Chapter 32
Yuben Jericho obtained information about Dreamland from a black-market dealer.
"A newborn dungeon...."
No way such a phrase could ever be combined.
A newborn dungeon—this was the first time he'd ever seen one in his life.
In the past, they definitely existed.
But at some point, dungeons stopped appearing altogether.
He didn't know why.
Only Oblivion, the god of forgetfulness who created the Blessed and the Dungeon Masters, would know.
"Huuuu..."
Yuben thought.
The life of a lord who has everything is lavish to the point of boredom.
Ever since becoming a lord, he couldn't help wondering if he had lost all purpose in life; ordinary humans, as many scholars argued, have a strong drive to rise, so once they achieve one dream, they end up dreaming of another.
A title higher than a baron? Well...
That didn't appeal to him much.
He didn't want to do it, and it would be difficult too.
Ruling the territory was a pain, and handing the position to someone else felt wasteful too.
The only things he really enjoyed were womanizing and drinking, so he had handed full authority to a retainer he trusted and could rely on, then bled the taxes dry and lived loosely, letting things drift however they would.
"I want mana stones."
Mana stones.
The most valuable treasure in this world.
A thing as close as it got to the Philosopher's Stone, usable in any field.
If a human were to absorb all the mana stones.
Their lifespan would supposedly increase exponentially, like that of an immortal race.
"Living forever isn't bad, making them into decorations isn't bad, turning them into weapons isn't bad, and turning them into money isn't bad either...."
Yuben's desire for reward was one thing, but.
He also wanted to see the creatures called dungeons and Dungeon Masters at least once.
If it were an old dungeon, he wouldn't even have looked at it.
But if it's a newborn dungeon, that's a different story.
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"An escape scroll, all of a sudden?"
"Yeah."
"I've already got no money because I have to give my lord pocket money, invest in the territory, and bribe the neighboring territories, so what escape scroll are you talking about? And Spatial School escape scrolls are bought first by the fixed customers—the party members the Blessed bring along—so they get first priority. Whatever's left is barely available for purchase, and lately the World Tree Forest has been in an uproar over dungeon raids, so the elves probably bought them all already."
Yuben stroked his chin.
"Then I'll just pay the elves in the World Tree Forest and buy them back."
"Do you want to see even me run away, my lord?"
"I'm going to stop womanizing for a while and quit drinking. Don't give me pocket money anymore. With the spare funds, we should be able to buy two or so, right?"
His retainer looked at Yuben in shock.
There was no way to make sense of what that bastard was thinking.
"I want to try conquering a dungeon."
"Conquering a dungeon...?"
Yuben nodded.
"Yeah. I feel motivated. It's been a while, but I have a feeling it'll be fun."
"Indeed, it's been a very long time since there was any life in your eyes, my lord."
The retainer said that, rather than womanizing and drinking, dungeon raiding would at least be more productive.
He said he'd do everything he could to get an escape scroll.
"Ah, and call up the knights too."
"We don't have any knights in our territory."
"...Then get the best fighters among the soldiers."
"Wouldn't it be better to call a Blessed?"
"Are you insane? They'd tell me to get lost in the dungeon."
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Before finishing his preparations, Yuben decided to do a quick reconnaissance first.
Even without scrolls, he could still go out for half a day anyway.
"The Forest of Life is really quiet, huh?"
The notoriety of the Marked Elves was famous even in the West Kingdom.
It was said Julius had died thanks to the heroic work of a constable from the South Kingdom.
Anyway.
That wasn't the important part.
As the black-market dealer had said, there really was a dungeon called "Dreamland" on the outskirts of the Forest of Life.
"Hmm... he managed to find it."
Fortunately, no word about the dungeon had spread.
Was the South Kingdom keeping it top secret?
No.
Just looking at the fact that there were no soldiers around, that didn't seem to be the case.
The Forest of Life wasn't all that close to the South Kingdom either.
"Because it's on the outskirts, maybe they just hadn't discovered it yet... no, the constable who killed Julius probably set something up."
Still, it didn't seem like anyone was about to come into the dungeon right now.
That was enough to confirm.
Yuben stepped into Dreamland.
And then.
When he looked at Dreamland's scenery, with a long white corridor stretching out ahead.
"Oh-ho."
It only made his curiosity burn hotter, like an explorer who had discovered a new continent.
