Chapter 78

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 78

Chapter Title: Obsessive Raiders

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Dreamland entrance.

Count Wolfhaufen and the mages faced each other, their breaths forming white clouds in the air.

The raid was over.

Their presence here meant they had used escape scrolls.

"Are we the only survivors...?"

"It looks like the entire exploration team died inside."

Only four people stood here now.

No knights, including Draggred.

They must all have perished in the dungeon.

The losses were immense.

They had prepared so many escape scrolls.

And not a single one made it out?

Count Wolfhauen bit his lip.

It was something he had steeled himself for anyway.

He had never expected an easy conquest.

'I hope they at least got something out of it...'

Count Wolfhaufen gazed at the strategy sheet.

"......"

He doubted his own eyes.

The mages did the same.

The reason for their grim expressions was simple.

They had thrown so many knights at it.

Yet the gains were barely worth a rat's droppings.

"This is..."

"The rewards are even less than expected."

The strategy sheet had a new entry: 'From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the corridors go dark. Mages can light torches to continue investigating.'

Judging from the count's disheveled attire,

the 'Faceless Girl' was a lie.

The info about 'staying in the classroom until after-school begins' was ambiguously false.

The teacher-related details rang true, but

with no further additions, they had clearly failed to uncover the conquest method.

"The most likely reason the exploration team couldn't use their escape scrolls is the Faceless Girl."

Silence hung in the air.

"......Huh?"

One mage suddenly shouted.

"Count! There's a ton of new info on Zone 3!"

"So we need to rush upstairs as fast as possible, find an elevator to escape or move to another zone..."

"We can handle food and water with our supplies..."

The count nodded.

The secrets of Zone 3's mansion seemed mostly uncovered.

The unidentified Zone 4.

And verifying the truth of the intel, plus any remaining hidden secrets.

Solve those, and they could seize the magic stones somehow.

But.

The count's thoughts differed from those of the spatial magic mages.

"I'm heading back to the mage tower."

"......Me too. Research is piling up."

Unlike the count, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed to have lost interest in Dreamland.

The reason was simple.

They only had one life.

"I see."

The count didn't try to stop the mages.

Their paths diverged.

This wave.

In other words, Wolfhaufen's 7th Dreamland raid ended in total defeat for the invaders.

The record-keepers.

Excluding the ones waiting at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the entrance to jot down intel, all were wiped out.

4 died in the school.

7 died in the mansion.

Unlike Count Wolfhaufen's massive losses,

as you can see from the posts, I raked in experience and a ton of points.

Honestly, the Ghost Mansion deserves most of the credit.

Its performance as a trap is top-tier, but it's like a golden goose product Oblivion crafted with care for an income-less Anomaly theme.

Ta-da.

This is the truth behind the Ghost Mansion that shone in this wave.

As I mentioned before, the mansion's rules are mostly smoke and mirrors.

The real star is the Mirror That Shouldn't Exist.

Eye contact spells doom.

No contact? Doom anyway. A true dilemma minion.

Of course, countermeasures exist.

Seems simple from the description.

But thinking correctly under extreme pressure? What to call it.

In my book, it's S.A.T. perfect-score territory.

Plus, 'suppress' not 'kill' is trickier than it sounds.

And the bonus points on settlement.

That was the real jackpot.

The only 5-star item with this effect.

A lifesaver for income-dry Anomaly themes.

Planned to milk points sweetly from the mansion for a while.

If intruders show up, that is.

Squad Head Hamster's turned into a live stream junkie.

This guy's really into Dreamland.

Invaders, huh.

I think I've shown them true Dreamland terror this time.

How unreasonable info-less Anomalies can be. Burned it into their minds.

Disaster in North Kingdom or whatever, your own life comes first.

Abrollis seemed to plan dumping Dreamland conquest on others casually.

Even endlessly reviving Blesseds hate raiding it.

How much worse for one-lifers?

Rules did get leaked this time.

Mansion: odd/even floor stuff exposed.

School: janitor dimming lights roughly figured.

But come on.

For grinding 10 knights + Draggred, the intel's way too meager.

Honestly, doubt they'll come back.

Cost-benefit's off.

Knights aren't crops you plant and harvest in a year.

One nagging point.

The count's eyes after using the escape scroll looked far from normal.

Next time for sure, oozing that vibe hard.

Why are my dungeon's raiders such obsessive psychos?

Logically, isn't it time they quit?

Even all-in coin gamblers are wiser than these guys.

Well, crazies exist.

Smart folks too. They'll talk 'em out of it outside.

Location shift cycle's coming soon anyway.

No biggie. Don't sweat it.