WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 85: Grave King Necledin (1)

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The Undead Dungeon, where all publicly known information was limited to the outer fortress.

That was why Alicia had made thorough preparations for taking the inner fortress.

"Since we have no information, this may be a far more difficult assault than yesterday's. It's common sense that the inner fortress would be harder to clear than the outer one."

Normally, that would be true.

But the Undead Dungeon was unusual in that it was divided into three areas.

There was no notable boss in the inner fortress. At most, elite monsters and ordinary mobs appeared there.

Unlike yesterday, Kaizel's elite troops had joined us as well.

The occupation ended so easily it was almost anticlimactic.

"What a shame. All that preparation feels wasted."

With the inner fortress secured in no time, the path to the final area finally opened.

The decisive battle would be tomorrow.

We began preparing for the final fight.

A little later, Alicia gathered us after finishing her discussion with the soldiers.

"Judging from the dungeon's structure, the next area is the last. I'll share the final operation."

The outline of the operation was not much different from today's.

Kaizel's unit would lead the charge, and we would overwhelm the boss through sheer numbers.

A simple yet reliable plan.

"Kaizel's unit just returned from scouting. Fortunately, it seems they weren't denied entry at the entrance as they were on the first day."

"Is that so?"

That was certainly unexpected.

'I thought they'd obviously block us.'

Maybe the assault would end more easily than expected.

Perhaps the uneasiness I'd felt until yesterday had just been needless worry.

"I've also called in additional support troops, just in case. They'll be able to respond immediately if anything happens."

Still, the discomfort lingering in the back of my mind refused to fade.

Tomorrow, we would face the dungeon's final boss, Necreddin, the Grave King.

The king of the undead, a lich, was the first boss in the original game to introduce a mob-summoning pattern.

The moment the battle began, he summoned an undead army and calmly retreated to the rear.

Until every summoned monster had been dealt with, it was impossible to inflict any real damage on his true body.

The problem was that he never stopped summoning until he entered his second phase.

And he didn't just sit back and watch.

He buffed the summoned undead and intercepted attacks from afar. He was a collection of utterly awful patterns.

Normally, players learned how to deal with summoning patterns through Necreddin.

Using that experience, they would then face Malias, who used far more troublesome summoning patterns.

Necreddin was the preview, while Malias was the real lesson.

But now, the order had been completely reversed.

We had already defeated Malias.

He had been weakened, but it was like taking the final exam before studying the material.

Thanks to that, Alicia and Mine knew Malias's patterns to some extent, so they wouldn't panic too badly when faced with summoned mobs.

All preparations were complete.

"We march at dawn tomorrow. Does anyone object?"

No one opposed Alicia's declaration.

At least on the surface, her plan was perfect.

That night.

Unable to fall asleep, I got out of bed.

To shake off the anxiety lingering in my heart, I headed to the station and entered Halibal Dungeon.

I wanted to make one final check, just in case.

『Isn't tomorrow the final battle? Are you sure you don't need rest?』

Renee asked as she idly stroked the sheep's wool.

"Just in case. At times like this, I feel better if I at least warm up."

『What? I thought you came because you missed me.』

Renee puffed out her cheeks, but unfortunately, I wasn't here for her today.

I pointed to the Clown card she was holding out.

"Summon Malias."

A familiar shadow slowly rose behind me.

[Stampede has begun.]

This was the final rehearsal for facing Necreddin.

There was no better practice opponent than Malias.

The problem was that Malias here was a version far weaker than in the original game.

When Malias waved his hand, four doll monsters I'd fought countless times were summoned.

Shhk!

With a casual swing of my sword, all four monsters collapsed like fallen leaves in a single blade gust.

I clicked my tongue as Malias, flustered, hurriedly tried to use Thousand Knives.

"Tsk."

It was too easy.

'There's no point in practicing against these things.'

What I needed now were monsters that could at least compare to the undead Necreddin would summon.

That was when it happened.

『Huh? That's possible, though.』

"What?"

『This is your dungeon. You're the owner. Didn't I tell you that you can do whatever you want with what's inside?』

'Whatever I want?'

Wait. Then...

I closed my eyes and wished for it intensely.

'Disappear.'

The Malias before me scattered like smoke.

Once again.

'Appear.'

The scattered smoke gathered again, and Malias reappeared.

'Good. Then...'

This time, I added a more specific image.

'Summon monsters strong enough to give me a hard time.'

The moment that thought ended, Malias waved a hand through the air.

Then something unexpected happened.

"Uh...?"

