Chapter 37
I stared silently at the monitor.
The intruders ultimately chose to press on.
After that, it was just the same as with Julius.
They had all their belongings confiscated by the student council president... and now they were quietly holding their breath inside a classroom.
Honestly, I thought they'd get wiped out in the hallway.
But Denrid, huh?
Apparently this world also has a place called an academy, similar to a modern school.
Whether he's a graduate there or just has great instincts,
that wizard-looking guy immediately evacuated his party into a classroom the moment the bell rang.
What a bummer.
Hmm.
In other words, the helper was that guy Max.
A burly, rough-looking bastard—yeah, that bandit-looking guy.
But the wizard Denrid looked even more dangerous than Max.
My dungeon, so to speak, was weaker against brainy guys than muscleheads.
Well, I couldn't exactly do what Yuben did, either.
For one thing, I had Max, a powerful guard, with me.
I couldn't move to Zone 2 recklessly.
I only have one life.
For now, I planned to rely as much as possible on the minions and traps.
Anyway, Denrid was busily writing something inside the classroom.
He was taking screenshots to post them to the gallery.
If intruders show up, you've got to report it live.
As a Dungeon Gallery user, I can't resist a guaranteed featured post.
SlyDog : Newbie!
ㄴNewbie : Huh??
ㄴSlyDog : What's the situation now??
ㄴNewbie : Look at this
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【Dreamland Zone 2 Exploration Log - 1】
【Author – Denrid】
For the entrance-related section, I consulted former Baron Yuben of Jericho's strategy guide.
If you board the machine, you spawn in Zone 2 first.
I'm guessing there's probably a machine in Zone 2 as well.
Zone 2 is similar to an academy...
It's enormous, with as many as 80 floors and stairs you can climb.
It seems like it would take about an hour to check every area on a single floor.
Various rooms branch out like limbs from a straight corridor.
The spaces that take up the most room seem to be classrooms.
I don't know why; there are probably rooms with other names too.
Because the faceless girl mentioned a place called the teachers' office.
You can meet the faceless girl when you enter Zone 2.
Even if you don't want to meet her, you'll inevitably run into her. She seems to know exactly where we are.
The moment you encounter the faceless girl, she tells you to hand over all your belongings.
If you drag things out without giving them up, she breaks your arm.
I haven't confirmed it myself, but if you don't hand them over, you might die.
It's not impossible to get them back.
If you go to a room called the 'teachers' office' after class, you can find them.
The problem is that they seize all your food and water too.
There doesn't seem to be any proper way to resupply in Zone 2.
The key is finding the teachers' office quickly. You can barely last three days without water.
And the thing you have to be most careful about is time.
If you hear singing, stop what you're doing right away and go inside a classroom.
It means class is starting.
Class lasts a total of 40 minutes.
Everything outside the classroom is swallowed by darkness.
I tried tearing a piece of clothing and sticking it out into the pitch-black hallway, and it vanished without a trace.
When class ends, you get 10 minutes of break time.
You can explore freely during that time.
I haven't encountered any other minions yet.
Same with the faceless girl.
Exploration summary.
1. Hand over your belongings willingly to the faceless girl.
2. During class time, stay in the classroom and clearly distinguish it from break time.
3. Find the teachers' office as quickly as possible.
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Golem King : Oh... I thought Yuben was pretty smart last time... so another strategist this time?? He seems pretty sharp too, seeing how he made a beeline for the classroom??
ㄴDIP : But that bastard has one fatal weakness.
ㄴDIP : So personally, I think he's below the Lord LOL.
ㄴGolem King : What's that??
ㄴGolem King : Now that you put it that way, I'm curious for no reason??
ㄴDIP : He lacks the psycho factor to sacrifice people for a goal, right?
ㄴGolem King : Agreed.
Well, it was still just the beginning.
Let's wait and see.
***
Dreamland Zone 2.
Class 1-32.
Max's party was catching its breath in a classroom, away from the pitch-dark hallway.
The fact that they were here meant they had taken the elevator located at the entrance.
What are you writing so much about?
I'm writing down everything we've found so far.
Where did you get the notebook and pen?
