5-3 Monster Stampede

We had come to that space at the very bottom of the dungeon where those three dragons had been enthroned.

“Well? From an expert’s perspective?”

“I’ll inspect everything first. I’m counting on you for security.”

“Leave it to me.”

Since the serious-minded Antonio was watching over Berglit, I walked around with Mari to take a look.

“There isn’t anything obviously strange, no matter where you look. Not yet, anyway.”

“Yeah… I can’t tell a thing.”

“When an event that people would call a monster stampede occurs in a normal dungeon, there’s usually either an abnormal surge in mana density due to some cause, or monsters overflow because subjugation hasn’t happened for a long time. Most of the time, the first case becomes violent in a short period. But there shouldn’t have been anything like that here. I also can’t confirm any phenomenon where mana accumulates over a long time, turns into something like miasma, and then abnormally draws in more mana. To begin with, humans come and go here so frequently—regularly becoming prey—that I doubt a stampede should happen at all. People also consume mana inside the dungeon by using magic.”

“Becoming prey…?”

“A labyrinth is a kind of monster. It grows by devouring humans.”

So that was how it worked…?

If that was the case, then this was the inside of a monster’s belly.

Hearing it put that way made it feel unsettling.

“There’s absolutely no sign of anything that could cause a stampede, and yet in reality we’re seeing many things that look like warning signs. If that’s true… someone may be preparing to trigger a stampede artificially. In any case, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this.”

If so, the first suspect would be a neighboring country.

But could a human really do something like that?

“To begin with, a ‘stampede’ is something that more often happens in the outside world, not inside a dungeon. An abnormal generation of mana is observed—about once every few decades. When that happens, monster numbers increase unnaturally, and higher-tier individuals become far more likely to appear. They say a horde of tens of thousands of monsters can surge forward.”

That was bad. Really bad.

I pictured it.

Monsters boiling up inside this dungeon, packed so densely it filled everything.

I remembered the marks near the ceiling at the dungeon entrance—tracks like something enormous had scraped its body along the inside—and frowned.

“Shouldn’t we report to the king and have him investigate whether there’s any suspicious movement?”

So we returned to the royal palace by teleportation magic and reported that hypothesis to His Majesty the King, who immediately wore a grim expression.

Apparently, the neighboring country’s movements had been highly suspicious lately.

From that angle, they would reexamine the neighbor’s actions again.

We would continue investigating.

While we were at it, we moved to Berglit’s workplace inside the palace zone and consulted Lior-san.

“A method to artificially trigger a monster stampede? To be blunt, such a thing does exist.”

The specialist just declared it outright.

It existed?!

“In fact, if you’re going to trigger a stampede artificially, you could even say the inside of a dungeon is better. In an enclosed space, mana can pool efficiently, allowing monsters to be produced both efficiently and continuously. After all, it is originally a place that produces monsters from mana. However, to do that, you would need either a mechanism that gathers mana from somewhere and funnels massive quantities into the dungeon, or an overwhelmingly powerful source of magical energy. There are references in ancient documents suggesting such things do exist, but anything of that sort is likely stored under heavy guard in some nation’s treasury.”

…Some nation’s treasury, huh.

This was also something that needed reporting.

That was yet another matter we’d have the kingdom investigate.

I had Lior-san and Berglit prepare materials to submit to His Majesty, and then we teleported to the Adventurers’ Guild.

We wanted to see if the organization most deeply involved with monsters had any information.

When we asked, the Guildmaster immediately grumbled.

“You’ve brought me another headache of a case. Yeah, I’ve heard stories like that in the past too. There were people who researched it once. Among the nations, it’s considered taboo—research and practical application are strictly forbidden, and those who break that rule face severe sanctions.”

“Do you have any concrete documents?”

“Yeah. Legg, bring them out.”

It seemed Armon was good at negotiations and handling people, while Legg-san specialized in administrative documents.

He produced several files.

