"Hmm, shouldn't we add some more decorations...?" - Garami
"Master!! The Battle is about to start! Do not waste precious DP more than you already have!!" - Bloom
Tch, the naggy fairy shot down my request. At least I managed to move the "Demon Lord's Throne" into this room. It used to be a normal area that didn't disturb the path to the Dungeon Core, but now it looks like a game field that hasn't yet had its textures or objects added. Think of an empty room where the walls, ceiling, and floor are made from white squares. Well, calling it "empty" is a little wrong, thanks to the Throne I managed to move to the room after it was turned into this boring sight.
"Fine, you win. Now, should we greet the next loser?" - Garami
"Have you not learned not to count your chickens before they hatch, Master?" - Bloom
"Nope. Not at all." - Garami
Leaving behind the groaning fairy, I sat down on the gigantic throne carved out of black gemstones fitting its name. It also comes with a set of fluffy pillows. Thank god. Specifically, the god of Chaos, since he's the top when it comes to Dungeons.
After having gotten comfortable on the chair any villain would drool over having, I pushed a button hidden on the throne's armrest and made several hologram-like screens appear in front of me. These screens are part of the throne's functions as a Dungeon Facility. Specifically, it allows the Dungeon Master, aka me, to use the throne as a super-sized, super-luxurious Dungeon Terminal. It also has a certain bonus effect given to the Dungeon monsters, but that's for later.
"Ehm, test, test. Assault teams, defense teams, can you hear me?" - Garami
[Test, test..., sure, loud and clear.] - Alf
[All's clear as crystal on my front as well.] - Mira
"Okay, the communicators seem to work." - Garami
[Did you not test them yesterday? And the day before that too?] - Noire
[Hey, checking the equipment regularly is common sense. Also, why am I stuck on the bottom floor?!] - Flint
"Be glad I even decided to include you on the defense team. Runitos' beef with you might flare up again if he sees you before this fight is over. So be a good last line of defense and make sure you're not the next guy getting flared up." - Garami
Grumbling could be heard from the communication screen connected to the group on the 5th (and final) floor, but no further complaints were heard. It seems everyone's good to go.
"Alright, I'll contact Runitos now to start the Dungeon Battle. You guys remember the plan?" - Garami
[Sure. And Princess will give us updates in case something strange happens. Otherwise, we will proceed with our tasks to the best of our abilities.] - Mira
"It's going to be too hectic for me alone to keep an eye on everything happening in two Dungeons, so you guys better stay on your toes." - Garami
"Hey, I am also here in the command room!" - Bloom
"Yeah, sure." - Garami
[Right, right.] - Everyone else
"WHAAAAAAA-!!" - Bloom
The gang cut off their contact, though I'm not sure if it was because nobody had any further inquiries or if the fairy BGM was too noisy. After Bloom dried her tears, I could finally start the call to the other side.
[Hmph, how does this blasted..., ah. It's on.] - Runitos
Thinking about it, having a video chat with a giant red dragon is surreal. Unlike the communication using the others' Dungeon Terminals, talking to the Fire Dragon uses the hologram screens from the Throne. He must have a similar Facility in his Dungeon.
"Hi...Runitos. Ready to lose?" - Garami
[You little-! And you forgot my name now, didn't you!?] - Runitos
"I didn't~, I didn't~. Now, before we begin, let me confirm one more time: If you win, you will gain this treasure chest," I said while moving the screen to show the chest of shinies that had been spared from being converted into DP, "and one Facility from our Dungeon as your reward, correct?"
[That's right and you better not forget it!] - Runitos
"You don't know the half of the will force I needed to do that..." I whispered under my breath, still wishing to convert the pile of crystal goodies into delicious DP...
[Whazzat?] - Runitos
"Nothing. But if we win, all of your Dungeon's..., the 'Ruby Coffer', is it?" - Garami
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[It's an easier-to-understand name than yours. What the **** is a 'Damavand' even supposed to be?] - Runitos
"It's a mountain from legends far from this land. It's fitting, so I borrowed the name." - Garami
[Huh? Mountain? Aren't you guys in a cave?] - Runitos
"What is a desert cave than a mountain sunk in the sand?" - Garami
[Huh, aren't you quite the poet. And what's so special about this mountain?] - Runitos
"Nothing much. Just an incarnation of absolute evil is sealed inside it." - Garami
Back home on Earth, Mount Damavand existed and had legends about a vicious dragon being chained to the mountain. Said dragon even has connections to the Zahhak, an evil figure in Persian mythology and the same guy that named the dragon that my Extra Skill is named after. In short, there was no shortage of reasons why not to go with that name. Yeah, I was a mythology geek back in my previous life. Sue me.
[Uhum... That's...nice?] - Runitos
"Thank you very much. Now, shall we go over the rules one final time before duking it out?" - Garami
[No need. Let's start.] - Runitos
"You sure? Don't forget, the Dummy Cores are to be placed on the 5th Dungeon Floor." - Garami
[I know that much. Don't try to make a fool out of me.] - Runitos
"And that you'll have to touch the thing to earn the victory champagne." - Garami
[Yes, I know.] - Runitos
"And that there will be no time limit-" - Garami
[I said I know already! Stop stalling!!] - Runitos
"Okidoki. In that case, Bloom? You can have the honor!" - Garami
"I am way ahead of you!" - Bloom
As if her breakdown from before was a lie, Bloom replied with a giddy voice while holding an oversized (in her hands) mallet, ready to strike the giant gong we had prepared for this event.