They were in the desk drawer. There were some weird books too. Luca, is your arm okay?
There wasn't anything in my desk.
In the end, Max couldn't use the escape scroll.
For him, it was crucial to seize the mana stone with his own power
and prove he was right by showing it to Sinclair.
And the escape scroll itself doesn't disappear.
If they find a place called the teachers' office, they can get it back anytime.
Dreamland is vicious, but fair.
If the patterns we've seen so far are any indication, there must definitely be a way forward.
"Well, if I don't move, I'm fine... It hurts, but it's bearable."
The problem was Luca's injury.
She had been beaten by the faceless girl.
And in a pretty horrible way, too.
We bent a mop handle and tore up some clothes to make a makeshift splint and treated it.
Fortunately, it wasn't a life-threatening injury.
Still, she wouldn't be able to avoid the disadvantage it would cause in future expeditions.
'If only we had a healing potion...'
It wasn't just the escape scroll.
Not being able to use their belongings was a huge problem.
"Tsk. Healing magic is impossible after all, huh?"
"I'm not a dark mage or anything. How would I use that...?"
Max folded his arms and looked at the clock.
10:10
There were 20 minutes left until exploration resumed.
The place they were in now was the first floor.
This academy had 80 floors, and its area was quite vast.
'It'd be more efficient to split up and search.'
Max felt his mouth go bone-dry.
He was already feeling thirsty.
Maybe he should have drunk as much water as he could before boarding the machine.
Regret is meaningless.
Think only of the future—the hopeful future where he kills the dungeon master and gets the mana stone.
"Everyone, gather round. There's something I want to discuss about our exploration going forward."
The topic Max brought up was their exploration method.
The party had to decide whether to move together or split up.
"If we move as a group, safety goes up, but exploration will take longer. If we split up, it'll be faster but less safe. We might even miss information. Before that, I want to ask Denrid something: what's the maximum number of people communication magic can reach?"
"Unfortunately, one person is the limit."
Max thought to himself.
If someone wandered off alone and died,
there'd be no way to figure out why they died, or what rule they died by.
"Let's split into two groups. I'll take Luca and explore. I'll keep my comms linked to yours so we can talk in real time."
"Then Jack and I will go together."
The compromise worked.
Everyone agreed.
Denrid brought a map of the first floor.
It was only roughly sketched, so it was almost embarrassing to call it a map.
Denrid circled the classroom where the party was currently located.
And then he split the map exactly in half.
He designated the left side as Zone A and the right side as Zone B.
"Then let's do this. Max and Luca will explore A, and Jack and I will explore B. Let's keep investigating like this until something unusual turns up."
Everyone nodded.
And so the exploration continued.
They stayed in the classroom during class time.
And during break time, they inspected the hallway.
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12:10
『♪─♪─♪』
『Ding—dong—dang─♪dong—ding—♪』
『Ding—dong—dang… dang… dang….』
The first-floor exploration was finished.
They got nothing.
"Let's go to the second floor now."
"You all checked carefully, right?"
"Just in case, I even left marks inside the classroom. Don't worry."
"Mm."
The party headed to the second floor.
And Max asked Denrid.
"Any unusual findings? Like I said over comms, there was nothing on my side or Luca's."
"Mr. Jack turned out to be more interesting than I expected. I never dreamed the reason he'd been so quiet all this time wasn't because he was a slum knife fighter, but because he's shy."
"Don't spread rumors."
"That counts as an unusual finding."
Max looked at the clock.
12:19
"For now, let's stay together during this break. There isn't much time left... and we can talk for a quick midway check-in."
"Sounds good. How's Luca's arm?"
"It hurts."
The party went into the classroom.
In truth, there wasn't much to talk about for a check-in.
They hadn't found any information at all.
So they chatted about this and that.
Starting with stories from the past, and then trivial small talk.
But then...
12:25
Even after 15 minutes had passed, there was no melody, and the hallway still hadn't darkened.
"That's strange. Wait a moment."
Max took a stick out of the storage box.
Then he opened the door and waved the stick around into the hallway, but it didn't vanish.
Just in case, he tried it with a piece of clothing too, but the result was the same.
"It's definitely been more than 10 minutes... How strange."
