Chapter 51
Chase and Gronak investigated the first floor.
Assuming each of them inspected every place carefully, the investigation would take about an hour.
Unfortunately, there was no elevator on the first floor.
That was only natural.
If the Dungeon Master wasn't an idiot, there was no reason to obediently send intruders to the next floor.
'It should probably be somewhere around the 80th floor....'
They couldn't skip the other floors either.
If the Dungeon Master got clever and placed the elevator on an intermediate floor.
That would be a disaster in its own right, so it was a sort of no-win situation.
It was a suffocating situation, but well, there was no other way.
They'd just have to tough it out by brute force and sheer stubbornness.
The first floor was almost completely empty.
Aside from the stairs leading up, there was nothing there but statues and decorations, so it felt barren.
But.
There was one place worth paying attention to, and that was the storerooms.
There were three storerooms in total, located at the far edge of the first floor.
Each had a large window that let them see inside, and the doors were locked.
Each storeroom held different things: one seemed to store the rotten meat collected in the morning, and the other two were presumed to be places where the corpses of goblins killed in the cave so far were kept.
And.
The purpose of the last storeroom was.
"Ah...."
Chase drew in a breath.
Seeing his friend's reaction, Gronak came closer, looking puzzled.
Then his expression also stiffened.
There was a corpse in that place.
It just wasn't a goblin corpse.
It was a human corpse.
Those were familiar faces to Chase.
The remains of the North Kingdom mercenary band that had been lured into the dungeon in the previous sixth raid under the alias "Chade" were being kept there.
Gronak looked around.
After confirming that no one else was there, he asked.
"Are they people you know?"
Chase nodded.
"They're the human mercenaries I ran the last raid with. I don't remember anything, so I don't know what happened."
"I see."
Chase looked closely at the corpses.
He couldn't determine the cause of death, but even though some time had passed since they died.
there were quite a few strange things about the corpses, which weren't rotting.
What bothered him most was the ears.
Human ears were clearly round and blunt by nature.
But these looked sharp, almost like elf ears, and didn't seem to belong to a human at all.
And.
A logbook presumed to have been used in the sixth raid was sitting on the storeroom shelf.
"......"
Chase tried turning the handle, but unfortunately, like the other storerooms, the door was locked.
That was strange.
It was hard to think that my past self had hidden it here to prepare for some possible situation.
The logbook could have just been taken out of the dungeon.
But.
Still, since I don't have my memories... I can't just conclude it's a trap.
"It'd be good to look into a way to open these storerooms too."
"Okay."
The two continued their investigation.
The cave was quieter than expected.
There were several goblins moving through the hallway.
But considering how an enormous number of goblins had suddenly poured down the stairs then, there should have been hundreds of times more than this by now.
'It's not invisibility magic, so is it teleportation magic?'
Chase decided not to think too deeply about it.
He decided to boldly skip over anything he couldn't understand.
That would be better for his mental health.
The investigation continued after that.
From the second floor on, it felt almost like an inn.
Centered around a long hallway, the rooms on both sides were packed with what seemed to be goblin lodgings.
Most of the rooms were empty.
They investigated up to the eighth floor, but found nothing of note.
Chase and Gronak entered an empty room.
"Let's rest here for now. If we're going to quickly make our way to the 80th floor, resting inside is essential anyway."
"Okay. Just in case, let's take two-hour watch shifts. You want to go first, or should I?"
"Either way is fine."
"Then you go first."
There was a table in the room, and on it was a glass bottle filled with muddy water mixed with dirt.
He was thirsty, but there was no way he could drink that.
'As for food, maybe, but I'll have to somehow get drinking water from the merchant.'
Barely suppressing his thirst,
Chase rested, with the ever-present snoring serving as his lullaby for the day.
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Dungeon Exploration, Day 3
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Chase, who had been trying to sleep on the floor, shot to his feet in a panic.
It was Gronak's scream.
"What is it? What happened?!"
"Ch-Chase, I, I, I, I can't see...."
The moment Chase saw Gronak's face, he was horrified.
His eyes were no longer visible.
That didn't simply mean blindness.
"Aaah, aaah...."
Gronak's eyes had changed in a bizarre way.