[......Sorry, but tell me...what's pictured on the gong?] - Runitos
"I think it's supposed to be a Hannya." - Garami
[That youkai you can find in Wakoku?] - Runitos
"Yup. The one that's like a vengeful spirit of anger and grudges. Our brand-new blacksmith made it, by the way. With all his heart~." - Garami
[......I see...*glup*...] - Runitos
Score! Mini operation "Make that idiot not mess with Flint anymore" has made some progress! I knew it was a good idea to repurpose one of the prototype shields Flint was making for Iron into this gong.
*DOOOOONG!!*
And with the sound of the gong, the Dungeon Battle between the "Damavand" and the "Ruby Coffer" has begun. FYI, Bloom looks like she won't stop shaking for the remainder of the battle.
---
After the connection with Runitos got cut, I started setting up screens to watch the show. One-half of them are dedicated to watching the defense team inside the Dungeon while the other half is going to be used watching the assault team when they invade the Ruby Coffer.
In Dungeon Battles, a special gateway will be added to the first floor that is connected to the other Dungeon's main entrance, disregarding how far the two Dungeons are in reality. This also prevents the Battle from ending up as a single clash between monsters at the front entrances. Oh, and the front entrances can't be used by that Dungeon's team, so we're in the clear.
This time around, I decided to send some forces for both sides, divided into several groups. A Dungeon Battle can have up to 36 "mercenaries", outside forces that join in defending the Dungeon, but other than that, you also have access to 100 C-rank monsters that can be found in the Dungeon...
Except, our place is far from developed enough to produce such high-quality monsters. However, instead of 1 C-rank monster, one can instead boost one's forces with 10 D-rank monsters. And if you don't want 1 D-rank, you can get 10 E-ranks, and so on. This means that even for recently made, undeveloped Dungeons, one can have as many as 10.000 Dungeon monsters under your command. Man, this is more akin to a war than a battle.
Developing the Dungeon's stats would decrease the natural DP recovery limit, but I favor quality over quantity. Besides, the recent upgrades done to the Damavand allowed me to splurge a little. Thanks to that, we now have around 8.000 monsters, with some of them being D-rank creatures.
However, not all of them are E-ranks and D-ranks like the first group of monsters that have just stepped into the Ruby Coffer. They're mostly F-ranked High Goblins, Monster Bats, Monster Dogs, Demonic Elementals, and Cave Rabbits. The scrubs from our Damavand's Common Monster Line, when you ignore the G-rank cannon fodder. I've had 100 of them sent into the Coffer alone, but that's just around 10 E-rank troops' worth, so even if they die, we won't end up losing too much.
Sharing the sight of the monsters in the back, I got a first-class view of the Fire Dragon's brainchild. The Ruby Coffer, as its name suggests, is made of red brick walls, floor, and ceiling, with torches as the only source of light in the dark corridor. The ceiling is pretty high, large enough that even Runitos could move around with ease, so we could potentially see giant-type enemies walking down these paths.
"Master! There are movements over at the entrance!" shouted Bloom all of a sudden, having stopped acting like a milkshake in progress.
"Keep an eye out for me on the decoy squad," I asked her while switching places with her, looking at the Damavand's entree.
A large number of creatures, probably around 200 or so, emerged from the portal at the entrance with gusto. I could see giant bulls with shiny horns, giant lizards with golden scales, golems made out of chains and padlocks, and goblins armed with swords and metal armor. The last group must be "Goblin Warriors", E-rank gobs with Warrior-type classes, but the other monsters are completely new to me.
Oh, there are some bulls with normal horns and lizards that are less shiny. I'd wage the bulls being "Monster Bulls". We saw some back on the Plain Island ranches. When tamed, those bullies are the perfect bodyguards for the rest of the cattle herd. Which means those shiny-horned ones could be their D-rank evolutions? Yeah, that sounds likely.
"Defense team A, can you hear me? The enemy troops have arrived and they've got D-ranks among their..., well, their ranks." - Garami
[Thank you for the information. Next time, set aside the puns.] - Noire
Noire, who is leading team A in the Dungeon, replied without any hesitation in her voice. It might also come from that she, along with the rest of team A, are stationed on the top of the ruined buildings that make up the Dungeon's floor. There are no flyers in the enemy's forces, so the long-range group can shoot down at them without worries. Still...
"Noire, hold your fire and take your team back to point Z." - Garami
[Already? Are you sure we should act so defensively?] - Noire
"That's your job today. But try to wait until the maximum amount of enemy monsters are in range." - Garami
[Roger. I will spring the wicked trap you have cooked up to its fullest potential.] - Noire
It's not that wicked. I'd call it "shocking" if anything, but not wicked...maybe. Let's leave the 1st floor to Noire and turn our attention back to the decoy troops. The monsters alone weren't enough to guess the Ruby Coffer's Dungeon theme, a crucial hint for knowing how to conquer the Fire Dragon's Dungeon, so let's keep our eyes open for any clues. Aaaaand watch our weaker monsters become lizard food, I guess. How did those goldy scalies turn so...shiny? Yet another mystery I wanna solve.