WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈

Chapter 3: Rest Assured, I'm a Kind Death Knight

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[Lv. 5]

[Lv. 6]

[Lv. 5]

[Lv. 4]

What were levels? A measure that told me whether a bastard was stronger or weaker than me, so I could bully the weak and cower before the strong.

For a pathetic guy who only went all out against weaker opponents, levels were an indispensable game mechanic.

Thankfully, I could still see them even now that this had become reality.

For reference, in <72 Dungeon Strategy Record>, levels were not only a measure of strength. They also gave you a glimpse of the other party's emotions.

Red levels meant hostility.

Green meant goodwill.

Orange meant vigilance.

Pink meant affection.

Black meant fear.

Every level I could see right now was black.

For one second, we only stared at each other. My body froze while my mind raced.

'I'm fucked.'

Levels 3 to 5 belonged to ordinary adult male NPCs. To a level 44 Death Knight, they were less than insects.

But regardless of their levels, simply encountering humans was a major crisis.

Those humans surely had thoughts even worse than mine. Their pitch-black levels proved it.

I should clear up the misunderstanding through conversation first, right?

Ah, rest assured. I'm a kind Death Knight.

"I'm a kind-"

"It's a Death Knight!!"

"Aaaah!!"

But fuck, this body made even attempting a conversation impossible.

When I gestured for them to calm down, everyone scrambled to flee. Since the path was narrow and straight, they shoved one another, tripped, and caused a complete mess.

Even after falling, one person kept their eyes on me while dragging themselves backward on their butt. They wouldn't have reacted more violently if they had seen a ghost.

"Run! Hurry, run!"

"Don't push! Hurry up!"

They were running away when I needed to talk this out? I didn't even have time to dwell on it.

"Don't go! Please, listen to me!"

"Aaaahhh!!"

"It's coming! It's coming, hurry!!"

"Fuck, Mom!"

The screams turned into sobs, and only then did I realize I was doing something wrong and stop.

Once everyone had gotten far away, I was left standing there alone.

It suddenly reminded me of the time I accidentally walked into the girls' bathroom at school. Their reaction had been exactly like that.

"That suddenly makes me feel like shit."

It hadn't even been an hour since I hid myself away to avoid humans, and I had already been found out.

More than one or two people had seen me, and there was a village nearby.

Before long, rumors like, 'I swear, that Death Knight is here,' were bound to spread.

"It's still daytime, so I can't leave either. Great."

I wanted to get out of here immediately, but the sun was still up.

Humans were one problem, but being exposed to sunlight was an even greater threat. Once night fell, I had to get away as quickly as possible.

There was no way an Extermination Party would show up here before even a day had passed, right?

* * *

The world outside the cave had been swallowed by pitch-black night.

My worry that an Extermination Party might arrive before nightfall had been needless.

A sigh of relief naturally escaped me. It came out as a chilling gust, though.

Rustle.

Just as I was about to leave through the entrance, the bushes shook.

Fuck, again?

There were signs that someone was nearby, so it couldn't have been the wind. Something soon sprang out of the bushes.

Undead could see perfectly well even in the dark. At a glance, I knew they were people, not things.

I'd barely had a minute to relax, and more people had already appeared. Did that make any sense?

Worried they might spot me, I stepped away from the entrance and went deeper into the cave.

For some reason, their footsteps drew closer, then entered the cave itself. At this point, they had to have heard the rumors and come looking for me.

They couldn't be the people from earlier. It made no sense for them to come back after being that terrified.

"Get a hold of yourself! Please, sis...!"

"I'm sorry, everyone. I guess this is it for me."

A thick scent of blood filled the air. Ironically, undead had no sense of smell, yet they could detect blood with uncanny accuracy. I could, too.

Sensing that something was wrong, I paid closer attention. One person was dying in the darkness, surrounded by tearful companions.

At first, I thought they were human. If I hadn't seen their red eyes and fangs, I would have mistaken them for humans until the end.

[Lv. 12]

[Lv. 10]

[Lv. 14]

Looking at their levels, perhaps they weren't Vampires after all.

Adult Vampires were usually over level 20.

Yet every Vampire I could see was fully grown, and none of them were even close to level 20.

They were probably either a subspecies or an inferior breed.

'She won't last long.'

The dying female Vampire was pale, and even her lips had faded. That was especially strange for a Vampire, whose vivid crimson lips were one of their defining traits.

It was a pitiful situation, but there was nothing I could do. All I could do was secretly watch this melodrama and wait for them to leave.

[The target has fulfilled the Evolution conditions.]

[Would you like to evolve Vampire Isabella?]

What?

A status window notification appeared as I looked at the Vampire.

'So it can work like this?'

Evolution was structured so that the target, rather than the caster, had to meet the conditions for it to activate.

There were three conditions.

First, the target had to possess abundant potential.

Second, the target had to be in mortal danger.

Third, that mortal danger had to have arisen from being driven to sacrifice themselves for someone else.

Even without the third condition, Evolution could be attempted if the first two were met.

With two conditions, it had a 50% chance of success. With all three, it was 100%.

The reason self-sacrifice was a condition was that someone had to be willing to sacrifice themselves to become a familiar for the caster.

Not that evolving automatically made them a familiar, but still.

That woman seemed to have sacrificed herself for the other Vampires.

I was a sensitive person, no, a sensitive Death Knight.

