Chapter 98
Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Village of Silence (4)
But it's kinda more boring than I thought??
It's different from what I expected, you know...
Up until now, it felt less like you had to watch out for sounds and more like you could just shut your trap and survive lol
Hey!
Anomalies need time to warm up, as per the law.
I saw it...
I ended up seeing it...
This place is Dreamland...
Minions are Death Aliens...
I can kinda guess.
The round thing in the well.
That's a Death Alien egg, right??
lololol yeah
Check the pic in that post closely—you can see it laying eggs lol
Can it reproduce asexually?? Chills...
Hatching conditions??
Looking at past anomalies,
Probably doesn't need any special conditions.
Lays a shit ton of eggs too lol
Isn't this like a total upgrade over the Ant Nest??
Newly hatched ones are anomalies, so you can't even smash 'em physically;;
Whoa... this is seriously giving me chills...
If it weren't limited to just the Village of Silence... fml lol
Assuming you could release it outside.
Theoretically, this one minion alone could end the world.
This is a 5-star anomaly theme minion...
Chills x5
Later when Newbie levels up again.
6-star and 7-star ones will unlock too.
This shit's actually scary af lol
I crossed my arms and quietly stared at the monitor.
Well, in this wave, the Death Alien's performance felt a bit underwhelming.
But, you know.
Like the maze or the goblin cave, certain zones need that warmup period.
The Village of Silence was no different.
The Death Alien was never just one.
Sure, it starts with a single one at first.
But over time, it multiplies, and as the apex predator of the food chain, there's no way to eliminate it.
If I had to compare it to something Earth-like.
It's like a giant Asian hornet invading a Western honeybee hive.
Of course.
There's a population cap proportional to the zone's size.
It can't swarm like ants.
Even so.
It was more than enough to plunge the intruders into despair.
In this wave, I really had nothing to do.
Once the trap activates, even I, including Squishy, get barred from entering Zone 5.
Probably because if I intervened.
It'd invalidate the dungeon clear itself.
Oblivion might be systemically blocking it.
For that reason.
I fiddled with Squishy.
"Eep."
Squishy recently got a new personal skill.
Clay mode, where I roughly shape its body like dough.
Feels just like playing with slime—super fun.
This time, I made a Squishy pottery piece.
I'm pretty handy, after all.
"Heave-ho."
Wave's still going, though.
Time to stop playing.
No matter how little I have to do.
I still need to keep tabs on the intruders' situation.
Nuuubi!
Yeah?
Just calling out to ya
Feels like there's more to it than that?
lolololo
Newbie's a love studies PhD now?
Maybe lol why??
Just...
Something feels off.
Honestly had no real thoughts,
Eh whatever, it's just some kinda feeling...
I quietly stared at the monitor.
Definitely not a cheerful sight.
Anemone's case is like with Drag Red.
I don't have the power to resurrect the dead, after all.
Still.
Unlike the fake dragon, this one's a bit more refined.
Wasn't intentional,
But it turned out this way.
If it's too hard to watch,
Should I skip posting this part?
No no no
It's not that bad...
Just feeling a bit melancholic, that's all!
Anomalies drag people into the abyss.
They're just a means to hinder the intruders' raid.
The count probably knows that much.
But still.
No matter how hopeless surviving today is.
If the rest of your life is just stringing along the same old routine.
Does it matter if it's fake happiness or real?
If.
Count Wolfhaufen were a devotee of the god of the mundane brain.
The Village of Silence might just be paradise for him.
"You are gradually falling asleep."
Day 2 of dungeon exploration.
The sky was shrouded in fog.
The party gathered in front of the well.
This was a dungeon.
But with cozy beds and no noise at all, everyone seemed to have slept soundly.
They were in pretty decent condition.
Before heading south, the Noble Slayer asked the count.
"There was food in the house."
"Don't eat it. Stick to our rations."
The Noble Slayer nodded slowly.
Zone 5 had five major spots to investigate.
The central village where they were now.
The eastern forest where the alarm sounded and the PTSD knight died.
The western forest, northern river, and.
The southern zone no one had visited yet.
"There was a trap in the eastern forest. The knight triggered it and lost his life."
"Yeah. To the aberrant lifeform."
"Other places might have high-probability traps like that too, so stay sharp."
"Got it..."
They headed south.
The count stared into the well from behind the leading party.
Something that should have been in the well was gone.
There had definitely been a black egg yesterday.
A round object bobbing on the water's surface.
'Where'd it go?'
"What're you doing? Come on."
"Everyone, take a look at this for a sec."
The party halted briefly.
"So, the black orb that was here until yesterday is gone?"
"Yeah."
"That's unsettling. What the hell does this mean?"
The party couldn't brush off this phenomenon lightly.
This dungeon kills the careless.
It wasn't something to ignore.
But.
There was too little info.
"Could the aberrant lifeform have taken it?"
"Maybe the orb moved on its own?"
