Authors Note:

Author's Corner: Thank you to Roni Free for joining the Patreon!

With the ambush from the rat-type creatures out of the way, the twenty-sixth floor entered a rapid period of development. Previously, they had relied on the sturdy crystal walls to serve as the barrier separating them from the monsters of the massive labyrinth. However, such a thing was no longer possible. They had already witnessed firsthand how those very walls crumbled under a collective attack, and were forced to change their strategy.

For this purpose, a mining operation was carried out on the twenty-third floor. Similar to the twenty-sixth, this floor was largely composed of crystals as well. The primary difference was that these crystals had fused with their environment as opposed to overtaking it. This meant that any materials harvested from the twenty-third floor were harder, more brittle, and contained the ability to store a large amount of mana.

At the same time, another mining site appeared on the twentieth floor, an entirely underground floor overrun by swarms of insects. As the world had progressed several layers beyond this, it was a relatively easy task to devise defenses against those insects.

With the materials from the twentieth floor serving as the shell, and the twenty-third floor’s material as a power source, the people of Fyor gradually began to build a defensive wall that fully surrounded their town. This wall was designed in such a way that doors could be opened at numerous points along its exterior, depending on which paths were open at the time.

Like this, darkness returned to a portion of this floor, the light of the crystal walls cut off. Even without that light, the people felt far safer than normal. Though, as I watched this scene, a strange thought occurred to me.

“The entire twenty-sixth floor is made of mana crystals… so where does the oxygen come from?” I asked on the couch, glancing at Accalia and Bihena who were sitting nearby. “I mean, most of the people at this level are using energy bodies, but there would have to be some exceptions. Also, there are the materials for that potion…”

Accalia simply chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re right, there are some people who enter this labyrinth with a flesh body, though they are few and far between. Mostly merchants or priests that need to temporarily visit the floor, or that one unfortunate guy Aurivy ‘trained’ to be good at mazes.”

Bihena offered a small nod. “In fact, there are some plants on the twenty-sixth floor.” She reached over to the table, grabbing the remote and hitting a button. The display on the screen cut to a black background with a crystal flower clearly displayed. “They would not be able to sustain a large population, but these plants do produce a small amount of oxygen, which has built up for tens of thousands of years.”

“And… I’m guessing that they are one of the ingredients for the mana attunement potion?” I asked curiously, to which she nodded again.

“Udona knows more about potions than I do, but yes. The stem of this flower, when combined with the crystals extracted from beasts within the dungeon, produces a potion that can temporarily leave a trace of the labyrinth’s energy within the body of an individual.”

I gave a small nod of understanding at that, looking at the screen once again. “So this floor won’t be able to sustain a large population of people, unless they have already shed their mortal bodies.”

“I don’t think that’s really unusual.” Accalia spoke up, leaning back in her seat. “Remember, the limit of a human’s body to hold energy tends to cap out around a thousand levels or so. It differs depending on their class choices, since not all classes provide energy bonuses, but that is the general rule. Of course, this also changes depending on the nature of the body itself, so there will still be some organic monsters here and there, like the giants on the twenty-fifth floor.”

“For our people, though, it’s safe to say that you won’t find anyone with a body of flesh and blood fighting beyond the twenty-fourth floor, where the Solii are. Anything higher than that, and they would have likely ascended in one form or another.”

I nodded my head, able to see what she meant. “So we don’t need to worry as much about hostile environments from now on because of that. Still, it’s hard to believe that there are already that many people with energy bodies.”

Bihena let out a faint chuckle before speaking up. “In the grand scheme of things, there aren’t really that many. Less than half a million people live on the twenty-fifth floor, which has more habitable land than Earth. On the twenty-sixth floor, this number becomes a scant ten thousand.”

“Comparatively, just a few floors down, if you look at the twenty-second floor, you’ll see a population of nearly a billion. Three more floors down, in the Dawn Kingdom, you have over five billion. After that, the numbers start shrinking back down again due to the available territory not being able to support any more people than they have. In total, Fyor has a population of nearly twenty-five billion, so the roughly half a million people in the two highest floors amount to no more than two thousandths of a percent.”

My eyes widened as I heard that, running the math in my head for a moment. Naturally, the people on the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth floors would not account for all of those with energy bodies, but it was still shocking to think about. I had imagined that the total number of people who had shed their physical bodies would be closer to ten percent. Or were those people simply not fighting at the frontlines to expand the territory of Fyor?

I shook my head at that, deciding to direct my attention to other matters. “That’s enough of that, anyways. What’s going on with James and that divine treasure that they found in space? Has he found anyone to give it to yet?”

Accalia shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. “I asked him what he plans to do with it, but he said he wants to study it for a while first. He thinks that there might be a chance to artificially replicate its effects to make something similar to the Perfection Chamber for gods.”

