WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈
Chapter 54: Buck Up
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Fortunately, we didn't run into a Monster Wave on the way to our destination.
At most, we encountered a few insignificant mobs.
“Isn't this it?”
“I think so.”
Twin Rocks was a massive megalith that had once been whole but had split perfectly in half.
According to the developers, it was inspired by a real-life mystery.
Was it Saudi Arabia's Al Naslaa Rock?
They said Twin Rocks had a perfectly straight cut surface just like it.
When I'd seen it in the game, I'd just thought, Huh, neat.
But seeing it right before my eyes left me in awe.
‘You're telling me this wasn't sliced in half with a lightsaber?’
The perfectly flat surface was one thing, but both halves were identical in size and shape without even the slightest difference.
It wasn't small, either. It was a megalith as large as a house.
Apparently, nature had created this without magic.
For some reason, it filled me with reverence.
“It's amazing how cleanly it split. Could this have happened naturally?”
“There's no way.”
For once, Isabella was right.
Not knowing the truth herself, Isabella awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
“I thought so.”
I left the two behind and placed my hand against Twin Rocks.
Just as I remembered, it had retained its original form despite the blizzard and heavy snowfall.
It wasn't hot enough to instantly evaporate snow, either.
It was probably protected by some kind of magic, but I stopped myself from asking Charlotte why.
I wasn't that curious.
“Charlotte. Pour your mana into the gap.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte moved the moment I spoke.
It was so convenient that she carried out my orders immediately without even asking why.
Wooooong.
As mana spread through the gap, the boulder trembled.
As if the tremor were a sign, something slowly appeared across its surface.
Patterns as indecipherable as ancient murals, along with geometric shapes.
There were even Chinese characters representing Dragon Speech.
‘That must be the Ancient Dragon.’
At the top of the mural, an Ancient Dragon with stag antlers ascended to the heavens while smaller Dragons prostrated themselves before it.
Chinese characters seemed to burst from the Ancient Dragon's gaping mouth.
It was clearly a depiction of Dragon Speech.
With that, the Ancient Dungeon buried underground activated.
Without completing this process, there would be no reward inside, so there'd be no point in entering.
“What is this? Do you know, Adjutant?”
“I don't really...”
Almost at the same time, both of them turned to look at me.
I considered how to bluff my way through it, then decided to change the subject.
“Isabella. Break it.”
“Huh? Me? Can I even do that?”
At your level, how could you not?
Isabella still didn't understand how strong she had become.
It made sense. She hadn't been a Rank 8 Lord for long.
“If you think you're about to get hurt, push it back.”
It would be fucking difficult, but still.
No matter how she did it, all we needed was to move the boulder out of the way.
If we dug through the ground beneath it, we'd find a stone wall. Once we broke that wall, stairs leading underground would appear.
“Uh... Can I really do it?”
“You won't know until you try.”
After thinking for a moment, Isabella stretched out both hands.
“Hngh! ...Huh?”
Rumble.
The boulder didn't gradually move back.
It slid away in a single push.
She moved a boulder that large as easily as if she were pushing a chair.
‘She's really a monster.’
At Level 88, her base stats were on another level.
Even if Blood Arts were her foundation, her base stats would naturally rise as well.
Isabella silently stared down at her hands.
“...Wow.”
Even she probably hadn't known she was this strong.
“Dig a hole.”
Isabella didn't even need to use her hands.
Thump! Thump!
Each time Isabella jumped in place, a deep hole formed beneath her feet, quickly exposing the stone wall connected to the underground passage.
Even that split apart like a wooden board when she kicked it.
When she gave it a light shove, debris came pouring down, revealing stairs that stretched deep into the darkness.
Judging by the width of the passage, we'd have to enter one at a time.
“Is this an ancient ruin? How did you know about this place, Boss?”
“I happened to find out.”
I had no excuse ready, so I played dumb.
Isabella didn't ask any further questions.
“Summon Wilhelm.”
Wilhelm, my meat shield, emerged from Charlotte's shadow. I put him at the front.
I followed him, with Isabella behind me and Charlotte last, as we began descending the stairs.
Once it grew dark around us, Charlotte lit her lantern.
Isabella and I didn't need one because our races gave us excellent night vision.
Our footsteps echoed softly, and the darkness deepened the farther down we went.
Charlotte's lantern was the only light around us, but being undead, I didn't mind.
If anything, it felt as cozy as home.
The stairs spiraled down endlessly.
Without realizing it, they reminded me of Insect King Balutak's Spiral Hive of Deceit.
‘Suddenly, I'm pissed off.’
I'd suffered a lot of stress in Balutak's dungeon.
