Chapter 11
【You have successfully defended the wave.】
【Rewards will be calculated based on difficulty.】
【Difficulty is measured by acquired points, the level gap with the highest-level intruder, and the number of entities.】
【Calculation complete.】
【This wave has been rated Easy.】
【Your level has increased.】
【You have obtained 5,000 points.】
【You have reached Level 20.】
【You can now purchase 3★-rank units.】
Golem King: Hahaha, you still need a bit more training in physical combat.
ㄴDIP: Still, for a first time, that’s pretty good. You did about twice as well as when you first fought the gnome.
ㄴGolem King: What the fuck are you bringing that up for? A bastard who pissed himself the first time he met a troll is the pot calling the kettle black, lol.
ㄴDIP: Ah, hahaha, did I hit a nerve?
ㄴGolem King: Yeah, you little piss-pants bitch. You’re shaking while typing this too, aren’t you? You’re the one who got triggered, right?
ㄴDIP: Your mom.
Anonymous Butcher: Feels like the hardware is good, but the software can’t keep up.
ㄴTop Patient of the Mental Hospital: That’s why he gives off such a pervy vibe... seems like he’ll grow quickly...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: I agree with that.
ㄴTop Patient of the Mental Hospital: You’re saying the newbie gives off a pervy vibe? Weren’t you usually not the type to say stuff like that?
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: No, I’m just agreeing that if you tell him, he’ll grow quickly...
Badass-Loving Dog: Good job!! Newbie-ya!!
I’m the Only One Without Minions: Good job!
Another heartwarming day in Dungeon Gallery.
I was about to leave a comment, but I stopped and let out a sigh.
Phew....
I wiped the blood off the knife with a cloth.
It was a weapon I had bought earlier for 100 points.
Ten goblins lay collapsed in front of me.
They were the ones I had just personally taken down.
It really isn’t that special....
I listened to the gallery's advice and squared off against the goblins, preparing for the day I might have to fight on my own. Of course, I kept Bungbungi behind me in case I needed to bolt.
I did win, though.
Honestly, I won pretty easily without much struggle.
Since I hadn’t fought another person since middle school, I thought I’d fumble around too.
But once the real fight started, my mind actually began working faster.
I dodged their spears and drove my knife in; after repeating that about ten times, the wave was over.
My body was so fast and powerful it couldn’t even be compared to goblins.
I’d definitely have the upper hand even against hobgoblins.
Though trolls would probably be tough.
Who knows.
If I buy the anomaly trait later, who knows.
But with my finances already reeling from trap purchases, that was impossible right now.
Most of them were high-rank too.
And their prices were ridiculously, unimaginably expensive, damn it.
Anyway.
Right now, my body was insanely blessed.
And this was despite me being a complete beginner who wasn’t used to fighting at all.
If I went back to Korea, wouldn’t I be able to dominate every sport?
I’d already thought it was strange that I no longer felt thirst or hunger after becoming a dungeon master.
During the fight with the goblins, even after being stabbed by a spear, I barely felt any pain.
Even my minor wounds, and even my torn clothes, were slowly regenerating.
──────
Owned Traits
【Mental Resistance ★Max】
【Pain Resistance ★Max】
【Shape Memory ★Max】
...
...
──────
"Is this really human...?"
I was unsettled.
It felt like my body wasn't my own.
Of course, I should be happy since it was far superior to my old body.
Even I would need at least a little time to adapt to such a drastic change.
Lick.
The cleaning slime started licking the goblins’ corpses.
I should probably stop there with my thoughts.
Gloop-
I peeled the slime off the corpse for a moment.
"Ack..."
"Hold on a second. I need to recover the loot."
Squish, squish.
When I kneaded it like putty, the slime calmed down.
The more I looked at this little guy, the cuter he got.
"From now on, your name is Mallangi. Got it, Mallangi?"
"Blorp."
The cloth I’d just used to wipe the knife was loot I’d obtained from another intruder.
It was dirty, but if I rummaged through it, I could find useful stuff, so I looted it often.
Otherwise Mallangi would eat everything.
Let's see.
Goblins usually didn’t carry much beyond food, so I hadn’t found anything particularly useful.
"What is this...?"
I found a stone inscribed with strange symbols.
***
I uploaded a photo of the stone to the gallery.
If there was something I didn’t know, asking the gallery was the fastest way.
I’m the Only One Without Minions: It’s a magic stone...
Squinty-Eyed Character: Were there any races in the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range that knew how to use magic??
Badass-Loving Dog: As far as I remember, there weren’t any at all... This time, something feels off...
The World Is Cold: PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD
ㄴBadass-Loving Dog: What’s wrong with this person??
ㄴSkull-Bones: The guys who came in as intruders last time were a group of 4th- to 5th-tier elf mages, lol.
