The esteemed first intruders were “Going My Way” with a rather unique party name. The name gave off an old-fashioned delinquent vibe, but from eavesdropping on their conversation, they seemed like ordinary, good-natured young people. It felt somewhat unbalanced, though.
They seemed amazed by the grandeur of my dungeon. Well, I wanted to see those bewildered faces!
“Oh, so they won’t investigate the graveyard.”
They appeared to be discussing something but ultimately proceeded straight to the tower. Personally, I wanted them to explore the outer graveyard, but it’s a pity. It’s quite an elaborate construction, you know.
Naturally, the graveyard also contained various gimmicks. First and foremost, my dungeon was designed as a circular field with a towering tower at the center, which one must ascend. Therefore, to conquer it, there was nothing of importance outside the tower. If you wanted to achieve a 100% completion rate, you would have to search, though.
Sorry for going off on a tangent. Setting aside the pretentious talk, I think we can agree that there’s no meaning outside the tower. So, I took the liberty of reducing the area outside the tower and transforming it into points. Hence, while my dungeon has a decent height, its overall area is at a minimum level and quite narrow.
The path had become so narrow that it would take less than five minutes to reach the edge of the map on foot. So, I decided to make the map loop back on itself. To be precise, when reaching the edge of the map, one would emerge on the opposite side of the tower. The drifting mist was a clever visual effect meant to deceive and mask the sudden change in scenery. If one were to proceed without thinking, one would experience an infinite loop.
Of course, that wasn’t the only gimmick. In specific locations within the graveyard, there were traps that caused hordes of zombies to emerge from the ground. And when these zombies emerged, they would grab the leg of one randomly chosen party member, adding a dramatic touch. The monsters themselves were weak, but they could easily induce panic in almost anyone.
There were other playful elements as well, like the mist will-o-wisps lurking within the mist that would attack, as well as areas where skeletons would rattle their teeth, creating a raucous scene. Not to mention, there was also a treasure chest hidden within the mist. Wouldn’t it be disheartening if these things went unnoticed?
Well, if they’re ignored, there’s nothing much I can do about it. Let’s observe how they act then. Oh, that’s the rumored [Exploration Magic] skill that I read on the bulletin board! It’s not really necessary for us monsters, but it seems to be a handy spell for humans. Indeed, it would be essential for players without [Night Vision]. It seems that darkness doesn’t have much effect as a gimmick.
“This route… it leads to that wall area, huh.”
The interior of the tomb tower became a slightly intricate maze. The walls, filled with human bones and sporting a similar appearance throughout, were designed to disorient intruders. Additionally, strategically placed skeleton walls further added to the challenge. If one observed carefully enough, they would notice these structures, but a momentary lapse in vigilance could lead to a disastrous delay in discovery… and dire consequences.
The skeleton wall, despite launching a surprise attack, couldn’t take down the party’s page. Furthermore, due to the party leader’s assessment of the unfavorable situation, they were forced to retreat.
But that’s alright. Now they have to constantly be aware of the “ordinary-looking” walls. My dungeon consists of a total of five floors. Will they be able to maintain their focus until the end?
“Oh my, are they really fixated on the walls?”
For a while, the members of “Going My Way” managed to avoid getting caught by the skeleton walls. However, that only indicated their excessive focus on the walls. It’s about time for a different challenge to come their way.
“Alright, that’s the end. Good job, everyone.”
I genuinely thought the “Going My Way” party did well. Their ability to discern when to flee from danger, their sound judgment, and their prudence to avoid repeating the same mistake they made once. They truly lived up to their 25 or above level, being top players, surpassing even me.
However, it seems they couldn’t avoid the next trap. This time, it was an ambush involving a monster in front and a skeleton swordsman who was hidden amidst the regular walls in the back. Unable to withstand the rear attack from the skeleton swordsman, who had higher offensive power compared to the skeleton walls, the entire party of “Going My Way” met an unfortunate demise.
Even I consider it a devilishly difficult challenge. However, I believe that someone like Jigoro or Genjuro could easily overcome such a predicament. In reality, whether it’s the skeleton walls or anything else, it’s not that they’re undetectable. They may be hard to notice, but they are designed to be discernible upon closer inspection.
Moreover, I constructed the dungeon solely with the resources provided by the game developers. If one puts in enough effort, they should be able to conquer it. I can only pray for the players’ perseverance and success.
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You have won in the event.
You have obtained 6 SP
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Oh? So you get SP for repelling them! I wonder if the number of SP is the same as the number of intruders. Maybe 1 SP per person? Alright then, come on in, one after another!
The intruders were defeated. This meant going back to having idle time again. Well, why not take a look at Iris’s dungeon that I haven’t seen yet?
“Oh, how beautiful.”
Iris’s dungeon was called the “Forest of Vines”. The recommended level was 20, just like Ruby. I wonder if the women in our party have a stable mindset.
The dungeon was a complete maze. It consisted of pathways entwined with vines and trees. The correct route might require climbing slopes or descending into underground holes, so it seemed quite challenging.
However, inside it, players could gather more points than anywhere else. Various herbs grew on the roadside, and edible fruits hung from the trees on the walls. Is this because she has a production job? It’s certainly nice to have many points to gather, but it seems that the turnover rate of the dungeon is low compared to Jigoro’s dungeon, which progresses smoothly.
