members tried to say something to their clan master, but seeing her facial expression, they silently went outside.

 

Then Shindo Ayaka, left alone with Sung-jun in the large tent, spoke to him.

 

“Please tell me what you want, and I’ll accommodate it within possible limits – no, I’ll try my best to meet even unreasonable demands.”

 

“What do you want from me in return?”

 

“I want you to join our clan as an official clan member.”

 

You don’t need to participate in combat at all.

 

If necessary, she would count the supplies Sung-jun transported with teleportation magic by weight and pay separate compensation.

 

Shindo Ayaka continued listing benefits for Sung-jun.

 

“You might not know this, but the treasure trove at our clan headquarters on the surface contains an enormous amount of artifacts our clan has collected through raids so far. If you want, I’ll hand over the entire treasure trove key.”

 

“Isn’t that the clan’s most precious asset?”

 

“More powerful relics will come from deeper layers. We can collect artifacts anew. But you’re the only one who can solve the supply problems in the dungeon’s deeper layers right now. You don’t have to answer now. After this raid ends and we return to the surface, you can visit our clan, check the treasure trove, and then decide. However, even if you don’t join our clan, I hope you’ll definitely participate in the next raid…”

 

“From what I heard, it seems you want to build an entirely new base camp…”

 

“I’ll pay compensation.”

 

“With what?”

 

At Sung-jun’s question, Shindo Ayaka showed a moment of hesitation.

 

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked at Sung-jun and said.

 

“I’ll give you priority acquisition rights for any 2 relics you want from the relics obtained in this conquest. Instead, I’d like you to decide right now whether you’ll participate in the next raid.”

 

“Are you telling me to gamble?”

 

Sung-jun was right.

 

The goal of this raid was to conquer up to the 55th floor, which would be the installation site for the next base camp.

 

From the 50th floor onward, boss-level Corrosion Entities appeared on each floor, so the bosses they would actually defeat were the monsters on the 53rd, 54th, and 55th floors that hadn’t been defeated yet.

 

Among these, saying she would give Sung-jun 2 rewards of his choice was equivalent to giving up most of the rewards the Guidance of the Goddess clan could obtain from this conquest, but there was a trap hidden in that proposal.

 

Namely, even if they defeated bosses, they couldn’t know what artifacts would drop.

 

Tremendous treasures that couldn’t be converted to money might appear, or completely useless items might drop.

 

Or items that were useless to Sung-jun but had tremendous value to others might appear.

 

Shindo Ayaka’s proposal was exactly that kind of gamble.

 

Betting on reward items that hadn’t appeared yet to get a promise to participate in the next raid.

 

Shindo Ayaka thought there was quite a high possibility that Sung-jun would absolutely accept that proposal.

 

In her experience, people with absolute strength like Sung-jun often preferred ‘interesting-looking’ proposals over rewards that could be measured numerically.

 

And Sung-jun, just as she expected, smiled and accepted the proposal she offered.

 

“That looks interesting. Let’s do it.”

 

***

 

After spending a day at the 7th Camp, Sung-jun headed to the 73rd floor with the 700-member raid party that would participate in the deeper layer conquest.

 

Looking at the map showing the route to where the boss was located, while repelling attacks from monsters that appeared intermittently.

 

Until then, Sung-jun hadn’t particularly shown his combat abilities.

 

The military power of the Awakened in the raid party participating in this conquest was extraordinary enough that they could advance sufficiently without Sung-jun needing to step forward.

 

However, separate from their strength, most of the raid party members who had headed to the deeper layers for over two weeks without properly washing or resting were maintaining very exhausted states both physically and mentally.

 

“This damn curry canned food really can’t be adapted to no matter how much I try to think positively about it.”

 

At the last meal distribution point before meeting the boss on the 73rd floor, an Awakened burst out with complaints.

 

Preserved food made by processing ingredients obtained inside the dungeon on the surface.

 

The curry canned food made with the best effort from available materials was quite a high-grade item containing large potatoes, carrots, and chewy chunks of meat, but the problem was having to eat it every meal.

