Chapter 85
Night.
Before the entrance stood Marquess Davirus and the knights.
They looked incredibly excited.
Unlike those going in to raid a dungeon, they didn't look tense at all; if anything, they even seemed happy, which made them feel extremely out of place.
"Shall we head in?"
"We're ready."
"Give the order and we can set out anytime."
A surprise attack from a slime and a troll had left three people injured, but nothing serious.
For good reason.
Night wasn't a dungeon you could solve with brute force.
At night, there was a phenomenon called enthrallment.
It stirred up impulses and ramped up libido.
And the more traps you fell into,
the more time passed,
the more minions you faced,
the more it pushed your actions toward relieving that sexual desire.
It was such a terrifying power that if a raider were 70% enthralled at Night, the dungeon's own system would addict them and suck their essence dry.
Enthrallment had power stronger than any magic in this world.
The only way to break it was to escape.
Of course, at first you could probably endure it.
If the urge got too strong, you could always handle it alone.
If you were someone who knew how to endure,
you could resist the temptation and keep going.
But it was probably too optimistic to expect that indomitable will to last forever.
Minions and traps blocked the raider's path.
Even if you leaped over the obstacles and moved on to the next area,
the moment you gave in to them even once, you'd face irreversible consequences.
Everything you did in Night was a kind of drug.
People who die with happy expressions generally fall into two types.
Those who endure the pain, or those who are drug addicts.
Night was a place that cultivated the latter.
Even if you escape Night, it's not over.
Once you cross the line and your brain learns Night's pleasures even once,
the side effects that follow are impossible to shake off.
Night's true terror lies in addiction.
Even after becoming skeleton-thin, they still smiled and walked into the dungeon.
No matter how different its structure is from ordinary dungeons,
you still have no choice but to be careful.
But.
Marquess Davirus was a little different.
He had the strong mentality(?) to overcome enthrallment and
a healthy body that could withstand pleasure.
Also.
He had ambition.
"This time, I'm going after the Succubus Queen for sure."
According to scholars, minions and traps
resemble the dungeon master.
Then.
wouldn't the master of this dungeon, who grants people unparalleled pleasure, obviously be the absolute best?
Despite being middle-aged, his sexual appetite was stronger than anyone else's.
Though he didn't look healthy at a glance,
he was sturdier than anyone else.
The Dreamland Dungeon Master's description of him as the "breeding uncle" was pretty accurate.
The female knights who secretly looked down on him would only end up crying under the marquess at night.
At those moments, the marquess himself turned into a beast, as if he were a different person.
Even the king of Northland asked the marquess for his secret.
He was, in many ways, an icon of virility and a sex symbol.
Succubus Queen.
The magic stone was one thing, but...
I want to sleep with the dungeon master at least once.
That was Marquess Davirus's biggest goal.
Marquess Davirus had once encountered the Succubus Queen.
When he first faced her, he felt an indescribably deep emotion.
Even now, when he closed his eyes, her figure still lingered before him.
That alluring, coquettish, yet contempt-filled attitude was still vivid.
She was someone even the minions of Night couldn't handle.
In this dungeon, I'm a cut above the Blesser.
Marquess Davirus was extremely confident.
"The injured are a pity, but we'll withdraw. The rest of you, follow me."
"Understood!"
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Day 1 of the dungeon raid.
Marquess Davirus's raiding party had 12 people in total.
The marquess, the raid commander.
And the rest were all knights who could use simple magic.
The reason he hadn't brought any mages was simple.
No spell could do anything to block enthrallment.
In the first place, enthrallment wasn't simple black magic, but a nonmagical supernatural phenomenon—an area similar to the power usually used by the Blesser—so mental barriers didn't mean much.
The only areas where magic was useful were trap clearance and minion extermination.
As for traps, they could still make do by identifying and avoiding them, and knights were enough for fighting minions.
Compared to knights, mages had weaker bodies.
And in many cases, knights also had greater patience and willpower.
Strong will comes from a strong body.
Isn't that what they say?