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Yuben was the type who wouldn't be satisfied unless he took everything he wanted.
The same went for the lord's seat, treasure, family, and even drink and women.
Should I say he had an unnaturally greedy personality? Once the switch flipped, he had to have it even if it meant trading his life for it.
Though once he had it, he usually lost interest and ended up distancing himself from it.
But that didn't matter much to Yuben right now.
He knew it was one of his bad habits.
Even if he obtained something after investing diligently and by any means necessary, what was the point if he'd just abandon it like a dog later?
But.
"If a woman with a big ass and big boobs is shaking her hips in front of me, I'd be no man if I held back."
The new treasure called Dreamland was alluring.
It was probably the most valuable thing he'd ever wanted.
The moment he stepped inside the entrance, he felt an indescribable emotion.
A pure white corridor, lighting fixtures of a kind he'd never seen before, a corridor stretching endlessly in a straight line.
Looking at the strange and unsettling space, Yuben was amazed.
After all, Dreamland was like a work of art.
Why did this meaningless, fleeting space that seemed endlessly close to emptiness look so beautiful?
Now he wanted Dreamland even more than mana stones.
"But I thought if you extract the mana stone from a dungeon, the dungeon itself disappears. Didn't they say the Dungeon Master isn't affected even if it dies?"
While his retainer diligently searched for escape scrolls, Yuben quickly gathered information about the dungeon.
He didn't want to lose the treasure called Dreamland because of his own mistake.
They said there had been many dungeons to use as samples in the past.
He knew research had been much more active back then.
Yuben asked a wizard he knew for related materials and started reading.
"……."
It wasn't practical material like the Blessed's guidebooks they swapped among themselves—things like 'which traps and minions are placed in which dungeon, and what abilities the Dungeon Master uses.'
"A dungeon grows stronger by using intruders as nourishment. A Dungeon Master can create living beings much like the god of forgetfulness described in legends. Even if the Dungeon Master dies, it doesn't affect the mana stone or the dungeon, but the moment the mana stone is seized, the dungeon and the Dungeon Master disappear."
It felt more universal and fundamental, if that makes sense.
Yuben kept reading the materials.
"The Dungeon Master has no memories. The Dungeon Master cannot leave the dungeon. Like the Blessed, the Dungeon Master has a means of communicating with all the Dungeon Masters that exist in this world."
Can't leave the dungeon, huh.
Come to think of it, he had never heard of a Dungeon Master leading an army and invading anything.
No need to worry about reinforcements.
"A dungeon is a multidimensional composite space, so escaping... what the hell is this bullshit?"
Wizards always spouted complicated nonsense.
Yuben turned over the materials he'd been reading.
"Each dungeon has its own unique characteristics."
Yuben thought.
If that pure white corridor was the scenery representing the dungeon's characteristics....
"Hmph."
He couldn't get a read on it.
Well, he'd find out once he went in.
Yuben returned to the manor.
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"You brought four escape scrolls?"
"Yes. So don't die, grab the mana stones, come back, and give something back to the territory."
"That'd be a bit difficult. I'm thinking I might want to own the dungeon itself."
"What on earth kind of idea is that?"
"No, why don't you go see it yourself? It's really the most beautiful place in the world. If I kill the Dungeon Master, drain out its fluids, stuff it, and put it on display, I don't think there'd be a treasure more valuable than that."
"Like an insect specimen? That's absurd. Since when did you become someone whose artistic spirit burned that brightly, my lord...? Anyway, even if I say something, you won't even pretend to listen, will you? Do whatever you want."
Yuben took the escape scrolls.
He had four chances.
That should be enough to conquer a newborn dungeon that hadn't even been around for half a year yet.
"So, who are the usable people for the expedition?"
"Ah, they'll be here soon."
People arrived just as his retainer said.
But judging by the twitch in Yuben's eyes, the selection must have been unsatisfactory.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Pardon?"
"No, do we really not have any talent in our territory? They all look like weaklings. No matter how newborn the dungeon is, if we go with them we'll get wiped out right away, you bastard."
At the lord's outburst, the armed soldiers looked dejected.
The retainer coughed awkwardly.
"...They're actually pretty good by our territory's standards."
"Haah, I heard there are wandering knights staying nearby anyway, so we can hire them too and bring them along."
"You talk as if money were something you had in endless supply."
