Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Haunted Mansion (3)
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-Dragred, are you alright!?
-The Count said the communication magic got cut off...
*Munch.*
*Munch.*
"Gulp."
I'm chowing down diligently alongside Mallang-i.
It's been ages since I last had normal food instead of that tough jerky.
Of course, I didn't hunt the ingredients or cook it myself. Remember when Restia stayed over in Dreamland?
Dungeon Masters can buy food from the point shop, and there was stuff like chicken on the list.
One whole chicken costs as much as the scooter I scrapped ages ago, so I never bought it back then—or now.
But you know how familiar flavors hit different? It suddenly sounded perfect today, so I caved and ordered one.
"A guy needs his rewards sometimes."
Crispy skin, hot and juicy meat inside, that punchy umami kick.
This was hands-down the world's perfect chicken.
No regrets on the points spent—mood boosters matter, and it was money well used.
Didn't exactly fill me up, though.
No joke—I could easily down 300 more right now.
I thought the same while gnawing jerky: what a bizarre body I have.
No way an X-ray would show I'm liquid inside like Mallang-i, right?
Anyway.
I tossed the leftover bones to Mallang-i and turned to the monitor.
"Looks like the mansion action's kicking off."
Dragred got sucked into the mirror.
And the anomaly possessing his body blended into the group.
The school hits intruders hard right from the start, roasting them relentlessly, but the mansion needs some warmup.
It kicks off the moment an intruder glances at a mirror.
Personally, I see the mansion as the maze's superior version.
Lots of similarities, but with a different texture, you know?
For me, the mansion feels even more unsettling.
"Wonder how they'll handle that total raw deal. Kinda curious."
The live reactions were unexpected, though.
Dragred—who ranks in Dungeon Gallery's Top 10 Most Disliked—is trapped in an anomaly.
There are ways to counter it, sort of.
But like other anomalies, it's tough for intruders to figure out on the fly, so I basically see it as a death sentence.
The subordinate who betrayed Yongyong the Dragon is paying the price.
I figured it'd spark reactions like Julius got—"Good riddance"—but nope.
No, Newbie, I've got something I'm seriously curious about.
Who's controlling Dragred's body right now??
No way it's really Yongyong the Dragon??
Even if it's an anomaly.
You can't resurrect a dead Dungeon Master, right?
But if it really is Yongyong...
Newbie, can you pass a message via PM??
I wanna tell 'em we're all doing fine.
Ah, but I really do wanna chat after all this time...
Their mouth was rough, but they gave great advice on troubles...
They nailed the memes—honestly hilarious.
Especially messing with that car wash. Total madness.
Yeah, yeah...
Spot on.
But if I said I'm still kicking, they'd keel over laughing lol.
The whole thread was buzzing about the anomaly hijacking Dragred's body.
Terrifying for intruders, sure—but a welcome face for Dungeon Gallery folks.
Hmm.
To be straight with you.
It was a fake mimicking Yongyong the Dragon.
Nothing more than the concept of the Red Dragon King from Dragred's memories given form.
And its personality? Way off the original.
Fueled by deep hatred, it'll drag Dragred and everyone to ruin.
Sadly, I couldn't grant the veterans' wishes.
It'd be a mockery of the real, departed Yongyong the Dragon.
No matter how sweet paper flowers smell.
They can never be real blooms.
Just treat it like any other anomaly.
Got it...
Thanks.
Bummer...
Sorry for getting your hopes up.
"Eguu."
I stood, stretching my arms wide.
Dreamland, Zone 3.
Haunted Mansion, 1st Floor. 19:00.
After burning a ton of time, the 1st floor sweep was finally done.
The group gathered at the rendezvous point.
Everyone stared at Dragred.
He glanced around awkwardly before speaking up.
"Looks like we've wrapped up the 1st floor. How about sharing what we've learned so far?"
Right after Dragred finished, the most senior member, Hector, took the baton.
He'd scouted the mansion's north side with Olivia.
"North had two rooms. One's a dining room—loaded with a full feast, and it was all edible."
"You didn't eat any, did you?"
"Wasn't me—Olivia did. Newbie privileges; we'll cut her slack."
Olivia looked sheepish.
Hector shrugged and continued.
"Anyway, there was another room besides the dining hall. Door was locked, couldn't check it. Felt breakable, but the vibe was off, so we left it."
"Got it. Next?"
Comfort shot his hand up high.
He'd checked the east with Bitters.
Looked bursting with presentation energy.
Staring at Dragred like it was a job interview.
"Take it slow and explain."
"East had two rooms too. One storeroom, one prison."
"Storeroom first."
"Packed with junk of unknown use. But not just trash—we found some useful stuff."
Comfort's haul: a clock, a longsword, and a key. Three items total.
No clue on the sword's purpose.
But the key? Probably for that locked room just mentioned.
He pitched that idea.
Bitters handled the clock explanation.
"The strategy guide warns that Zone 2 requires watching the time. Might apply here too, so... better check it often."
Solid reasoning.
When the group first hit Zone 3, the sun was up.
No windows in this mansion to see the sky.
Clock was essential for tracking time.
Now 7:00 PM.
Sunset loomed.
"The prison?"
"Prison? More like a torture chamber. Horrific tools everywhere—too nasty to describe. Creepy as hell, so we just peeked and bailed."
Comfort and Bitters wrapped up.
Leo's turn with Crock last.
Dragred started solo.
But a minor hiccup led to a trio.
Stuck together after, so last team really.
"Crock and I were together at first, but Dragred's comm cut out, so we linked up naturally."
"Figured out why?"
"No reason we'd cut each other off, so Dungeon Master trick, we're thinking."
Memory wipes and info tweaks already happening—no reason this couldn't.
The group wore complicated expressions.
"If they can nullify comm magic, that's bad news."
"Eh? If the Dungeon Master could do that, wouldn't it hit us too?"
"Detection spells work, so not jamming. Anomaly type maybe. Probably limited uses..."
Couldn't nail the cause right now.
Pure speculation otherwise.
Leo cleared his throat.
Once quiet, he went on.
"We three hit southwest. West: one room. South: two rooms. South first."
South: locked room and guest quarters.
Like Hector's team, bad vibes on breaking the lock—left it.
Guest room: meetup spot with Dragred. Full-length mirror, bed, furniture.
West: study.
Bookshelves crammed with books in unreadable script.
"Good. Let's sum it up."
The 1st floor corridors twist like a maze.
With seven moving efficiently, theory says full sweep in ~40 minutes.
This took longer: thorough room checks, plus scouring corridors for suspicious spots ate time.
Anyway, 1st floor rooms:
1. ??? (North)
2. Dining Room
3. Storeroom
4. ??? (South)
5. Study
6. Guest Room
7. Prison
No stair clues in explored spots.
High chance in the unknowns.
Decided to use Comfort's key.
"That aside..."
One last issue.
Among the seven in the corridor, one stood out.
Leo.
Black branded letters on his forehead.
Everyone stared.
Not some prank doodle with a pen during scouting.
Leo sighed, explaining.
"Dragred clued us in—we barely noticed. Number's been on my forehead since we linked up. Gotta be one of the mansion's effects. Meaningful, but no clue on cause. Honestly ominous."
Not just Leo.
Everyone felt the dread, but clues were scarce.
"Eh, not info we can crack now... Let's hit the locked rooms first."
Dragred was right.
Priority: search the mansion.
"Got it."
"Crock and I'll check the locked ones, then... Rest up, everyone."
They pressed on with the investigation.
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