Chapter 33: Dungeon Event Part 1

The day of the second event had arrived. My dungeon had been accepted without any issues and was going to be used in today’s event. Even though the event hadn’t started yet, I was already getting excited!

The event was scheduled to begin at 9:00 in real time and at noon in the game, and it was set to end at 23:00 in real time. To prepare for this, even though it was Sunday, I woke up at 6:00 in the morning and finished my chores. I was fully prepared.

“Ah, I’m feeling nervous!” 

“Yeah, me too! I wonder if we’ll win?” 

As we approached the five minutes remaining until the event started in the game, Iris and Ruby started talking about such things. Naturally, I had my own concerns as well. However, it wasn’t about whether we would win or not, but rather if the players would fall into the traps and ambushes of the monsters as I had envisioned. All I wanted was for them to have fun.

“Facing strong opponents in battle is all I need.” Jigoro said.

“Yeah, me too.” Genjuro added.

“You guys never waver.”

A pair of battle maniacs. I’m starting to feel a bit anxious about what kind of dungeon these two have created. And now, it’s about to begin!

“3… 2… 1…!”

Counting down while looking at the clock, as soon as the time reached 0, our avatars were enveloped in light.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

The second official event. Unlike the previous tournament event, there was no prior information available. The players, filled with both anxiety and anticipation, gathered in front of the town’s fountain, their designated waiting area, eagerly awaiting the start of the event.

Gon, Gon…

As the bells chimed, signaling noon throughout the town, the avatars of the waiting players were enveloped in light. In the next moment, all the players found themselves transported to a completely white space.

“Ladies and gentlemen, players, greetings. I am an angel serving the ‘Goddess of Time and Space,’ Lady Carphi.”

Lady Carphi, the ‘Goddess of Time and Space,’ was well-known among players who sought information. She held a significant role as one of the general management AI goddesses in this world. The angels, her subordinates, were more famous among the players as entities that would appear when summoned through a GM call, even more so than the goddess herself.

The players couldn’t see the form of the angel who addressed them. Only a neutral voice resonated within this peculiar space.

“Allow me to explain today’s event.”

The information that followed was enough to stir excitement among the players. The implementation of a randomly appearing Random Dungeon, within the field was surprising in itself. What made today’s event even more intriguing was the ability to challenge these dungeons multiple times.

For this day only, regardless of whether they succeeded or not, players would have their equipment durability and consumable items restored upon exiting the dungeon, and there would be no death penalty. Furthermore, any items obtained could be brought back. Essentially, they could challenge the dungeons at no cost as long as time permitted.

In addition, there were rankings based on the number of dungeons conquered, completion rates, and death counts, with rewards given to the top performers. The players’ excitement naturally skyrocketed. In other words, it meant they could keep pushing forward, challenging the dungeons, and earning rewards.

“With that, I conclude the explanation. Now, everyone, please enjoy the dungeons to your heart’s content.”

As the angel’s voice came to an end, countless black holes materialized, floating in the pure white space. By entering these holes, players would be transported to a Random Dungeon.

Only the recommended level was displayed above the holes, providing no information about the nature of the dungeon within. Nevertheless, the players eagerly dove into the dungeons without hesitation. And so, the second official event began.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Once the light subsided, I found myself sitting in a familiar place. No, I knew exactly where I was.

“The top floor of the ‘Cursed Tomb Tower’.”

This was the top floor of the dungeon I had created; in other words, it was the boss room. Today, I would spend the entire day here as the boss.

“Now then, I wonder if there are any challengers…”

As a privilege of being the boss, I had the freedom to observe the inside of the dungeon today. However, it seemed that no players had chosen my dungeon as their first destination. No one had come.

“I wonder how everyone is doing?”

There was no point in just watching an empty dungeon. So, I decided to take a look at the progress of the other members’ dungeons. Iris… no one has arrived yet. Jigoro… oh, someone was there. Let’s see what he’s up to.

“Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t that cheating?”

Jigoro’s dungeon was named the “Asura’s Plains”. It was a field-type dungeon of the highest difficulty level, recommended for players level 25 and above. Apart from a small elevated hill in the center of the circular field, the entire surroundings consisted of plains in a simple layout.

Within those plains roamed numerous large monsters, elite creatures that dropped treasure chests upon defeat. That guy really took the liberty of minimizing the size and investing all the leftover points into turning them into elite monsters.

There were no traps or gimmicks of any kind. Only exceptionally strong elite monsters and the boss inhabited the dungeon. It was extreme beyond imagination!

“…Yeah, looks like they can take it down.”

The players party engaged in combat with the elite monster that had noticed them. Considering they were challenging the dungeon recommended for level 25 and above, their battle skills were quite solid. They were definitely a well-prepared group.

Although the minotaur-like elite monster proved to be quite tough, it was on the verge of defeat within five minutes. These players would surely overcome it.

