Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

"..."

Lanle looked at the vibrant life force emanating from Temude before him, remained silent for a moment, then revealed a smile full of provocation.

"Fine, I definitely won’t let you succeed either, Temude."

"I’ll return those words to you."

Temude shook the small shield attached with the War Ash edition Twisted Light Wall, as if symbolically bouncing those words back to his opponent.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly both laughed. The tense atmosphere dispersed a bit, but it didn’t become entirely amicable.

They were still rivals, but having finished discussing business earlier, it was not impossible to occasionally interact as brothers in their spare time. They weren’t at the point of life-or-death.

"I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier, that attendant by your side turned into a monster, and what exactly is with your outfit?" Lanle finally voiced the question.

"That’s not a monster, it’s a Pokemon," Temude solemnly corrected.

"Poke...mon? Strange name." Lanle’s mouth found the word awkward.

"A unique creature found in the Sain Dungeon, able to use powerful moves like monsters, but mostly gentle by nature. Many reside in the food area, though they occasionally appear in other areas too," Temude explained, fiddling with the elf ball in his hand, with three more attached to his waist. "I find these little guys intriguing, and someone told me you can catch them as companions using elf balls, so I tried it."

He looked at the elf ball with deep affection. "Sometimes, after a long day’s work, playing with these adorable Pokemon can chase away all your fatigue... It’s wonderful that Pokemon exist in this world, they are truly miracles."

Lanle didn’t comment on his demeanor, since Temude had always liked small animals and children, anything related to "small." However, once they got "big," he largely lost interest.

"And what about this outfit?"

This "painful clothes" was a little too avant-garde for Lanle’s rather conservative fashion sense, and he still couldn’t quite accept it.

"This is my weapon," Temude said, patting the chest badge.

"Weapon?"

"Do you know Princess Selene?"

"Of course, I do."

Lanle had a deep impression of the princess, perhaps because they were of the same generation, and her performance was outstanding.

This princess demonstrated exceptional rapport with the public, was both courageous and strategic, and her bravery during the Black Hawk’s Chaos was still praised. She herself claims a close relationship with the Sain Dungeon.

Although her ability to handle government affairs is still somewhat immature, this ability can be honed, and one day she’ll certainly become a perfect superman. Such was Lanle’s evaluation.

Honestly, he had even considered proposing marriage, or you could say every prince from any country considered it, but they all unanimously gave up upon hearing a particular rumor.

"This outfit was specifically designed to deal with Princess Selene, and I designed it myself."

Temude proudly pounded his chest and said,

"That woman is obsessed with Ornstein, she talks about that knight any chance she gets. When discussing serious matters, she’s all business, but in her spare time, she’ll deftly steer any conversation towards Ornstein. There’s no chance to take the initiative when talking to her, that woman is terrifying."

"It was my first time feeling defeated in a verbal duel, she must do it intentionally to dampen our spirits, the Yanor Kingdom is truly malicious!"

Temude pointed at the Lanni on his outfit, with a smile on his lips.

"So I decided to find a character in the Sain Dungeon as popular as Ornstein to become a fan of, so when Selene talks about Ornstein, I talk about Lanni, to counter her!"

This competitive spirit of yours, why does it appear in such strange places... Lanle swallowed back this old retort.

"But as far as I remember, there seems to be very little recorded about Lanni, where did you find enough material to serve as conversation topics?" Lanle asked, puzzled.

"Made them up myself."

Instant answer, not a hint of hesitation in that instant answer!

"Ma-made them up?" Lanle was stunned for a moment, not expecting this response at all.

"Anyway, most of what that woman says is her own speculation, so there’s no problem with me making some of my own speculations too!"

Temude said righteously, "I’ve made up a whole bunch of stories about Lanni, tirelessly recounting them to Selene, finally leaving her speechless, and regaining control of the conversation!"

"...If I may ask, what was Selene’s expression when listening to your made-up stories?"

Lanle remembered, back when they used to make up stories for fun as kids, the stories Temude came up with were excruciatingly boring, even listening to them was a torture.

"Like she had swallowed a great mouthful of excrement."

Another instant answer!

"You actually have self-awareness..."

"I can say that about myself, but you can’t! Come out and duel!"

"Tsk, let’s fight. Let me show you the new magic I’ve learned."

