WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈
Chapter 18: Not the Heroine, But Anyway, It's a Salvation Story
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The boss of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss?
That Death Knight?
To Lionheart, the Seven Palaces of the Abyss possessed a dignity that could never coexist with the likes of a Death Knight.
Yet the situation before them forced Lionheart to face reality, narrow-minded beliefs be damned.
The Death Knight stood with their arms crossed, arrogantly tilting their chin.
Anxiety crawled down Lionheart's spine, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
“Lionheart King. Can you take responsibility for what you said?”
The Death Knight broke the suffocating silence.
The normally scoff-worthy gleam in the Death Knight's eyes now overwhelmed the room with unbearable pressure.
The new Seven Palaces of the Abyss, reestablished after the Shadow of Pangu had been conquered.
Its master was none other than the Death Knight standing before them.
Thud!
Lionheart slammed their forehead against the table.
“I have committed a sin worthy of death. In my foolishness, I failed to recognize the master of the Abyssal Palace.”
....
The only response was silence.
When Lionheart cautiously raised their eyes, they met the Death Knight's gaze, which felt as though it were strangling them.
“A sin worthy of death? If this much warrants death, then what does that make your subordinate? The one who said they would kill me, then tried to do it.”
...What did that mean?
Lionheart's own words and actions, when they had dismissed the Death Knight, suddenly flashed through their mind.
Hoping their subordinates had noticed and treated the Death Knight properly was obviously wishful thinking. If anything, they had likely committed an even greater offense.
Their mind spun, and their vision went dark.
Being driven out of their former dungeon hadn't been enough. The boss of the new Seven Palaces of the Abyss had come to the dungeon where they had relocated. Why was this nightmare real?
Lionheart only wanted to believe this was a dream.
"King Lionheart. What I suffered at your hands today was deeply humiliating. I'll remember it for a long time.”
“I-I'm sorry...”
“Merchant. You tell me. A lower-ranked dungeon freely hurled crude insults and even threats at the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. How should this matter be handled?”
“You may execute them at your sole discretion or settle the matter through an agreement. The choice belongs entirely to the Boss.”
Lionheart's face turned pale at the word execution.
What Lionheart had expected and the reality now bearing down on them were vastly different.
“Lionheart. Do you want to live?”
“Most exalted Lord. Please spare this lowly life....”
“First, bring me that.”
The Death Knight pointed at Lionheart’s Pure-Gold Pendant.
Lionheart shuddered. It was a treasure unlike any other.
Perhaps the Boss of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss had a sharp eye, because the Death Knight had recognized it at once.
Still, no treasure was more precious than life.
“H-here it is.”
The Death Knight accepted the pendant and rose.
Is it... over?
Lionheart sighed inwardly in relief.
It hurt to give up the pendant, but it was a cheap price to pay for their life.
“This isn't enough. Next, Charlotte. As the adjutant, tell our friend what you think.”
“Thank you, Boss.”
“...Pardon?”
The adjutant was that human?
Ignoring Lionheart's confusion, Charlotte sat in the empty seat.
“I dislike wasting time, so I'll get straight to the point. First, we'll receive 100 million Cell as compensation. Even that is a small amount, but thanks to the Boss's generosity, you're getting off cheaply. And...”
After that, Charlotte continued to bleed the dungeon dry without leaving a single opening.
Her speech went on for an entire hour, and Lionheart couldn't move an inch before her, as though they were dead.
* * *
“I think this was resolved well, without being too harsh or too lenient. Once word spreads, the Boss's reputation will rise even further.”
I don't know. I thought it was pretty harsh.
Still, looking at the results, we'd paid off all the dungeon's debts thanks to Lionheart and gained a useful item as well.
[Lionheart’s Pure-Gold Pendant (A+)]
[Enhancement Chance: 5%]
[※Warning! If Enhancement fails, the item will be automatically destroyed!]
[If Enhancement fails, the cooldown will reset.]
[Would you like to enhance Lionheart’s Pure-Gold Pendant (A+)?]
[YES/NO]
Why would I be insane enough to enhance a pendant that granted immunity to most debuffs just by wearing it?
My main goal had been to recruit Balutak, but I'd made an unexpected gain.
“Now we can take the useful Insects with us.”
Charlotte made it sound easy, and it really was as easy as she said.
This was all thanks to Lionheart. They had worked the Insects like slaves, which made things easier for us without our realizing it.
After all, this had turned from recruiting dungeon monsters into a story of saving slaves.
If Balutak knew gratitude, they would see us as benefactors for saving them.
Of course, that was only a plausible expectation. Things could turn out differently once we actually saw it.
Then what kind of situation should I create to recruit Balutak fully onto our side?
I already had a method in mind.
Freeing every Insect to win Balutak's favor, like Lincoln emancipating the slaves? That wasn't even worth considering.
These were Insects that devoured their own kind. Even if I freed them, they would probably think, So what?
‘There's no reason to make an enemy out of Rank 14 for nothing.’
We had only extorted settlement money from Lionheart. Going any further would cross the line.
