The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 57

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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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#057

 

Sung-jun knew exactly what type of person the woman bowing before him was.

 

A so-called ‘good person.’

 

To put it harshly, the perfect type of human to call a ‘pushover.’

 

However, this didn’t mean that Shindo Ayaka was simply someone who got pushed around and exploited one-sidedly.

 

A person who was merely gullible and soft-hearted, easily swayed this way and that, could never have become the master of one of the 5 Great Clans with raid authority over the Tokyo Dungeon, Japan’s largest dungeon.

 

So the type of person Sung-jun assessed Shindo Ayaka to be was, so to speak, ‘someone smart enough to pretend to be a pushover.’

 

A person who could give up immediate gains while upholding the great cause of ‘benefiting people widely.’

 

And someone who could look toward the greater future benefits that cause would bring them.

 

A person who could accept the inconvenience they had to sacrifice for the cause as joy instead.

 

‘A hero… no, in this case, would it be a saint?’

 

Sung-jun’s expression darkened precisely because of that.

 

Unlike humans who valued clear, unchanging values like wealth, honor, or power, the ’cause’ pursued by this type of human had the characteristic of changing like taffy depending on the situation.

 

That’s the nature of justice.

 

They firmly believe that the values they pursue are absolutely unchanging, but depending on the situation, it becomes a fragile value like a reed that can be whatever you want it to be.

 

Humans who follow values are beautiful.

 

Sometimes as unwavering conviction that sets hearts ablaze, sometimes as kindness that warms the heart just by watching.

 

That’s how the woman before him would have gathered people who followed her.

 

No, even if she hadn’t asked them to gather, people would have come together on their own.

 

And they would have sacrificed themselves alongside her.

 

Like moths flying toward flickering flames, knowing their bodies would burn.

 

But what type of person the woman before him was wasn’t a particularly important issue for Sung-jun.

 

What mattered was…

 

‘Whether that hero will become an adversary blocking my path, or the only lifeline to help me.’

 

Sung-jun knew.

 

That the dungeon’s harvest, which was like a lifeline for the countless people living on the island of Japan, was nothing but an object born from the malice of the ruler who dominated the dungeon.

 

What drives a person stranded on the vast ocean for a week without a drop of water most insane isn’t thirst, but the endlessly spread cool, blue sea.

 

If they were in the middle of a desert without a single drop of water, they could semi-forcibly restrain themselves since there was no water to drink even if they wanted to, but the countless seawater that would surely bring death if consumed would constantly whisper temptations in their ear that it might be better to drink at least one sip before dying anyway.

 

People think.

 

That if more Awakened enter the dungeon, secure more Harvest Sites, and supply more food to the surface, somehow the future situation might improve.

 

This was one of the common delusions that people familiar with online games or gambling often fell into.

 

The delusion that leveling up or getting stronger equipment would make the game easier.

 

The delusion that after losing 9 consecutive times in a game with a 1/10 chance of victory, it was time to win once.

 

The delusion of expecting that an existence holding the balancing authority of the game they’re playing would ‘fairly’ balance the game, despite clearly knowing such an existence exists.

 

Of course, in most online games, those with authority to adjust balance tend to try their best to fairly maintain the balance values that gamers expect.

 

If powerful monsters that even level 99 players couldn’t defeat appeared in a dungeon made for level 10 users to hunt, no user would try to clear that game.

 

Games can be quit.

 

Gambling can be given up too.

 

But the problem was that life wasn’t something that could be given up like games or gambling.

 

One single life, one single lifetime.

 

In a life-or-death gamble where you can never run away or hide, there’s only one way to escape the grip of the dealer holding your fate.

 

‘The dealer must be killed.’

 

Of course, if the opponent was running the gambling table fairly based on luck, you could choose to gamble with your life despite the low odds.

 

But if the opposing dealer was a cheater who could freely manipulate the cards in their hand and the cards they could give you, the only way to escape that game was to kill the dealer holding the cards.

 

Stabbing the throat of the opponent holding your fate and forcibly snatching the cards from their grasp.

 

However…

 

‘Sigh…’

 

Conveying what he was thinking to the woman before him wasn’t particularly difficult.

 

It was just impossible to convince her that it was certain fact.

 

The information that the harvest obtainable in the dungeon might simply be bait to prevent human advancement, and the information that what the Corrosion Entity presumed to be the dungeon’s ruler was targeting might be using that harvest as bait to slowly kill humans, was currently nothing more than speculation.

 

Thoughts that were literally like delusions, without evidence that it was certain, or even the slightest basis to suggest high possibility.

 

Sung-jun, who had been pondering how to convey that delusion, eventually decided to give up on persuading his opponent.

 

If he pushed forward with the plan he was thinking of anyway, the timing to persuade his opponent would inevitably come.

 

And if he was lucky, he might be able to find evidence in the dungeon to support his claims while pushing forward with the plan.

 

Having made up his mind, Sung-jun spoke to Shindo Ayaka, who was still bowing her head.

 

“Please raise your head.”

 

“I’ll stay like this until you give permission.”

 

It was a voice with a purity that felt like a child throwing a tantrum.

