It was a white space—a white, void-like space.
In that expanse where everything was bleached of color, there sat a white throne.
Ai could only watch the figure seated upon it.
She had already delivered her report. She had also taken every possible measure, reaching out to their numerous collaborators to ensure the chaos was kept to a minimum.
A massive dispersal of magic essence had caused a temporary expansion of the dungeon areas and a subsequent monster outbreak.
For the time being, this incident would be referred to as an "Artificial Stampede."
It was an unprecedented act of terrorism, carried out by human hands.
Furthermore, this terrorism had occurred simultaneously across dozens of dungeons worldwide.
The attacks had targeted multiple major metropolitan areas.
Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Dhaka, Sao Paulo, Cairo, and Mexico City—Artificial Stampedes had broken out in dungeons across these seven urban hubs.
One could argue the situation had been brought to a close with minimal damage, thanks to the efforts of the Japan Explorer Association and the work of their various collaborators.
Simultaneously, Master had used what little strength he had left to have the collaborators pursue the perpetrators. He had succeeded in taking over a hundred individuals into custody.
However...
It had already been confirmed that the perpetrators possessed no information leading back to the mastermind. While individual national governments would likely conduct their own interrogations from here on, those too would surely end in futility.
In this terrorist plot, the executors were nothing more than disposable pawns. To the mastermind, it wouldn't matter how many were captured or killed.
No, more importantly...
(I already know exactly who the mastermind is.)
Ai was certain. She had already informed Master of this, but even without her report, Master would have reached the same conclusion.
(The perpetrators were all seed skill holders. Since there are skill holders active whom we have no record of, it is a certainty that someone has been distributing skill seeds. And the only ones capable of such a feat, other than Master... are them.)
She did not know who the mastermind was masquerading as within human society. She knew neither their name nor their appearance. In fact, it was likely no longer limited to just one person.
However, she knew what they were.
Master especially knew.
For hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand years, he had been fighting against them.
Ai looked at Master on the throne.
Master clutched his face tightly with his hand, his vacant eyes staring into the void as he muttered incessantly.
"Why...? Where did they come from...? The containment should have been perfect. No, do not look away. There is only one answer. It could only have come from the Unmanaged Area. But deceiving my eyes above Floor 30 is impossible. If that’s the case, then they have a method of movement that bypasses our Managed Area... it could only be spatial magic. In other words, did they take over a collaborator who possessed the Spatial Magic skill? Those parasites...! But why were they unable to resist? Everyone should have been Level 100 or higher... Was 100 not enough? Or did a high-tier individual... I must be more careful in selecting collaborators from now on... No, that comes later. Who was taken? There are 147 collaborators with the Spatial Magic skill alone. Given their characteristics, narrowing it down will be difficult... Should I maneuver things so they attack from that side? No, that’s not it. The first thing to do is..."
His eyes shifted suddenly.
Master’s gaze snapped toward Ai, focusing on her.
"Ai."
"Yes, Master."
"What is the rate of increase for the magic essence concentration on the surface?"
"It has risen by 0.46% today alone."
"...Then this isn't an immediate problem. In that case, the reaction of the national governments... no, what is the reaction on the internet?"
"It is exactly as you imagined, Master. Because monsters appeared on the surface—which was supposed to be safe—the sense of aversion toward dungeons is rapidly strengthening. Furthermore, the misunderstanding that the terrorists are explorers is spreading. We expect a significant decrease in the explorer population from here on."
"...How do you expect those parasites to move next?"
"I cannot say for certain... but if they simply continue terrorist acts like this one, the arrival of the end will only be accelerated. Currently, there is no effective means to lower the magic essence concentration..."
"...I suppose not."
Nodding, Master closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.
Eventually, having seemingly gathered his thoughts, Master spoke, deep wrinkles etching into his brow.
"...Since we failed to contain it, time is our enemy and their ally. I must admit it. Once again, I have suffered defeat."
"Master..."