Four Varhatan appeared before me at once.

The doll monsters Malias summoned had been replaced with Varhatan.

[Stampede has begun.]

How was this possible?

『I told you, didn't I? You're the owner of this dungeon. Changing the type of monsters that appear and adjusting the difficulty should be easy enough, shouldn't it?』

I never expected something like this to be possible.

Krrrrrr──!!

The roars of four Varhatan shook the entire temple.

『What do you think? This should be more than enough for practice, right?』

Practice?

"...Definitely."

She was right.

Of course, Varhatan was now an easy boss for me to handle.

But four of them had appeared at once, and Malias would be supporting them. Even for me, that would surely make for an extremely difficult fight.

'Right. If I'm going to practice, it should be at least this much.'

I tightened my grip on my sword.

Behind me, I sensed Malias pull out his daggers with a mad laugh.

Four shadows rushed in from every direction.

There was nowhere to run.

I could only break through.

And so, the practice continued until dawn.

⁎⁎⁎

The advance began the following morning.

"Maintain formation! We're entering the dungeon immediately!"

But the moment Kaizel stepped into the dungeon.

Crackle!

"...What?"

The demonic energy at the entrance repelled Kaizel.

Crash!

"Urgh!"

Kaizel was thrown far backward and stared at Alicia with a stunned expression.

Alicia was just as shocked.

"Wasn't entry possible without restriction until yesterday?"

"Yes, it was. But why has it suddenly...?"

Soldiers who had yet to grasp the situation approached the entrance one after another, but the result was the same.

The wall of demonic energy denied them entry.

'The same phenomenon as on the first day.'

The difference was that the six of us had been inside the dungeon then, while no one was inside now.

Alicia frowned.

"Has clearing the dungeon itself become impossible?"

Mine cautiously stepped forward.

"Please wait a moment. Perhaps..."

As everyone watched, she reached a hand into the darkness at the entrance.

Swish.

Her arm slipped into the darkness without any resistance.

"Huh? I can... get in?"

Smack!

Alicia slapped Mine across the back.

"Eek?!"

"Say something before you move! What would you have done if you'd gone in on your own and gotten trapped inside?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

'The soldiers were rejected, but Mine passed through.'

Something came to mind.

I immediately walked through the soldiers to the entrance.

Then, without hesitation, I pushed my hand inside.

As expected, I felt no resistance.

After confirming that I could freely enter and leave, I turned to Alicia and Aren.

"You two should try it as well. It'll probably work."

"What?"

As expected, both of them could enter and leave the dungeon without any problem.

"What is this...?"

"It seems that only students enrolled at the academy are permitted to enter."

Academy students.

In other words, playable characters.

But since Pasha, Mar, and I could enter, it seemed that any academy student could enter even if they weren't playable.

"The dungeon deceived us," Alicia said.

Her voice had sunk low.

"Yesterday, it willingly opened the way and made us lower our guard. Then today, it binds the feet of our core forces. This is..."

"Yes. It's a trap."

A trap clearly intended to screw us over.

"Your Highness. I believe it would be best to withdraw for now."

"Why?"

"The criteria are far too uncertain. We cannot prove the hypothesis that only academy students can enter. We should summon the instructors first and confirm..."

Alicia scoffed at Kaizel's words.

"You know as well as I do that those hypocrites will never come."

"That is..."

"More importantly, those who can enter are standing right in front of us. We cannot exclude them solely because it is dangerous. Dungeon assaults have always involved danger."

She looked at me and added, "But the most important thing is what those involved think. What do you think of this situation?"

"This is better, if anything."

I answered without the slightest hesitation.

"The soldiers are certainly strong. But that only applies when they're fighting ordinary monsters."

"Go on."

"Having more people isn't an advantage when facing a boss. They're more likely to get in the way. They could be caught in the boss's area attacks and wiped out, or interfere with our movements."

The dungeon, or whoever had designed this situation, might have been laughing at the thought of screwing us over.

But I saw it differently.

I looked over Alicia, Mine, and Aren in turn.

A buffer, a healer, a sub-damage dealer, and a main damage dealer.

Wasn't this perfect?

"Why not look at it this way? The four of us. Only the elite remain."

At the mention of four, Aren's shoulders twitched.

I hadn't planned to have her join the boss battle from the beginning, either.

As on the first day, I had intended to leave her in the rear to handle the dungeon mechanics.

But now that it had come to this, there was no reason not to use every card available.

"There's no need to worry. Didn't I say from the start that the three of us had more than enough chance of winning? Now Aren is included in those odds."

