WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈
Chapter 40: Psychopath
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20:30.
Denrid had died after having his eyes gouged out.
It was a critical situation. The party's only mage was dead.
Max held Jack, who had been with Denrid, responsible.
He harshly vented his raw emotions.
"You should've done something!"
"I don't know how many times I have to say it. There was nothing I could do."
"It was a mistake to leave Denrid with you! I should've made him go with useless Luka instead!"
"It would've been the same no matter who was there. That monster was just that kind of thing."
Jack calmly explained what had happened.
When the lights went out, Denrid had used magic to create light.
Then they heard something right in front of them.
A Minion dressed in filthy clothes appeared like lightning, gouged out Denrid's eyes, and vanished.
The reason Communication Magic had been cut off was simple.
Denrid had been too shocked to maintain the spell any longer.
He struggled in agony before dying from blood loss.
It had all happened in an instant.
What could Jack possibly have done in that situation?
It was no different from meeting the teacher in a classroom and getting an arm broken.
Denrid had broken the rules.
So he paid with his life.
It was that simple.
But Max couldn't accept it.
Of course he couldn't. He was emotional.
Right now, figuring out what had really happened seemed less important to Max than venting the negative emotions building up inside him, like rage and anxiety.
That was probably why he kept taking it out on Jack under the guise of holding him responsible.
There were people like that sometimes.
Jack, who had lived in the slums, was used to it.
The conversation kept circling back on itself without end.
Fortunately, the heated argument didn't turn physical.
The two of them, their emotions thoroughly soured, merely glared at each other.
Silence filled the hallway.
Whether they fought or not, Denrid's corpse continued to grow cold.
"Max. Let's stop for now. We should talk again after we've both calmed down."
Jack was mature.
He was irritated too. He was only human, after all.
"Haah..."
But fighting among themselves in this dungeon would be self-destruction.
Even with Max suddenly throwing a fit and screaming about responsibility, Jack tried to smooth over this maddening situation.
Max bit his lip.
Even someone as impatient and hotheaded as Max should've been able to understand that simple truth.
"Fuck."
"Wait, come to think of it, where's Luka?"
Jack asked Max one last question as Max turned away.
He picked up the rolling eyeballs and personally closed Denrid's eyes.
"Probably looking around or resting because her arm hurts."
As if it had nothing to do with him, Max left the bloodstained hallway without hesitation.
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20:40.
"......"
What now?
What should he do?
The absence of Denrid, who had played the most important role, left Max struggling to breathe.
Exploring this enormous School all day wouldn't have been enough.
There were already too many things interfering with their exploration: class time, the teacher, and the lights going out.
Max had been hungry for a long time, and the thirst was worse than he'd expected.
His mouth was dry.
His head was already burning, yet he'd never wanted a cold glass of water this badly.
People died if they didn't drink water.
A future where he died of thirst before finding the Faculty Office slowly took shape.
"Fuck."
Max threw a punch.
Crash!
The window shattered, and blood flowed from his fist.
No matter how hard he tried to think positively, this fucked-up, unpleasant reality kept tormenting him.
It felt like he was losing his mind.
Outside, there was no breeze. Nothing.
Drops of blood ran down the back of his hand and fell into the emptiness.
"Max."
At the sound of a voice, he pulled his arm back.
Luka stood there when he turned around.
"What?"
"I looked around and found something amazing."
"...You found something amazing?"
Luka nodded.
"Yeah. I found somewhere we can drink water."
"...Is that true!?"
Her lips were moist.
It was proof that she'd already drunk water, even though they hadn't found the Faculty Office yet.
Max was excited.
He'd been thirsty enough to go insane.
For a moment, the good news filled his face with joy.
"Yeah. But where's Jack? Did you make up?"
"We split up for a bit to cool our heads. Anyway... where is this place where we can drink water?"
Luka led Max to the tenth floor.
Oddly enough, the signs identifying the rooms were mounted on the walls instead of the doors, like classroom signs.
The drawings made it possible to tell the genders apart.
One entrance had a picture of a person wearing pants, while the other had one wearing a skirt.
Max went inside.
Luka followed behind him.
"If you lift this metal bar, water comes out."
Whoosh-
Water poured out.
Max shoved his face into the sink like a dog and drank.
The dry corners of his mouth grew wet, and cool refreshment ran down his throat.
"......"
It felt like being reborn.
The hopeless reality before his eyes disappeared.
Who knew drinking water could make someone this happy?
If Max had been a more sentimental person, he would've burst into tears right then.
"Haaah..."
"I'm glad. You look happy."
Happy.
Normally, Max would've thrown a fit and said, "How can you talk about being happy in a hopeless situation like this?"
But Luka was right. Since coming to Dreamland, this was Max's happiest moment.
So he let it slide.
"Where's Jack?"
"Who knows."
Either way, they desperately needed people right now.
Max had argued with Jack.
But petty feelings weren't important at the moment.
At least until they got the Escape Scroll, they desperately needed the others' help.
Max knew that too.
"Whew, we should decide on a meeting place from now on."
