WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dungeon Gallery's Terrifying Newbie ◈
Chapter 8: Dreamland (2)
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Dungeon Exploration, Day 2.
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Hob, the leader of the Hobgoblin group, wiped their slick head.
Sniff, sniff.
The liquid on Hob's head was colorless and odorless.
Hob licked it.
It was ordinary water.
Could it be raining? No, this was a dungeon. That was impossible.
Water was leaking from the ceiling, so this clearly was not an ordinary corridor.
Its appearance was perfectly normal, though.
To the ignorant Hob, the sprinkler was just a strange device.
So far, the only unusual thing they had discovered was that the corridor walls were soft and springy, like rubber.
They also twitched from time to time.
Other than that, they had yet to find any meaningful information.
"Move faster."
"Faster!"
The Hobgoblins hurried onward.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day 3.
Crunch!
Creak!
Hob removed the mechanical device attached to the wall.
"Whew."
That had been dangerous.
Before resting, Hob happened upon a trap and destroyed it, letting out a sigh of relief.
The maze was already vast and complicated.
If they had been afflicted with a status ailment when it was hard enough just to move forward, things would have looked hopeless.
Hob had heard that dungeons were usually made up of traps and Minions, with the Dungeon Master guarding the Magic Stone.
Yet they had not encountered a single Minion so far.
Nor had they found any traps aside from the one they had just destroyed.
It was unnatural.
Nothing was threatening their lives right now.
Still, this felt wrong.
The Hobgoblins, who had spent four straight days staring at nothing but white corridors, tried to suppress the discomfort welling up inside them.
This dungeon was bad for the mind.
It would have been better to fight for their lives head-on among traps and Minions.
Just how large was this place?
Would they be able to find the exit if they kept walking diligently?
Every fork in the road looked the same.
It made this place feel like an endless, infinite space.
"Rest."
"Rest."
The Hobgoblins slept in the corridor, then woke and walked again, repeating the cycle.
Perhaps it was thanks to Hob's charisma.
Even though the situation was enough to make them regret coming and complain, the warriors followed in silence.
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, they saw a puddle had formed.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■.
"The exit!!"
"We found it! We found it!!"
The Manticore's words had been true.
No matter how complicated a maze was, it was ultimately a single plane.
By using the Left-Hand Rule, they could search every section without retracing their steps and eventually escape the maze.
It was not the most efficient method.
But.
It was the only maze-searching method available to Hobgoblins.
A door led to another room.
Something sparkled beyond it.
A massive purple gem came into view.
It was clearly as large as a Troll.
"The Magic Stone!"
"Magic Stone! Magic Stone!"
Surely, it was the only means of making them great beings.
Without question, the most valuable treasure in the world.
The Hobgoblins grew excited as they faced the dungeon's heart.
A week of hellish suffering would finally have meaning.
"Hm?"
That was when someone appeared behind the door.
The figure wore a white lab coat.
They were about the same height as a human.
Black hair, skin so pale it was nearly white, and deep black eyes gave the figure an eerie appearance.
With one hand tucked into a pocket, could that really be a human?
The strong scent of disinfectant they had smelled in the corridor made it clear that this was the dungeon's owner.
"Prepare for battle!!"
"Ready! Ready!"
The Hobgoblins drew their weapons.
Even as the Dungeon Master watched them take up their stance, they merely moved their fingers as though typing on a typewriter.
The Hobgoblins charged.
The dungeon's owner slowly waved at them.
Like someone saying goodbye.
Rumble.
At that moment, the ground shook.
The Goblins witnessed a phenomenon they could not understand.
The corridor walls twitched.
They looked like living snakes crawling along the ground.
The dungeon walls moved.
Then the exit vanished.
The Magic Stone and the strange figure were no longer visible.
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, they saw water sloshing below.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■.
Dreamland was a maze that changed in real time.
No.
It was still too soon to conclude that it changed in real time.
If it could keep moving the walls,
there would have been no need to reveal the Magic Stone at the end. It could have changed the maze midway through.
Unlike Hob, who calmly assessed the situation, the warriors despaired.
Losing the exit and the Magic Stone right before their eyes was bad enough. Now they had lost their way as well.
The Left-Hand Rule could not be used in this situation.
How were they supposed to move forward now? That thought dominated the Hobgoblins.
It was the first time the warriors had looked so helpless.
Hob bit their lip.
They had enough supplies.
Their legs could still move just fine.
Think positively.
Unlike other dungeons, this one had barely any Minions or traps.
Which meant,
if they could overcome this situation, the Magic Stone would definitely be theirs.
As long as one had the will and passion not to give up, what could one not do?