"What even is the orb? Does it die if left alone?"
"Nothing's happened so far, though."
"True, but... I dunno..."
The count crossed his arms.
After deep thought, he made a call.
"Info's too limited. Any more is just pointless armchair debate."
They moved on, letting it slide for now.
Southern plains, abandoned power plant.
The party blinked.
The massive concrete structure before them.
Was something utterly alien to this world.
The old smokestack rose toward the sky.
Its surface was stained with black soot.
The concrete outer walls surrounding the facility.
Were plastered with yellow signs reading 'High Voltage Warning.'
The lettering was faded, edges cracked—looked pretty rundown.
"Let's head inside."
"Hold up a bit."
"Why."
"Just laying down some insurance, y'know."
The party waited for the black mage.
He gave the OK sign when ready.
As they stepped inside, fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling.
Most intact, but none working.
There were also bizarre machines of unknown purpose.
Could be traps, so no touching.
The party crept along, scanning carefully.
Then the black mage pointed at something.
The party's gazes followed.
And everyone's faces lit up.
"An elevator."
Impossible to mistake.
It looked exactly like the one at the dungeon entrance.
To go to the next zone in Dreamland.
You had to use the elevator.
Unless Dreamland's master was an idiot.
There'd be no reason to send the party to Zone 5 for nothing.
So high chance.
Other zones had elevators too.
That was their best guess.
Anyway.
Escape route right in front of them.
The black mage approached the elevator with excited steps.
The others crossed arms, waiting for the doors.
'On to the next zone.'
The count absentmindedly turned toward the Village of Silence.
His only lingering worry was parting with Anemone.
He hadn't even said goodbye yet.
As if reading the count's mind.
The Noble Slayer patted his shoulder.
"......"
Right.
She's an anomaly.
Just a meticulously crafted minion from Dreamland.
Ignore her.
And erase her from memory.
Once out of the dungeon, everything resets anyway.
That'd do.
The party waited for the black mage.
But.
Click click.
Click click.
Even pressing buttons.
Groooan.
Groooan.
Pulling the doors by force.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
No matter how much time passed.
The elevator doors wouldn't open.
"What the hell's going on?"
"Broken?"
"No way. Then how do we get out?"
The elevator wasn't working.
Come to think of it, something was off.
The digital display.
Should show a red '1'.
Why no lights here?
The Noble Slayer stared at the elevator, then hurriedly scribbled with her pen as if realizing.
"It's fake. There's gotta be a real one somewhere else."
Everyone thought it was a solid hypothesis.
Not like there couldn't be decoys.
But.
The count felt differently.
How to put it.
Compared to the vicious anomalies they'd faced so far.
A fake elevator seemed too lame.
If the doors opened, intruder boards alone, and it chews you up—maybe.
But this was too ordinary, suspiciously so.
"Let's investigate a bit more first."
"Yeah."
"Gather all the info we can here before moving."
They kept walking.
The party walked the corridors.
Suddenly, the half-ogre spotted something and quickened his pace.
"What's he doing."
"No idea."
Soon, the party recoiled in shock.
The half-ogre had lifted a black egg in both hands.
"You crazy pig bastard."
"How do you just grab that with your hands?!"
The half-ogre hastily set it at his feet.
Scratched his head and scribbled.
"No... Count, I wanted to ask if this was the black orb you saw in the well..."
"Yes. That's it."
The count swallowed a sigh and nodded.
So there were more than one black eggs?
A bad premonition hit.
At that moment, crackle.
A sound like glass cracking echoed.
Much duller and deeper.
In the quiet space, it rang clear.
Everyone looked down at the half-ogre's feet.
A thin crack formed on the egg's surface.
Viscous slime oozed slowly from the gap.
Everyone but the half-ogre backed away.
The huge, clumsy brute flailed in panic.
It was hatching.
The egg cracked open.
Something crumpled inside revealed itself.
"......"
The black mage's lips moved.
The quietest curse in the world.
He knew what it was.
The aberrant lifeform that killed the PTSD knight.
The monster with long, bizarre limbs.
Stared at the half-ogre right there.
Drool dripped from its gaping maw.
Taller than even the half-ogre.
Drool streamed down the half-ogre's face.
Drip, drip.
Warm liquid hit the floor with the saliva.
"Ah, aaah......"
The half-ogre, terrified, finally let out a sound.
Drip, drip.
Blood flowed on the floor.
The half-ogre was skewered.
Throat and lungs pierced, reduced to a mute hunk of meat.
Chills ran down spines.
Those who witnessed it looked too overpowered to even consider fighting.
No way to win in combat.
Everyone's instinct screamed it.
"......"
This was their only chance to run.
But.
The black mage cautiously raised a hand, signaling the party to hold.
The thing clearly needed to eat.
Normally it'd devour the head ravenously, but now no reaction.
The aberrant lifeform was still eyeing them.
'We're fucked.'
Was his thought.