BXBX NOVEL Volume 8 6
This new floor had three dungeon rooms. The first was a [Graveyard], and the second was a [Mine]. The third one was a narrow [Stone Corridor] where a weapon of mass destruction was deployed.
Basically, the [Graveyard] room was guarded by Duke, the Skeletons, and the undead monsters resurrected by Duke’s [Enhanced Resurrection]. If ever any enemy somehow escaped the first floor of the dungeon proper, they were bound to be crushed here.
Meantime, in the [Mine] room, the Silver Golems and Gold Golems made by the Dwarf Smiths worked tirelessly day and night to dig up ores. Also, the Darkness Dragons birthed by the [Maelstroms] resided here. In case the fighting in the previous dungeon room got too close, I had instructed them to retreat here.
With the MOAB, which was formerly in the third room of the first floor, moved to the last room of the 2nd floor, that dungeon room became our last defensive line. However, as much as I considered it as a trump card, it was still a card that I had previously played and was thus known by others. To supplement this, I planned to also deploy in that room a more atrocious weapon.
But then again, considering that the replenishment of our stock of MOABs had just been completed as well as the fact that Rorono had just finished the blueprints for that new weapon, it would still be a while before the Dwarf Smiths finish making the parts.
Obviously, I could tell Rorono to help in the manufacturing process to speed it up, but I would rather she worked with her brain to make plans for other new weapons than for her to work with her arms.
Fortunately, unlike her, I could buy Dwarf Smiths with DP. In other words, if I so wanted, I could mass produce weapons of mass destruction.
"As it always has been, the first floor has solid defense. And, almost unbelievably, the second floor has even better defense than that. My dungeon proper is finally looking like a proper dungeon."
Thanks to these two floors, the defense of my crystal became stronger than ever.
The first room of the first floor was a straight path where the Mithril Golems and their heavy weapons were set up.
The second room was the site of the pastry and the weapon factories operated by the Skeletons.
As for the third room, it was an extremely cheap [Stone Corridor] as of the moment, but I was thinking of changing it to something more useful.
There have been a serious shortage of lumber recently, so turning it into a [Forest] room might not be such a bad idea.
While thinking of that, Duke arrived.
At his side was his adjutant who was also his wife. As ever, the two of them were really intimate.
"My lord, how may I serve you?"
Duke, the middle-aged dragonewt, said so and then bowed his head.
Like always, each of his actions was graceful.
"In order for Avalon to develop, there’s something I want you to do. I want you to gather about 20 of the brightest and most docile Darkness Dragons."
"Yes, right away, my lord. I will summon Pochi and the elite unit he is leading."
Duke saluted and then proceeded to send instructions via telepathy.
By the way, Duke referred to the leader of the Darkness Dragons as Pochi. It wasn’t an official name, but rather a nickname. My monsters had been using these nicknames to refer to each other. It would have been quite inconvenient otherwise, after all.
Still, for Duke to refer to a high-ranking and ferocious dragon with Pochi, it was like he viewed them nothing more than cute and adorable dogs.
"[Ruler of Death] sure is convenient, isn’t it?"
"Yes, aside from strengthening all of my undead subordinates, it also allows me to communicate with all of them at once via telepathy. For me whose duty is to protect Avalon, I rely on this ability a lot."
Aside from having the dragon attribute, the Darkness Dragons also had the undead attribute. That meant that they were also viable targets for Duke’s [Ruler of Death] and were thus further strengthened. This was one of the many reasons I made two [Maelstroms] for them.
After a while, I noticed a bunch of medium sized western dragons flying in perfection formation in the sky. Soon enough, they swooped down and landed magnificently.
They aren’t considered elites for nothing.
"My lord, I present to you the cream of the crop among the Darkness Dragons."
"Yes, they do seem like it. So, listen, I plan to open a big casino in the city. I want one of our main draws to be flying dragon races."
Upon hearing me, Duke placed a hand on his chin and began to think.
"Flying dragon races, is it?"