They were exactly like the eyes of the goblins living in this cave.
Gronak's eyes had become something that could no longer even be called eyes.
To put it simply, they were closer to black beans.
"You...."
The muddy water on the table was gone.
Don't tell me he drank that filthy water?
"You idiot! No matter how thirsty you were, how could you just drink that?!"
"I-I didn't drink it because I wanted to...."
Gronak protested, sounding aggrieved.
"At first I didn't want to drink it either. The color was weird, and the smell was weird too. But then, all of a sudden, it started to smell sweet. Yeah. It looked just like beer, and after that I couldn't bear it anymore...."
Chase bit his lip.
Of all things, he had to lose his eyesight, the most important sense.
There were mountains of places left to explore.
It wasn't just for getting to the next area.
He also needed his sight to buy an escape scroll from the merchant.
If he went blind, he wouldn't even be able to read that damn merchant's memo.
We still hadn't fully figured out this place.
He even had to work a certain amount of time every day for smooth exploration.
If they didn't receive any coins, they could experience considerable pain—or maybe even death.
"I'm sorry. I came here to help, but it looks like I'm only getting in the way...."
Chase pressed a hand to his forehead.
His head hurt.
It was hard to simply call it Gronak's mistake.
This fucking dungeon would drop explorers into the abyss of despair the moment they let their guard down.
The reason they'd been fine until now wasn't because they were good at this.
It was simply because they were lucky.
If he'd been dazed in the hallway at the start.
If he'd kept staring at the merchant's face like Gronak did.
If he hadn't worked, all of those would have been situations that could easily have led to death.
They had all survived by a hair's breadth.
And.
'Raid or no raid, we just shouldn't have come in here.'
If there had been a mistake at all,
it was his own carelessness in bringing Gronak into this dungeon.
If only he'd had his memories.
If only he'd engraved into his soul just how dangerous and terrifying this dungeon was.
He wouldn't have brought his friend to this place for such a ridiculous reason.
Could Gronak's eyes go back to normal?
What if he stayed this way even after escaping?
"......"
If that happened, not only his life as a ranger.
but everyday life itself would be difficult overall.
Guilt surged through him.
The one who needed to apologize wasn't Gronak.
It was Chase.
"There has to be a way. Once we're outside, I'll buy you a meal. Just hang in there a little longer."
"Got it...."
Chase took a deep breath and sorted out his thoughts.
For now, let's try to think as positively as possible.
He had been fine when he went outside.
Then, if he could just escape the dungeon,
there was a strong chance he'd return to normal.
But the problem started now.
Judging by the busy sounds in the hallway, it was definitely morning.
It was the goblins' work hours.
There was a way for Gronak not to have to work.
That was to go outside the cave.
At night, the goblins couldn't come outside.
Which meant that even if he didn't work at all.
if he could just get outside at night, there'd be no need to worry about being beaten.
Would it be okay to stay in the room like this?
The outside was a little tricky.
The goblins would smell him and act like they knew him.
If he ignored them, well, who knew.
His instincts said he'd face a bad outcome.
It couldn't be helped.
For now, he could only test it.
Chase waited in the room with Gronak for a full hour.
Fortunately, no bizarre situation occurred where large goblins burst into the room, flinging the door open.
There was a reason for that.
He had seen the goblins who didn't work yesterday getting beaten senseless.
It seemed there was no supervision during working hours.
Chase led Gronak and carefully headed for the second floor.
There were no goblins in the hallway.
Of course, they weren't completely absent; one would occasionally appear here and there.
Maybe because they were slacking off, they didn't show any particular reaction.
"The room seems safe. I think if we come out a little before inspection time and hide, we might be able to skip work...."
Chase opened the communication line.
Then he slowly let Gronak back into the room.
"I'll signal you. Can you get out of the cave on your own?"
"....I should be able to manage that somehow."
Chase nodded and closed the door.
Without a doubt, this was the best they could do.
He had to keep exploring, even if alone.
After all, the merchant had the escape scroll.
You might wonder what that had to do with anything.
This was only a hypothesis, though.
The merchant took payment when selling goods.
And the price of food and water was eight front teeth.
