Chapter 17
There was something I had to do before starting dungeon construction.
That was corpse looting.
I had to finish up quickly before Malangi cleaned up.
First, I rummaged through the shattered manticore's belongings.
An old gold necklace.
It looked pretty expensive, but it was useless to me since I live in the dungeon anyway.
I'll just leave it in the core room.
"Agh, you damn black-monkey bastards...."
If you're coming to a terrifying dungeon, at least come prepared.
I couldn't find anything useful on the others, either.
Magic Hero : It's tr-tr-trash... just give me Malangi...
Honestly, I thought magical items were all supposed to be good.
These bastards seem to carry nothing but budget items.
I nibbled on a strip of jerky the black mages had brought as food.
I don't feel hunger or thirst, but my sense of taste is still alive. Better save it.
"You're eating well."
"Ehk."
Malangi chewing away.
It was pretty grotesque, but before I knew it, I'd gotten used to it.
"Let's see."
In the case of a living maze, its size is determined by the length of its sections, whereas this trap is determined by volume. So for now, I planned to dump fifty thousand points into expanding the dungeon.
I should make it wide in a square shape.
Installing the trap was over in an instant.
Since the system did the construction instead of me, it didn't take all that long, but it still took about an hour.
I asked the gallery veterans for advice.
NoMinionsForMe really came through here. You could say he coached me on how to make it as wide as possible while spending as few points as possible.
NoMinionsForMe : You do what you're told really well. Even when I explain things to you, you're not frustrating at all, and that's really nice.
ㄴNewbie : Thank youuu haha
However.
There's one problem here.
ㄴSkullbones : But even if you make a second area, it gets placed behind the maze, so in practice people won't even see it on stream until much later...
ㄴCowhead : The way you put it just kills the hype, damn it.
ㄴSlit-Eyed Character : Honestly, does it really matter? If anything, from Newbie's perspective, it's better if there isn't a day it has to be used.
Even if I built a second area, there was no way to use it right away.
It was, how should I put it, a little ambiguous.
In other words, this anomaly theme was powerful, but once people figured out how to counter it, its effect would drop sharply.
For example, the way to clear the living maze is to find the 'mouth' somewhere in the maze and shove in enough food that it won't be hungry.
And if, during that process, the doppelgänger that appears isn't killed but instead treated warmly like a friend, with something like, 'Let's go get magic stones together!' then, assuming you can find the maze's exit within at least half a month, Area 1 can be cleared.
Of course, if you had no information at all, it'd be extremely difficult to spot at a glance, but with the bastard who used the Escape Scroll last time and all that, who knew what time would reveal.
The manticore, unlike the monsters of the Great Mountain Range, led its party to uncover the truth of the maze the moment they hit a dead end.
As information kept piling up, it could actually put me in a bind.
That's why I....
ㄴNewbie : I just thought of a good way, Sans-ham. Want to hear it?
ㄴSkullbones : Go for it.
ㄴNewbie : How about making the spawn point random?? So when an intruder enters, make them go into Area 1, and on some waves send them to Area 2, ㅇㅇ
ㄴSkullbones : You mean swapping the trap and minion positions every wave?? But you've already spent points on dungeon expansion. I think that's a little iffy. The maze scales by length, and this one scales by area. The efficiency doesn't really come out,;;
ㄴNewbie : No, no.
I have no intention of relying on such a primitive method.
Because there's one ridiculously good trap that can solve everything related to this.
ㄴNewbie : Want to take a look at this?
【Elevator to Another Area (★3)】
【Price: 50000P】
【Tags: Anomaly, Immortality, Passage】
【An elevator with fixed rules (refer to the details for the rules). Intruders who clear it will spawn at a location designated by the dungeon master.】
【…….】
【…….】
【If intruders ride every elevator installed in the dungeon, they can use the elevators to move to the core room.】
An elevator to another area.
It's both a trap and the only thing that can replace a 'passageway'.
Up to now, my dungeon had allowed zone-to-zone movement on foot through passages.
For example, after passing through Area 1, you could go to the core room, like that.
There's one thing I need to point out here.
A dungeon master can spend points to expand or shrink the dungeon at will, but the one thing they uniquely can't do is block off passages.
The dungeon has to remain connected somehow.
The system does not allow something like blocking passages.
If you sealed off the entrance to the core room with a wall that couldn't be destroyed by any means, everyone would either have to leave through the dungeon entrance or starve to death, so it just couldn't be allowed to exist in the first place.
But this elevator is different.
It can block passages.
Because it can take over the role of a passageway itself.
It was a sort of teleportation device.
In other words, it could drop intruders at random locations.
If you slap this elevator, which acts as a 'passageway,' onto the entrance, you can send them to Area 1 or randomly dump them into Area 2.
And if I place additional ones at each area's exit, it'll be complete.
As you can see from the explanation, if I block every passage with elevators.
Even if they clear Area 2, if they never boarded the elevator in Area 1, intruders can never get to the core room, so in the end they have to clear every area.
Anyway, that got a bit long.
To put it simply.
ㄴNewbie : Once I posted it, it got ridiculously long, sorry
ㄴNewbie : Anyway, now the intruders have to run around the dungeon desperately searching for the elevators
From now on, Dreamland's passageways would basically be elevators.