"For humans, dragons are objects of fear and reverence. They’ll surely go wild if they ever learned that those dragons were going to race in sky against one another. Everyone will be talking about it and will want to visit Avalon. Quite possibly, even non-gamblers will make a trip just to see the dragons."
I was certain of it.
After all, there was nowhere else humans could go to see such powerful monsters race one another and still live.
"I see. Certainly, humans will come rushing, but I do have some concerns. The speed of the Darkness Dragons exceeds that of the speed of sound, so unless the race course is at least 20 km, the race will be over in an instant. On the other hand, if the race course was indeed that long, it will then be much farther than what the human eye can see."
I had also worried about those issues. Because of that, I had thought up of a countermeasure.
"My plan is to have one of the fastest flying Darkness Dragon fly ahead of the group and be in charge of capturing the race via a camera. Hopefully, that will give a sense of immersion to the guests who shall be watching the captured footage in a large screen indoors."
"Ohh, that is a good plan."
"Moreover, we should implement a mechanism that makes the casino’s ceiling open up to reveal the sky above. If we do that and also make the casino a part of the final leg in the race, even though it will only be for an instant, the guests will be able to see with their own eyes the majesty of the Darkness Dragons as they fly by."
Actual experience of seeing the Darkness Dragons race against one another, that was the enjoyment we were going to offer with this race.
That said, there were some necessary considerations to take into account. One of such was that the Darkness Dragons had the skill called [Fear]. It might cause even instant death for humans just by being within a hundred-meter radius of the Darkness Dragons.
"Hmm, yes, I support this. Lately, the Darkness Dragons have been growing bored. This race should be a good distraction as well as exercise for them."
"Is that so? Well, that’s not all. I also intend to reward them for their participation. As you know, the third room of the 1st floor of the dungeon proper was originally our last line of defense. However, with the addition of the new floor, that role has been given to floor 2 room 3. So, I was thinking of turning that room into a [Forest]. If I do that, pigs, wild boars, and other animals will spawn from time to time. My point is, we can offer an all-you-can-eat for a whole day to whoever wins that race."
Like mentioned before, a [Forest] room would help in the lumber shortage.
Additionally, according to my Demon Lord Book, much like a [Mine], a [Forest] would spawn rarer animals, fruits, medicinal plants, and many others as the Demon Lord became stronger. Aura could use these things to help her potion-making. Furthermore, we could also sell materials gathered there, hopefully attracting more humans to come to Avalon.
Given the guaranteed steady supply of boars and pigs, I could feed my monsters as much as possible. Although monsters didn’t strictly need to eat, they enjoyed it nonetheless. The Darkness Dragons loved meat, so that should serve as a fine reward.
As though to confirm, when the Darkness Dragons heard me say all-you-can-eat meat, they gave a pleased roar. Now, I’m sure they’ll give their all in the races. And if they gave their all, the audience will be fascinated even more.
"A [Forest]? Yes, that’s fine idea. The [Forest] will hinder the movement of our enemies as well as their fighting capabilities. Furthermore, there are many among us who have an aptitude to fighting in a forest. If push comes to shove, the High Elves and Mythological Foxes can turn it into their hunting grounds and annihilate our enemies. I think we’ll see their real talent shine there."
The High Elves, Mythological Foxes, and the Abyss Howls—which were the monsters two ranks below Tiro—would certainly thrive from the many obstacles as well as rough footholds that a [Forest] provided.
Alright, it’s decided, I’m going to make a [Forest] room.
"But my lord, where will the casino be located? Avalon has grown quite crowded recently, hasn’t it?"
"It’ll be built in the [Plains]."
My dungeon had a dungeon proper where my defenses were ruthless and a city part where Avalon was located.
The city part had one dungeon floor which was filled by three rooms. The first room was the [Plains], the second was the city of Avalon itself, and the last one was the [Mine] room.
It was hard to cram in the casino, which was a going to be large facility, into the already cramped Avalon, so I planned to build it in the [Plains]. The [Plain] room was 20 km by 20 km large. That should be enough for the Darkness Dragons to fly around happily.
"I support this too, my lord. The Darkness Dragons will enjoy flying around there."