In Marquess Davirus's view,
he thought there was a higher chance of breaking through Night with knights than with mages.
Also.
The knights were all men.
It's not like there were no female knights in the territory, but once enthrallment gets stronger and stronger, you know?
There were plenty of precedents of people abandoning the dungeon raid and ending up screwing each other to death.
That was why the raiding party was made up of people with the most intimidating-looking faces possible.
If it were a pretty-faced guy,
there was a chance he'd end up becoming a target for their own side.
"At last, it's starting."
"This is getting me excited."
Marquess Davirus's raiding party entered the dungeon.
The scene looked like an underground prison, and the pink lighting created a lewd atmosphere.
Marquess Davirus once again reminded the knights following him of their objective.
"Our goal is to subjugate the Succubus Queen and get our hands on the magic stone."
Although this dungeon bore the disgraceful title of an ero-trap dungeon,
a dungeon is still a dungeon.
What they were after was clear.
The magic stone.
That was the fundamental goal and the pretext.
But.
How should I put it.
the marquess didn't seem all that obsessed with clearing it.
"However, there is something we must value even more than our objective. We are the people who protect the Marquess Davirus's domain. We must not forget our duty. We are the spear and shield that protect the people. Therefore, we must never lose our lives."
The thing you need to watch most closely in Night is enthrallment.
If enthrallment rises beyond a certain point, it can even damage the brain.
So use an escape scroll before that happens.
There's no need to risk your life.
More than bringing back the magic stone and reviving the domain,
make survival the priority.
To sum up the marquess's words,
it's, "Do your job, enjoy yourselves a little, then get out."
It feels completely different from other dungeon raids.
Everyone nodded with excited expressions.
Not even as if they were steeling themselves.
They were happy just being told they could go back on their own when the time came.
"I'm not trying to put you down, but I can adapt to this dungeon's environment longer than anyone else. Get me as far as the core room as possible. That's what you need to do this time."
"For the eternal glory of Davirus...!"
They felt like the most hopelessly messed-up raiding party in the world.
But their enthusiasm was real.
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According to the strategy guide Marquess Davirus wrote himself, Areas 1 through 3 were places laid out like an underground prison.
Of course, if you looked at the details, each area felt a little different.
The first area, where the party was currently located, was said to have succubi wearing scraps of cloth, enticing intruders, with obscene traps lying in ambush everywhere to intensify enthrallment.
The traps in Area 1 were illusion-school magic traps, but
there were so many of them, and the structure itself was incredibly complex.
Unless you were a mage with exceptional knowledge,
there was no way to dispel them, so you just had to dodge carefully.
The dungeon master changed the traps' locations constantly with each wave.
The knights were clearing a path by figuring out the activity ranges of the traps and minions so Marquess Davirus could move on to the next area comfortably, without his enthrallment level rising.
Even Marquess Davirus wasn't invincible.
If he kept encountering traps and minions, it would definitely be bad.
"The left path is dangerous."
"Huh, the right path is dangerous too because of the traps and minions."
"Hmm..."
At the fork in the middle passage of Area 1,
the advance party came back and reported the situation.
No matter which path they took, they could reach the next area,
but each path had its risks.
But.
The knights all seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"I'll go right and lure the minions."
"I'll handle the minions."
"I'll lure the minions……."
The knights stared blankly at one another.
Luring them instead of fighting right now.
Their intentions are way too suspicious.
You can tell a person's enthrallment level by looking at their eyes.
The worse it gets, the more the whites are eaten away by pink.
Depending on how much of the white is covered, you can gauge their condition well enough.
Of course, the party's enthrallment level was close to 0%.
'These bastards...'
They were absolutely itching to do it from the very beginning.
That was the honest feeling they had toward one another.
"Rock-paper-scissors?"
"Sounds good."
"I'm sitting this one out."
"Why are you bailing all of a sudden?"
"I heard that from Area 4 on, women with animal-like physical traits start appearing, ahem, and I'm supposedly famous outside as a bear hunter, aren't I? I judged it would be better to conserve my strength."
