Chapter 81 Mercuria Kingdom Uprising, Part ⑫
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In the deepest chamber of the dungeon, a heavy silence reigned, broken only by the faint glow of a pulsating core embedded in the rocky wall. It throbbed like a heartbeat, casting an eerie light across the cavern.
”No anomalies. No traps or lingering mana detected,” Maya said, carefully inspecting the surroundings. She traced the faded outlines of magic circles etched into the stone, all dormant. With a quiet sigh, she reached for the core.
That’s when it happened.
”Wait, Maya-san! Don’t touch it!” Alice’s sharp cry echoed through the cave.
Maya’s fingers froze just shy of the core. She pulled back, and a faint red glow flickered across its surface, the air crackling with tension.
”It’s a disguised barrier,” Maya said, her brow furrowing as she examined the trap. “Designed to evade standard detection.”
Fine threads of light shimmered into view, weaving a complex web connected to an explosive sorcery array, primed to detonate at the slightest touch.
”That was close,” Maya said, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead with a wry smile. “Good catch, Alice.”
Alice nodded silently, a hint of pride in her eyes. “I just… felt something, like a ping.”
Maya ruffled her hair affectionately.
Someone wanted to protect this? No, it’s more than that… This core might be sealing something, Faris thought, her words hanging heavy in the stillness, stirring an ominous unease.
The relief from Alice’s warning was short-lived.
”But why is the trap still—” Maya began, only to be cut off.
A deep, resonant hum filled the chamber as the core pulsed violently, its red-purple light swelling, licking across the walls as if alive.
”It’s activating?” Alice paled. “I didn’t even touch it!”
”Maya-san, get back!”
Alice shoved Maya with all her might, her small frame surprisingly forceful.
”Alice, no!” Miyako screamed.
The ground buckled, collapsing under Alice’s feet. Mana chains erupted from the earth, their steel-like runes coiling through the air, converging to block her escape.
Alice leaped, but a crumbling stone threw off her balance, slowing her just enough. The chains seized her wrists and ankles, crackling with electric mana that jolted through her. She was dragged toward the core.
”Alice!” Princess Sakura lunged forward, but a new barrier flared, a transparent wall repelling her.
”It’s a transfer barrier!” Maya shouted. “It’s going to teleport her somewhere!”
Alice struggled, but the chains moved with a will of their own, shrugging off her resistance. They bound her completely, tightening as she fought.
”Everyone, get out!” Alice called, her voice steady despite her plight. “I’ll be okay!”
Her body vanished into a vortex of light, the core disappearing with her.
Silence reclaimed the chamber.
Kanata and the others stood frozen, staring at the empty space where Alice had been.
* * *
How much time had passed since Alice’s teleportation?
Kanata’s team pored over the remnants—broken magic circles, faint traces of teleportation mana, and the lingering echo of Alice’s energy. They analyzed every detail, piecing together clues with relentless precision.
”I’ve got it,” Faris said, her voice cutting through the tension. “To save Alice, we need to seize the surface’s city core.”
She explained: the underground core wasn’t the Dungeon Core but a secondary hub, linked to the city core in Mercuria’s Royal Capital. “They’re connected. To track Alice’s destination, we need control of the city core, and that means accessing its permissions.”
”So, we take the Royal Palace’s central hub?” Kanata asked.
”Exactly,” Faris replied. “The city core is somewhere in the palace. And the only one who’d know its location…”
”The former king,” Maya finished, her voice low.
The coup faction likely didn’t know about the city core. If they did, they’d have prioritized the dungeon’s conquest over foreign alliances. Alusia, too, was probably unaware—or at least uninformed of specifics. If she knew, she’d have used it as leverage in negotiations to reclaim the kingdom.
But the king? He’d know. Such secrets were likely reserved for the rightful heir, a closely guarded truth.
”Lucky we secured the king alive,” Maya murmured.
”We head back,” Kanata said, his voice firm. “We find out everything about the city core.”
He activated the teleportation array, and the group returned to the dungeon’s main hub.
* * *
”That’s the situation,” Kanata said, addressing the group gathered in the dungeon’s main room.
El’s expression darkened. “So, the foresight was right.”
