Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Bartender Meets the Alcohol Boomer!
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Leading the charge, Lowell's party had challenged the mid-boss first, and the groups that followed later were also blasted out of the dungeon after taking Rider Kicks to the face.
By the time everyone awkwardly gathered at the church.
Good news spreads like molasses, but bad news flies like wildfire.
"...Just how demonic is the inside of that place?"
"The, the captains got completely wiped out?!"
"What the hell..."
The news that the Rabbit Party had been utterly annihilated in one hit while trying to take down the mid-boss rocked the world.
The elite class was thrown into panic by the incomprehensible result of their strongest known fighters being wiped out in an instant.
But those who constantly dove in and out of the Abyss Pit just nodded.
"Yeah, I told you, that thing wasn't made to be beaten."
"You can just hold out for a set time and pass, right? That means it was designed assuming you couldn't beat it."
"It's not like we couldn't reach the dungeon rest area for nothing..."
Soon, the false accusation that challengers were failing to break through the Abyss Pit because they were "weak" was lifted.
And with that, they could die inside the dungeon with even more peace of mind.
Once some time had passed, the Rabbit Party and Lowell's hero party gathered in one place to hold a meeting.
"Lowell the hero, is it true that puppet never used that technique until now?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct. It was the first time we'd seen it."
"And would you like to take a look at this?"
"This is?"
"It's all the information the攻略 Party has gathered on that puppet."
"Whoa, they even made something like this?"
As the攻略 Party's intel—gathered from dying inside the dungeon up to now—was passed to the Rabbit Party.
They realized this incident was truly unprecedented.
In fact—
"Before our rookies tried the wheel tactic, that puppet didn't even deploy a powerful barrier?"
"And combining what the werewolf inside the dungeon said, it seems the dungeon keeps upgrading."
"Our actions are the benchmark for the dungeon's growth?"
"Whoa, it's like a living creature."
"From what I can see, there's no 'lie' in anything the beings inside the dungeon have said."
"Then this situation arose because, tracing back what that puppet said..."
"But what's a 'bus' anyway?"
"The nuance sounded like it was referring to a carriage?"
Eventually, after pooling their opinions, they formed a hypothesis: if there are non-combatants in the room where you meet that puppet—when your skills are clearly outmatched—that insane technique comes out.
So, how to verify this hypothesis?
"Alright~ Let's go!"
"No getting complacent this time."
"Last time we got too hyped from how fun it was."
Sometimes, brute-forcing it with your body gives answers right away.
As the Rabbit Party's third attempt began, the signal triggered by even stronger presences entering the dungeon went to someone.
Balrak was currently focusing in the training grounds, so he ignored the signal. The current 1st floor overseer, rank 2.
Perguson learned of it.
"Whoa... those folks are coming in again?"
"Brother Perguson, should we report this to big bro?"
"Nah? We can tell him around when they break through the 4th room, so no need to worry about it now."
"Fair enough. But Brother Perguson? Why the bartender outfit...?"
"Orek, take a look at their momentum. Doesn't it feel different from the second time they came?"
"Hmm... yeah, it feels more restrained than before."
"Exactly. And my guess is... they'll probably reach the dungeon rest area this time. And aren't you curious what kind of people they are to be that strong?"
"You're going to get intel! Then is there anything I can help with?"
"Keep eyes on them for now. When they break through the 4th room, call Zepira right away and tell Brother Balrak. I'll go chat with them."
"Got it, bro!"
Just as the sworn brothers predicted, the Rabbit Party—which had seemed drunk on excitement during their second try—
After getting properly wrecked once, they sobered up and challenged the dungeon, clearing rooms even faster than before.
At this rate, they'd reach the rest area soon, so to find out who they were, Perguson changed clothes and headed to the dungeon rest area.
Not long after.
This time, the Rabbit Party smoothly survived the mid-boss fight and reached the dungeon rest area.
"Seeing it didn't use that technique this time means our hypothesis was spot on."
"The last fight was great, but it's a shame. I wanted to block that kick once or go 1-on-1 until someone got smashed."
"Roland, you can say that when you challenge it solo next time."
"Oh, that's a great idea."
Soon, both split teams arrived at the dungeon rest area, and at Lowell—who had been here before—suggestion, they entered Perguson's shop.
*******************
Sounds came from outside the shop door.
That must mean Lowell the hero's party has all arrived.
"Lowell the hero, is it here?"
"Yes! Perguson should be inside."
"Whoa, a werewolf running a shop."
"Let's head in."
Creak.
"Welcome, heroes."
"Perguson!"
"Lowell the hero, it's been ages. Good to see you."
After greeting Lowell the hero who returned here, he tried to greet the others too—
"""......?"""
Those seeing the place for the first time were stunned at the sight of me, which was familiar enough.
But this time was a bit different.
Their gazes held not just wariness, but a competitive fire that couldn't be explained by caution alone.
