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Chapter 199 The Dungeon Raid Discourse [Pt 2]

"Understood."

Once the Royal Council made their intentions clear from the start, everything else flowed seamlessly.

Ralyks began the briefing as curtly as he could, and everyone fell silent and listened.

"I spent the last few days exploring the Dungeon in order to understand what path to take and how long the entire Raid will last."

The curious eyes of his audience were enough to do the asking for them.

"It'll take several weeks. Probably two to three months."

Taking into account the time needed for rest, journeying, and the overall clearing of the Floors—including mining—it would take approximately three months.

"Of course, that period could dwindle or increase, depending on how capable the team I'm leading is. I have no doubt they'll be formidable, though, considering the fact that they held their own against a Dragon Commander."

The Royal Council Members and Adonis gave Ralyks their smiles, but it was still obvious that they had some troubled thoughts.

"It seems there is an issue. You can mention what it is."

"N-no, it's not really an issue that has to do with your plan or anything. It's just…" Conrad retorted quickly.

His flustered expression made it obvious that he genuinely did not want to offend their benefactor.

"We need the resources in the 99th Floor as soon as possible." In Conrad's place, Vida sharply spoke up.

Unlike him, she showed no sign of nervousness.

Instead, her face only showed worry.

"We're running out of our last reserves, and the resources in that Floor are our lifesavers. Without them… things could get really bad for us."

After she said this, there was silence.

Everyone had their eyes on Ralyks, probably hoping for a solution from him.

Thankfully, he did not fail to deliver.

"That is a simple matter. I can help you directly obtain the resources from the 99th Floor."

"Really? You would do that for us?" Conrad's eyes beamed shamelessly, as if he wasn't already expecting something from the Dark Adventurer.

It was no use trying to act surprised at this point.

"Yes. Perhaps we should go to the site for a demonstration."

"Demonstra…?"

Before anyone in the room could even react, a warbling surge of purplish blue energy covered Ralyks and the three seated ones.

Space warped, and they found themselves instantly transported to a place gleaming with crystal-like wonder.

The very ground was made up of Magic Crystals, and the high ceilings had loads of them hanging above.

From the walls, to the massive chunks that littered the ground; everything was Mana Crystals.

Massive piles of Monster Cores also filled a particular section of the expanse, and at this point it was already clear what was happening.

What this place was.

"Welcome to the 99th Floor." Ralyks spoke up, his tone as calm as possible.

The two Royal Council Members appeared a little shaken—probably because this was their first time in a Dungeon.

Or maybe they just hadn't gone this deep into one.

Adonis remained calm through it all, though he kept his gaze on Ralyks who surprised him with that move.

Not even he could sense anything before being transpired.

'How fast is he, really?!' His face seemed to say.

"I don't want to waste too much time, so let us begin quickly."

Ralyks' echoing voice caused the trio to take their gazes away from the distractions and focus on him.

The next thing he did was equally surprising.

"[Greater Summoning Magic]."

A bright blue light formed around Ralyks, with sparks of orange energy dancing around him.

Multiple Magic Circles appeared a few inches from where he stood, and from their hidden depths emerged… creatures.

"UUUU…"

They leaked out heavy breaths as they appeared; massive monsters who had dark green skin, muscular bodies, and bald heads.

The lights around them reflected on their naked bodies as they grunted.

"Summoning Magic? You can use Summoning Magic too?" The whispers from Adonis was the first human sound to emerge after the beasts appeared.

The other two in the room were too stunned to speak.

The Hero stepped forward as he stared at the creatures in disbelief.

These were Ogres!

'How can he use high-level Summoning Magic? I thought he was focused on powerful offensive abilities.'

It was strange enough that he had Spatial Magic, which was rare, but adding Summoning Magic to the mix was just too absurd.

Adonis couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His thoughts were broken abruptly when he noticed the Ogres moving.

That was when he remembered something.

"Y-you're summoning Monsters? But if you're not a Tamer, you can't control—!"

"Don't worry."

As Ralyks' reassuring voice echoed, items began to manifest out of thin air in front of the monsters.

First were shovels, then pickaxes, and then hammers.

"They're already under my control. They'll be the ones responsible for mining your resources."

Adonis was stunned by what he was seeing.

He wasn't the only one.

Conrad and Vida were shocked to their bones, to the point that their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

The man before them was amazing.

"I'll systematically open a portal so they can bring out whatever they've mined for the day. That way, you can quickly begin to process them."

Everything was already so amazing—beyond natural expectations.

"I understand you are understaffed. Perhaps they could help fill that void."

Three Ogres were definitely formidable.

Ogres were C-Tier Monsters, and a single one could do the job of ten men, and so three of them could make up for thirty.

However, the kind of large-scale production and mining that they needed in order not to be in serious trouble far outweighed the current manpower being displayed before them.

Three Ogres were plenty, but…

'… They're not enough.'

The moment the three audience members thought this, they were greeted with something that shattered those thoughts.

~FSHUUU~

One after the other…

~ZZUUUU~

… More Magic Circles began to form.

And from the circles emerged more Ogres.

Over a dozen.

Over a hundred.

Three hundred of them appeared before the Circle stopped spitting out any more.

