WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈

Chapter 4: Have I Become a Munchkin?

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"Jayden. Gather everyone and get ready to head for the capital."

"The capital?"

"The Seven Palaces of the Abyss have been updated. We need to report it to the Extermination Command."

"Filing a false report is a serious crime. You know that, Captain. If we're wrong, all our heads could roll."

Sergey understood what Jayden meant without being told.

He wasn't completely convinced by the exploration party's story either.

"If it's true, we won't have to stake our lives for a while. It's one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss, Jayden. The reward for reporting it alone would make us rich overnight."

"But nothing's more precious than our lives."

"I know exactly what you're thinking, so don't worry. As long as we verify it properly, none of us will lose our heads at the guillotine."

Before Jayden could say anything else, Sergey turned his head.

The exploration party leader flinched under his sharp gaze.

"How many people know about this?"

"...Quite a few."

"What about the Extermination Party?"

"No one."

"I'm indebted to you."

Ting!

A coin flicked from Sergey's fingertips spun across the table.

Before it had even stopped, the exploration party leader's hand darted forward.

'G-Gold!'

When the leader looked at Sergey in shock, Sergey ran a finger across his lips. A clear signal to keep quiet.

The exploration party leader nodded and mimed sealing their lips.

"Guide us there, and I'll add another."

How could they refuse? The leader nodded several times.

After that, the Extermination Party dragged their thoroughly drunk members outside and left the tavern.

The members sobered up immediately when they heard what Sergey had to say.

"It's a dungeon that an unarmed exploration party entered and returned from alive. If we prepare well, we'll come back alive too. Don't forget. Our goal is to confirm the facts and return alive. Leave anything that will hinder our escape at the village hall. We go in focused on one thing only: survival."

Even so, they were about to enter a dungeon that might be one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.

They had more dungeon-clearing experience than they could count. They had even tagged along with the Empire's Extermination Party to clear a Rank 30 Dungeon.

But the Seven Palaces of the Abyss were in an entirely different category.

The members' silence probably came from fear. Sergey understood that feeling well. Even he was hesitating.

Raising his voice, Sergey added, "I'm the captain of this Extermination Party. I'll take responsibility for your lives. You've trusted and followed me until now. Can you trust me and follow me one more time?"

"Is that even something you need to ask, Captain?"

One of the members gave a dry laugh.

"Everyone here owes you their life, Captain. If you say you'll take responsibility for us, who's going to chicken out? Isn't that right, everyone?"

"That's right, boss!"

"You said the goal was to come back alive. If we want to live, we're the kind of people who'll definitely survive."

"If we get the reward, we could buy a house, right? I was thinking of going back home and proposing to my childhood friend."

"You little punk, you'll have enough to buy a house and a gold ring. Slip it onto their ring finger and propose like a proper gentleman. They'll fall for you in an instant."

Sergey let out a quiet laugh.

It was obvious they were scared, but they were trying to shake it off by keeping the mood light.

Just as they always had, they trusted him and followed him even now.

"I'll take responsibility for your lives. None of you are going to die."

* * *

They were still sitting there arguing over which of them would die.

Couldn't they read the situation with their dying companion right beside them? At this rate, she'd die.

Unable to watch the tedious melodrama any longer, I approached Isabella.

"Don't touch my sister!"

Her younger sibling only threw a fit. There was no real attempt to stop me.

Like I'd obediently stop just because they told me not to.

More importantly, how was I supposed to evolve her?

In the game, all I had to do was click a button, but I had no idea how it worked in reality.

People often described evolution as shedding one's skin.

On a hunch, I placed my hand on Isabella's forehead and spoke.

"Shed your skin, Isabella."

[Evolving Vampire Isabella.]

[All conditions have been met. Success rate: 100%.]

That worked?

It seemed to activate immediately if I made physical contact and said something that carried the meaning of evolution.

After the notification disappeared, the deep wound in Isabella's side rapidly began to close.

