WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Mistaken as the Dungeon Boss Monster ◈

Chapter 6: This Dungeon Needs Normalization

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Witches had to be exterminated. That was the prevailing belief in this world.

Witches had been created by Black Magic, and the origin of Black Magic was the disaster caused when Black Magic was secretly unleashed from the second-ranked dungeon, the Tenfold Abyss.

More than a century had passed, yet humanity's hostility toward Witches still hadn't faded.

Learning Black Magic required one essential condition.

Only a woman carrying a daughter could learn it.

Female mages captivated by Black Magic went so far as to choose pregnancy in order to obtain it.

Since it was a secret form of magic with such difficult requirements, fewer than ten people had learned it.

Yet even without any new Black Magic practitioners, Black Magic practitioners strangely multiplied like mushrooms after rain.

The reason was that a mother's mana was passed down through her bloodline.

As long as her descendants survived and those women continued to bear children, Black Magic could theoretically endure forever.

Once word got out, humanity unanimously declared Black Magic to be a vicious scheme by the Tenfold Abyss.

The women who had learned it were called Witches, and large-scale Witch burnings erupted throughout the Empire.

As a fourth-generation Witch, Charlotte had lived in hiding from humans since the day she was born.

During her life on the run, she had been forced to flee even as she watched her friends, grandmother, and mother burn to death.

Years of hatred and vengeance toward humanity had hardened within her.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as they said.

Charlotte's vow to slaughter tens of millions of humans before she died was perhaps only natural. She would do to them exactly what they had done to her family.

Yet the world was vast, and there were many humans. With half the continent now under human control, there were very few places Charlotte could hide.

There was the Demon Realm, which divided the continent in half with human territory, but its oxygen was severely harmful to a human like Charlotte.

Charlotte thought about it.

A place where she could be guaranteed safety without being exposed to humans.

A place where she could satisfy her urge to kill and find companions who would pursue revenge alongside her.

'A dungeon.'

Ever since forming her plan, Charlotte had served as an adjutant and Keeper in several dungeons.

Still, in most of them, she had been driven out before long for the sole reason that she was human.

Even after repeated failures, Charlotte set off once more, carrying her grand plan with her.

That was when she was resting at an inn in a village along the road.

"Miss, have you heard the news?"

"I'm not interested."

"Ugh, there you go again. You're such a stiff young lady. A woman should be a little more outgoing. Anyway, I guess you're not interested in dungeons?"

When anyone heard the word dungeon, the first thing they thought of was the 72 Dungeons, humanity's public enemies.

The enemy of an enemy was an ally. Secretly feeling a sense of kinship with them, Charlotte stirred.

Was it only kinship? Since dungeons had once been her workplace, she instinctively reacted whenever they came up.

"What news are you referring to?"

"A dungeon appeared in the mountain behind the village. And on top of that... Oh, listen to me. I'm being so indiscreet."

The innkeeper shook her head, cutting herself off.

Charlotte frowned and flicked a coin toward her.

The woman caught it reflexively, then gasped when she realized it was a gold coin.

"Please explain in greater detail."

"O-Of course! Of course I will!"

The innkeeper launched into her tale, speaking so energetically that she sprayed saliva.

Charlotte's hopes, which had begun as a faint possibility, swelled into something far greater.

'The Seventh Palaces of the Abyss? That's impossible.'

Charlotte had already heard that the seventh of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss had recently been conquered.

Like every dungeon, it was only a matter of time before a new seventh-ranked dungeon emerged.

And it was in the mountain behind this village?

If the birth of a newly established member of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss was true, not only the human Empire but the Demon Realm would be in uproar for some time.

"...Could this be a distorted rumor?"

"Come on, I heard it straight from an Extermination Party that went there. They said that right from the start, there was a True-Blood Vampire, a Death Knight, and some irregu... Well, some kind of Death Knight, anyway. They did say it while drinking, but it didn't seem like they were lying."

Something said while drinking.

It wasn't terribly reliable. Humans casually spat out lies whenever they drank.

'Still, if it's true.'

If it was one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss, there could be no better place to settle.

Whether they would accept her was another matter, but she wouldn't know unless she tried.

"Do you know where that Extermination Party is?"

"Oh my, so you are interested? They're staying in the largest room upstairs. I heard they're leaving tomorrow morning, but..."

Before the woman could finish, Charlotte headed upstairs.

Ugh, what a rude girl. Charlotte heard a sigh from behind her but ignored it and kept walking.

Knock, knock.

"What is it now? Huh?"

The door opened with a creak of hinges the instant she knocked.

Charlotte immediately scattered Mana Powder from the pouch in her hand into the room.

Starting with the man who had opened the door, the large men collapsed one after another as if falling asleep.

Charlotte crouched to their eye level.

"Tell me everything you all know about the dungeon behind the village."

It was Mind-Control Magic combined with sleep.

With this, they had no choice but to truthfully reveal everything they had seen, heard, and felt.

"The mountain... dungeon..."

They mumbled in slurred voices.

Even after cross-checking their accounts, all the information led to one conclusion.

A newly established member of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss had appeared in the mountain behind this village.

It wasn't certain, but there was a strong chance it was true.

If she could make that place her home, the first piece of her plan would fall into place.

There was no time to waste. Charlotte set off for the mountain through the darkness of night.

* * *

'This is going fucking terribly.'

The Charlotte who should have gone to the Tenfold Abyss wanted to settle down here instead.

Why? Because she thought this place was one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.

Hearing how desperately she wanted to join the Seven Palaces confirmed this was the past.