Well, Balutak was a precious little brat now.
Before long, the stairs came to an end, and a vast cavern opened before us.
“Wait here for a moment.”
I picked up a rock from the ground.
Like any Ancient Dungeon, the Ancient Dragon’s Tomb had trap triggers.
The way to find them was by spotting irregularities in the patterns.
Among the fingernail-sized comb-like patterns along the walls, several had solid lines drawn through them.
Like a spot-the-difference puzzle.
I'd memorized every location in the game, but now that it had become reality, the scale and minor details were different.
At least I was undead.
I didn't need to go through the trouble of holding up a lantern just to inspect everything.
‘There.’
The moment I found the trigger, I threw the rock at it.
Bang!
The two walls slammed together at the center, then returned to their original positions.
It happened in the blink of an eye. If we'd been there, we'd have been flattened.
“Uh...”
“...”
Their stares felt awfully burdensome.
Feeling oddly guilty, I opened my mouth.
“Most ancient ruins have trap triggers. Look carefully, especially at the floor and walls.”
After that, we easily dealt with traps that had triggers like the one before.
For traps that required a sacrifice, we used Wilhelm as a meat shield.
At Level 88, Wilhelm specialized in physical stats, so he didn't even get scratched.
“It's a Mimic.”
Some traps practically advertised, “I'm a Mimic.”
“A Mimic? What's that? Isn't it just a treasure chest?”
True to her words, Isabella walked right up to the Mimic.
She opened the treasure chest with an eager look on her face.
-Graaaah!
“Eek!”
Isabella fell onto her rear in fright.
Just before the Mimic's long tongue could touch her, Isabella slashed through the air at terrifying speed.
Shhk!
The Mimic was cut in half horizontally in a single strike.
Isabella let out a sigh as she clutched her chest.
“Whoa, that scared me...”
“Don't touch a treasure chest just because you find one. It's bad for your heart.”
“You both knew, didn't you?! Then why didn't you tell me?”
Because I wanted to see you get startled.
After that, we made our way through the dungeon without any trouble.
Click.
...Or so I thought.
A floor plate clicked beneath Isabella's feet as she wandered around.
“Waaaaah!”
The ground Isabella was standing on gave way, and she vanished as if by magic.
Was bringing her along a mistake?
-Hyaaaaah!!
An ear-splitting scream echoed from the darkness below.
I didn't even have ears, yet I found myself covering them.
“I'll go save her.”
“Let her handle it.”
“Yes.”
-Waaaaah! Monsters! I'm scared! Save me!!
It was obvious what was happening down there.
She was probably screaming nonstop while massacring all the monsters stationed below.
Before long, Isabella floated back up through the air.
She was drenched in blood, and the stench was unbearable.
“Phew... I was so scared my heart almost stopped...”
You're the scariest one here, you bitch.
Even at Level 88, she was still exactly the same inside.
* * *
After clearing the trap section, the next trial awaiting us was a Keeper.
Standing before the Keeper's room, Isabella rubbed her arms with both hands and shuddered.
“Am I the only one who feels something ominous coming from inside that room?”
“Judging by the feeling, there may be a Keeper inside. This may not be a ruin, but an Ancient Dungeon.”
Her instincts were good, as expected.
Ruins only had traps and mazes, while dungeons contained active obstacles such as stationed monsters, Guardians, and Keepers.
‘It's about time I got a little tense.’
That Keeper was quite troublesome.
I'd have liked to ignore it, but there was no way around it.
The Keeper's first phase was a notorious newbie crusher, while its second phase was difficult enough to make even veteran players struggle.
Naturally, I wasn't especially worried.
I was only making a show of being tense out of courtesy.
Rumble.
The stone door slowly opened with a scraping sound.
Beyond it was a crouching Iron Golem.
I looked from one to the next before speaking.
“This is a test. The three of you will defeat that Golem.”
Thump!
The Iron Golem rose to its feet the moment I finished speaking.
It had a massive body that reminded me of Giant King Dalon.
“We will definitely succeed.”
“Uh... It's really big?”
[Lv. 89]
Its level was only slightly higher, but it was certainly above all three of them.
Still, a gap like this could easily be overcome with numbers.
They might struggle a little, but I was already sure they would win.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Iron Golem approached with heavy, booming steps after noticing the intruders.
Numerous magic circles appeared around Charlotte, who had already finished chanting.
When Isabella cut her arm with her nails, drops of blood rose into the air, filling the area before sharpening into blades.
Whoosh!
The Iron Golem leaped through the air with a sharp burst of wind.
The sight of that massive body jumping was quite something.
