Chapter 36
The helper entered the dungeon.
Though I had been whining that no intruders were coming into the gallery.
I didn't mean for one of our Blesser hyungs' lackeys to take an interest in me.
While the intruders were loitering near the entrance.
I wrote a post in the gallery.
The title had to be "Newbie Fucking Dies."
Newbie : What the fuck am I supposed to do...
ㄴOrange★ : Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ㄴOrange★ : At last, the newbie dungeon has come around too...
The head mod was the first to leave a comment.
Hyung?
This is a really serious situation, so it doesn't seem like the time to be laughing....
ㄴNewbie : No, if you're a Blesser, you're a Blesser. What's this "Blesser's helper" bullshit...
ㄴOrange★ : A Blesser can also have helpers, so they can roughly raise minions like we do. Of course, they can't directly create minions like we can, but if they stick some vaguely usable guys into a party, their levels will rise together, and the Blesser can also directly raise their traits and stats.
ㄴOrange★ : System-wise, raising helpers is efficient, so they always travel in groups of three. That guy is Sinclair, one of the Blesser's party members. He came to my dungeon not long ago too.
Sinclair, I'd heard that name before.
A Blesser staying in the Kingdom of the South, according to Restia.
She said he had gone to rest after getting mentally shattered by the head mod's stern re-education.
ㄴOrange★ : That bastard's ability is ridiculously simple.
ㄴNewbie : What's it do??
ㄴOrange★ : He gets stronger when his HP goes down, and even if he dies he comes back to life once... Of course, only inside the dungeon, yeah. Well, you're not going to beat the crap out of that bastard, so you should probably just focus on the fact that he can revive.
ㄴNewbie : ???? No, I get magic and swordsmanship, but what do you mean he dies and revives...
ㄴOrange★ : That's the power those Blessers have. Think of their lackeys as the same kind of thing as our minions. If you keep looking, you'll see plenty of bastards with absurdly ridiculous traits.
Fuck.
I thought it was only magic and aura.
So they even had powers like that?
Newbie : Head Mod, then am I really screwed?? If that bastard figures out the information and goes out to bring Sinclair over, wouldn't that make it—Dreamland complete—??
ㄴOrange★ : That's possible.
ㄴNewbie : Then why are you laughing...
ㄴOrange★ : Because the chances of that happening are low.
Huh?
ㄴOrange★ : That guy's name is Max.
ㄴOrange★ : To put it simply, because he acted rashly, a trap was triggered and one of Sinclair's treasured party members died.
ㄴOrange★ : The rest barely escaped alive, and from what the gallery guys were saying, he's been causing trouble in other dungeons too, so he's already pretty hated.
ㄴOrange★ : Seeing that he came in alone, my guess is that he got cut off?
ㄴOrange★ : I can't say for sure that it's a full-on UFC situation, but who knows?
ㄴOrange★ : Blessers ditch party members pretty often, so having been cut off, he might have come into a new dungeon to strike it rich and enjoy the rest of his life.
ㄴOrange★ : Sure, you could say Max came here with new dungeon information for Sinclair. But right now, the chances of Dreamland reaching Sinclair's ears are low.
ㄴOrange★ : Normally, Blessers would never leave the party members they've carefully raised on their own.
ㄴOrange★ : How much time and effort they've poured in up to now—it's a waste, right? Seeing that he came into the dungeon alone, it's better to think he's already half given up.
ㄴOrange★ : And it's been two months since any intruders came in, right? How lewd is the name "newbie dungeon" anyway? He probably found it by accident, or there's a good chance that bastard has kept the information to himself.
ㄴOrange★ : And that bastard's a total dumbass lol
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.
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"Hmm…."
After dealing with Yuben last time, no one came in, so I thought maybe I could just quietly bury this and let it go.
But things turned out to be more troublesome than I expected.
For now, let's be relieved that they haven't crossed paths with a Blesser yet.
That aside.
Judging by the way these bastards are investigating the elevator, something's not right.
Are they acquainted with Yuben?
The thing I was going to ask Yuben about last time was.
