WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 13: One Dream, Another Form
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Underground Dungeon Raid
In the original game, it had been one of the main branches of the side quests.
As befitted a side quest, the story itself was not all that important. It was an event players entered to obtain higher-grade items.
‘There are plenty of good items there.’
It was especially somewhere you had to visit when playing on [Impossible] difficulty.
Without sorting out my equipment here, it would be difficult to deal with the <Seven Calamities> that arrived in the later stages.
In short, it was a farming spot.
[A dungeon... It appears to be quite large.]
“Of course. It goes all the way down to the hundredth basement floor.”
[Deep indeed. A hundred floors would make it one of the largest dungeons on the continent...]
“That is why the Academy manages it directly. Leaving it unattended could be dangerous.”
An academy city.
And a dungeon stretching a hundred floors beneath it.
The land was fertile thanks to the mana contained within the dungeon itself, and the mana in the air was always clean.
Beyond those geographical advantages, the dungeon served a variety of purposes within the Academy.
[Is it not dangerous? No matter what, having an academy directly above a dungeon...]
“It is fine. The dungeon’s difficulty rises the deeper you go. As long as you do not descend too far, there is no real danger.”
[But as I understand it, dungeons periodically overflow...]
“Purgatory is not an eruption-type dungeon. Leaving it alone will not make it go berserk, nor will the monsters inside overflow. There is no need to clear every floor, either.”
[Oh? Then there must be floors yet to be cleared.]
“That is right. In fact, from the seventieth floor onward, there are still floors the Academy has not managed to clear.”
Had she become interested?
The bat blinked her lovely red eyes, no longer looking sleepy.
[The Human Realm truly is fascinating.]
“The underground dungeon’s official name is Purgatory. It is also used as a training ground for Academy cadets.”
[You said it is safe as long as one does not descend too deeply. It is certainly sensible. It must give the young seedlings valuable experience, far safer than sending them outside.]
“It is not called the continent’s finest educational institution for nothing.”
[Mm-hm.]
A safe dungeon.
Of course, that would change later in the story.
Once the Fifth Calamity began its reign, Purgatory’s uncleared floors would start going berserk.
Dungeon monsters and bosses would overflow onto the surface.
The rule everyone had believed in would collapse.
Players would have to face the grand calamity and the underground monsters at the same time.
‘Thinking ahead... I do need to clear Purgatory all the way to the hundredth floor.’
Only uncleared floors went berserk.
The more of the dungeon the player had cleared, the easier things would be when the Fifth Calamity arrived.
‘Well, I came here for something else today.’
Clearing Purgatory was something I could handle bit by bit.
The Fifth Calamity’s reign was still two years away.
I had plenty of time.
Today, I intended to focus on getting the item I had originally come for.
[But, Viktor.]
“Yes, Princess.”
The sky was dark.
We prowled through a secluded area near the annex.
We walked carefully so the staff making their night patrols would not spot us.
The dormitory’s curfew had already passed. If we were caught, we would definitely be punished.
[Did you not say security around Purgatory’s entrance was especially tight?]
“That is right. It would be a serious problem if students went in recklessly and had an accident.”
[And you said there was no separate back way in. You also did not receive permission to enter. Judging by how secretly we are moving, you intend to sneak in.]
“You are exactly right.”
[This princess cannot imagine how you plan to sneak in...]
That was true.
I had not shown her yet.
“You will understand once you see it. We have arrived.”
“...?”
I stopped in a remote clearing.
It was a spot that seemed entirely unrelated to the dungeon.
The bat tilted her head in confusion.
[Viktor? Did you not say Purgatory’s entrance was in Main Building A?]
“I did.”
[Then why have we come to a place so far away...]
“You will find out now. Please stay quietly in my pocket so you do not fall out.”
[Hm? Very well.]
I straightened my clothes.
What I was about to do had to be quick, devout, and meticulous.
At one side of the clearing, I found a small sapling surrounded by brush.
I placed the tip of my toe precisely against it, then lay down beside it as though I were bowing in full prostration.
[...Viktor?]
The bat looked visibly confused by my bizarre behavior.
I ignored her.
With my stomach against the ground, I began moving back and forth.
Rub, rub.
I looked thoroughly shabby, but I was serious.
Earning strange looks through bizarre behavior was the fate of a bug player.
[V-Viktor...? What are you doing?]
[Are you hurt somewhere?]
I did not answer.
I poured every bit of my focus into wall-humping and Wall Clipping.
I rubbed against it over and over until the bug activated.
Carmilla could only watch in bewilderment.
Just as her gaze was beginning to turn troubled...
Tap.
‘Got it.’
I felt something catch.
A moment later, my body slipped straight beneath the ground.
