Chapter 231: Dungeon Destruction Verification (Part 2)

On the 7th evening since the destruction of the Public Park Dungeon, the complete restoration of the entrance was confirmed. Attempting appraisal, the phrase “Regenerating” had vanished. There were hardly any visual changes, and entering inside was also possible.

Two days later, after investigating up to the 9th floor—monsters were spawning as usual, and there were no changes in their types. It was confirmed that their levels and strengths remained exactly the same.

“We’re all set here. We can destroy it anytime.”

“Nail, just wait a bit longer. We’re still waiting for the Capture Team’s report.”

“I see. Then let’s wait right here at the teleportation circle.”

And today, we proceed with the experiment to destroy the dungeon from another world.

Nail was on standby in the lowest layer, while I positioned myself at the entrance of the Dungeon. Now, all that remained was to await contact from the Capture Team on the surface. They were currently out capturing Minotaurs.

(Alright, let’s review everything now.)

While waiting for Touya and the others to contact us, I reviewed the information obtained from the Goddess.

1. The guardian of the dungeon is the Moon Goddess, and besides her, it’s impossible to destroy it. However, currently, the Moon Goddess’s divine power is almost non-existent. In this state, there is a possibility it can be destroyed.

2. Even if the dungeon is destroyed, there is a high possibility it will naturally regenerate in its original location. This has been proven credible due to past records in Japan. However, the exact duration for restoration is unknown.

3. Fundamentally, the dungeon serves as an amplification device for mana. If destroyed simultaneously, it could lead to a temporary mana depletion. Even if destruction is possible, it should be limited to a few locations. It’s recommended to confirm restoration before making a decision.

4. Since there is no precedent, it’s uncertain if the monsters spawning on the surface will reset. The Moon Goddess is just a guardian and shouldn’t have information on this. If she did, she would have dealt with it long ago.

(That’s about it, more or less. In the end, we won’t know until we try…)

Just as I was thinking this, sporadic telepathic messages began to come in, and only Touya’s team was left to respond.

“Village chief, sorry it took a bit longer.”

“That’s fine, but was there some trouble?”

“No, it was just tricky to hold back. We finally managed to do it…”

“Good to hear. Nail, as discussed earlier, you can start.”

“Understood, here we go.”

A few seconds after Nail’s words—waves of magic overflowed onto the surface, spreading far into the distance. It was incomparable to what happened in Japan. The immense amount of mana and its density made me feel slightly dizzy.

It seemed Nail, who was in the lower layers, felt the same—

“Village chief… are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a bit queasy. How’s it going in the deepest layer?”

“We’ve successfully destroyed the stone pillars. Restoration has already begun on our end.”

“I see, great work. Sorry, but please continue to monitor the situation for a while.”

And so, while the two of us were having that exchange… there was still no response from the others. Even when we called out to them, not a single person replied.

For a while after that, we couldn’t reach anyone. Unable to stay put, when I was about to leave this place to search for them—

“…Can you hear this?”

“…san, are you alright?”

“…the heck is going on?”

Finally, telepathic messages came from everyone, all at once.

“I finally heard you… What’s going on with everyone? Are you all okay?”

“Keisuke-san, are you alright? We were worried when the telepathy suddenly stopped.”

“I’m fine. Nail down in the lower layer is okay too.”

For reasons unknown, telepathy had temporarily become unusable. I could still converse normally with Nail in the lower layer, though… Could it be because of the overflow of mana from earlier?

“Anyway, let’s gather here for now. We’ll discuss everything from there. We can’t afford to lose telepathy again.”

After waiting for about 20 minutes, everyone safely returned—

—

“I was seriously scared. Village chief, I thought you might have died.”

“Me too, Touya. But I’m glad everyone’s okay. Good job, everyone.”

After confirming each other’s safety, we promptly moved on to the main topic.

– The moment visible waves of mana passed through, the Minotaurs disappeared. Unlike when we defeated them, there were no magic stones or materials left behind.

– We tried contacting immediately, but there was no response whatsoever. It lasted about 3 minutes. I also tried telepathy with Tsubaki, but no luck.

– Including the current location, the mana quantity in this entire area has drastically decreased. According to Drago, it’s exactly the same condition as what happened in Japan.

Summarizing the Capture Team’s opinions, it was mostly like this. There were unexpected developments, but it was confirmed that the surrounding monsters disappeared. Now, all that’s left is to confirm if they start appearing on the surface after the dungeon’s restoration.

“Keisuke-san, I know you don’t need to hear this, but…”

“Yeah, I have no intention of forcing a release. There’s not much benefit to it.”

“That’s right.”

I quickly understood what Sakura wanted to say. It was about continuing to reset the dungeons and purify the eastern part of the continent.

“But I have more things I want to investigate.”

“More investigations… Does that include the dungeon after it regenerates?”

“Of course, that’s part of it, but…”

As our future goal, I want to advance the search for dungeons to the east of the continent. However, it will be limited to areas close to the village.

We’ll investigate the lands east of the village to locate dungeons. Then, we’ll confirm their depth for future conquest. Once we know the location and depth, we can attack at any time. And after resetting, our operational range should expand even without a protective barrier.

“I see, so you plan to expand our influence eastward from the village?”

“Whether we expand the barrier is undecided, but I want to prepare for that.”

“Even without the barrier, as long as it’s only up to goblin-class, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

For this investigation, I’ve entrusted primarily the dragon-beastmen and serpent-beastmen. It’s efficient to search from both above and below ground. Drago and Nail gladly accepted the task, so we’ve decided to proceed sequentially starting tomorrow.

“Nail, wrap things up on your end as you see fit. Were the other teleportation circles working normally?”

“Yeah, they were already tested, so there’s no issue.”

From the previous discovery in the territory where the former student mayor resided, it was possible to escape from the dungeon found there. There’s a protective barrier outside, and we can return instantly using the teleportation circle. I didn’t expect it to be useful in a situation like this, but it was a wise decision to keep it in place.

“Now then, let’s head back. The day after tomorrow, that thing we’ve been waiting for will finally be unveiled, so let’s proceed with things on this end steadily.”

“Oh, finally getting access to it!”

“I’m definitely going to see it!”

“Touya, don’t forget about me! I’m dying to know what happened to that warrior afterward!”

And so, with this, we finally put an end to the dungeon verification.

With the village’s acceptance of newcomers just a few days away, the old man returned triumphantly, brimming with energy.

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