novelA Dungeon With Few Customers
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On the 8th day since I began administrating the dungeon, the first adventurers finally visited.
While I was enjoying my after-meal tea in the residential area that was now on the 12th floor due to the additional floors, I heard the sound of the intruder alarm. Also, the No Life King is still stationed on the 10th floor. I stationed him there as a boss to protect the residential zone, but once I considered that I'll be adding more layers later, it seemed that the 10th floor was a nice clean place for a midboss, so I decided it might be good for him to continue controlling the floor. Incidentally, even though there's a midboss, there's no end boss. I mean, I have no intention of fighting after all.
I'm having the No Life King as a boss room that you need to pass through no matter what if you want to take the stairs from the 10th to the 11th floor, so I'm having him stay there.
Also, it would be boring to be able to simply challenge a boss, so I decided to prepare a puzzle that you had to complete by correctly arranging the stone slates left around the same floor, like the puzzles you often see in RPGs. If you put the sun, moon and star type slates into the pedestal at the very end of the 10th floor, the wall is set to open up and let you into the boss room. Just to make sure, I added the message "Thee who wouldst come in challenge before the throne of the undying one, arrange correctly the skies." on the pedestal. I get the feeling that it's basically already solved with this, but it's for aesthetics' sake.
.. *
Now then, enough about the 10th floor. I need to have a look at the intruders this time. Still holding the black tea that Tena steeped for me, I headed to the office.
There was nothing but a chair, small table and pedestal in the office, with the dungeon core set above the pedestal. After I sat down on the chair, I placed my hand to the dungeon core and used my mind to bring up the information on the intruders. A window opened and showed the inside of the dungeon. In the image of the first floor were 2 adventurer-looking men, and when I looked to them, their statuses appeared.
Name: Lufree
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 25
Job: Swordsman
Level: 14
Title: None
Name: Benet
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 16
Job: Swordsman
Level: 4
Title: None
I didn't know all this time because nobody except Tena and I had been in the dungeon before, but it seems that I can use the dungeon core to see the status of intruders to the dungeon. However, unlike our statuses, I could't see the skills or equipment.
But still, for a duo, there seems to be quite a difference in age and levels. Unlike Lufree who was wearing metal armour, Benet was equipped with light weight leather gear. Both of them had longswords in their hands, but the sword that Lufree was using was giving off a more remarkable aura as a sword than the one Benet was holding. I could see a difference not only in age, but in their equipment too. I wonder if it's a case of a veteran supporting a beginner while he gains experience.
Thinking about it carefully, if the news of the dungeon's transformationg hasn't spread yet, then these two came here with the intent of challenging the "Beginners Dungeon", and it looks like that assumption was correct. The fact was that they had stopped in confusion at the entrance, over the change to the dungeon. But in the end, it seemed that they decided to see what the inside was like, and the two of them carefully made their way into the dungeon.
.. *
Before the pair who had cautiously made their way from the entrance room, appeared a wraith and black steel golem, one after another. The two of them stiffened up in shock, but Lufree, the more experienced of the two, regained his senses more quickly and shouted something towards Benet while raising his sword into a guard.
However, Benet was frozen with fear, and couldn't react to that shout.
The wraith fired clumps of shadow, and though Lufree immediately jumped to the side and avoided a direct hit, Benet didn't react and was thrown against the wall by the impact. While worrying about Benet who was sliding down the wall, collapsed, Lufree brought his sword into a guard again without any carelessness.
At that point, the black steel golem closed in and swang down its fist. Lufree dodged to the right whilst diagonally diverting the blow with his sword, before swinging the sword in an arc towards the left side of the golem. However, the result of that was the cruel scene of his good sword being broken in an instant. Lufree who had swung his sword was dumbfounded by the broken half of the sword that flew through the air.
At that point, the black steel golem swang the fist that had been blocked horizontally, and with the bewildered Lufree unable to parry, he took a direct blow to the chest and was sent flying roughly 5 metres into a wall, before falling to the ground. Lufree tried to somehow get up, but at that point, the wraith once again fired clumps of shadow, and Lufree who was collapsed on the floor was unable to immediately move, and after being struck in the side by the clump, he was once again sent flying. This time he had apparently completely lost consciousness, and didn't get up.
The black steel golem neared the unconscious two and collected their items and gold, and after dragging them to the room with the dungeon exit, threw them inside.
Also, because the room with the exit is like the residential area in that monsters are forbidden from entering, the black golem couldn't go inside. The teleportation circles from each floor also head to this room.
After tossing the unconscious intruders away, the black golem picked up the collected items from earlier, and began walking towards the 1st floor's item-use teleport circle. The items that he collected will probably be sent directly to the residential area that I'm now in.
For now, I can probably count this times' invaders as repelled.
