Chapter 98
Ant Queen : But this is kind of duller than I expected??
Ant Queen : It's a little different from what I expected...
Ant Queen : Up to now, it feels less like we had to be careful about noise
Ant Queen : and more like you can survive if you just keep your damn mouth shut, yeah.
ㄴNight Raven : Ahem!
ㄴNight Raven : Anomalies need time to warm up, you know.
ㄴCowhead : I saw it...
ㄴCowhead : I ended up seeing it...
ㄴKongKong : This is Dreamland...
ㄴKongKong : And the minions are Death Aliens...
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : I can kind of guess.
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : The round thing in the well
ㄴWhaleWhaleYeah : That's a Death Alien egg, right??
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : Hahahahaha, yeah.
ㄴPsych Ward Chief Patient : If you look closely at the picture in that post, you can see it laying eggs lol
ㄴDIP : So it can reproduce asexually?? Damn...
ㄴDIP : What's the hatching condition??
ㄴGolem King : Judging by the anomalies so far
ㄴGolem King : it probably doesn't need any special conditions.
ㄴGolem King : It lays way more eggs than you'd think lol
ㄴDIP : Isn't this basically a souped-up ant nest??
ㄴDIP : And since the things it spawns are anomalies, you can't even take them down physically;;
ㄴSealed Philosopher : Wow... but this is seriously pretty damn creepy....
ㄴSealed Philosopher : If the only restriction was "can only operate in Silent Village" << if there weren't that limit, fuck, lol
ㄴSealed Conqueror : Assuming you could let it loose outside.
ㄴSealed Conqueror : In theory, a world-ending scenario is possible with just that one minion.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : This is the five-star minion of the anomaly theme...
ㄴThe World Is Cold : DDDDDamn
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Once the newbie levels up again later.
ㄴAnonymous Butcher : Six-star and seven-star stuff will unlock too.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : It really is fucking scary lol
.
.
.
.
.
I folded my arms and quietly stared at the monitor.
Well, I do think the Death Alien's performance was a little less impressive this wave.
But still.
As with the maze and the goblin cave, certain areas need time to warm up.
This Silent Village was no different.
Death Aliens are never just one.
They start with one at first, of course.
As time goes on, they multiply, and since they're apex predators in the food chain, they can't be removed.
To put it in Earth terms,
it's like a giant hornet raid on a neighborhood full of Western honeybees.
Of course,
There's a population cap proportional to the size of the area.
So they can't multiply into a swarm like ants.
Even so,
there were still enough of them to drive intruders into despair.
There really wasn't anything for me to do this wave.
Once the trap activates, even Mallangi and I are denied entry to Area 5.
If I got involved,
it would feel like clearing the dungeon itself would no longer be possible.
Maybe Oblivion had blocked it at the system level.
For that reason,
I started kneading Mallangi.
"Eek."
Lately, Mallangi has gained a new special trick.
It's called clay mode, and basically it feels like I'm molding Mallangi's body however I want.
It feels like kneading slime, so it's really fun.
This time, I made a Mallangi clay figurine.
I'm actually pretty good with my hands, for what it's worth.
Heave-ho.
We're still in the wave, after all.
I should stop playing around.
Even if I have nothing else to do,
I still need to keep an eye on the intruders.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Newbie, ya!
ㄴNewbie : Mhm.
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I just called you for no reason.
ㄴNewbie : Doesn't feel like you just called me for no reason?
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Hahahahaha
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : So now you're a PhD in love too, Newbie?
ㄴNewbie : Maybe lol. Why??
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : It's just...
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Something feels weird
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : Honestly, I wasn't thinking about anything at all
ㄴShibgan Love Dog : I dunno, it's just like... something-something...
I watched the monitor in silence.
It definitely wasn't a pleasant sight.
Anemone was the same as Dragred's case.
Because I don't have the power to bring the dead back to life.
However.
Unlike the fake Yongyonggari, this one was a bit more intricate.
It wasn't intentional,
but it ended up like this.