To reach the next area, you have to go through the elevator.
That's not all.
Because the elevator is a passageway but can also function as a trap, the difficulty shoots up even higher.
It'll likely take a long time to clear it too.
ㄴSkullbones : Not a bad idea?
Thumbs-up emoji.
Looking at our Sans-ham's photo, you look scary enough to eat a hundred lions, but you use cute emojis.
ㄴSkullbones : But why am I the only one you call Sans? DIP and KingJjang Evil Spirit are actually closer to human-like.
ㄴNewbie : Your nickname just feels the most Sans-like, that's all ㅇㅇ...
ㄴSkullbones : Hahahaha, damn
ㄴPsychWardTopPatient : If the intruder is basically human or elf, they're smart enough that they'll figure it out given time. I think the elevator is a good countermeasure.
ㄴShoutShoutYeah : Not knowing the Newbie Dungeon means you die—that's its strength, right? So information is super important to intruders, and with the elevator you can throw them off once, so yeah, it's insanely good.
ㄴGolem King : Still, steampunk has more romantic charm.
ㄴAnt Queen : If I could just lay eggs and have offspring, I wouldn't even need to think. Poor Newbie-nim ㅇㅇ...
ㄴKingSlayer : That's just insecurity, guys.
ㄴTheWorldIsCold : Anomaly theme is busted as hell, gg
ㄴKingSlayer : Dude, that's just insecurity.
ㄴTheWorldIsCold : But it is insecurity, though?
Anyway.
The other veterans also seemed fine with it, so that's good.
The problem was that I didn't have the points to install the elevator.
I couldn't even buy the Crying Man statues because I spent my points on dungeon expansion and trap purchases.
This anomaly theme is great in every way, but the points are seriously insanely expensive.
For 3-star items, minions cost 25,000 points and traps cost 50,000 each.
Even if I earn a ton, it all gets drained right back out.
These days, goblins and trolls aren't coming in like they used to.
I was a little worried about how I was supposed to earn these fifty thousand points.
Of course, it wasn't urgent right away.
The place I was in was the Great Rojinrat Mountain Range.
It was a place where the chances of encountering dangerous intelligent beings were extremely low.
The manticore was just a special case.
I just had to think of it as there being no immediate threats.
I could earn it slowly.
There was no need to rush.
***
【Warning】
【24 hours remain until the wave.】
Waves usually restart on a weekly cycle after the previous wave ends.
I propped my feet up on the table and stared at the hologram with a bored expression.
Humans really are creatures of adaptation.
Unlike when I'd been trembling at first, I didn't feel a shred of tension.
And for good reason.
"Warning my ass~ it's gonna be another dud again, right?"
Even though three whole weeks had passed since the manticore.
I hadn't even caught a glimpse of a bald goblin's leg hair.
It's not like I'm some fisherman out at sea.
The sight of me waiting in the dungeon for intruders to show up felt kind of insane.
There's a saying: strike while the iron is hot.
I need to gather points quickly and buy the elevators and the Crying Man statues.
Sigh.
Even dog shit's nowhere to be found when you need it for medicine.
At first they came barreling in without a care, but after a few of their friends got properly taught a lesson, now they're too scared to come in, huh?
You cowardly bastards.
This newbie dungeon master is disappointed in the Great Rojinrat Mountain Range.
Hurry up and come in already and get a good look at the anomaly I worked so hard to prepare, kaaah!
I had no choice but to log into the Dungeon Gallery again today.
──────
Title: Posted the head mod's nude photo
Author: Golem King
Indeed, my life changed after I chose steampunk.
Back when I was a low-level scrub, I couldn't even look humans in the eye.
I'd gripe to my minions and spit all over the place.
But after becoming a steampunk-themed dungeon master,
I make an effort to maintain my dignity.
Just now, those jerks invaded too, and now I can even beat them down with golems.
I've even become able to post a thread titled 'Posted the head mod's nude photo.'
No matter how shitty things get,
Who am I?
"A steampunk dungeon master."
Laughing while saying it makes me feel better too.
I guess that's why they say position makes the person.
*Comments
DIP : Oh dear, teacher's at it again~ Time for your meds~
Newbie : Hahahahahahaha
─────
I felt like I understood why the veterans become gallery addicts.
There really is absolutely nothing to do besides blocking waves.
Newbie : Please take a look at my cute, transparent Malangi ㅎㅎ
ㄴDamnCunningDog : My slime is pink~
ㄴNewbie : Jealous of the shiny....
ㄴDamnCunningDog : I'm jealous of Newbie's Malangi... I want Newbie to squish me too ㅠㅠ
ㄴNewbie : Huh?
And so we shot the breeze in the gallery until the wave.
Just as I was starting to think maybe I really should make some tabletop RPG-like content or something.
【The wave is starting.】
【Intruders are entering.】
【The number of confirmed intruders is 11 entities.】
【1 human.】
【10 hobgoblins.】
【The human will enter first, in order of entry.】
【The remaining intruders will enter three hours later.】
"Huh? Split entry? Humans and hobgoblins?"
What kind of situation is this now?