Chapter 46

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 46

Chapter Title: Dwarf (3)

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"I've uncovered the secret of Dreamland."

Chase prided himself on living a fulfilling life as the market advisor of Fire Forge.

It was never easy to be the city lord's most favored retainer.

You had to earn his approval with your abilities, character, and personality alike.

"Amnesia is just buildup. Dreamland has been tampering with information."

Chase was in the mayor's office.

He laid out his deductions for the mayor.

"Please take a look at these pages. If the information brought back by the raiding parties is true, it creates contradictions. Why would someone who already knows the answer solve the problem again? And most crucially, these parts detailing the dungeon's information... the handwriting is different. That's decisive proof."

Chase was absolutely certain.

His unwavering confidence lent undeniable weight to his claims.

"Tampering, you say...?"

Goldhand's eyebrow twitched.

Chase's reasoning wasn't strange.

In fact, if he was right, it explained why no raiding party had breached the elevator mechanism so far.

But.

Information tampering and memory suppression?

That would make conquering the dungeon outright impossible.

Dreamland was a riddle.

To solve a riddle, you needed information.

But if the dungeon could alter the information gathered by raiders?

Information collected at the cost of their lives?

"If, as you say, all the parts with different handwriting are fabrications, then key details like 'You must use the elevator,' 'The elevator is for multiple people,' 'Don't go into the unlit corridor,' 'You have to fight the bug-human' and so on... all become utterly useless for conquering the dungeon."

If all the differently handwritten sections were fake.

It was no different from saying every scrap of dungeon-related info was bogus.

Especially since all the elevator details were in that altered handwriting.

Should they halt the raids right now?

Goldhand agonized over it right there.

However.

Chase saw it differently.

It must have started as a negative stance.

But Chase had persuaded Goldhand that there had to be a way to crack it.

"I believe the amount of information Dreamland can tamper with is limited. It has to be. If I were the Dungeon Master, I'd have erased every single part of the log, fabrications or not."

Chase could narrow it down to two possibilities.

One: Every bit of information in the logs was fake.

The other: Some was 'true,' and some was 'fake.'

In the first case, there was no solution.

Dreamland raids inherently demanded multiple runs.

If no information could be gathered, it was best to cut losses cleanly at this point.

But in the second case?

Difficult, but not impossible to breach.

Chase figured Dreamland fell into the latter category.

Its status as a newborn dungeon was his basis.

Fake info that hinted at the situation was far less defensive than a total info blackout.

No matter how much power it had to wipe memories.

The fact of tampering would eventually come to light as intruders pushed deeper.

Why leave keywords like 'elevator' or 'unlit corridor'?

If it could erase everything, it would have.

That was the more rational call for a novice Dungeon Master.

And.

The common threads in the logs brought by explorers so far.

They gave Chase a peculiar certainty.

1. The machine is called an elevator. You must use it to reach the next zone.

2. The elevator is for multiple people. To explore smoothly, ride it with as many as possible.

3. Never go into the corridor without lights.

4. Sometimes a bug-human boards. You have to fight and defeat it.

As explained earlier, all of this could be fake.

Dungeons grew stronger by feeding on intruders, after all.

It could be bait to lure them in, but who knew.

It definitely needed verification.

"From now on, I'll personally join the raiding party to explore Dreamland."

"You're volunteering yourself, Chase?"

Goldhand's eyebrow twitched again.

"You have more important duties than raiding. You're assisting me, working to make Fire Forge an even greater city."

"I know. That's precisely why I feel a greater responsibility toward the role I've been given, one beyond my merits."

However.

That was exactly why Chase insisted on throwing himself into the Dreamland raids.

Because.

Securing magic stones was what would make Fire Forge richer and greater.

"......"

Goldhand pondered.

He looked displeased, but in the end, he gave Chase his blessing.

Because.

That very boldness was the trait Goldhand appreciated most in him.

"Succeed."

"Yes. Thank you. If I die, you'd be wise to abandon the Dreamland conquest."

"Don't die."

"I'll do my best."

The mayor's permission was granted.

Dreamland raids were now under Chase's purview.

'The scope of information tampering is definitely limited. It can't alter everything. At least not the essence itself.'

Chase's eyes gleamed with fascination.

Dreamland was a completely different beast from any dungeon before it.

Chase wanted to see its end.

His motive was impulsive, but his justification was solid.

Reasons aside, securing the magic stone was all that mattered.

