Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Manticore (2)
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Manticore stood before the entrance to Dreamland alongside nine dark faction mages.
"It's definitely a newborn dungeon."
"Good thing we only came with ten people."
"Yeah. If we'd brought twenty, we would've started fighting before even entering the dungeon."
They had banded together temporarily for a shared interest.
A magic stone of immense value.
Obtaining it would drastically change their lives, no matter the form it took.
"Let's head in."
"Sure."
Of course.
They didn't trust each other.
How could you trust people who killed humans to fuel their magic and research?
And then.
These were the kinds of guys who came running the moment a criminal who murdered a child and turned into a monster lured them with the promise of a magic stone—without a shred of conscience.
They had a firm grasp of their own nature.
All of them were villains with eyes gleaming with greed and desire.
If they acquired the magic stone.
A fight was almost certainly inevitable, and most of them had planned for it from the start.
Manticore was no exception.
But.
Among the options available to him, this was the one with the highest chance of securing the magic stone, so it was a necessary choice.
They had ample supplies and manpower.
The magic stone might as well have been guaranteed.
What they needed to prepare for was the battle over it afterward.
Mages could fundamentally wield a vast array of spells.
Most of those spells were useful for dungeon exploration.
The group led by Manticore entered Dreamland.
Dungeon exploration, day 1.
"What a bizarre sight."
Manticore offered his impression while gazing at the pristine white corridor stretching before him.
"I get why the trolls and goblins struggled."
Goblins were the weakest, so that made sense, but trolls didn't match well against this either.
He hadn't noticed it when he'd brainwashed the goblin back then.
Before them lay a labyrinth.
Those dim-witted brains probably couldn't solve such a massive puzzle.
And they surely hadn't brought supplies, food, or drinking water.
Still, the hobgoblins nagged at him.
They weren't particularly intelligent either, but wiped out over a mere labyrinth?
That didn't add up.
There had to be something more.
Manticore reasoned as much.
"Hey, scouting's done. Everyone, quit spacing out and gather here."
At the words of Jeco, the eldest among the ten who had entered the dungeon.
They all gathered in a circle around the paper where Jeco was sketching the map.
"It's tricky, but not unsolvable."
"Judging by the passage lengths, we should reach the core room in about three days."
"We brought two weeks' worth of food and water just in case, but this feels kinda off."
They were right.
The labyrinth was vast and complex, but not impossible to navigate.
By marking their path and proceeding methodically, they'd reach the core room eventually, even with mistakes.
"No need for extra supplies, right?"
Jeco asked Manticore.
The lion pondered briefly before nodding.
Half a day from now.
The only chance to exit the dungeon without an escape scroll.
Escape scrolls were exorbitantly expensive.
Among them, only Jeco, the richest and oldest, had one.
"Let's push on. It'll only take two days to the core room anyway."
Everyone nodded at Manticore's opinion.
"Hey, Jeco."
"Yeah?"
"When you used detection magic, did you notice anything special? Like traps or minions, for example."
Jeco stroked his chin.
"This is a newborn dungeon, right? Assuming they can't conceal mana, nothing tripped the detection. No minions for sure, and even if there are traps, they won't be as potent as magic ones. But."
"But?"
"It's odd that I can't sense the Dungeon Master's mana."
Mana was proof of life.
All living beings had blood and mana.
Manticore recalled the view through the goblin's eyes.
The Dungeon Master in that pure white robe.
"An incomprehensible bastard."
"Hm?"
"Nothing. Let's get moving."
No matter what abilities the guy had.
He couldn't stop me.
Dungeon exploration, day 2.
"Puddles on the floor, and liquid dripping from that weird device?"
"Looks like plain water. No poison or acid."
"Hey! No matter what I do, I can't destroy it! What the hell is this thing!?"
Manticore stared at the sprinkler.
It was just dripping water droplets, so why did it feel so eerie?
"Who took watch last night?"
"Hermann and Jeco."
"Anything else unusual?"
"Nope."
"Aside from that damn thing dripping like a mouse's piss."
Call it a beast's instinct.
His gut was screaming that the device was dangerous.
Destroying it would obviously be best.
But none of their means could even scratch the sprinkler.
"Even Manticore can't destroy it... Fuck."
"Dungeon structures can't be destroyed by default. It might not be a trap—could be part of the architecture."
Even if they found the sprinkler bizarre, there was nothing they could do.
The way back was already gone.
Two whole days had passed, after all.
"Press on. The core room isn't far now."
"At this pace, we'll get there within the day for sure."
The remaining nine all agreed with Manticore.
They'd already covered more than half.
The magic stone was within reach.
The knowledge of that precious treasure right ahead fueled their courage.
The group quickened their pace.
