All right — time for a nerve-wracking, exhilarating test run.
The target: Torquetam.
I wait in the provisional deepest level, where the dungeon core sits.
About thirty minutes.
The teleportation circle in the provisional deepest level glowed pale green.
"Huh?"
Three beautiful women are collapsed on the teleportation circle.
Pakira. Lupinus. Riv.
They're completely spent, just like when I first ran into them.
Nostalgic. No wait — this is proof that they died in the dungeon.
Not that you actually die in this dungeon.
At the brink of death, half your held money and any treasures in hand are claimed as the price, and you're forcibly teleported out.
So technically, they lost.
"Are you all right?"
I walk over to them and give them elixir to drink.
"As expected, huh."
"Man... that was brutal."
Isibara and Ambrosius, spectators at the test run, say with wry smiles.
Hmm.
"Mmm… first time… killed…"
Riv woke up.
She glared at me with narrowed eyes.
"W-well, I suppose…"
The boss that had defeated them was the floor 10 boss. The Dullahan Knight Order.
This dungeon had a boss every ten floors.
The Dullahan Knight Order was, so to speak, the first boss.
It consisted of eight Skeleton Knights, four white Dullahans, and one black Dullahan.
First, the Skeleton Knights appeared.
Once you defeated them, the white Dullahans came out.
Once you defeated those, the black Dullahan came out.
Wipe them all out, and the floor is cleared.
Both the Skeleton Knights and the white Dullahans had ordinary strength.
The black Dullahan was also appropriately strong for floor 10.
However, once the black Dullahan's set HP dropped below half, a change occurred.
The Skeleton Knights revived.
When it dropped to half again, the white Dullahans revived.
That said, both the Skeleton Knights and the Dullahans could be taken out in a single hit.
But the black Dullahan's stats all increased the more subordinates it had.
Its strength ended up comparable to that black knight I had once fought.
"H-how is that black Dullahan so strong?!"
"Surely this isn't the strength of a 10th-floor boss."
"Yeah… way too tough."
Hmm. I see, I see.
"It's practically a Dungeon Lord."
"I also wouldn't call that a 10th-floor boss, to be honest."
Isibara and Ambrosius were both voicing their complaints.
Ugh, yeah. Honestly, I did have a "welcome to the game" feel about it.
First-hit instant kills in the opening stretch are a staple of death games.
But hey, you can't die in this dungeon, so it works as a death game.
That's the concept I was going for, though why I'd know that is another question.
Come to think of it, Riv is the only one in this world who'd even recognize a welcome-to-the-game moment.
I made it that way partly because with no risk of dying, some delvers would go recklessly all out.
But the downside is too big, so most delvers were told to avoid dying if possible.
And besides, it's realistic.
Even if you don't die, pulling a cheap instant kill on someone in a real encounter is just bad form.
"Understood. I'll significantly weaken the 10th-floor boss."
"Not just the 10th floor—all the bosses at major checkpoints."
"More importantly, you should reconsider the idea that anything goes as long as you don't kill them."
Ugh, sorry about that.
"That's right. The idea of not dying by paying a price — that's a very good one. I'll give you credit for that. But that doesn't mean anything goes."
"I do feel the dungeon is quite innovative, though, and holds great potential."
"Hmm… but… first-kill traps… knock it off."
"Y-yes. I'm sorry. I'll make major revisions."
Well, at least they took a favorable view of the "not dying" part.
Pakira made a pensive face, her cat ears standing straight up as she swayed her two tails — one long, one short.
"By the way — what became of the lower levels through to the very bottom? Narcissus and the others were supposed to test those."
"For reference, this dungeon currently has 120 floors. The boss on the 100th floor is a 'quasi-Generous.'"
"Nya-what?"
"A quasi… one."
"Wait wait, and it has [Generous]?"
"Yes. After a lot of tinkering, I managed to make a boss about half as strong as the quasi-divine [Generous]. Oh, and it can unleash [Generous]'s full power for just an instant."
That was my pride and joy — one I'd poured a great deal of time into fine-tuning over two thorough passes.
I really wanted them to fight it. Even a First-Class delver would probably lose to that first-kill move on a blind run.
