{"id":3550,"date":"2025-10-08T08:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/?p=3550"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:49:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:49:28","slug":"v12c3p3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/?p=3550","title":{"rendered":"v12c3p3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To Rimuru, of course, this faith was as excessive as it was stifling. In fact, he had already thought Sorry, guys, but you don\u2019t have a chance<\/em> and pinned his expectations on the next guardian\u2014but Adalmann didn\u2019t know that, and he was eager to fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, for sure\u2014and every time after this\u2014defeat was not an option. He had to win\u2014and continue winning. And so Adalmann and his cohorts waited for the foolish intruders who would come at any moment, carefully discussing their strategy as they anticipated what was to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

An intense battle began\u2026and ended in an instant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, really, I\u2019d like<\/em> to call it intense, but in fact it was so one-sided that it left my mouth agape. I\u2019d even brought along a deck of cards in case things got boring midway, but I never had to bust them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Adalmann simply dominated. It was a stark, vivid victory, one I could hardly believe I was watching. The challengers were hardly pushovers; they weren\u2019t sick or injured. They were in perfect health and enthusiastic to start fighting\u2026but Adalmann\u2019s team performed above them in every way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statistically speaking, this wasn\u2019t a mismatch. I had finished analyzing the challengers\u2019 skills, and they looked stronger than Adalmann. All three of them merited an over-A rank, and each one boasted their own unique skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingee\u2019s in particular was Restorer, quite a rare one. It granted him control over the structures of tiny viruses, letting him destroy living creatures from the inside. He could even modify the composition of the air around him to create lethal, contagious viral clouds. It was pretty crazy, really. Could any<\/em> living thing deal with that? Like, unless you could detect these clouds of pathogens you\u2019d need a microscope to see, you had no chance of beating Shingee. That, and he could use this to heal people, too, even more efficiently than medical nanomachines. The all-purpose flexibility Restorer offered was just amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, Marc\u2019s power was derived from his unique skill Hurler. It allowed him to throw anything he could hold in his hands like a javelin\u2014really, anything he could lift up, including monsters. Combine it with gravity-control magic, and he\u2019d be more of a threat than nearly any mass-based weapon; I\u2019d say the skill was more suited for effectively taking on entire armies instead of single targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Zhen\u2019s unique skill was a kind of mix of useful tools. The unique skill Observer allowed him to instinctively dodge threats, detect danger and traps, and discover monsters and other presences before they appeared. He could even pick up on Shingee\u2019s viral clouds. All this was combined with Zhen\u2019s own fighting abilities, which made him capable of evading or fleeing just about anything. He was fast, he was nimble, and traps basically didn\u2019t work on him\u2014the mortal enemy of any labyrinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That about summed it up. It was a real buffet of sweet-looking skills, and I\u2019d definitely be gaining some inspiration from them. Each one was a huge boon by itself, but they also worked so well<\/em> with one another\u2014the real key to this trio\u2019s record-making run. I don\u2019t think I could be blamed for assuming they\u2019d steamroll right over Adalmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I was wrong. Turns out Adalmann had spent the past few months getting buff, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean, normally, a non-sentient monster would never really change in terms of fighting ability from what it\u2019s originally granted. If it could survive several decades or so, you\u2019d see some improvement then, but the process took more than a few years, at least. And then we have Adalmann and Alberto here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Like, what is<\/em> this? How did these guys get so powerful?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And also, what the heck\u2019s up with that dragon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peeking into the boss chamber, I spotted Adalmann, Albert\u2026and an evil-looking dragon I had never seen before, nearly forty feet in length and oozing a deadly looking miasma from its mouth. Who the hell dragged that<\/em> in? Something clearly had been going on while I was out on my international tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeh-heh-heh! Surprised, aren\u2019tcha? I kinda kept this from you on purpose, but y\u2019know how you gave those guys some new equipment? Well, they really<\/em> dug that stuff, so they\u2019ve been working extremely hard on their training! And um, you know how high the magicule levels are across the Dungeon, right? Well, they\u2019ve been absorbing some of it, and now Adalmann and Alberto have regained their old powers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramiris sounded like a guy on a prank video revealing everything to the victim. And\u2014yeah, taking a closer look, Adalmann had evolved from wight to wight king. He was still a skeleton, and his gear was just as gaudy as ever, so I didn\u2019t notice at first, but his magical power was off the charts now. Alberto, meanwhile, had skipped death knight entirely and now was a Death Paladin, a super-high-level monster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWight kings and Death Paladins have magicule levels about even with an Arch Demon, don\u2019t they\u2026?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKwaaah-ha-ha-ha! Look at these meek little underlings, striving so hard to be of aid to us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They made evolution sound so easy\u2014and what\u2019s more, they powered up beyond anything I could\u2019ve guessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about that dragon?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, didn\u2019t you know, Rimuru? That\u2019s Adalmann\u2019s pet!\u201d Ramiris announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pet\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmm\u2026 Come to think of it, I did<\/em> remember Adalmann talking about keeping a pet, maybe. I just didn\u2019t expect it to be this wicked-looking dragon. It was, in fact, a death dragon, the alpha predator of the undead-monster hierarchy. Shuna and the rest of the cabinet were familiar with it, apparently, so Ramiris honestly thought I knew as well. That was my fault, I suppose. It\u2019s so<\/em> important to have everybody on the same page in upper management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So as for how this battle unfolded\u2026 Well, there\u2019s really not much to say. In fact, Adalmann didn\u2019t even move an inch from his throne, and the death dragon stayed ensconced on his left side. Only Alberto stepped forward, and he beat all of them himself. Marc\u2019s Minos Bardiche wasn\u2019t even given the time to strut its stuff\u2014it was stopped in its tracks by the similarly Unique-class Cursed Sword, and Marc was promptly slashed down afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sight stopped Zhen in his tracks, leaving him open for a moment, and Alberto seized the opportunity. His speed made him almost seem to disappear for a moment as he unleashed upon Zhen, and that by itself spelled the end for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This made Shingee mutter \u201cHuh?\u201d in surprise. He scrambled toward Alberto, blasting out a Holy Cannon magic spell. This was a common ability among paladins, but not many civilians had access to it\u2014Shingee didn\u2019t mention any paladin training in his immigration papers, so I imagine it was a hidden last resort for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spell was suited for speed, and it landed a clean, direct hit on Alberto. It seemed like he dodged it for a moment, but maybe Alberto let his guard down\u2014or so I thought. But I had no reason to worry. Alberto simply didn\u2019t move, because he had no need to evade it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingee managed to squeak out an \u201cOh, come on<\/em>!\u201d before Alberto swung his sword down upon him. Then it was all over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026 I mean, Alberto\u2019s still undead, right? Isn\u2019t he weak against the holy attribute? I know I\u2019m not the only one to think that\u2014but Alberto was kept safe, and it was entirely thanks to Adalmann. It turned out to be his previously hidden extra skill, known as Holy-Evil Inversion, at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report. Holy-Evil Inversion is a secret skill crafted by the subject Adalmann. It has the effect of swapping the holy attribute with the evil one and vice versa.