Chapter 70
Kingjjang Evil Spirit : Damn, how the hell did this bastard escape??
Kingjjang Evil Spirit : I thought he'd go into the elevator, but he's been waiting out there till the very end;
Kingjjang Evil Spirit : Looking at this, you really do have a long life, yeah.
ㄴDIP : Hmm...
ㄴDIP : The farther it goes, the more the intruders start using their heads.
ㄴGolem King : Once the data piles up, it can't be helped, yeah.
ㄴGolem King : The reason the intruders advanced to the next area in the first place, lol,
ㄴGolem King : is because they can use escape scrolls, so they can leave anytime.
ㄴGolem King : It started from that careless mindset.
ㄴGolem King : I guess expeditions will probably keep going that way from now on...
ㄴI Have No Minions : An intruder who can use communication magic waits in front of the entrance elevator.
ㄴI Have No Minions : They record in the log what others have learned and leave safely.
ㄴI Have No Minions : Then at least it prevents the tragedy of leaving empty-handed.
ㄴI Have No Minions : Of course, that only works on the assumption they're stronger than Newbie, yeah.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : Hm... but wasn't that revealing Newbie's identity too quickly?
ㄴMagic Hero : No no no no no no no
ㄴMagic Hero : It was an either-or choice anyway...
ㄴMagic Hero : Either give the information on Area 1, or reveal the Dungeon Master's interference...
ㄴMagic Hero : And the latter is honestly risky, so it's not a method you'd use often either, yeah...
ㄴAnt Queen : Well, any method has its pros and cons.
ㄴAnt Queen : Personally, I think Newbie's choice was the right one too, hehe.
ㄴAnt Queen : There's a saying about being penny-wise and pound-foolish, too, lol.
ㄴAnt Queen : Dungeon Master interference can only be used on weaklings anyway.
ㄴAnt Queen : If you save it, it'll just turn to shit later.
ㄴTV Head : And revealing it is, in many ways, what forces the intruders to step up their game, isn't it?
ㄴTV Head : If anything, this makes it more burdensome for the raider, yeah.
ㄴTV Head : I think it's still a gain even if the information is written down.
ㄴKongKong : Then isn't fewer intruders coming in a penalty;;
ㄴTV Head : If you're going to nitpick point EXP like that, you bastard, just have Newbie kidnap intruders from outside.
ㄴKongKong : lolllllllll
ㄴTV Head : Honestly, these fucking bastards should be thanking Newbie.
ㄴTV Head : If Newbie had a shitty personality, the Sa Kingdom and the Blessed Ones and everything outside would be fucked right now.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : Every time I watch Newbie's live feed, I always feel like...
ㄴSkeleton Bones : the intruders, with their so-called new methods,
ㄴSkeleton Bones : basically like that meme of a kid with an index finger raised,
ㄴSkeleton Bones : every time they go, "I've cracked it. The core of the anomaly!" I lose all my gloomy thoughts and get happy, lol.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : At this point, Dreamland might as well be my laughter vitamin, yeah.
ㄴCowhead : So when the hell are you going to show us a new area?
ㄴCowhead : Newbie, at this rate are you going to turn into that old man?
ㄴSealed Conqueror : They say old ox meat is tough, so I guess I'll have to bring a pork cutlet mallet.
ㄴSealed Philosopher : If he dies, we'll just turn him into a hamburger patty, yeah...
ㄴCowhead : You fucking bastards.
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...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : So.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Is Dragred going to come back to Dreamland?
ㄴDungeon Master Was Disappointed : Personally, I wanted him to die this time.
ㄴDungeon Master Was Disappointed : Too bad.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Agreed.
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : What goes around comes around. Justice must be done. Evil must be punished.
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : He's going to come back anyway.
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : Even if it's not Newbie's dungeon.
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I sat at my desk and wrote up the post.
It wasn't anything major, just to organize the information that had been leaked so far.
I'm a person who's pretty used to digital tools in a lot of ways.
Doing it this way is much more convenient.
This time, it had ended up in the hands of Count Wolfhaufen, whose influence was far greater than Fire Forge's.
And because of Aboralis's scheme, its notoriety had spread far and wide.
There might be quite a few intruders coming in.
I figured it would be better for me to keep that in mind too.
