WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈
Chapter 25: Julius
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This is an old post.
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Title: The Last Thing I Want to Say to You Guys
Author: chongchong_sage
I've always said we should survive for a long, long time, but I never thought I'd be the first one to go.
The situation is terrible. All my Minions are already dead, and most of the traps have been smashed to pieces.
I'm holding out in front of the Core Room, but... well... I don't think I can beat these bastards.
Those Branded Elf fuckers said they'd spare me if I told them the secrets of other dungeons.
But I owe you guys some loyalty, and even if I spilled everything, those bastards would just take my Magic Stone anyway, so I told them to fuck off...
Manly as hell, right? LOL.
Even if it kills me, I won't let anything happen to you guys, so don't worry too much.
Maybe I'm unlucky, or maybe I'm just a fucking idiot...
If I'd known this would happen, maybe I should've chosen a Steampunk theme like golemking?
I'm sorry for showing up with bad news when you're all probably having a hard time too...
Still, I wanted to tell you guys this before the end...
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It feels so refreshing to finally say the things I've always wanted to say.
I don't want to die, but what else can I do?
I want to survive for a long, long time, hang out with you guys, and share information too.
But this is fate as well, so I guess I'll just accept it.
I don't know whether anyone will be sad, but if you are, just accept it too.
There's one last thing I want to ask.
Later, if these motherfuckers ever come to your dungeon.
Please get some satisfying revenge for me. Then I think I'll be able to close my eyes peacefully in the afterlife.
Especially Julius, was it? That elf bastard's personality was fucking awful.
You remember the Minion I treasured most, right? They killed it in the most painful way possible right in front of me.
Please make them suffer the exact same way. I'm begging you.
Anyway, I should get going.
Even if I die, I'm taking at least one of them with me.
Live long, everyone.
And I hope you'll be happy.
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* * *
As I explained before, Dungeon Gallery was a place for people to socialize.
At the same time, it was also a place where Dungeon Masters shared information to help one another fend off Waves more easily.
Besides simple daily posts and live updates like the ones I usually uploaded, all kinds of posts appeared in the gallery.
For example, there was information about the races living in this world.
Thanks to that, even a newbie like me could easily access unfamiliar material and immediately search up whatever information I needed.
Of course, Dungeon Gallery had something called newbie privileges, so I usually received help from Veterans who knew a lot.
Still, there were definitely things that were awkward to ask about.
The search function was extremely useful for dealing with those.
After coming to the Forest of Life, I looked through every post related to Branded Elves.
That was when I found posts written long ago by a Dungeon Master named chongchong_sage.
Their culture, tendencies, attitudes, techniques, and types of magic.
There was plenty of useful information, including their intelligence and average combat ability.
The information about the Forest of Life that the Veterans told me also seemed to be largely based on chongchong_sage's posts.
└humanluvr: Um... He was a really cheerful person, you know? I guess you could call him one of those well-liked regulars... He organized information really well, joked around with people, and always helped keep the mood pleasant...
└humanluvr: You know the type, right? Someone who turns even terrible things happening to them into humor. He had that sort of cheerful aura, umm...
└humanluvr: He was devoted to Dungeon Gallery! Every day, he encouraged everyone to survive for a long, long time. Almost nobody disliked him. He was such a pure person...
It wasn't just humanluvr.
The head mod, no_minions_4_me, and the other users all remembered chongchong_sage fondly.
The reason I specifically asked about him wasn't only because chongchong_sage had written posts about Branded Elves.
└newbie: He's dead, right?
└humanluvr: Mm...
└newbie: Branded Elves killed him?
└humanluvr: That's right.
It was because chongchong_sage was a Dungeon Master killed by Branded Elves in the Forest of Life.
└humanluvr: Nobody starts out strong. Everyone has a childhood. Dungeon Masters are no different.
└humanluvr: Their levels are all incredibly high now, and nobody can mess with them easily, but they were low back then. There were far more Dungeon Masters than there are now, and, well, that's how it was.
└humanluvr: chongchong_sage was a cheerful Dungeon Master, and he wasn't an idiot either, but the Branded Elves who had gathered in a group were more vicious and stronger than chongchong_sage expected... I guess you could say he was unlucky.
I didn't know chongchong_sage.
I'd never talked with him, and I hadn't been a Dungeon Master during his time.
I'd only come across chongchong_sage's posts to gather information.
It was almost accidental that I learned about his personal story.
Still.
Maybe because it didn't feel like someone else's problem.
Or maybe because the people I was facing were Branded Elves.
Right now, I felt like I could be more ruthless than ever.
chongchong_sage had asked the gallery users to avenge him against the Branded Elves.
Human greed knows no bounds. Since a means like an Escape Scroll existed, I had a feeling they might come back again eventually.
└newbie: Who's Julius?
└humanluvr: The big boss of the Forest of Life. He used to be an ordinary Branded Elf, but maybe he was talented, because apparently he monopolized chongchong_sage's Magic Stone. From what I've heard, he's not a Blessed One, but even though he's young by elf standards, people say he's strong.
└newbie: Hmm...
└humanluvr: But it's all because of the Magic Stone, so don't worry too much!
As a junior who had received free information...
Shouldn't I avenge my senior?
I became a fisherman waiting for a bite and decided to wait for the right moment.
* * *
Forest of Life.
Elder's Room, Branded Elf headquarters.
"Did you truly see them enter?"
"Yes, Elder Julius."
"You're certain?"
"Yes. Many besides me saw them enter the dungeon. The Branded Elf expedition led by Tyr entered Dreamland. There is no doubt."