[Kya, kyaah...?!]
Carmilla cried out in surprise.
After enduring the sensation of falling for a moment...
“We are here.”
[M-Mmng...?]
The next instant, we were standing in the middle of a huge corridor.
‘Creepy.’
The chilly air unique to the underground.
Dim lamps, a high ceiling, and a marble floor.
Carmilla looked around, seemingly trying to adjust to the changed scenery.
Before long, she realized it was real. Her eyes went round as she looked up at me.
[H-How...?]
“I told you. You would find out soon enough.”
We were on the seventieth floor.
In the corridor leading to the boss chamber.
The bat flew out of my pocket and looked all around.
[H-How did you do this? How did it work? What kind of power was that? I did not sense a single sign...]
She could not sense mana.
It was not teleportation.
Yin and yang had not twisted.
It was not sorcery.
There was no demonic energy.
It was not dark magic.
Carmilla’s red eyes could only sparkle brightly.
[A power I could not sense! Did you fool the senses of a pureblood vampire like me? Or is it a completely different kind of power?]
“Hehe, were you surprised?”
[Of course! I knew you normally used mysterious powers, but I never thought you could do something like this.]
The silver bat fluttered her wings.
I tapped my mask.
‘It is not some other power. I just used a bug...’
There was no way to explain it properly, so I did not.
Besides, I did not particularly want to shatter her amazement.
[There does not seem to be anyone nearby.]
“Of course not. We are at the deepest part of the dungeon.”
After confirming nobody was around, the princess gave a light leap.
The bat immediately returned to her true form as a girl.
Her flowing silver hair gleamed under the dungeon lamps.
“Ahem! We need only advance straight ahead!”
“This way. The boss chamber is at the end there.”
“Is the item Viktor wants in that room?”
“More precisely, the boss has it. I will probably get it if I kill the boss.”
It was an item obtainable only from the first clear.
Since the seventieth floor had not been cleared yet, I had to get there first.
“But... an item for Viktor? What kind do you need?”
“A weapon. There is one that seems perfect for my current situation.”
“A weapon?”
The combination I used most often.
The Evil God set, along with this.
It was an item that could work in tandem with the mask I was currently wearing.
“If I had to classify it, it is a melee weapon.”
“Viktor needs something like that, too? You are already plenty strong with your bare hands.”
“It is better to have many options. It is how I remain a capable retainer.”
“Viktor is already more capable than anyone could ask for!”
“Hehe, thank you for saying so.”
“I mean it...”
Before I knew it, we had reached the entrance to the room.
As we drew close, a simple notice was posted there.
Perhaps the Academy staff who had previously attempted to clear it had left it behind.
[Warning]
The seventieth floor has not yet been cleared.
Please turn back the way you came.
Do not ignore this warning or open the gate before you.
[Warning]
Beyond this point is the domain where the master of the seventieth floor resides.
The Academy has not yet succeeded in clearing this area.
The master’s patterns change every time, and it may sometimes have no form.
If you are not a dedicated raid party member, turn back.
“Viktor... Is it really all right to go in?”
“Of course. You are not scared, are you?”
“T-There is no way I am!”
[Warning]
Once entered, this area’s door will not open until a specific condition has been fulfilled.
The condition is as follows.
-The death of the seventieth-floor master, or the death of every person who entered.
[Warning]
This area has an extremely low survival rate even for regular raid parties.
-Regular raid parties consist of at least two individuals as strong as professors.
-Twenty years ago, five professors died in the line of duty while attempting to clear this area. Further attempts have since been suspended.
Your chance of returning alive is extremely low.
Do not enter under any circumstances.
“Is this really supposed to be all right...?”
“Come on. I will open the gate right away.”
“V-Viktor! Wait for me...!”
Carmilla came running after me.
I snickered and placed my hand on the gate.
Perhaps because it had been left untouched for so long, the hinges creaked heavily.
I pushed against the door, several times taller than I was.
‘Well.’
I had no worries about clearing it.
There was nobody watching, which meant I was in the perfect environment to unleash my bizarre bugs to my heart’s content.
‘Shall I show what I can do?’
I touched the broadly smiling mask.
The gate opened, and cold air rushed out.
I stepped forward.
Toward the master of the seventieth floor, who had remained undefeated for decades.
* * *
But Viktor did not know.
Even in a place with nobody around, a place free from the eyes of others...
“This, this is...?”
Someone was watching him.
“He went in? Into the master’s domain...?”
A dream that stared directly at another.
One Dream, Another Form.
The blue eyes of the girl lying in her dormitory bed trembled.
“That person...?”
Alice.
The girl watched through the shared view, unable to hide her shock.
Footnotes:
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