As the group gawked in shock and wonder, Ralyks stepped forward and asked a question that made all their hearts jump.

"Will these be enough?"

*

*Chapter 200 Finalization Of Plans

[Greater Summoning Magic] was a B-Tier Skill that Rey got thanks to his [Merger].

He combined the effects of [Summoning Magic] that he learned back when he and his classmates were training in the colosseum.

Back then, the Summoners used [Summon], which was a C-Tier Skill—albeit rare.

The Monsters they could summon at a time were weaker, and their numbers weren't too impressive.

'Then, a few days ago, when Lucielle and Brutus were leaving for the battlefield, she used [Summoning Magic] to summon a giant flying creature that resembled a massive bird.'

Since Rey and his classmates saw them off, he was also able to mimic her Skill.

Afterward, he merged the both of them together to birth this new Skill of his.

'Hehehe…!'

Rey was grinning like an idiot under his mask as he stared at his enamored audience.

They were all stunned beyond compare that he had summoned such a small army of C-Tier Monsters that it took all of his willpower to stop himself from bursting out in laughter.

'Even though this is pretty much my limit, I made it sound like I could casually do more.'

As Ralyks, his repute would only skyrocket after this incident—he was sure.

'Let's just hope they don't get too greedy and ask me to make more…'

Judging from their expression alone, Rey was convinced that they would do no such thing.

300 Ogres were more than enough.

His Skill, [Greater Summoning Magic], allowed him to achieve this much, but he had reached his 'summon limit.'

That was fine, though.

'As long as I can use my [Absolute Mental Control] Skill on them, they'll do everything I say—even when I'm not around.'

[Absolute Mental Control] was a fusion of Belle's [Grand Charm], and a bunch of other lower-tier Skills.

It basically gave him a more heightened version of [Grand Charm], and he could control his targets without them having to look into his eyes or hear his voice.

The moment Rey summoned them, he had already placed them under his command by imbuing his Mana into them.

'These grunts will slave away until they're done mining this place.'

The issue was what to do with them after they were done.

'I doubt they'll give me any meaningful EXP, but it's still better than nothing… I guess.'

Not only were these C-Tier Monsters, but they were Summoned as well.

Summoned Monsters didn't have valuable Monster Cores, and they gave very little EXP.

Even though these things looked strong, they were practically fodder to him.

'Maybe it'll be better to give them to Adonis so he can get stronger.' Rey considered his options well.

Three hundred was a considerable number, so it was bound to make the Hero advance quite a bit.

'Well…' He glanced at his awe-stricken audience, still maintaining his smile.

'… I can decide that later.'

Right now, they still had to conclude their meeting.

"Let us return to the lounge."

***********

After Ralyks returned the three to their initial meeting point, the meeting was pretty much over. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

There was practically no need for further deliberations—especially after seeing all he could do.

They were certain he could handle the situation with their Otherworlders, and so they put their full trust on Ralyks and his decisions.

Of course, they also made sure to tell him how amazed they were at his power, to which he responded;

"It's not a big deal."

Thinking logically about his words, he wasn't wrong.

This was a man who had defeated a Dragon Commander before their very eyes. Compared to that feat, using a B-Tier Skill wasn't very compelling.

Still…

… Ralyks' power could only make one more amazed the more he displayed facets of it.

This reality caused everyone to have a single thought.

'Just how deep does his power run?'

No one could ever know!

"You can meet the Raid Team tomorrow, and we leave all the details to you—including when you want to begin the Raid and the model you want to utilize.'

In the end, Ralyks had to make the final call when it came to who was qualified to come with him on the raid.

He would test their performance and decide for himself.

"Agreed." He responded.

Afterwards, both sides rose to their feet and the Dark Adventurer shook the hand of Grandmaster Conrad, Lady Vida, and Hero Adonis.

They all exchanged goodwill, and afterwards.. Ralyks vanished into the depths of his dark portal.

No one knew where he went.

*******

"Haaa! That went well!"

Rey plopped to his bed and smiled gleefully.

He had pulled off things on his side so seamlessly—almost to the point that he was impressed with himself.

'It's a lot more difficult acting when you're in front of so many familiar faces.'

There were a lot of times that he wondered if they could see through his disguise.

Fortunately, he was able to quickly dismiss it as paranoia.

Despite all this, though, there was one thing that couldn't escape his mind.

It was Adonis.

'I noticed it. He was acting a little off around me.'

Rey realized that Adonis probably felt too inadequate in the presence of Ralyks.

After all, he was the one supposed to be the Hero.

'But, if Adonis truly has the heart of a hero, then he should have no problems with me. As long as we can help the people here… that should be all that matters.'

He wasn't particularly interested in getting close to Adonis as Ralyks, but he hoped they could get along.

"Now that I've settled the whole arrangement with the Raid, I can focus on the KariBlanc situation.'

He had spent his past few days wisely, so he was a bit more confident in his ability to comprehend and appropriately act in the dealings of the Criminal Underworld.

'I'm happy I get to use my discretion in this Raid. It'll give me more flexibility to alternate between both sides.'

Leveling Up in the Royal Dungeon Raid, and helping out his business pals at the same time…

'I can't wait!'

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