If they obtained the Magic Stone, they could become far greater beings than they were now.
They would gain wisdom surpassing that of humans.
Perhaps even the strength and regenerative ability to make Trolls submit to them.
Hob encouraged the warriors with such words.
Life returned to the eyes of the Hobgoblins, which had been lifeless before.
Having steeled themselves, they moved forward once more.
This maze was flat.
It was not some complex structure, nor was it a vicious trap that teleported them elsewhere.
It might take a long time.
But they could do it.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■.
They could not destroy the walls.
Even Trolls could not break them, so there was no way they could.
They walked.
Whenever they passed a fork in the road, they marked the wall with their spears.
It was to keep them from entering the same passage twice.
We learned this method under extreme circumstances.
The maze is not infinite.
Since we have confirmed that an exit exists, there is nothing to fear.
Nothing to fear.
Nothing to fear.
There definitely is not.
We brainwashed ourselves like that.
Otherwise...
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, the water had risen to our ankles.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
Hope was gone.
No, it had never existed in the first place.
Not since the moment we entered Dreamland.
When we found the Core Room once again,
the maze twitched again and plunged us into despair.
This damned dungeon had been laughing at us from the beginning.
Making us think we could escape, that we could leave with the Magic Stone.
It planted hope in us, then, at the moment we tried to seize it,
took it away with absurd ease, like flipping over a table full of food.
We cannot see the path at all.
No matter how much we walk, the scenery is the same.
Are we even moving forward properly this time?
I do not care about the Magic Stone anymore.
Why were we stupid enough to want to become great?
I want to go home.
Please, let me go home.
I do not want to see these disgusting corridors anymore.
I desperately want to see a blue sky.
Not the strange light pouring from flickering white lamps.
I want to bask in warm sunlight.
Splash, splash.
It sounds like we are walking along a beach instead of a corridor.
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down...
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
We could no longer sleep on the floor.
If exhaustion overcame us, we would drown where we lay.
Our once-firm green skin had shriveled.
If someone stepped on us by mistake, it felt as though we would be crushed out of shape.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
We started swimming.
It was more efficient for moving forward.
Most of us had lived in the mountains, so we were not used to swimming.
But our survival instincts were strong.
Most learned to swim by feel.
Of course, some could not adapt.
One was too slow, so we abandoned them.
It was the first time we had abandoned a companion.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
That device attached to the ceiling kept dripping without end.
Droplets kept falling.
It was not raining.
Then why was half the corridor submerged?
I could not understand it.
Even though I could not understand it,
we moved forward.
We pressed on, regretting it.
It was the only choice left to us, consumed by fear.
Our skin cracked, exposing bone.
It was the first time I learned that staying in water too long ruined flesh.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Looking down, I could see my terrified face with startling clarity.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
I was stupid.
Driven by desire and greed, I had led the warriors to their deaths.
The water kept rising.
At this rate, even the space where we could breathe would disappear.
I could see nothing but a bleak future.
Hope was gone, so I could no longer encourage the warriors.
Aside from those who had sunk and died,
some were so afraid of drowning that they took their own lives.
I am scared.
I do not want to die.
I want to go home.
I am hungry.
I want to escape this place.
"Ah."
Drip, drip.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Hob looked up.
* * *
Dungeon Exploration, Day ■■.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
Liquid dripped from the sprinkler.
* * *
op_ghost: The Hobgoblins are so pitiful... newbie's an evil spirit...
magichero: I shouldn't mess with N-n-newbie...
anonbutcher: Once again, a satisfactory response.
whaleyeah: The Anomaly Theme is seriously insane.
└tvhead: If intruders can't break through the maze in time, it's a guaranteed instant death lol.
└skullbones: How can a trap be called Living Maze lol How are intruders supposed to know they can't leave unless they feed the maze?
└3mhamster: The shifting layout is such a killer touch...
└psychward_mvp: Is that a sprinkler?? It doesn't even look breakable. Fuck, that's ridiculously overpowered.
└cowhead: Hmm... It reminds me of a living creature's digestive organ, the stomach.
golemking: Still, Steampunk has more charm.
└dip: That's a stretch lol.
└golemking: What the fuck did you say?
humanluvr: newbie's so fucking handsome T_T
└kongkong: Agreed...
└no_minions_4_me: Honestly, that's kind of unexpected. I thought newbie would look gloomy...
antqueen: Seeing newbie's face makes me want to get pregnant... Yeah...
└worldiscold: Hey.
└humanluvr: Shut it. Don't hit on newbie, I called dibs.
└anonbutcher: ?
What the hell does "makes me want to get pregnant" even mean?
This is ridiculous.
Footnotes:
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