"Ah!"
Only then, as if he'd just remembered, Denrid clapped in place.
"Come to think of it, there was lunchtime."
"Lunchtime?"
"Ahem. I was the only one who actually attended an academy..."
Denrid was the only one in the party who'd attended an academy.
He had to briefly explain lunchtime to the party, who had never had the chance to learn about it.
"Even students who study have to eat, right? So at our academy, we gave students one hour for meals, and that's usually called lunchtime."
"You need an hour to eat? Five minutes is enough."
"Sitting at a desk and studying is the hardest thing, after all."
"Agreed. So you're saying it's lunchtime now? Sounds like we can explore freely like during break time?"
Denrid nodded.
"Still, just in case... be mentally prepared to enter a classroom at any time. At least while the music is playing, the hallway won't go dark."
The party nodded.
There was no reason not to move.
The exploration continued.
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During lunchtime, the party managed to check both the second and third floors.
They didn't find anything unusual, let alone the teachers' office, but it was still considerable progress.
The party now had the fourth floor right before them.
13:00
『♪─♪─♪』
『Ding—dong—dang─♪dong—ding—♪』
『Ding—dong—dang… dang… dang….』
Before the music started.
Max and Luca had already gone into the classroom.
"I wish lunchtime were a little longer. Too bad."
Max didn't bother replying.
He didn't particularly like small talk to begin with.
And he wasn't close with Luca at all.
"So why did you split from Sinclair? I heard a Blessed One's party is usually pretty much fixed."
"……."
"I'm not forcing you to answer. You just look a little troubled. You feel better if you vent your worries to someone else, right? It's not like we'll see each other again once we clear the dungeon anyway. Do what you're comfortable with."
Max touched his scrunched-up face.
Then he said to Luca in a voice mixed with annoyance.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
"...What?"
"Just because you and I are in the same dungeon doesn't mean we're on the same level..."
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Rattle-
The classroom door opened.
For a moment, silence fell.
Of course, it wasn't because of the vicious conversation they'd just had.
Max's face stiffened.
Luca was the same.
Step, step.
Step, step.
From within the darkness, where you couldn't see an inch ahead,
something calmly entered the classroom.
It resembled a person.
But like the girl, it had no face and eight arms.
Dressed in a sharp suit, it stood in front of the blackboard and addressed the two of them in a bright, lively voice.
"Everyone be quiet! Quiet! It's already long past the bell, so why are you making such a racket? The teacher's here, so take your seats."
Max took a deep breath.
Then he quietly reported the situation through communications.
"I've found something unusual. I encountered a minion in classroom 3-300. It doesn't have a face like the girl..."
"Max."
Max's body jolted.
How does it know my name?
The thing that called itself a teacher
strode toward Max.
"Max."
"……."
Max was the helper.
As a core member of the strategy team for high-difficulty dungeons, he had fought countless battles.
Normally, he should have killed that bastard who was approaching so fearlessly right now.
Even without a sword, he could have ripped a troll's neck off and killed it in one blow.
But why wasn't his body moving?
Maybe his instincts already knew it.
"Max. The teacher is calling you."
The being before his eyes
was one to whom the common sense Max knew did not apply.
Yuben's guide contained the following words.
A dungeon where swords and magic aren't needed.
A dungeon where the things Max had honed all his life might be useless.
"Can't you hear my voice? Do you think I'm a joke too? Do you think my class isn't interesting? Do you think my class itself is meaningless? Do you think what I'm saying is wrong? I've spent my whole life studying to teach you all, and as a teacher at this school I do my best every single moment! But these damn students these days are nothing but complaints! Reporting me every other day! Acting all arrogant, saying it's my life so mind your own business—are you one of those rotten students too?"
Max swallowed hard.
He shook his head against his will.
"This is your warning."
At those words, there was a sharp crack!
Max's right arm snapped in an instant.
-Max? Max?
He couldn't answer Denrid over comms.
Swallowing his pain and screams, quietly enduring was Max's only option.
According to Denrid,
the notoriously temperamental professors at academies often tell students who aren't paying attention in class to get out into the hallway.
His gaze naturally fixed on the hallway steeped in darkness.