Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 137

Episode 137

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

[You have defeated the Lv.80 Boss Aquaman.]

[You have defeated the Lv.105 Golem King.]

[You have defeated the Lv.55 Boss Skeleton.]

Afterward, we continued to secretly defeat boss mobs in other dungeons using the same method.

I handed Elaine the monster essence I had picked up and asked.

"How many is that now?"

"Six."

He, who had been horrified at first, now took the item from me with a look of considerable familiarity.

Tournament Day three.

Perhaps because we secretly invaded other people's dungeons two or three times a day to defeat only the boss mobs, the progress was quite fast.

'I should just collect about four more and then stop.'

Wouldn't about 10 mid-to-high-grade boss monster essences put us in the upper ranks?

The tournament period is one week.

No matter how great a hero, they wouldn't be able to invade someone else's dungeon 10 times in one week.

As for me, my strategy was to be carried by the invisible Elaine while miniaturized, so I only defeated the boss mobs.

Normally, one would have to take care of the swarms of minion monsters that flock before the boss appears.

"Gr, grrrr..."

Just then, a few low-level monsters, unaware that their boss had kicked the bucket, approached.

I chanted lightly.

"Stun."

"Kieeeeeeek!"

"Ah, why do you keep just stunning them! I told you to kill them so I can grab the items!"

Then, the sound of a fuss being made from empty air could be heard.

It was Elaine, who had been gleefully grabbing the items of the boss mob that had died in my place.

If it were the old me, I would have been snatching up those items frantically.

If only I could sell them to earn coins, I would have wrecked not just the boss, but all the monsters in the dungeon.

However...

'Kassel, that thorough bastard!'

Items obtained from monsters during the tournament period could only be sold through the Imperial Palace.

It seemed to be a way to monitor if there was outside help during the dungeon clearing and to partially reflect it in the ranking aggregation.

As such, dammit, I couldn't have any items.

So, killing more monsters only serves to line Elaine's pockets.

"I told you, it's not good to leave too many traces."

I admonished him gently.

We're sneaking around in other people's dungeons picking off just the bosses; if there aren't even many monster hordes, some bastards will sense something is off.

Besides.

GM Ari: Shari-nim. The boss monster Respawn seems to be possible only after 24 hours.

Me: Why?!

GM Ari: It's because the respawn time is different for each dungeon. ㅠ

GM Ari: There are monsters that respawn quickly, but there are also dungeons that respawn slowly, so we set the standard at 24 hours.

It was a reasonable explanation, so this time I couldn't argue with the developers, asking why they couldn't even do that.

Even the Lv.65 Boss Werewolf, the very first one we killed, was known to respawn once every three days.

'That's why I killed it first...'

I was a bit uneasy, but since there were monsters like the werewolf whose respawn times were shorter than the original, it was bearable.

Anyway, excluding top-ranking heroes like Adam, those who could clear a mid-to-high-grade dungeon in a single day would be rare.

And those guys like Adam were placed in the highest-grade dungeons, so they didn't have the luxury of aiming for other dungeons.

'No, come to think of it, it's already the third day, isn't it?'

It was about time for those who had cleared their assigned dungeons to start appearing, aiming for other people's, just like me.

'Should I just kill one strong one and call it quits?'

If I unnecessarily went around to four more dungeons and ran into some vicious bastards, it could get awkward.

"Kieeeeeeek!'

Unaware of these deep thoughts of mine, Elaine lightly stunned another monster that approached and grumbled.

"When was it you said killing a few minions wouldn't be noticeable."

"That was only for the ones that approach while we're catching the boss."

"Then at least let me catch a few! Just because you can't sell them, you won't let me sell them either! You're totally bizarre and selfish."

"Do you want to switch roles with these skull-heads?"

He finally shut his mouth when I asked while pointing at the few skeletons that were stunned.

[Elaine Griselda holds a complaint against your infinite selfishness.]

[Elaine Griselda feels a slight respect for your wickedness.]

'That thing.'

It was when I was glaring at the bastard who was conveying his complaints via the system window instead.

"Pathetic fools. To come to catch these easy skeletons and just sleep!"

Suddenly, a human presence was heard from the distant entrance of the Ghost City's Cemetery.

We immediately hid behind a gravestone and observed the situation.

The heroes originally assigned to this dungeon had been put to sleep with a sleep potion and stuffed in a safe zone.

It wasn't them, but two men I'd never seen before, entering the cemetery.

"Let's hurry up and take care of these minions first."

"Leave this side to me!"

"Kieeeeeeek!"

The bastards quickly defeated the skeletons and steadily approached the side where we were hiding.

'There are already guys aiming for other people's dungeons?'

Just as the situation I had been worried about arose, my mind was swayed.

Hurriedly pulling out a miniaturization potion, I said to Elaine.

"Let's go back for now."

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The next day.

"Kkiirook-kkiirook!"

We arrived at a coastline where flocks of seagulls were flying.