If we interfered with all the Insects being used as laborers, we'd be obstructing the dungeon's construction.
So this was the method I came up with.
“By the way, Boss. Is there some deeper reason for working that Insect until they are on the verge of death?”
As Charlotte said, I had already instructed Lionheart to work one Insect until they were almost dead.
That Insect was Balutak.
“If I were to infer the Boss's intentions, you saw that Insect's potential. That is why you artificially drove them to the brink of death. Salvation in the worst possible situation alleviates every deprivation while making the savior someone to depend on. Is my limited interpretation correct?”
...Do I really think the same way as her? A Witch whose hobby is peeling the skin off humans?
There was another reason, Evolution, but naturally Charlotte had no way of knowing that.
“It's not wrong. But it's not entirely right either.”
For some reason, I desperately wanted to deny that I shared Charlotte's way of thinking.
“You're right that I think highly of that Insect's potential. You're also right that I created the situation artificially. But you've overlooked one thing.”
“One thing... What would that be?”
“All living things only grow when they feel as though they are about to die. The threshold of death is also a living being's limit. I intend to observe that brief moment closely and learn that creature's limits and potential for growth.”
Even I thought it was a fresh load of nonsense.
I'd just dressed it up to sound impressive, but it was practically bullshit.
“I see.... Someone as insignificant as me could never comprehend the Boss's grand intentions. As your unworthy adjutant, I have much to learn from you.”
Mm-hm, sure. I'm satisfied you bought it.
Watching an Insect on the verge of death to learn its limits and potential for growth? I didn't have that ability, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to do that.
I'm not a psychopath, nor am I some brat who enjoys watching insects die.
Still, since I'd already said it, I had to make it look that way on the surface.
“If that Insect falls short of the Boss's expectations, then you intend to let them die.”
“...We'll see.”
Why would I let them die?
Balutak was the very reason I had come here.
* * *
The weak were eaten, while the strong devoured the weak and evolved.
The Insect jungle was a constant competition for evolution, where they killed and were killed every moment.
Within that jungle, the weak had only one choice.
Be eaten or submit to the strong.
Balutak of the Viper Fang Tribe was a leader who commanded the most subordinates.
While other Insects lived alone rather than forming groups, Balutak had subdued the weak and created a colony.
That was because Balutak was not only strong, but intelligent as well.
Balutak knew how to control and use those beneath them.
As their forces grew and they evolved again and again, Balutak developed an ambition.
To subdue every Insect and become the jungle's one and only king.
To eat the Insects that resisted submission, evolve repeatedly, and become the strongest.
That goal had been shattered by the Beastfolk from the Demon Realm.
“Kirrik....”
A month had passed since the Beastfolk occupied the forest.
Balutak had been worked like a slave for just as long.
The strong devoured or subdued the weak.
The Beastfolk were strong, and the Insects were weak.
But Balutak had never dreamed they would be treated like this.
Even if they lost, Balutak had expected to be eaten. Instead, they were made to do nothing but grueling labor all day while being given too little food and water.
Naturally, Balutak had resisted and tried to escape at first.
Now, though, they couldn't move an inch. Whenever the Beastfolk raised a whip, Balutak flinched in fear before it even fell.
Over those days of exploitation, Balutak had gradually regressed.
Their six legs were no longer hooked, and the vision from their side eyes had become unstable.
Anyone could see that Balutak was weak now.
Yet they were not eaten. They were kept hungry at all times and used only for labor.
“Kirrik. I'm tireddak....”
For some reason, it was particularly severe today.
Even long after sunset, Balutak had received neither food nor a drop of water.
They weren't even allowed to rest for a single second, as though every bit of stamina had to be wrung from them.
Crack!
The moment they rested for even one second, a barrage of whips struck as if it had been waiting.
“Kirrik....”
Balutak felt their life was in danger.
This was beyond regression. At this rate, they would soon die.
Their fading consciousness proved it.
For a moment, sensation spread throughout their body. It was the feeling of lying down in the grass.
Balutak had collapsed onto the ground without even realizing it.
“Ki-rik....”
After living in the jungle, all Balutak had wanted was survival and evolution.
But with the final moment approaching, there was so much more they wanted.
Prey, water, and freedom.
Balutak closed their eyes, hoping to see the freedom that would soon come.
Shed your shell.
Those words came with a faint sensation.
Soon, their consciousness gradually cleared, and even their vision brightened.
Balutak's eyes widened at the changes running through their body.
Having evolved repeatedly, Balutak instinctively recognized the sensation.
The feeling spreading through their entire body was a sign of evolution.
Balutak thought it had to be a mistake.
Evolution was impossible when they had eaten nothing and were hovering on the brink of death.
Even so, as if to prove it was not a lie, Balutak's body began to recover.
Balutak raised their head.
What entered their vision was the silhouette that had trickled water to them when they had collapsed in a haze before.
They had thought it was a dream then, but it wasn't.
“Kirrik. Skeleton....”
Even through their foggy mind, Balutak instinctively realized it.
The skeleton standing before them was the one who had evolved them when they were on the verge of death.
Footnotes:
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