Before the two raid teams broke through the Iron Labyrinth.
Balak had been watching them intently.
And he!
"Graaaah!! Cancerous bastards!!!"
Those knife-ear bitches!!
Not only were they a massive nuisance, but why were they so damn shady?!
No, wait! Lately, all the knife-ears and bearded dwarves coming in had turned shady!
Those rotten, bulging eyes were multiplying in my dungeon again!
Damn it!! We need to normalize this!!
'Balakppi!! There must be a clear reason why those subraces have become so wretched. So hold back for now!'
Wh-what the hell, Balak?
'Look at them! Enduring their pain as they press forward! Isn't that the ultimate ode to humanity?!'
Ugh... true enough.
Human players were all bright and cheery, by contrast.
But he just couldn't figure out why these subrace players were acting like that!
'My son. You're committing a cognitive error right now. Calm your mind and think deeply about it.'
M-me, committing a cognitive error?
Wait a sec... Come to think of it, this world had NPCs beyond just players.
Players could die repeatedly in the game.
It was just their avatars dying in play, so no mental damage.
But what if NPCs kept dying here?
'That's exactly it, Balakppi!'
Aha~ That's it!
Most of those subraces were NPCs!
So the relatively upbeat ones among them were the players.
"Haa... Getting famous brings side effects like this."
Come to think of it, the weapon hidden in the first room had leaked out.
A player could equip it and wander around.
But this world was a new open game, highly realistic too.
It probably got sold for a fortune somewhere. Or since players were still weak, someone snatched it.
Naturally, rumors would spread big time.
Spies from various races would infiltrate human society to uncover the truth.
Finally, the subraces who identified the weapon would panic!
Even I, who didn't know weapons, could tell it was top quality. How would they react?
Bearded dwarves in fantasy were innately masterful artisans.
In games or novels, they were like Do-ra-X-mong, crafting anything.
But the dwarves in this world showed pretty low skill in my dungeon!
For such under-skilled artisans to seek something like that sword, coming here was inevitable.
Knife-ears, meanwhile, were straightforward!
Cliché-wise, they were arrogant as hell, inherently misanthropic.
Usually, knife-ears and bearded dwarves hated each other's guts!
Dwarves could find the weapon from the first room.
Would knife-ears allow that?
Humans were lowly lifeforms to them, so even if they got it, no big deal.
But a long-lived race they despised holding such a weapon? Totally different!
The skeleton merchant told me the spirits, fed up with the knife-ears' innate misanthropy, all turned their backs and left.
That's why the knife-ears approached the lounging spirits in my mini-dungeon, pretending to be friendly.
If it was to force slave contracts on them with that vile hypocritical mask!!!
Aah... this is truth!
Eureka!
Now he knew why those NPCs had rotten bulging eyes invading his dungeon!
And in fantasy worlds, point at knife-ears for most problems, and you'd be right!
So!!
Wooooong!!!
Time to judge that cancerous knife-ear entering the mid-boss room!!!
******************
When Lowell's party placed their hand on the square device on the wall at the end of the Iron Labyrinth.
They were instantly teleported somewhere.
"Wh-where's this?!"
"Sunbae! Is this the third room with the barrage of magic bullets?!"
"No, this is totally different! We don't know what'll come out here, so scatter fast!"
The senior hero traveling with Lowell's group had reached the third room multiple times before the dungeon renewal.
He was a madman who trained there!
So he quickly judged it wasn't the space he knew.
Everyone took positions without panicking.
And shortly after...
Thud.
"Wh-what's that?"
"Br... brother?"
"Wait, that aura...?"
"Everyone, battle ready!! Don't let your guard down!"
A bizarre doll suddenly appeared in the room's center.
Soon, it began to move slowly, striking a strange pose.
"Bi-bizarre."
"Feels off..."
"Quiet, everyone! I sense that boss's aura from the doll!"
"What?! Sunbae, for real?"
"Yeah, that ferocious energy. Similar to what leaked in the dungeon last time."
"Damn... what the hell is it..."
As tension filled the room, a weird vibe hung in the air.
Lowell's group realized they had to deal with the doll ahead to move to the next room.
As everyone drew weapons and crept forward slowly.
"Are you resolved?"
"""?!"""
The doll suddenly spoke.
While all froze, the doll, having struck its pose, looked around and opened its mouth.