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adalmann used this to change Alberto\u2019s attribute from evil to holy. The effect didn\u2019t extend to his equipment, but since Alberto was undead, there wasn\u2019t any life force for his cursed gear to suck away, so his elemental attribute didn\u2019t matter along those lines. Plus, if an ally applied that skill to him, there was no chance of his body resisting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A holy undead? What kind of joke was this? It was un<\/em>holy, if anything, but Adalmann\u2019s Holy-Evil Inversion made it a reality. And as a spiritual life-form, Adalmann had natural resistances to each kind of elemental attack. Most melee strikes didn\u2019t work on him. As a duo, they had also overcome their weakness against holy attacks. Really, I didn\u2019t see how any normal dungeon-runner team could take them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Adalmann won, and without even using any of the magic I taught him. Shingee\u2019s team was defeated in truly anticlimactic fashion, fading into clouds of light before departing the chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cRimuru, my lord, were you watching us? We dedicate this glorious victory to you!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching Adalmann shout this dedication at the top of his nonexistent lungs, a thought occurred: Isn\u2019t Adalmann\u2019s gang a little<\/em> too much force to bust out for Floor 60?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean, yeah, I did<\/em> tell him that if a party approached, he should fight back with a party of his own. He certainly took that advice to heart, and he certainly didn\u2019t try to outnumber<\/em> his opponent, no. But this is getting pretty close to fraud. Like, come on! If you have a special-A monster, a Calamity-level threat\u2014and three<\/em> of them at once\u2014you could destroy a lot of the smaller kingdoms out there! And by the looks of things, they still had some other tricks they were hiding, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I decided to interrogate Ramiris about that later. For now, I needed to offer Adalmann my congratulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell done, Adalmann! Why don\u2019t you come up to the control room? No need to talk through the screen like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, ohhhh\u2026! Such a joyous honor! I will be by your side posthaste, my lord!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As stiflingly formal as always. Well, that\u2019s how he is, I suppose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd Alberto can talk as well these days, huh? Can you bring him along?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVery well. As for my death dragon\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUm, let\u2019s have it keep guard over there, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, my lord!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death dragon whimpered a bit about that, but I had to stand firm on this. I mean, it\u2019s freakin\u2019 forty feet long. Maybe we could fit him in the special chamber we made for Veldora on Floor 100, but this control room just ain\u2019t that big. I felt kinda bad for the guy, but he\u2019d have to give up on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I ordered Shion to make some tea for Adalmann and Alberto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan he drink it?\u201d she asked. \u201cHe\u2019s nothing but bones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rrrrr\u2026ight. Yeah. Looks like Alberto found a body, kind of, but Adalmann\u2019s still nothing but a skeleton. Maybe he can enjoy the aroma, at least?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, this is\u2026 You know. A polite gesture for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see. Very well!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We chatted a bit more as we waited for their arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are here, Sir Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI offer you my sincere gratitude for the honor of personally experiencing your holy visage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adalmann and Alberto both kneeled before me. In person like this instead of through the screen, I realized just how much more powerful they were now\u2014I could hardly believe they were the same people as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. Well done. Alberto was your name, was it? You have proved to be quite an effective fighter. And, Adalmann\u2014you have done an exemplary job as a guardian. Keep up the good work!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right! Keep it up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veldora and Ramiris heaped praise on them before I could speak up. If they<\/em> got to give out all the praise first, I wasn\u2019t too sure what I should follow up with\u2026but let\u2019s just keep it benign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I tell you\u2026 It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve seen you guys, so I\u2019m kinda shocked at how much you\u2019ve grown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grown\u2026or I suppose \u201cevolved\u201d is the right term, isn\u2019t it? That trio was pretty strong, so I seriously thought they\u2019d struggle\u2026but no, I better not say that. Sometimes, there are things better thought than stated out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u201cYes, my lord!!\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of them were visibly moved. I had them sit down, trying to hide my pangs of guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTruly\u2026 Truly a fine aroma,\u201d said Alberto. \u201cIf offered by anyone else, I might have taken it as sarcasm, perhaps\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh yeah? Hmm. Shoulda seen that coming. If you can\u2019t drink it, it\u2019s just unfair, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026but when offered by my lord, I find the scent deeply satisfying for my heart. It has truly rejuvenated my body.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, great, but Shion made it, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026How delicious. Sweet\u2014and fragrant like nectar. I, Alberto, cannot offer enough gratitude for this wondrous moment of bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geez, don\u2019t lay it on too<\/em> much\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess Alberto had built a physical body for himself with magicules\u2014a kind of temporary vessel, made possible inside the labyrinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you<\/em> take on a full body as well, Adalmann?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Pardon me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I mean, then you could enjoy that tea more, so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cY-yes, perhaps, my lord, but in my case\u2026 Well, I prefer to project a certain image<\/em>, you could say\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uh-huh. That was kinda over my head, but if it was important to Adalmann, it\u2019s nothing I have a right to comment on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFair. No need to force it, in that case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I changed the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the way, I was really impressed by how you approached using Holy-Evil Inversion. The fact that you developed it at all shows me how hard you\u2019ve been working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you very much! Sir Beretta provided me with some assistance. And also\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked about Holy-Evil Inversion as a quick way to shift the topic, but this was actually pretty surprising. It turned out that even Luminus lent him a hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLady Luminus taught me Day-Night Inversion, one of her secret techniques, you see. An \u2018apology,\u2019 as she referred to it. Sir Beretta then applied his unique skill Reverser to modify it, and then I was able to master it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there you have it. I suppose Luminus was \u201capologizing\u201d for letting the Seven Days Clergy act out of line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was Granville trying to kill someone as talented as Adalmann? I had my own reasoning for that. Outside of Granville, the Seven Days Clergy members were all obsessed about keeping their positions safe from threats. They were all trying to eliminate Adalmann, but Granville must\u2019ve reasoned that he\u2019d only be useful if he could overcome the trap they set for him. Instead, Adalmann and that dragon zombie killed each other off\u2014something Granville may not have intended. Maybe his perspective was along the lines of \u201cWell, if you can\u2019t beat an enemy at that<\/em> level, you\u2019ll never become a guardian of humankind anyway\u201d or the like. Seeing Granville\u2019s final moments\u2014supremely proud but all alone in life\u2014I couldn\u2019t help but think that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it wouldn\u2019t be right to bring it up with Adalmann. It\u2019s something I\u2019d like him to realize himself someday\u2014but for now, time for another subject change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s wonderful! I\u2019ll have to send Luminus my thanks later on. But, Adalmann!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point, you can beat the guardian of Floor 70, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026How do you mean, my lord?