Side Story 5
The White Tower.
The summoned beings left behind after the advance team departed.
Bardin squatted in the middle of the wide plaza.
The world was peaceful.
There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
Which was precisely why it was so unbearably dull.
"Haa…"
A sigh escaped him on its own.
Honestly, he couldn't accept it.
"Me getting cut from the advance team."
Did that make any sense?
"A holy knight is essential to any party!"
The radiant light that was the bane of evil demons and undead.
It could even serve as illumination in the dark of night.
Mackenzie spoke mockingly as he looked at Bardin.
"Your character overlaps. I wouldn't take you either."
"Overlaps with who? Is there another holy knight in the White Tower?"
"The Fairy Princess. Strict, dignified—and far better to bring along than a pervert like you."
"…"
Damn it!
He couldn't refute that.
After all, Gyeon Dallae was included in the advance team.
"Actually, the truly essential role is a mage. What kind of party doesn't have a mage?"
Mackenzie also seemed displeased about not being selected for the advance team.
"This is all because of that bastard Kosak. When this great mage started climbing the rankings, he must've felt threatened."
They had to stop that sly bastard Kosak from wearing an armband of authority.
If some other summoned being had been the travel guide, he would definitely have been selected.
"He deliberately excluded me to push my ranking down…"
"Hmph!"
Bardin made a disdainful expression.
"You're the one with an overlapping character, old man."
"What? Was there another 9th-circle mage besides me?"
"Greenie."
"Him?"
"He's an ancient dragon. He's good at magic, and he even serves as a mount."
"…"
Mackenzie couldn't come up with an excuse either.
"Whether it's you or me, all we can do is wait here and hope real dimensional travel starts soon."
"Haa, you're right. It's just frustrating."
"Who knows? Maybe even now—"
That was when—
Spot!
"Huh?"
"Oh!"
Mari, who had been sleeping beneath the World Tree, vanished in an instant.
"Don't tell me…?"
"Finally!"
It had begun.
The summoning process.
The two of them jumped to their feet.
Looking around—spot! spot! spot! spot!
People were being summoned out one after another.
Spot! spot! spot! spot!
Veterans and newcomers alike.
How many had gone already?
More than thirty, it seemed.
Gulp.
Mackenzie and Bardin tensed up.
Counting them, there were well over fifty.
Nearly a hundred already.
Which meant—
"Yes! He used 'Summon All Catalogued Summoned Beings.'"
"Hahaha, what a relief. I'll finally see the summoner's face again."
Thank goodness.
They'd be called soon.
Sure enough—
Spot!
Mackenzie vanished first.
Spot!
Then Bardin was summoned.
But—
The summoned beings who had arrived earlier were standing in a circle, murmuring excitedly.
"What? Did something interesting happen the moment I arrived?"
He pushed through the crowd.
"…Holy shit."
There were a lot of Rajiks.
Here, there, everywhere.
Why so many?
"Could it be a division authority?"
That had to be it.
If there were multiple Rajiks, division was the only explanation.
Like a great archangel.
"A dimensional archangel, huh."
At that moment—
"Archangel my ass—the real one's right here. Can't recognize him by the face of our farmhand?"
"Hoh-ek!"
"Look at the difference in belly size! Holy knight, you got no eye for detail? Everyone else recognized him at a glance."
"Hmm."
So it wasn't division—
They were beastmen of a similar race to Rajiks.
"That's right. This is the hometown of the Dimensional Farmhand."
"Hoheng!"
Oh!
"Congratulations, Dimensional Farmhand."
"Hohe."
Anyway, the summoning of all summoned beings was complete.
Kosak stepped forward and addressed everyone.
"Alright, looks like everyone's here. I'll brief you on the rescue operation for the Dimensional Farmhand's kin."
…Rescue?
What does that mean?
What about traveling?
"This is travel too. It's an optional sightseeing package."
I thought it was no-options?
"It's a mandatory option. Absolutely mandatory. I'll start with the background, so listen carefully."
Kosak began explaining.
From arriving in Kalzenia via the elevator, to registering the White Tower system into the local system, to meeting Rajiks's kin in Mezpol and learning of their plight.
At first, everyone cheered.
Even though an enormous price—a fragment of divinity—had been paid, the benefits were incredible: unlimited simultaneous summons and removal of manifestation time limits for summoned beings.
How could that not be good?
The summoner's abilities had advanced significantly—of course they'd be happy.
