Chapter 110
An intruder has entered Dreamland.
Some time has passed since the Count wave ended.
But they arrived much sooner than I expected?
The fact that Count Wolfhaufen failed to clear it means...
It means a noble with one of the greatest powers in the Kingdom of North surrendered to me and declared defeat.
Defeat doesn't necessarily mean losing all their troops.
They're surrendering because it's more beneficial than fighting to the end, anyway.
Who could have come?
Let's see... Most of them are wearing robes and carrying staffs.
Newbie : Judging by the way they look, they seem to be mages.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie-yam!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Look at the emblem on their robes!
The emblem on their robes?
Oh.
ㄴNewbie : They're Flame School mages.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Our Newbie is so smart!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Our Newbie is handsome, kind, has a great physique, and is smart, but now they even have amazing powers of observation!
ㄴNewbie : That's excessive praise ㅠㅠ
Anyone would think they're Flame School mages at a glance.
Naturally, with such obvious flame emblems drawn on their robes, it'd be strange not to know.
Love's doting stat has gone through the roof lately.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Is that why those foxy bitches keep trying to seduce Newbie???
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie you must never fall for them if you do I might die I only have you so please always remember that
And their yandere stat has gone up too.
It's fucking scary.
ㄴCowhead : Love only has Newbie, lol.
ㄴCowhead : But Newbie has KongKong, Secha, Restia, and countless other women who potentially exist, apparently lol.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Why the hell am I even on that list?
ㄴCowhead : Judging by how Newbie reacts to you, he thinks you're a woman too.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Fuck you, I'm a man.
ㄴAnt Queen : Love-nim is so screwed ㅋㅎ
ㄴAnt Queen : The moment Newbie comes to my dungeon, I'll seduce him hard, so just get ready to hang yourself lol.
ㄴGolem King : You guys are seriously under a huge misunderstanding, just like last time.
ㄴGolem King : I'm telling you, Newbie likes golems more than women ㅋ???
ㄴGolem King : I'll seduce him with a golem first, so fuck off, everyone lol.
ㄴKongKong : lol
ㄴKongKong : Newbie is public property, after all... hehe
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I'll really die...
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Guys, I'm still in the middle of a wave.
Why do these people have so little sense of tension?
Anyway, an intruder has entered.
Flame School mages, huh? What business do they have in Dreamland?
I can make a rough guess.
Lorencia, whom the Count brought last time, is a Flame School mage.
That bitch is probably what drew their aggro.
Could they have finished the magic vault?
Magic Hero : N-no way...
Magic Hero : The odds of that are literally 0%, so you can rest easy...
It hasn't even been a year, has it?
It would be impossible unless they were the greatest magical geniuses in history, people who could even make a mockery of Mahiro.
"Even if they have made it, it doesn't matter because I have jamming bombs."
Anyway, I kept staring at the monitor.
For now, I decided to watch and see what kind of bullshit they were going to pull this time.
The Flame School mages walked down the hallway.
And stopped in front of the entrance elevator.
"Oh?"
They began pulling metal pieces out of their backpacks one by one.
Then they started assembling them like a Gundam plastic model.
I stroked my chin.
I wonder what interesting thing they're trying this time?
You can tell just by looking at their numbers.
They hadn't come in this time to make a serious attempt at clearing it.
I figured it was probably closer to an experiment based on their past experience, and I was right.
"It's a golem."
They had brought a golem.
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DIP : Haa... Is it the steampunk theme again??
DIP : Golem King <<< This bastard has never been any help in Newbie's life, for real.
ㄴGolem King : What do you mean, I'm getting unfair hate just because a golem showed up??
ㄴGolem King : But is this thing actually the real deal...
ㄴGolem King : Golems are a whole new method...
ㄴAnt Queen : Come to think of it, it's weird they haven't shown up until now, lol.
ㄴAnt Queen : Mages have golems or summons as exploration assets, after all ㅇㅇ;;
ㄴI Have No Minions : But for a golem to be usable in Dreamland,
ㄴI Have No Minions : it would have to be as strong as a knight, so is that realistically possible? ㅇㅅㅇ
ㄴMagic Hero : I-it's impossible...