Chase thought.
If he took the front teeth from the corpses in the storage room.
and offered them to the merchant, maybe they could serve as a substitute.
To test the hypothesis, he needed to open the corpse storeroom.
To open the door, he needed a key, and to get a key, investigation was essential.
'Let's go work. Gather the sweet fruits, eat a little, then continue the investigation... and since I'm thirsty, I should also wet my throat with the drink in the room....'
Chase stopped in his tracks.
What the hell am I thinking right now?
Come to think of it.
There was one strange thing.
Ever since he woke up today, he hadn't smelled any stench at all.
The smell he had never managed to get used to had, at some point, stopped bothering him.
That wasn't something that could simply be brushed off as getting used to it.
Chase looked at the mirror set up in the hallway.
His expression was stiff, and his eyes, nose, and mouth were all normal.
But.
There was one decisive difference from his usual self.
It was the color of his skin.
His complexion looked strange.
He definitely wasn't seeing things—his face was green.
That wasn't all.
His fingernails had also grown longer, and his face had become thinner.
He looked more like a
goblin than a dwarf.
***
Golem King: It's here! Sector 3's special combo───!!
ㄴGolem King: ※ And what exactly is the special combo Golem King is talking about here!?
ㄴGolem King: It means a terrifying finishing move that has the merchant confiscate food and water to induce thirst and hunger
ㄴGolem King: and force them to eat muddy water and rotten corpses.
ㄴGolem King: Ah, that's vicious────!!
Magic Hero: Honestly, if it were a goblin with normal eyes, nose, and mouth, maybe... but becoming a goblin with the nose and mouth swapped, I think suicide would be the right choice...
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Guys, I'm busy because of the wave, so I'm watching the newbie's live stream right now;;
ㄴThe World Is Cold: So what the heck is going on right now??
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Why did that dwarf drink muddy water and end up with his eyes like that
ㄴThe World Is Cold: And why did that dwarf's face turn green??
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Sorry for the clueless move, my bad.
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: I'll explain just this once
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: It's easier if you think of Goblin Cave as a stage with a time limit
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: The more time passes, the closer the intruder gets to becoming goblin-like
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: Not just appearance and body, but eventually habits and even the brain all turn goblin too, basically
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: Eating muddy water and rotten meat speeds that up
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: It seems like about two days after entering the cave, your palate turns goblin-like??
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: The merchant has confiscated the food and water right now
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: so he's fucking hungry and thirsty
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: so imagine waving Pepsi and pizza bread in front of someone like that ㅇㅅㅇ
ㄴI'm the Only One Without Minions: Wouldn't it take incredible self-control to resist??
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Thanks for the explanation
ㄴThe World Is Cold: Then what happens if a Blessed One turns into a goblin??
Head Patient at the Psych Ward: Since the wave ends, the system would probably treat it as death, so there's a high chance they'd resurrect at the temple.
Head Patient at the Psych Ward: But if that's not the case, Dreamland might become the one and only counter-dungeon for Blessed Ones.
ㄴCow Head: Last time, Chase himself had already progressed pretty far into goblinization.
ㄴCow Head: Judging by how he was fine when he came back in, it seems to reset once you escape the cave lol
ㄴCow Head: But I don't know about cases where they become a full goblin
ㄴThe World Is Cold: That's kind of interesting...
Sealed Conqueror: In the end, it's turning into something pretty similar to the last wave
ㄴSealed Philosopher: Nuh-uh, that's wrong
ㄴSealed Philosopher: During the last wave, that bastard was trolling hard right at this exact timing
ㄴSealed Conqueror: Ah, that's true. He's a lot calmer this time, huh??
ㄴSealed Conqueror: Is this that muscle memory thing or whatever ㅇㅇ
ㄴSealed Philosopher: He's calm because he has two escape scrolls, lol
ㄴSealed Philosopher: If he'd only brought one, a deathmatch would be happening right now ㅇㅇ
ㄴCow Head: Honestly, turning into a goblin is insanely over the top, lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴCow Head: Anyway, that bastard was the very definition of a troll last time
ㄴCow Head: but this time, helping his friend is pretty damn gourmet, yeah...