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He seemed confused, so I spelled it out for him in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Floors 61 through 70 were nicknamed the Golem Zone, filled with inorganic, tirelessly working sentries. Some of the specialized area bosses on those floors even wielded test versions of the firearms we were working on. There were also a lot of brutal traps, headed up primarily by land mines\u2014but none of them were particularly lethal. The zone was overall meant as a trial for people playing the healer role in adventuring parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main boss of this zone was a new machine, a modified version of the Elemental Colossus. Vester had finally completed it with the help of Kaijin. It still boasted the high defense magisteel offered, but now it was lighter and more compact, making it mobile while keeping the pilot\u2019s seat fully protected. It wasn\u2019t sentient, but it had room for a pilot inside, although it could also run on the thoughts of a remote pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the moment, I believed Beretta was operating it remotely. I liked that\u2014it certainly eliminated the threat of viral cloud attacks, and not even a Minos Bardiche could cut through a magisteel body. Its armor also featured a layered structure, the shielding scales from Charybdis granting it the powers of Magic Interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a completely invincible metal guardian\u2014once the Elemental Colossus, now called the Demon Colossus. And I was fully sure Shingee\u2019s party would never make it past Floor 70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, after seeing how Adalmann fought today, I was starting to reconsider matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVeldora, who do you think\u2019s stronger\u2014Adalmann or the Demon Colossus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm\u2026 Adalmann, without a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight? So you see, Adalmann, we\u2019re going to promote you to Floor 70.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There you go. If Veldora agreed with me, I couldn\u2019t be mistaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understood. The power comparison between the subjects Adalmann and the Demon Colossus is\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, um, I don\u2019t need the numbers, thanks. This is more about image, so\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh, ahhhhhhhh\u2026!! I, Adalmann, promise to expend every effort to live up to your expectations!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I, your humble servant Alberto, promise to support my master, Adalmann, with every fiber of my being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They kneeled before me again as they made their pledges. They had changed so much when I\u2019d taken my eyes off them. The Demon Colossus was hardly any slouch, but honestly, it didn\u2019t really have the gravitas<\/em> a boss needed. That, and if it got broken again, it\u2019d just break our hearts. We have to implant it with a soul, or it wouldn\u2019t be subject to Ramiris\u2019s powers in the Dungeon, so we can\u2019t experiment to see if it\u2019d get resurrected after being smashed up. Maybe with a soul, things would be different\u2014or if there was a pilot inside it, would that work? Oh, but if someone was possessing it, maybe it wouldn\u2019t be treated as an item any longer\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, we sadly had no plans along those lines yet. I thus saw no reason why we shouldn\u2019t promote Adalmann and his crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll right! Then as of today, I want to have Floors 51 through 60 switched with Floors 61 through 70.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoger! You got it!\u201d said Ramiris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so we restructured the labyrinth right then and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Following Adalmann\u2019s exemplary performance, the Dungeon had a new hierarchy. That took care of matters for now, so I was about to order Adalmann out of the control room when the previously silent Diablo spoke up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe seem to be at the end of the conversation, so I have something I\u2019d like to report to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, my servant Razen sent a magical call stating that he has something to urgently discuss with you. It seems his former instructor or the like called upon him, and now this man is asking for an audience with you, Sir Rimuru. His name is Gadora.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmm\u2026 Never heard of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report. He is listed as the author of a number of books on sorcery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, he\u2019s famous, huh? I thought Razen was a pretty well-known and talented sorcerer himself, but his master must be even more so, huh? Kinda interesting. I wouldn\u2019t mind meeting him, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t that be a trap, though? We\u2019re on the eve of duking it out with the Empire, so a meeting at this point seems really suspicious, I think\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExactly! There is no need at all for you to meet with such a dubious person, Sir Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shion was even more doubtful than I was\u2014and I could see why. Given the times we lived in, if my personal guardian wanted to keep me away from danger\u2014well, she was just doing her job. I wasn\u2019t nearly as wary as her, so I figured it was better to listen to my advisers for matters like these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndeed\u2026 I see no need to lend an ear to the opinions of someone on the level of Razen. In fact, I hardly even need to listen to him at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diablo made this sound like an accepted fact, but I was sure he just wanted to be excused from all this. Regardless, if both of my personal secretaries were advising me against it, I was ready to call this off\u2014but then I noticed Adalmann fidgeting a bit. Yeah, I understood how he felt. Sometimes, just when you\u2019re about to leave your boss\u2019s office, a phone call or unexpected visitor comes along. You don\u2019t want to interfere, but you don\u2019t want to just walk out on the boss, either\u2026so you\u2019re stuck there, helplessly watching the clock tick away. Or is it just me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, Adalmann. That\u2019s all I needed from you, so you guys can leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cN-no, my lord! There is no need to be concerned about us. But apart from that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo tell the truth, I\u2026um\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis man, Gadora, that you speak of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMm-hmm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe this may perhaps be a friend of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I turned my eyes to Adalmann. He was shifting a bit in his seat, looking flustered. I almost wanted to say No, Adalmann, you\u2019re allowed to have friends. I don\u2019t think you\u2019ve betrayed me\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I asked Diablo to hold his opinion for now while Adalmann gave me more details. He and Gadora, as he put it, were close friends over a thousand years ago. I figured he\u2019d have to be long dead in that case, but Gadora was a master-level wizard, so it wouldn\u2019t be unheard of if he wove his own magic to extend his life. After all, this was the very man who cast Reincarnation on Adalmann to save him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adalmann also recognized the name Razen; as he recalled, he was one of Gadora\u2019s primary apprentices. We kept discussing them for a while, and as we did, it was increasingly clear this Gadora wanting to see me was the exact same guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiablo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderstood. I will arrange a date and time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such<\/em> a talented secretary. All I had to do was call his name, and he instantly recognized my intentions. My not-so-talented other<\/em> secretary had no objections, so I decided to go ahead and give Gadora a tryout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

With their defeat on Floor 60, Shinji\u2019s party got to experience returning from death for the very first time. They woke up to find a large audience thanking them, cheering them, booing them, even reassuring them that they couldn\u2019t have avoided that loss. Their battles in the labyrinth were broadcast live, and Shinji\u2019s conquest was turning into a popular diversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dungeon challengers, of course, had the right to turn down any recording or broadcast of their exploits\u2014it was a purely optional contract to sign. But Shinji had two reasons to go through with it\u2014one, they got a cut of the broadcast fees; and two, they figured becoming famous would help keep them safe. They were in enemy territory, so if they became known names, it\u2019d be that much harder for someone to assassinate them\u2014and since the contract only allowed their boss fights to be broadcast, they didn\u2019t have to be on edge the entire time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looked like the contract would be pretty lucrative for them, besides, so Shinji had no reason to turn it down. The same was true for his companions, so Shinji signed on the dotted line\u2026and the result was this huge crowd greeting them now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoy, that was too bad! Hope you train up a little more and try again!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMan, those guys never stood a chance. What kind of monsters were<\/em> those anyway? He swung that sword like it was a twig\u2026and what about that skeleton on the throne? Some kinda legendary monster?