ㄴMagic Hero : But it doesn't really need to be as strong as a knight...
ㄴKongKong : Why?
ㄴMagic Hero : As long as it has the ability to kill Newbie-nim, that's all that matters...
ㄴKongKong : Ah...
ㄴMagic Hero : If they build it like a suicide drone, that could make things troublesome ㅇㅇ...
ㄴI Have No Minions : Hmm...
ㄴI Have No Minions : Then can the golem clear the anomaly like a sentient being?
ㄴMagic Hero : Probably possible...
ㄴMagic Hero : Looking at the pictures Newbie-nim uploaded, it seems to be designed to walk upright like a human... If it has arms and legs, can move, and is fitted with a voice device so the mage's communication can be broadcast as sound... well...
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : Dreamland without a jamming device is probably a mage's worst enemy... This could really be dangerous this time.
ㄴAnt Queen : There he goes again, making a huge fuss;;
ㄴAnt Queen : Every time the enemy brings something as a supposed countermeasure, he's all "It's so dangerous" ㅇㅈㄹ;;
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : No, this time I'm not even speaking out of ignorance...
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : It really could be dangerous, fuck...
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : Why are you talking to me so harshly...
ㄴTV Head : It's not that Whale's wrong, though.
ㄴTV Head : If golems really are an exploration asset that can be used in Dreamland, they'll be exploring in place of skilled people like knights from now on... Wouldn't that mean information gets leaked faster?
ㄴTV Head : They really could be a counter to Dreamland.
ㄴTV Head : This isn't something we can brush aside.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : How much does it cost?
ㄴThe World Is Cold : If the production cost is high, I think it should still be okay.
ㄴNarrow-Eyed Character : Even so, it should be cheaper than a knight.
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I felt a sense of tension for the first time in a long while.
It felt like I was back at the beginning.
The days of Lowjinrat and the Forest of Life came vividly to mind.
The veterans used to make a huge fuss like this back then too.
When someone else worries about my situation, I end up worrying too.
This feeling of my heart pounding wasn't entirely unpleasant.
It wasn't like waves had ever felt easy in the first place.
This was how it was supposed to be.
But you know.
There was always a countermeasure to a countermeasure.
Since when did I start treating finding a solution as Shibgan Love Dog's exclusive domain?
It was a mistake to think I'd just sit back and take it.
Good.
Shall I try to come up with a solution again this time?
"Malang…… huh?"
I blinked.
The intruders were still displayed on the monitor.
The mages pressed the elevator button and put the golem inside.
Up to that point, things had gone as expected.
"Is this for real?"
But.
What happened after that was quite shocking.
***
Dreamland.
In front of the entrance elevator.
"Good. It works normally inside the dungeon too?"
"But won't this get smashed in one hit if it runs into the Dungeon Master? It's a fairly expensive model, darn it."
The Flame School mages assembled the golem.
And chatted among themselves.
"Doesn't matter. The Tower Master said it's for testing anyway, so we can use it however we want."
"That's why I downgraded the mana battery inside it beforehand."
"You crazy bastard. When the hell did you embezzle it?"
They had come to Dreamland to carry out the Red Magic Tower Master's orders.
-Go test whether a golem can be used in Dreamland.
The order they received was simple.
It was a kind of experiment.
"Didn't they say golems couldn't normally be used in dungeons?"
Someone suddenly spoke up and raised the question.
Golems were devices created to handle the physical tasks difficult for mages.
When golems first appeared, they handled chores such as running errands and carrying luggage.
However, tools created by human hands had a way of evolving as time passed.
Research into golems had continued for a long time.
Now they were used in various fields.
Most golems made by the Flame School were closer to weapons designed for combat, spewing fire from their hands and swinging massive arms.
However.
Flame School golems were extremely rarely used for dungeon clearing.
One Flame School mage explained why.
"For starters, they're expensive and not as efficient as people. And the linking process already takes a long time and is difficult… If you get hit by even a low-grade jamming effect, the connection gets severed immediately, so there's no point."
