Chapter 77 - Iron Dungeon Core
In a small stone chamber outfitted with a furnace that resembled a pool of magma, sat a burly, heavily muscled man with a scruffy beard.
He was the Iron Dungeon Core.
This place was the Master Room of the Iron Dungeon.
“Hah? Weapons, you say? Why’re you bringing that up now, all of a sudden?”
Muttering to himself, the Iron Dungeon Core granted entry permission to the Master Room for another core.
Space warped—and a small-statured boy appeared.
“Hey there, long time no see, Uncle Iron Dungeon. Been what—fifty years?”
“So? What is it this time? You finally decided to take on the role of mentor to the newbie cores? You, the great and mighty World’s Largest Dungeon Core?”
“Uh... ha ha ha. Well, that... maybe some other time.
More importantly—take a look at this.”
The Weapon Core tossed a knife over to the Iron Dungeon Core.
It was the butterfly knife the Hot Spring Dungeon Master had brought out earlier.
The Iron Dungeon Core caught it and examined it thoroughly.
“What do you think? That knife...”
“What in the world is this?”
“I’m asking you because I don’t know. The craftsmanship is precise, the material’s top notch—any guesses?”
“...I haven’t the slightest clue.
What metal is this blade and handle made of, huh?”
The Weapon Core gave a wry smile in response.
“Seriously, what is that guy...?
That knife came from the master of that hot-topic Hot Spring Dungeon, you know.”
“Oh, the one called in by Sepans’ Food Core or whatever? Yeah, I’ve heard some rumors.
I remember that core—bit of an odd one, like you. Came up with ideas like, ‘If we serve food, humans will just live in the dungeon forever,’ and stuff like that.
Seems like she’s still doing weird stuff, that Food Core.”
As he stared at the strange knife, the Iron Dungeon Core found himself recalling the eccentric Peta-chan from back in the day.
“About the metal used in that knife—think your dungeon can produce it?”
“Hah? Well, if I analyze it, I guess it’s not impossible... but aren’t you planning to use it in your dungeon?”
“Of course I am. This knife’s amazing—no way I’m not going to use it.
But see, even if I do, I’ll probably only be able to produce a few hundred a day at best. And most of them’ll be used as-is, just as knives, right?
That’ll make adventurer camps slightly more convenient, and that’s it.
“What I’m hoping for is something bigger—something humans might do with this new metal.”
“So basically, you want me to mass-produce this metal here, and let the humans figure out what to do with it?”
“Exactly. Just giving humans access to a new material is enough to make them invent something crazy in no time.”
“And the Hot Spring-whatever Master is okay with that?”
“Probably. That guy didn’t even seem to think the knife was anything special.”
The Weapon Core recalled how the Hot Spring Dungeon Master had acted when pulling out that knife.
He’d said something like, “I don’t really know much about weapons,” and just casually took it out.
Judging from that attitude, the knife was probably something the guy considered a standard, easily-purchased item.
But whenever that Master brought out something he didn’t consider a big deal, it always turned out to be absurdly overpowered.
The Weapon Core had also gotten a lot of food from the Hot Spring Master.
And along with it—tableware, cooking utensils, all casually included—every single one of them had been outrageous.
Everything the guy produced left you wondering, What the hell is this??
The more he showed shock and awe, the less the Master seemed willing to share things—so now he always tried to keep a straight face and say things like, “Haha, Sen, you always pull out such interesting stuff,” just to keep the flow going.
But in truth, it took a lot of effort to keep his emotions in check.
That Master’s world was just on a completely different level of civilization.
“Can you believe it? That knife was something he held back on, thinking it was safe to hand over to other dungeons. And even at that level, it’s already this advanced.
I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of weapon he’d pull out if he actually tried.
That’s why I want to mass-produce the stuff he gives us in dungeons all over the place—to raise the entire level of human civilization.
If we want to grow our dungeons, we need to make humans stronger first.”
“...You’re as weird as ever. No wonder you ended up as the World’s Largest Dungeon.
Still, if you’re in charge of training newbies, the whole dungeon world’s gonna end up one big mess.”
Letting out a deep sigh, the Iron Dungeon Core looked as if he’d given up trying to understand the mindset of the younger generation.
The Iron Core had never once given serious thought to human society or civilization.
His strategy, which had remained unchanged for centuries, was simple: refine metals extracted from human equipment within his Master Room, then reproduce them in his dungeon.
That was the Iron Dungeon Core’s long-standing, fundamental approach.
As far as he was concerned, improving the quality and purity of the materials he offered would enhance his dungeon’s reputation. Beyond that, he rarely concerned himself with anything else.
So even though he could tell the Weapon Core was thinking about something deep and far-reaching, the Iron Core simply couldn’t follow what he was getting at.
It was like a stubborn old craftsman being told by his entrepreneur grandson, “Grandpa, it’s the era of IT now!”
Sure, the kid was probably right—but the old man couldn’t keep up with it, nor did he have any desire to.
