Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 5 – E-Rank Dungeon: Lurker Ghoul Lair (4)
“Do you understand?”
Marlin, who had fallen silent in thought, took a moment before answering.
“There’s something I don’t quite follow.”
“What?”
“The clear condition for this dungeon is surviving eight hours, right? So how can you possibly escape that way?”
“Ah, I overlooked the possibility that you might be critically lacking in dungeon knowledge.”
“…….”
I met the gaze of the tiger-kin girl staring at me with a sullen expression, then offered a patient explanation.
“Every dungeon hides a special secret called a Hidden Piece.”
A kind of endgame content designed to encourage multiple playthroughs, you might say.
Since not even the smallest clue is provided, explorers have no choice but to discover it themselves through trial and error—it’s the greatest riddle any dungeon holds.
Hidden clear conditions, items, NPCs, quests, and so on.
The varieties differ wildly from dungeon to dungeon, but they’re all kept secret in such a way that they’re difficult to find through ordinary means.
“Can’t the Harmony Sect Priest’s Mystery reveal it?”
“Generally not.”
“As secretive as a dungeon itself…. Other thieves who learned of my burglary skills used to say that all the time. So that’s why.”
I’d come across the expression occasionally through companion dialogue that would appear in-game.
It was a turn of phrase perfectly befitting a dungeon city.
“So this ghoul dungeon has a Hidden Piece too, and that’s the clear method you just described?”
“Exactly.”
Marlin nodded slightly, then squinted one eye.
“But do you always have to take that much risk to meet a hidden clear condition? One mistake and it feels like my life would be forfeit….”
“Don’t worry. This is the safest plan I can think of.”
“Is that code for ‘all the options are dangerous, but this one is less so’?”
Sharp, isn’t she.
Is this what a Sense stat of 19 can do.
“Regardless, this is the best option. Can you do it?”
“Well… what choice do I have. I’ll do it even if I can’t.”
Marlin nodded with resolve.
“I’ll trust you, so please just keep me alive.”
The nuance was different, but it was a line I’d seen in the game too.
[Marlin: I’ll obey your orders, so please just keep me alive….]
A line that carried the ugly intent of the designer: ‘You can do whatever you want with them?’
In the game, no matter what dialogue choice I picked, it essentially created a master-servant relationship, and I could never build any real rapport with my companions. But that wasn’t the case now.
It meant I could eliminate the Shaman Class’s greatest weakness—the constant risk of betrayal from companions who hadn’t earned my trust during dungeon clears.
Because of that.
My heart couldn’t help but race.
Where was the ceiling for the Shaman Class with only its advantages remaining?
Could the era of ‘Ridney with unrivaled divine fame’—something systemically impossible before—actually come to pass?
‘It’s not impossible.’
Anticipation was rising thick within me.
But the future only belongs to those still living, so for now I had to focus solely on escaping the dungeon.
Evil god or whatever—I had to survive first if I was going to serve anything at all.
“Shall we? We’re ready.”
Marlin and Abel, whom she’d forced awake, quietly got to their feet.
I climbed onto a tree whose trunk had bent and grown sideways, leaned my back against it, and nodded to the siblings.
“Abel.”
“Okay.”
The young siblings took a deep breath together, then released it with all their might.
“Aaaahhhhh——!!”
The Lion’s Roar.
Just a shout, really—too modest to deserve such a grand name.
Being young, there was no sense of the overwhelming majesty of tigers, the apex predators of the carnivores—nothing like a lion’s mere shadow.
But intimidation wasn’t necessary anyway.
What we needed now was to be noticed.
To draw in the ghouls that were wandering lazily through the forest here and there.
《The stench of rot is pressing in from all directions.》
They responded.
Their hearing wasn’t keen, so they probably didn’t catch it clearly, but having them register it at all was enough.
So it’s my turn now.
Scritch.
I drew the short dagger across my palm.
I opened the clean, torn wound boldly and let blood pour down onto the ground.
It was bait to lure the ghouls, creatures sensitive to the scent of living flesh.
《Numerous ghouls react to the natural scent of the blood you’ve spilled and surge forward with fierce momentum. Are you dreaming of some grand mutual suicide?》
The phrase “natural scent” troubled me slightly, but there would be time to investigate the details later when I had the leisure.
I’d bled enough, so I tore a strip from my clothes to wrap around my hand as a makeshift bandage.
“…Sir, I’m here!”
A creature materialized moments later, trailing an acrid stench so thick it stung the nostrils.
“Intruder—!!”
“Kee-hee-hee—!”
“Prey….”
Between the trees that formed a natural fortress, hideously grotesque forms flickered in and out of sight, each displaying their own grotesque character.
The attacks those specimens had shown last night seemed like slow-motion compared to their incredible speed now.
The excessive agility that had made countless Shaman Class novices curse and rage quit.
《Warning: Three ghouls are closing in on you.》
The foremost group of ghouls was nearly upon me.
I couldn’t ignore the roaring enthusiasm of these eager predators toward such appetizing prey.
Instead of dodging, I waved my hand—my left hand, still slick with blood.
“Intruuuder—!!”
“Kee-hee-hee—!”
Had fresh blood intoxicated them into mindlessness?
They lunged at me without hesitation, raking their claws and baring their fangs.
‘Goodbye.’
Slash!
In that instant, the bodies of all the rushing ghouls snapped in two simultaneously and collapsed.
By the law of inertia, the severed flesh fragments flew forward and landed in the middle of my all-night work.
“In… in… truder.”
Despite being reduced to the state of a murder mystery victim, the ghouls didn’t die—they began regenerating from their heads.