“Ah, they defeated it. Now, what’s their plan from here?”

Maintaining their dominance until the end, the players successfully defeated the elite monster. They rejoiced as they obtained the treasure chest and eagerly checked its contents. It was expected of their abilities, but the real test of whether they could conquer the dungeon would be determined by what they did next. So, what will they do?

“Ah, they got greedy.”

It seems they decided to hunt down other elite monsters instead of heading towards the central hill where the Boss was. This is the end for them.

I understand the desire for more treasure chests. However, the boss of this place is a monster inhabited by Jigoro himself. Even in the best condition, it would be a tough battle, yet they voluntarily engage in battles with elite monsters, depleting their strength. It’s truly a suicidal act.

By the way, the boss played by Jigoro is a level 30 Ogre, a towering two-and-a-half-meter muscular beast with Jigoro’s combat senses… I definitely wouldn’t want to fight it.

The outcome is already clear, so let’s move on. Genjuro… he’s here! Let’s take a look. First, the dungeon is called the “Insect Paradise”. The recommended level is also 25 and above. Like Jigoro’s dungeon, it’s a field-type, but here it’s a dense forest with lush trees. The shape is square, and the boss area is located at the farthest edge from the players’ initial position. Unlike Jigoro, it seems like he’s fully intent on exploiting the field.

The monsters that appeared were all of the insect type. There were creatures like the insect-humanoid (Insector), similar to Genjuro, as well as unfamiliar ones such as butterflies that caused status ailments and large spiders that set traps with their threads. The traps themselves varied, ranging from pitfalls to plants that emitted scents to lure monsters. It was truly a dungeon steeped in a level of murderous intent that rivaled my own.

The boss inhabited by Genjuro was a level 30 war insector beetle, a beetle type monster. Unlike his usual sword, he wielded a set of curved swords in a four-blade style. He was undoubtedly serious, but perhaps his altered appearance was due to precautionary measures.

The challengers… Somehow, they seemed familiar. Ah, they were part of the group attempting to defeat Jigoro, weren’t they? I didn’t know their names, but they must have some skills. Alright, give it your all.

It seemed like it would take some time to reach the boss here. Well then, on to the next one, Ruby’s turn…

“Wow…”

That was my immediate reaction upon seeing her dungeon. It was called the “Water Corridor”, with a recommended level slightly lower than ours, at 20. As the name suggested, it was a type of dungeon where one navigated through narrow passageways.

If that were the only aspect, I wouldn’t be too concerned. However, Ruby had modified her dungeon in a way similar to Jigoro. Her entire dungeon was constantly submerged in water, reaching up to about knee height for a person. She had gone to the extent of lowering the dungeon’s size and the level of the monsters that appeared just to flood the entire area.

The purpose here wasn’t solely to make walking difficult. It seemed that water inlets were located on the ceiling, while drainage outlets were on the floor, creating a constant splashing sound as water continuously dripped. Just this alone felt like a mild form of torture, but it didn’t stop there. The uneven flooring made it easy to lose balance. On top of that, there were treacherous traps like pits filled with snakes, slimy substances falling from the ceiling, and fish-like creatures that would bite at your feet.

And finally, after exhausting their mental and physical strength, they would arrive at the boss room, where they would face the huge slime creature known as the Grand Slime, a level 25 monster. It was an incredibly tough monster that could generate countless clones from its body. Naturally, this area was also flooded, creating the perfect environment for the slime creature to freely swim in the water.

Shouldn’t the recommended level increase by at least 10 levels for this dungeon? Oh, a player got trapped in a pit and drowned. It’s a trap that seems unremarkable when submerged in water but becomes an instant death route. They haven’t even progressed a quarter of the way yet, but is this already a guaranteed wipeout?

“Oh, it looks like they’ve arrived.”

As I observed the progress of the three dungeons, I received a notification that intruders had also entered my dungeon. Now, players, enjoy yourselves to the fullest.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

The players party, known as “Going My Way”, was a member of the elite group known as the Top Players. Composed of six real-life friends, they were renowned for their reliable skills, solid gameplay, and, above all, the kindness of their members. While they may not possess the flamboyance of the hero Luke and his companions, they were a respected party.

With their first victory in a comfortably recommended level dungeon, they decided to challenge higher difficulty dungeons. After successfully conquering a recommended level 20 dungeon and replenishing their supplies, they eagerly took on the recommended level 25 dungeon as a test of their abilities.

“So, this is the recommended level 25 or higher dungeon, the ‘Cursed Tomb Tower.’”

“It has quite an atmosphere, doesn’t it?”

Upon diving into the black hole, the entrance to the Random Dungeon, they were greeted by a partially crumbling tower standing amidst a graveyard. Although the graveyard wasn’t vast, dense fog surrounded everything except their immediate vicinity, obscuring their view. Despite it being daytime, the sky appeared dim, shrouded in dark clouds. It was rather eerie.

