At first thought, one might not believe there was much to learn from a formation that turned on the lights. Yet, from just a simple glance Ed could tell there was something different about this formation.

'The size of the array..' The runes inside the array were compact yet clearly defined, this resulted in a smaller overall size. Yet, it also looked like these compact runes held slightly more complex functions inside them in spite of this smaller size!

'The form..' There was a form to this array, but there were also offshoots that did not conform to the traditionally taught array logic. The arrays Ed learned tended to use shapes to circulate the mana/energy.

The formation before him was using direct runic lines, however. It was like a wire and while Ed did something similar, what he did was more like using a very thin runic rectangle. Not only did this require more runes, but the rune lines were also less occult.

Ed could conclude that precisely because this formation was so simple it represented the absolute best work of the elves. Ed hadn't even activated it yet but there were already so many things to talk and speculate about.

In fact, Ed was not done talking about them just yet.

'For things like traps visible runes are not ideal' Most of the traps he made were hidden either by the darkness or the environment so at most it would lessen future hiding efforts.

'The true benefits come from what compact means' Compact meant being able to create more complex magical devices that could simultaneously be carried around by pretty much anyone anywhere.

'I might not be able to mimic things like the cellphone anytime soon but..' Maybe handguns could be a possibility. I mean, why not? Weren't they just smaller cannons?

Ed's eyes were now gleaming. The humans would be torn to shred if he equipped all of his armies with guns! World domination might not be too far off either!

'Hah, as if' He wasn't going to make guns, his goal was not world domination. Wouldn't world domination be unimaginably troublesome anyway? Plus, after you dominated the entire world.. then what? Ed wanted to be an overlord, but of the dungeon specifically.

That sounded like a lack of ambition and perhaps that was partly true. Ed's original desire was to live a normal and easy life. What he currently had was not ambition but more of a curiosity.

Ed yearned to uncover the secrets that brought him to this world. He also wanted to learn more about the dungeon which enslaved him, and until he could get weapons against the dungeon, making himself appear too powerful was disadvantageous.

So while Ed could try making guns, they would be used as a trump card at most.

'I don't want to scare off the humans either' They were powering him up, he had to attract more of them. The current rate of attraction was insufficient.

The problem was that all the potential rewards he provided were already excellent. This meant Ed needed a new plan.

'To create a plan I need to pinpoint the issue' Fortunately, Ed believed he had long pinpointed the reason why the humans weren't coming in droves.

Exploring this dungeon was too risky!

Adventurers were more often than not adventurers out of necessity. But just like how wants differed from person to person, so did necessities. An adventurer that had racked up a debt might take on unimaginably dangerous tasks.

If they died they were free of debt and if they survived they were free of debt! Win-win!

But someone who relied on adventuring to feed their family would be more careful. They had to balance risk and reward. Otherwise, if they died their family could end up facing bitter times.

Even without having to feed a family, only oneself, the assessment for whether the reward was worth the risk would always be... no!

Which was why Ed came up with a devious plan.

'A mole' Since W could control the body of someone as long as he continued to hang out with Bloody, acquiring a mole was easy.

What Ed really wanted however was not just a mole, but a benefactor for the human race. He wanted to create the body that W possessed into the most brilliant star of the human race, at least outwardly.

They had to be a genius businessman that brought with them countless innovations. These innovations would change the course of magic science for the human world. This would in turn lead to more and more dungeons being conquered.

The conquered dungeons would hold new opportunities for advancing technology and for innovation.

The world would enter into a new technological era! All because of one person! How crazy would that be? And who would dare say such a person was working alongside the monsters? No matter the angle, making the humans stronger seemed disadvantageous.

But there was only one way to control the risk without alerting the dungeon and that was strengthening the human race. Plus, if there ever came the day that he would need to strike the dungeon, the humans could be of help.

'Is this really the best method?' If he decided to carry this plan out the risk would be tremendous. It'd be nice if the information that W would bring him was able to lessen the risk in any way but he wasn't too hopeful.

After some couple of seconds of deliberation, Ed figured it would be completely fine to follow this loose outline. He just needed to orchestrate everything carefully.

He needed to make it so that if the humans took one step forward, he would be waiting for them ten steps ahead.

p Ed needed to make it so this single step the humans took was not just a single step, they had to believe it was the first of many. Not just the first of many, the first of many steps they chose to take out of their own volition. They needed to firmly believe that the combined genius of humanity resulted in a boom in technology that trivialized the dangers in most dungeons.

That's what Ed would need to make them believe.

