WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈
Chapter 29: Malrang
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LV. 55
Class - Dungeon Master
Dungeon Theme - Anomaly
Population - 7/50
Device Count - 5/50
Points - 250000
STR - 58
DEX - 58
CON - 58
MP - 58
UN - newbie
UC - dm_6_666666666
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newbie: Hehe, what do you guys think of this Wave's rewards??
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└ worldiscold: I'll survive.
└antqueen: Why aren't you saying you're gonna kill yourself today??
└worldiscold: BECAUSE AN ELF IS COMING TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! YOU FUCKER!!!!!!!!!!
└antqueen: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
└nightraven: Hang in there... bb...
└dip: Honestly, if you're a DM jealous of newbie, upvote this lol.
└golemking: I'm a Steampunk Dungeon Master, but fuck, this time I'm so jealous my nonexistent stomach hurts...
└orange★: I hit the upvote... I'm bawling my eyes out in every direction... T_T
└tvhead: Head mod, please keep some dignity... If even you lose it, our gallery is doomed...
└no_minions_4_me: Wow, level 55 already? Is that for real???
└humanluvr: newbie really does level up fast! Wasn't the last Wave difficulty called Madness? Our newbie hit the ceiling!?
└skullbones: Not even counting Julius, the Branded Elves were generally pretty high-level.
└kongkong: At this point, it would've been better to keep them alive and farm Points and levels.
└op_ghost: newbie is getting more and more messed up T_T
└sealedconq: newbie already has five Pieces?
└sealedphilo: There are five traps total. Three elevators located at the entrance, Area 1, and Area 2, plus the Maze Generator and the Strange School Generator.
└sealedphilo: There are seven Minions total. The cleaning Slime, the Doppelganger, and five Weeping Person Statues.
└sealedconq: It's finally starting to look like a dungeon~
└magichero: I-I-I-I-I-I honestly think calling this a dungeon is... s-s-s-s-s-something I can't fucking comprehend...
└humanluvr: Isn't that the charm of newbie's dungeon?? I want to live there every day T_T
└magichero: Y-y-y-y-you're also something I can't fucking comprehend...
└cowhead: So when's the next live broadcast??
└dm_disappointed: It's ridiculous that this bastard turned into a live-stream parrot.
└cowhead: No, but it's fucking fun... This is what a real labyrinth is, yeah.
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I had leveled up like crazy.
Honestly, I hadn't expected the elevators to perform this well.
Hmm.
I'd bought the elevators simply to raise the difficulty.
I planned to send intruders back and forth between Area 1 and Area 2.
If I roughly drew out the dungeon map, this was probably the layout intruders would see if they used Detection Magic before reaching an elevator.
│Pass│
│ │
│age │
│ │
── ──
│ Open │
│ │
│ Space│
── ──
│ Core Room │
───────
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That wasn't completely wrong.
More accurately, though, it looked like this.
│Passage│
│Elevator│
│ Ma │
│ Ma │
│ Ma │
│ ze │
│ ze │
│Elevator│
──────────
│ Sch │
│An elevator somewhere│
│ ool │
──────────
│ Core Room │
──────────
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Anomalies basically couldn't be detected with Detection Magic.
And the maze and School only activated once an intruder reached their areas.
Most intruders would probably mistake the space ahead for nothing more than a long passage and a wide clearing, but they'd be dead wrong.
Even if they made it safely through the elevators, the far more vicious School and maze were waiting for them.
Intruders without any information would have a hard time getting past even the elevators.
In the end, it had been an undisputed, perfect victory for me.
Of course, that was only because things had gone in my favor.
If those asshole elves had safely used their Escape Scrolls and shared the information from the start, things could have turned out very differently.
People weren't mentally linked like Protoss through the Khala.
In extreme situations, people's true natures showed more clearly.
The Branded Elves were villains without a shred of decency.
That only made their lack of cooperation stand out even more.
Anyway.
Were elevators the strongest?
