The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie - Chapter 52

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈

Chapter 52: Goblin Cave (5)

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The situation only kept getting worse.

Still, at least Gronak had made it out safely.

Despite their worries, Gronak, whose eyes had turned Goblin-like, managed to escape the cave on his own before sunset.

Chase had been right.

Once the sun set, the Goblins didn't come outside.

So as long as they could get outside without working, they wouldn't have to worry about getting beaten by the huge Goblins.

But...

"Hey, Chase. Isn't it too cold out here... I want to go inside. What do we do?"

They couldn't keep using this method forever.

Our bodies were slowly turning into Goblins.

Gronak's transformation, in particular, was progressing far faster than Chase had expected.

Aside from his eyes, he had been fine that morning. Now, his muscles had wasted away, and his body had become remarkably small.

His skin was also steadily turning green.

"Don't tell me... you ate more?"

"I'm starving, and I keep smelling something sweet. It's making my head feel weird. I couldn't hold back. I couldn't hold back... Fuck."

'This is driving me insane.'

To be honest, Chase's patience was nearly at its limit too.

Since entering Goblin Cave, all he had eaten was one piece of bread and a little water.

Hunger was one thing, but the thirst was truly unbearable.

While working alongside the Goblins, Chase had lost count of how many times he had considered eating the rotten meat.

The meat kept looking like sweet fruit from a tree.

It felt like eating it would satisfy both his thirst and hunger at once.

That devilish whisper had kept hammering at his mind.

"Fuck."

"..."

There was nothing to say besides curses.

Silence stretched on for a while.

"Hey... Chase. Should we just die here?"

"...Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"

"No matter how I think about it, I don't think I can keep living like this. I can't see ahead, and I'm drooling over rotten meat and muddy water like some insane monster... Wouldn't I have a better future if I just died here?"

Chase shook his head.

"No."

"How can you be so sure? Fuck, wouldn't it be better to just die before I turn into a monster..."

"Gronak. I escaped from here before. Did I look like a monster when you saw me?"

Gronak fell silent.

Other than his shortened beard and bruises, Chase had been perfectly fine.

Gronak clearly remembered that.

"This is just my guess, but everything will be fine as long as we get out."

"..."

"All the memories of what happened here disappear. Yeah, it'll probably feel like we had a Nightmare. And dreams fade quickly, don't they? So don't say things like that."

Their bodies and minds would return to normal.

There was no reason to die.

That was what Chase insisted.

"All right..."

Gronak's body trembled.

It probably wasn't just because of the cold he had mentioned.

The feeling of no longer being oneself was fucking unbearable.

Chase waited for someone.

He carried what appeared to be Goblin teeth.

Certain that the person he was waiting for would appear soon, he held his breath.

Clomp.

Footsteps echoed.

Outside the cave.

Under the night sky, only one person could be approaching us.

Chase stared at the ground.

As always, the Merchant pulled a note from her bosom.

【I sell food and drinking water. Those are things you need, aren't they?】

When Chase had first met the Merchant, he had been flustered.

Back then, he had no choice but to stand there and let things unfold.

Now was different.

"What's the price?"

The Merchant was more generous than he had expected.

After all, even when Chase had struck Gronak in the face and stopped the transaction, she hadn't imposed so much as a minor penalty.

It could be seen as a stroke of luck.

As long as he didn't do something extreme, such as trying to forcibly take the goods she intended to trade, he could probably test various things.

【Eight teeth.】

He had been right.

Chase held out the Goblin teeth to the Merchant.

He had taken them from Goblin corpses stored in the storage room.

The method for opening the locked door had been fairly simple.

After work, Chase had immediately headed into the cave.

The day before, he had seen a lazy Goblin get brutally beaten by a huge Goblin.

That was why he had suspected it was where they stored corpses like that.

It was a place where all kinds of senseless Anomalies occurred, but some things still followed the rules of reality.

Just like the day before, quite a few Goblins had been beaten to death that day.

The Goblins carried their dead kin into the storage room.

At that point, Chase saw them open the locked door with their long nails.

So, while pretending to clear away a corpse, he used its nails to pick the lock, entered the room, and magically collected a large number of teeth.

"You said eight teeth, right? Then can I pay with these?"

The Merchant nodded.

Chase bought all the food and drinking water the Merchant had.

They were only getting their own belongings back, but this would solve their thirst and hunger.

They wouldn't have to worry about being tempted by rotten meat anymore.

"Then do you sell Escape Scrolls too?"

【I also sell Escape Scrolls. Those are things you need, aren't they?】

"How much?"

【One kidney from someone other than a Goblin. It must belong to a living person.】

"..."

Chase rubbed his stomach.

Remember when the Merchant took Gronak's teeth before?

Despite violently pulling them out, she hadn't drawn a drop of blood.

Gronak hadn't complained of any pain and had calmly eaten bread as if nothing had happened.

Without any surgical procedure, she had proven that she could remove a trader's body part without harming them and take the payment in full.