He would be.. a conniver, a conspirator, and a machinator.

If he needed to he would be devious, unscrupulous, and lastly.. a traitor.

But a traitor to who?

A traitor to human and dungeon kind.

'But that's fine' All of this conniving, conspiring, and machinating would pay off. Once it did, he could spend the rest of his life maintaining the societies he created.

With a goal and a plan for the future, Ed felt motivated.historical

'Let's create some orc skeletons' Devising the formation left behind by the elves would take time.

For now, Ed looked at the runic wiring and found the activation switch. The formation on the wall activated and ignited with color. As a direct result of this activation, the palace shook mechanically.

The ceiling started to part and rays of the morning sun came in through the opening. The divine sap tree which looked dry and lifeless seemed to have become just a bit greener.

'Light! Happy!' The tree's emotions were transmitted to Ed who smiled subtly.

'You and I have a long road ahead of us' Reviving the divine sap tree was the first milestone towards reviving the city.

Ed took in the happy tree for a second more before dozing off into the system space. One orc skeleton coming up!

***

There were tents propped up under the shining moonlight.

A picturesque scene.

But the night was cold, this was in spite of the fact that the location where these tents were propped was a scorched field.

The soldiers of the Volcan empire were gathered together by fires while amidst these ashes. None let out a single word. They were all united in worry so this much cold was nothing, and the ashes were their new normal.

"Tsk!" But for some reason, some soldiers could be seen with their heads down wailing softly.

The cause was the emperor Mite Volcan.

"I remember when I first learned of the chaos in the Volcan palace" A young soldier said in between tears.

"My father died that day" The soldier continued with a quivering voice.

"But I don't resent the emperor" He then said resolutely after taking a pause to collect his lingering emotions.

The previous Volcan Empire was one bogged down by incompetence. The princes would fight and struggle for power while the people starved and froze. As if this wasn't enough corruption was beginning to run rampant as the princes were unwilling to anger the powerful figures that could support their conquest of the throne.

The frozen wasteland where they lived was not merciful with its relentless cold, yet the rulers did not make it any easier.

The parent of these unruly brats never interfered. Why he did it was unclear to the people but what they did know was that they felt neglected.

"Your dad was a knight at the palace?" One of the soldiers asked with some shock.

"You must have some status then huh?" They added but the original speaker, the young soldier, shook their head.

"Status doesn't matter anymore" They started to speak again.

"Did you know? When I first heard of what happened I was beyond infuriated!" How could he stay still after learning his dad died in another struggle from that accursed Volcan throne?!

"That fury, I took it with me to the palace and while I vent out my frustrations, I happened to share a glance with the emperor" The soldier said reminiscing.

"The emperor looked.. not solemn but.. lonely? We are of similar age yet..!" How could a young person hold such an expression? One might mistake the emperor for an old man hardened by the ups and downs of life.

The speaker reigned in their motions.

"At first I was angered at the thought of him feeling any sort of sad emotions, he just became the f*cking emperor! What was there to feel bad about!?" The young soldier then recounted in a funny tone how the knights threw him out of the palace grounds before he could cause a greater ruckus.

His anger hadn't subsided until he was forced to walk home in the bitter cold.

"That time to think made me feel pity for someone in a higher position than me for the first time, and that made me feel that.. like.. maybe they are also human, you know?" This was precisely why status did not matter.

Everyone was equal in suffering.

"In spite of his suffering, the emperor led us into battle riding a dragon.. and claimed these green lands! These lands that belonged to our ancestors and that were stolen from us so ruthlessly washing away our shame. But most importantly, in doing so he is ensuring no one will ever starve again! How am I supposed to feel right now?! What am I to do with this resentful rage and remorseful sorrow!?!" The soldier said between emotional sobs.

Mite Volcan was a young man who appeared aloof and reclusive but that only made his back appear broader to his followers.

He had washed away the shame by conquering the verdant nature-filled fields of Bosque and would solve the problem of the starving freezing people of Volcan. The biggest plague of all generations.

Mite was a great figure.

"HEY!" A youthful shout suddenly enveloped the camp.

"Why does it sound like I died around here huh!?" Mite shouted with apparent anger.

The Volcan soldiers turned towards the flap of a large tent with shock. But perhaps the men that followed Mite were masochists because they all put on bright smiles.

"""Welcome back, your majesty!""" The soldiers and knights fanfared in unison.

Mite had bandages wrapped around various parts of his body but he looked as valiant as always.

Though injured, he looked ready to conquer the world.