"Sell the women I've been fooling around with."
"I'll go roughly calculate the money we'd get from selling the women to the black-market dealer and the money we've used so far as maintenance expenses."
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He couldn't hire all the wandering knights.
Money was money, and anyway, bringing in lots of outsiders to break the situation was a poor move.
He might lose the initiative.
Two would be just about right.
Bringing two wandering knights would not be difficult.
All he had to do was give them a generous advance and promise to pay them an even larger sum if they safely found the mana stones.
"I'll accept your proposal."
"A dungeon... it's the first dungeon I'll ever set foot in, but... if it's a newborn dungeon, then I guess so."
Of course, he didn't completely trust the wandering knights.
People lose their minds in front of tremendous treasures, so no one could guarantee the future.
'I should leave myself at least one trump card.'
Yuben procured a highly potent poison.
And then.
Lastly, a 3rd-circle Fire School mage who could grasp the dungeon's structure and was useful in combat and other areas.
"Good."
The expedition team, the supplies, and the escape scrolls.
And the objective, too, was ready.
Yuben headed toward Dreamland with confidence.
***
Newbie: Love, I've got something I've been worrying about lately...
ㄴShibganLover: Why??
ㄴNewbie: No, the black-market dealer came by once before... and after that another human came in, but this person's eyes are kind of suspicious... ㅠㅠ (shiver)
ㄴShibganLover: Post a picture!!
ㄴShibganLover: .......................................
ㄴNewbie: Why??
ㄴShibganLover: .......................................
ㄴNewbie: Did you forget who it was???
ㄴShibganLover: If Newbie says they love me, maybe I'll remember......................
Damn it.
What kind of new move is this?
Lately, I'd developed a worry.
Much like Love, who dutifully comments on my posts every time.
A very suspiciously obsessive human had entered the dungeon.
So, while I asked Love, who was on standby in the Dungeon Gallery 24/7, for advice, I left a comment.
AntQueen: That's Yuben Jericho... a psycho bastard who killed all his siblings and became a lord, yeah. I heard his territory is tiny as hell, but his scale is apparently on the level of the Purge Day, so I was kind of dumbfounded lol. He seems to be living quietly now, though, so why'd he come all the way to the Forest of Life?? Did the black-market dealer tell him about it before??
What.
AntQueen was replying to Love's everyday post.
ㄴNewbie: Thanks!
ㄴAntQueen: But Newbie, are you some kind of psycho collector?? Only psychos are coming in lol
Psycho, huh.
I had plenty of bad history with high-ranking people I'd encountered before becoming a Dungeon Master.
The high-ranking people I'd met were mostly of the psycho type, huh. Hm, looks like I'm running into one again this time too.
But even psychos have different tiers.
The psycho bastard from my previous job, who made me work overtime every day and ranted, 'This is obviously something you should be doing for the company, and you're only working overtime because you screwed up your work—so why should I pay you overtime?' was a C-rank psycho.
Then the psycho who killed all his siblings and became a lord was at least several times more vicious than that ex-boss, meaning he'd be A-rank or higher.
And of all things, someone who could kill even his own family just to achieve his goal.
A very ambitious psycho bastard had entered my dungeon.
Fuck.
I felt depressed.
ㄴShibganLover: WTF, why the hell are you the one saying that? Do you actually want to die??
ㄴAntQueen: Adding one more person with a personality problem here lol haha I'm going off to stop the wave, bye-bye
Lords generally had a lot of subordinates.
What if they really just bulldozed us with numbers?
My dungeon was weak to sheer numbers.
ㄴNewbie: Honestly, if sentient beings came rushing in like Zerglings, I'd be kind of scared... (shiver)
ㄴShibganLover: ....................................
ㄴNewbie: Loveee... whyyy...
ㄴShibganLover: ....................................
Phew.
There goes the menhera again.
Just this once.
ㄴNewbie: Love, I love you ㅠㅠ
ㄴShibganLover: I'm happy... I'm feeling good now, so I'll tell you!
ㄴNewbie: Huh?? What is it??
ㄴShibganLover: Well..................
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"Huh?"
Come to think of it, that's true, huh?
Depending on the situation, I should be able to handle this just fine.
ㄴNewbie: Thanks, Love... ㅠㅠ...
ㄴShibganLover: But if we meet, you have to give me a kiss!
I'll have to think about that a lot.