At my words, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Alicia's stiff face.

"Kuhehe...! Did you hear that, Kaizel?"

"But, Your Highness! Even if there is only the slightest chance...!"

"If my sword says it is fine, then it is fine. And you know, don't you? That I have already bet everything on my junior."

Aren cautiously approached and asked, "...Is it really okay if I come along?"

Complex emotions crossed her eyes.

"If we succeed, attention may turn to me. I might take away the recognition you should receive."

"What does that matter?"

"...What?"

"You said there was something you had to do. That you wanted to defeat the Evil God not as the Child of Prophecy, but as the swordsman Aren Bright. This is just part of that."

The uncertainty in Aren's eyes settled.

"I need you."

After those final words, she asked no more questions.

She simply gripped Sun Shine tightly and nodded with a determined expression.

Alicia turned to Kaizel and gave her order.

"We will now enter the dungeon to clear it. You will wait here until we return with news of victory. That is an order."

Faced with her firm tone, Kaizel could no longer argue and dropped to one knee.

"Then let us raise the curtain on this stage."

With that declaration, Alicia threw herself into the darkness without hesitation.

Mine and Aren followed behind her.

The moment I stepped inside last, the entrance closed.

Boom!

⁎⁎⁎

The moment we stepped into the new space, a suffocating silence settled over us.

A vast hall stretched out before us.

Far in the distance stood a small door.

A long red carpet extended from the entrance to the door. Dozens of skeletons holding swords and spears stood in formation on either side.

It was the same scene as in the original game.

And yet, it was completely different.

Normally, the instant we set foot here, dozens of monsters would pour out and prevent us from reaching the boss room.

But now, the only thing filling this space was a chilling silence.

"It is certainly a trap."

"Yes. It seems so."

"Well, a dungeon's very existence is practically a trap for humanity, so it isn't anything special."

We walked along the red path and stopped before the boss room door.

The space we were in also served as a waiting room before the boss battle. We had to finish all preparations here before entering the fight.

The moment we opened the door and entered the boss room, the battle with Necreddin, the final boss, would begin immediately.

"Check your Shards and equipment one last time."

"We should keep Antidote Herbs ready as well, just in case."

For some reason, a shadow had fallen over Mine's face from the moment we entered.

She kept looking around nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know either. But somehow..."

"Do you have a bad feeling?"

"No... I feel... sad. Something feels... tight in my chest... My heart..."

'Sad?'

That was when an eerie yet strangely beautiful song rang out from beyond the door, breaking the silence.

"Ah...! That voice...?"

Mine murmured blankly, then grabbed the doorknob as if possessed by something.

"Wait!"

Alicia's attempt to stop her came too late. Mine had already opened the door halfway.

[Unique Ability - Rewind Action 0 / 3]

[※Unique Abilities can only be used in boss battles.]

The door opened, revealing a throne directly ahead.

A faint figure sat upon it.

"Is that the boss?"

Necreddin, the Grave King.

But for some reason, he looked different from how he had in the original game.

'...A woman?'

Necreddin, the Grave King, was supposed to be a lich with nothing but bones left. A male skeleton, at that.

Suddenly, Renee's words from yesterday flashed through my mind.

'In my dungeon, I can do whatever I want?'

The Dungeons of the Evil God had no concept of an owner.

But they had an equivalent.

Someone known as a bishop.

Malias of the Beast Dungeon.

Eliver of the Doll Dungeon.

Naturally, there was a bishop who governed this Undead Dungeon as well.

If he could control the Undead Dungeon according to his will, like I could control Halibal Dungeon...

'...Fuck.'

[Welcome, intruders, and...]

An unfamiliar voice echoed from the throne.

[My beloved child, Mine.]

But while the voice was unfamiliar to me, it clearly wasn't unfamiliar to one member of the party.

Yesterday, I had changed the doll monsters Malias summoned into Varhatan.

If the owner of a dungeon could overwrite monsters' appearances with those of other beings in this way.

'Was that why there were no wraith-type monsters?'

He hadn't removed the wraiths from the dungeon.

He had gathered every last one of them in one place.

An incredulous voice slipped from beside me.

"Sister Arisha...?"

The dungeon's owner had changed Necreddin's form.

He had gathered every lingering soul of every wraith-type monster in the dungeon without leaving a single one behind and forged them into one powerful being.

Into the form of a Banshee.

And of all people, it had taken the form of the nun who had once willingly sacrificed her life to save Mine.

Footnotes:

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