WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈
Chapter 34: Hide-and-Seek
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"Huh?"
Yuben was dumbfounded for a moment.
What the hell am I looking at right now?
"..."
Leaving the traps and Minions alone.
The Dungeon Master himself had come all the way to the entrance to greet the intruders?
The man in the white coat strolled leisurely toward them.
He seemed to be armed with nothing but a single knife. Had he lost his mind?
'What the fuck is this bastard doing?'
Yuben signaled to the soldier and drew his weapon.
He had no idea what the man was thinking, but this was an opportunity.
If he killed the Dungeon Master, Dreamland would be his.
His goal was right in front of him, without any need for further trouble.
A Dungeon Master of a newly established dungeon should be easy enough to subdue.
That was what Yuben thought.
'This just got a whole lot easi... Huh?'
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The battle did not go as expected.
He had been half right and half wrong.
The Dungeon Master of a newly established dungeon looked like someone unfamiliar with fighting.
But his physical abilities were simply superior to Yuben's and the soldier's.
Even if Yuben lived a dissolute life now, he had real combat experience and had received an elite education.
He knew how to fight an opponent who was faster and stronger than him.
"You insolent bastard."
He could somehow respond to the Dungeon Master's attacks.
And whenever the opponent landed a solid blow, Yuben made him pay an equivalent price.
"Urk...!!"
But an ordinary soldier was different.
The Dungeon Master's knife pierced the soldier's neck, and the man collapsed on the spot, spraying blood.
Hadn't they said this was a newly established dungeon?
Wasn't it only half a year old?
Questions were all that remained in Yuben's mind.
What kind of fucked-up situation was this?
Yuben was not in good shape either.
His leg had been deeply stabbed during the fight.
He met the bloodied Dungeon Master's eyes.
They were both clearly injured. Damn it.
"..."
Yuben assessed the situation.
"Sob... S-sis, I'm scared..."
"It's okay. It's okay. It'll be fine..."
The young slave brats were useless in a fight.
He had brought them in the first place because they were easy to control, regardless of their abilities.
Which meant...
They were weak enough for him to kill easily if anything went wrong.
They were so terrified they could barely support themselves.
There was no way they would be helpful.
'When I brought knights, I didn't see even a shadow of him...'
It was not as if Yuben had forgotten the Dungeon Master existed.
He simply thought he could subdue him easily if they met.
It was not an arrogant thought.
Even historical records had an ordinary farmer among those who had conquered a newly established dungeon. Wasn't it natural to assume a Dungeon Master who had existed for only half a year would be weak?
If the traps were that vicious, then at least the Dungeon Master should have been easy for him to overpower.
'This dungeon is seriously fucking awful. Now I want it even more.'
Yuben's competitive spirit flared as he took out a Healing Potion.
This was not an unwinnable fight.
The Dungeon Master had better physical abilities, but physical strength was not everything in battle.
In fact, the Dungeon Master had suffered worse injuries while fighting two against one.
Just as Yuben decided to heal up and cut off the man's head, the Dungeon Master also took out a Healing Potion.
Judging from the marking on the glass bottle, it seemed to be used by Branded Elves.
Had the Branded Elves fallen because of Dreamland?
'Unbelievable.'
Healing Potions were made by mages.
They greatly accelerated the body's recovery rate, but unlike the Dark School's dark magic, they did not heal wounds all at once.
The Dungeon Master's Healing Potion was probably of a higher grade.
His body was regenerating quickly.
Even his clothes were restoring themselves, so perhaps regeneration was an innate ability.
'Every time I think I've figured it out, it shatters my expectations. Fuck.'
They clashed once again.
When Yuben's sword pierced the Dungeon Master's thigh...
The Dungeon Master's dagger stabbed through Yuben's shoulder.
'Doesn't he feel pain?'
Yuben had never seen anyone fight so recklessly.
That bastard was not even afraid of death.
The Dungeon Master's expression was utterly simple.
No emotion showed on his face besides his killing intent toward Yuben.
Yuben swallowed.
At this rate, the only ending he could see was both of them dying.
A Healing Potion could only be taken once a day.
He had to run before receiving an irreversible wound.
Even if I kill the Dungeon Master, it would mean nothing if I died too.
"Fine. I lose, you son of a bitch."
"..."
He would have to consider the data he had gathered this time worthwhile.
Yuben kicked the Dungeon Master in the stomach, opening some distance between them.
