Chapter 91
Count Wolfhaufen had clearly come in fully prepared.
Because Dreamland was by no means an easy place.
From the start, he hadn't let his guard down even once.
He had steeled himself for sacrifices, and perhaps even for failure.
But.
But, you know.
"The communication spell has been cut off again."
"So there are only five left now…."
Honestly, he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
It made no sense.
Like twisting a child's wrist.
Dreamland was taking the lives of the knights far too easily.
Without exposing any information in the process.
Secretly, quietly, boldly, that was how it did it.
Meaningless deaths.
Those trained over decades were dying.
They were vanishing helplessly due to some unknown phenomenon.
"Ah…."
Like crawling into lava.
Like a madman running toward a land where a storm had raged.
This was a pointless death.
It was a meaningless death.
"Aah…."
It was impossible to picture it.
He couldn't see a future in which he could defeat this dungeon master.
Even if they painstakingly gathered information.
Even if they distinguished truth from lies through sacrifice.
The dungeon would simply create a new area.
A place that wouldn't even allow information gathering of any kind.
There was no hope.
Magic stones were nothing but an oasis in the desert, a pie in the sky.
They existed, but could never be obtained.
"……."
Beside the count, who kept his head lowered in silence,
Laurencia stroked her chin.
"Interesting."
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Click-
The connection cut off.
There are now only three people left in total.
Count Wolfhaufen's expression was grim.
The mages stayed silent, watching the situation.
Only Laurencia was deep in thought.
Let's use detection magic.
Fortunately, the remaining knights had successfully gathered at the rendezvous point.
The record team discussed the current situation in the elevator in front of the entrance.
It was a discussion about why the knights had died instantly, without a sound or trace.
To put Dreamland's strange phenomenon in a word, it was some sort of gimmick.
If you took a "certain action," you lost your life.
It wasn't simply that you entered the dungeon and died.
There was definitely a cause.
The knight had broken the rules,
and so the result had been death.
That must be it.
The record team had to uncover the rule.
At the very least, so this expedition wouldn't be meaningless.
"There's one thing that's bothering me."
Laurencia spoke.
At some point, the knights had stopped speaking.
Even when they answered, they didn't respond.
The communication spell wasn't cut off.
Which meant they were keeping silent for some reason.
"I think it's better to assume the knights are in a situation close to 'being unable to speak.'"
That was Laurencia's claim.
"Hello, Sir Knight. If you're in a situation where you can't speak, could you gently press your Adam's apple once? Yes, I see. Then are you in a dire situation where you could lose your life at any moment, like 'the Teacher's Class in Area 2'? If not, just stay still. Good, that's not the case."
Laurencia had learned through the communication spell that the knights couldn't speak.
Just as Denrid had once figured out Max's situation.
"Still, that's a relief. At least the knights figured out the keyword 'silence' before everyone died."
In any case, a suspicious sign had just been spotted.
The knight who had originally been closest to the rendezvous point
had suddenly turned the other way, as observed by the detection magic.
It had been puzzling then.
But now that action made sense.
The knight's name was Dolind.
He had been accompanying one of the knights near the village.
The moment his companion's life signs vanished, he acted that way.
Dolind had probably figured out the rule of "silence."
He must have hurriedly turned back to save the others, too.
"Could it be that if you talk, you die? Haha, I see. Wow, this is really hopeless."
If you can't speak, then
communication becomes incredibly difficult by default.
Of course, the record team's information logging itself wasn't impossible.
By pressing the Adam's apple, yes or no should at least be distinguishable.
"Hmm."
Though Laurencia wasn't a cryptography expert.
The improvised method she came up with was as follows.
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1. Ask the knights whether they had any information.
2. If the knights signal yes, complete the sentence one letter at a time from the front.
3. The detailed process is as follows. Slowly recite consonants. When the consonant Laurencia says is correct, the knight presses their Adam's apple.
4. Once the consonants are identified, find the vowels in the same way.
5. After that, repeat until the sentence is complete.
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The maximum time needed to complete one letter was about eight minutes.
To assemble something as simple as "Hello,"
it would take at least 20 minutes, which was so absurd she could only laugh.
"I'm already losing it over the information manipulation, memory erasure, and forced deployment of elite personnel, and now it even throws silence into the mix. This dungeon is seriously impressive in every possible way."
"...Laurencia, the count is right in front of you."
Laurencia shrugged.
As if asking what was wrong with stating the truth, she looked at the mages.
She continued quickly, her voice excited.
"For a brand-new dungeon that only just appeared, there was a reason it had survived this long. I've never seen a dungeon like this. It wasn't even recorded in history. World's first, one of a kind, impossible to clear, haha!"
A mage forcibly covered Laurencia's mouth.
Laurencia mumbled through the hand before closing her lips.
"……."
The count remained silent.
Laurencia's words sounded like mockery, but they weren't wrong.
Should he give up?
Giving up here would definitely be the rational choice.
But.
Then what about my daughter?
The count was disgusted with himself for still clinging on even after things had come to this.
Laurencia quietly looked at the count.
She ran her tongue over her lips, then gave a sly smile.
"For now, let's watch. The knights might show some ingenuity. They're all elite, after all, so let's pin our hopes on them. And maybe, beyond the silence, there isn't actually much else?"
Of course, Laurencia thought there was no hope.
The dungeon master wasn't an idiot.
If Area 5 had been that easy a place.
they wouldn't have allocated the manpower that way.
'Certainty, huh.
Laurencia stared up at the surveillance camera.
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Dungeon exploration, Day 2.
Regrettably, there was no miracle.
In other words, everyone was dead.
The communication spell had been cut off.
Even using detection magic, no one's mana reacted.
We told the knights to use their escape scrolls before they died.
But.