Marquess Davirus looked at the knights with a satisfied expression.
***
KongKong : Basically, this is the kind of dungeon it is, haha;;;
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : This is fucking insane lolololol
ㄴKingjjang Evil Spirit : The dungeon's state is completely out of its mind.
ㄴGolem King : Wait, so they decide who deals with the minions
ㄴGolem King : by rock-paper-scissors??
ㄴGolem King : hahahahahahahahahahaha
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : Furry, furry...
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : The furry bro is gathering his strength, yep...
ㄴKing Slayer : Honestly, Furry Bro is kind of likable.
ㄴI Have No Minions : I like how faithful he is to his desires.
ㄴOrange★ : lol
ㄴOrange★ : This is fun.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : This kind of thing...
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : isn't the kind of dungeon I go for...
ㄴCowhead : Hurry up and bring out a weird phenomenon already.
ㄴCowhead : I'm getting way too dizzy.
ㄴAnt Queen : Wow...
ㄴAnt Queen : I'm getting dizzy...
ㄴTV Head : These bastards lol
ㄴTV Head : They weren't even thinking about clearing it from the start
ㄴTV Head : and were full of nothing but pervy thoughts.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : How should I put it...
ㄴSkeleton Bones : They say reality is more unreal than imagination.
ㄴSkeleton Bones : and I guess that was true for real, yeah...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : In my opinion, in Area 7,
ㄴThe World Is Cold : there's definitely some bastard
ㄴThe World Is Cold : who wants to be TS'd, and if you crack them open, it's 100% one, lol
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character : Maybe it's because my brain's been pickled by all the Dreamland live streams so far
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character : that I go, "You go in first, bastard; I'm not going in even if I die"...
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character : Watching the despair-cut documentary on this kind of human zoo,
ㄴSquinty-Eyed Character : that over there is a little shocking...
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : (photo)
ㄴAnt Queen : Why are you suddenly taking a selfie, Love?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I'm making a big effort to show I'm prettier, hehe.
ㄴAnt Queen : Your nails are prettier, though, yep;;
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Fuck you.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : 凸凸凸凸凸
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If I were going to die in Dreamland, I'd rather die in Night.
That was the moment the intruders in my dungeon started to feel like idiots.
Unbelievable.
Even if it is an ero-trap dungeon,
deciding who fights the minions first with rock-paper-scissors is just spectacular.
These insane dungeon-obsessed bastards.
I suddenly became curious about one thing.
Usually, the minions in big-sis dungeons are all female, though.
What happens if a woman goes in?
I asked the gallery.
KongKong : Don't you know what yuri is?
Right.
Of course.
A foolish question, a wise answer.
KongKong : Newbie, look at this
Sis Kong Kong uploaded a file.
A desert dancer's outfit, I guess.
It was a photo of a woman asleep in such a scandalous outfit.
A woman with a great figure wearing a red mask.
Could this be Red Mask?
ㄴNewbie : No, sis, why are you customizing the weird phenomenon like that? lol
ㄴKongKong : It fits, doesn't it?
ㄴKongKong : @~@
Come to think of it, the red Burberry coat
doesn't really fit Et-Dun either.
Nice touch.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : jealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealous
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : jealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousjealousqwertyasdfzxcv...
Anyway.
Sarang was starting to get darker and darker, to the point that even she couldn't handle it.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Kong Kong
ㄴKongKong : Yes
ㄴThe World Is Cold : You should be careful on the way home lol
ㄴKongKong : Is that so?
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Love might even make a curse doll...
ㄴKongKong : I guess...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Still, that's a relief
ㄴThe World Is Cold : When you die, the newbie will probably go with you too lol
ㄴKongKong : lol
ㄴKongKong : If you're unlucky, you'll probably go too, yep;;
ㄴThe World Is Cold : For real;
Anyway.
The intruders were moving forward smoothly.
This is the most dangerous time.
That's when they're easiest to catch off guard.
The big sis seemed to be timing things in her own way, too.
With about eight hours left until my dungeon wave started.
Looks like the highlight is about to kick off.