ㄴBadass-Loving Dog: Ah.
Magic stone.
I still didn’t fully understand this world yet, but...
In my head, I roughly understood it as a medieval fantasy world where various races that could loosely be called monsters existed, and all sorts of magic-related techniques were flying around.
Of course there would be mages.
That is, if you ignore the fact that the place I’d landed was the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range, far from any intelligent beings who handled magic.
Magic Hero: It’s a Dark School magic stone...
ㄴNewbie: What is that?
ㄴMagic Hero: It’s basically a device that helps you use difficult magic easily by skipping the process... think of it as a kind of hammer... if magic is like hammering in a nail, the magic stone is the hammer that makes it easy...
ㄴNewbie: Three-line summary, please...
ㄴMagic Hero: It-it-it's just a magic stone used when brainwashing someone...
Huh?
So in this world, even hypnosis, training, and corruption are theoretically possible? That's truly terrifying.
ㄴMagic Hero: It’s nothing that impressive... Brainwashing only works on weak, stupid races like goblins in the first place... Unless they have special eyes like the ones Badass-Loving Dog has, it’s almost useless... Even 1st-tier mages can use it...
ㄴNewbie: Got it.
Badass-Loving Dog.
Could this guy have been a hypnosis creep...? Of course, from the selfie they posted, I already knew they were a white-haired, slender vampire beauty.
ㄴMagic Hero: For reference, mages exist from 1st tier all the way to 9th tier... so you don't need to worry too much about people using this kind of shallow magic... um... this is...
ㄴNewbie: Okay okay, I get it, I get it.
In other words.
So the problem was that there was someone who could use magic in this huge mountain range full of idiots, and since he sent goblins into Dreamland, he must definitely have some scheme.
ㄴMagic Hero: Th-they probably controlled the goblins to gather information about the inside of the dungeon... Brainwashing magic usually shares vision too... so they might even know the newbie's face... T_T...
ㄴNewbie: That’s a little too scary...
ㄴGolem King: ?
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character: ?
ㄴNewbie: Why again?
ㄴGolem King: Fuck, your dungeon is scarier.
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character: Agreed.
ㄴDIP: For real lol, if I were an intruder in the newbie's dungeon, I'd just kill myself.
ㄴI’m the Only One Without Minions: Agreed...
Was Dreamland really that horrible?
No, those guys think I'm some kind of horror-story expert, but it all just happened by chance.
It wasn't intentional.
Probably.
I petted Mallangi, who was sitting on my lap.
In response, it licked away the blood on my face.
It’s ticklish.
Eek.
Still, thanks.
A mage.
Beings that use superior techniques that idiots can't use.
Newbie: Has the badass factor finally come to me at long last?
ㄴBadass-Loving Dog: I’m jealous of the buffet...
ㄴNewbie: ?
ㄴMagic Hero: It’s not like only humans use magic... there are elves, humans, and certainly other exceptions too...
ㄴMagic Hero: A-and the brainwashing magic you found, as I said, is really just the most basic of the basic, so you don't really need to be scared...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: Still, you should prepare thoroughly.
The vicious goblins and trolls I saw every single day were definitely getting old, though.
Should I be happy about this or not?
I’m the Only One Without Minions: Now that you mention it, what level is the newbie right now?
ㄴNewbie: I’m level 20.
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Life is unfair...
ㄴTV Head: Even my nonexistent stomach aches...
If I mentioned the points I’d earned too, the veterans would get jealous, so I’ll leave it at that.
Come to think of it, there was one thing I was curious about with them.
Newbie: Aren’t you guys dungeon shut-ins?
ㄴWhale-Whale-Yeah: Why are you starting something??
ㄴTop Patient of the Mental Hospital: Fuck, why are you suddenly digging into painful wounds like that...
ㄴNewbie: No, I'm not trying to pick a fight... it's just that you all stay inside the dungeon, and there are quite a lot of you, you know...? I was really curious about that...
The space available for dungeon masters was limited.
Still, the quality of information that came out of Dungeon Gallery was excellent.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: Even if you don't go outside, there are ways to get it from intruders.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: Users like Badass-Loving Dog can also get secret information without much effort.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher: And you can also strike a deal in exchange for sparing an intruder's life.
Aha.
In other words, dungeon masters naturally picked up information while dealing with intruders.
So that's how it is.
Badass-Loving Dog: Newbie-ya.
ㄴNewbie: Mm-hmm!!
ㄴBadass-Loving Dog: If you're level 20, didn't the 3★ units unlock?
ㄴNewbie: Yep, that's right >_<
I was planning to ask about that anyway.
I asked the veterans what I should invest in first, partly to prepare for suspicious-looking intruders.
"Recruit minions...?"
They all gave me an unexpected answer.