"That’s good to hear. Alright, notify the brightest of the Darkness Dragons first, but also let them all know that everyone may participate. Once the casino is in full swing, I expect there to be about 8 races in a day, so we’ll have to alternate the participating members often."
"Understood."
"Also, I’m thinking of holding a mock race tomorrow evening. It’ll be a demonstration to the merchants I’m going to invite. We absolutely must not have any mistake. I’ll leave the task of selecting the participants to you Duke. So, pick six racers and one that will be in charge of the camera."
To that, Duke nodded.
Knowing him, the participants would have been chosen and given instructions in no time.
That over, I spoke to the Dwarf Smith beside him.
"Dwarf Smith, would you like to help us break free from this state of overreliance on Rorono?"
At first, the Dwarf Smith was bewildered by what I was saying, but after a while, she smiled as though she understood my meaning.
"Procell-sama, is it fine for me to assume that us Dwarf Smiths shall be taking over the construction of the casino and racing grounds?"
"Yeah, that’s it. I also want you guys to assign colors to the Darkness Dragons and decorate them with that color. If the guests can’t tell the dragons apart from one another, they won’t be able to choose whom to cheer and bet on, right? Actually, give them not only distinguishing features, but also their own identity. Additionally, I want you to prepare the race course itself. I want it to be at least 100 km long. Plus, even though it’s in the sky, I want the race course to be as clear and recognizable as possible."
Surprisingly, even details as the colors were important.
"Leave it to us! We’ll do our best to not let Rorono-sama’s workload increase anymore."
"As you’ve guessed earlier, you’ll also be in charge of the construction of the casino. We need it finished in a week’s time. The minimum requirements are detailed here. Read it and then tell me if you can do it without any help from Rorono. It’s fine if you can’t, but in that case, I’ll ask Rorono to supervise."
After receiving the paper containing the requirements from me, the Dwarf Smith then began to read it.
The most important requirements of the casino listed there were: the installation of large screen monitors as well as the mechanism for opening the ceiling; a building big enough to accommodate at least 500 people at once; excellent audio equipment; and air conditioning systems.
All of that and more had to be finished in a week. Needless to say, it was a lot to ask. However, I believed that the Dwarf Smiths being the powerful and skilled monsters that they were, as well as with the help of their golems that would act as their limbs, such an endeavor was possible.
Especially so considering their work on Avalon’s infrastructure development and the churches. Sure, Rorono improved on some things, but the basic design and the construction was thanks to the Dwarf Smiths.
In fact, Rorono had been saying to entrust more and more things to them, that the less dependent they were on her, the more they could grow. And I agreed with her. This casino was going to be the perfect opportunity for such growth.
"You bet! I mean, yes, we can do it. However, I’d like to request the aid of the golems being used for mining ores as well as the Darkness Dragons. That and the use of Avalon’s limitless funds. I believe these to be necessary."
"Granted. I’ll be counting on you all."
"Yes, please do!"
I’m sure they can get it done. Hmm, I should go talk to Rorono later.
Rorono was extremely helpful to others, but was rather poor on being helped herself. That would normally be a good thing, but relying on others from time to time was necessary. I hoped this would be good experience for her too.
"Moving on, Procell-sama, Duke-sama, I have a proposal. Since we have such a vast plot of land and a spectacular main draw in the form of the race, I think limiting the building to accommodate only up to 500 people is a waste. So, why don’t we construct the casino to be able to hold a thousand or maybe even 2,000 people? We can finish it in time either way, so why not go for more!"
I was involuntarily dumbfounded.
2,000? I can’t imagine that many will come... no, by the time the airports are built, we’re really going to need that much space. After the mock race tomorrow, I should go discuss it with Conanna.
"I accept your proposal. Go build me a casino that can accommodate 2,000 people."
"Leave it to us, Procell-sama."
She looked very motivated, so I couldn’t help but be excited for it.
Alright, I’ve made all the necessary preparations. Tomorrow, I’m going to meet with Conanna and discuss the recruitment of personnel that will manage the casino, among other things. There’s also that mock race tomorrow. I’m sure everyone will be stunned.