If there was a way to save her and I just stood by watching, that would make me a heartless undead.

My body might look like this, but my heart was still that of a warm-blooded human.

Before I knew it, my feet were carrying me toward the Vampires.

"Gasp."

When I finally gathered my courage and revealed myself, seven pairs of red eyes fixed on me.

'Oh?'

Orange levels meant vigilance.

Maybe they weren't immediately terrified because we were both monsters.

If I explained myself properly, perhaps I could earn their goodwill, too.

Just as humans had solidarity with other humans, I had heard monsters had something like that among themselves.

"A Death Knight?"

The Vampire holding the female Vampire sprang to their feet.

After looking from her to me, the Vampire's face went pale.

"What is a Death Knight doing here? Could th-this be the Death Knight's dungeon?"

What the fuck were they talking about?

It wasn't a dungeon, but they had entered my nest. In a way, they could be considered intruders.

I wanted to help them, but there was no way they could know that.

"I beg your forgiveness, master of this dungeon. If your anger cannot be soothed, take my soul. Please, at least spare the others."

"No! Young Master, you absolutely cannot! Kill me instead!"

"O great dungeon boss, these people are pitiable. Please, let your anger be soothed with my life alone."

What had I even done?

It was unbearably sad, considering I had come to help.

Then I suddenly remembered my reflection in the spring.

...With this face, I probably looked less like a prince on a white horse and more like a grim reaper on a black horse.

* * *

Huber Village stood near the road connecting the commercial city and the free city.

Mercenaries, merchants, and other travelers passed through often, as did trade caravans bound for the commercial city.

It was also the perfect place for Extermination Parties heading to the free city to regroup.

"So you're saying there's a dungeon in the mountain behind the village?"

"I'm telling you, there is! I nearly died!"

Huber Village's tavern was especially noisy.

Taverns were always loud, but today was worse than usual.

It was because of the Exploration Party loudly claiming they had survived a dungeon.

An Exploration Party surviving a dungeon, not an Extermination Party? At first, everyone had dismissed it as a joke. But as the explorers gave a detailed account, people gradually began listening.

"You're the leader of the Exploration Party, right? Is what your people are saying true?"

"Why would it be false? What reason would we have to put that much effort into such a lie?"

"Tell us more."

At the voice cutting in from behind, the Exploration Party leader turned around. His eyes twitched at once.

The six men were all lightly or heavily armed. No explanation was needed to know they were an official Extermination Party.

The middle-aged man who appeared to be their captain was clearly a veteran who had seen it all.

He wore a plate cuirass over padded armor. A sheath holding a two-handed sword hung from the right side of his belt, while medicine pouches dangled from the left.

A dagger was strapped to his thigh, and the crossbow on his back was spotless. He clearly maintained it regularly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sergey, captain of the Billion Spearhead Extermination Party."

"Ser... gay?"

After introducing himself as an Extermination Party captain, Sergey dropped into the empty seat beside them. He snatched up the beer the waitress had just brought and raised it to his lips.

As Sergey drank with startling force, his head gradually tilted farther back.

Bang! In less than three seconds, he set down the completely empty mug.

Sergey jerked his chin at the Exploration Party leader, who was watching with his mouth hanging open.

"Why don't you tell me more about this dungeon?"

"...."

Without hesitation, the Exploration Party leader explained everything that had happened.

Sergey remained silent, but reacted slightly at the mention of the Death Knight the explorers had encountered.

"Are you certain it's a newly formed dungeon?"

"I'm certain. The village herbalist said they had been going in and out of that cave as recently as the day before yesterday."

"A Death Knight in a newly formed dungeon..."

"I'm not lying. If you doubt me, ask every one of my people."

If roughly a dozen people had seen it, it would have been stranger if they were mistaken. Still, it wasn't something that could be easily believed.

Undead were beings that defied the natural order by living after death. Death Knights were upper-middle-tier undead.

A Death Knight appearing in a newly formed dungeon, especially right at its entrance, was no ordinary matter.

Furthermore, Death Knights were monsters stationed as dungeon Keepers or mid-bosses.

They were difficult to encounter anywhere other than the 72 Dungeons...

"Don't tell me."

A thought suddenly came to mind, tied to the news that had recently shaken the world.

The 72 Dungeons were called humanity's public enemies. Of the 72 Dungeons, which were divided by an absolute hierarchy, the top seven had never once been conquered and remained an unknown realm.

The Empire's Extermination Command respectfully called them the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.

But exactly one week ago, the last palace of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss had been completely conquered by a Hero's Extermination Party.

When the Rank 7 Dungeon disappeared, it didn't mean the Rank 8 Dungeon took its place.

Before long, a new dungeon would emerge with strength comparable to that of the former Rank 7 Dungeon.

"Jayden."

"Yes, Captain."

"How many of the 72 Dungeons have been conquered in the past week?"

The Extermination Party was well-informed when it came to dungeons. The members knew that much by heart, and Sergey knew it as well. He was only asking to confirm the facts.

"Only one. Shadow of Pangu."

Shadow of Pangu was the last palace of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.

No other dungeon had been conquered. One week was enough time for a newly formed dungeon to emerge and inherit that position.

The single dungeon that had been conquered, the perfect timeline, and a newly formed dungeon with a Death Knight appearing right at the entrance.

There was only one answer.

"...The Seven Palaces of the Abyss have been updated."

Footnotes:

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