In fact, even though I did give orders not to kill anyone, it was still scary to watch. They should have held back enough, but even so, as long as they were attacking, the possibility of somebody dying due to being hit in a bad spot wasn't zero, after all. As long as the invaders have a certain degree of power, I reasoned that they would probably be able to react to avoid taking fatal injuries, which is why the possibility of somebody dying by accident was supposed to be quite low, but because there was somebody who was obviously a beginner this time, it couldn't help that I was worried.
Having only just remembered about my now cold tea, I finished the rest before leaving the office and heading to the room next door with the item-use teleport circle.
While walking down the hallway, I considered the adventurer duo from earlier. They were probably lying in the 1st floor room with the exit right now, but they realised that the dungeon has changed. Once they regain consciousness and return to town, they'll probably report the transformation of the dungeon to the Adventurers Guild.
When that happened, I can think of two reactions the Adventurers Guild will take.
The first would be to send in high level adventurers to survey it, and the other would be to make an announcement and publicly solicit people to conquer it. Only, because it would be difficult to conquer the dungeon without knowing the level of difficultly, I expect that they'll send an investigation team at least once. Unlike this time, it'll probably be fairly high leveled adventurers being sent in. I was prepared that this might happen at some point, but now that it's here, it feels like I'll be crushed by the anxiety.
When I entered the room with the teleport circle, the swords and items had just been sent in. Repelling adventurers, and then stealing their items... Without even having to think deeply about it, it's the same as what a robber does. But for challengers to a dungeon, getting only their weapons, items and gold stolen and being returned to the entrance with their lives even after collapsing is exceptional service. Had this been any other dungeon, they woud have definitely died, so although I'm not going to ask them to be thankful, I hope that they'll think that it was at least better than what could've been.
Also, that I stole their weapons but not their equipment... is not because of compassion, but rather because I can't stand the stink. In this world where people don't typically take baths, the smell that you get from the armour worn over many days by men who don't wash themselves is, something that makes my hair stand on end just imagining it.
The spoils of war this time were 2 longswords (though one was broken), 3 silver coins, 25 copper coins, 4 medicinal grasses, and 2 adventurer car────wai-, adventurer cards!?
Oh crap, as you'd expect, taking these away is pretty bad, and to begin with, without adventurer cards or money, the two of them won't be able to return to town, so my expectations have gotten messed up in various ways.
When I teleported to the entrance room in a panic, I confirmed that the two of them were still unconscious, and quickly returned their adventurer cards. While feeling relieved that my follow-up made it in time somehow or other, I teleported back to my original room. I have to make sure to order the monsters in the dungeon not to take the adventurer cards, later.
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Two days after the first intruders, the dungeon alarm rang out once again. It seems that adventurers dispatched by the Adventurers Guild to survey the dungeon are now intruding.
The duo that I beat up had entered in the early afternoon 2 days ago, and had returned to town and reported to the Adventurers Guild. After deciding on the course of action, the whole of the next day they gathered people and prepared, and so today they sent out the survey team...
Mn, the timing matches up.
I quickly headed to the office, and just like last time, sitting on the chair I held my hand to the dungeon core.
In the image shown of the 1st floor were 4 men.
Name: Vaif
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 32
Job: Swordsman
Level: 25
Title: None
Name: Banard
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 29
Job: Swordsman
Level: 22
Title: None
Name: Theodore
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 29
Job: Mage
Level: 20
Title: None
Name: Esel
Race: Human Race
Sex: Male
Age: 26
Job: Scout
Level: 19
Title: None
It seems that the party this time is quite well balanced. Moreover, even the lowest level Esel is higher level than Lufree from the other day.
It's probably the highest level party amongst the people that the Riemel Adventurers Guild could immediately mobilise. As expected, the veteran scout who took the vanguard was checking for traps and enemies, and they were carefully and safely exploring.
Even when they encountered a black steel golem along the way, they were a party with clearly divided roles, for example the swordsmen holding up a strong defence, while the mage used earth magic to destroy the ground beneath the golem and stopped its movements.
After they smoothly explored the 1st floor, they found the stairs to the 2nd floor and headed downstairs.
On the 2nd floor, at first their exploration had been going well too, but for some reason it seemed as though their enthusiasm suddenly dampened halfway in. Standing on the spot, they energetically argued with each other, but I feel impatience from their expression.
I didn't know what they were talking about, so I couldn't tell what was going on except for the fact that something inconvenient for them had happened. It's extremely convenient that I can watch what happens in the dungeon like a movie, but being unable to hear sounds is inconvenient, so if I can do something about it, I'd sure like to improve this.
After that, they continued exploring, but Esel who had his concentration messed up stepped on a paralysis gas trap, and except for Theodore who was in the back, the other three were paralysed. Because of two black steel golems who seemed to use that gap to attack, the party was wiped out all too quickly.
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