If it's hard to look at,
should I just not post this part?
No no no no no!
It's not that bad...
It's just that I feel all weird and restless!
Anomalies drive people into the abyss.
They're nothing more than tools to hinder the intruders' progress.
The Count probably knows that too.
But still,
No matter how much you survive today, there's no answer.
If the rest of your life is just more of the same days you've grown used to,
would fake happiness or real happiness matter to that person?
If.
If Count Wolfhaufen were a believer in the brain-in-a-vat theory.
Then Silent Village might be a paradise for him.
"You are getting drowsier and drowsier."
***
Dungeon exploration, Day 2.
The sky was shrouded in fog.
The group gathered in front of the well.
This was a dungeon.
But with comfortable beds and no sound at all, everyone seemed to have slept well.
They were in pretty good shape.
Before heading south, the Noble Slayer asked the Count.
「There was food inside the house.」
「Don't eat it. Make do with the food we brought.」
The Noble Slayer slowly nodded.
There are five major places to investigate in Area 5.
The central village where the group is currently located.
The eastern forest where the alarm went off and the PTSD Knight died.
The western forest, the northern river, and
the southern area no one had been to yet.
「There was a trap in the eastern forest. The knight triggered it, and as a result, he lost his life.」
「Yeah. To a monstrous creature.」
「The other places might have traps like that too, so be careful.」
「Okay...」
They headed toward the southern area.
The Count quietly stared into the well from behind the others as they walked ahead.
Something that should have been in the well was gone.
There should definitely have been a black egg there yesterday.
The round thing that had been floating on the water's surface, that is.
'Where did it go?'
「What are you doing? Come on already.」
「Everyone, look at this for a second.」
The group stopped walking for a moment.
.
.
.
.
.
「So you're saying the black sphere that was there until yesterday is gone?」
「Yeah.」
「This is baffling. What kind of bullshit phenomenon is this supposed to be now?」
The group couldn't brush this phenomenon off lightly.
This dungeon will kill you if you let your guard down.
It was an issue they absolutely couldn't ignore.
But.
There was too little information.
「Could the monster have taken it away?」
「Could the sphere be moving on its own?」
「What even is the sphere? If we leave it alone, does it die?」
「Nothing's happened so far, though.」
「That's true, but... I don't know...」
The Count folded his arms.
After thinking it over, he made up his mind.
「The information is too limited. Anything beyond this is just pointless armchair theorizing.」
They put the matter aside and hurried on.
.
.
.
.
.
Southern plains, an abandoned power plant.
The group blinked.
The massive block of concrete they were facing
was something utterly unfamiliar, something they were seeing for the first time in this world.
An old smokestack rose toward the sky.
Its surface was stained with black soot.
On the concrete outer wall surrounding the facility,
yellow signs reading 'High Voltage Warning' were plastered all over it.
The letters had faded and the edges were cracked, making it look rather shabby.
「Let's go inside.」
「Wait a second.」
「Why?」
「Just in case, I'm setting up some backup.」
The group waited for the black mage for a moment.
He gave an OK sign, as if to say it was fine.
When they stepped inside the building, fluorescent lights came into view on the ceiling.
Most of them were intact, but they didn't work.
There were also strange machines whose purpose they couldn't figure out.
But they couldn't touch them in case there was a trap.
The group moved carefully, watching their surroundings as much as possible.
Then the black mage pointed at something with his finger.
The others' eyes followed to the end of it.
Then everyone's faces lit up.
「It's an elevator.」
How could they not know?
It looked exactly like the one they'd seen at the dungeon entrance.
To get to the next area in Dreamland,
they had to use the elevator.
Unless Dreamland's master was a complete idiot.
there was no way he'd send the group to Area 5 for no reason.
Then, most likely,
elevators would be installed in the other areas too.
That was the group's strongest theory.
Anyway.
There was an exit right in front of them.
The black mage approached the elevator with a spring in his step.
The others also crossed their arms and waited for the doors to open.
'Are we going to the next area.'
