Chapter 8
Dungeon exploration, Day 2.
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Hob, the hobgoblin horde's leader, wiped his slick head.
Sniff sniff.
The liquid on his head was colorless and odorless.
Hob licked the liquid.
It was just plain water.
Was it raining? No way, not in a dungeon.
Judging by the water leaking from the ceiling, this corridor didn't seem normal.
And yet, the corridor itself looked perfectly normal.
To the clueless Hob, the sprinkler was just a strange device.
So far, the only oddity he'd found was that the corridor walls were soft and bouncy like rubber.
And they twitched from time to time.
Other than that, he hadn't found anything useful yet.
"Hurry."
"Hurry!"
The hobgoblins quickened their pace.
***
Dungeon exploration, Day 3.
Crack!
Crunch!
Hob removed the device attached to the wall.
"Phew."
That had been close.
Before taking a break, Hob had somehow found and destroyed a trap, letting out a sigh of relief.
It was already a huge, complex maze.
If he'd been hit with a status ailment while he could barely make any progress, he'd have been completely lost.
I heard dungeons are usually made up of traps and minions, with the dungeon master guarding the mana stone.
They hadn't even encountered a minion yet.
Not to mention the only trap they'd destroyed was the one from just a moment ago.
It was unsettling.
Nothing currently threatened their lives.
But it felt awful.
The hobgoblins, who had stared at nothing but pure white corridors for four straight days, tried to suppress the rising disgust inside them.
This dungeon was bad for their minds.
Honestly, it would have been better to stake their lives on a straightforward fight among traps and minions.
Just how big was the interior?
Could they really find the exit if they kept walking diligently?
Every fork looked exactly the same.
It made the place feel like an endless space with no end in sight.
"Rest."
"Rest."
The hobgoblins would doze off right there in the corridor.
When they woke up, they'd start walking again.
Was it because of Hob's charisma?
Even in a situation where they could have complained and regretted it, the warriors followed silently.
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, he saw a puddle collecting below.
***
Dungeon exploration ■day.
"There it is!!"
"Found it!! Found it!!"
The manticore had been right.
No matter how complicated a maze's shape was, in the end it was just a single surface.
Using the left-hand rule, you can cover every section without revisiting any, so eventually you can escape a maze.
It wasn't the most efficient method.
But.
It was the only maze-search algorithm the hobgoblins could use.
A door leading to another room.
Something glittered beyond it.
A huge purple gem came into Hob's view.
Its size was definitely comparable to a troll's body.
"It's the mana stone!"
"Mana stone! Mana stone!"
The only means that could surely turn them into great beings.
Without question, the most valuable treasure in this world.
The hobgoblins, face to face with the heart of the dungeon, were thrilled.
This was the moment a week of hellish labor would finally stop being meaningless.
"Hm?"
That was when it happened.
Someone emerged from behind the door.
He was wearing a white coat.
He was about the same height as a human.
Black hair, deathly pale skin, and deep black eyes gave him a strangely eerie look.
With his hands in his pockets, could he really be called human?
Given the strong disinfectant smell coming from the corridor, he had to be the dungeon master.
"Battle ready!!"
"Ready! Ready!"
The hobgoblins drew their weapons.
The dungeon master, despite seeing the hobgoblins' stance, merely moved his fingers as if typing on a typewriter.
The hobgoblins surged forward.
The dungeon master slowly waved at them.
As if he were saying goodbye.
Rumble-
At that moment, a vibration shook the place.
Hob witnessed a phenomenon he couldn't understand.
The corridor walls wriggled.
The sight resembled a living snake crawling across the ground.
The dungeon's walls moved.
Then the exit disappeared.
Neither the mana stone nor the strange man's figure was visible anymore.
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, he saw water sloshing below.
***
Dungeon exploration
■
day.
Dreamland's true nature was a maze that changed in real time.
No.
It was still too early to say it changed in real time.
If they could keep moving the positions of the walls.
Then there'd be no need to reveal the mana stone at the end; they could just change it midway.
Unlike the calm Hob, the warriors fell into despair.
Not only had they missed the exit and the mana stone before their eyes, they'd lost their way too.
At this point, the left-hand rule couldn't be used.
The thought of how on earth they were supposed to move forward from here dominated the hobgoblins.
It was the first time the warriors had looked this helpless.
Hob bit his lip.
They had enough supplies.
Both legs were still working properly.
Let's think positively.
Unlike other dungeons, this one had almost no minions or traps.
That meant...
If they overcame this situation, they'd be guaranteed to get the mana stone.
With a heart that never gives up and enough passion, what couldn't they do?
If they obtained the mana stone, they could become far greater beings than they were now.
