Chapter 185 Unintended Consequences
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Dungeon Tester Life – Day 68, Morning. The Main Plaza.
”Alright, Gozaru. Out with it,” I said. “What exactly happened out there?”
I’d already heard from Saizou and Rock that there had been an ambush, but they weren’t exactly the talkative types. I needed the play-by-play, so I turned to Gozaru for the details.
”It was… a disaster,” Gozaru replied, a bitter grimace twisting his face as he recounted the slaughter on the fourth floor.
According to him, the Gozaru-crew had been so focused on the Floor Guardian battle that they never noticed the Trust Fund Group¹ tailing them. Just as they were packing up after sending their last party through, the hammer dropped.
They were exhausted, outnumbered, and on the verge of being overrun when a monster clad in ninja attire – an Ogre – suddenly materialized from the shadows.
A kunai whistled through the air, burying itself in Manda’s throat with a sickening, wet thud. Before the rest of his cronies could even scream, a wave of magical fire erupted, incinerating Manda and everyone standing near him.
The Ogre didn’t stop there. It tore through the attackers like a whirlwind, protecting the Gozaru-crew while severing limbs with a chain-sickle and scorching the earth with more fire magic. In the chaos, Gozaru managed to use the Medals of Return² to warp out the wounded before leading the survivors to safety.
They eventually linked up with Rock and the rest of the guild at the teleportation room. Now, back in the plaza, they were busy patching themselves up.
It was more or less what I’d expected. My only miscalculation was the body count.
According to Gozaru, at least five people had been burned to ash before they lost sight of the clearing. I scanned the My Room doors lining the plaza walls. A quick count confirmed that even more doors than that had vanished.
Saizou must have gone overboard with the fire magic during the pursuit, or maybe the Kobolds picked off the stragglers as they tried to flee. Still, driving a kunai straight through Manda’s throat… Saizou really doesn’t do ‘half-measures,’ does he?
Honestly, I hadn’t planned on killing them. Unlike the kickboxing club, Manda’s group hadn’t directly crossed me yet. If I start slaughtering testers every time they get in the way of my recruits, the Queen might decide I’m more of a nuisance than an asset.
I’ll have to keep Saizou on a shorter leash. I’d told him to intervene if Gozaru was in danger – specifically, to take out the leader and create enough chaos for an escape. I even told him not to use poison, thinking that would signal a non-lethal intent. But Saizou is a literalist. He followed my orders to the letter, and the resulting bloodbath was a direct consequence of my vague instructions.
Then again, if it came down to a choice between Gozaru dying or the attackers being wiped out, I knew which side I was on. Maybe that intent bled through our soul-link.
”Well, I’m just glad you made it back in one piece,” I said.
”We owe you our lives, Guard-dono,” Gozaru said, lowering his voice. “But… that Ogre Ninja. The timing, the way it moved… Was it like Rock? Did you raise it from a Goblin?”
”Who knows?” I shrugged, leaning into the lie I’d prepared. “If I had to guess, the dungeon probably spawns high-level anti-griefing mobs when too many testers cluster in one zone. The Queen clearly doesn’t want people cheesing the floors with sheer numbers. It was likely a warning. Doesn’t that make more sense?”
Nezu and Gozaru exchanged a look, their voices barely audible.
”But the outfit… it looked exactly like the reference gear from the Animation Department’s costume room,” Gozaru muttered.
”And those sleeves,” Nezu added. “I’ve seen that embroidery before.”
”I think I saw it for sale in the Shop, actually,” another student chimed in. “A ninja monster using a kusarigama? It’s a bit too specific for a random spawn.”
I let a cold, sharp edge slip into my gaze, staring them down until they flinched. “It was a dungeon-spawned enemy. Do I make myself clear?”
Gozaru’s face went pale, and his shoulders shook. “C-crystal clear. That’s exactly what I’ll tell the others.”
”Y-yeah,” Nezu stammered. “We’re just lucky we survived such a terrifying monster. It probably goes after the largest groups first.”
”Right. We should warn the other guilds. No more large gatherings,” Gozaru added, nodding frantically.
”Good. See that you do,” I said, my voice returning to a pleasant, casual tone. “If exploration halts because people are afraid of ‘mystery mobs,’ we all go hungry. Knowing the ‘spawn conditions’ should keep everyone moving.”
The tension broke as Leticia skipped back toward us, clinging to my arm and looking up at me with those wide, innocent eyes. “I’m all out of Mana Capacity³,” she announced.
”You’ll recover enough for two more casts in an hour,” I said. “Go get some breakfast.”
”What about you, Yakumo?”
”Sheena and I have a few things to finish up. I’ll come find you when we’re done.”
”Okay! See you later, Gozaru! Bye, everyone!” Leticia waved cheerfully.
”Thank you, Saintess Leticia!” the former shut-ins cheered in unison. “All hail the Holy Maiden!”
Leticia beamed, clearly loving the attention, and skipped back toward her room.
”She certainly enjoys the roleplay, doesn’t she?” Sheena remarked, watching her go with the fond look of a big sister.
While the plaza was still buzzing, Yuki and the rest of the Nightmare guild filtered out of their rooms. They’d clearly heard the news.
”Morning, Guildmaster,” Tanaka Yuki said, walking over with his core team. “I heard Manda’s group got hit.”
”Yeah. The Trust Fund Group tried to jump Gozaru while Rock was busy with the Guardian.”