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Title: Dreamland Leak Summary.txt
【Ink Rat】
There's basically nothing the intruders can do.
【Memory Cat】
There's basically nothing the intruders can do.
【Elevator】
Not a single bastard has died here since the dwarf.
This place is wide open as hell ㅠㅠ
【Maze】
We know it exists.
We know it fills with water.
But we don't know that the maze's structure changes.
And we don't know how to get out.
【Doppelganger】
We know it exists.
The countermeasure written by Ink Rat is total bullshit.
【School】
We know it exists.
Class time = dark hallway.
Break time = free exploration.
Lunch time = free exploration.
That's about what I wrote down.
What Ink Rat changed it to
I'll have to check later.
【Discipline Committee Head】
We know it exists.
I wrote down that it confiscates your belongings.
What Ink Rat changed it to
I'll have to check later.
【Teacher】
We know it exists.
No answer to a question = one warning broken.
Warnings accumulated = death
That's about what I wrote down.
I don't know the countermeasure.
What Ink Rat changed it to
I'll have to check later.
...
...
The things I didn't write down are the ones whose identities the intruders don't even know.
They probably know by now about gimmicks where escape scrolls can't be used, right?
The Dungeon Master's contempt for the weak must be obvious to them by now too.
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Huh, now that I look at it, most of the countermeasures are ones I don't know.
Still, not a single area has been breached yet.
Looking at it this way,
Ink Rat and Memory Cat are really absurd minions.
I thought at least one would be breached by now, but at this rate, even if I do nothing for years, intruders might still not be able to reach the core room.
Dreamland is an expanding dungeon.
Even if one gets breached, I can just make a new area later.
Even the only thing you could call a counter to it, the Blessed Ones, don't want to come to Dreamland in person.
I have plenty of time and room to breathe.
Even after coming back with the information this time, there was no need to feel rushed at all.
Shibgan Love Dog : Newbie~!
ㄴNewbie : Mm-hmm!!!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Haa... seriously...
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Why are you talking so cutely??
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Why do you keep teasing and flirting like that??
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : You're really going to get yourself into big trouble if you keep that up??
존나 당황스럽네.
제가 언제 그랬어요.
ㄴNewbie : Rape is bad, love
ㄴNewbie : So why'd you call me???
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : How much was the reward this time? I'm curious ㅠㅠ
ㄴNewbie : Hold on!
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LV. 110
Class - Dungeon Master
Dungeon Theme – Anomaly
Population – 13/60
Device count - 9/60
Point - 150000
STR - 120
DEX - 120
CON - 120
MP – 120
UN – Newbie
UC - dm_6_666666666
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ㄴShibgan Love Dog : ????????????
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : At level 110, 15 soldiers is easy mode now.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Looking at the level, that had to be true.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Why are you making so many points????
ㄴNewbie : Hehe, the mansion's a real cash cow.
ㄴNewbie : Think of it like using a money-duplication coupon during a burning event.
ㄴNewbie : It's super busted, lol.
ㄴNewbie : The Dragred rewards were pretty sweet too.
ㄴNewbie : I was thinking of using it this wave too,
ㄴNewbie : but I decided it'd be better to save it a bit.
ㄴNewbie : Anyway, I was going to post it all at once when it was over.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Aha!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : But what do you mean you'll post it all at once when it's over? The wave's already over, isn't it!
ㄴNewbie : lolololol
ㄴNewbie : I can now tell just by looking at someone's eyes when they're leaving whether they'll come back in or not.
ㄴNewbie : Dragred is one of the ones who's going to come back in, so that's why I said that.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : What's that...?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Is that some kind of anomaly trait... ?
ㄴNewbie : Nope, just intuition.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : What the hell is that, lol.
ㄴNewbie : Wanna make a bet????
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Oh damn, I love that.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : If Newbie wins, let's just do a kiss, and if I win, a French kiss??
ㄴNewbie : What in the world are you talking about...
Except for Jeko from the Manticore party, most of the guys who used escape scrolls seemed to want to come back in again, so at this point I kind of think Dreamland might be a dungeon with a dangerously alluring charm.
Is this that peach-blossom luck thing or what?
What made me realize that was that the bastards who try to clear dungeons are mostly not normal people.