But once they heard about the situation Rajiks's kin were in, expressions began to harden.
Then—
"Those fucking bastards!"
"They've completely lost their minds—they want to die!"
"Interesting. This great mage's turn to step in."
"We came for sightseeing and ended up giving them a tour."
"Let's just swallow this entire dimension whole."
Rajiks thrust one arm powerfully into the air.
"Hoh-ek!!!"
The sewer beastmen responded.
"Hoh-ek!"
"Hoh-ek!"
"Hoh-ek!"
All the summoned beings joined in.
"Hoh-ek it is!"
"We're going with Hoh-ek!"
"Let's Hoh-ek!"
"Hoh-ek! Hoh-ek! Hoh-ek!"
After their fighting spirit was fully ignited, the next step was the tactical briefing.
"We'll start with information warfare. You all know it's the most critical part of modern combat."
So?
"Dimensional Farmhand."
"Hohe?"
"Take it out."
"Hoheng!"
Sssht! Sssht! Sssht!
Rajiks pulled out ten satellites and numerous drones from subspace.
The crystallization of Earth's scientific civilization.
Universal Link low-orbit communication reconnaissance satellites.
Identical ones were even sold at the dimensional auction house.
And drones.
Also Earth-made.
El had brought several and modified them, adding camouflage and protective coloration so they were hard to spot.
The reconnaissance satellites would be placed into low orbit to handle communications and observe Mezpol City and the entire continent.
The drones would cover smaller areas—specifically, each merchant group where Rajiks's kin were being confined.
Before launching the satellites and drones—
"Summoner Bong, we request your assistance."
With the help of Whitey and Gatbaek, the White Tower system had been upgraded and registered in Kalzenia.
Thanks to that, all 355 could be summoned.
But there was still one thing to verify.
The most important thing.
The core of the core.
Whether the White Tower space was fully connected to this dimension, and whether all its functions were operating properly.
"It'd be troublesome if it nitpicked again like with the residence permits."
Juhyeok touched the smartwatch on his wrist.
Then—
"Wiz?"
Once, it had acquired divinity and been called the God of Devouring.
But after Juhyeok shattered its divinity with the Godslayer's Spear, AI Wiz had become an ordinary artificial intelligence.
Would it work?
Communication with the AI installed in the White Tower?
—Master, please issue any command.
It worked.
Communication established.
"I want to launch low-orbit reconnaissance satellites and drones in this dimension. Is that possible?"
—It is possible.
"Data reception too?"
—Of course.
Okay!
"Good! Launch them all. All ten."
—Understood. Launching satellites.
At that moment—
Wheee! Shoooot!
The low-orbit satellites lifted into the sky.
"Fix two satellites over that large city ahead, and spread the rest out for wide-area reconnaissance."
—Executing as instructed.
Reconnaissance preparation complete.
"Dr. El."
"Yes?"
"From now on, please take full charge of operating AI Wiz."
"I will do so."
Information gathering would take time.
So what was the next operation?
"Operation March of the Gigant."
"Uh-huh."
Gigants were too big.
If they were unleashed in the city, it'd be disastrous.
What if Rajiks's kin got trampled to death?
"Don't worry. It's for display purposes. We won't release them into the city."
Really?
Then that was a relief.
Gathering sufficient intel would take time.
It was already getting dark.
Night would make operations much easier—
"But nights are for resting."
They lit a campfire, drank together, watched movies, and gazed at the stars.
Camping in another world.
Well, it wasn't that different from Earth—but it still meant something.
So, let's have a drink.
The next morning.
The sun rose.
Time to begin.
"Proceed with the optional sightseeing."
"Yes, sir!"
Mezpol was a free city.
It had a city hall handling municipal administration, and a mayor as the official head.
But the city hall and mayor were scarecrows.
The real rulers of Mezpol were the five giant merchant groups.
Of course, the Grand Temple also existed, but the Pope and priests did not involve themselves in city governance.
Among the five merchant groups, the Belmorin Trading Company was the largest.
One strong, four weak—something like that.
The owner of Belmorin Trading Company was Belmorin Aurelion.
Not an ordinary merchant.
Belmorin was the son of Duke Aurelion of the Baltarion Empire, the strongest nation on the continent.
However, that fact was kept secret from the public.
Not many people knew about it.
Because he was the duke's illegitimate son.
His name was not listed in the family genealogy, and he had no right of succession.
The reason Belmorin had brought his merchant group to Mezpol was also at the duke's command.
