Chapter 79
These days, besides hanging around the gallery and playing with Malrang, I had a new thing to do.
It was this.
Newbie : Please, anybody, play TRPG with me.
TRPG.
An acronym for Tabletop Role-Playing Game.
A game I could call my only hobby before I became a Dungeon Master.
A recruitment post for playing what you could call the greatest entertainment in this world: TRPG.
After becoming a Dungeon Master, I spent my days busy in all sorts of ways.
Dungeon reinforcement, wave defense, live commentary, playing with Malrang, and so on.
It's not like I literally had no time to even mention the T in TRPG until now...
It's just that whenever I tried to bring it up, accidents happened, so I never had a proper chance.
It's not like I'm some dungeon-reinforcement machine, you know.
Honestly, after becoming Dungeon Master, I didn't sleep and still had plenty of spare time.
So I brought it up once, thinking maybe it would be fun to play with the veterans.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : What on earth is TRPG?
ㄴI Have No Minions : No clue... seriously, no clue...
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character : The name alone already smells like something weird.
ㄴTV Head : lol, for real.
ㄴAnt Queen : Is it the name of some bizarre phenomenon??
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : Seeing something we don't know about...
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : means even Oblivion avoids it??
ㄴSkeleton Bones : A TRPG even Oblivion avoids lol
ㄴSkeleton Bones : That's so, so scary.
The reaction is kind of sad.
It hurts to see the names that always leave comments faithfully disappear one by one.
If it's Sarang, it feels like they'd do it no matter what if I asked.
Unfortunately, TRPGs usually need a party of four, so it'd be best to wait for next time.
There are TRPGs that the game master and player can do one-on-one, though.
But those feel a little different from a normal TRPG.
Most of them require a high cringe tolerance, so they aren't recommended for beginners.
Anyway.
One week from now, the location will shift.
I'll finally be able to escape this damn Fire Forge.
I checked the outside through Malrang.
The temporary camp near the dungeon has been dismantled.
And since Fire Forge is quiet too.
It looks like they decided there was no answer and packed up and left.
So many things have happened so far.
Starting with the dwarves, and then the elves of Dino World, even though it wasn't even my dungeon.
And the humans of Wolfhaufen and Dragred.
Thinking back, this location shift had the highest number of invaders ever.
'I miss the goblins and trolls...'
Stupid, but stubborn bastards.
Bastards who'd challenge you to a fight if they had a complaint, but would never stab you in the back sneakily.
In my opinion, you guys are 500 times better than intelligent beings.
Please let the next location shift take me back home.
At the very least, I found myself missing the Roujinrat Great Mountain Range, where my faith in humanity had never once taken a hit.
Newbie : By the way, Sarang hasn't been visible today—anything going on??
ㄴGolem King : An invader came in just now, so we're in a straight-up showdown ㅇㅇ
What.
Really.
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Title : If Newbie Doesn't See This Post, I'm Fated To Die Exactly 39 Minutes From Now, So Hurry Up and Read It, This Is Really, Really Important
Author : BadassLoveDog
Since an invader showed up after a long time, I recorded a video of myself fighting directly!
You have to praise me a lot!
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For real, that vampire dragon looks insanely vicious every time I see it.
How the hell do you even catch that?
It even has regeneration and reflection slapped on it.
And when ghouls come swarming out too.
It's a total scrub dungeon.
ㄴDIP : To brazenly storm into Wallachia like that.
ㄴDIP : Yikes...
ㄴSealed Conqueror : Did he kind of want to kill himself??
ㄴSealed Philosopher : Like 'TheWorldIsCold'?
ㄴThe World Is Cold : That's way too harsh, damn it.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : But if it were me, I wouldn't go there
ㄴThe World Is Cold : I'd just hang myself and be done with it lol
ㄴAnt Queen : Sarang's still got it, huh;;
ㄴAnt Queen : You're still pretty good, yeah.