In the end, all the Iron Core understood was: “So, you just want this new metal to be produced in my dungeon, right?”
“Still... analyzing this unknown material from just the knife alone is gonna take way too long...”
♨♨♨♨♨
Several hours had passed since I’d shared a Chinese meal with Bugu-kun.
I was sipping tea absentmindedly while watching the female knights’ residential plans unfold, when Peta-chan suddenly uttered something incomprehensible.
“驩？ 諛舌°縺励＞縺ュ”
“Huh? What was that? Bugu-kun came back already?”
“Nope. This time it’s the Iron Dungeon Core uncle. Says he wants to meet Master.”
“Great, another visitor...”
Hurriedly, I closed the monitor that was displaying a few of the female knights lounging around in just their underwear, having stripped off their clothes.
Yeah... great thighs.
“Alright, you can call him in.”
Peta-chan mumbled some strange incantation, and space warped in front of me. A hulking, bearded man with muscles like boulders appeared.
To my eyes, he looked exactly like a dwarf out of a fantasy novel.
“You’re the Master that the Food Core summoned, huh? Name’s Iron Dungeon Core.
Just a while ago, that Weapon Core fella handed me this...”
The dwarf-looking man pulled out the butterfly knife I’d given to Bugu-kun earlier.
Then he explained the situation to me.
Oh, so that’s it. He wants to be able to produce the metal used in this knife within the Iron Dungeon.
But analyzing the materials directly from the knife would take too long—so instead, he wants me to just give him the raw materials.
“...The handle of this knife... looks like aluminum? As for the blade, maybe titanium?”
I made a rough guess about the knife’s materials, then pulled out element-ingot samples of aluminum and titanium to hand over to the dwarf.
They were the kind of samples I’d once seen lined up in the waiting room of a metalworking factory—sleek, stylish, and cool-looking.
I figured these were probably the purest samples I had.
“Would something like this be alright?”
“Uh... oh... yeah...”
The dwarf visibly recoiled.
Did I do something wrong?
“...That Weapon Core guy said you’d casually hand over stuff that benefits other dungeons, but... this is way beyond what I imagined.”
“Well, if it were purely for another dungeon’s gain, I wouldn’t be so generous.
But if the Iron Dungeon starts generating new types of metals, that’ll eventually benefit my dungeon’s progress too.
Even if I’m giving away high-quality materials right now, I believe it’ll pay off in the long run.”
I’d already heard that the Kingdom of Sepans had been buying up large quantities of metal from the nation housing the Iron Dungeon.
So if they could produce a high volume of pure metals there, it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
It could even help speed up the production of those portable lodgings that were currently being made in the Kingdom of Sepans.
“...You’re spouting the same kind of incomprehensible stuff as that Weapon Core guy...
Hahh... I guess it really is your generation’s time now, huh...”
From the look on his face, the Iron Dungeon Core seemed to be resigning himself to the idea that he just couldn’t keep up with the times anymore.
It was the same melancholic expression you’d see on an old-school manager who once used an abacus, now watching the younger employees breeze through calculations on their computers. He probably didn’t grasp the full implications of dungeon collaboration that I had just explained earlier.
While the Iron Dungeon Core and I talked about all that—
Peta-chan was busy pulverizing fruit in a blender,
whipping cream into stiff peaks, flipping pancakes on a griddle,
and brewing coffee through a drip filter.
Even Peta-chan’s actions, as she cheerfully bustled about, were only met with a sideways glance from the Iron Dungeon Core.
It seemed far too incomprehensible for him to even bother asking what she was doing.
He looked just like a great-grandfather silently watching his great-grandchild fiddle with some bizarre electronic toy—completely baffled, but too detached to interrupt.
“Here you go—an açaí bowl, maple pancakes, and some coffee!”
“Oh ho, so you can whip up anything off a family restaurant menu now. You’ve come a long way.”
While closely examining the ingots I’d handed over, the Iron Dungeon Core kept glancing at Peta-chan and me eating, clearly not understanding a thing.
“...What an absurd level of purity... There’s nothing more I could even add to this...”
“Hahaha~ That’s ‘cause Master is amazing~!”
Peta-chan chimed in cheerfully, smearing cream all over her cheek as she took a big bite of her pancake.
“Well then, I’ll be taking this...”
With that, the Iron Dungeon Core quietly picked up the ingots and vanished without another word.
“Ahh, he’s already gone. Uncle Iron Core still only ever talks about the bare essentials, doesn’t he?”
Rather than simply being curt, it was probably more accurate to say that old dwarf-like guy just couldn’t make heads or tails of anything we were doing.
On the other hand, there was Bugu-kun—who showed instant interest in food, quickly signed a contract with me, and eagerly forged a connection.
Then there was Peta-chan—who, once I taught her how to cook, fell completely in love with it and started mastering dish after dish, until she could recreate just about anything.
Ahh, youth really is something wonderful.
...Tiring as hell, though!
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