The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 73

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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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#073. End of the Game

As time passed and the supply corps members who had departed from the 69th Floor arrived one by one, Ryusei was finally able to grasp the current situation.

The current Osaka Dungeon had become a completely separate place operating under entirely different rules from the dungeon space he had known until now.

The fact that the medical room in the base camp was filled with injured supply corps members visually demonstrated this change.

It was a scene showing what kind of situation could unfold when humans with the ‘power’ to wield force whenever they wanted within the special space of a dungeon harbored evil intentions amidst the overflowing anxiety.

‘Well, it makes sense that this would happen when you pile up a bunch of humans with guns in a space without legal constraints.’

The scouting team’s report was shocking.

Some adventurers had established a separate stronghold to escape from the control of the Black Spear clan, which owned the base camp.

The base camp was an incredibly convenient space considering it was installed inside a dungeon, but using those facilities required paying magic stones as compensation.

Since that cost was considerable, adventurers who naturally wanted to pitch tents near the camp rather than in the camp itself to handle lodging and meals naturally emerged, and the newly appeared camp was a stronghold of a new faction created by either seizing tents from such adventurers or having the tent-owning adventurers themselves join.

Ryusei thought the adventurers who had attacked his clan members had joined that new camp and visited the camp with elite members, but ultimately failed to identify the attackers.

‘They probably silenced them once their identity was exposed. This is a dungeon, after all.’

It wasn’t difficult to make it look like one or two troublesome humans had died from monster attacks.

After all, the dungeon space itself was a place that had to be conquered at the risk of one’s life, to the point where one had to become accustomed to corpses.

Ryusei also questioned the source of the supplies remaining in the newly established camp, but didn’t gain much from it.

Since the new supplies that the supply corps had been carrying when they were robbed were the same type as the items previously sold at the base camp, it was impossible to identify the culprit based solely on the remaining supplies.

The only sure way was to catch evidence of someone in the newly established camp using artifacts that the supply corps members had possessed, but despite checking the artifacts of everyone in the camp, they found no one using artifacts belonging to Black Spear clan members.

Instead, they only received criticism that the investigating Black Spear clan members were being oppressive.

When they couldn’t find any evidence despite cooperating with all the desired investigations, the adventurers who already harbored resentment over the increased prices of base camp supplies protested fiercely against the Black Spear clan, and ultimately Ryusei had no choice but to withdraw to the base camp with all clan members.

“From now on, we’re controlling all material exports from the base camp. Water can be made with magic stones thanks to the magic circle Sung-jun installed, so only sell water. And instead of money or magic stones, accept food ingredients gathered from harvest sites as payment. Since water can only be sold at the base camp inside the dungeon anyway, they’ll have no choice but to buy it even if we tell them to bring food.”

“There’s going to be tremendous backlash…”

“Since the portal to the upper floors is blocked, we have to survive on just the support supplies in the base camp until the problem is resolved.”

With Ryusei’s decision to begin controlling food sales, the food and supplies piled up in the base camp became items that only Black Spear clan members could use.

While this was certainly worthy of criticism from the perspective of non-Black Spear clan members, no one could openly express hostility toward the Black Spear clan.

If Black Spear stopped supplying even the water they were still selling, the adventurers inside the dungeon wouldn’t last even a week.

One week after beginning to control food sales like this, the order within the dungeon that had been maintained by the raid clan began to collapse instantly.

Top-tier adventurers who had enjoyed all kinds of power and luxury on the surface drew swords over a single carrot someone else was holding, and cooking activities within the dungeon, which would normally be strictly controlled due to smoke, were openly conducted.

Garbage and excrement that couldn’t be properly disposed of and were left scattered throughout the dungeon gave off a rotten stench, and people took turns sleeping in dirty states amidst that foul odor.

Harboring the anxiety that they might be attacked at any time if they didn’t post night guards.

How much time would have to pass before the portal to the upper layers would reopen, or would they have to remain eternally trapped on the 70th Floor until everyone died?

No one knew about the future that awaited them.

However, one thing was certain: no matter how this situation ended, an irreversible deep rift of conflict would be carved between the Black Spear clan and the remaining adventurers trapped in the dungeon.

“According to reports from informants planted among non-clan adventurers, adventurers are gathering at the outlaw camp at an increasing rate each day.”

“Any signs of attack?”

“Not yet. There are adventurers arguing that they should attack our clan right now to recapture the base camp, but there are many adventurers opposing it as well.”

The opposing opinions among the adventurers didn’t come from sympathy for the rules within the dungeon created by the Black Spear clan.

It was only thanks to threatening everyone that if the base camp were attacked by a group of adventurers, they would destroy the water-generating magic circle, the only means of water supply inside the dungeon, in preparation for any possible large-scale assault.