Dungeon exploration, day 3.
"The puddles are getting more numerous."
"No need to rush. We're almost there anyway."
Hermann was spot on.
Looking at Jeco's labyrinth map, their position was near the end.
After a not-too-long stretch of time.
The group discovered the passage leading to the core room.
"Found it!"
Everyone was elated.
Dreamland was fundamentally creepy and unpleasant.
Even advancing forward never felt like progress.
The unchanging scenery tricked you into thinking the space was infinite.
The end was in sight.
They could finally escape this maddening white corridor.
As the entire group pondered how to snatch the dungeon's magic stone most effectively.
An anomaly occurred.
Rumble—
With the vibration, the dungeon walls shifted.
Just like with the hobgoblins, the exit vanished completely.
"……."
The path to the core room was sealed shut.
Dungeon exploration, day 5.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Hey... calm down."
"Do I look like I can calm down!? We bust our asses to find the path to the core room, and the walls move to block it, those goddamn puddles keep multiplying, and staring at the same corridors every day is driving me insane!"
Hermann, the least patient of the group, exploded in rage.
He was right.
Dreamland's labyrinth seemed determined not to let the dark mages reach the core room.
Even after struggling through the difficulty, pain, and fatigue to arrive, the walls would shift to block the way entirely. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
Their remaining food and water was down to nine days' worth.
No, could they even last nine days?
The ever-increasing puddles were grating on their nerves to the point of madness.
"We're definitely overlooking something."
Manticore calmed the group.
Normal dungeons had minions and traps; overcome them, and you cleared it. Simple structure.
But this Dreamland was different from ordinary dungeons.
Conventional thinking wouldn't work.
Manticore was patient.
He always strove for rational judgment, no matter the situation.
That was why he survived despite being branded a heinous criminal and monster.
"Let's think differently. We've been obsessed with 'heading to the core room' so far. That's kept us marching ahead without paying attention to our surroundings. If we assume this situation is a dungeon trap, then keep pushing forward or fighting among ourselves is just playing into the Dungeon Master's scheme."
The labyrinth didn't change randomly.
The trigger was arriving at the core room passage.
So it was reasonable to assume there were rules governing the changes.
Manticore's reasoning temporarily quelled the fear.
In the quiet, subdued atmosphere, he continued.
"My thought is we need to survey the entire labyrinth. Investigating thoroughly will reveal the flaws for sure."
Everyone agreed with Manticore.
"Whew. Yeah. Can't stay like this. We need to grab that magic stone."
"Sound advice. Let's move quickly—we're not exactly swimming in time."
From that point, the dark mages began thoroughly investigating Dreamland.
Dungeon exploration, day 6.
Due to the mysterious puddles continually forming.
The dark mages stopped investigating as a group and began scouting the dungeon individually.
Manticore established these scouting rules:
1. Absolutely do not go toward the core room passage.
2. Store supplies like food and water at the rendezvous point.
3. After starting investigation, all return to the rendezvous point after 10 hours.
4. Report any anomalies or peculiarities via communication crystal orb.
Hastily made rules, but surprisingly well followed.
Dividing the labyrinth into east, west, south, and north would let them cover it all in four days.
They focused on the north.
Unfortunately, no results.
Manticore arrived first after finishing his scouting, then Jeco, then Philip.
4, 5, 6.
7, 8, 9.
They arrived at the rendezvous point one by one, in the order they completed their surveys.
And.
The last two arrived.
10.
11.
"No luck, unfortunately."
"Ah, it's so fucking huge, goddamn it."
"Wonder if we can even get out with the magic stone."
"Forget the stone—at this point, I'd settle for getting out alive. Anyone got an escape scroll?"
"You think?"
The group chattered.
Their robes hooded their faces, making it hard to see each other clearly.
People feel secure when they have others nearby to solve problems together.
The eerie, chilling place was unnerving, but human voices soothed their anxiety.
However.
"Wait."
"Yeah?"
"What's wrong all of a sudden?"
Manticore spoke in a trembling voice.
"Why are there eleven of us?"
—Good thing we only came with ten people.
—Yeah. If we'd brought twenty, we would've started fighting before even entering the dungeon.
Manticore was the first to notice the anomaly.
Only then did the others realize.
They'd definitely been exploring as ten.
Taking into account it was a newborn dungeon that had just appeared.
That was why Manticore had contacted nine competent dark mages.
And they had answered the call, arrived at Lowjinrat, and entered Dreamland together.
Everyone remembered that.
All eyes turned to the hot-tempered Hermann.
Hermann panicked.
Not because of the stares.
Because.
A guy with Hermann's exact face.
Was staring back at him with a bewildered expression, as if he were the real one.