'Next time, I'll come with reliable guards... I've got a rough idea of your level now.'
Without hesitation, Yuben tore his Escape Scroll.
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Heidi blinked.
The lord had used an Escape Scroll to flee, while the soldier had passed out on the spot.
That bloodied person was probably the Dungeon Master.
He gave off an atmosphere similar to this dungeon.
The lord and soldier had lost.
What would happen to us now?
The children trembled with frightened expressions.
Heidi was the same.
They had never had a choice to begin with.
It had been that way when they were dragged into the dungeon, and it was the same now.
All she could do was hold the children and wait for the end.
"..."
Heidi shut her eyes tight and waited for the Dungeon Master to act.
Then...
"What are you doing? It hasn't even been an hour yet. You can still leave."
The Dungeon Master's cynical voice reached her.
Heidi looked up at him blankly.
He was not going to kill them?
"When you say we can leave..."
"You can leave a dungeon without a scroll until half a day after entering."
"Does that mean... you're letting us live? B-but we're intruders..."
The Dungeon Master stroked Heidi's head.
"Intruders? You're kids who aren't even carrying a knife."
"..."
"Sorry, but I'm not some saint who can take you back to your parents. Get going."
The Dungeon Master was kind to the children.
He told them to keep what happened here a secret. If they told anyone else, it would be them, not him, who got in trouble. If they had nowhere to go, they should somehow find Constable Restia in the South Kingdom.
She had thought they were certainly going to die. It felt like she was dreaming.
Strangely enough, this was the first adult who had ever treated us kindly.
"Th-thank you."
The Dungeon Master waved his hand.
As Heidi left with the children, she glanced back at him.
He was rummaging through the soldier's belongings.
Then he muttered something incomprehensible.
"No Escape Scroll. Good thing I took Julius's."
A huge, squirming slime appeared, swallowed the soldier's body, and disappeared somewhere.
Heidi turned her head away.
"S-sis, can we really just leave like this...?"
"Yeah, we can. So let's walk quickly for now."
For a moment, it felt like something flashed behind them.
It was probably just her imagination.
* * *
"Escape Scrolls are the problem. Why can't they just send you to the entrance...?"
Yuben staggered through the dark forest.
That fucking Dungeon Master had wrecked his body, and he could not pick up any speed.
The limits of a Healing Potion were clear.
He should be satisfied that it had stopped the bleeding.
"I should've considered more possibilities before entering. I'm not even a dungeon raider. I was too hasty..."
Honestly, it hurt.
He had already used two Escape Scrolls.
Only two remained now.
He could not buy more scrolls.
He had already paid an enormous sum of money.
"I need to find a horse. Then I'll return to the territory and plan out the manpower distribution again..."
There was no helping it.
Still, he had gained something, had he not?
It was not much, but it proved he was making progress.
Nobody could be full after their first bite.
He only had to start again from the beginning.
These were growing pains.
After going through growing pains, he could become more perfect than before.
That was certain.
He thought back to when he had been trying to become a lord.
Hadn't he, the sibling who had fallen furthest behind, killed them all and risen to this position?
Whew.
He calmed down a little.
Dungeon Master or anyone else.
If I see this through to the end, I win.
Thinking that, Yuben hurried his steps.
"Hide well, hide well. I can see your hair."
But...
What was that voice?
Was it his imagination?
Perhaps exhaustion was making him hear things.
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"Hide well, hide well. I can see your hair."
No. The voice was not his imagination.
It was getting closer.
It sounded as though it was calling for me.
What was it? Who was it? Why?
Yuben felt a chill run down his spine.
He stopped walking for a moment.
The voice was familiar, and a strange thought crossed his mind.
Right. First, use Detection Magic.
All living things had Mana.
If he used Detection Magic, he could identify it as long as there was no Jamming.
Calm down.
It could be an ordinary person.
Yuben used Detection Magic.
Then his expression stiffened.
He found nothing.
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'No. I escaped the dungeon! I escaped it! If something could leave a dungeon, I, the Blessed Ones, and the whole world would've known long ago!'
He shouted that to himself, trying to pull himself together.
Yuben bit his lip.
The owner of that voice could not be the Dungeon Master.
He had already confirmed it in the records.
Not only in the records.
He had never heard of something coming out of a dungeon, not in the newspapers he used to enjoy reading, nor in the history books he had read while trying to become a lord.