If the Escape Scroll had cost the same thing last time, did that mean I was already missing a kidney?

Chase gave a bitter smile.

He had ended up proving with his own body that losing one kidney did not greatly affect one's chances of survival.

"Do you have medicine that can restore the person who takes it to their original condition? Something that can stop Goblin Transformation from progressing..."

【No such item exists.】

"Then how much are a journal and a pen, respectively?"

【One arm each.】

"Could you come back to this place in an hour? I'll buy them together then."

【Understood.】

"Gronak. I found a way out."

"...Really?"

"But we have to give one kidney to that Merchant. And it seems I've already given one of mine to her."

Silence followed.

What Chase said was no different from saying that only one Dwarf could escape this cave.

"How long can you hold out?"

"..."

"If you can't hold out, it would be better to leave right now. I told the Merchant to return here in an hour. But if you can endure it, I'll try to find a way to get the Escape Scroll back from her without trading."

One kidney.

Gronak had no medical knowledge, but losing an organ was clearly something that required serious thought.

"I think one day is probably my limit."

"One day?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I think I've reached the point where I can understand what the Goblins are saying. My head feels like it's getting dumber too, and the self-control I barely had to begin with feels like it's hit rock bottom..."

Chase nodded.

"I'll do everything I can."

"What are you going to do if I leave?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll get out somehow. I have no intention of dying here either. I think trading is only an inferior option. There has to be a perfect answer that lets us get out without losing anything."

For now, he just wanted to believe that.

Chase entered the cave and prepared for the trade with the Merchant.

The transaction was over.

The Merchant vanished into the darkness.

"Urgh..."

"Even if it's hard to eat, force it down. We have to deal with the thirst and hunger somehow."

The provisions and water they had brought for the expedition should have been far better than rotten meat.

Yet they were nauseating, as if they had gone bad.

But thirst and hunger would further weaken the self-control they were already losing, so they had to force themselves to eat.

The two Dwarves crammed the food and water down their throats.

"...I'm going to rest first."

"Rest."

Gronak tried to sleep, trembling as though extremely cold.

Chase wrote in the journal.

He recorded everything they had learned about Goblin Cave so far.

The contents were certain to be manipulated anyway.

'Keep it as brief as possible. Write down only the key points, quickly.'

【Results of the 7th Raid】

【Author: Chase】

Number of entrants: 2

Exploration results: 2 Escape Scrolls consumed. 1 survivor, 1 ???

▼ Goblin Cave

1. This place is Area 3 of Dreamland. (It is right in front of the Core Room.)

2. The area can largely be divided into the forest and the cave, though the cave occupies most of the space. (Think of the cave as a massive building with roughly eighty floors.)

3. Like outside, there is morning, afternoon, evening, night, and dawn.

4. Strange Goblins roam this cave, and they distinguish their own kind by scent. Therefore, if you don't want to be discovered, you must cover yourself in a foul smell to deceive them. If you are discovered, you will have to deal with an almost endless number of Goblins, so be careful. You must also not do things Goblins can't do in front of them, such as speaking or using magic.

5. When morning comes, the Goblins work. They usually gather fruit from trees that bear rotten meat. The stench is overwhelming not only in the forest but also in the cave, so it is assumed they grow trees inside as well. You must work if you want to explore the cave at night. Otherwise, there is a high chance a huge Goblin will catch you and beat you, or even kill you, so be careful.

6. Goblins cannot come outside the cave in the evening.

7. Goblin Transformation begins the moment you enter Goblin Cave. Goblin Transformation changes not only an explorer's appearance, but also their personality, habits, tastes, and other traits. The changes become noticeable from the second day onward. If Goblin Transformation progresses too far, you may even lose your eyesight, so escape this place as quickly as possible.

8. Rotten meat and muddy water accelerate Goblin Transformation. Do not eat or drink them.

9. An Elevator that allows escape exists somewhere inside the cave.

10. This has not been confirmed for certain, but... Goblin Transformation seems to be undone once you escape Goblin Cave.

▼ Merchant

1. The moment explorers enter the dungeon, she steals all their belongings.

2. The Merchant appears in the forest between evening and night.

3. Never look at the Merchant's face. You may be enchanted.

4. You must pay a price to recover your belongings, and the Merchant wants body parts for almost everything. With the exception of Escape Scrolls, you can trade for most things by using the Goblin corpses in the first-floor storage room, so make good use of them. (Food and drinking water cost eight teeth...)

5. The Merchant is fairly generous.

6. If I return alive, there must be a way to get my belongings back from the Merchant without paying a price.

That should be enough.

He could send the journal with Gronak when Gronak left.

Chase put down the pen and stood up.

His thirst and hunger had been dealt with.

He could now resist the temptation of rotten meat and muddy water to some extent.

'There's still something I haven't checked.'

The journal he had used during the previous raid was still in the storage room.

'I was too busy pulling teeth...'

Chase let out a quiet sigh.

Perhaps that journal contained a hint about how to recover the Escape Scroll.