No one could escape.
It was probably an area like the mansion, where using escape scrolls itself was impossible.
The survivors were the flame school mages waiting in front of the entrance elevator.
And Count Wolfhaufen alone.
"……."
As such, one more piece of information was added to the record team's log.
Area 5 had a strange phenomenon to watch out for in addition to silence.
One of the flame school mages sighed.
"…It's difficult."
"I think this is a dungeon that's structurally impossible to clear."
Everyone except Laurencia looked on the verge of rotting away.
Who would've thought it would be this bad?
"Area 1 is a maze, Area 2 an academy, Area 3 a mansion, Area 4 is still unknown, Area 5 a village, and among them there still isn't a fully cleared area…."
"They said there had been sacrifices numbering in the hundreds, including dwarves and humans, and 17 knights. Really…."
In many ways, it was an unreasonable dungeon.
Everyone painfully realized that fact.
Find the rules and proceed to the next area.
A truly simple clearing method, but.
It simply doesn't work.
Information is manipulated, and memories disappear.
Only a handful of strong people can become expedition members.
Despite the fact that repeated attempts are absolutely necessary.
It's full of elements that block repeated attempts.
At least with the means we have now.
Dreamland is impossible to clear.
The mages came to that conclusion.
Inside the wrapping paper of a brand-new dungeon was
a living hell.
Count Wolfhaufen looked at the elevator.
His eyes still held a trace of lingering attachment.
"My lord."
"……."
"Please go now. I understand why the space school mages abandoned the expedition. This is the devil's treasure vault, a place that lures people in. It will never end well."
The mages persuaded Count Wolfhaufen.
"It may feel like the sacrifices of those who have died so far were wasted. But there are times when you have to suppress the desire for gain and accept a loss."
"That's right. Please use the escape scroll now."
At last, the count nodded.
There was nothing he could do by staying.
Running away was the only option.
"Please wait a moment. Please wait. Everyone, before you go, just wait a moment."
Laurencia stopped the group.
Everyone looked at her.
Laurencia grinned.
She held up three fingers.
"Could you give me just three hours?"
"Hm?"
Laurencia said there was something she needed to check.
Of course, that didn't mean she was going into the elevator.
What she was about to do was some sort of ritual.
Everyone looked at her, puzzled.
But.
They didn't ask further.
She raised her finger.
Its tip was pointing at the surveillance camera.
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"Done. Now let's get out of here."
After entering the information into the log one last time,
she told them it was time to leave.
Everyone blinked.
Count Wolfhaufen and the flame school mages alike.
looked at the result of Laurencia's action.
It was a "scheduled explosion."
A flame school combat spell that doesn't activate until the user arms it.
"Didn't Dreamland's dungeon master say we could go outside? I set it up so they'd have a hard time on the way out."
The group looked at Laurencia with even more bewildered eyes.
A scheduled explosion isn't like a landmine.
If there were no way to monitor the inside of the dungeon,
then it would definitely be a meaningless spell.
I don't understand the intent.
But.
As if she had no intention of explaining it from within,
she used the scroll first and escaped.
"Let's go too."
"…Right."
It was the last chance to save A.
And to throw away that last chance so futilely.
His stomach felt as if it were tied up in knots.
The count used his escape scroll.
Was it a blessing or a curse to be able to lose one's memories?
At the very least, this unpleasant and powerless feeling
could be temporarily relieved.
He thought it was the latter, after all.
If I look at the log after going outside,
I'll probably be even more shocked than I am now.
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The count had expected it.
Once he looked at the log, he would surely be several times more tormented.
And he was right.
The count was biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"
The count's curses were close to a scream.
He dropped to his knees.
And smashed his head against the hard floor.
Thud!
He repeated the act countless times.
He didn't care even as blood was pouring out.
Until his head went blank from the impact.
He kept battering his own head, endlessly.
"Count!"
"Calm down!"
The flame school mages stopped the count.
The count kept muttering, over and over, "It was the last chance…," then went limp.
One of them tended to the count.
Another mage looked at the strategy guide in front of the entrance.
And swallowed a groan.
The clearing result was shockingly severe.
And no wonder.
"At Area 5, you have to make a loud noise. The spawned clearer's position is random." That was all there was.
"You seem quite heartbroken."
"You said you needed magic stones for your daughter…."
"Something wearing the shell of a brand-new dungeon. It's truly the worst place."
"Normally, a dungeon is that kind of place… But if the strange phenomena inside there spill out to the outside, like the Cult of Oblivion claims, then, wow, that'd be horrifying."
The flame school mages gave up on clearing it.
The powerless count likely did too.
There was nothing more they could do.
They were going to return to Wolfhaufen territory.
But.
Laurencia, who had been standing apart from the group,
only waved and told them to go on ahead.
"Hm?"
"I have something to check."
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Laurencia found the village near Frostthorn Mountain.
And stayed there.
After that.
Once half a month had passed, she headed back to Dreamland.
"The range of information Dreamland can manipulate is limited to minions and traps. I said that information about the dungeon master, or ordinary happenings inside, wouldn't be manipulated."
Laurencia looked at the strategy guide.
It contained the information about the "one possibility" she had come up with in the previous clear.
"The handwriting is mine, so at least this wasn't tampered with. Good, let's go."
She stepped into the dungeon entrance once more.
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"As expected…."
Laurencia looked at the still-lingering "scheduled explosion."
The duration of a "scheduled explosion" is extremely long—at minimum, it was measured in years.
But the way to disarm it is relatively simple.
Use jamming.
Dreamland doesn't have jamming.
That means there is no way at all to interfere with magic.
She stroked her chin.
It is certainly a devastating dungeon, but.
Maybe Dreamland
wasn't quite so impregnable after all.