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : The fact that just making eye contact brainwashes you
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : is seriously, for real, a busted ability
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : To kill the Dungeon Master,
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : you'd have to either hide far away and snipe
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : or fight with your eyes closed or staring at your feet, lol.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : The former is basically meaningless because of the surveillance cameras.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : The latter just means, 'I guess I'll die.'
ㄴCowhead : lol guys, I think I'm in big trouble.
ㄴCowhead : When does the bizarre phenomenon show up??
ㄴCowhead : Why are the Dungeon Master and the minion fighting??
ㄴCowhead : This nonsense gave me cognitive dissonance, what am I supposed to do...
ㄴKongKong : This person is seriously addicted to Newbie live commentary
ㄴKongKong : Chief mod, let's ban CowHead for about a month, yeah...
ㄴDungeon Master Was Disappointed : If you've gotten hooked on Newbie, it can't be helped
ㄴDungeon Master Was Disappointed : lol, but it's been ages since we've had such a textbook live commentary video
ㄴTV Head : Dungeons are, by nature, places to fight.
ㄴTV Head : They're not places to relax the rules and dodge bizarre phenomena, lol.
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.
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Honestly, how should I put this.
Every time I look at the veterans' dungeons, the genre feels different.
I think this is what a real dungeon is.
A little battlefield where minions, traps, and the final boss, the Dungeon Master, deal with invaders.
Of course, a Dungeon Master roaming around inside and personally wrecking invaders was different from the games I used to play, but...
Anyway.
Watching the video where swordsmanship and magic surged dazzlingly made my chest swell.
I cast a sidelong glance at the minions stationed in the core room.
A slime about the size of an exercise ball.
A doppelganger twice as big as that.
A cat-and-mouse sculpture that would be pure hell if it showed up in a dream.
Hiss….
Yeah.
Right now, thanks to you guys, I'm alive.
But so what if you're ugly and scary.
Whether it's a person or a bizarre phenomenon, what's inside is what matters.
I think our bizarre phenomena are even cooler and more badass than vampire dragons.
I am happy to be your Dungeon Master!
Please grow up healthy.
Except for Malrang, you've all already grown up, so you can't get any bigger anyway.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie-yum!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Why isn't there any praise??
Ah, right.
I got so absorbed watching that I forgot to type a comment.
ㄴNewbie : Kyah, our Sarang and Wallachia are so cool
ㄴNewbie : They're really the best dungeon I've seen so far, T_T
ㄴThe World Is Cold : You said Dino World was the best for me...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : So that was just something you said...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : I liked it so much without even knowing that...
Gasp.
I ended up manufacturing a menhera without even realizing it.
ㄴNewbie : So it's tied for first place, then ㅎㅎ;;
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : ...............................
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : ...............................
Fuck.
Why are you doing this again?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I think Newbie Dreamland is the best
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I always put Newbie first, think only about Newbie, leave comments every time Newbie streams, vote for Newbie every single time a poll comes up, and I love Newbie, like Newbie, cherish Newbie, and pour my sincerity into Newbie this much
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Why can't I be Newbie's number one? If I were Newbie's number one, even if I didn't mention it myself, Newbie would have told me I was cool, right? What am I lacking? Does anyone know the answer?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I'm so, so depressed, wronged, and sad that tears are just pouring out and I feel like writhing in pain; I should have died to the invader earlier, then Newbie would've looked my way, right?
Why are you doing this to me.
Is this the real bizarre phenomenon?
It's so scary.
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Anyway.
The menhera issue was safely brushed aside with an ultimate headpat.
What Sarang felt while watching the live stream was
Could I become that strong too?
Even now, the bizarre phenomena are taking care of things on their own.
But in many ways, I'm the one in the position of just watching.
Honestly, going outside still makes me a little nervous.
If I could just give them a satisfying beatdown, I'd actually feel a lot more at ease.
