Chapter 151

The Princess’s Style of Dungeon Invasion (2)
That day, the dungeon was in utter chaos. A biological-type dungeon possessed a clear will. And it had a definite purpose—to strengthen itself. It desired nothing more than to become stronger and larger.

What it needed was time and food. And the only thing it could consume was humans. The dungeon could eat nothing else.

For the first few decades after its birth, a dungeon existed in a separate dimension. Then, once it had grown to a certain extent, it would create an entrance. Initially, it had no need to feed. But to grow beyond that point, consuming humans became necessary.

Thus, the dungeon opened its entrance—a mouth, waiting for humans to enter. It generated treasures that humans would covet, placed bosses in various locations, and ensured that its core, its heart, was protected deep within.

All it had to do next was spawn monsters, and humans would venture inside. That was its plan.

However, the ones who arrived were the worst possible opponents. The dungeon inherently understood that humans would try to conquer it. This knowledge was embedded in its being from the moment it was born. But what it didn’t know was that there were humans who would attack the dungeon itself.

A dungeon could not exist without its core, but the dungeon itself was also its body. It had never anticipated that its very corridors would be attacked.

The dungeon’s interior was essentially its insides. When attacked, it felt pain. It tried to fend off the invaders by sending the scattered monsters within it, but they were all slaughtered. The dungeon made a decision.

It would make them leave.

It understood humans to some extent. They desired gold, jewels, and rare objects. If it could provide those, they might go away. If not, the damage to the dungeon would be catastrophic, and its goal of growing larger would be jeopardized.

The dungeon used its magic to create items that the intruders might desire.

Alicetia’s Point of View

After about an hour of attacking, a treasure chest suddenly sprouted from the ground. Even I wasn’t sure what I was saying—it literally just grew, like "pop!" as if straight out of a video game.

The corridor was filled with the screams of monsters, the sound of gunfire, and explosions from hand grenades since golems had joined the battle. The golem tank was continuously firing shells as well. We had a barrier in place to dampen the noise, so it wasn’t too overwhelming.

“Don’t open it carelessly. Traps are usually set inside at first.”

“Then let’s have a golem open it. Create Golem.”

I used some spare earth to create a golem and had it open the chest. Immediately, tentacles shot out and crushed the golem. I swiftly shot the tentacles with my gun, while Alicia sliced them apart with her kukri-like sword. Apparently, these tentacles sold for a high price. After destroying all seven suspicious-looking tentacles, they stopped moving. When another golem was sent forward, there was no reaction. Separating the tentacles from the contents, we retrieved a book and brought it over.

“Is this a grimoire? Usually, it’s gold ingots or gemstones.”

Alicia was the first to check. It was a magic book with a skull-like decoration. There were no traps when opening the pages.

I took it and began analyzing it. The language was ancient, and the title read "Necronomicon"—a grimoire of necromancy. A forbidden spell book.

“It’s magic to raise the dead. Though, it doesn’t seem to bring back the actual person. It gives a vessel to residual thoughts and temporarily controls them.”

Since souls ascend to the heavens after a certain period, this magic seemed to gather the remnants and bind them together for use.

“A magic with the worst possible applications.”

For example, on an old battlefield, it could create an army of the dead. It was a twisted kind of magic. However, it used many techniques that were no longer in practice. I handed the "read" book over to my duplicate in the Treasury.

“Analyze it.”

“Understood.”

Since the dungeon hadn’t paid its land-use fee, we resumed our attack.

I observed from the Treasury, as it was safer. This way, even if all the golems were destroyed, I wouldn’t be harmed.

“So, what are you writing, Princess?”

“Uh, a research paper on foreign technology and magic education policies?”

Since I had free time, I was translating architecture and science books from the other world and writing a thesis questioning whether current magic education was flawed. Though to others, it probably just looked like floating paper and pens. This was my work style—I divided my vision and my thoughts to multitask. The downside was that it was exhausting.

I planned to hand over the translated architecture books to Lawrence, or rather, I would send all books to the Viceroy Merchant Union for research. My thesis argued that before learning magic, students should first learn spell formations.

Spell formations were the foundation of magic, like mathematical formulas. The current method of learning magic was akin to trying to solve equations without knowing formulas. By learning spell formations first, one could better understand magic and improve spell structures.

I sent my completed thesis to the Technical Development Bureau. My phone immediately rang.

“What?”

“May we send this to the Mage Corps and others right away!?”

I could only teleport objects to places I could see or had a marker in, and I had a marker in the Technological Development Bureau because they asked me to place one there for easy information sharing. I hadn’t expected such a quick response.

“Have you been waiting all this time?”

“We placed my desk next to the marker! Also, there is always someone here 24/7! We must learn your brilliant way of magic as soon as possible, Princess! More importantly, this is incredible! I haven’t read all of it yet, but learning spell formations first is certainly important!”

“Do as you like, but as usual, limit it to those who can be trusted.”

If they were trustworthy, they could spread it however they wanted. The magic research at the bureau had already changed its approach.

Until now, mages rarely shared their research. They only passed it down to disciples or blood relatives, which caused magic technology to decline. Wars could wipe out entire bloodlines and disciples, and solo research was highly inefficient. I had suggested they exchange information with those studying the same fields and share their findings, and they had readily agreed.

They had apparently wanted to do so for a long time but had hesitated due to concerns about research theft and other issues. They just needed a push.

And that push came from me. According to them, “If it’s a direct order from the princess, everyone will listen.”

“Of course. This might allow magicians with mana but no ability to cast spells to finally learn magic. If this spreads, our country will gain even more mages!”

Apparently, they were already preparing to conduct experiments—um, observations—on underperforming magicians in the Mage Corps. Depending on the results, they would incorporate it into magic education. They moved fast.

They were so busy that they quickly ended the call. These people never left their research labs unless necessary. Some of them didn’t even go home, living in the lab instead. Research had become too exciting for them to spare time for anything else.

As I resumed translating Earth’s technical books, another treasure chest appeared. The golem checked, and this time, there were no traps. Inside was a pile of gold and silver treasure.

“This isn’t enough. Let’s make it cough up more.”

“You’re ruthless.”

The chest was extremely heavy, so I stored it in a magic bag. Since it was a newly formed dungeon, it would likely produce about five more chests before exhausting itself and sealing its entrance for several years or even decades.

We continued eliminating the approaching monsters and extracting the dungeon’s land fee. After a while, the monster spawns slowed, and the treasure chests became larger and more extravagant. The dungeon clearly wanted us gone.

By the time the walls collapsed, the dungeon had stopped resisting. The monsters were completely gone. It seemed to be over. I retrieved the destroyed golems and monster remains. Staying longer would risk getting trapped in another dimension. Even the dungeon seemed adamant about not dragging me in, as a new exit had appeared nearby. It was basically telling us, "Get out already!"

“This won’t even be enough to fund public projects. I’ll have to collect from the other dungeons too.”

Arland needed an enormous amount of money. I couldn’t earn it alone. Just collecting land fees wouldn’t be enough. But if I supplied funds for a few years, tax revenues should improve, and the Kingdom would likely contribute.

As I stepped outside, snow was falling. Winter had begun in earnest. Normally, this was the season to stay indoors. I hated the cold. But thanks to fire and wind spirits, the air around me was warm. I just didn’t like the feel of snow.

“Princess, please wear your scarf. You’ll catch a cold.”

I summoned Shadow Wolf, had Alicia and Helios get on its back, and set off toward our next target.