Side: Riel
Looking at the documents and listening to Yuki-san, I understand that Dungeon Cores are being used to make the magic swords.
But what is the actual point of doing that?
I had a mock battle with Mist, but my magic was more than enough to cancel hers out. Large-scale magic leaves you way too wide open, so it's useless in a chaotic brawl, and it doesn't work against high-level people like us anyway.
As a weapon, it's just okay. Since it doesn't convert magic into DP, the only real advantage seems to be that it can hold a huge amount of it.
Wait. Something about that feels off...
"Hey, Yuki-san. Why is magic accumulating inside a Dungeon Core that isn't even placed in a dungeon?"
The words just slipped out. I wasn't thinking deeply about it, I was just curious.
"Good catch. I found that strange too, so we tried making something similar on our end."
Saying that, Yuki-san pulled out a sword with a Dungeon Core attached to it.
"This is a replica of the magic sword that Narjia-san made for us over the past week."
"Calling it a replica is rude. Please don't lump my work together with those defective products. Still... the idea itself was quite interesting. Using a Dungeon Core as a mana collection tool to store power and reduce the burden on the user—it was a complete blind spot. I wouldn't have understood it if we weren't already developing magic items that anyone can use. Aria-san's gear is the type that runs by supplying your own magic, so the basic concept is completely different."
Narjia-san explained confidently, but I only understood about half of it.
Basically, it can store a ton of mana, so it's convenient. That's the main point.
"To put it simply, the Dungeon Core stores a ridiculous amount of mana. That's the big deal."
"Ah, don't summarize it that much!"
"Sorry. Right now we are explaining the magic swords, so please save the details about your new sword for later, Narjia-san."
"Muu, fine then."
Narjia-san went back to her seat with a dissatisfied pout.
"Anyway, back on topic. You asked how the mana accumulates. When you cut an enemy with it, it absorbs a certain amount of their mana. If you kill them, it takes a large chunk of their mana. It's not as efficient as a whole dungeon, but in a way, turning it into a weapon wasn't a bad idea. This means it can gather mana even outside of a dungeon."
"I see. But why were they made in the first place? And why were multiple magic swords created?"
"We don't know that much yet. Maybe someone thought of repurposing Dungeon Cores during a long period of war, or maybe a Dungeon Master is still alive out there and pulling the strings... Come to think of it, how is a Dungeon Core usually handled on our continent, Seraria?"
"I've never heard of them being turned into weapons. We knew they had enormous mana capacity, so they were mostly used in defensive devices. For example, barriers around royal castles that interfere with magic. They were used for protection rather than attack."
"Ah, so people viewed them as super-powered versions of the magic stones dropped by monsters. In that case, using them as weapons wouldn't have been strange. Honestly, it's surprising they were only used for defensive tools."
"That's because Dungeon Cores are rare. If someone turned one into a weapon and it was stolen, that would be a disaster. Besides, nobody would want to risk using such a precious Core for an experiment that might fail."
"So that's the reason. But over on the other continent, they did use them as weapons. Actually, aren't Dungeon Cores even rarer there?"
"That's right. Dungeons are already referred to as ruins over there."
"I see..."
It looked like Yuki-san realized something while talking to Seraria.
"Oi, Luna. Get over here for a second."
Yuki-san used a Call to summon Luna.
Why is he calling that useless goddess again?
"What is it? I was just getting to the good part of the drama I was watching."
Luna appeared wearing a tracksuit and holding a bag of potato chips in one hand
Uwaaa... even a world-class beauty could ruin herself like that, huh.
I should make sure I never end up like her.
"I've got a question. Back then, was there only one Dungeon Master on that continent?"
"Hm? I already told you that. There was only one. And he died a long time ago. The others died even earlier."
"Did he have disciples or subordinates?"
"Who knows? I never looked into it that closely. I only noticed because the DP exchange requests stopped coming. When I went to check on him, he was already dead."
"How did he die?"
"Cut down from behind. Unlike you, he didn't spend all his time inside a dungeon, and his defenses weren't nearly this solid. I assume he was simply killed. Whether it was betrayal or not, I don't know."
"I see. Before he died, did he exchange a lot of DP for Dungeon Cores?"
"Yep. Since he was managing the entire continent by himself, he ordered a lot of Cores every time he expanded his dungeons. He was one of my best earners, too."
Ah.
Wasn't that it?
Normally, it's way more efficient to expand your territory like Yuki-san does, so there shouldn't be any reason to order many cores.
"...Well, I think we've roughly figured out the cause."
"By the way, why are you asking all this?"
"...You really are careless."
"If I worried about every little detail, I'd never be able to manage all the other planets. It's the same everywhere, right? The higher your position, the less time you have for trivial matters."
"That's a fair point, but you should probably change out of those sloppy clothes before saying that."
"What are you talking about? You're the one who dragged me here during my break."
I understood what Luna was saying, but I didn't want to accept it.
"We don't know the exact history of how the magic swords were made, but it looks like there were plenty of materials available."
Ignoring Luna, Seraria continued the discussion.
"But the mana depletion was already happening before that, right? So the magic swords probably aren't related after all."
"Riel is right. What do you think, Yuki-san?"
Eris agreed with my opinion.
Wait, this is the first time Eris has spoken during the entire meeting, isn't it? Wasn't she suffering badly from morning sickness today?
I hope she's alright.
"They probably aren't directly related. But I think investigating why the Magic Swords were created will bring us closer to the cause of the mana depletion."
"...I see. So you're planning to uncover what the Dungeon Master of that era intended to accomplish by creating them?"
"Exactly. We finally have a clear objective. We'll trace the footsteps of the Dungeon Master who once lived on this continent and find out how many Magic Swords exist. If we do that, something should eventually come to light."
"That's wonderful. However, regarding the Jilva Empire and our relationship with the demi-humans... uhhgh..."
"E-Eris!? W-What's wrong!? A doctor! Someone call a doctor!"
Ah... So she really had been pushing herself too hard.
Everyone immediately gathered around Eris.
"Alright, alright. You're about to become a father, Yuki-san, so please calm down~"
Lilishe-sama suddenly appeared out of nowhere to check on Eris.
"Mm-hm. Morning sickness. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about it, so you'll just have to endure it."
"...Yes. It's proof that I'm carrying a child... Urp..."
"Yes, yes, let's go lie down for a bit~"
In the end, the meeting was adjourned for the day so Eris could rest and recover.
Still, for now, our goal is clear: the dungeons and the magic swords.