Not only would they gain wisdom beyond humans,
they might even gain power and regeneration enough to subdue a troll.
Hob comforted the warriors with those words.
Then life returned to the dead-looking eyes of the hobgoblins.
Having steeled themselves, they moved forward again.
This maze is flat.
It's neither a complex structure nor a vicious trap that teleports positions.
It might take a long time.
But they could definitely do it.
***
Dungeon exploration
■
day.
They couldn't destroy the walls.
They couldn't break what even a troll couldn't break.
Walk.
After passing a fork, they marked the wall with a spear.
This was to keep them from taking the same passage more than once.
We learned this method in extreme circumstances.
A maze isn't infinite.
Once they'd confirmed there was an exit, there'd be nothing to fear.
There'd be nothing to fear.
There'd be nothing to fear.
There would definitely be nothing to fear.
They brainwashed themselves that way.
Otherwise....
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, the water had risen to their ankles.
***
Dungeon exploration
■■
day.
Hope was gone.
No, it had never been there in the first place.
Ever since the moment we entered Dreamland.
The moment we found the core room again.
The maze wriggled once more, determined to deliver despair.
This goddamned dungeon had been mocking us from the start.
Telling us we could escape, that we could leave with the mana stone.
After making us somehow believe in hope, the moment we tried to seize it.
It snatched it away so easily, like overturning a banquet table.
I can't see the path at all.
No matter how much we walk, it's the same scenery.
Are we really moving forward properly this time?
The mana stone doesn't matter anymore.
Why had we been so foolish as to want to become great?
I want to go home.
Please, let me go home.
I don't want to see this disgusting corridor anymore.
I want to see the blue sky so badly it hurts.
Not this strange light pouring from the flickering white lamps.
I want to bask in warm sunlight.
Splash, splash.
A sound like walking on a beach rather than in a corridor drifted over.
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, I saw....
***
Dungeon exploration
■■
day.
I couldn't sleep lying on the floor anymore.
If I couldn't beat the fatigue, I'd drown right there.
The once-sturdy green skin had turned wrinkled.
If someone accidentally stepped on it, it looked like it would be crushed flat.
***
Dungeon exploration
■■
day.
They started swimming.
Because that was more efficient for moving forward.
Since most of them had lived in the mountains, many were not used to swimming.
Still, their survival instincts were strong.
Most of them learned to swim by instinct.
Of course, there were some who couldn't adapt.
Since he couldn't keep up, they left that one behind.
It was the first time they'd abandoned a companion.
***
Dungeon exploration
■■
day.
The device attached to the ceiling kept dropping water droplets endlessly.
Water droplets were falling.
It wasn't raining.
Then why had half the corridor ended up submerged in water?
They couldn't understand it.
Even so.
They went on.
They went on, regretting it.
It was the only choice left to them, as they were swallowed by fear.
Their skin cracked open, and bone showed through.
It was the first time they'd learned that staying in water too long ruins flesh.
Drip
Drip
Drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, I could clearly see my terrified face.
***
Dungeon exploration ■■day.
I was stupid.
Driven by desire and greed, I led the warriors to their deaths.
The water keeps rising.
At this rate, the space to breathe will disappear entirely.
There was only a bleak future ahead.
With hope gone, I could no longer comfort the warriors.
Besides the ones who sank and died.
There were even some who, fearing they would drown to death, took their own lives.
I'm scared.
I don't want to die.
I want to go home.
I'm hungry.
I want to get out of here.
"Ah."
Drip, drip-
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Hob looked up.
***
Dungeon exploration ■■day.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
***
KingJjangEvilSpirit : Poor hobgoblins... It's the newbie evil spirit, dai...
MagicHero : I don't think we should talk back to New-New-Newbie-nim...
AnonymousButcher : That was satisfying again.
***
RoarRoarYeah : This weird-phenomenon theme has insane performance.
ㄴTVHead : If the intruder doesn't break through the maze within the time limit, it's guaranteed instant death lol
ㄴSkeletonBones : How is a trap named Living Maze lol How is the intruder supposed to know that you can't get out unless you feed the maze?
ㄴ3MHamster : The changing structure is the real kicker...
ㄴPsychWardTopPatient : That sprinkler?? It didn't even seem like it could be broken, damn, that's broken as hell.
ㄴCowHead : Hmm... Kind of makes me think of the digestive organ called the 'stomach'.
***
GolemKing : Still, steampunk has more romance to it.
ㄴDIP : That's a bit much lol
ㄴGolemKing : What the fuck, man.
***
SlyLoveDog : The newbie is crazy handsome ㅠㅠㅠ
ㄴKongKong : Agreed...
ㄴIHaveNoSubordinates : Honestly, that's a little surprising. I thought he'd look gloomy...
***