"Hide well, hide well. I can see your hair."
And yet.
It had to be impossible.
So why did that unpleasant, gloomy voice keep getting closer?
Nothing could be seen in the dark forest.
The dense forest had swallowed even the moon, stealing away the light.
Yuben felt his breathing tremble.
His body would not move properly, as if the cold had swallowed him whole.
The voice was drawing closer.
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"Hide well, hide well. I can see your hair."
Yuben saw him.
Hidden in the grass, he saw him clearly.
A white coat stained with blood.
Two lifeless eyes filled with killing intent.
An atmosphere that felt human, yet not human.
The Dungeon Master of Dreamland was roaming nearby.
Unlike Yuben, who was battered beyond recognition, he seemed to have already regenerated.
There was no trace of wounds or scars on the Dungeon Master.
If Yuben met him like this, my life would end there.
The Dungeon Master did not know my location yet.
He had to get out of this somehow.
This was his last chance.
He could not flee with his body in this condition.
Until that gloomy voice could no longer be heard, he needed to find somewhere to hide.
Thank goodness the bleeding had stopped.
"Ah!"
He found one!
That dark cave should let him hide safely.
Step.
Step.
Yuben staggered forward.
The cave looked so peaceful. That place was surely paradise.
But...
There was always someone who reached paradise first.
"..."
Unfortunately, the first occupant was a beast that could not communicate.
Despite its huge, heavy body, it was gaunt.
It looked as though it had been starving for a very long time.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh───!"
* * *
"Hide well, hide well. I can see your hair."
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"Ah, found you."
I stopped walking inside the cave.
Yuben was being eaten by a starving bear.
He was not being eaten alive, so he did not seem to be in pain.
There might have been another friend nearby, and he could have escaped on horseback, so I drove him toward the opposite side of the entrance.
Who would've thought he would walk into a starving bear's territory himself?
"Grrr..."
The bear stopped eating and growled at me.
Eat plenty.
"Well, this is awkward. I wanted to ask him a few things."
I stepped out of the cave and scratched my head.
Good thing I didn't raise my Stats.
Like I said before, even if I was a Dungeon Master with a soft newbie mindset...
I showed no mercy to intruders with malicious intent.
That bastard had even tried to shove children who knew nothing into an Anomaly.
I was no judge, but there was no point letting a conscienceless psychopath like that live.
Well, he was dead anyway.
Still.
A guy weaker than Julius was going to bring slaves into my dungeon to farm easy money?
Not a chance.
It's not like I was some fucking idiot.
There was no way I would just stand by and watch.
Last time, I had held back because there were knights and plenty of soldiers.
This time was different.
I was obviously weaker than those knight guys, but I figured I could manage against the two of them.
He had been taking notes so diligently, too.
I couldn't let him uncover what I had that easily.
I uploaded a post.
I needed to let everyone know that this Wave defense had ended too.
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newbie: Successfully defended the Wave again, hehe
└ whaleyeah: I admit I was making a huge fuss... I spoke without firsthand experience... I am a sinner... I am reflecting...
└ no_minions_4_me: newbie is level 55 now, so he can throw hands a little now, yeah
└ psychward_mvp: He hasn't really gotten any better at using his body...
└ antqueen: Honestly, I sighed so fucking hard when he saved the kids... But then he used an Escape Scroll and followed Yuben, so I applauded... I'll give him that, yeah
└ op_ghost: He's a devil, hey... A ghost, hey... Honestly, I thought he was some slasher-movie killer, hey...
└ anonbutcher: Fear is the direction everyone should strive toward. You need to firmly instill fear in them so nobody dares enter. This Wave was truly perfect.
└ sealedphilo: This was seriously amazing... Maybe take a Minion outside sometime too... Ah, most of the ones you can buy now have Activation, so you can't use them outside the dungeon...
└ cowhead: I wanted to see the School this time too, fuck...
└ tvhead: The next intruder will show it to us, yeah
└ orange★: So how much information got out this time?
└ tvhead: It feels like he figured out the elevator... Hmmm, are we going to get passed around now...?
└ humanluvr: I wasn't telling you to fight that recklessly...
└ newbie: I'm fine, so forgive me, hehe
└ humanluvr: -_-
I headed back to the dungeon.
Still, the lord was dead. Who would come next?
I had a bad feeling about this.
Footnotes:
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