In a dungeon, a golem was just well-made trash.
To exaggerate a little, it was no different from handing the Dungeon Master the parts and materials outright for free.
"But why did the Tower Master suddenly tell us to test a golem?"
"Lorencia said Dreamland doesn't have jamming, remember."
"What the hell were you listening to when you heard that explanation?"
"I was only thinking about swapping out the mana battery."
"Hey, shut up. It's still linking, so don't distract me."
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The connection was complete.
With a low whir, the golem began moving.
A Flame School mage pressed the button.
「The door is opening.」
"Nice and clean."
"Please handle the controls properly."
"If it breaks down halfway through, I'll report the bastard who embezzled it."
"I'm not an amateur, so don't worry about that!"
The golem entered the elevator.
「The door is closing.」
"What about the shared vision?"
"It's unstable, but it seems okay."
"It'd be nice if we could control the golem from outside the dungeon too."
"What's the connection range limit right now?"
"Probably as far as Zone 5 from here. Black magic doesn't have a connection-range limit, so I have to admit, I envy its performance at times."
"This bastard is saying something that'll ruin three generations. Don't say things like that outside."
The elevator doors closed.
The Flame School mages took out a journal.
They took out pens to record what was about to happen, but...
"Huh…?"
Everyone looked straight ahead.
A noise they couldn't ignore had sounded.
It was a vibration.
The elevator in front of them was shaking violently.
Crunch, crunch.
Crunch, crunch.
Crunch, crunch.
Crunch, crunch.
"What the hell, why's it doing this all of a sudden…?"
"Was there anything about this in the guide?"
"No. There wasn't. Absolutely not."
This was bad.
Judging by their expressions, they all seemed to feel the same way.
"……."
The mage controlling the golem was in the worst shape.
They covered their mouth and quietly held their breath.
"What the hell is happening inside?"
Everyone's eyes turned to the golem pilot.
The pilot would know what was happening inside the elevator.
A, a, uh, a…….
The pilot desperately tried to calm their trembling body.
They took a deep breath, desperately trying not to stammer.
Then they opened their mouth.
"…W-we have to run."
"Run away?"
"…S-soon, that thing will come. We have to run right now, before it gets here…."
"Why are you suddenly acting like this? Explain slowly."
The others tried to stop the golem pilot from using an escape scroll.
They knew something serious was happening.
But they needed to know why.
That was why they were conducting this experiment.
But.
The pilot brushed their hands aside and shouted.
"There's no time to explain! Get out, quickly!"
Whoosh-
The golem pilot left the dungeon first, leaving those words behind.
None of them seemed able to make sense of what the pilot had done.
A moment later.
The elevator fell silent.
"Nothing happened, though?"
"But it wouldn't do that for no reason. Something feels off."
"Let's retrieve the golem first. Or at least record what just happened before we leave."
While the mages were wasting time like that.
「The door is opening」
The elevator doors opened.
Everyone stared blankly inside.
"What the hell."
"Why did it end up like that?"
The golem had been smashed into wreckage.
It was nothing but scrap metal a blacksmith might buy.
"Ah……."
Their question was answered quickly.
The inside was not empty.
It was clinging to the ceiling.
That was why it had been invisible to the mages.
It descended to the floor.
Then it moved rapidly toward the mages on two legs.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat───!
The moment the mages saw it.
They regretted not listening to the golem pilot.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
They screamed and ran away, but.
It moved much faster than they did.
***
I looked at the monitor.
All the intruders were dead.
The chain of events was simple.
The golem boarded the elevator and pressed the button.
And the moment it arrived at the unlit hallway.
The elevator began its chewing motion, and Mr. Bugman boarded it.
The elevator then arrived at the first floor.
Mr. Bugman slaughtered every intruder who moved and screamed.
The wave reward came in.
I had stopped the intruders.
I should have been happy about that, but.
"What?"
I checked the explanation related to the elevator again.
No matter how I looked at it, there was nothing that could explain what had just happened.
What on earth had happened?