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was probably a wight king. The earth-shattering ruler of the dead. Not even an Arch Demon could take him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhoa. So was that dragon alive or not, though? It didn\u2019t look<\/em> like a statue or anything, but if it could\u2019ve joined the battle, too, I don\u2019t think any<\/em> human being had a chance in there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The questions came hard and fast from the audience. Shinji\u2019s party just smiled and waved as they found their way out of there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m gonna keep my eye on you heroes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re all gonna be in the record books alongside Sir Masayuki now! If you wanna beat that boss, you better find a way quick while Sir Masayuki\u2019s preparing for the war!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I got money down on you guys doing it, so keep it up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The voices remained just as loud behind their backs as they retired to their inn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they reached their room, the three of them flopped down on their beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo now<\/em> what\u2019re we gonna do?\u201d Marc asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho cares?\u201d an utterly exhausted Shinji replied. \u201cJust lemme rest a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They put everything they had into that boss battle\u2026but it made everything up to Floor 59 look like preschool. On Floor 60, even the non-boss adversaries worked with a clear command structure\u2014the sentient Death Lord they encountered led a team of fighters into battle. They managed to beat him and make it to the boss chamber, but what ensued in there was just wretched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026You gonna report back to Yuuki?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhen\u2019s reminder made Shinji get up. He sat down on the bed, sighing, as Marc and Zhen picked themselves up and sat around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really know what we can<\/em> report. We had no idea that side-quest zone was gonna be so hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, it wasn\u2019t too bad up to Floor 59, but what the hell was up with 60? A Death Lord with a whole platoon of death knights\u2014like, they had a whole army<\/em> loaded up for us in there! Any normal soldier would\u2019ve had his ass kicked in the blink of an eye!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026That was awful. Everything got so well defended on that floor. And those three bosses\u2014not just the knight who beat us, but the skeleton on the throne and the dragon\u2026 Those had<\/em> to be secret bosses, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now they were lost in conversation, too excited to worry too much about each other. The easy-breezy atmosphere up to yesterday had disappeared in under twenty-four hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that boss sittin\u2019 on the throne\u2026 That was a wight king, you know. I guess someone with high-level appraisal magic managed to identify it\u2026but it\u2019s so different<\/em> from how it looks on-screen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne hundred percent,\u201d Marc said in agreement with Shinji. \u201cHaving that show up when we were totally unprepared for it\u2026 How could we even deal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Honestly, I never wanna see it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhen\u2019s companions were on the same page. And the wight king didn\u2019t even participate in the battle. It didn\u2019t move from the throne\u2014just sat there, exuding royal dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, that minotaur guy seemed like a \u2018regular\u2019 boss, y\u2019know? He was around an A in strength. But wasn\u2019t Floor 60 way<\/em> too much of a step up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Yeah. Too much. I\u2019m starting to think everything up to Floor 50 was meant to put us off our guard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut now I\u2019m really sure of it,\u201d avowed Shinji. \u201cIf monsters that<\/em> strong are protecting it, there\u2019s got<\/em> to be something in that maze.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. That Alberto guy was just way<\/em> out of our league.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven his equipment! I tried appraising it while Marc engaged him, but it was all Unique from head to toe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh, that<\/em> explains it. I came in figuring my Minos Bardiche could cleave right through all that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess weapons you pick up from treasure chests work well on the next boss only in RPGs, huh\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, yeah. I think we got too full of ourselves in there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They looked at each other and heaved a sigh in unison. Now they were a bit calmer. It was time for some tea and a moment to catch their breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWanna try again tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you serious?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Not against them<\/em>. We\u2019d lose every time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlso, that \u2018hero\u2019 talk\u2026 Yuuki mentioned Masayuki to us before, right? Like, that kid who has incredible good luck and nothing else? And he<\/em> took on Floor 60?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he has yet, no. His party advanced down pretty easily as well, but they say he\u2019s never died yet in there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh. Has any other party tried it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe chatter I heard said the top runners are all tackling Floor 50 at the moment, but none of them signed broadcast deals, so until now, Masayuki had the best public record. Beyond that, there\u2019s a few broadcasting parties stuck on Floor 40.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signing a contract didn\u2019t mean you were watched inside the Dungeon at all times. The cameras were only situated in the boss rooms every ten floors, and occasionally camera crews would follow you around for special events and so on. Thus, thanks to being the first team to Floor 60, Shinji\u2019s party became the big celebrities of the moment\u2014and with the way they kept rewriting records, people were starting to place bets on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cY\u2019know, I\u2019m willing to bet Masayuki got tipped off. He probably knows Floor 60\u2019s home to a secret boss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess we shoulda expected to lose, then. Like, two guys at that<\/em> level, plus<\/em> a dragon? This labyrinth is so<\/em> unbalanced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026It was pretty well-balanced until Floor 50. I really do<\/em> think that was meant as a hidden boss. The hidden town\u2019s probably right past that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So they continued talking and consoling themselves for a while, before moving on to their future plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, guys, if we\u2019ve got crowds cheering for us in this city, I don\u2019t think we can really do any kinda spy work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNah, nah, that\u2019s not a big problem. Like I said, we\u2019re safer this way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026All we\u2019ve done is go into the labyrinth so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo should we wait for Lord Gadora to show up? Because I think we hit a pretty big dead end down there. Or,\u201d Marc said with a grin, \u201cyou wanna try training or something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji chuckled. \u201cWell, there\u2019s definitely something past that chamber, and the guardian\u2019s way stronger than anything else we saw. I think I can report that much to Yuuki.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTell him how big the labyrinth is, too. It must\u2019ve been magically expanded or something, because it\u2019s way too large and deep to be man-made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026And don\u2019t forget, he was far<\/em> stronger than anything on any other floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji meekly nodded at Marc and Zhen. \u201cRight, right. Okay, once I\u2019m done with my report, you guys wanna tour around some more?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no need to spend any more time talking about it. The three of them mentally flipped the page as they went out into the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Their first stop was a secluded spot outside of town, where they made their report as agreed upon. After sending the summary report to Yuuki, they received a magical call from him about ten minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey. Glad you\u2019re doing okay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, we were until last night, but today was awful for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHa-ha-ha! Yeah, sounds like you guys got your asses kicked. So what are you up to next?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019ll depend on Lord Gadora. We\u2019ve got no way to pass Floor 60 by ourselves, and the labyrinth\u2019s not really set up so we can sneak our way around it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019m sure. All right. Now, lemme ask you something else\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan you go into more detail on just how strong the Floor 60 boss is? Just, like, anything you felt in there is fine.