How far the Dreamland information had spread.
Those guys already had the information.
And it felt like they were making judgments based on that.
"The elevator's gone wide open..."
Surely there aren't that many people who know, right?
Thankfully, I successfully blocked Yuben's wave last time, so there hasn't been any further information leakage, but.
I put both legs up on the table.
All I have to do is reach level 80.
If I just hit level 80, I can somehow handle the information leak issue.
But right now, I guess it's still impossible.
It only becomes possible if not a single one of them gets out alive.
"Hmmm... how do I make it so people say I blocked the intruders well?"
Escape scroll.
I don't know about the others.
But that bastard Max probably has one.
I stroked the squirming blob while staring at the monitor.
For now, let's keep watching.
***
Dungeon Exploration, Day 1
Max stared at Yuben's strategy guide.
'So it really was real?'
It was certainly a strange place.
Up until now, I had traveled to many places with Sinclair for dungeon raids.
But I'd never seen a dungeon this peculiar before.
Normally, a dungeon is structured around killing minions and breaking traps.
Combat is inevitable in that process.
However.
The place called Dreamland spread out before him now.
It felt closer to a place that was solved with blood and riddles than with sweat and passion.
"The corridor without lights was a strange place. This is the first time I've been completely unable to detect it with magic. If I had tried to learn more about that place a little longer... oh, just imagining it is awful."
"I ran into a bug man, and when I stayed perfectly still, he really didn't react at all. You were right. It was incredibly strange and terrifying."
Why was combat not all that important in Yuben's strategy guide?
He could see why it said it was fine to form a party out of ordinary people.
If I'd known it would be like this, should I have come in with the slaves?
Dungeons are consistent.
Which means the minions and traps we'll encounter from here on out will probably be like this too.
Combat isn't important.
That came as quite a fresh surprise to Max.
Max's party members were as follows.
"Still, I feel like I'd like to probe that lightless corridor one more time. It's a little interesting. It doesn't seem to be magic, but if it isn't magic, then what on earth is it?"
A 3rd-circle mage burning with curiosity, Denrid.
A mage is necessary in a dungeon.
Magic is useful in many ways.
He was someone I brought in after being introduced by an acquaintance.
As a mage, he was unusually warmhearted and had a knack for talking in an amusing way.
"This is the first time I've ever felt like I can't hunt monsters."
A monster hunter, Luca, frowning as she said the bug man was disgusting.
I ran into her at the tavern yesterday.
She had once collaborated with other monster hunters to subjugate an ogre, and she had a fairly good reputation around here.
"……."
A quiet slum swordsman with deft hands, Jack.
A skilled assassin who had once assassinated a knight.
He was someone Max had met while wandering around as Sinclair's party member, and his combat ability was considerable.
"Phew."
And Max, once a Blesser's companion.
They were all accomplished in their own fields.
Of course, compared to Sinclair's party, they were hopelessly lacking, but Max personally had been satisfied with them.
'What a waste.'
For a hastily assembled party, I thought it was a pretty good lineup.
That was until I'd confirmed the true nature of Dreamland.
If we'd come with the slaves instead of these guys, I could have monopolized the mana stones.
No.
Still, the split could be decided at the end after seeing the situation, so maybe it wouldn't matter that much.
"You all do have escape scrolls, right?"
"How could people like us possibly have something that expensive?"
"It's a newbie dungeon anyway. And we have Max, one of Blesser Sinclair's party members, no less. What's there to worry about?"
Jack, who had been keeping silent, spoke up.
"Why are you with us instead of Sinclair?"
It probably wasn't just Jack.
Naturally, they'd be curious why Max, who was famous as Sinclair's companion, had left his own party and brought them along.
"Think of it as personal reasons."
"Got it."
Since Max looked irritated, Jack didn't press any further.
"If we get mana stones, the rewards will be split fairly. Let's divide them into fourths and share them amicably."
"I have a question. Why did we come here as four people? We're not even a Blesser party."
"This is more efficient. The more people there are, the more the compensation has to be divided, and the more fighting there is too."