“Since the name of the dungeon is Tomb Tower, we should enter here, right?”

“That’s true, but what about exploring the surroundings?”

“There might be hidden treasure chests, right?”

“But if we spend too much time here, we won’t have enough time to explore other dungeons, right? Didn’t we agree to compete based on the number of dungeons we conquer?”.

“What do you think, leader?”

Gouki, the party leader of “Going My Way”, pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“Since we’ve decided to compete based on the number of dungeons we conquer, let’s keep any detours to a minimum.”

“Got it. In that case, let’s enter right away.”

With those words, the scout player examined the entrance of the tower, making sure there were no traps, before opening the door. The door was sturdy and impressive, but it creaked with a rusty sound as it swung open. With determination, the six of them stepped inside.

The interior of the “Cursed Tomb Tower” was pitch black, making it difficult to see anything ahead. The party’s mage was capable of using [Exploration Magic] and had a lantern hanging from his waist as a precaution against running out of magic power. The darkness posed no problem at all.

“There are skeletons everywhere, to the right and the left…”

The tower’s interior, designed by Isam and inspired by the Catacombs, was meticulously filled with skeletal remains along the walls. For the members of “Night Parade” who were accustomed to being around Isam and his skeleton minions, it might not have been too frightening. However, for those who weren’t, it was quite a terrifying space. The members of “Going My Way” proceeded cautiously, their hearts filled with worry.

As they continued their exploration, the leading scout player noticed something. Peering ahead, they could see a monster lurking in the corridor. It was their first battle in the “Cursed Tomb Tower”, a momentous occasion, or so they thought.

“The results of my [Appraisal] skill show that all three of them are high Zombies! Two are level 21, and the remaining one is level 22!”

“Understood!”

There was a reason why the results of the [Appraisal] skill were less detailed than Isam’s. It was a little-known fact, not even known by Isam himself, that in order to read the skill details possessed by monsters, one needed not only [Appraisal] but also [Linguistics]. This hidden feature of the game converted the monster’s understanding into terms understandable to players.

Additionally, when using [Appraisal] on players, the information regarding their skills would not be revealed. Therefore, by using [Appraisal] while possessing [Linguistics], one could instantly determine whether the opponent was a mere monster or a monster-type player.

If someone were to realize this system, naturally the number of [Linguistics] owners would increase, and as a result, players who could communicate with monster players would emerge. In such a scenario, it wouldn’t be a far-fetched dream for players of human and monster races to form parties together… but currently, it was impossible.

“When it comes to zombies, their weakness is fire! Fire Lance!”

The mage unleashed a fire lance that engulfed the high zombies in flames. As expected, the high zombies, being weak against fire, burned fiercely like a torch.

“Just like this… huh?!”

They thought everything was going smoothly. But then, out of nowhere, several spears suddenly emerged from both sides, that is, from the walls!

To make matters worse, the mage, who was responsible for dealing damage, was the one struck by the spears. Perhaps he had become too complacent under the protection of the others, but this was an unexpected surprise, even considering that possibility. What on earth had happened?

“It’s the wall! The wall is a monster! It’s a Level 22 Skeleton Wall!”

The Skeleton Wall was an evolved form of the Bone Wall Isam had encountered in the Catacombs. Unlike a simple wall like the Bone Wall, the Skeleton Wall was an offensive and defensive barrier (monster) with the ability to wield weapon-based skills and magic skills.

The Skeleton Wall had been lying in wait, silently biding its time until the players engaged in combat. When they least expected it, it attacked with spears made by combining bones, cleverly camouflaging a part of the wall.

“””Clatter, clatter, clatter!”””

“””Ooooh!”””

“R-Run!”

Surrounded from the front and both sides, the “Going My Way” party managed to escape successfully. However, their major failure in the first battle took a toll on them mentally. The scout who failed to anticipate the attack and the mage who suffered damage seemed particularly frustrated.

“The person who created this dungeon definitely has a nasty personality…”

Gouki, who was carrying the mage as the party fled, muttered with a weary expression after making their escape. Their progress through the “Cursed Tomb Tower” was still below 10%. The journey to the boss was still long and far from over.

TN: This Gouki guy; I’m sure he appears in those bulletin boards chapters.

TN: I may have forgot but I don’t think that the dungeons are only made by Isam and his friends; It seems like there are other dungeons made by Goddesses which makes sense considering that there are too many players to be accommodated by only 5 dungeons. This means that the dungeon that this party conquered may not be Ruby’s or Iris’s dungeon.

TN: The dungeons until now

Isam: Cursed Tomb Tower

Jigoro: Asura Plains

Ruby: Water Corridor

Genjuro: Insect Paradise