 

“Well, it’s not that I don’t understand what you’re saying. Stabilizing the base camp will draw more Awakened to the lower layers, and the Harvest Sites that can be secured as a result will be of great help to the people remaining on the surface.”

 

“Then you’re giving permission?”

 

“However, for the same reason Ms. Shindo Ayaka mentioned, it’s impossible for me to join the Guidance of the Goddess Clan.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Because dungeons that need base camp installation aren’t only in Tokyo.”

 

Sung-jun planned to move to Osaka, where other large dungeons were located, immediately after this raid ended.

 

Ultimately, installing dozens of base camps like the one installed here in most of the large dungeons in Japan was one of Sung-jun’s goals.

 

There were countless dungeons to conquer, but Sung-jun’s body was only one.

 

The biggest problem Sung-jun faced was that the dungeons that appeared in Japan were ridiculously vast in size.

 

So vast that it took several hours or more just to move to the point for advancing to the next layer without any combat.

 

Assuming it takes 3 hours to move from one layer to the next, it would take 30 hours to break through 10 layers without rest.

 

Assuming 6 hours of sleep per day, it would take 17 days just to ‘walk’ from the 1st to the 100th floor.

 

Including the time for combat with monsters encountered along the way, reorganization time after battles, and time for rest and meals, even if the boss was killed in one strike upon meeting, it would take close to a month.

 

‘In reality, bosses won’t die in one strike, and since large numbers move for raids, conquering up to the 100th floor would require at least 3 months per dungeon, no matter how fast.’

 

The time needed to conquer just the 5 known large dungeons was at least a year and a half.

 

That was also the minimum estimate, so Sung-jun judged that it would actually take more than 3 years to completely conquer all the large dungeons in Japan.

 

And the only way to shorten that long time was to make other conquerors actively break through layers without Sung-jun necessarily having to participate.

 

“As you said, if supply problems are solved, Awakened will naturally gather in the deeper layers. Then the amount of harvest obtainable from dungeons will increase significantly. In that case, there’s no reason to limit that target to the Tokyo Dungeon. If it’s possible to install base camps at appropriate intervals in all large dungeons in Japan, the amount of harvest from dungeons nationwide would increase… Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

Sung-jun looked at Shindo Ayaka with a flustered expression as he continued speaking.

 

She, who had been listening to Sung-jun’s words, was looking at him with tears welling up in her eyes.

 

“I never imagined you would say such things.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because most of the Awakened I’ve seen so far acted as if they had become protagonists in a novel. Some as if they were already protagonists, others as if they wanted to become protagonists.”

 

The reason Sung-jun, who was essentially the ultimate porter, was absolutely necessary for dungeon conquest was because no one wanted to take on the porter role.

 

The highlight of dungeon conquest was undoubtedly treasure hunting, and the treasures obtained that way became enormous wealth.

 

Moreover, if the job was simply carrying luggage, it would be much more convenient to entrust it to civilians pulling carts.

 

In fact, among parties that conquered dungeons on a small scale, it was quite common to hire civilians who weren’t Awakened as porters and errand runners.

 

Furthermore, Sung-jun’s ability was powerful enough that he could obtain a position in a raid clan if he set his mind to it.

 

An ability that could allow him to create his own clan rather than being affiliated with another clan, and live a life equivalent to a king.

 

Sung-jun’s words were essentially the same as saying he would provide that ability free of charge to other clans that had already secured raid authority.

 

Of course, that was merely her misunderstanding Sung-jun’s words on her own.

 

“Wait a moment. I think I need to clear up some misunderstandings first.”

 

“Misunderstandings?”

 

“The biggest misunderstanding is thinking that I would install base camps in other dungeons for free. Naturally, I should receive compensation. Proper compensation befitting the work I’ve done.”

 

“Uh… that’s right. I got too excited and misunderstood. Of course… naturally you should receive compensation…”

 

“Secondly, from what you’re saying, it seems you’re misunderstanding that I installed all the base camps from Camp 11 on the 55th floor that I set up in this raid for free…”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Shindo Ayaka believed that Sung-jun would naturally install base camps on all the remaining layers.

 

Because Sung-jun had already installed all the facilities of Camp 1 where she was located without saying anything, free of charge.

 

However, Sung-jun’s free installation of the numerous facilities needed for Camp 1 wasn’t born from simple goodwill.

 

To confirm whether the numerous buildings and materials brought for camp installation could be properly operated, actually installing them was the fastest method, so that’s what he did.

 

When Sung-jun explained this part, Shindo Ayaka looked at Sung-jun with an aggrieved expression and said.

 

“Ugh… But you definitely said during the last raid that you would participate in the next raid for certain…”

 

“I certainly did promise that. That’s why I’m here drinking tea with Shindo Ayaka right now, isn’t it? With an enormous amount of supplies prepared by the Guidance of the Goddess Clan stored in my subspace.”

 

“Then perhaps…”

 

“Yes.”

 

“When you said you’d ‘participate’ in the raid, you literally meant you’d only ‘participate’…”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“But the supplies you brought are enough for 9 camps… If we refuse the compensation…”

 

“Then I’ll have to drop everything off at Camp 1 and leave.”

 

Sung-jun said with a sly grin.

 

“I’m sorry, but from here on, it’s a paid service. Dear customer.”

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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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