【Elevator to Another Area (★3)】
【Price: 50000P】
【Tags: Anomaly, Immortal, Passage Classification】
【The Dungeon Master can personally set the elevator's password.】
【The password must consist of three non-repeating digits. (Examples: 234, 345, 456)】
【When an intruder enters the password, they will spawn in the area designated by the Dungeon Master.】
【The Dungeon Master can change the elevator's designated area during a Wave.】
【However, if an intruder has already spawned in a designated area once, they cannot be made to spawn in the same area again. Please take special care with this.】
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【A friendly example for Anomaly-theme Dungeon Masters ▼】
【An intruder named Cheolsu used an elevator and arrived in Area 1. Let's assume Cheolsu had already entered Area 2 through the elevator located at the entrance.】
【The Dungeon Master wanted to punish Cheolsu for trying to take the Magic Stone.】
【The Dungeon Master changed the spawn destination of the elevator in Area 1 to Area 2, hoping to put Cheolsu through hell. However, Cheolsu had already been transported to Area 2 once.】
【At this time, rather than sending Cheolsu to Area 2, the elevator will transport Cheolsu to its originally designated area, or to the Core Room if there is no suitable destination.】
【An intruder named Younghee sees Cheolsu disappear and makes up their mind, thinking, 'I'll follow Cheolsu too!' They board the elevator, but...】
【Since Younghee has never been to Area 2, they safely spawn in Area 2, the destination changed by the Dungeon Master.】
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【The elevator is connected to the location designated by the Dungeon Master and the Nest of the Otherworldly Insect.】
【The Otherworldly Insect occasionally boards the elevator, but it becomes less perceptive outside its nest. Unless an intruder moves right in front of it, it cannot distinguish them from the elevator.】
【Only one person may ride the elevator at a time. Violating this rule will trigger a penalty.】
【If an intruder rides every elevator installed in the dungeon, they will be transported to the Core Room.】
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Just look at that glorious design.
Wasn't it incredible?
I could designate its spawn destination however I wanted.
I could even change it during a Wave.
It could split up intruders, too.
It chewed intruders to pieces, and it even gave me an Otherworldly Insect for free.
Ah.
It was the best little cash cow.
Oh, something occurred to me while riding the elevators during this Wave.
Restia visited our dungeon before, remember?
Do you remember how the maze kindly wrote out the path on the floor with the Sprinkler back then?
Anomalies were basically friendly to me.
The elevators were, too.
So was the Otherworldly Insect living in the mysterious space connected to the elevators.
When I headed into Area 2 to avenge chongchong_sage this time, I ran into the Otherworldly Insect.
It bowed deeply to me.
Then, as if it were a gift, it handed me something.
It was soft, rainbow-colored jelly, and it smelled sweet.
"What's this? Are you handing out rice cakes or something...?"
I didn't eat it.
It would be a problem if it made me sick.
Maybe I'd give it to Malrang as food later.
Or maybe I'd try it someday, when my curiosity really, really overcame my reason.
"But is it really that hard to get through? Is it because they're Branded Elves?"
Riding the elevator alone.
Not stepping into an unlit corridor.
Ignoring the Insect Human.
Entering a three-digit password.
It all sounded pretty simple when laid out like that...
Yet more than twenty Branded Elf intruders had died at the elevators alone.
"I haven't even shown them all of Area 2 yet."
Julius had killed chongchong_sage.
That bastard had swaggered around over having an Escape Scroll.
Julius boldly stepped into Area 2, only to get taught a harsh lesson by the School and evolved statue combo.
In my opinion, Area 2 currently had Dreamland's strongest defenses.
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【Strange School Generator (★3)】
【Price: 50000P】
【Tags: Anomaly, Immortal, Single-Use, Minion Evolution】
【When it detects intruders, it creates a School in the designated area. The School's size is proportional to the size of the area.】
【The School has its own time, separate from real time. This can be checked using the clock hanging on the wall.】
【The School is divided into five periods: arrival time, class time, break time, lunchtime, and After School.】
【Arrival Time】
【Lasts from 8:30 to 9:00.】
【Minions with the Student tag may freely roam the School.】
【Class Time】
【Everything in the School except the classrooms disappears. Each class lasts forty minutes, with eight periods in total. Once class time ends, everything returns to normal.】
【Minions with the Teacher tag occasionally appear in classrooms.】
【Break Time】
【It is, quite literally, break time. It lasts ten minutes after class time ends.】
【Minions with any tag may freely roam the School.】
【Lunchtime】
【It is, quite literally, lunchtime. It lasts fifty minutes from 12:10.】
【Minions with any tag may freely roam the School.】
【After School】
【Lasts for seven hours and fifty minutes, from 16:10 to 24:00. Once After School ends, it returns to arrival time.】
【Minions with the Student or Caretaker tag may freely roam the School.】
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【The School can grant certain Minions new tags and evolve them.】
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【Weeping Person Statue (★3)】
【Price: 15000P】
【Tags: Anomaly, Immortal, Activation, Detection Activity, Cannot Be Developed】
【This Minion cannot move more than 100 meters from its designated location. This Minion activates when an intruder enters its detection range. If an intruder within its detection range looks away while this Minion is active, it breaks their neck.】
【However, this Minion will not move as long as even one intruder maintains eye contact with it.】
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Ta-da.
Looking at it this way, the Minion and trap seemed a little underwhelming.
They had instant-kill effects, but the way to counter them was fairly simple.
Compared to the Doppelganger and maze combo, they felt weaker.
