Chapter 18
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제목 : Newbie's brain just froze...
글쓴이 : Newbie
I'm ridiculously flustered right now, but what the hell is this situation??
The system suddenly went, 'Aang~ Intruders will enter in split entry~,' and, fuck, a human comes in first and a hobgoblin is coming in three hours later...
The way she's dressed in women's clothes makes her look less like an intruder and more like some slave bastard...
I'll attach a photo of the human intruder below, T_T... please take a look...
Right now Newbie is dazed, like an oni seeing a Demon Slayer who uses Sun Breathing to slaughter his own kin for the first time...
This isn't some new kind of trap, is it??
If anyone has a guess, please comment...
*댓글
Skull Bones: What's Sun Breathing, you nerd...
No Minions For Me: Split entry?? Not a rare situation. Should I call this lucky or unlucky, lol
DIP: Now that's a classy analogy, lol
Golem King: It feels like it's getting more and more Dungeon Gallery-ish... Maybe this kind of newbie isn't so bad?
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Emergency situation!
Or rather, it isn't!
Dream Land has Area 1 armed with doppelgangers and a maze, and although there are no minions, Area 2 is ready.
Even though Dream Land wasn't fully completed yet, that brain-dead hobgoblin wasn't even in the same league as an intruder anymore.
Rather, for me, who needed to gather points to finish Area 2, it was a heaven-sent chance.
No, not even that. Just an ordinary chance.
No Minions For Me: This kind of thing happens sometimes. In other words, intruders don't just enter the dungeon the moment they go in; they wake up all at once in some unknown space when the wave starts. (Dungeon Gallery official)
No Minions For Me: The wave cycle is a week, right? Then there's a week outside before they enter the dungeon, and time passes after that too, right?
ㄴNewbie: Yep, that's right
No Minions For Me: Split entry is what happens when an intruder comes in more than once, in other words, over multiple arrivals. Simply put, if there's a guy who entered the dungeon three days ago and another who entered five days ago, the dungeon summons the intruders one after another, that kind of thing, yeah
ㄴNewbie: Okay, okay, got it
So.
The human had entered Dream Land three hours before the hobgoblin.
No Minions For Me: But why?
ㄴNewbie: Huh?
ㄴNo Minions For Me: They're intruders either way. I just asked because, from your post, it seemed like you were paying attention to the human intruder.
Just as I was about to reply to that part.
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: Wait!!!
ㄴNewbie: ?
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: I'll speak for Newbie's inner thoughts and tell you directly.
Suddenly?
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: There aren't any humans living in the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range. Last time, the black mages visited Dream Land because of a variable called Manticore, but this time the situation is completely different! So our Newbie is wondering why this human is in the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range, and whether the dungeon's information leaked outside because of an intruder who escaped last time!?
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: Based on that feeling, isn't that why he took an interest in the human? That's my guess. For the record, I'm in the doctoral program for Newbie Studies at Dungeon University, so I don't accept rebuttals or questions. Right, Newbie? Hehe?
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : I'm a Newbie Studies PhD myself, and that's not it, yeah
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: Shut up
ㄴNewbie: lol;;;
Well, you couldn't say Byung-su hyung was completely wrong.
In fact, I was curious about that woman's identity, so if things went well, there was a chance I could get useful information.
That woman, unlike the manticore and the black mages, doesn't seem to have any hostility.
Usually dungeon intruders, even dumb trolls, know to bring at least one weapon, but the battered, dust-covered woman looked more like a fugitive than an explorer.
Magic Hero: New-New-New-New-Newbie...
ㄴNewbie: Yes! I've replied!
ㄴMagic Hero: N-no, that's not it. Could you maybe zoom in on the photo... I can tell you whether it's a trap or not... Sorry if I was being presumptuous...
ㄴNewbie: N-no, I'd be really grateful if you did...
Magic Hero, despite the nerd persona,
is one of the veterans' picks for the top spot in Dungeon Gallery when it comes to magical knowledge.
I captured the surveillance monitor screen and posted it as is.
ㄴMagic Hero: She doesn't seem to be pulling any tricks, strictly speaking. In the first place, she's not a mage, and she's not under any spell either...
ㄴNewbie: Thanks for telling me...
ㄴMagic Hero: Hehe...
ㄴNo Minions For Me: Then it's likely she ran into the dungeon while fleeing.
ㄴDIP: I've seen people like that from time to time too.
Hmm.
Was she running away from the hobgoblin?
From an outsider's perspective, a dungeon is certainly terrifying.
But it was also a refuge where you could escape danger right away.
If the situation were urgent, there'd be no reason not to.
씹간사랑개 : Newbie, do you want to save that woman? (professor of Newbie psychology and Newbie ontology)
ㄴNewbie: Hehe...
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : If you're not going to squeeze information out of her and then kill her, honestly, talking isn't a great option either, but I'll ask anyway!
As expected, Sarang-i is quick on the uptake.
ㄴNewbie: I think if I get something from her, I should give something in return.
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : She might spill all your information to the humans later, though? Looks like that woman is a South Kingdom constable, and who knows how this will come back to bite you.
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : If Newbie had something like brainwashing or some other method, I'd let him do whatever he wanted, but right now? We're in a situation where we also need to farm points, so is there really any reason to keep her alive?
ㄴNo Minions For Me: How did you know she was a constable?? That's kind of creepy??