As her injury healed, small horns sprouted from the top of her head, where there had been nothing before.

Color returned to her face, and even her fangs grew noticeably larger.

A Vampire's strength was judged by their horns and fangs, so that much was expected.

What I hadn't expected was for her silver hair to turn red.

[MAX Evolution!! Isabella's evolution succeeded at 200%!]

'This gacha is insane.'

Red-haired Vampires made up less than one percent of vampire society.

That was because red hair marked the bloodline of True-Blood Vampires.

This was only a guess, but Isabella seemed to have inherited the bloodline of a True-Blood Vampire. For some innate reason, though, that blood had been diluted.

In the end, she had almost died without ever awakening her full potential.

[Lv. 48]

...She's stronger than me now?

I'd never seen a level triple from a single evolution.

Was this really good luck? I had evolved a Vampire who wasn't even fully on my side.

Isabella's eyes, which had been tightly shut, slowly opened into narrow slits.

"...Huh? It doesn't hurt?"

She sat up and looked around.

The other Vampires, who had been looking back and forth between Isabella and me, burst into tears.

"Sister!"

"Chieftain!"

"W-What is this? Why am I alive...?"

After they cried and hugged each other for a while, the Vampires finally calmed down and all bowed to me.

They were quick on the uptake. Even without being told, they knew I had saved her.

"Thank you. You saved my sister, Sir."

"Huh... How could we ever repay this kindness...?"

One of them went over and explained things to the still-confused Isabella. Only then did she join them in bowing to me.

Calling it a bow didn't quite fit. She practically slammed her head downward.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. You look scary, but you're incredibly kind."

Couldn't she have left out that last part?

I liked being appreciated, but they kept thanking me to the point that it was becoming awkward.

The color of the Vampires' levels had changed to a deep green. That meant they viewed me extremely favorably.

After considering what to say, I opened my mouth.

"I saw a seed with hidden potential and merely made it bloom."

Hmm. Saying it with the weight befitting a Death Knight made me sound pretty cool.

Every man had to live with at least one fantasy like that, didn't he? Or maybe I just had middle-schooler syndrome.

"...Potential?"

Isabella blinked.

Then, as if she sensed something, she raised a trembling hand to touch the top of her head.

Her fingertips brushed over her two horns before moving to her fangs.

"My hair!"

Finally noticing her red hair, Isabella's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

Her gaze turned to me, and I could feel the question behind it.

Though it was a good thing, it was understandable that she had questions first.

How was I supposed to explain this?

How else? I had no choice but to be vague.

"It's part of my power. You don't need to look into it too deeply."

"...I understand."

She didn't look convinced, but she accepted the answer and thankfully didn't ask any more questions.

Honestly, I was more concerned about Isabella's smile slowly spreading.

She seemed to know what her red hair meant.

Maybe she was moved because a dream she had longed for had become reality.

"I never imagined you would show such kindness to someone you had never even met. You are truly a merciful person, Sir."

Death Knights had been knights in life, so she addressed me as Sir.

I suddenly became curious about how the Vampires had been driven all the way here.

When I asked, they answered right away, but the explanation grew long enough that I had to cut it off midway.

'So they got caught up in a territorial dispute and ended up like this?'

I hadn't expected them to be attacked by monsters rather than a human Extermination Party.

That meant there were many monsters in this forest, which was another surprising revelation.

There was a village nearby, yet monster forces were still thriving.

I didn't know the exact reason, but there was something I was missing.

'I don't need to look into it too deeply.'

I would be leaving this place soon anyway. Probably somewhere humans had never set foot.

"I want to repay you for what you've done. Isn't there anything I can do?"

A level 48 True-Blood Vampire was showing me immense goodwill.

I appreciated the thought, but there wasn't anything I particularly wanted from her.

And who knew? While we had been wasting time, an Extermination Party might have come charging in.

"Hm? Five or six humans are approaching."

You've got to be kidding me. My ominous premonition had come true.