 

“If civilians outside heard that, they would have cursed you out. Considering the current food situation, this is pretty good.”

 

While male Awakened mainly complained about food, female Awakened tended to express more dissatisfaction with hygiene issues.

 

No matter how diligently they wiped with wet wipes, moving through the dungeon interior while taking short naps without properly changing clothes for over two weeks wasn’t easy even for people with fairly dull nerves.

 

Thus, the raid party members leaving the 10th Camp on the 50th floor were heading toward the dungeon’s deepest parts with their entire bodies covered in grime and monster bloodstains, scratching their greasy hair.

 

Except for Sung-jun, Seoa, and Shirasaki Miyu, who could manage hygiene cleanly through the purification magic Sung-jun created.

 

Of course, the personnel participating in the raid party had somewhat noticed that only Sung-jun’s group was using some special method to wash their bodies.

 

Some of them approached Sung-jun and subtly asked him to cast purification magic on them too.

 

But Sung-jun firmly refused the requests of clan members who came to him asking for magic.

 

Not for any special reason, but because the washing magic itself was an incredibly bothersome magic to use in the first place.

 

It wasn’t simply a magic that activated by extending your hand and shouting ‘Purify!’ like in novels.

 

Controlling the amount and strength of water generated while precisely maintaining the flow of water along body surfaces, and even removing contaminated water generated during the washing process by flowing it into subspace.

 

Honestly, considering only spell complexity, the bathing magic Sung-jun created was more bothersome than Void Spear, Sung-jun’s strongest attack magic.

 

And the biggest problem was that the amount of soap Sung-jun had prepared wasn’t sufficient to wash all 700 people.

 

If he helped some people but not others, internal complaints would inevitably burst out, so Sung-jun didn’t use washing magic for anyone except his disciple Seoa and colleague Shirasaki Miyu.

 

Not even for Shindo Ayaka, who had invited him to the raid.

 

However, knowing well that his decision could cause dissatisfaction among raid party members, Sung-jun was quietly preparing his ultimate weapon to quell the clan members’ complaints.

 

And near the boss appearance point on the 53rd floor, Sung-jun brought out his secret weapon.

 

“Everyone looks tired.”

 

“The situation being what it is, it can’t be helped. Raids are usually like this. Rather than the actual fighting time, battling fatigue, boredom, and filth during the movement process is the biggest task. It’s not a problem that gets solved by reducing the number of participants either.”

 

Watching Shindo Ayaka mutter with a regretful expression, ‘If only the washing problem could be solved, conquest would be possible much more comfortably,’ Sung-jun grinned.

 

Then he said to her.

 

“Then let’s wash.”

 

“Yes… that would really be nice… what?”

 

“Everyone won’t be able to fight in proper condition if we enter the boss battle in this state. So let’s wash up refreshingly before we go fight.”

 

“But you said washing magic is incredibly troublesome even for washing one person…”

 

“That’s a spell I made for washing while traveling, so it’s complicated. If I use a different method instead, even this large group can wash sufficiently.”

 

“…Just what exactly are you planning to do…”

 

Instead of answering, Sung-jun moved toward the outer edge of where the raid party was resting.

 

Then he used Void Spear diagonally against the dungeon floor to create a massive pit.

 

-Kwaaaaang!!! Kwakwang! Kwakwakwang!-

 

After digging the dungeon floor deep enough for bodies to be fully submerged, Sung-jun installed a water-generating magic circle in one corner that spouted clean water.

 

It was a magic circle implemented as a type of magical tool that extracted mana from Corrosion Entity magic stones he had acquired in Nagano Dungeon to create water.

 

Then he made the water generated that way pass through another magic circle and flow into the pit.

 

So that water heated to a suitable temperature for bathing could continuously fill the pit.

 

“This is…!”

 

“It’s a hot spring. It’s temporarily made, but with this kind of structure, there shouldn’t be any problem with this large group washing.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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