The Count unconsciously turned his head toward the direction of Silent Village.
Saying goodbye to Anemone was the only thing weighing on him.
He hadn't even said goodbye yet.
As if he knew what the Count was feeling.
the Noble Slayer patted the Count on the shoulder.
"……."
Yeah.
She was an anomaly.
Just one of Dreamland's minions, carefully crafted and nothing more.
Let's ignore it.
And erase it from memory.
After all, once you leave the dungeon, everything gets wiped clean.
That was enough.
The group waited for the black mage.
But.
Click-clack.
Click-clack.
No matter how many times the black mage pressed the button.
Crrrk.
Crrrk.
No matter how hard he yanked at the doors.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
No matter how much time passed.
the elevator doors did not open.
.
.
.
.
.
「What is going on here?」
「Is it broken?」
「No way. Then how are we supposed to get out of here?」
The elevator wasn't working.
Come to think of it, there was something strange.
It was the display panel.
There should definitely have been a red
「1」 lit up there.
So why wasn't it lit up here?
The Noble Slayer stared silently at the elevator.
Then, as if he'd figured it out, he hurriedly moved his pen.
「This is fake. There must be an elevator in another location.」
Everyone thought it was a decent hypothesis.
A fake elevator wasn't out of the question.
But.
The Count saw it a little differently.
How should he put it.
Compared to the viciousness of the anomalies they'd faced so far,
the idea of a fake elevator felt too trivial.
Rather, if the elevator doors opened
and an intruder boarded alone only to get chewed to bits and die, that would make more sense.
In fact, it was suspicious because it was too ordinary.
「Let's investigate a little more first.」
「That makes sense.」
「Let's get every bit of information we can from here before we go.」
They moved on.
.
.
.
.
.
The group walked down the corridor.
Then Half Ogre seemed to spot something and hurried ahead.
「What's he doing?」
「I don't know either.」
Soon after, the group was shocked.
Half Ogre had lifted the black egg with both hands.
「You crazy pig bastard.」
「What were you thinking, touching that with your hands?」
Half Ogre hurriedly set it down at his feet.
Then he scratched his head and moved his pen.
「No... Count, I just wanted to ask if the black sphere you saw in the well was this...」
「Yeah. That's it.」
The Count nodded, swallowing a sigh.
So there wasn't just one black egg?
A bad feeling hit him.
At that moment, crack.
The sound of glass cracking rang out.
It was a much duller, deeper reverberation.
Since it was such a quiet place, it was even easier to hear.
Everyone looked beneath Half Ogre's feet.
A thin crack appeared somewhere on the egg's surface.
A mucus-like substance slowly oozed out through the gap.
Everyone except Half Ogre stumbled backward.
The huge, dull-witted brute flailed about in panic.
It was hatching.
The egg cracked open.
Something crumpled inside emerged.
"……."
The black mage moved his lips.
It was the quietest curse in the world.
He knew what it looked like.
That was the monstrous creature that had killed the PTSD Knight.
The monster with its long, grotesque limbs
stared at Half Ogre right there on the spot.
Saliva dripped from the monster's gaping head.
It was much taller than Half Ogre.
The saliva streamed down Half Ogre's face.
Drip, drip.
A warm liquid flowed to the floor along with the saliva.
"Ah, ahh……."
Half Ogre finally let out a cry with a terrified expression.
.
.
.
.
.
Drip, drip.
Blood flowed across the floor.
Half Ogre was turned into a skewer.
His throat and lungs were pierced, reducing him to a food ingredient that couldn't say a word.
Goosebumps broke out.
It looked so formidable that anyone who watched it couldn't even think of challenging it.
There was no way to beat that thing in battle.
That was everyone's instinct.
"……."
This was probably their only chance to run.
But.
The black mage carefully raised a hand to stop the group.
It was obvious that thing had to eat.
Normally, it would have ravenously devoured the head, but now it wasn't showing any particular reaction.
That monstrous creature was still watching them.
'We're fucked.'
That was his thought.