"Alright, about the previous war, there are a few things I still don't get"(Al)

"What?"(Toa)

"Firstly, why did you put traps only on the paths leading to dead ends? Getting them lost is a good thing, right? What's the point behind the mirror maze then?"(Al)

"Why waste time explaining things to those who won't understand them?"(Toa)

"Fine, I get it. I'll go kill a few dragons that have trespassed into our dungeon."(Al)

"Okay, wait. Fine I get it... Its manipulation."(Toa)

"Manipulation?"(Al)

"To get the enemy to think that traps are only on dead ends, so that they will, in the future, never bother going into a corridor wth traps."(Toa)

"See the corridor leading to the last stairs? That has traps, and leads to where we eventually kept the main core."(Toa)

"Won't work. Stronger enemies have distance perception. They can sense the length of the corridor. Also, if the main core is close by, they can sense that too."(Al)

"Precisely. However, it only works for a single floor."(Toa)

"Ah, the stairs... but won't they suspect stairs?"(Al)

"Nope. our dungeon has but a single floor after all..."(Toa)

"I see, but why do something so roundabout? Just hide it or something with an illusion. Tell them what to think directly."(Al)

"That is trickery. What I did is manipulation. Rather than tell them what to think, it is better to teach them how to think."(Toa)

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"(Al)

Note: Quoting the words of a baseball genius and Toa's namesake here:

"To fool your enemy, first you must fool your ally"(Toa)

"What if I am not fooled?"(Al)

"Oh you were."(Toa)

"Why so confident?"(Al)

"The first question you asked: 'why did you put traps only on the paths leading to dead ends?'"(Toa)

"Fine, whatever. The dungeon cores?"(Al)

"My mistake. I overestimated them."(Toa)

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"K. I'm satisfied for now."(Al)

"One must always learn how to mislead others. For example, now I've been invited by the DM of the guardian labyrinth. If some dude comes in asking where I am and wants to kill me, and he asks where I am. Then, he casts a truth only spell on you. what would you say?"(Toa)

"He is the DM of this labyrinth. He has gone to the guardian labyrinth."(Al)

"Thats bad. Rather say, You can find him in the guardian labyrinth. He is a dungeon master. Its fully truthful, but the effect it has is different. After what you said, he would wreak the labyrinth and kill you, while waiting for me to stumble in."(Toa)

"And after what you said, he would do the same to the Guardian labyrinth?"(Al)

"Precisely. Besides, its a lot larger, and an amazing amount of defense is available. Nobody could easily trash the Guardian Labyrinth. Nobody."(Toa)

"Well, its not like something so horribly exact could actually happen."(Al)

Note: Ever heard of a flag?  

"Alright... it would be nice to forge relationships while we can, so I think I'll accept the invitation."(Toa)

"Just a sec... Like you made my sword, could you try making a full suit of armor like that?"(Al)

"Mythril?"(Toa)

"No... admantite is better. However, pure admantite is weak, its better to make an alloy with mythril and oracalcium."(Al)

"Alright... I'll get to it now. After finishing, I'll head to the guardian labyrinth."(Toa)

"Thanks. But try making enough for a full party. You do want to become an adventurer, right?"(Al)

Note: This chapter is chronologically before the previous one. Also, sorry for anther really short chapter. It seems that whenever I note conversations, they seem to take a long time without much space. There is a huge twist coming the chapter after next, but hey, don't wanna spoil it... Also, if you see my delay notice, you can see exactly how many chapters I still have due, so I'll delete it when I have no more dues.