"Heh, my Dead Angle Strike is not to be underestimated either."

And so, under the worried eyes of their attendants, the two Princes began a "friendly duel" in the open ground.

The appearance of the opponent made the night less boring for both of them. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Meanwhile, in the Sain Dungeon, in the City Lord’s room.

"The effect of opening seems to be quite good."

Gong Qiying looked at the current spiritual power reserves of the Sain Dungeon and nodded with satisfaction.

The number of people swarming into the Dungeon today increased several times compared to yesterday; the teleportation gates weren’t enough, so he added two more.

From the current perspective, it seems the most attractive thing for adventurers is the opening of new areas.

Opening new areas usually is already enough to attract people, not to mention that this opening can even directly cross countries!

Just entering the Dungeon allows you to quickly reach another country? At most, you might suffer some hellish torments on the way, but you might also gain precious opportunities. This travel fee is definitely worth it!

Thanks to Leon’s publicity, now even over in the Yanor Kingdom, it’s known that you can reach new areas through the Sain Dungeon, and it’s just a glance away to see the exotic scenery of the Warrior Country. What’s the difference from a free overseas trip? It’s simply a fantastic experience.

Thus, after the adventurers scouted the route in the past two days, they erupted today, entering the Sain Dungeon en masse and finally arriving in the Warrior Country.

The Sain Dungeon harvested a significant wave of spiritual power today, truly a cause for celebration.

The novelty of new areas and a new country made adventurers feel this trip was worth it, a win-win for both the adventurers and the Sain Dungeon.

The only pity is that the Sain Dungeon in the Warrior Country has reverted to that annoying shift system, closing at midnight, making those who came today leave before fully enjoying it. Many adventurers who didn’t initially intend to visit the Warrior Country ended up here and were centrally housed.

"Actually, I planned to wait a couple of days before canceling the Dungeon’s closing policy," Gong Qiying muttered to himself.

If the Sain Dungeon operated around the clock, the tension between adventurers and the Warrior Country would surely lessen, as they could just stay inside the Dungeon without going to the Warrior Country, and the Warrior Country could completely order that adventurers not come over without reason.

But then, it would be too peaceful, to the point of being dull.

So Gong Qiying wanted to try canceling the closing later, to see what kind of environment it could provoke and how the Warrior Country and Yanor Kingdom would treat the adventurers.

After all, the Dungeon connects in both directions; the Warrior Country can also go to the Yanor Kingdom, which is quite fair.

"I can’t let the tension between the two countries escalate. I must be careful."

However, Gong Qiying felt his concern might be unnecessary as the leaders of the two countries were more rational than he thought.

He held a communication stone in his hand, from which various noisy sounds constantly emanated, while the part responsible for conveying those sounds was...

"The Princess instructed us beforehand to try not to have conflicts with the Warrior Country. Brothers, for the Princess’s peace of mind, let’s hold back a bit," an adventurer earnestly advised in the large house near the teleportation gate used to temporarily "accommodate" adventurers.

"Alright, for the sake of our beloved Princess, I’ll endure a bit longer."

"I can endure here, but if those bastards invade Sain, I absolutely won’t!"

"Didn’t they say we can freely go back? At worst, return to the Yanor Kingdom tomorrow."

The adventurers were more restrained than expected.

Before they arrived here, word had already reached the Yanor Kingdom, prompting them to issue a notice advising adventurers not to head to the Warrior Country lightly and to remain restrained if they must go.

Ainz III is probably also worried about the connection between the two countries now.

"I’m just worried now about where Luluwo’s sister and the others have been taken, really concerned," an adventurer with a fierce look expressed.

Such words immediately found agreement among many.

"The people here don’t seem very friendly. Let’s go home after the elder sister returns; let’s not linger here,"

"I feel the more they reject me here, the more I want to stay and disgust them!"

The scene immediately turned chaotic again.

Meanwhile, the Skyrim Strategy Group they were worried about was in a clean and tidy house, where a meticulously dressed attendant delivered a letter.

Luluwo, somewhat unclear about the situation, took the letter and read its contents aloud out of habit.

"Investigate the Magic Town Celia, search for potentially universal magic, and..."

"Investigate the whereabouts of General Shattered Star Latan?"