I had wondered why that Vampire kept paying attention to the outside. There was a reason.

It was fortunate that Vampires had hearing as sharp as a bat's. Thanks to that, I had a chance to escape in advance.

"I hear the sound of weapons. I think it's an Extermination Party."

It was one disaster after another.

An Extermination Party's intrusion was practically a declaration of an unavoidable fight.

Trying to settle things through conversation with armed people carried enormous risk.

And when they saw what I looked like, swords would fly before I could even speak.

In my panic, Isabella and the Vampires caught my eye.

What goes around comes around.

"You said you wanted to repay me."

"Yes."

"Deal with the intruders."

I almost told them not to kill anyone, but held my tongue.

Showing mercy to an Extermination Party when I knew nothing about their strength, strategy, purpose, reinforcements, or anything else would be the same as offering up my own life.

Isabella looked around, then nodded.

"By intruders, you mean... So you truly are this dungeon's boss, Sir."

Why was this a dungeon, and why was I the boss again?

The situation was too urgent for me to argue.

"I'm glad I can repay you right away. We'll finish this soon."

Perhaps evolution had given her confidence. With Isabella leading them, the Vampires rushed past me.

I didn't know about the others, but having Isabella step in was a huge relief.

She was a True-Blood Vampire. A True-Blood Vampire capable of slaughtering most Extermination Parties alone.

Inside a cave that was a Vampire's territory, she should have been able to hold off even an A-rank Extermination Party.

My only concern was that it would turn into a blood-soaked massacre.

Since I had once been human too, I didn't want to watch humans being brutally killed. If they had to die, they should at least die without making it hard to look at.

Would asking Vampires not to splatter blood be too difficult?

......

'Why is this taking so long?'

What I thought would end in an instant continued without progress.

Strangely, I couldn't hear any screams. Only shouts and the sounds of spears and swords clashing echoed through the cave.

Even the occasional screams I heard belonged to women.

For many reasons, Extermination Parties rarely used female members. On the other hand, half of the Vampire group were women.

It was an ominous sign with an obvious explanation.

I stepped forward slightly to observe what was happening.

No, this wasn't a situation where I could just stand by and watch.

Contrary to my expectations, the Vampires were at a disadvantage.

Even Isabella, whom I had trusted, could only fight back. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they all died.

[LV. 52]

The moment I saw the man's level, I understood why they were losing.

The man forcing Isabella back appeared to be the Extermination Party's leader. At level 52, he was an expert bordering on S-rank.

His companions were level 30. They didn't measure up to their captain, but they were still capable swordsmen in their own right.

Saying she could defeat most Extermination Parties was another way of saying that an exceptional situation like this was dangerous.

How the hell had an Extermination Party this elite ended up here?

'There's no way I can win.'

I could say that with certainty. Even if I joined the fight, we couldn't win.

Despite what common sense told me, I couldn't just run away alone.

The thought of forcing my way forward was terrifying, and going back meant a dead end.

The situation was urgent, my mind had gone blank, and I couldn't see any way out.

If the Vampires died, I would be next. Since they were an Extermination Party, they would obviously trample over the bodies and push deeper inside.

'Fuck, what do I do?'

I saw a faint light gather around the man's blade.

For some reason, that man could freely use aura, a power reserved for knights.

Gulp.

I could vividly picture my neck being sliced clean off by that sword.

That was when a status window appeared before my eyes.

[Well-Honed High-Grade Bastard Sword (A)]

[Durability: 90]

[Enhancement Chance: 8%]

[※Caution! If enhancement fails, the item will be automatically destroyed!]

[If enhancement fails, the cooldown will reset.]

[Would you like to enhance the Well-Honed High-Grade Bastard Sword?]

[YES/NO]

"Huh."

I could enhance other people's weapons without even touching them?

And if the cooldown reset when I failed...

'...Doesn't that mean I can destroy every weapon as long as I fail?'

Footnotes:

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