“Mind if I copy these?”

My sudden request surprised them, but Legg-san agreed.

I copied the documents quickly inside the item box, showed the result, and gave a grin.

“Wow. That’s an incredible ability. If you’d like, would you consider becoming a staff member here?”

“I must respectfully decline.”

“That’s a shame. If you ever feel like it, you’re welcome anytime.”

Naturally, I declined that offer politely.

Give me a break.

An S-rank tea-server and copying clerk was a bit much.

Besides, Armon would probably work me as hard as he liked.

I’d done plenty of black labor in Japan until it wrecked my body, so I was done with that.

After that, we returned to Lior-san, received the materials, copied them, and submitted the full set to His Majesty the King as an interim report.

We concluded that since multiple important points had surfaced, it was best to report everything directly to His Majesty.

After reading it, His Majesty wore a grim expression again.

“Hm. The person named in these documents is currently in the neighboring country. And in addition, the neighboring country definitely possesses an item capable of doing this. Continue the investigation. Still, this is troublesome. If this is true, then it does appear that the neighboring country intends to invade ours.”

“They’re moving like that?”

His Majesty nodded while scanning the papers.

“Our spies’ reports about the movement of supplies and the military within the empire indicate as much. The army hasn’t moved toward us yet, but it seems only a matter of time. Soon they will likely move troops toward our border under the pretext of training.”

That was a problem.

We’d reported the interim findings, and the situation had become so annoyingly complicated that I was sick of it.

We decided to call it a day.

After resting at the inn, I gathered everyone again.

We decided to talk while eating at my favorite place—the one where the white wine was nicely chilled.

“Berglit. As an expert, what do you think after hearing all this?”

This was definitely a moment where we needed the specialist’s view.

“Yes… how should I put it—I actually feel more at ease now. The signs clearly looked like a stampede, yet we couldn’t identify a cause. It left me with an unresolved, foggy feeling.”

“I see. If a stampede happens, what kinds of monsters do you think will overflow?”

At that question, Berglit looked troubled.

“Without identifying the method used to trigger the stampede, it’s hard to say. If they can gather limitless mana, they could mass-produce dragons and chimeras. If not, then producing sheer numbers would be more advantageous. Overwhelming the royal capital with brute force. If they have large monsters break the walls, and tens of thousands of smaller ones pour into the city… Even an orc would be far too much for ordinary citizens. Even goblins—if they’re spawned in massive numbers like an army—would be unmanageable. Also, if there are flying monsters like harpies in the mix, that would be troublesome. Small spells won’t be enough, and if we use large-scale magic, the royal capital will take massive damage as well. In that case, even for an incredible mage like you, dealing with it becomes a real headache.”

“Brute force through numbers…”

The best option was to annihilate the monsters inside the dungeon before they spilled out.

If that failed, we’d have to fight outside, but if they spread out while moving, it would be extremely troublesome.

For small fry, the only way would be to wipe them out with large-scale magic.

If we were going to do it, it would probably be somewhere between the Royal Capital and Adros.

If the horde got too close to the Royal Capital, we wouldn’t be able to use large-scale magic.

Even with shields up, we likely couldn’t fire at maximum output.

And if a huge number of dragons appeared… they could fly.

That was the worst part.

They could slip past us, and their destructive power was too great.

And if flying monsters like harpies appeared in huge numbers and scattered, it would be beyond disastrous.

Like swarms of fighters and attack planes launching from countless aircraft carriers during the major naval battles of World War II.

Well, I wouldn’t have to handle that alone.

But more than anything, if we let a monster horde exit the dungeon, the city of Adros would be destroyed.

We would have to fight to protect the city.

Hmm.

The countermeasures were more troublesome than I expected.

We had to remain vigilant against the neighboring country, and defending the royal capital would take priority, so the army and the knight order probably couldn’t spare many forces for the dungeon.

In the end, defending Adros would have to fall to us adventurers.