However, since there was a need to manage the stress of the thousands of adventurers active inside the dungeon, Ryusei was allowing even external personnel to use the bathing and laundry facilities under controlled numbers.

Of course, consumables like detergent and soap had to be brought individually, but simply soaking one’s body in warm water could achieve quite good effects in terms of hygiene and stress management, so many adventurers would pay magic stones to use the bathing facilities in the base camp.

‘Of course, that’s only possible because water can be supplied unlimitedly as long as there are magic stones…’

Thinking that if Sung-jun had been there, perhaps the current situation could have been resolved somehow, Ryusei took out a cigarette pack with only one cigarette left from his pocket and fidgeted with it.

Then he shook his head and put the cigarette back in his pocket.

For some reason, he felt that the moment he smoked this last remaining cigarette, all the hope he had believed in until now would come crashing down.

News that a portal leading to the upper floors had been discovered was delivered to the base camp through a clan member only after more than ten days had passed since Ryusei began his forced smoking cessation.

“A portal leading to the 69th Floor was discovered?”

“It’s hard to be certain, but we judge it’s probably so. Even after the portal leading to upper layers was deactivated, the portal leading to Floor 71 continued to remain in place. We confirmed through a clan member sent down earlier that free travel between the 71st and 70th floors is possible. The newly discovered portal is in a different location from the descending portal.”

“What’s your reason for being certain it’s a portal leading to the 69th floor?”

“The clan member who entered for testing returned to camp. Just like when the supply corps arrived before, when coming down, he was transported to a random location within the 70th Floor.”

“It’s extremely fortunate that he didn’t return to the surface immediately after going up to the 69th Floor.”

“He said he judged that the important thing right now was to convey to his comrades as quickly as possible that the ascending portal was functioning normally.”

It was divine luck.

If the clan member who had gone up had died from an attack by another adventurer during his return, or if he had thought requesting supplies from the camp on the 65th Floor was the priority, a different result might have occurred.

The problem was that the portal discovered with such difficulty wasn’t a normal one.

“But the portal deactivated as soon as the clan member went up?”

“We conducted additional investigation to determine the cause. It turns out this wasn’t the first time a portal to the upper floors was discovered.”

According to the clan member’s report, the newly discovered portal could only be used by a mere 10 people.

The reason it hadn’t been discovered until now was because the outlaw camp, which had an overwhelmingly wider range of activity than the Black Spear clan, had desperately hidden information about the portal.

The main content of the report was that the newly generated portal would disappear after sending 10 people to the upper floor, and then a new portal would be generated in a different location.

While this was content like a ray of light shining in pitch-black darkness, Ryusei, who was listening to the report, could only cover his eyes with his hand, look at the ceiling, and let out a hollow laugh.

Because this hope, created so maliciously, was made in a form that could too easily collapse the ‘humanity’ that had been precariously maintained on a thin tightrope until now.

‘The outlaw camp side knew too. The fact that the moment this information spreads widely, a bloody storm will blow.’

The fortunate thing was that the leader of the outlaw camp, which he had thought was simply established in rebellion against the raid clan, was someone capable of rational thinking.

If that hadn’t been the case, the moment he learned there was a portal that could go up, he would have taken his close associates and been the first to escape to the surface.

However, instead of abandoning everyone and going to the upper floors, he chose to remain on the 70th Floor and control the remaining people.

Whether that decision came from a desire for power or from greed for the greater interests that could be gained through that choice, he didn’t know.

Ryusei stood up, picked up his spear hanging on the wall, and said to the clan member.

“Prepare about 20 of our best elite members available right now. We need to go to the outlaw camp.”

“Right now? Why there…”

“If the means to go to upper floors were completely blocked, that would be one thing, but if even a very small number can go up, there’s a way. Bring down all the supplies from the 65th Layer camp and send a rescue request to the surface.”

The expression of the clan member who heard Ryusei’s words wasn’t very bright.

Most of the spare supplies on the 65th floor had already been sent down to the 70th Floor during the last supply run, and even if additional supplies had been provided in the meantime, it would be woefully insufficient for the thousands of people on the 70th Floor to use adequately.

“It would literally be like pissing on frozen feet. The base camp’s supply system wasn’t designed to handle such large numbers in the first place.”

“I know. But there’s someone who can solve that problem cleanly.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s right. Ma Sungjun. If it’s that man, it would be possible to transport supplies that everyone on this floor could survive on with just a single supply run. And to send that support request, we must obtain cooperation from the outlaw camp side by any means necessary. Currently, Black Spear is extremely limited in external activities due to guarding the base camp, while the outlaw camp side can relatively cover the entire dungeon as their territory.”

“Will they accept the proposal?”

“They have to.”

Looking at the window that seemed meaningless since all you could see outside was dark cave walls anyway, Ryusei said.

“Otherwise, we’re all going to die.”

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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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