Exceptional regeneration, a gift possessed by only a rare few monsters.
Even an individual whose brain had been split into two pieces was laboriously crawling back together and rising.
But.
The moment they grew to a certain size again, they were cut down once more.
《:O》
The other ghouls that approached afterward fared no better.
Intoxicated by the scent of blood wafting from my gently swaying hand, the undead mob was sliced to ribbons by the delicate, gossamer Web of All Things with every approach, then severed again the moment their bodies regenerated.
And so the cycle continued.
The ghoul pack paid the price for proving themselves near-invincible monsters—by endlessly collapsing and rising and suffering.
“Grrrrgh….”
One of them eventually managed to cling to the tree I was sitting on, squirming closer.
I immediately drove my short dagger into the space between its eyes and pushed backward, sending it to rejoin the cheerful infinite resurrection party its companions were throwing.
Being intelligent monsters, they must have begun to realize it.
That they had fallen into a trap from which they could not escape.
The turbid blood bursting from their bodies painted the invisible threads that had been invisible moments before in shades of red.
《Web of All Things: The result of making the threads as thin and sharp as possible. Surely this must be a Mystery you’re using for the first time, yet why is your proficiency with it already so high?》
Under normal circumstances, the ghouls would have noticed the threads existed and protected themselves.
But now they were entranced by the blood I’d spilled so copiously it pooled on the ground, making rational thought impossible.
“It’s… this easy?”
Marlin, who had been peeking her head out to observe the battlefield, widened her eyes and looked up at me.
She seemed shocked by how easily I’d disabled the ghouls.
Understandably so.
I was quite surprised myself the first time I succeeded with this strategy.
A clearing method I’d discovered through experience and analysis.
It was such a groundbreaking approach that overseas communities had begun imitating it—such was its impact.
“Sir, is it over now?”
“Almost there.”
This Dungeon has two Clear conditions.
The formal one.
Survive for eight hours.
A hidden condition.
Render every ghoul incapacitated.
Zing.
The chunks of flesh had begun to slow their frenzied thrashing, exhaustion finally catching up to them, when—
A shimmering square of crimson light rose from the center of the small space where the siblings had been hiding.
《A Gate leading outside.》
《The Dungeon has been successfully cleared! The Discerner of Twisted Truth sends their praise for your deeds.》
An E-Rank Dungeon.
The Lurker Ghoul Lair.
Cleared.
“I never thought it would be resolved so easily….”
“Easily? I nearly died.”
My head still throbbed—I’d wrung my mental fortitude to its absolute limit generating the web.
As I descended carefully to solid ground, one of the ghoul’s severed hands scattered below glowed with soft light and transformed into a silvery tome.
A hidden reward.
《1st-Rank Mystery Book – Ghoul’s Mobility》
《You can now temporarily exhibit agility matching that of a ghoul. For such an excellent Mystery to emerge from an E-Rank Dungeon! Even the Wise One is astonished.》
‘…This is it!’
Despite being merely 1st-Rank, this Mystery wielded formidable efficacy.
The creator’s philosophy—”hardship deserves reward”—was reflected in this generous prize.
I tucked the silvery book carefully into my arms, then turned to the siblings, who were still eyeing the ghouls scattered about in various severed pieces.
“Come on, you two. Let’s get out of here.”
We had finished everything we needed to do in this foul-smelling Dungeon.
***
The moment I passed through the crimson Gate with Marlin and Abel, my vision swam violently before settling.
Beyond the Dungeon lay a Tavern.
《An unfortunate Tavern forced to close when the E-Rank Dungeon [Lurker Ghoul Lair] appeared. It has since been taken over by the Harmony Sect and repurposed as a facility for explorers.》
“…We’re back.”
“I’m exhausted.”
The young siblings staggered toward a nearby table and collapsed into chairs.
Marlin, her forehead pressed against the table, spoke in a dying voice.
“Sir, is it okay to leave now?”
“No. We need to go through the expedition closure procedure.”
“Ugh….”
“Rest for a moment.”
I was about to go wake the Harmony Sect Priest, who was sleeping in the corner with bedding spread across the floor, when I paused and looked around.
A Tavern I’d only ever encountered in graphics—and now I was finally seeing it in person.
Not taking the time to see this would be shameful for any true explorer.
I wandered about like a tourist, examining things closely, when I suddenly threw open a window.
Outside, night had settled in.
A cool breeze swept in from beyond the dark street, and as I surveyed the city’s landscape, text bloomed before my eyes as if it had been waiting.
《Dungeon City Pletica.》
《A paradise for explorers, harboring thousands of Dungeons. Are you prepared to spread the deeds of the Wise One far and wide?》
Pletica—the game’s stage.
A city cradling thousands of Dungeons, and the living space I would have to navigate from this moment forward.
I wanted nothing more than to leisurely wander the entire city sightseeing, but regrettably, I wouldn’t have the luxury of time for such indulgences.
Taking a deep breath as if performing a solemn rite, I gazed gravely upward at the sky.
‘The constellations are identical too.’
A moon and stars scattering soft light.
It was a rather beautiful sight, but I couldn’t simply admire it—the text deliberately suspended in midair, positioned so that the [Eye That Pierces Truth] fell precisely to the right of the moon, grated against me severely.
《S-Rank Dungeon – Nightmare Dungeon》
《If you do not clear it within five years, the great demon dwelling on the highest floor will burst forth and trample all living things, incinerating the entire continent.》
Five years ahead of me.
If I couldn’t reach the ending within that time, this world would perish.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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