LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 238.2
Chapter 238.2. End Of The Fortress Battle
Hearing the answer, the space shifted, returning to the narrow stone room. Of course, the lump of flesh was nowhere to be seen. It must have fled.
“Should I be saying something like ‘good grief’ now?”
“…That was just a clone. Killing it is pointless.”
“You can tell?”
As if expecting the dungeon’s release, or perhaps just well-timed, the blonde girl tugged on my sleeve and explained.
“Because this body is also a clone, I can tell. By the way, the stats of clones halve with each split. More people are needed for chores.”
Puffing out her chest, the fire mage proudly said that chores require a crowd. She’s always had some cheat-level skills, that girl.
“So that’s why it was so skewed toward mana and magic. What’s the main body doing?”
“Together with Karin, using a super mixer to crush ice and excitedly making shakes.”
This girl has some convenient skills. No wonder her stats were so unbalanced compared to mine. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that last part.
[Trap House]
“…And that’s the end of my mana. Bye-bye.”
Using a skill with a dangerous name, Sachi’s clone waved a small goodbye before vanishing. Right after that, the sound of explosions rang through the building, followed by the screams of monsters. Seems the traps have been triggered.
“Really makes you wish for some housework skills, huh?”
“Just being helpful won’t win you the boss fight.”
“Well, that’s a shame.”
Serika removed her helmet and gave a soft chuckle. She was right. More importantly, I needed to convert the power I gained from defeating Satan.
I absorbed enough energy, so I sublimated the writhing force to enhance my body.
[The level of the Equivalent Exchange Store has increased to 7]
[Your small business has grown into a major company]
[Facility investment is now available]
[Core conversion is now possible]
I felt a surge in power. This was different from the level 7 boost in dark mode—this was the real deal.
My head burned with heat, and my body weakened. I let go of Setsuka, collapsing onto the ground. With my palms on the floor, I barely prevented a total fall—this was tough.
“Are you alright, President Sakimori? Should I use healing magic?”
Sei asked with concern, but I shook my head. I wasn’t injured, so I’d be fine.
“No, I’m okay. It seems some new functions have been unlocked.”
With the sound of explosions echoing around us, it wouldn’t do to be unable to fight. I sat cross-legged, circulating mana through my body while checking the new functions.
[Facility Investment: Allows the construction of facilities]
[Core Conversion: Allows the conversion of dungeon cores and monster cores into spirit stones]
“Interesting, this seems pretty useful. Looks like I’ve become the president of a major company?”
“Facility investment? Can you build a semiconductor factory or something?”
Serika clung to my back, resting her head on my shoulder. Her armor hurt, so I wished she would stop.
“Well, from the looks of it… That’ll have to wait. More importantly, I’m going to use a Rare Monster Core A.”
I pulled out several demon rare monster cores from the Equivalent Exchange Store and converted them into spirit stones—about ten of them.
Seeing this skill, an idea struck me. I decided to give the spoils of this fortress as a gift from me.
[Terrain Transformation: Metal Mine]
Dropping the spirit stones onto the floor, I chuckled as they absorbed into the ground, transforming the land around the fortress into a high-quality metal mine.
Iron, gold, silver, copper, and various rare metals would now be mined from it. A miraculous mining area had been born.
“Won’t this cause a conflict? Inner Town will definitely want to claim this mine, Lord.”
Setsuka asked with concern. She was right. Inner Town would likely desire this mine so much it would claw for it.
“Of course. They can have it. Ever heard of a gold rush? We’ll build mining and refining facilities here. People from both Outer Town and Inner Town will flock to this place. Once a city forms, trade will follow. It’ll be like the prosperous gold rush era.”
We don’t have the wealth or manpower to maintain the mine, so we’ll dump the responsibility on Inner Town. In return, we’ll reap the benefits from the overflow. The activity should generate some vitality.
After all, this mine is situated between Amatsugahara Corporation and Narashino City. Plenty of work should come our way, like factory construction and other projects.
“True, but if modern weapons get mass-produced, wouldn’t that put Amatsugahara Corporation’s special zone in a tough spot?”
“They won’t be mass-produced to that extent. Even before the wall was built, resources hadn’t completely run dry. It was the failure to mass-produce weapons and ammunition that caused shortages. This might help with recovery, but on the other hand, if Inner Town runs out of ammo, it’ll be worse.”
“Yeah, if ammunition dries up, Inner Town, despite its wealth, could collapse. Maybe even spark a revolution, but that would be chaotic.”
“If it becomes anarchy and the rich disappear, who’ll buy luxury goods? Even crops need big buyers. Without them, everything stagnates.”
Toppling the upper class doesn’t automatically make things better for the lower class. The economy would tank. Unemployment would soar, and unsold crops would rot.
So, encouraging the creation of a mining city isn’t such a bad idea. It might help ease the congestion of millions in the cities. And they won’t be building walls around a new city—not if we can help it.
“Reality is harsh. We’ll have to navigate it skillfully.”
“Then, to make sure we navigate it well, let’s finish off the remaining monsters.”
Serika put her helmet back on and started walking, and we followed her.
Absolutely right. As the president, I should be leading by example. Am I the ideal employee or what? But really, is it okay for the president to complain about a black company?