”Those idiots never learn,” Yuki spat. “So, where are they now?”
I repeated the ‘mystery monster’ lie, explaining how Manda and Murakami had been deleted by a dungeon mechanic designed to prevent large-scale teaming.
”Manda and Murakami are… dead?” Yuki’s eyes widened. He looked over at the wall where their doors used to be. “Holy crap. They’re really gone.”
”Self-defense or not, it’s a grim way to go,” one of the baseball players muttered.
”Wait… Guildmaster,” a student whispered, “was that monster actually one of yours? Like Rock?”
The air in the plaza seemed to drop five degrees. Sheena’s hand drifted to the hilt of her rapier, her killing intent flooding the immediate area like a physical weight.
”It was a monster sent by the Queen,” I said calmly. “She’s testing us. She doesn’t like cheaters. That’s all there is to it.”
”Right… right,” Yuki said, backing off as he felt Sheena’s gaze boring into him. “Whatever you say, Guildmaster. It was to save Gozaru’s team, anyway. That’s what matters.”
”If you’re so worried about the dungeon’s mechanics, maybe you should focus on your own training,” Sheena said sharply. “Now, did you learn the Heal magic like Master instructed?”
”Y-yes! I learned it, and so did Shimada and Coach Sayama,” Yuki answered quickly.
”Good. Go practice on Gozaru’s men,” I ordered. “Leticia can’t handle all the wounded by herself. Leave one of the guys with a visible arm injury for her to finish later – she wants to keep up the ‘Saintess’ routine.”
Yuki and the others scrambled to comply, eager to escape the suffocating pressure Sheena was emitting. Within minutes, the new healers were cycling through the wounded. Watching the burly Hida from the Karate Club try to cast a ‘gentle’ healing spell while looking like a hairy grizzly bear was almost enough to make me break character.
By the time the sun was fully up, the plaza was packed. Everyone was staring at the empty spaces where Manda’s group had lived. The atmosphere was a volatile mix of fear and awe.
When Leticia returned to heal the final ‘patient,’ the chanting started again. To the students, she was a beacon of light in a nightmare. To me, she was a useful tool in a growing arsenal.
As the cheers for the Saintess reached a crescendo, the entrance to the plaza grew noisy. Rock let out a low, rumbling growl.
Then Manda and the others who died will likely be turned into Soul-less Dolls⁴. I hope they enjoy their second c**k-incarnation. Not that they’ll have the ego left to enjoy it.
Mimura and the other survivors from the Trust Fund Group had finally crawled back.
—
Summary:
Yakumo manages the aftermath of the fourth-floor massacre where his familiar Saizou killed Manda and his cronies. He gaslights the other students into believing the ninja-ogre is an anti-cheat dungeon mechanic. Meanwhile, Leticia solidifies her status as a ‘Saintess’ through public healing roleplay.
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Trivia:
- Yakumo didn’t actually intend for Saizou to kill Manda, just to facilitate an escape.
- The students recognize Saizou’s ninja gear as being from the school’s Animation Department/Shop.
- Dead testers are recycled into ‘Soul-less Dolls’ for the succubus managers to use.
- Yakumo is intentionally leaving some students injured so Leticia can maintain her ‘Saintess’ public image.
- The ‘Wall-Butt’ restrictions have hurt the succubus managers’ business, making new ‘dolls’ valuable
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Character Insight:
Yakumo shows a deeper level of cold calculation, prioritizing his standing with ‘The Queen’ over human life, while Sheena uses her aura to suppress any dissent among the guild members.
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Behind the Scenes:
The term ‘Dai-ni no chin-sei’ (Second c**k-life) is a crude pun on ‘Dai-ni no jinsei’ (Second life/Afterlife).
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Saizou – A newly summoned Goblin. Intelligent with a small horn on his forehead and jagged teeth. Wears ninja-style clothing (shinobifuku) and uses poison daggers/knives.
• Rock – A male Kobold summoned from a Magic Sealing Crystal. He has grey fur, round eyes, and a face resembling a Shiba Inu. He wears a leather jacket and a pilot’s cap
• Nezu – A pragmatic 3rd‑year Animation Department student and the underdogs’ rear guard, Nezu serves as the group’s archer and strategist, balancing his cautious nature with determined effort born from countless early‑morning practices.
• Leticia – French exchange student, animation major 1st year, silver hair, small stature, slim, large breasts, 13 years old.
• Yakumo – A 25-year-old human male. He has facial scars, stab wounds, and gunshot scars from his time in a war zone. He works as a school guard.
• Sheena – Beastman Soul-less Doll with rabbit ears and a large chest. Flawless face, approx 165cm height, F or G cup, narrow waist, large hips, and a fluffy tail longer than a rabbit’s. Now, her ego is back.
• Yuki – A third-year high school student and leader of the Battle Sports Club. He is a national champion in medieval-style combat using swords and spears. He has a severe sister complex. He has hawk-like eyes and a polite but determined demeanor.
• Murakami – A core member of Manda/Seiji (Soccer Coach)’s guild. He is missing a thumb and an ear from a previous incident with the Guard. He seeks violent revenge.
• Sayama – Baseball club coach in his thirties, former professional pitcher with a history of injuries. Pragmatic and anxious about his family and career stability.
• Mimura – Seiji’s accomplice, proposes the ‘monster train’ strategy.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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