I guess that means that he never found anything like this in his past life. Though, that’s not really surprising. Even with our civilization exploring the stars in every direction, we only found it because it attracted so many monsters. Otherwise, it would have just looked like a small asteroid. I shook my head as those thoughts flashed through my mind. “Alright, let him study it, then. In the meantime, let’s get back to the show. I’m sure that there’s something good on.”

After retrieving her sword and rebuilding their city, she left without further delay. A voice spoke to Tsubaki, offering a report on Lifre’s previous activities in Fyor. Tsubaki simply nodded her head, not particularly surprised by what she had heard. The use of her domain was effective enough to turn the tide in a battle of that scale, so it was a good idea to send her in as the representative.

“Thank you for your report, Dusk.” Tsubaki spoke aloud, transmitting her thoughts back through the divine channel to her priestess. “And don’t worry, she was not spreading false information. Lifre has joined the citadel as the third servant.”

On the other end of the connection, a humanoid mass of light offered a bow towards a statue carved in Tsubaki’s image. Thank you for clarifying this matter for us, Lady of the Light.

“It’s not a problem.” Tsubaki’s voice spoke from the statue. “It was right of you to report news of someone who may have been using our name illegally. Please continue to monitor events on your end, and let me know if there are any developments that arrive due to this.”

As you wish, Lady of the Light. I shall have the others mobilize to observe, as well. The humanoid mass of light expressed its understanding.

“One last thing.” The voice from the statue spoke just as it felt like it was beginning to fade. “According to the patterns on previous floors, your people should be ready to take action on the upper levels, once the next gate is opened.”

Forgive my ignorance, but would you please clarify your desire?

“Water, earth, wind, fire… After that, there were three normal floors. Now, there is a floor with a strong theme of light that banishes darkness. The Demigoddess of Shadows was powerless there. If the theme that started on the nineteenth floor repeats itself, there is likely to be a strong darkness theme to the twenty-seventh floor. The Lightborn should be ready to move if that turns out to be the case.”

I understand. The mass of light offered another bow. I will inform the others of this arrangement at once.

After the Lightborn said this, the statue went quiet, and it began transmitting its thoughts to the others of its own race. If there really were to be a floor of darkness, then it was their duty to help the people of this world overcome it. Especially now that the Lady of Light had instructed them to personally act.

Blank sat within a virtual void, looking at the schematic that had been sent to him from the researcher. This schematic took the shape of a rather typical looking wristwatch, but contained within was a microchip designed to contain a vast array of blueprints, ranging from simple firepits to giant factories.

Naturally, James had not had the time to create every single schematic from memory, as doing so would have taken years of his time. That is not even counting the time needed to test each one. So instead, he wrote a learning algorithm that could handle the creation of different blueprints itself. This program was able to create ships matching the specifications that the user was looking for, drafting up what appeared to be the most efficient methods for creating what the user wanted.

Afterwards, similarly, the program was able to create an assembly line to produce the required parts. What the user themselves had to do was design what they wanted to create, wait for the algorithm to list the necessary materials, and then find those materials in the world. Once the materials were found, a second algorithm would trigger a spell to create the requested object or building. This same algorithm would be responsible for tutoring mages to help them memorize complex magical formulas.

The second algorithm would display different formulas, as well as breaking them down so that the user could gradually understand how it works. In a noncombat situation, it could even stimulate their mana to cast a completed spell. However, once combat began, the algorithm would go dormant. Even if the user’s life was at risk, it wouldn’t react. After all, as it was just a game, there was no harm in letting the player learn from their defeat.

“Is this what you’re wanting?” Blank called out into the void, taking a deep look at the program James had sent over. “Each project will take quite a bit of mana to complete, won’t it?”

“That’s the idea!” Dana’s voice spoke back within the void, the girl connected from her computer in the citadel. “If they don’t properly train themselves, their only chance to create will be to do so manually. For those that do train, they will be able to gradually build up their understanding of how magic works in the world. Since you’ll be using that Magic Seed for this project, it means that their understanding of real world magic will improve, as well.”

“What about those who train in more physical fields, such as monks?” Blank asked, shaking his head lightly at the idea. So far, the project had been designed to help raise mages in an environment where mages were at their weakest. He couldn’t entirely be sure what Dana’s plan was for the more physical types.

“If they don’t want to train as a mage, they don’t have to! It’ll be easier for them to survive in the wild as a physical class, but they won’t be able to build their bases as quickly. The best case scenario for them would be to try and meet up with other people on the same world, that way they could work together.”

“I… suppose.” Blank said with a faint sigh. It had to be said that the main draw of the game so far was the ability to practice real-world magic within a game. As of yet, there was no single game which included a complete recreation of the world’s magic system.