Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

"Temude? Is that really you?"

Lanle was now looking as if he’d seen a ghost, staring at the man in front of him, grinning and holding the Platinum Son headpiece. He could hardly believe this was his brother, Temude.

You couldn’t blame him for finding it hard to accept, because Temude was sporting a look that was just begging for criticism.

Setting aside the Platinum Son headpiece, why was he wearing such a plain, unglamorous shirt? The shirt had exquisite embroidery, clearly depicting a beautiful four-handed blue-skinned woman.

If Lanle’s eyes weren’t failing him, that woman should be none other than the Moon Princess Lanni! The shirt even replicated the portrait hanging in the Reyalucaria Magic Academy!

Not only that, but the shirt was adorned with numerous badges. A quick glance revealed many popular monsters and residual shadows from the Sain Dungeon.

The pants seemed to be a fan-designed style from the Fran Undead Team of the Bed Family, with a brass belt buckle engraved with the Ancient Wolf of Fran.

Apart from the somewhat normal clothing, he also had some inexplicable trinkets on him. This ensemble might not bring him closer to a god, but it definitely distanced him from being human.

Lanle was at a loss for words for a while, as Temude’s outfit left him unsure of how to even begin his critique.

He looked like someone who’s just returned from a convention, having splurged on a bounty of otaku goodies!

Where did you crawl back from? Some kind of hell filled with Sain Dungeon merchandise?

If Lanle were a bit more lively, he might have directly hugged his brother’s leg and shouted in disbelief, asking where his brother had gone?

Where did the Temude, who was always stoic, thirsting for war and glory, constantly enforcing strict military discipline on himself, and having no hobbies, much like an iron man, go?

Lanle thought for a moment and then decided to cast a [Human Identification Skill] on the person to confirm whether this was actually a Shapeshifter.

This spell, bearing a resemblance to a Light Bomb, quickly shot toward Temude, who was laughing all the while. Although this magic wouldn’t cause any actual harm, its sudden appearance was quite intimidating. The old Temude would have swiftly dodged it and then exploded in anger.

Lanle hoped to awaken the foolish brother he once knew through a familiar sibling quarrel.

Yet this time, Temude stood still.

Just as he was about to be hit by the spell, his left arm suddenly turned into a residual shadow and made a swift motion forward.

A light effect resembling gold dust bursting forth appeared suddenly, and in an instant, the trajectory of the [Human Identification Skill] was diverted by an external force, striking the attendant beside Temude instead!

The attendant’s body twisted and melted, its tall and robust form slowly morphing into...a pink Shapeshifter.

Temude pulled out a red and white ball and put away the Shapeshifter, still smiling at Lanle.

"Ah..."

Lanle was already lost on where to start his critique. Whether it was the deflection of the spell or the attendant transforming into a Shapeshifter, each was brimming with roast-worthy material.

In the end, he chose to address the most pressing issue.

"Topps Force Field!?"

Lanle’s eyes widened in shock, pointing at Temude’s hand with disbelief.

In his understanding, only something like Topps Force Field, a Super God-level magic, could deflect spells. How had Temude managed to obtain such a precious thing?

And wasn’t that supposed to be a one-time-use item? Why use it against my trivial Human Identification Skill, for heaven’s sake?!

My brother has turned into a spendthrift!

"Lanle, has your constant domestic leisure caused your view to become so narrow?"

Temude said with a smile, his words slightly cutting as he raised his left arm. Surprisingly, a small shield was strapped to his wrist, so small it didn’t even seem distinguishable from a gauntlet.

"The move I just used against you is called [Twisted Light Wall]."

Attached to this small shield is the War Ash version.

[Twisted Light Wall]

[An ancient lost magic from the Ancient Golden Magic Kingdom—Ulashiro, capable of twisting light and deflecting magic]

[It is a type of secret technique in light-controlling magic. At the moment the basic laws are distorted, all illusions lose direction]

If anyone with deep research into the Sain Dungeon’s magic were present, they might discover that this so-called Twisted Light Wall had appeared by name before.

It was one of the magics referenced by the Elden King while refining Topps Force Field.

Back then, researchers were continually debating the effects of these reference magics, but seeing it now, why does the effect of Twisted Light Wall feel so remarkably similar to Topps Force Field?

Lanle’s expression suddenly changed, his tone slightly urgent as he asked, "Where did you get this? Are there any usage restrictions? What are the conditions for obtaining it—"

"Hold your horses, let’s talk after we head inside."

Temude gestured with a "please" motion, and Lanle paused, leading the way to the drawing room with him. Despite being the master of the house, it now felt as if Temude was taking charge of the situation.

Unpleasant as it was, there were many things he wanted to know, so he couldn’t start a fight just yet.

After they were seated, he asked more about the Twisted Light Wall.

Temude, as if deliberately teasing, didn’t answer the question immediately, instead asking back:

"Lanle, when did we start blindly believing in magic?"

"What?"

Lanle furrowed his brows, blind faith in magic? He didn’t...