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only Shinji and his friends understood the angle of this question. What Yuuki asked, basically, was how high up in the Imperial Guardians this opponent would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji thought it over a moment. The imperial army\u2019s ranking duels held little interest to him. He didn\u2019t care much about working his way up the military ranks, so he had never tried challenging anyone before. He owed Yuuki for picking him up and taking care of him, so he just served him as a way to pay back the debt\u2014in the military, though, since he didn\u2019t like lending a hand to organized crime. The moment Yuuki began leading the Composite Division, he transferred over there from his original assignment in the Armored Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wasn\u2019t the only otherworlder in the East to think along these lines, either. Quite a few of them avoided making shows out of their power, dodging major responsibilities and just living normal lives. That made it harder to accurately gauge their strength, so nobody could really say whether the Imperial Knights were truly the strongest or not. They were by name, at least\u2014and in a way, it was natural that they were ranked on such a detailed basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d say he\u2019d at least make it into the top fifty. I don\u2019t think anyone lower than that would stand a chance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you talking about Alberto alone?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. Oh, and I dunno if this helps, but I was deployed as an army medic for an anti\u2013Arch Demon mission once. I only got a quick look at that fight, but the wight king I saw today had pretty much the same magicule count, I think.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you mean the Crimson Shore disaster?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, um, yeah.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoger. Okay, thanks for the guidance. You guys can go on R & R until you regroup with Lord Gadora.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that, the magical call ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crimson Shore disaster was considered among the most ignoble events to ever occur on imperial soil. It had its origins in a beautiful lakeside province that rebelled against the Empire and declared independence. They were at a military disadvantage, of course, but what their king did to make up the difference wound up triggering a catastrophe. He had tapped into secret demon-summoning arts\u2014an all but forbidden taboo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His orders were to summon the most powerful demon they could manage, and his court sorcerers did his bidding. The Arch Demon they summoned wound up laying waste to the entire province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a small province, its total population less than ten thousand, and it had no chance of outgunning the Empire. But the king still had good reason to go rogue\u2014his only daughter, the princess of the realm, was being claimed by an imperial noble as his concubine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Empire being as vast as it was, the emperor didn\u2019t waste his time in the nitty-gritty dealings of the tinier provinces. All imperial territory belonged to him, its management left to the nobility, and so nobles had free reign to treat the provinces as they pleased. It was thus common to see a frontier earl use the emperor\u2019s authority to act like a brutal tyrant over the region he ruled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the demon wanted, however, was the splinter kingdom\u2019s princess. The king steadfastly denied this request\u2014but once his head sorcerer caught sight of the demon\u2019s full glory, he went mad, his spirit crushed forever, and he agreed to the demand. Thus, with an evil smile, the demon possessed the princess\u2019s body. The king was enraged, but that rage was soon replaced with terror\u2014for once the demon had a body, that was when the massacre began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Empire was informed that the province was leveled, they decided to send out a force to subdue this demon. They were fortunate they did, for if they had acted any later, it could have been the birth of a second Guy Crimson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This force arrived to find the beautiful lake turned a deep shade of red, dyed by the blood of the province\u2019s citizens. It was a black mark on the history of the Empire, the worst thing to happen to it in centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was ultimately the Armored Division, its bases located across the Empire, who put an end to the Crimson Shores incident. That\u2019s what the history books said. But the truth\u2014as Shinji was witness to from far away\u2014was that a small group of soldiers defeated the Arch Demon all by themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole affair struck Shinji as fishy, really. Clearly, the nobility was oppressing the countryside\u2014but once the demon aimed its terror at the Empire\u2019s own citizens, Shinji began to wonder if the truth was as cut-and-dried as reported. For one, the Empire reacted almost too<\/em> quickly. In the time it\u2019d take to report the incident to the imperial mainland, debate over countermeasures, and form an expeditionary force, the demon could\u2019ve easily completed its full manifestation. Instead, the Empire stopped this just in the nick of time\u2014thus proving, in Shinji\u2019s mind anyway, that they were tipped off in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had no intention of telling anyone else about this. When he saw the strength of the demon his deployment was fighting, it taught him that some things were better off left unexplored in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to imagine those guys had to be at the top of the Imperial Knights\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter what he did, Shinji doubted he\u2019d ever have a chance against them. It truly felt like they belonged to some other world\u2014and that\u2019s when he stopped caring about his army rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as Marc and Zhen eyed him carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou done?\u201d asked Marc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Thanks for handling that,\u201d said Zhen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure. I think that about covers it. Now we get to chill out until Lord Gadora shows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll right. But damn, you survived Crimson Shore?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Good thing you did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. By playing possum. One of the better decisions I made in my life, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAw, hell, you deserve a medal just for making it out. Didn\u2019t like two-thirds of that force get killed off?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right. I never wanna join anything like that again. I mean, I was an army medic, and I couldn\u2019t even do<\/em> anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Oh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, every attack killed its targets instantly, so healing didn\u2019t matter. That\u2019s why I bugged out real early on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow. That sounds rough. Arch Demons are really that bad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, the one I<\/em> saw was. Beyond<\/em> bad. And plus, I swear we made eye contact once, but if you ask me, I think she let me go. Her eyes were, like, bloodred. Just remembering it makes me wanna piss my pants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji gave his surprised-looking audience a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if that skeleton\u2019s on the level of an Arch Demon like that<\/em>, there\u2019s no way we can take him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026It\u2019s really on the same level?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe magicule counts are anyway. They say that the longer a demon\u2019s existed, the stronger they are\u2026and I think the one I saw was pretty old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had to be, or else the highest echelons of imperial government wouldn\u2019t have taken such drastic action. But Shinji stopped himself from saying that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s no point dwelling on it. I heard they\u2019re working on a machine that can tabulate the power of your adversary, but I don\u2019t really see the point. Even that knight Alberto\u2014based on his magicules, I can\u2019t even imagine how strong he is. And do you remember back in our classes? How good you were in a fight involved a lot more than just how strong you were.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight. I get what you\u2019re sayin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat<\/em> sort of thing. Some demons are just beyond anything we can measure. That\u2019s all I want you to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Shinji put it, they couldn\u2019t even begin to work on that level. The other two took that to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