"Yeah..."
This was troublesome.
With Denrid dead, they could no longer use Communication Magic.
'I need to think of a new way to explore from now on.'
Max took Luka and began looking for Jack.
Then they found him without much difficulty.
"There you are. I'm really glad Luka's okay too."
"Sorry."
Jack looked relieved.
"Don't disappear without saying anything next time. I was worried."
"Yeah, but..."
Luka trailed off.
Jack was wearing the Leather Armor he usually liked to wear.
He had a backpack containing drinking water and food, and even held a knife in his hand.
"Don't tell me you found the Faculty Office?"
Jack nodded.
"Yeah. The Faculty Office was on the eighth floor. Our belongings were in the cabinets, so the water and food problem is completely solved now."
Another incredibly sweet piece of good news.
The corners of Max's lips quietly rose.
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.
.
.
Jack really had found the Faculty Office.
When he led the group there, the protruding sign read, "Faculty Office."
Max cheered inwardly.
He was already thinking only of escaping.
Denrid was dead.
Luka's arm was messed up, and Jack was fine.
But clearing the dungeon with just that would be impossible.
They still had to clear Area 1.
There were two Escape Scrolls.
One had been stored somewhere safe.
It was a shame to use one now, but...
'I'll come back with the slaves. I'll bring as many as I can.'
Max had realized many things during this exploration.
Next time, he vowed inwardly, he would conquer Dreamland more efficiently.
But then...
Stab-
A sharp sensation came from behind.
Before Max could even turn around, his body toppled forward.
Thud-
Max tried to get up.
But he couldn't move even a finger.
It wasn't a dungeon trap.
The ambush just now was something he could understand.
"Max. You have an Escape Scroll, right?"
Jack was the culprit.
"......"
"You were definitely planning to escape alone. After seeing you throw a fit ever since Denrid died, I became one hundred percent certain."
Jack tucked a syringe into his clothes.
Purple liquid clung to the tip of its long needle.
It was probably poison.
But as a Helper, Max had the ability to revive once.
If the poison spread and his heart stopped, even his broken arm would regenerate, so it wasn't a problem.
Jack was strong, but Max was stronger.
"It's just Paralysis Poison. It won't endanger your life, so don't worry."
"Jack..."
"I'm sorry you had to see that side of me, Luka. But I thought this was the only way to improve our chances of surviving in this dungeon. Trust me and wait and see for now. It won't be bad for you either."
Jack lifted Max by the nape.
Then he dragged the heavy man's body toward the Faculty Office.
"Okay..."
Luka's expression looked complicated.
But she didn't try to stop Jack.
'Damn it! Damn it! My body won't move!'
If it had been a lethal poison, Max could've died, revived, and killed Jack.
But what Jack had administered really was Paralysis Poison.
Max was still conscious but unable to move properly. All he could do was watch helplessly.
Four white drawer cabinets stood before him.
Each had a party member's name on it: Jack, Denrid, Luka, and Max.
Of those, only Jack's drawer cabinet was open.
"It seems you can only take your own belongings from the Faculty Office. I'll borrow your hand for a moment."
"......"
Jack directly controlled Max's arm.
He opened Max's drawer cabinet and took out the Escape Scroll inside.
"Max. You were definitely planning to leave this dungeon. Then you'd come back next time with a few more people. You were thinking that, right?"
Jack wasn't a mind reader.
Max's thoughts were just simple enough to read.
"Denrid, Luka, and I all trusted you and followed you here... You shouldn't be trying to run away alone like that."
Jack didn't use the Escape Scroll.
Instead, he threw it on the floor as if it were worthless.
Then, without hesitation, he lit a match.
Whoosh!
The Escape Scroll burned before Max's eyes.
The most expensive paper in the world, the essence of the Spatial School, burned away without a trace.
Max blinked with difficulty.
He had no idea what that crazy psychopath bastard was doing.
Jack wasn't even going to use it, just burn it?
"You said it, didn't you? You asked whether I abandoned Denrid and ran away... I may have been born in the slums, but I don't betray people. No matter what. I'm not like someone who even considers escaping alone. That's why I burned it. Because I think Luka, Denrid, and even you, with your shitty personality, are all in the same boat."
"......"
"Listen, Max. We can return alive with the Magic Stone."
"Ah..."
"I thought this was what was best for our party. Some people only get one life and one chance, so they give it everything they have. If someone else isn't trying their best because they're thinking about the next time, that's pretty unpleasant, isn't it?"
There would be no next time for them.
They would give everything they had to conquer the dungeon during this exploration.
Jack emphasized that over and over.
Until the paralysis wore off.
"Max. We're finally in the same boat for real. And don't get any stupid ideas. You're not so dumb that you don't know cooperating gives you the best chance."
Max stared blankly as Jack walked away.
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"Hm?"
Jack looked closely at the floor.
He must have been too focused on the Faculty Office to notice it before.
Jack reached down and picked it up.
【Strange School Exploration Journal】
【Author: newbie】
It was a journal.
Footnotes:
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