”Yeah,” Kanata nodded. “Without Alice, Maya would’ve triggered the first trap. The second would’ve taken us all out. Sakura and I might’ve survived, barely, but…”
”Then it’s clear what’s next,” El said. “We get Alice back, no matter what.”
Kanata’s gaze shifted to Tsubasa. “You know what I’m asking.”
”Got it,” Tsubasa said, their tone resolute. “Double Wing will throw everything into invading Mercuria Kingdom. That work?”
”Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
”But we’re short on forces,” Tsubasa added, pointing to the monitor displaying Taniella and the others. “Mind if I borrow them?”
”Hm? Oh, the new captives?” Kanata raised an eyebrow, a playful grin forming. “They’re… impressive. Mind if I have a taste—ow, ow, stop!”
Miyako, Rena, Amisa, and a few other girls swarmed him, playfully smacking him. All shared one trait: smaller chests, B-cup or less.
”Onii-chan, you’re into big ones?” Miyako huffed.
”They’re just decoration! Pure fat!” Rena added.
”You said size doesn’t matter, you liar!” Amisa cried.
”Rip ’em off!” another girl shouted, sparking a chant of “Rip, rip!” from the impromptu Flat Chest Alliance.
”Maya-chan, you agree, right?” Miyako turned to Maya, who subtly shielded her chest.
”Uh, well… maybe ‘rip’ is a bit much?” Maya stammered. Her slim frame hid a surprising D-cup, enough to make her a target in this crowd.
Kanata shot Tsubasa a look—”Handle this”—and slipped out of the room, leaving the chaos behind.
What a fuss over nothing, he thought, shaking his head.
After that, Kanata ducked into his private room—doubling as Faris’s operator space—only for Faris to call out, her tone teasing.
”What’s with that?” Kanata shot back, eyeing Faris-chan, her homunculus interface.
Faris-chan stood waiting, her chest noticeably larger than usual, easily surpassing 100 centimeters. At her petite 142-centimeter height, the exaggerated proportions looked almost comical, teetering on unsettling.
”It’s creepy. Change it back,” Kanata said, shaking his head. Bigger isn’t always better.
”Fine,” Faris huffed through Faris-chan, adjusting her form. The homunculus’s chest returned to its usual “petite but generous” size. Kanata pulled her close, playfully squeezing her chest.
”That’s more like it,” he said, though he didn’t miss the slight increase—maybe a centimeter—compared to usual.
* * *
”So, what’s the deal?” Kanata asked, settling down after their playful exchange.
Faris displayed a set of documents on the room’s interface. “I’ve got a handle on the City Core.”
While Kanata had been teasing Faris-chan, she’d been multitasking—serving him through her homunculus while compiling data on the City Core. Kanata’s antics were just a way to pass the time until her analysis was ready. Not that I was that into it, he told himself.
”Here’s the rundown,” Faris began.
The City Core, she explained, was a byproduct of Ancient Civilization’s research into Artificial Dungeon Cores. In simple terms, it was a less powerful version of a Dungeon Core, though more complex than an Intelligence Core like herself. While Intelligence Cores were relatively easy to produce, City Cores required intricate construction, limiting their numbers even at the civilization’s peak.
”What can it do, exactly?” Kanata asked.
”It manages and controls a designated area,” Faris replied. “A City Core regulates miasma, adjusting climate, air quality, and soil conditions to optimize crop growth. That boosts a city’s self-sufficiency. It also projects an invisible barrier to shield against natural disasters like storms—or, if reinforced, against enemy attacks.”
It sounded like a perfect system, but there were flaws.
”First, it needs a steady supply of miasma,” Faris continued. “This was managed by tapping into Dragon Veins—networks of mana flowing through the continent like blood vessels—or Miasma Pools, where stagnant mana collects. Left unchecked, Miasma Pools can spawn toxic miasma or corrupt their surroundings.”
The second limitation was range. A City Core’s effective area was restricted unless supplemented by vast miasma reserves. To overcome this, the Ancient Civilization developed a network of City Cores, with sub-cores amplifying the main core’s reach. At its height, this network spanned the continent, centered on a massive Central Core in the administrative capital, with regional City Cores supporting major cities.