With the worst of the day behind them, the trio hurried over to the Free Guild office before it closed and sold their magic crystals and extra equipment to the resource department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhoa, these crystals are from really deep down, aren\u2019t they? The quality\u2019s completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother slotted weapon? And pure<\/em> magisteel? They\u2019d never let these out in public<\/em> in other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guild staff members were pretty impressed. Shinji\u2019s party could\u2019ve fetched higher prices if they shopped around, but they were here on an undercover investigation, so they didn\u2019t want to expand their social network that<\/em> much. Besides, the Guild paid well enough. Their mission was at a standstill, but the past few days alone ensured they were damn<\/em> well funded, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the army, they were paid an annual salary, all in advance; if you got promoted in rank, you\u2019d receive the difference in salary the following year. Even if you were penniless upon enlistment, you\u2019d get a reserve fund based on how many days remained in the year. Thus you really couldn\u2019t lose money in the military\u2014even if you died in combat, the advance salary would be treated as part of your family\u2019s consolation payout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foot soldiers ranked up to private received a base salary of around ten gold coins, equivalent to approximately ten thousand dollars a year. The army covered your room, board, and clothing, so this pay was still a blessing for the lower classes. To this, enlisted men could add rank pay, hazard pay, and a lot of other side bonuses, depending on their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marc and Zhen were both first lieutenants, while Shinji was a major with a medic qualification. None of them had the authority to give orders, but their rank still afforded them a few nice perks. Otherworlders, in general, were treated well in the Empire\u2014at least on the level of a second lieutenant\u2014but Shinji was ranked higher than his companions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, though, all of them were on a much higher pay scale than rank-and-file infantry. A first lieutenant\u2019s rank earned them thirty-six gold coins, while a major netted forty-four\u2014every rank promotion meant an extra four golds a year. Combined with the base pay and other income, Mark\u2019s and Zhen\u2019s yearly salaries were around fifty golds, while Shinji\u2019s usually broke seventy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A military salary gave you an income above the imperial average, but you still weren\u2019t living like a tycoon. You\u2019d be rich by rural standards, but in the capital, the cost of living was sky-high. Still, life could be tough in this world if you decided to go it by yourself. Having a stable career, whether in the military or elsewhere, was a godsend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, though, this trio knew better. They didn\u2019t need to cling to the army at all. They could just live in that city within the labyrinth, and they\u2019d be just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their confidence chiefly stemmed from the fact that today\u2019s trip to the Guild alone earned them over three hundred<\/em> gold coins. That well outpaced what a year in the army would earn them all combined. That, and unless the Empire handed it out to them, they\u2019d never have a chance at scoring Unique-class equipment in their lives. It was a huge windfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three of them realized this well enough, but all three hesitated to say it out loud. They kept their silence as they headed to their next destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once in Rimuru, the monster city, they chose a fairly high-end restaurant for dinner, enjoying the kind of luxury they hadn\u2019t experienced in ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Is this really okay?\u201d Zhen timidly asked. \u201cSelling equipment like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji and Marc were unmoved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course it is! We didn\u2019t sell all<\/em> of it. We kept some samples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, and it\u2019s not like we can take it all home anyway. As long as we keep the good stuff, nobody\u2019s gonna complain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless they received permission to loot it, anything procured during a military operation belonged to the armed forces. In this case, none of them would have any right to protest if everything they earned was taken away. At the same time, though, they were asked to investigate the labyrinth. They were posing as adventurers, and selling booty on the market was perfectly normal adventurer behavior. It seemed safe to take this as a nice side benefit. Besides, it\u2019s not like Yuuki would demand this stuff from them anyway\u2014he was bound to let Shinji\u2019s party have it all, except for what he personally needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut y\u2019know\u2026 If they do<\/em> confiscate all the money we\u2019ve made, you gotta start seriously thinkin\u2019 about moving here, don\u2019tcha?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji finally said it first. Nobody disagreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One gold coin is equivalent to around a thousand dollars, a ballpark conversion that applied just as well in the Empire as it did here. Minted in the Dwarven Kingdom, they circulated around the world, and the Empire recognized them as official currency. Whatever they earned here, they could bring home and use like any other money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s totally doable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Yeah. I was just joking about it earlier, but now I feel like working here would be a lot more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji only half meant it, but Marc and Zhen were more up for it than he anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the Empire was on the cutting edge of culture and technology. It boasted a fine capital, the food was good, and they lived comfortably. As long as they had money, they could enjoy life well enough, even compared with their former world. But they were in the military, and that always came with the potential for death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Dungeon offered everything they could possibly want. You never worried about dying\u2014something they didn\u2019t quite believe at first, but now that they\u2019d experienced it once, they were convinced. And if death wasn\u2019t a concern, wouldn\u2019t it be better to just earn what they could in there and party it up in town? That was the conclusion Shinji and his friends made, and no one could blame them for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Money, of course, was meaningless without entertainment, something the monster city of Rimuru offered lots of. There was a battle arena open to the public when events weren\u2019t taking place, giving citizens a nice, well-maintained space to play and relax. Sports like soccer and baseball were starting to spread, and some of the dungeon runners were forming teams. And then there were the hot springs\u2014and the theaters, which housed a flourishing drama scene that played to big crowds on a regular basis, something they already witnessed for themselves. The food was just as good\u2014no, even better<\/em> than the Empire\u2019s, featuring familiar Japanese specialties, desserts, and a dizzying range of adult beverages. They were re-creating cuisines that didn\u2019t even exist in this realm, and an Earth native like Shinji found it all hopelessly attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, when you really got down to it, their only obligation was to Yuuki\u2014and Yuuki didn\u2019t look like he wanted conflict with the demon lord Rimuru. It didn\u2019t even seem like they\u2019d be betraying anyone if they moved here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know desertion gets us the death penalty. But we\u2019re not at war, are we? Not yet anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight? I was just thinking about that, too, Shinji. \u2019Cause we can still request a discharge, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026That\u2019ll depend on Yuuki.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desertion was a crime only when the nation was in a state of war. That didn\u2019t apply at the moment, luckily. Depending on how you interpreted this, an honorable discharge still seemed possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the problem,\u201d muttered Marc, \u201cis this war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the whole reason they couldn\u2019t commit to abandoning the Empire. War was obviously looming on the horizon, ready to rise up on them, and it\u2019d leave its scars across this entire region. If it weren\u2019t for that<\/em>, they\u2019d be house hunting right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho do you think\u2019s gonna win?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026Like, before that, if we\u2019re ordered to attack this city, what\u2019re we gonna do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trio exchanged glances. It was an excellent dinner, but suddenly it tasted bland to them. Attacking the city was the last thing they wanted, in a couple of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shinji\u2019s group had stayed here only a little while, but they really liked it. They\u2019d hate it if this city got wiped off the map. That was one reason. The second\u2014as their imaginations ominously suggested\u2014was that if the labyrinth bosses were any indication, the strongest of Tempestian fighters had to be absolute beasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, of course<\/em> they\u2019re gonna have someone really strong defending their important facilities, right?\u201d said Marc. \u201cBut their troops have to be weaker than that. Or I guess we hope<\/em> they are, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d Shinji replied with a nod. \u201cI think once you get to the level of Rimuru, at least, it\u2019s a whole other ball game. There\u2019s a story about how Veldora razed an entire city long ago, and now I really<\/em> don\u2019t think that\u2019s a joke at all. I mean, that wight king could do it, even.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The monsters who called Tempest home certainly seemed capable of disasters like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, the way I see it, Arch Demons are kind of like nuclear weapons back home. They\u2019ve got nuclear magic here, even.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. \u2019Cause we\u2019ve seen how war is all about numbers\u2026but with a boss like that<\/em>, all the numbers in the world wouldn\u2019t do a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026You\u2019d need dozens of fighters as good as us to stand a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of them scowled\u2026and the magical call from Gadora came shortly afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

