Everyone in the Tower learned about Mirel's betrayal. The soldiers and servants were not very surprised. No one there liked her, everyone had some issue with her or a hidden resentment. She had always been detestable. With her death, everything seemed to improve, and no further supply problems occurred.
The treasury room was full, many potions, scrolls, crystals, gold, and other metals. But something was missing, mythril. This metal grew in dungeons with a high population density, and the Tower dungeon had too few monsters. Vans came up with the idea of connecting the forest crystal to the dungeon and increasing the mana density. With that, more monsters would appear, and mythril might emerge. The idea was risky, but Victor agreed, as long as he and the other generals took part in the culling alongside many soldiers. He wanted to avoid another problem.
Vans began the preparations. He seemed to have greater knowledge, which he truly did, but at that moment he was projecting confidence. Victor appreciated that a great deal.
"Who do you think will take Mirel's place?" Niko asked.
"I do not know. I think Victor will not choose now," Vans replied, his eyes fixed on a magical terminal.
Niko was helping with the work, acting as an unlimited battery. She hated it.
The room grew hotter by the moment. Vans did not care, but Niko could not take it anymore. She kept leaving the room and returning whenever Vans asked. After a few hours, all the work was finished and he achieved what he wanted. Still, it would take time, at least four days for the dungeon to have more mana.
He went to the forest and made the entire connection between the forest crystal and the dungeon, taking care not to cause an explosion.
Four days later, all the generals were in the dungeon, with Victor among them. He felt nostalgic. It had been many years since he had explored any dungeon. The most interesting part of exploration was finding an item some adventurer had forgotten. Over time, these items absorb mana from the environment and become treasures or junk. Like the coin pouch, which created money while absorbing the user's mana. An adventurer Victor once knew had a cauldron that made soup when it received mana. The soup was always different and always delicious.
But this dungeon was clean. There were no treasures, only monsters and a few ores.
The entire Tower was part of the ancient Castle of the Dead King, and the dungeon lay on the demon continent. When Victor decided to build a place where demons could take shelter, he chose the dungeon and the forest where he had liked to hunt as a child. The Tower is the only thing left of the demon continent. The continent still exists, but it is lifeless and nearly uninhabitable, all because of humans, elves, beastfolk, and elves who could not accept the existence of beings stronger and more evolved than themselves.
The monsters that appeared were easily defeated. They did not seem stronger or faster than ordinary monsters.
The generals searched for mythril, but everything they found was barely enough to make a ring.
It was a disappointment.
"You used to be better, Vans," Niko said. She always liked to tease him.
They continued on. Even without finding mythril, they killed every monster they encountered.
Victor sat on his throne. He was tired. Not physically, his mind was confused, and he just wanted to resolve all the problems. Almost everything was settled. What remained was choosing a new general. He felt it was too soon, but if he did not choose, the others would feel uneasy. Besides, the first floor needed someone, so he chose Lotus's sister, Jasmine.
All seven generals stood in the royal hall, upright like nobles in a royal court. Behind them were all the troop leaders, the strongest among the soldiers. Each had been handpicked by Victor or by one of the generals.
The leaders chosen by Mirel were uneasy, but Victor did not want to punish anyone. He only wanted to promote Jasmine.
A woman with green hair and short clothing approached Victor. She knelt and swore loyalty, reciting an oath. Victor took a sword and touched her right shoulder, then the left, and finally her head. Now she was one of the generals, taking Mirel's place, but there was a change. Niko would now be the general of the first floor, and Jasmine would take the fifth floor. There was no disagreement about this.
Victor also wanted rest, so he handed out a vacation plan to everyone. All would have four months of leave, and the shifts for protection and maintenance of the Tower would be adjusted.
He finished his speech by removing the horns, which were not real. His appearance changed, he became younger, now looking like someone twelve years old. The horns only altered his body and made him stronger.
"What do you mean you are not tall and muscular?" Niko shouted.
Lysandra smacked Niko on the head.
"I thought everyone knew I only look like that when I use this crown."
"That makes a lot of sense. I always wanted to ask why you were the only one with horns. But I was afraid to ask and seem offensive," Vans said.
"I am surprised no one knew. I use the same crown as the Dead King."
"I was also curious about him having horns and none of his descendants having them. Not even his parents did."
"That really explains a lot, but why are you going to stop using the crown?"
"Just vacation, and it squeezes my head too much."
Little by little, the entire Tower returned to harmony and had enough stock to resume the war. Vans could produce all items on a large scale, which helped with training. Soldiers used potions and scrolls as if they were unlimited items, but at some point production surpassed consumption. In addition, the mana crystal had already been destroyed.
A year passed, and everyone entered hibernation. Hibernation used ancient magic that only Niko knew how to use, and she was the only one with enough mana for it. All Tower tasks were taken over by golems. The animals were hibernating in a chamber on the seventh floor.
A security system began to make noise, which caused the hibernation magic to be undone. It had been programmed that way. Everyone woke up, confused, taking a few minutes to return to normal.
Vans was looking at the security terminal. The seventh floor was filled with monsters. The golems had been destroyed.
Pallas and Lysandra began the attack. After that, the other generals joined the fight. The soldiers were the last to participate.
Within a few hours, everything was under control.