Elder Julius stroked his chin.
Tyr had definitely entered Dreamland with an Escape Scroll.
Even if things went wrong, she should have been able to get out. Why had she died?
The subordinate's testimony had completely ruled out the possibility that Tyr had escaped with the Escape Scroll.
'There are supposed to be many variables inside a dungeon, but Tyr isn't someone who can't handle them. Did things go wrong because Tyr was caught carrying the Escape Scroll near the entrance?'
Julius couldn't make sense of it at all.
With a stiff expression, he tapped the table.
He had cleared a dungeon once before.
The mages estimated that Dreamland was a dungeon around six months old.
But the dungeon Julius had encountered had been created ten years earlier.
Despite conditions being far worse then, he had killed the Dungeon Master and claimed the Magic Stone.
Tyr was not only capable, but trustworthy as a person.
In this forest, she was the one most loyal to Julius.
That was why he had given her an Escape Scroll.
'Of course, anyone's eyes go wild at the sight of a Magic Stone, so I didn't trust Tyr completely.'
Julius hadn't expected Tyr to clear it in one go.
Dungeons were difficult by nature.
No matter how newly formed one was, it had to be hiding at least one sharp fang.
This had been closer to an expedition meant to gather information.
"......"
Julius had sacrificed the Escape Scroll and his subordinates.
But there was nothing to show for it.
It was an extremely unpleasant situation.
Julius thought deeply.
'I need to reorganize the group from the beginning. The losses are considerable. Since we took plenty of combat personnel and still failed, there may be a lot of magical traps. It's a shame that Reberio, our most useful mage, died.'
It wasn't stubbornness.
Julius thought it was entirely possible.
'There are two Escape Scrolls left. Two chances.'
It wasn't as if Escape Scrolls couldn't be bought.
Julius was a villain who had earned money through countless criminal enterprises.
But among expensive items, there were some that remained difficult to obtain no matter how much money someone had.
Escape Scrolls were exactly that.
Why else would their price be so high?
They were a pain in the ass to make, and only a limited number of mages could create them.
Their supply was overwhelmingly low, even among the magical items sold by the Spatial School.
Even completed scrolls were sold to Blessed Ones first.
For criminals like Julius to buy one, they had to spend far more time and money.
It wasn't something that could simply be bought with cash.
"......"
No matter how Julius thought about it, it still seemed entirely possible.
Julius was strong.
His magical knowledge was exceptional, and his martial ability was formidable.
After all, Julius had devoured a Dungeon Master's Magic Stone.
The atmosphere outside wasn't good to begin with.
In the South Kingdom, a movement to subjugate the Branded Elves was currently forming.
Humans were always like this. They happily used the Branded Elves when it suited them.
But now public opinion had turned, and they were planning to name the Branded Elves enemies of the Kingdom and make them scapegoats.
They had invested too much until now, so simply running away would result in tremendous losses.
Still.
If Julius could secure a Magic Stone, not only could those losses be recovered, but he would gain enormous profits.
In slang, refusing to do it would make him a cowardly idiot.
It didn't take long.
Julius entered Dreamland with a newly assembled expedition.
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Creak, creak.
Julius looked at the mysterious old machine and suppressed a groan.
* * *
Her name was Tyr, right?
The rulebook she had written contained the following lines.
1. Only one person may ride the suspicious machine at a time.
2. Avoid hallways without lights.
3.Dieyoufuckingworthlessbastardsjustalldiediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediediedie
4. Do nothing.
I crossed those lines out.
Then I rewrote them to sound more like proper rules.
People always say this kind of thing needs the right atmosphere, don't they?
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Dreamland Entrance Guide
1. The elevator has a one-person capacity.
2. A hallway without lights is not part of Dreamland. Never set foot inside it.
3. If you possess an Escape Scroll, do not let your companions find out. It may lead to terrible consequences.
4. If you cannot move forward, suicide is also an option.
5. ......
6. ......
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cowhead: newbie, when are you uploading the live feed? T_T
└skullbones: I heard Julius went in this time. Seriously, I wonder what'll happen...
└magichero: H-he probably has an Escape Scroll, and he's cautious, so it m-m-m-might be hard to kill him...
└3mhamster: Maybe newbie can pull it off?
└whaleyeah: From what I saw before, he's good at turning people against each other too... This newbie bastard has real Dungeon Master talent. Yep.
└op_ghost: From what I hear, Julius is so fucking greedy he might not give up until he leaves with the Magic Stone. He could seriously die this time. Yep.
└psychward_mvp: A future Dungeon Master avenging one from the past... This is incredibly interesting.
└squintychar: LOL, these bastards. It's funny how none of you even consider that newbie's dungeon might get breached.
└kongkong: I can't even imagine newbie's Anomalies losing...!
└no_minions_4_me: You don't have to force yourself to avenge chongchong_sage. Your life comes first, no matter what.
└orange★: Good luck with this Wave too.
└humanluvr: New-bie!
└humanluvr: I heard somewhere... that if you promise yourself, "Once this Wave is over, I'm going to marry Sarang," you can even defeat a Blessed One. T_T
└humanluvr: (newbie's expected answer: Okay, I will. I love you.)
└antqueen: unbelievable
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I set down my pen.
Naturally, I had no intention of giving this to the intruders.
This rulebook was for the Veterans, to help them understand what happened.
I would upload it to the gallery after the live feed ended.
And.
Today, once again, I uploaded the view from the surveillance cameras to the gallery.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