An elderly man was prostrated before me. Behind him, the trio I had been watching on the control room\u2019s big screen were following his lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s name was Gadora, the very one who went through Diablo and Razen to request an audience with me. He wasn\u2019t gaudily dressed, but he had an expensive-looking magic robe on, his eyes sharp enough that I doubted his age a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shingee, as I surmised, was actually named Shinji\u2014Shinji Tanimura, to be exact. The other two put their real names on the processing form. All three were apparently assigned to Gadora here, a master sorcerer; they usually worked under Yuuki but were serving as assistants to Gadora in their current investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had explained all this to me, and after Gadora was done, he took this<\/em> pose, Shinji and the gang copying him. We weren\u2019t gonna get anywhere like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, um\u2026 That\u2019s about what I figured with you guys, I guess. But we can\u2019t really get comfortable and talk if you\u2019re posing like that<\/em>, okay? Let\u2019s move somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shion nodded. \u201cLift your heads,\u201d she intoned, sounding grumpy for some reason. This is why I hate<\/em> royal audiences like this\u2014I know I\u2019m gonna mess up my manners somehow. I\u2019d prefer to just skip the whole thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA-as you wish!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given all that exaggerated shouting, I was starting to dread our meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we relocated to a reception room\u2014a plainer one. I tended to prefer this one; over in the fancier chamber, the furniture and stuff were so high-end that I was afraid I\u2019d break or ruin something. One false move with a full teacup, and it\u2019d be liable to stain the fancy carpet we had in there. In my heart, I was still just another common peon, and I preferred surroundings within my means. It appeared Shinji\u2019s party was the same way; they looked a bit more cheerful than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich do you like more,\u201d I casually asked, \u201ctea or coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUh, um, coffee, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShinjiiiii!!<\/em>\u201d Gadora shouted. I spent a few moments calming him down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you, Gadora?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cM-me? Well, um, I\u2019ll have what Shinji\u2019s having.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh? Don\u2019t they have coffee in the Empire? I figured they would, but maybe there\u2019s not that much in circulation. Turning toward Marc and Zhen, they simply nodded back at me\u2014they were okay with the same thing, I supposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, four American blends, Shuna!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA-American?!\u201d Gadora yelped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, did you want something stronger? Dark roast, maybe? Or you wanna try it Tempest style?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cN-no, um, I didn\u2019t mean it like that, but\u2026 Ah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cS-Sir Rimuru, would you happen to be\u2026an otherworlder?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUm, yeah\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s<\/em> the question he has? Because if so, he clearly<\/em> hasn\u2019t done his homework. I sized the four of them up, but only Gadora had an \u201coh crap\u201d look on his face. I guess the other three knew but forgot to tell him. Ah well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, how about we get down to business?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shuna laid out the coffee cups on the table, along with enough milk and sugar for everyone. Leaving Shinji and his friends to watch in wonder at this, I decided to address Gadora first. He gave Shinji a spiteful look after he exclaimed \u201cOh, this coffee\u2019s really good!\u201d but I was kind enough to overlook this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, to tell you the truth, I am something of a veteran reincarnate as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Hmm. Lord Gadora certainly kicked things off with a bombshell. The other three turned toward him, looking just as surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently Gadora, in his mission to master the magical arts, had reincarnated himself many times over an untold number of years. With every rebirth, he\u2019d read through the secret libraries of this or that royal palace, allowing him to build a vast store of knowledge. He came to know Adalmann in the midst of this clandestine sorcery research, and the two became close friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I mentioned earlier, I had a personal vendetta against the Western Holy Church\u2014one I kindled after my best friend Adalmann was killed. Thus, over the course of centuries, I crafted my plans and coaxed the Empire into doing my bidding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gadora gave me his personal history. After Adalmann was put into a trap, he swore revenge, headed into the Empire alone, and gradually built up his reputation. He had experienced battle against Veldora as well\u2014certainly, he\u2019d led a far more eventful life than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn hindsight, I\u2019m honestly glad I completed my reincarnation ritual before we challenged him. I always wanted to see for myself the ultimate in evil, the worst nature could create\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only four True Dragons had ever been born. They sat at the precipice of monster-dom, the most powerful beings on the planet. Based on his experience battling one of them, he didn\u2019t think the imperial army was likely to ever beat Veldora. He was, of course, saying this right in front<\/em> of the guy, who was already shooting me gleeful sidelong glances. I wish he\u2019d stop. Yeah, it\u2019s amazing and all, but it\u2019s not like I was obliged to keep praising him over it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do<\/em> think, mind you, that we could have scored a tactical victory against Sir Veldora. But those fools in the Empire insisted on trying to win that beast over to our side. I warned them, time and time again, that it was an impossible waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gadora\u2019s interests were fixed squarely upon the West and his revenge against Luminism, and he didn\u2019t want to waste good soldiers on pointless campaigns. He attempted to prevail upon his superiors how unrealistic their hopes were, but the commanders refused to listen, overvaluing themselves far too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hearing all this, Gadora sounded like a pretty stand-up guy. But Gadora was also the one who fanned the Empire\u2019s lust for expansion, it seemed. I asked him to spare me all the details and skip to more recent trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo for the most part, the Empire\u2019s trying to start a war because of you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2026 That\u2019s part of it, you could say\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, old man\u2014you can try talking your way around it, but you had<\/em> to be the cause. He quickly began making excuses, perhaps sensing my displeasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2026 But no! The Empire has always<\/em> had that will to dominate, you see. If I didn\u2019t give that lust for power a direction, they would\u2019ve fanned the flames of war all over the world. All I did was turn their eyes toward the West. Their goals matched with mine, you could say. It was a good arrangement\u2026I thought\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, like hell it was! And now we\u2019re<\/em> mixed up in it for no reason?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd let me tell you, I was against invading the Forest of Jura. It is the domain of Sir Veldora, the Storm Dragon, and I didn\u2019t want to repeat our mistakes from before. I suggested they devote their efforts toward scheming against the Dwarven Kingdom instead, but they can be so<\/em> stubborn, all of them. They try to use military might to solve all their problems\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gadora sounded pained about it. I didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait a minute! So the Empire does<\/em> want to hit the Dwarven Kingdom?