Unlike our usual movements at the dead of night, the bright midday sun shone above our heads.

[You have entered the West Coast Cave.]

I, who had been staring at the system window announcing our entry into the dungeon, immediately undid my miniaturization and handed something to Elaine.

"Here."

[Earplugs made from High-Grade Slime]

It would have been nice if I could have gotten an S-Grade...

'To think the price of dungeon movement scrolls would have skyrocketed like that...!'

Perhaps the fight for dungeon occupation had already begun, as high-grade dungeon movement scrolls were not easy to acquire.

It was a huge relief that I had stocked up on several high-grade earplugs from long ago.

'Although I hadn't bought them to use at a time like this...'

"Are you some kind of general store?"

Elaine made a strange expression as he accepted the earplugs from me.

The items that came out so smoothly, as if everything had been planned and prepared, seemed fascinating.

I answered indifferently.

"You and Lucy just had to play hide-and-seek so loudly inside the house."

"I was, I was playing with my niece, you know?!"

"Lucy said the same thing. That she played with you because her uncle was bored."

"Lucy, that tiny little thing..."

Elaine's face turned red at my scolding.

He seemed to have the self-awareness to be embarrassed that his mental age was similar to his much younger niece's.

Sadly, the earplugs were something I had stocked up on early for my summons-terrorism war with the developer bastards.

Of course, I had no intention of telling Elaine the truth.

"Put them on as soon as it strikes the hour, and start."

When I urged him, showing him the clock magic tool that indicated 11:55, Elaine nodded, slightly tense.

He soon took out an onion slice and rubbed his eyes.

A moment later, after confirming Elaine had vanished as if by magic, I stealthily went around the side of the cave entrance.

As I observed the situation, pressed flat against the rock wall, I saw the heroes gathered in the safe zone, just as expected.

"It's almost the hour. Everyone, plug your ears."

When the slightly older man spoke, the rest rustled around, pulling out items and stuffing them into their ears.

'Six people? That's quite a lot, isn't it?'

I, who was also putting in my earplugs, counted their heads and furrowed my brow slightly.

It was definitely a high-level dungeon, as the number was high compared to the two to four party members in other dungeons.

'It's a good thing I gave him extra.'

I had given Elaine one or two extra sleep potions just in case, and it would have been trouble if I hadn't.

Swaaaaaaa... Splash!

"Kkiirook-kkiirook!"

As if it had finally struck the hour, the previously calm sounds of waves and seagulls became unusual.

I tore my gaze away from the heroes gathered in the safe zone and glanced back.

Splash, splash!

From inside the coastal cave, a horde of countless black shadows began to swarm out from under the water's surface.

The group of shadows, which had moved to a rocky island located quite a distance from the cave, finally began to reveal their forms above the water's surface, one by one.

Fish-humans with long, curly hair of various colors.

[Lv.80 Siren]

A group of Sirens that came out of the cave flopped their fish tails and climbed onto the rock.

And then, they faced each other and moved their mouths.

"----."

I couldn't hear it because I was wearing earplugs, but they must have been singing.

'Siren's Lullaby.'

If you hear that song, you fall asleep just like that.

If you're a user, you fall into a status abnormality.

That's why earplugs were essential to clear the Siren dungeon.

After finishing their song, the Sirens sleep for two hours, starting from noon.

This was the only time when they could be attacked.

Leaving the mouth-moving fish-humans behind, I checked on the heroes assigned to this dungeon.

Above the bastards who were tensely waiting for the 'Siren's Lullaby' to end, potion bottles filled with a milky liquid were floating softly.

Thanks to the earplugs, thankfully, not a single person had noticed.

'He's doing well.'

I became very satisfied with the sight of Elaine faithfully carrying out his simple role.

Unfortunately, they would only be able to defeat the boss mob after a day.

'Before that, they'll be busy trying to find better earplugs.'

Thinking they fell asleep from the 'Siren's Lullaby' because of their cheap earplugs.

A short while later, the Sirens, who had stopped moving their mouths, stiffened like stone while sitting.

They had fallen asleep.

It was the same for the heroes as well.

"Zzzzz! Pfffff... Zzzzz!"

I took out my earplugs and confirmed the snoring sound.

It was the moment I was about to call Elaine, after confirming that both the Sirens and the heroes were completely asleep.

Thud, thud.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone's footsteps approaching.

I flinched in surprise and pressed against the wall.

Rustle.

At the same time, a tall, armored man parted the rainforest stretching out behind the safe zone and walked out.

He stopped dead, looking at his sprawled-out party members, then soon approached them without hesitation.

And then, he roughly rubbed the hair of the man collapsed closest to him with his index finger to examine it...

"It's a sleep-inducing potion."

He stared near the cave where I was hiding with sharp eyes.

I stopped breathing, my mouth agape.

'Wh, why is that bastard... here...?'

The man, whose platinum-blond hair was shining nobly as it reflected the sunlight, was none other than.

[Count Adam Hailey]