The Charlotte whose backstory I knew had wanted to join the Seven Palaces of the Abyss so she could take revenge on humanity.

"I was born a Witch before I was ever human. I may not look it, but I have experience serving as an adjutant in the 72 Dungeons. And as this is a newly established dungeon, it is still incomplete. If you employ me, I will be of considerable help."

Her tone was stiff and her expression mechanical.

What a cold-blooded, heartless sociopath.

Honestly, I was fucking terrified just talking to her.

Whether Charlotte was human or a Witch who hated humans didn't matter.

This wasn't a dungeon in the first place.

"I'll say this once. This isn't one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. I'm not its boss either."

"I see."

Despite her words, she didn't look like she believed me at all.

Why the hell would I be the boss of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss? This isn't even a dungeon, and I'm not the boss. So hurry up and get the fuck out, you bitch.

I wanted to vent my pent-up frustration like that.

[Lv. 72]

That level was why I couldn't.

I barely swallowed down my frustration.

I couldn't act rashly around Charlotte.

Was I a spineless, pathetic loser? That was true, but it was also true that she was a crazy, emotionless killing maniac.

She was a Witch whose hobby was skinning humans. Despite her appearance, she was a lunatic who smashed everything to pieces whenever she felt like it. No one could predict what she would do.

Let's say I convinced her that this wasn't a dungeon and cleared up the misunderstanding.

What would Charlotte say next?

'I understand. So this wasn't one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss. To think you dared deceive me. Atone with your death.'

If she reacted like that, I'd die without even being able to resist.

Then what if I said I wouldn't take her in?

'It appears you do not trust me. Then allow me to demonstrate my strength. (Magic blast, boom!)'

No matter how I thought about it, all I saw was death.

After a long struggle, I made my choice.

"Welcome. I'll accept you as the dungeon's adjutant."

When I held out my hand, Charlotte took it with a trembling hand.

She had been expressionless the whole time, but her actions revealed how she truly felt.

"Thank you for accepting me."

"Work hard from now on."

"Yes. I will devote myself wholeheartedly to being of use."

Do as you please. I didn't care.

The Vampires clapped behind me. Arrogant little mosquito bastards.

"I need to step out for a moment."

"Where are you going?"

"Now that I have an adjutant, I have business outside. Don't ask anything further."

"I see. Understood."

What business could I possibly have outside just because I got an adjutant? The truth was, I had no business at all.

Fuck all of this. I was making a run for it.

It would be better to make a home in the Demon Realm than stay here.

* * *

"I've never seen a dungeon boss leave the dungeon before."

Charlotte trailed off as she glanced toward the Vampires. Her eyes seemed to be asking whether their boss always acted so strangely.

Isabella shrugged.

"We don't really know either. We haven't known them for long."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Um... we're not actually affiliated with this dungeon either. We happened to enter this place yesterday, and the Boss kindly took us in. We had no idea this was one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss, but... now it makes sense."

"Makes sense? What does?"

"It's nothing. Ah, maybe it's actually a huge thing? The Boss saved me when I was about to die, and, um... in the process, made me like this."

Charlotte couldn't understand exactly what Isabella meant because Isabella was inarticulate.

If Isabella hadn't touched her horns, fangs, and red hair, Charlotte would never have figured it out.

"Are you saying you evolved because of the Boss?"

"Ah, evolved! Yes, that's right. The Boss didn't explain how, but it's true."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. She doubted the truth of what Isabella had just said.

Having lived alongside nonhuman peoples in dungeons, Charlotte knew more about them than she did humans.

Monsters could only evolve through their own Awakening. There had never been a case where someone forcibly brought about that transformation.

If it was true, it was an incomprehensible ability.

The Extermination Party's words at the inn suddenly came back to her.

They had also said their weapons vanished as though they had been erased with a single gesture from the boss.

"That's true too. Phew, I thought the Boss was just different from everyone else, but they really are the boss of one of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss...."

Isabella seemed strangely excited.

Naturally, the Seven Palaces of the Abyss were objects of admiration and reverence among nonhuman peoples.

A dungeon boss with incomprehensible abilities who didn't hesitate to leave the dungeon.

Charlotte stopped trying to understand the boss. Every boss of the Seven Palaces of the Abyss was an incomprehensible being.

'That's why they're the Seven Palaces of the Abyss.'

Charlotte looked around the area.

"I should explore until the Boss returns."

Since it was a newly established dungeon, she needed to inspect its interior, then renovate and reinforce it.

As an adjutant personally appointed by the boss, that was naturally her duty.

Dungeon positions were as follows.

Boss -> Mid-Boss -> Keeper -> Trash Mobs.

A Keeper was someone who guarded a single floor or room.

There was also a separate adjutant position.

A dungeon adjutant carried greater responsibility than an adjutant in human society.

They served as attendants who assisted the boss while also keeping an ear on human society to gather information.

They were also responsible for dungeon expansion, recruiting and managing monsters, placing traps, supplying water and food, constructing an Ore Vein Extraction Base, tending Labyrinth Plants, drawing maps based on changed terrain, devising schemes against intruders, and even establishing an emergency communication line with the Dungeon Association in case of trouble.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say all dungeon management was entrusted to them.

The dungeon adjutant was, in a sense, the second-in-command.

That was why an adjutant had to be capable rather than simply strong.

Charlotte calmly observed the dungeon's interior as she walked around.

The boss had accepted her, but would still distrust her in some way because she was human. Charlotte knew that well, having endured that prejudice for far too long.

So she would prove just how capable she was and change the Boss's mind.

"The Boss will probably be surprised when they return."

Footnotes:

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