"…………"
"……"
"……"
"……"
"…………"
"…………"
Huh? The atmosphere is... what's going on?
Wait, hold on — did I maybe do something wrong?
"Ah, no, I'm sorry."
Looks like I did.
Ambrosius gave an awkward laugh.
"...Let's think about this a bit more broadly, shall we?"
"Y-Yes."
Maybe I should consult the witch.
At any rate, the 100th-floor boss was sealed away.
Skear Coffin Ele.
The 2nd floor. The witch's workshop.
I told the witch about the results of the test play.
The witch laughed.
"Well, well, well — young Wof, you're really something."
The witch seemed to be enjoying herself.
I managed a wry smile.
"I sort of just... went for it. I played a ton of dungeon games in my past life, so I threw in every bit of know-how I had."
"Hmm, hmm. Well, even setting aside Kon, the idea of a dungeon where people don't die is commendable. And making it so you pay a price to stay alive — that's influence from those dungeon games in your past life, isn't it?"
"Yep. On top of that, there are bosses on each floor, first-kill traps, monster areas that multiply and spawn randomly as you progress, dungeonium-type elements, and all sorts of traps built in and everything."
"Mhm, mhm. It's an interesting dungeon. But even setting all that aside, the pseudo-Generous is overkill."
Seems the witch thought so too.
I let out a small groan.
"A-a-about that, I've been reflecting on it."
"Ha ha, ha ha. Also, having Kon and Torquetam both get wiped out on the tenth floor feels a bit much, don't you think? I like the floor boss idea, but you should probably adjust that part."
"Right. I'll get on fixing it right away."
Most of it would be downward revisions.
The other thing I'm concerned about is probably the treasures.
The three types of treasure chests — gold, silver, and copper — bestowed upon me by the Goddess of Knives.
I'd already finished multiplying and placing them from the upper floors down to the deepest levels.
Sorry to the Goddess of Knives, but they definitely weren't knives.
Offerings from the treasury of the Forbidden Land, minus the gold and silver treasures.
I'd mixed OOPArt and legendary-tier items together at random.
The witch was sitting in a chair.
She had her legs crossed, and her large fox ears twitched in sync with her shifting expression.
Then the witch adopted a thoughtful look and perked both fox ears straight up.
"Hmm. Hmm. Hmm-m-m. Whaaat could it beee."
"What's wrong?"
"No, no, it's something. I just feel like something's missing."
The witch propped her chin on one hand, then traced a finger along her bright red lips.
"Something's missing?"
"Hmm, hmm. A dungeon stuffed to the brim with Wof-kun's gaming knowledge — it's a bit overkill, sure, but I do sense something refreshingly different from any dungeon so far."
"But something's still missing, right?"
"Exactly. That's what I'm feeling."
But what was missing, I had no idea.
Actually, I kind of felt the same way — just a vague hunch, but still.
Something. One more piece was missing.
"…Hmm."
"Well, well, there will probably be all sorts of tweaks going forward, but I think Wof-kun should just do as he pleases," Kon said.
"Thanks."
Still, the feeling that something was missing really gnawed at me.
I felt it too. What on earth was lacking?
Lost in thought, I left the witch behind.
Thinking this and that as I went, I realized I was hungry, so I stopped by the Berk Dining Hall.
I sat down at a table. What should I eat?
"Maybe I'll go with the Stamina Fried Chicken set meal."
I set my worries aside — time to eat my fill.
I ordered the large portion.
After a short wait, the Stamina Fried Chicken set arrived.
Six pieces of fried chicken. And a big mound of rice. Nice.
"This is good."
Fried cockatrice.
Apparently, they deliberately petrify cockatrice meat to concentrate the umami.
"…If only I could eat meals like this in a dungeon."
If I could… in a dungeon…?
"Th-this is it!"
This is it! This is it! This is it!
Food.
Gourmet food in a dungeon!
Actually, dried meat! Dried meat for dungeon gourmet!
No… that's part of it too, but right. That's what it was.
Miscellaneous meat soup.
I've decided.
I'm doing miscellaneous meat soup in a dungeon.