ㄴGolem King: Ah, if you look closely at that, it's torn, but there's a mark on her right shoulder, yeah
ㄴDIP: As expected, your observation skills are god-tier...
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : The world is our enemy. Well, I do like that Newbie is a good person, but... if you end up getting hurt because of that later, I'd hate that so much...
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : And we haven't even confirmed yet whether the dungeon is dangerous to you or not... honestly, I really don't like this.
Sarang-i's words also made sense.
If anything, as a dungeon master, Sarang-i's opinion would probably be the right one.
Sarang-i had decades of accumulated data from dungeon-master life, so the logic was undeniably sound.
But.
How should I put it.
ㄴNewbie: I don't want to kill someone who doesn't have any hostility toward me.
I just felt like it.
ㄴNewbie: They might be a good person, right? As for traps, the maze can't really help it, but Area 2 hasn't even booted up yet, so I might be able to clear it out. If I ferry her over quickly on Boongboongie, maybe there won't be a problem? And I'm not planning to bring her into the core room. I'll tell her to stay put in Area 2.
ㄴNewbie: And if things go south, I can just beat her up... She's level 30, yeah... she can beat a hobgoblin easily too...
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : Sigh ㅡ_ㅡ
ㄴNewbie: Thanks for caring, Sarang-ah...
ㄴ씹간사랑개 : You mustn't get hurt. Promise me.
ㄴNewbie: Okay. I promise.
ㄴNo Minions For Me: There are people like that by nature, after all. There's even the saying that goodwill returns goodwill, isn't there? I think Newbie's choice is fine.
ㄴGolem King: You trust human bastards?
ㄴNo Minions For Me: Even among human bastards, there are good ones...
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: If that's your damn choice, there's no reason for me to stop you. Dream Land is your nest, after all.
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: There's a way to eliminate an intruder while they're still an intruder, and I'll tell you about that later.
ㄴNewbie: But why did your way of talking change?
ㄴPsych Ward Head Patient: I switch over when I'm being serious, yeah...
ㄴNewbie: Fair enough
All right, I've decided.
I got on Boongboongie.
“Ack.”
While driving, I put Malangi on my lap too and tucked the knife inside my jacket.
Just in case, I also grabbed the backpack full of jerky I'd use to feed the maze (collected from the black mage's corpse).
It wasn't time yet for the sprinklers to start dripping water.
I had to rescue her in a hurry before our Doppel could show what it could do.
I reached Area 1 after passing through the under-construction Area 2.
The living maze is hard at work again today.
“I'm going crazy.”
Just trying to spot a human in this huge maze was enough to make my head spin.
Still, from my current position, even without surveillance cameras, I could check the human's location and my own through the system. And I was fairly confident in my maze-solving skills.
Vroooom-
Just as I was about to twist the motorcycle's throttle, huh?
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A strange stain appeared on the floor.
Looking up at the ceiling, I saw black liquid dripping from the sprinkler.
I blinked.
For a moment, I was so dumbfounded my brain stopped.
No way.
Was it telling me to go this way?
ㄱ...ㄱ...
Words started appearing on the floor.
I couldn't help but laugh.
No, Maze.
You could pull a trick like this too...?
***
Restia.
In other words, Dream Land's human intruder stared at the maze with a dazed expression.
She was a rookie constable of the South Kingdom, currently pursuing black mages who had committed crimes.
After hearing that the black mages had recently followed the manticore into the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range, she set out boldly with her superiors and fellow officers, but.
Unfortunately, the great mountain range was a den of trolls and goblins.
After entering the mountains and continuing the pursuit, they were ambushed by goblins led by a troll, and then, as if things couldn't get any worse, hobgoblins came pouring in too.
She had now been separated from her companions and trapped inside this bizarre dungeon.
Its name was Dream Land.
“…….”
Unfortunately, she was a constable, not a dungeon expert.
“Hiiing….”
It's eerie and ominous.
A pure-white corridor stretches on endlessly.
This was the first dungeon she'd ever seen like this.
No, were all dungeons like this in the first place?
Of course, even someone ignorant about dungeons knew that after half a day, you couldn't get out of one.
Right now, a rift had opened behind her.
She could get outside through it whenever she wanted,
but if she went outside in her injured state right now, the only thing waiting for her would be death.
The monsters of the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range never forgave humans.
The boundary between life and death.
Standing at that crossroads, Restia stopped in her tracks, sank to the ground, and burst into tears.
“To be honest, I never wanted to come here! I never wanted to chase black mages! I just wanted to patrol the city, collect a civil servant's salary in peace, and grow old and die, so how did I end up like this… waaah.”
Whether I died trapped in the dungeon.
Or went out like this and got eaten by a monster.
It was death either way.
“I want to go home. I want to see my mom. Where in the world did my seniors go….”
Restia sniffled, hugging her knees to her chest.
While she was despairing like that.
Vroooom──!
A sharp engine roar pierced her ears.
When she lifted her head.
A man was holding a knife.
“Eek….”
The sight of him smiling in front of her felt like a grim reaper who'd come to take her life.
Restia's face turned deathly pale.
“Gurgle….”
Right then, she started foaming at the mouth.
Thud.
Restia fainted on the spot.
“Huh? Hey! Breathe! Breathe!”
The dungeon master panicked.
And he shook the unconscious girl hard.