WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Ceaseless

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈

Chapter 7: Dreamland

──────

Anomaly.

A term referring to strange, inexplicable phenomena.

sealedphilo: newbie with an Anomaly equipped... No one can stop this now. Damn.

└cowhead: Going by last time's performance, I feel like newbie will make better use of it than most Veterans lol

└op_ghost: Honestly, newbie seemed more like an evil spirit than I am. Go with Anomaly.

Was it because of the method I'd used to stop the Trolls and Goblins?

The gallery users who'd watched it live seemed to think I was some kind of horror expert.

The truth was, I didn't like scary things.

If anything, I was fainthearted and weak to jump scares. I really hated scenes where something suddenly popped out, so horror movies were practically poison to me. Anomalies were usually that sort of thing too, weren't they?

To begin with, all I'd planned to do for this Wave was make the dungeon fucking long, then starve the Trolls and Goblins to death with Debuff Traps.

Somehow...

I'd ended up with the image of someone who was good at taking advantage of terrifying situations. It felt strange.

"Hmm."

Still, the fact that it was a Hidden Theme was incredibly tempting.

Words that gave off a special feeling, like hidden, limited, and unique, had always driven people crazy.

【Dungeon Theme - Anomaly】

【Protect your dungeon with the incomprehensible.】

Even the description felt fucking cool to me.

How was I supposed to resist that?

The Veterans also recommended choosing the Hidden Theme over the existing themes.

humanluvr: newbie... Does the theme description have a warning like, "The Dungeon Master's body will change"? T_T

Huh?

newbie: Nah, nothing like that

└humanluvr: !!!!!!!

└humanluvr: Go with Anomaly!!!!

Come to think of it.

They'd said that choosing a theme could sometimes alter my body.

If I picked a certain theme and ended up in the body of a gender-swapped pretty-girl Ant that laid eggs like Ant Ham, or turned into Sans, that might be a problem in its own way.

Anyway, the fact that my body wouldn't change was a pretty major benefit too.

golemking: Her intentions are so fucking obvious, it's ridiculous, you bitch lol

└dip: Unbelievable.

└psychward_mvp: You human-obsessed bitch lmao

└antqueen: I like her because she lives up to her username.

└humanluvr: Fuck you.

It wasn't all advantages.

There were countless Veterans in the Dungeon Gallery who had chosen specific themes.

It was far more efficient to play a game after reading strategy guides, after all.

The Veterans must have established effective routes by bashing their heads against the problem, but if I chose the Anomaly Theme, I wouldn't be able to use any of them.

Of course, calling that purely a disadvantage was debatable.

There had to be a significant difference in difficulty between blazing a trail and following one.

I also couldn't guarantee that Anomaly had a much higher ceiling.

anonbutcher: Let's go with Anomaly.

anonbutcher: I think you'd use it well.

Even so.

I was already leaning in this direction.

newbie: Thanks for all the good advice.

newbie: I'll go with my gut this time.

【You paid 50,000P.】

【System processing...】

【...】

【Remodeling begins with the selected theme.】

【...】

A blinding light suddenly filled my vision.

A moment later, the Cave was nowhere to be seen.

A stark white corridor appeared in its place.

It resembled the hallways of a laboratory, making it feel familiar to someone from the modern world.

A hologram asked me a question.

【Please name your dungeon.】

【...】

A name.

A good idea came to mind.

【The dungeon's name is 'Dreamland'.】

【Protect your dungeon from intruders and forge a myth.】

I looked over the newly added mechanics.

There were functions, traps, and Minions marked 【New!】.

I rubbed my chin.

Just as I thought, choosing the hidden option was always the rule.

* * *

A strange rumor was spreading through the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range.

Trolls, one of the apex predators, were disappearing in droves.

For prey species, this was both wonderful news and an ominous sign.

Most species living in Lowjinrat, including Goblins, didn't possess the killing power needed to slay a Troll.

Trolls were large, heavy, and tough.

A Goblin's crude spear, an Orc's mediocre axe, or the weapons of other species could never easily pierce a Troll's hide.

Even if they were lucky enough to wound one, it regenerated immediately.

Species with inferior physical abilities had no choice but to become prey.

Of course, Trolls weren't invincible.

They were predators only in Lowjinrat to begin with.

Sapient species such as humans could use fire and magic to stop their regeneration and kill them.

There were also many species in this world larger and stronger than Trolls. It was like the saying that the fox became king only because there was no tiger.

Anyway.

Trolls might have been nobodies outside.

But they were undeniably powerful in the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range.

To think there was a being powerful enough to make such Trolls disappear.

The prey species naturally couldn't help but be afraid.

A new predator hadn't appeared.

【Dreamland】

A dungeon.

A place where the treasure known as the Magic Stone lay dormant.

It wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say that everyone in the world coveted it.

Every Troll entered Dreamland, confident in their own strength.

To obtain the treasure.

And every last one disappeared.

In other words, this dungeon was a terrifying place where Trolls were nothing more than small fry.

Even a primitive species could understand that much.

This dungeon, which had suddenly appeared one day, was not a place they could handle.

Trolls weren't the only ones who entered the dungeon.

Orcs, Goblins, and others who coveted the treasure also went inside without fear, but they vanished without a trace.

After witnessing the fate of their fellows, Lowjinrat's residents stopped going anywhere near the dungeon.

Even the arrogant Trolls wouldn't piss toward the west, where the dungeon stood.

Fear had overcome instinct.

No, fear was an instinct too, so that was a strange way to put it.

It would be more fitting to say that the instinct to survive had ruthlessly crushed their desire to rise higher.

Avoid Dreamland.

That had become the new rule of the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range.

"..."

Even so, there were those who refused to give up on the dungeon.

They were Hobgoblins.

Hobgoblins were superior Goblins.

The gap between them was as wide as the one between a monkey and a gorilla.

Their superior height, innate strength, and physical abilities went without saying.

They weren't as intelligent as sapient species, but they were naturally smart as well.

Even predatory Trolls had no choice but to respect the group-living Hobgoblins.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

Among the Hobgoblin groups in the Lowjinrat Great Mountain Range, Hob, leader of the Rotten Tooth Clan, Lowjinrat's strongest Hobgoblin faction, arrived at Dreamland's entrance with a group of sturdy warriors.

"Find the Magic Stone!"

"Find it!"

They weren't unaware of Dreamland's infamy.

The powerful Trolls had been helpless against it, so it was clearly a dangerous place.

That was why it was worth the challenge.

High risk, high return.

Dangerous places held enormous treasures.

Dreamland would be no different.

That was what Hob's instincts said.

"Kill the Dungeon Master!"

"Kill them!"

"We become great!"

"Become great!"

Hob roused the warriors in front of the dungeon.

At the shout, the loyal warriors' morale soared into the sky.

The Hobgoblins entered Dreamland full of confidence.

...

...

Just like the Trolls.

The Hobgoblins fell asleep in an unknown space, then soon woke up.

There was one difference.

"Hm?"

They hadn't awoken in a dark Cave.

They had awoken in a kind of corridor they'd never seen before.

It was a completely unfamiliar design.

Hob touched the white wall of the corridor.

It felt smooth, like the white porcelain humans liked.

The faint scent of disinfectant felt strangely unpleasant.

The Hobgoblins gripped their middling weapons, more refined than Goblin weapons but still of little value, and watched their surroundings.

"From now on, be careful! Dungeon dangerous!"

"Be careful! Dangerous!"

Led by Hob, the Hobgoblins began to walk.

After some time had passed, they realized that Dreamland was not a simple, straight corridor.

It was a complex maze.

"Another fork!"

"Complicated! Complicated!"

Every path branched off in a confusing tangle, making it hard to find their way back once they entered.

The Hobgoblins hesitated amid the countless intersections.

Still, they were lucky.

One quick-witted Hobgoblin used their ingenuity to somehow find the path back toward the entrance.

After many twists and turns, they returned to the starting point.

They had faced plenty of enemies before, but never a maze.

Things were difficult from the start.

Now they understood why the stupid Goblins and Trolls had gone missing.

The dungeon entrance hadn't closed yet.

According to the wisest Man-Faced Lion in Lowjinrat, they could leave again for up to half a day after entering.

For the Hobgoblins, this was a crossroads.

They had to choose whether to turn back or press on.

Unlike the Trolls and Goblins, they had brought supplies in preparation for a long expedition.

They had food, water, camping gear, and all the necessities for survival.

"Left-Hand Rule."

"Left hand? Left hand!?"

When Hob spoke, the Hobgoblins turned toward Hob.

"At the entrance, press one hand against the wall."

"Press it?"

"Keep walking."

"Keep walking?"

"Then eventually, find the exit."

"Find it!"

Of course, the Hobgoblins didn't know anything about topology.

They had simply received all kinds of advice before entering the dungeon from the knowledgeable Man-Faced Lion.

Hob told them that using the Left-Hand Rule would let them find an exit, no matter how enormous the maze was.

And that wasn't an incorrect claim.

It was the most widely known method for solving mazes in this world as well.

Hob had always earned the trust of Hob's subordinates.

When the reliable leader said so, the Hobgoblins nodded.

"We become great!"

"Become great!"

The Hobgoblins chose to move forward.

Their determination to keep challenging themselves rather than give up deserved praise.

But the owner of the tiny camera installed in the corridor ceiling only watched the Hobgoblins in silence.

Footnotes:

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