'Can it tamper with ciphers too? If it messes with writing, what about drawings? If ink won't work, graphite? Blood? Maybe I should try etching info directly onto my body.'

With that, Chase took the initiative to assemble the 4th raiding party.

My condition is no different from the other escapees.

Really.

I remember nothing from inside the dungeon.

It was an eerie feeling.

Before entering, I'd prepared all sorts of things.

Every tool for writing and drawing.

I even studied the ciphers used by Fire Forge's intel division.

Unfortunately.

There was no payoff.

The mundane parts were intact.

Ate food. Drank water. Chatted with comrades.

These trivial details remained pristine.

But based on handwriting, the vital info seems all tampered with.

The writing in the logs.

The ciphered notes.

Even the scars carved into what I presume were raiders' withered arms.

It could interfere with those too?

The drawings were twisted into grotesque shapes.

In the end, it all circled back to.

1. The machine is called an elevator. You must use it to reach the next zone.

2. The elevator is for multiple people. To explore smoothly, ride it with as many as possible.

3. Never go into the corridor without lights.

4. Sometimes a bug-human boards. You have to fight and defeat it.

That was all the info I brought out.

To be more precise about dungeon-related matters.

It felt like all info on minions or traps was censored?

Time to shift exploration tactics.

Chase stared into the mirror.

A large, straight scar marred his forehead.

What on earth had happened inside?

"At least the elevator machine definitely exists."

Before entering, Chase had made a promise to himself.

If.

All the intel commanders had risked their lives for was completely fake.

Ditch the logs and everything, just use the escape scroll.

Otherwise, if it felt like a mix of truth and lies as he suspected.

Press on with exploration, then return.

The scars on his body, the consumed rations and water.

The half-full exploration pack stuffed with logs.

Clear proof his hunch was right.

The dungeon was weaving truth and lies.

That much was certain.

Also, by outside time, Chase had spent about a week ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the dungeon.

"So how do I bring out real info?"

Writing and drawing were futile in the end.

Ciphers too.

No matter how many logs or sketches, 'dungeon-related info' gets censored.

The only meaningful takeaways were those four elevator traits from past commanders and Chase...

"Which are real, and which are fake?"

Even if I figure it out next run, it'll be tampered with on escape anyway. Pointless.

At first, I thought maybe it'd work, maybe there's a workaround, simple as that.

Did I underestimate it because it's a newborn dungeon?

With every method blocked, it felt utterly hopeless.

He stroked the scar on his forehead.

He wasn't blessed with extra lives.

Just one shot, so honestly, cutting losses might be smartest.

But.

He still wanted to see the end.

Of everything in this bizarre dungeon.

Etch it all into his own eyes.

Chase pondered.

Was there a good way?

"Ah! Maybe this could..."

His gaze fell on his pack.

The one from this raid.

Inside: rotten apples, daggers, beard-trimming scissors, rope—useful dungeon items galore.

No guarantee of reaching the end.

But at least, he'd glimpsed a path to the elevator.

A possibility.

Chase grabbed six dwarf prisoners ready to move and rushed into Dreamland for another raid.

Chase rummaged through his pack after the raid.

The rotten apple and beard-trimming scissors were gone.

"It can handle writing and drawings somehow... but this method is beyond it, it seems."

This time too, Chase had made a pact with himself before entering.

For each of the four elevator intel points, assign a symbolic item and pack one.

For example, the rotten apple symbolized 'Never go into the corridor without lights.'

The beard scissors symbolized 'The machine is called an elevator.'

If true, discard the item.

If false, bring it back.

The rotten apple and scissors were gone.

Meaning the elevator name and unlit corridor info were true.

In case of emergency, dump everything and use the escape scroll—so no worries about false positives.

"Alright, then..."

What now?

Chase ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sank into thought once more.

The anomaly was straight-up murder for the dwarves.

1st wave: 12 dead.

2nd wave: 4 dead.

3rd wave: 11 dead.

4th wave: 11 dead.

5th wave: 6 dead.

I'd never dealt with this many intruders in such a short span.

First time since becoming Dungeon Master—left me a bit queasy.

A total of 44 dwarves dead.

Like Ant Queen said, who would want to come?

But that dwarf who just escape-scrolled out...

His gaze was kinda like that lord I met before. Tsk, creepy.

One obsessive stalker is enough for me.

You're straight to the goblin cave next time you show up.