Oh, but the traps were quite devious. Thorn-covered vines extended from gaps in the walls, turning into a reverse fishing mechanism, and flowers that scattered pollen and caused status ailments grew among the collectible plants. If one got too absorbed in gathering, they might die easily.
And the boss was a Level 25 Great Roper. It was about twice the size of the normal Iris, who was a Lesser Roper Worker, and its tentacles were thicker and more powerful. There seemed to be no change in its sluggishness, but its long tentacles reached all the way to the edges of the boss area, so it posed no problem at all.
However, what worried me was that she didn’t specialize in combat. Well, that didn’t mean she was completely inexperienced in battle. She had performed adequately in the cave exploration and the defeat of the Ratman General, and she was one of the few conquerors of the “Trial of the Azure Moon”.
The rest of us, including me, were hardcore combat players, but she was solely focused on production. Lately, she had been accumulating experience points as a monster through production, so she mostly stayed in the laboratory and worked there. It was hard to believe that she had any experience in one-on-many battles. The only consolation was that the Roper species hadn’t appeared as a regular mob yet, so it was a first encounter for all players.
Either way, it would be a valuable experience. This might have been the opportunity for her to become a combat-oriented production class.
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You have won in the event.
You have obtained 43 SP
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Mufu, Mufufufufu! Oh, how delightful! It’s such an effortless business! Everything falls into place just as I expected!
Now that we’ve reached the midway point of the event, I decided to log out and have a light snack. It’s not a problem since players can’t enter my dungeon while I’m away.
For the players, this is a critical moment, so they can’t let their guard down. My dungeon, which has five floors, still held the record at just three floors of exploration. No party has come before me yet. Oh, how idle I am!
So this is the sense of superiority that comes with being on the game developers side? I already had nearly fifty players dancing in the palm of my hand! Subjectively, I’ve been waiting in the boss’s room for over a day, but I’m still not tired of it at all! I don’t think I have any knowledge or talent for strategies and machinations, but I might surprisingly be skilled at ensnaring people in traps. Though no one would ever praise me for it.
However, why is it that from the fourth group onward, they seem to know the positions of the traps I set? Am I just imagining things?
No, it’s not a coincidence. Even parties that are less cautious than the first “Goin My Way” group were able to clear the early stages. It can only mean that information is being shared, no doubt about it.
In times like these, should I… go to the bulletin board? Oh, it’s the “Exclusive Strategy Information Board” for the event! Is this the place where players share information about the dungeons they couldn’t clear?
“…. So, that’s how it is.”
In this event, rankings were announced based on the number of dungeons cleared and their difficulty level, with rewards given according to the rankings. Among the categorized ranking criteria was the “Contribution to Clearing,” which seemed to be determined by how much information you contribute to the aforementioned “Strategy Information Thread.”
Since the other parties are competitors, it would be wise to remain silent about any information regarding dungeons players failed to clear. However, due to this “Exclusive Strategy Information Board”, people have become quite talkative.
The reason being that you could receive SP as a reward for posting useful information here. Today’s rule of not being able to challenge the same dungeon might also be encouraging the sharing of information. After all, since “it’s impossible for me today, I might as well have other parties avenge me”, or something like that.
Information about my dungeon, the “Cursed Tomb Tower” and Iris’ “Forest of Vines” was also posted on the bulletin board. It included encounters with monsters and information about the items you could obtain. There were many descriptions specifically related to trap gimmicks in my dungeon. Some even included insults about my personality, such as “This sadistic bastard who designed this dungeon” or “A shitty dungeon full of first challengers’ death traps.”
On the other hand, there were also players who wrote comments that matched my beliefs, such as “It’s cleverly hidden, but if you observe carefully, you’ll understand” or “It’s not a death trap; this is a battle of concentration”. Mister, I’m really happy that you understood my dungeon.
One dungeon that had me bursting into laughter as I read was Jigoro’s dungeon. It was written as the “only dungeon where you can go straight to the boss area from the starting point”. Well, he wanted to fight as many strong opponents as possible, so I guess that’s fine. In reality, the turnover rate of his dungeon was remarkably high. For parties aiming to climb the rankings based on the number of dungeons cleared, the ability to immediately challenge the boss was quite appealing. Despite there still being zero successful attempts, it brought tears to my eyes.
“Oh? A new challenger… Wait, it’s the hero’s party!?”
Wha- They’re coming at this timing! I knew someday they would come, but I never expected that my dungeon would have to be the first to face them among the three recommended level 25 dungeons… (Isam, Jigoro, Genjuro)
Back then, I quickly took down the priest and the mage girl, so the only information I had about them was from the party battles in the tournament. I was planning to observe them fighting against Jigoro or Genjuro and then devise a strategy… but I guess I was wrong
Moreover, this time it was just me. I have experienced battles against multiple opponents in the “Trial of the Azure Moon”, but these guys were top players. Their coordination would surely be on a different level.
However, I have a goal of “not letting anyone clear my dungeon”. So that I will receive a special reward from Lady Yifa!
“Sorry, but I’m going to crush you with all my might. For the sake of my reward!”
As I watched the hero’s party enter the tower through the monitor, I murmured those words.
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