But hadn't the Faceless Girl looted the Branded Elf intruders' belongings before and stored them in the Faculty Office?
That girl was a Weeping Person Statue evolved by the Strange School Generator.
Their unique personalities disappeared, but they gained traits suited to the School.
Maybe it was because of their high grade, but in my opinion, the School was definitely tougher than the maze.
The maze slowly bled you dry.
The School, on the other hand, grilled and roasted you all at once.
Personally, I wanted to see these guys in action, too.
"Julius was supposed to be their big boss, right?"
I stared at the scroll I'd taken from Julius.
I'd hurriedly retrieved it before Malrang could eat it.
Julius had also brought plenty of valuable things, like weapons and Healing Potions.
Honestly, I'd planned to leave Julius alone and just swipe the Escape Scroll, but apparently I couldn't retrieve an item while its owner was still alive.
That was why I'd waited in front of the Faculty Office for Julius.
Anomalies were generally kind to me, but they seemed to have certain limits on where they could intervene.
Anyway, that wasn't what mattered.
The Branded Elf leader died in the dungeon.
Without even getting to use the Escape Scroll.
Would there still be bastards who wanted to come to the dungeon after that?
I didn't think so.
That part was a little disappointing.
There were people called Blessed Ones in this world.
I also needed to reinforce the dungeon further.
That was why I wanted to level up and gather more Points.
"...Did I kill them for nothing?"
Using an Escape Scroll still counted as a successful defense, after all.
Tsk...
No.
If they had taken information outside with them, a much more troublesome situation might have arisen.
Let's think positively.
There was no guarantee they'd come back anyway.
"Eok."
"Malrang. You're already done eating?"
"Mwat."
Anyway.
There was something I'd been really curious about lately.
"Why have you gotten so big...?"
"Eok?"
Malrang had grown huge.
So huge that it was difficult to put Malrang on my lap and pet it.
By now, Malrang was almost the size of an exercise ball.
* * *
【Anomaly Slime (★3)】
【Tags: Anomaly, Immortal, Harmless】
【Quickly cleans up trash inside the dungeon. Obeys the Dungeon Master's commands.】
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newbie: Do cleaning Slimes normally evolve too?
└humanluvr: No? Why?
└newbie: Take a look at this for a second T_T
└humanluvr: ???????
└humanluvr: Don't tell me this is Malrang???
└newbie: It went from a cuddle doll to a small bed... T_T
└humanluvr: It needs to grow nice and big until it's queen-sized!
└newbie: Why?
└humanluvr: So newbie and I can lie down together!
└newbie: Pardon?
Malrang had gotten chubby.
Had it eaten too many corpses and piles of trash?
Come to think of it, something did come to mind.
Malrang's behavior had started getting a little strange some time ago.
For example.
Instead of digesting trash, Malrang would carry it over and feed it into the mouth of the Maze Generator.
It was a little fascinating to watch.
When I checked Malrang's Stats, its grade had risen by a whole two stars, and its stats had increased too.
The description also said, "Obeys the Dungeon Master's commands."
The reason I'd been able to stir things up by giving the Branded Elves notes was mostly thanks to Malrang's growth.
I hugged Malrang every day.
I petted it, too.
So I thought we'd grown close, and that was why Malrang listened to my orders...
└humanluvr: Come to think of it, there isn't a Cannot Be Developed tag... Normal Slimes usually have that tag.
Hmmm.
The Immortal tag.
The lack of a Cannot Be Developed tag.
The fact that I could only hire one.
"Malrang. What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Eok."
You little punk.
If you had the intelligence to understand what I was saying, stop saying "Eok" and write something on the floor.
You delivered those notes just fine last time.
"Just grow up healthy."
I lay down on Malrang's body as Malrang pretended not to understand.
This was surprisingly soft.
I heard intensive care units used waterbeds. Maybe this was what it felt like to lie on one.
Well then.
The Branded Elves had gone quiet.
How should I spend the enormous sum of 250,000 Points?
Should I keep saving and spend it all at once when I reached level 80?
Four-star Pieces would unlock by then.
Or should I reinforce Area 1 and Area 2?
"Wait."
Let's go outside and check on things.
The immediate danger had passed, so it should be fine.
I also wanted to show the shut-in Veteran nerds the scenery of the Forest of Life.
newbie: What do you guys think??
└golemking: Hmm...
└dip: As long as you don't wander around too dangerously... Maybe something like the patrols you did in Lowjinrat would be okay.
└antqueen: At level 55, newbie is stronger than the Branded Elves, yeah, but if they gang up on you, you're still done for, so be careful, yeah.
└newbie: Okay, okay.
For the first time in a while, I started Vroom-Vroom.
Footnotes:
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