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had pretty much discounted it. But did we need to consider a campaign route through Dwargon after all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou thought about that, too? Well, it\u2019s nothing as concrete as wanting to \u2018hit\u2019 them, exactly. My suggestion was to propose an alliance with King Gazel, so he\u2019d allow us to march through the kingdom. My only grudge was with the Western Holy Church, remember\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old sorcerer was already aware that Adalmann was safe. They would be meeting after our talk was done\u2014and that\u2019s why Gadora, realizing just how badly he whiffed on all of this, had switched to an antiwar stance. He was on friendly terms with the emperor, he claimed, but not even he could ask him to withdraw their military plans. Instead, he kept pleading his case against the war in subsequent government-level meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This attitude seemed a little too convenient for my tastes, but if Gadora could help us avoid war, I was willing to bite my tongue. Either way, I wanted to get as much out of him as I could right now. As I did, Benimaru and my other officers were in the next room over, listening in and holding their own strategic conference. My job was to make Gadora as comfortable\u2014and loose-lipped\u2014as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI imagine King Gazel turned you down, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs one would expect, I suppose. Some of our commanders considered an assassination attempt, but I spoke up against that. If we were prepared to do that<\/em>, I said, we may as well crush them with an all-out assault!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It didn\u2019t strike me as anything to be proud of. He was more of a warmonger than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rolled my eyes a bit but kept extracting more info from him. The Empire\u2019s military structure, the thoughts of their leading officers\u2026even the astonishing news that Yuuki was planning a coup. All this assured me that I was getting pretty much everything Gadora could provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, seemingly at ease, Gadora opened up to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me assure you, Sir Rimuru, that I bear no particular sense of duty toward the Empire. They broke up the army division I personally built from scratch and took all my men away from me. This group with me\u2014Shinji, Marc, and Zhen\u2014are my personal apprentices, so I\u2019m allowed to turn to them as needed. But in the end, if Adalmann is alive and well\u2026or um, well<\/em>, at least\u2026then I have no attachment left to the Empire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was an egocentric, self-centered old man, not a shred of loyalty in his heart, and he wasn\u2019t afraid to admit it. I had to hand it to him\u2014I wasn\u2019t about to say it out loud, but I kind of respected that attitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo with that in mind, Sir Rimuru, if I may have the honor of joining your cause, I am ready to exert myself as best as I can!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right after admitting his utter lack of loyalty, he was courageous enough to ask for a spot in my administration. I gotta admit, I liked the guy. But Benimaru and some others were in the next room hearing all this. I could already picture them losing their temper over Gadora\u2019s attitude. It was gonna be hard to calm them down later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, that didn\u2019t stop me from bringing Gadora on as a guest adviser, albeit on a probationary basis. If he wanted to join me, I\u2019d make him work for the right. He certainly wasn\u2019t gonna be too loyal to me, but I\u2019d see how he could pitch in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, I was okay with him meeting Adalmann and using a Transport spell to access Floor 70. His knowledge could help us out a lot\u2014maybe he could assist Ramiris. But before he settled down in Tempest, I planned to have him return to the Empire and do a little job for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Shinji and company, I\u2019d allow them to remain here in Tempest. They told me they\u2019d take it easy for a while as they figured out what they wanted to do. This was their request, made under Gadora\u2019s advice, and I had no reason to turn it down. If they turned traitor, I could always banish them\u2014but I guess they really<\/em> didn\u2019t want that, because they readily pledged their loyalty to me. However, they also professed a great respect for Yuuki and asked not to be involved in any hostilities against him. I was okay with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally,\u201d I said, \u201cthe relationship between us and Yuuki\u2019s people is so<\/em> complicated. We kinda have a truce for the moment is the way I\u2019d put it. He\u2019s pissed me off a lot, and I\u2019d like to get back at him, honestly, but I can\u2019t really will myself to hate his guts, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite it all, Yuuki was still Shizu\u2019s student. And whenever I recalled how happy Shizu seemed when she talked about him, I couldn\u2019t help but cut the guy some slack. Maybe I was too soft on him, but hey, we\u2019re fellow countrymen. There\u2019d be no more second chances, but for now, I\u2019d put our past history on ice. If you asked me to trust<\/em> him, however, that was another story. Trusting that<\/em> bastard at this point was nothing but a death wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you know, guys, I don\u2019t think you<\/em> should trust Yuuki too much, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gadora nodded at this, interestingly enough. Guess he had his own thoughts about Yuuki, too. They were acquaintances and partners at one point, so maybe Gadora could be a good go-between for us. I was starting to think recruiting him was a pretty smart idea. If he<\/em> didn\u2019t excessively trust Yuuki, either, I could at least believe him on that point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, I reunited Gadora with Adalmann, the two of them fondly reminiscing. Adalmann consented to take him in, so for the time being, I\u2019d let them live together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But before he did\u2026now that I had all the info I wanted from Gadora, I ordered him to return to the Empire and follow my instructions. First, he\u2019d advocate against the war for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think you can do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy all means, Sir Rimuru. I am used to behind-the-scenes maneuvering, trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure he was. But normally, it\u2019d be impossible for a single person to stop the will of an entire state. It\u2019s not that I didn\u2019t believe Gadora, but I figured it best to give him a plan B as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you can stop the war, that\u2019d be best\u2026but from what I\u2019m hearing, that sounds like an uphill battle. You said the Empire\u2019s got an expansionist streak, right? If they\u2019re on the move, we can\u2019t really stop them now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo if that winds up not working out, I want you to point \u2019em at this labyrinth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the labyrinth, we could take all the casualties in the world and still not have a problem. That led me to this idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see\u2026 So you\u2019d use the labyrinth to chip away at the imperial forces and break their morale?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPretty much. And I\u2019m sure Yuuki\u2019s gonna use that opportunity to act as well. If he starts a riot back home, the Empire can\u2019t really keep a war going, can they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t sure how well it\u2019d all work out\u2014but in the labyrinth, at least, we were guaranteed not to lose anyone. I explained all this to Gadora, giving him some labyrinth equipment and three Resurrection Bracelets. He could use this, I figured, to sell the Dungeon to the commanders for us. No army wanted to be attacked from the rear. I doubted they were going to ignore the labyrinth and march on to the West, but if we could dangle some rewards in front of their eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh, I understand. A very astute way of thinking\u2014and I know a few commanders greedy enough to take the bait. I think you can expect results from this scheme, Sir Rimuru.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Gadora accepted it with full confidence. If possible, we\u2019d stop the war. If not, we\u2019d divert them into the labyrinth. The rest was up to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus I granted Gadora and his three apprentices asylum\u2014and with these new, unexpected allies, the incident came to a close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To Rimuru, of course, this faith was as excessive as it was stifling. In fact, he had already thought Sorry, guys, but you don\u2019t have a chance and pinned his expectations on the next guardian\u2014but Adalmann didn\u2019t know that, and he was eager to fight. This time, for sure\u2014and every time after this\u2014defeat was not an option. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3551,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions\/3551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}