The reason veterans like Sarang can be that strong is largely thanks to their 'traits'.
I do have traits too.
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Owned Traits
【Mental Resistance ★MAX】
【Pain Resistance ★MAX】
【Shape Memory ★MAX】
【Fatal Injury Nullification (1 time)】
...
...
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It might look grand, but...
In fact, apart from Fatal Injury Nullification, which I got by eating the Drake Heart that Sechaham gave me as a gift, they're just the traits Dungeon Masters basically have by default.
Just like minions and traps, a Dungeon Master's traits can also be bought in the shop.
Just as their types differ depending on the theme, traits do too.
For example, Sarang's evil eye that can brainwash people.
Sechaham's evolution into a ridiculously huge T. rex, and so on.
All of that was a trait you could choose based on your theme and buy.
Bizarre phenomena can buy traits too.
But, you know.
【Reviver (★1)】
【Price : 7,000,000P】
【……】
The best-value trait is already this ridiculous.
How am I supposed to buy that?
It'd be more reasonable to buy a ton of minions and traps with this money.
Maybe later, but definitely not right now.
'If only I had some way to protect my own body...'
What I realized while beating up the invaders this time was
that I absolutely cannot be a warrior.
Even with Mental Resistance and Pain Resistance supporting me.
Personally, I think I'm terrible at fighting.
I have no talent whatsoever.
No matter how high my stats are, being clumsy is still being clumsy.
Whether I get excited or scared when fighting...
I don't get a good read on my surroundings, so if I run into a real knightly type, I think I could die.
How should I put it, it was really odd.
I had the guts, but there was an inborn limit.
It felt like I could never reach the level I wanted, no matter what.
Newbie : Guys, do I have no talent for fighting?
Newbie : Honestly, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me bluntly...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Yeah.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : A little, lol.
ㄴI Have No Minions : Yeah.
ㄴI Have No Minions : I'll just be blunt, then?
ㄴI Have No Minions : Even taking stats and traits out of the equation, Newbie is still the weakest...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : At first I thought you'd do well once you were taught, but you're not built for being a warrior.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Of course, if you keep gaining experience and practicing, you'll get better than you are now.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : But in the time you'd spend doing that, it'd feel better to put it into something else.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Because fighting directly comes with risk...
Newbie : T_T
Newbie : Sad...
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie-yum!
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : It's okay, your big sister will protect you.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : We'll absolutely protect our Newbie T_T.
Newbie : hehe...
Come to think of it, this wasn't the time to be recruiting for TRPG.
Starting today, I should train a bit.
No.
Still, the TRPG recruitment is important.
I can't spend all day training, after all.
ㄴDIP : Honestly, I'm also unbelievably bad at direct fighting like you ㅇㅇ
ㄴDIP : So I summon my Sanses and have them fight instead lol.
ㄴDIP : Don't get discouraged, Newbie ㅇㅇ
ㄴDIP : You're number one in Dungeon Gallery when it comes to little schemes
ㄴOrange★ : But why are you suddenly asking about fighting?
ㄴOrange★ : Do you have some Dungeon Master you want to punch?
ㄴNewbie : lol that's not it;;
ㄴNewbie : I mean, it'd be nice if I got stronger, right
ㄴNewbie : and it'd be reassuring in all sorts of ways when I go outside
ㄴMagic Hero : N-newbie...
ㄴMagic Hero : Then what about magic??
ㄴNewbie : !
Magic, huh.
Could I use it?
ㄴNewbie : If I can learn it, that'd be nice.
ㄴNewbie : And it'd be nice if I didn't get caught by detection magic either.
ㄴNewbie : But magic and bizarre phenomena don't seem very related.
ㄴNewbie : Could I actually do it...
ㄴMagic Hero : If you look at your status window
ㄴMagic Hero : it says MP 130...
Ah.
Well, that's true.
ㄴMagic Hero : W-w-well, if you want, I can teach you...
Should I give it a shot?