”In other words, the Central Core was the Royal Capital, and City Cores powered territorial hubs,” Kanata summarized.
”Exactly,” Faris said. “When the Ancient Civilization collapsed, most City Cores shut down and decayed. But a few survived, including the one in Mercuria Kingdom.”
Faris pulled up new data. “Mercuria’s City Core is definitely active. The coup faction running the Royal Palace doesn’t know about it.”
”How can you be sure?” Kanata asked.
”Miasma shortage,” Faris replied. “Since the coup, mana supplies to the core have stopped, draining its reserves. That’s why it took Alice—to compensate for the deficit. If the coup faction knew about the City Core, they’d have ensured its miasma supply.”
”So, Gebrock and his coup are why Alice is suffering,” Kanata growled, his fists clenching. “Only I get to mess with Alice. That bastard’s gonna pay—worse than death!”
Faris watched him, still cradled in his arms as Faris-chan, her hips swaying slightly. He’s fired up, but this… isn’t a look for public eyes, she thought, suppressing a sigh.
Notes:
• May – Blonde, soft-eyed shrine girl. ch14–15. Gentle and pleading (“Please… just let us go…”), timid but loyal, relies on Mina’s strength. Came with Mina to save Sara, but was disarmed and bound by Kanata as his captive maid.
• Maya – Cheerful brown-haired girl, naturally charming and social, Kanata’s classmate and morning conversation neighbor.
• Alice – A 12-year-old human Saint first appearing after Kanata rescues her as a wandering miko blessed by Goddess Milpharse. She joins his group as a healer using holy, light, water, and earth magic. El and Kanata guide her; no known family ties. She’s gentle, devout, and accepts others without fear.
• Miyako – Quiet library girl with golden hair, intelligent and book-savvy, occasional silent companion to Kanata.
• Sakura – Sent with her Ogrekin tribe in Angula’s Aaren Plains war, Sakura was captured with Annamira’s 18th Squad. Meeting Kanata, she boldly claimed the role of his “Second Consort~desuwa”—an Ojou-sama whose teasing elegance hides a cruel, playful edge.
• Alusia – Fallen princess of Mercuria, clings to royal pride while navigating slavery, seeking vengeance. Appears: In a cramped slave trader’s carriage, shackled and reflective. Reason: Captured after her kingdom’s fall, now a slave. Event: Transported by slave merchants, intercepted by Kanata, beginning her servitude.
• Tsubasa – A classmate, and a gift holder of Creator. He has an androgynous charm, popular yet approachable, bonds with Taichi’s group. The only son of the Ninari Conglomerate family.
• Double Wing – Human faction formed during Tsubasa’s rebellion at Aran Fortress to break from Alfheim after failed diplomacy and rising Demonkin threat.
• Mercuria Kingdom – A neighboring human realm, introduced through Princess Alusia’s approach to Kanata after Flora’s fall, seeking advantage amid shifting power. Reminder: the kingdom that moved in after Flora Kingdom collapsed.
• Taniella – Commoner knight of Mercuria’s Knight Order appearing after failed mass invasion of the Dungeon. Challenges commander Nui Tanggamus’s tactics to save soldiers. Commands 100 troops to prove her plan. Ally of Mary. Trait: brave, duty-bound.
• Amisa – Fallen Demon noble of Grayladd, joined Angula’s Aaren Plain campaign with maid Saria , captured with Rena, Annamira, Sheila; spared by Kanata, now loyal aide with maid Saria, calls him “Master/Big Brother.” Reminder: ex-heiress turned submissive servant.
• Rena – A silver-blue haired commoner drafted for water magic. Brave but naive, she tried to save Annamira and was recaptured. To spare others from ogres, she volunteered first as a slave. Her trademark is the imouto archetype, calling Kanata “Onii-chan” in her shy-yet-clingy water-mage way.
• Mia – Came from the same village, chosen with Mira as part of the payment. She’s the strawberry-blonde with a bob cut—soft-spoken but clear, quick to adapt, and steadier than Mira, with a quiet willingness that grounds her.
• Gebrock – The usurper of Mercuria, Alusia’s sworn enemy, whose betrayal drives her to seek Kanata’s aid.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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