Still, as I kept chatting casually with Lowell the hero, they seemed a bit embarrassed and quickly hid it.
He guided them to the bar table and treated them to a drink.
"Oh... you can enjoy liquor like this too?"
"But isn't the booze too sweet?"
"Feels like just drinking juice."
"Whoa, all flashy colors. Mixing fruit or sugar into liquor and calling it booze?"
Oops, forgot how old these folks were.
But Brother Balrak had already taught me how to handle older customers here.
'Hey Perguson, know what an alcohol boomer is?'
'Ah, alcohol boomer?'
'They like booze basically, but can't stand anyone else's tastes. You'll inevitably meet them running this shop, so keep it in mind.'
'But why are they a problem?'
'They hate any way of drinking booze that isn't theirs. Some even praise the cheapest rotgut—barely alcohol in water—as divine.'
'That cheap stuff is just for getting drunk, right?'
'Yeah, and they treat that as gospel. Some value the process of getting wasted, but these ones flip out at anything else.'
From their reactions, these were definitely the alcohol boomers Brother Balrak mentioned.
And the countermeasure!
'Just give them the strongest rotgut, and serve buff potions separately.'
'Huh?'
'I'm not kidding, bro. Most alcohol boomers drink just to get smashed—they don't know taste at all. For them, quickest blackout is the best booze.'
I'll follow Brother Balrak's teachings to the letter!
"Oh dear, my apologies. I served the wrong drinks. As amends, let me offer you some proper stuff."
"""Hm?"""
He soon brought out the shop's strongest—and bitterest—booze, putting Brother Balrak's final lesson into practice.
'Even with rotgut, serve huge amounts!'
'Then they'll get smashed super fast!'
'Remember, they're boomers.'
"...!"
Following bro's advice to never give them anything to nitpick, he filled massive glasses to the brim and distributed them. The reaction was rave reviews.
Gulp gulp.
Thud!!
"Whoa~ now that's booze!"
"Ugh... now the blood's flowing."
"Whew, hits hard."
Ah... the carefully crafted stuff gets complaints.
And the sloppy serve gets praise. This is the fate of small business owners.
Truly a sad reality, Brother Balrak.
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Watching the Rabbit Party down their drinks, Lowell's party wanted to try too, passed out on the spot, and such.
While all sorts of things happened in the dungeon rest area, Balrak gained a massive revelation about the dungeon's balance.
BOOM!!!
"Yes!! That's it!!"
"B-Big bro?!"
"O-bro, no issues in the dungeon?"
"Nope!"
Tsk, the mini-dungeon needs to open soon so the kid has stuff to do. Must be super bored now.
But with hundreds, thousands of '?' on the world map.
It's an open world, sure, but mostly empty.
Terrain variants: collect 'em.
Character variants: collect 'em.
Conquests that all look the same.
Scattered everywhere: dull, pretentious repeat quests like deliveries!
To avoid it becoming a big-eared open world where you can't tell if you're playing a game or just clearing icons, no choice.
"But now you can expect to see the sea from the mini-dungeons too!"
"Honestly, I've never seen the sea, so I'm super excited. But big bro, what was that just now?"
"I thought of the perfect concept for our dungeon!"
Currently, if players challenge and die in my dungeon, they restart rooms from the beginning.
But challengers grow via proficiency, and items from reaching the rest area make them stronger.
Isn't there a game genre this setup resembles?
It's!!!
"Roguelike!!!"
Ah yes!! Roguelike is perfect for the current dungeon setup!
Roguelikes also have this fun system called 'ascension.'
Where players stack debuffs voluntarily for challenges!
So what's good about ascending?
Usually nothing.
No joke—just extra score or 1.1x growth currency at end.
Purely personal satisfaction from self-imposed debuffs.
But!! This dungeon's ascension system is different.
"So, big bro means if heroes use that ascension, they get more coins?"
"Exactly!"
Harder difficulty, better rewards—basic truth.
Players set their own difficulty, so balance is flexible.
Weak? Skip ascension.
But what about strong players like that old knight?
Reward-obsessed players will have to use ascension for better time-to-reward!
Or force some on them once strong enough!
And I see it!
Future communities brawling!
● Title: Game Balance Talk Only Under Ascension 30—Shut It.
● Author: CantControlIt (446.557)
● Even a sick old fart like me challenges ascension 40, and 0-ascenders can't even reach Balrak talk balance? Hilarious.
└ Exactly. Want herbivores mandating balance? Force pibib on 'em.
└ Author) Fr.
└ Acknowledgment Association again?
└ These garbage humans are the problem. You enjoy, we don't.
└ Author) Then exercise outside—this game reflects real body, didn't you see?
Ahh!! Yes!
The Acknowledgment Association!
Hel-Joseon's devs excel at user-splitting, freeing our dungeon from balance woes!