There are perverts who, even when they face anomalies, don't get scared, and instead feel a rush as they try to clear them.
Representative examples are Yuben, Max, and Chase before the mercenary incident, and Dragred had exactly that kind of look in his eyes.
Of course, when it's time to die, they all tremble and regret it.
But once they come back to life, it feels like they'd come right back in.
There are really so many strange people in the world.
"By the way, communication magic is kind of annoying."
"Eek......"
This time, the intruders' chosen exploration method was to leave one person in a safe zone and have the others investigate while writing down the information.
They say communication magic can be easily neutralized with jamming, but unfortunately the Anomaly theme doesn't have any jamming devices.
At the moment, there's no way to block communication magic itself.
Of course, it's not like the theme itself doesn't have one.
There's one I'm keeping an eye on, but I'll have to wait a bit before I can buy it.
"Hm. Honestly, even if I don't go as far as jamming, it wouldn't matter as long as I can somehow make them move on to the next area, but that's a little tricky."
In Dreamland, there are a total of three places that can be called safe zones.
One is the elevator carrying a lone intruder, the second is the entrance corridor, and the third is the spawn area.
According to Dungeon Gallery veterans, Oblivion designates the intruder's spawn area as a safe zone when a wave begins to prevent system spawn-killing.
In the spawn area, minions and the Dungeon Master can't interfere, and traps don't properly work either.
Of course, Ink Rat and Memory Cat are a bit of an exception.
The closing-tag minions seem like they operate in the space between the dungeon and the outside world, anyway.
If an intruder deliberately stays in the spawn area, it's hard to interfere through anomalies.
That's why, in Secha-ham Dungeon and the others too, minions and traps are only placed once there's a certain distance from the spawn area.
"I guess it'd be better to just wait it out."
"Ehk."
Therefore, reinforcing the entrance corridor is off the table.
Honestly, it's ridiculous that there haven't been any casualties up to now.
At this rate, Dreamland is already a crazy dungeon with no conscience.
Let's give them something.
The information gets manipulated anyway.
Anyway, if you keep coming in.
I'll just make a new area.
Go ahead and keep at it.
"Ehk."
"You already ate a lot this time. Wait a bit. It'll be here soon."
I patted Malangi, who was puffing itself up.
***
Count Wolfhaufen's domain.
Dragred submitted the information he'd learned so far to the count.
The count's eyebrows twitched.
Because the results were pitifully meager compared to the sacrifice.
Was Reilo killed?
Dragred lowered his head.
"……I have no excuse. Judging by the log, he is confirmed to have died inside the dungeon after taking the lead to calm the soldiers."
The count swallowed a groan.
"Then the reason you pulled the army back was...?"
"Because I judged that ordinary soldiers wouldn't be able to clear it. Lord Aboralis said to send as many people as possible into the dungeon to figure out the rules of the minions and traps, but that method was wrong. Investigators must at least be able to fight Dreamland's Dungeon Master."
The Dungeon Master can interfere.
That was written in the log.
Oddly enough, this part's handwriting hadn't changed.
Manipulated information always changes handwriting, whether it's true or false, but maybe the Dungeon Master's information can't be manipulated.
That was why Dragred was convinced Dreamland had to be cleared by an elite force.
At the very least, in the last expedition he survived, and unlike the soldiers, the log said Reilo had uncovered meaningful information in Area 2.
"From the next raid onward, I'll have to go there myself. The Dreamland raid isn't just about mana stones; it also has the pretext of saving the North Kingdom... so pulling people from the knight order for it should be easy."
"……."
"Of course, you're coming too, Dragred."
Dragred obediently nodded.
"……I thought you'd obviously refuse to raid the dungeon."
The count looked surprised.
Because the answer he'd gotten was unexpected.
"If the Count orders it, there's no way for me to refuse, is there?"
Dragred gripped the pendant.
It was a kind of shackle.
A device that made it possible to trust someone born in the dungeon.
As long as Dragred didn't remove it from his body, he had to obey the count's words.
"That's true, but your eyes are different from before."
"…Are they?"
"Well, compared to livestock being dragged to the slaughterhouse, they're much better looking now."
Dragred felt his own face.
He hadn't noticed any difference when he looked in the mirror.
"Then let's get started."
"Understood."
And so they prepared for the 7th Dreamland raid.