Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Dreamland
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Anomaly.
A term for bizarre, incomprehensible phenomena.
Newbie equipped with Anomaly... no one can stop this ㅋㅋ
From that last performance, feels like it'll be more useful than your average veterans ㅋㅋ
Honestly, seemed more like an evil spirit than me. Yeah, go Anomaly.
Was it because of the way I dealt with those trolls and goblins?
The Gallery users, who'd watched the whole thing live, seemed to think of me as some kind of horror expert.
In truth, I didn't even like scary stuff.
If anything, I was a total chicken when it came to jump scares—hated those sudden pop-out moments so much that horror movies were basically poison to me. And anomalies were usually in that same category, right?
This wave? I just stretched the dungeon out super long and planned to starve the trolls and goblins with debuff traps.
Somehow...
I'd gotten this image of being a master at exploiting terrifying situations, and it felt kinda weird.
"Hmmm."
Anyway, the hidden theme was just too tempting.
Words like hidden, limited, and unique had always driven people crazy.
Dungeon Theme – Anomaly
Protect your dungeon by exploiting the incomprehensible.
The description felt insanely cool to me.
How was I supposed to resist this?
Even the veterans recommended picking hidden themes over the standard ones.
Newbie... does the theme description say anything like 'Dungeon Master's body will transform' or some warning? ㅠㅠ
Huh?
Nope, nothing like that.
!!!!!!!
Anomaly go go go!!
Come to think of it.
Some themes caused body transformations upon selection.
If picking a certain theme meant reincarnating as a TS loli ant queen like Ant Hamster, or turning into Sans, that'd be a problem.
Anyway, no body changes was a huge plus.
Your goal is so blatantly obvious it's hilarious wtf ㅋㅋ
What an idiot lol
What a bitch ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
He's living up to his name, so I like him ㅇㅇ
It wasn't all upsides.
The Dungeon Gallery was full of veterans who'd picked specific themes.
Just like in games, following guides is way more efficient.
They'd busted their heads to establish optimal routes, but Anomaly would lock me out of those.
Of course, it wasn't purely a downside.
Blazing your own trail versus following one? The difficulty gap is huge.
And I couldn't claim Anomaly's ceiling was definitely higher.
Go Anomaly.
You'll make good use of it.
Still.
My heart was already set on it.
Thanks everyone for the great advice.
Gonna go with my gut this time ㅇㅇ
50,000P deducted.
Processing...
......
Remodeling started due to theme selection.
......
A blinding light filled my vision without warning.
Moments later, the cave was gone.
A pristine white corridor appeared.
It resembled a research facility hallway—familiar to anyone from the modern world.
Please name your dungeon.
......
A name, huh.
A great idea popped into my head.
Dungeon name set to 'Dreamland'.
Guard your dungeon from invaders and forge a legend.
I checked out the new gimmicks.
Functions, traps, and minions marked with 【New!】.
I stroked my chin.
Hidden themes were always the meta pick.
Rumors were spreading in the Lowjinrat Mountains.
Trolls—top predators—were vanishing left and right.
For prey species, this was great news... and an ominous sign.
Most races in Lowjinrat, goblins included, lacked the firepower to kill trolls.
Trolls were huge, heavy, and tough.
Goblin spears, orc axes, or any other weapons couldn't pierce their hide easily.
Even if you landed a hit, they'd regenerate right away.
Inferior races had no choice but to become prey.
Trolls weren't invincible, though.
They were just predators in Lowjinrat.
Intelligent races like humans could stop regeneration with fire or magic.
This world had species bigger and stronger than trolls—like how foxes rule when tigers are absent.
Anyway.
Trolls might be nobodies outside, but they were powerhouses in Lowjinrat.
A force capable of making them disappear?
Prey species had every reason to fear it.
It wasn't a new predator.
A dungeon.
A place harboring the treasure known as mana stones.
No exaggeration to say everyone in this world coveted them.
Trolls, brimming with confidence in their power, entered Dreamland.
For the treasure.
And vanished.
Meaning this dungeon treated trolls like 'chumps'—a terrifying space.
Even primitive races could figure that much out.
This dungeon that appeared out of nowhere wasn't something they could handle.
Not just trolls entered.
Orcs, goblins—any greedy for treasure—went in fearlessly, only to disappear.
Lowjinrat residents who'd witnessed their kin's fates now steered clear of the dungeon.
Even arrogant trolls wouldn't piss west where it lay.
Fear overrode instinct.
Or rather, since fear is instinct, survival instinct crushed greed.
Dreamland was to be avoided.
That became the new rule in Lowjinrat Mountains.
But...
"......"
Some wouldn't give up on the dungeon.
Hobgoblins.
Hobgoblins were goblin superiors.
The gap was like monkey to gorilla.
Superior height, innate strength—not to mention physical prowess.
And intelligence close to sapients.
Hobgoblin packs commanded respect even from predator trolls.
"Let's go!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Currently.
Among Lowjinrat's hobgoblin groups, the Rotten Fang Clan's boss, Hob, arrived at Dreamland's entrance with his burly warriors.
"Mana stone, we find!"
"Find!"
They knew Dreamland's infamy.
Those mighty trolls got wiped effortlessly—definitely dangerous.
That's why it was worth challenging.
High risk, high return.
Dangerous places hide massive treasures.
Dreamland surely did too.
Hob's instincts told him so.
"Dungeon Master, we kill!"
"Kill!"
"We become mighty!"
"Mighty!"
Hob riled his warriors before the dungeon.
Roars skyrocketed morale.
Buoyed, the hobgoblins entered Dreamland.
......
......
Like the trolls.
Hobgoblins fell asleep in the mysterious space, then awoke.
But one difference.
"Hm?"
They woke not in a dim cave,
but in a corridor style they'd never seen.
Unfamiliar architecture.
Hob stroked the stark white corridor walls.
Smooth as human porcelain.
Faint disinfectant smell felt oddly unsettling.
Hobgoblins gripped crude weapons (finer than goblin ones, but still worthless) and stayed alert.
"From now, be careful! Dungeon dangerous!"
"Careful! Dangerous!"
Led by Hob, they advanced.
How much time passed?
They realized Dreamland wasn't a straight path.
It was a complex maze.
"Another fork!"
"Complicated! Complicated!"
Paths branched chaotically—once in, hard to escape.
Amid countless forks, hobgoblins floundered.
Luckily, one sharp one sniffed out the entrance path.
After twists and turns, back to start.
They'd fought foes aplenty, but never a maze.
Trouble from the get-go.
Explained the dumb goblins and trolls' disappearances.
Entrance still open.
Wisest sphinx said post-entry, up to half a day to exit.
Fork in the road for hobgoblins.
Retreat or push on?
Unlike trolls or goblins, they'd prepped for long expeditions.
Food, water, camping gear—essentials in hand.
"Left-hand rule."
"Left rule? Left rule!?"
Hob spoke; eyes turned to him.
"From entrance, keep one hand on wall."
"On wall?"
"Keep walking."
"Walk?"
"Eventually find exit."
"Find!"
Of course, hobgoblins didn't know topology.
Just advice from the knowledgeable sphinx before entering.
Hob said left-hand rule solves any maze.
Not wrong—most popular maze-solving method here too.
Hob always earned his subordinates' trust.
Reliable leader's words? They nodded.
"We become mighty!"
"Mighty!"
Hobgoblins chose to advance.
Commendable persistence.
But.
The owner of the tiny ceiling camera
simply watched the hobgoblins in silence.
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