Denrid nodded as if he understood.
"Then let's look for the password now."
"I'll go into the mechanism. If you all see a bug man's face, you might freak out, and quiet Jack might even get shy and scream."
"That won't happen, but please do. Luca."
Luca, who had previously encountered the bug man.
She said she'd gladly step forward first, as if she no longer had anything to fear from the machinery.
"Ah, one last question. We shouldn't go into the lightless corridor, right?"
"Right. The way to the next area is probably not to clear the lightless corridor, but by pressing the number buttons on the mechanism..."
"Let's stop with the boring explanation there. Try pressing them in order, 10, 9, 1?"
"Okay."
Luca boarded the elevator.
"Can you hear me? Yes. Confirmed."
Denrid could use communication magic.
While communicating with him, Luca continued the search.
So far, things had gone smoothly.
The two areas located behind the elevator were concerning.
But with the teamwork they'd shown so far, wouldn't it be fine?
Max closed his eyes.
'After I get the mana stones, I'll have to brag to that Sinclair bastard and make him see.'
The reason Max was trying to conquer this dungeon.
Of course, getting mana stones and living in luxury was part of it, but the bigger reason was to get revenge on Sinclair.
After everything he'd done for Sinclair's party up to now.
You say I'm incompetent?
You dare abandon me?
Sinclair was an arrogant bastard who thought he was always right because he was a Blesser.
He absolutely had to make him regret it.
A person can make mistakes.
Besides, that wasn't my mistake to begin with.
It was more that Sinclair and the other bastards couldn't keep up with my pace.
If he cut off the dungeon master's head and brought back the mana stone as a trophy, it would prove that he was right and Sinclair was wrong.
At least, that was what Max believed.
'I'll sell the mana stone, work out this knot in my chest, and spend the rest of my life at ease.'
***
Dungeon Exploration, Day 2.
"Luca!? Luca!? You suddenly screamed, so I was startled. You've made it safely to the next area."
The party had discovered how to get to the next area.
Thanks to Luca's enthusiasm.
She had thrown herself into the investigation with such fervor that it was almost as if she were overdoing it.
"I've confirmed the buttons are 2, 5, 3. Is there anything else unusual?"
However, Luca had, unusually, not arrived at the straight corridor behind the elevator but.
She had arrived in a broad void, namely Area 2.
"Please wait a moment."
Denrid, who was communicating with her, seemed to have noticed something strange.
Using detection magic, he informed the party in a rather flustered voice.
"Strange structures have suddenly appeared in Area 2…"
Starting with a long corridor, then numerous rooms connected to it.
And just as many floors and stairways.
Area 2, which had been an empty void, had suddenly transformed into a building.
Max stroked his chin.
Judging by the map, Area 2 was a large, square-shaped space, so something like this had been hidden there.
'If that's the case, then there's a high chance Area 1 also has hidden structures like Area 2 that could suddenly appear.'
There was probably a transfer device in Area 2 as well.
It made sense; there would be no dungeon master in this world kind enough to let you skip Area 1 for free.
"Let's go too."
It was then.
Denrid raised a hand and stopped the party for a moment.
"Wait a moment. Luca. Calm down and explain slowly. A faceless girl with eight arms suddenly appeared and demanded all your belongings?"
The situation was taking a strange turn.
"Max. It looks like Luca met a minion. It said you can't bring dangerous items to school... Luca, Luca!? Are you okay!? Y-your right arm is broken……."
Judging by Denrid's expression, it was clearly serious.
Max stopped walking for a moment and frowned.
It wasn't in the strategy guide.
What on earth happened?
"For now, do as the minion says, Luca. Do as you're told."
Denrid moved his lips urgently, and after that, a silence hung among the party for a moment.
"Luca?"
"She says all her belongings were confiscated. She left them at a place called the faculty office, and her right arm is broken……."
Belongings confiscated, huh.
Max fiddled with the escape scroll in his pocket.
Advance.
Retreat.
He had reached the so-called fork in the road.