"—However, through the accumulation of experience, I will one day achieve victory. Therefore, I must continue to struggle. It’s a well-worn method, but... I must give those humans a kick in the backside. Ai, contact the various national governments through the WEO."
"What do you intend to do?"
"I am going to teach them. I will show them the threat of the dungeon. I’ll make them understand that if they do not want to die, the only way to survive is to conquer the dungeon... Oh, and to make the performance more convincing, we will move up the release of the teleportation circle functions."
"The expansion of the Managed Area will not be completed in time. How will you handle the resources?"
"I will repurpose the Title System. If I show my face, I should be able to gather at least that much resource."
"...Understood."
●◯●
"Sen-sei!"
"Oh, is it all right for you to be here? I believe I left Shanghai in your hands."
"It’s fine, it’s fine! That side is pretty much wrapped up. By the way, the situation is progressing just as expected. Though quite a few of our people were caught by Master-san’s underlings..."
"I see. Well, Tokyo is much the same."
"But really, is it okay? Not helping the people we went through the trouble of giving skill seeds to?"
"It doesn't matter. Skill seeds aren't particularly precious things to begin with, and we can bring as many as we want."
"Hmm, well, I guess so. As long as we can select the growth individuals, it's not a problem, right!"
"Yes. More importantly, I hope the number of humans becoming explorers decreases because of this..."
"That’s true, but... do we really need to care that much? Master-san can delay the erosion, but he has no fundamental solution. Why not just leave him be? In the end, things will only go according to our plans anyway."
"That is true, but Master is too much of an irregular to be left alone. Besides... the existence of explorers is simply too disgusting. They are far too specialized in absorbing and consuming magic essence. The fact that skill seeds haven't been sown naturally, the fact that an unrecognizable fellow like Master is managing parts of the dungeon, and the fact that such sickening creatures as explorers are being created... everything is outside the expected parameters. Personally, I recommend moving aggressively to eliminate the irregular."
"Kill Master-san?"
"Yes. No matter how you look at it, the cause of these irregularities is Master. There is a limit to us sowing seeds with our own hands, and after all, I would like to return the dungeon to its normal state."
"Hmm, okay! I’m with you, Sen-sei! But what will we do? At the very least, Master-san has surely realized we exist after this incident. He’ll be on guard, won't he?"
"Well, that was factored in from the start. However, given Master’s personality, I believe he will set a trap to ensure our elimination."
"You mean we'll walk into that trap on purpose?"
"Yes, exactly. First, I want to see just how much power he possesses."
"Hmph, that’s fine, but I like this vessel, so I don’t want to do anything that would break it."
"Well, it likely won't happen immediately. We need to prepare proper military strength on our end as well. We can all consult together again when the time comes."
"Yeah, I understa—Hm? Oh? Whoa, whoa! Sen-sei, Sen-sei!!"
"What is it?"
"Look at this, look at this!! Something amazing is happening!"
"Hm? Is this... news footage? It’s not just Japan... it seems to be happening all over the world simultaneously."
"Woooah... To think Master-san would do something like this. What a surprise!"
"This is indeed a surprise. And... his response is far too fast....Hmm, I see. This is... well, to think he could come up with such a thing. With this, he can certainly put a stop to the decrease in explorers. No, perhaps they might even increase instead..."
"What should we do, Sen-sei? Should we put out a statement too? Something like, 'We're the ones who caused the stampede! Explorers are evil! If you become one, we'll kill you!'"
"No, that would be useless. Rather than denying the claims of those we gave seeds to, Master is reinforcing them. Stoking the idea that dungeons are dangerous now would have little effect....But to think he would willingly take on the stigma of a villain... and that it would actually benefit him."
"This guy is definitely a pervert! A masochist, I say, a total masochist!"
"I don’t know about that... but half of what we’ve done has been rendered meaningless. Truly... a nuisance. Even though a dungeon manager shouldn't even exist, he’s such an unrecognizable presence..."