Wait a minute, if it’s those ordinary people, it seems there is indeed such a trend.

Before he could answer, Temude continued to ask:

"What do you think, if our magicians discovered the existence of the Twisted Light Wall in the dungeon first, what would their reaction be?"

"It would definitely be —"

It would definitely be panic-stricken and feel a strong sense of crisis. If the conditions for learning and using this thing aren’t high, magicians should be living in constant fear, maybe even thinking about hiding the Twisted Light Wall to ensure no one else finds it, or perhaps trying to destroy Sain Dungeon outright?

Lanle was about to say this, but the words stopped at his lips because he suddenly realized that if he said it like this, it would play right into Temude’s hands.

Even after such a long time apart, the two brothers still engaged in their familiar mind games.

"What do you want to say?" So Lanle simply replied to a question with a question.

"You don’t need to say it; I already know what your answer is, it’s the same as mine."

Temude took off a badge with a big portrait of Topps and fiddled with it, saying,

"Following the mission to the Yanor Kingdom for study truly opened my eyes to many different things. Clearly, we have fought wars, yet I didn’t understand that country at all until now. It turns out the atmosphere of that country is entirely different from ours."

Entirely different?

A question mark popped up over Lanle’s head, entirely different? He distinctly remembered that thousands of spies dispatched to the Yanor Kingdom reported that the atmosphere there was not much different from the Warrior Country, with ancient traditions deeply ingrained, and that the atmosphere was rather serious and oppressive.

Different? How different could it be?

"That country is full of joy; whether the commoners or the nobles, they all exude confidence and freedom."

I even heard last year about the villagers who revolted against the Light Eagle Group’s land seizure being wiped out, Lanle thought, his eyelids twitching.

Temude enthusiastically listed many of the Yanor Kingdom’s strengths, using them to sharply criticize the internal issues of the Warrior Country, showing a face filled with sorrow.

Lanle was utterly bewildered by these words; could his once iron-blooded battle wolf brother say something like this?

"I see hope in the Yanor Kingdom, but our country seems hopeless. Even now, we’re still a mess with the controversy between magic and combat skills, how could we govern the country properly stuck with this bunch of parasites?"

Watching Temude’s demeanor, Lanle suddenly recalled a rumor he once heard.

It was said that during the Black Hawk’s Chaos, Eliphas’s rebellion was accompanied by an explosion involving a large group of noble officials and high-ranking personnel, and after the turmoil settled, the royal family suffered from a severe manpower shortage, prompting promotions from lower ranks and even civil selections for officials, all coinciding with the awakening of Ainz III and Princess Selene’s leadership.

It seemed that from then on, the upper echelons of the Yanor Kingdom suddenly became transparent?

When Lanle first heard about it, he thought it was a joke; how could the political environment change so simply due to some people’s deaths? But now, seeing Temude’s behavior, he suddenly realized that maybe the rumor was true?

"Even the citizens there are much more open-minded than ours, and their speech and conduct seldom fall short compared to educated nobles, especially those near the royal city."

Temude shifted the topic, saying, "You don’t know, this magic’s War Ash form, the Twisted Light Wall, was discovered by me. I found and brought it back from Ulashiro in the Painting World: Wolf Knight."

"That place was like hell; not just Ulashiro, but the entire Sain Dungeon was a living hell. It’s hard to imagine I managed to return alive."

"When I brought it out, I was surrounded by magicians, including those with high-level certification from the Magic Association. Do you know what their reaction was upon seeing this magic?"

"What was it?"

Lanle knew he shouldn’t take the bait and fall into Temude’s rhythm, but he couldn’t suppress the curiosity inside him.

"They celebrated, competed to learn it, and even wanted to disseminate it widely."

Temude’s mouth curled into a smile as he continued, "Unfortunately, this War Ash is quite difficult to acquire, and also quite challenging to use. It requires extensive practice to barely find the right angle to deflect magic; it’ll certainly take a while before it spreads widely."

"I discovered that when they saw their hard-learned magic being countered by the techniques from Sain Dungeon, those magicians from that country had no trace of disappointment in their eyes. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for an answer, he said to himself,

"Because after witnessing the divine-like golden meteor being deflected by Topps Force Field, they no longer blindly believe in magic! Without treating magic as faith, how is it possible to feel disappointed when it gets deflected?"

"This thing is merely a tool for us to ascend to a higher level!"

Like a reverse lawyer, Temude slapped the table and said with determination,

"The current excessive trust and reliance on magic in our country are absolutely abnormal. Now that I and the mission group have returned, I am determined to thoroughly correct this unhealthy trend!"

His eyes were bright, filled with confidence.

"Just wait for next month’s War Festival; you’ll see us lose!"

Lanle had misjudged something.

From Temude’s drastically changed behavior and speech since his return, Lanle thought he had been brainwashed by the Yanor Kingdom, becoming a shallow person who thought foreign skies were bluer and foreign moons were rounder. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But now he realized, that this brother of his hadn’t changed at all; you could even say he had progressed.

He still cares deeply about the Warrior Country!