As if it were a signal, dazzling magic, crimson Blood Arts, and purple aura all rushed toward the Iron Golem.
Explosions thundered from all directions, the ground shook, and dust poured down from the ceiling.
There was a reason it was Level 89. The Iron Golem blocked the attacks with ease and fought back.
‘This is so fun.’
I stood at a distance amid that chaos and enjoyed the show.
The Iron Golem prioritized attacking those who harmed it.
It had no wide-range attacks and barely any stray attacks, so as long as I stood still, there was no chance of dying for no reason.
‘Ah. That's not how you're supposed to dodge that. What a waste of movement.’
Since I knew every pattern, I wanted to give them advice.
Even now, they still weren't dodging by rolling.
We were in the same place, but the difference in our situations was huge.
Over there was a boss raid for newbies. Over here was the perspective of an all-knowing veteran.
Boom!
They seemed to be holding out well, but the Iron Golem collapsed sooner than I'd expected.
The effect of ganging up on it was incredible.
“Whew. That was really hard.”
“...”
Charlotte quietly glanced in my direction.
For some reason, she looked like she wanted praise. Letting her guard down already was just like a newbie.
The second phase was about to begin.
In an instant, the Iron Golem's red eyes turned gold.
As its massive body rose again, the two staring up at it were filled with despair.
“Oh, come on. My God.”
“...Damn.”
[Lv. 91]
To make matters worse, the matchup was terrible.
From the second phase onward, the Iron Golem had 80% magic resistance.
Its overall stats greatly increased, of course, and it regenerated endlessly no matter how many times it was killed.
‘I'll give them credit if they manage to kill it.’
Honestly, I was convinced they would fail.
If the three of them succeeded, it would be an achievement beyond my expectations.
I'd feel that much more rewarded for training talented people.
Like I said, I had sent those three in because I wanted to give them a real test.
Thump!
As in the first phase, I watched while giving advice only in my head.
‘I'm already worried.’
After seeing just one exchange, it was clear that our side was gradually losing.
As expected, Charlotte's expression grew increasingly grim as time passed.
Magic was useless against the Iron Golem, and Isabella and Wilhelm struggled alone to protect Charlotte after she became dead weight.
The only magic that was still somewhat useful was summoning undead, but they were no more than ants before the Iron Golem.
Whoosh, bang!
“Argh...!”
Isabella was hurled into a wall and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Her internal injuries looked serious, but she sprang back into the fight without caring.
“Why does it keep regenerating?!”
Whether its arms or legs were torn off, they reattached themselves like magnets.
A war of attrition couldn't work from the start.
For newbies who didn't know the strategy, mindlessly beating it up was their best option.
Wilhelm, like Isabella, kept getting smashed into the walls.
Whenever one was sent flying, the other immediately rushed in, so the aggro never shifted to Charlotte.
Still, judging by the gaps, it was obvious the aggro would soon turn toward Charlotte.
Charlotte's shield magic would be shattered by a single blow from the Iron Golem.
“Haa, haa...”
Charlotte breathed heavily and wiped away cold sweat.
She was even showing signs of mana exhaustion, while Isabella's internal injuries looked severe.
Wilhelm was nothing more than a sandbag that took hits well.
All right. I'd seen enough.
Unable to watch anymore, I stepped forward and moved Charlotte behind me.
I also gestured for Isabella, who was embedded in the wall, not to join in.
The two of them had done their jobs well enough by clearing the first phase.
From the second phase onward, the Iron Golem focused entirely on attacking, allowing me to target its Power Core.
No Enhancement window had appeared during the first phase, so I couldn't deny that I'd benefited from their efforts.
[Guardian Iron Golem's Power Core (S+)]
[Enhancement Success Chance: 2%]
[※Warning! If Enhancement fails, it will be automatically destroyed!]
[If Enhancement fails, the cooldown will reset.]
[Would you like to enhance Guardian Iron Golem's Power Core (S+)?]
[YES/NO]
[Enhancing Guardian Iron Golem's Power Core (S+).]
[Enhancement failed. Guardian Iron Golem's Power Core (S+) has been destroyed.]
Rumble!
The Golem's massive body collapsed after losing its core.
The visible level disappeared as well. It was completely dead.
It was an utterly anticlimactic ending compared to the battle that had come before.
At the sound of a sharp intake of breath, I turned my head.
Isabella's mouth hung wide open, and even Charlotte's eyes had grown as wide as saucers.
I looked at them for a moment before turning away.
“I expected too much.”
Flowers needed the right amount of stimulation to bloom.
People also needed a little whipping like this sometimes.
“Buck up.”
Not that I, the weakest one, had any right to say that.
Footnotes:
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