But he had ambitions.
To seize control of Mezpol's commercial district, amass power that even the main house could not ignore, and eventually become a grand noble who would succeed above the duke himself.
It was not an empty dream.
It was steadily becoming reality.
The first stepping stone was control of the labyrinth.
Success was right in front of him.
"A godly move."
The lifetime contracts imposed on beastman laborers—
Belmorin was the first to start it.
The advantage of striking first was enormous.
Belmorin Trading Company alone had over 400 beastman laborers.
More than all four other merchant groups combined.
What effect does having that many laborers create?
Rental fees, you ask?
Don't be ridiculous.
Rental fees were pocket change.
The real prize was the share of labyrinth development gained as a result.
Mercenaries and adventurers entering the labyrinth needed laborers for smooth exploration.
And since Belmorin had the most beastman laborers,
naturally they rented laborers from him.
Then, when those parties returned with harvested labyrinth resources?
Belmorin Trading Company bought everything up exclusively.
That was the condition.
In exchange for renting laborers cheaply from Belmorin, all labyrinth resources had to be sold to Belmorin Trading Company.
Four hundred laborers meant four hundred adventuring parties, and merchant revenue scaled accordingly.
Just look now.
Even in the morning, the line of adventurers waiting to rent laborers was incredibly long.
In the end, it was only a matter of time—
before Belmorin Trading Company completely dominated Mezpol's commerce.
While he was grinning smugly to himself—
Knock knock.
"Come in."
With the knock, the chief manager entered the office.
"Lord Belmorin. I'll give the morning routine report."
"Go on."
"Currently, a total of 395 laborers are on standby for field deployment."
"And the remaining nine?"
"They've finished night duty in the labyrinth and are resting in the underground lodgings."
Resting?
Then they're not working?
Laborer rentals would start soon.
If nine people rested, how much daily revenue would be lost?
"Send those resting in the—no, the lodgings—out to the field immediately."
"…Pardon?"
"What? Is there a problem?"
"N-no, sir."
"And those rebellious beastmen."
"You mean the ones hiding in the sewers?"
"Yes. Deal with them today. Kill them or drag them back."
An unpleasant incident had occurred yesterday.
Taking advantage of a lapse in surveillance, one laborer had escaped.
They immediately gave chase, but were counterattacked instead.
Apparently, a single beastman had crushed dozens of mercenaries.
"Hmph! Such nonsense…"
Aside from their subspace ability for transporting labyrinth resources, weren't they pathetically weak?
"Did he take drugs or something?"
Or maybe he had helpers.
Either way, it ended now.
He planned to commission the Mezpol Mercenary Guild and send only elite gold-ranked mercenaries into the sewers.
It would cost a lot of money, but it couldn't be helped.
Any runaway had to be captured and made an example of.
That was how you maintained discipline among laborers.
"Oh, right! Also, prepare the top-grade mana crystals packed into single-use subspace tickets. The main house requested—"
At that moment—
Koooom!
With a thunderous roar, the building suddenly shook.
"…What?"
Koom!
Again.
An earthquake?
"I-it feels like the ground is shaking."
Ground shaking?
Koom.
This was bad.
He nearly lost his footing.
Koom koom!
This time, repeatedly.
Koom!
At this rate, the building would collapse.
"O-outside!"
Belmorin hurried out into the courtyard in front of the headquarters.
But the employees were acting strangely.
They were standing there, staring blankly at a single point.
"What are they looking at?"
Following their gaze, Belmorin saw it.
Beyond the city walls—
something towering there.
"Ah…"
What was that?
No way—
"A golem?"
Good heavens.
It really was a golem.
And it was huge.
Beyond imagination.
So tall that even the city walls didn't reach its waist.
Calling it "big" wasn't enough.
It was so overwhelmingly massive that it felt unreal.
And it moved.
It lifted one leg in place—
Koom!
The ground shook.
Koom!
It kept stomping harder.
Koom!
Mezpol trembled.
Flimsy buildings collapsed outright.
Belmorin's headquarters wasn't spared.
The warehouse beside the courtyard shook violently.
"H-hurry! Call the laborers and m-move the goods in the warehouse to a safe place!"
"Y-yes, understood—"
That was when—
Taeng! Prrrreeeeng!
An unidentified object entered Belmorin's field of vision.
"…Huh?"
It was flying toward him.
Pale and round.
It seemed to have come from outside the headquarters.
"What is th—"
It drew closer.
Something was very wrong.
It wasn't just flying—it was distorting the surrounding space like a storm.
"W-what in the—?"
Taeng!
It bounced once in midair.
Prrrreeeeng!
Spinning to adjust its trajectory.
Taeng! Prrrreeeeng!
It charged at Belmorin at terrifying speed.
Up close, he realized—
"…A beastman?"
A ball of fur.
No doubt about it.
"Y-you crazy bastard!!!"
Was it the one from yesterday?
The one who routed the mercenaries?
"How dare you attack my trading company!"
House Aurelion was a renowned sword family.
Belmorin was an illegitimate son of that house.
He had learned the sword growing up.
Though his talent fell slightly short and he remained a mid-level Expert, surely he could handle a single beastman?
Shrrring!
He drew his sword.
Ziiing!
He infused it with mana.
"Die!!!"
He swung forcefully at the incoming ball of fur.
Tsfit!
But—
Chaeng!
The beastman was already holding a golden pickaxe.
"Hoo-ek!!!"
Taeng! Prrrreeeeng!
A rolling pickaxe strike against the flying sword.
Tsfit!
Chaeng! Chaeng!
Sword and pickaxe collided.
The beastman bounced upward from the recoil, while Belmorin staggered back three steps.
"Ghk!"
A powerful force dwelled in the pickaxe.
Blood seeped from the corner of Belmorin's mouth.
"W-what…?"
So strong?
Taeng! Prrrreeeeng! Tsfit!
"Hoo-ek!"
Chaeng!
He barely managed to raise his sword to block—
"Ghk!"
He couldn't regain his bearings.
Counterattacking was impossible; even blocking was difficult.
He'd felt this before.
When sparring with his half-brother—the first son of the duke, who had reached early Sword Master level.
When his half-brother toyed with him, pounding him with the overwhelming strength of a master.
But this was far stronger than that.
This furry beastman—
at least an early Sword Master.
Maybe even stronger.
In the end—
Taeng! Prrrreeeeng! Tsfit! Chaeng!!!
"Kuhhk!"
Belmorin was sent flying as his sword snapped in half.
Blood poured endlessly from his mouth.
Then Rajiks toddled up to Belmorin.
A victory ceremony.
"Hohe."
He lifted one short leg and stomped on Belmorin's head.
Crunch! Crack!
With one hand, he raised the pickaxe high.
"Hooooeeeeeeeeek!!!"
He let out a triumphant roar.
"Ay, our Dimensional Grandmaster—excellent work."
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!
Thunderous applause from the summoned beings who arrived afterward.
"This here is a pickaxe honed through real labor. Totally different from Gobang's balloon muscles."
"Hoheng!"
"No, no. Warriors also have muscles as excellent as Rajiks's."
"Hohe?"
"Anyway, this is the moment. We need to collect the beastmen's back pay—with interest."
"Hoooeeek!"
"Grab anything valuable, quick. We've got other merchant groups to visit."
Belmorin Trading Company had the most beastman laborers.
So many summoned beings came here.
Blood Wolf too.
"Grrrrrrrr…"
Blood Wolf bared its bluish fangs at the staff and mercenaries.
"Don't worry. Our dog doesn't bite. But if you don't tell us where the beastmen are imprisoned, it will."
The merchant employees didn't even dream of resisting.
Their Expert-level master had been knocked unconscious by a few pickaxe strikes.
The employees became extremely cooperative.
"I-I'll guide you."
"Good. Lead the way."
Some summoned beings rescued the beastmen.
Others collected overdue wages with interest.
"Strip them clean!!!"
"Pull out even the foundation!"
"Gather everything and hand it to the Dimensional Farmhand."
They were veterans of looting.
Just how much of Earth had they plundered?
Rumble rumble.
The beastman laborers imprisoned in the underground dungeon poured outside.
"This way! Run straight ahead."
"No worries. I, Kosak, will protect you."
Did this only happen at Belmorin Trading Company?
No.
Pa-ju-ju-ju-ju-juk!
From the distant east came the sound of machine-gun fire.
From the west—Ts-pi-pi-pi-fit!
The berserk demon's crescent-shaped energy painted the sky.
From the south—Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Precision-strike multi fireballs.
And finally, from the north—
Hwaaaaaak!
"Light!!!"
Brilliant radiant light surged upward.
The Great Escape of Mezpol's Laborers.
Was that all the chaos?
Not even close.
They hadn't even reached the neighborhood of real chaos yet.