"Even knowing you'll die right now. If you're resolved, you'll be happy. So steel yourself!"
"Wh-what are you...?"
"My existence isn't important. I just test those here. So I'll go."
Lowell's group felt paralyzed by the immense pressure from the slowly advancing bizarre doll.
But they steeled their hearts and took stances.
**********
The slowly approaching death targeted Aresa first in Lowell's group.
"Ee, eek?!"
Normally, she should've responded fast to the charging doll. But trauma from approaching death surfaced.
In battle, she made one of the worst choices: closing her eyes.
"N-no! Block it quick!"
"Damn!!"
Lowell's group panicked at losing one so pointlessly. They rushed to protect Aresa.
But they were spread out wide.
And the bizarre doll moved too fast, reaching Aresa before anyone could react.
"Realize the frailty of failing to steel yourself!"
Splat!
Aresa vanished in blue light, chest pierced by a fist, without even screaming.
"One-shot instant death?!?!"
"Don't block at all costs! Dodge no matter what!"
They'd lost one pointlessly, but.
Lowell's group grasped the foe's overwhelming power and formed ranks.
"Water, reveal your form!"
"Freeze!"
Soon, the mages unleashed linked spells.
White frost spread underfoot, freezing the ground.
The doll's legs began to ice over from the effect.
But the doll showed no issue.
It bent its knees, exploding forward at the mages with thrust.
""Sh-shield!""
Splat!!
Crunch!!
The two mages hastily erected mana shields to block.
But the shields teetered on shattering.
The second fist extended, smashing the shields to bits, exposing the mages.
But these weren't ordinary mages.
"Urk?!"
"Huh!"
Using honed physical prowess, the mages barely dodged the doll's strikes.
The heroes rushing in saved them from the doll's assault.
A chaotic melee followed. But as steadily grown fighters, they stayed calm even in surprises.
"Joints!! Target the joints!"
"Damn!! Too fast for arrows! Gotta close in!"
"Lowell, support!!"
"Yeah!"
Two heroes first blocked the doll's movements.
Mages fired spells at it simultaneously.
The rest supported the heroes, hindering the doll. It seemed cornered.
Whoosh!!
Smoke suddenly burst from the doll's body, shifting the mood.
"Now for the final round."
"""?!"""
Fweee!!
"Aura!!!"
"Guh?!"
The doll showed totally new movement, bypassing the blocking heroes in a flash, killing one mage.
Everyone panicked, trying to intercept hastily, but casualties mounted fast.
As they died one by one to the doll, despair set in.
"Urk?!"
"Nooo!! Lowell!!"
Lowell, blocking the bizarre doll's attacks, slipped from a momentary error, stance crumbling.
The senior hero saw the doll exploit the blind spot.
To protect his junior, he threw himself without hesitation.
Claaaang!!
The senior hero swung his sword too hastily and wide to block the powerful fist, crumbling his own stance badly.
But he'd protected the key fighter Lowell, so he felt relieved.
But!
"Seems I'm one move behind."
"?!'
Actually, the doll hadn't targeted Lowell.
It exploited the senior hero's protective instincts, setting a trap.
The senior fell perfectly for it, left defenseless as the doll closed in.
With a massive kiai, the doll's arm shot out.
"Thwack!!!"
"Gaaack!!!"
"Sunbaeee!!!"
The senior hero vanished in blue light from the doll's mighty fist.
***************
"As expected, men are all about one-shot kills!"
Check out this insane impact!
High risk, high return is always romantic!
And these guys, I thought they cheesed the second room with numbers.
But holding out this long? Solid growth!
Excluding that first knife-ear, I quite like them.
And those mages!
Mages with muscles? You're approved.
The skeleton merchant should try bodybuilding. What a shame.
Anyway! Eight entered, so plenty of clear time left!
With the biggest pest gone, time to clean up the rest.
He moved the doll right away, cornering one against the wall.
No escape now. The doll extended its arm at the trapped player.
The wall-bound one tried to move and dodge somehow, but too late!
Sure, the game title had "fist" kanji.
But the doll unleashed a total bullshit move from a magic-sword-gunplay fighting game!
"Hahaha!! Against this at the wall? Can't dodge or block!"
Zero hold, vague hold, mid hold, long hold, full hold—multiple choice hell for the foe! Invincible!
Full hold leads to guard break then wall combo!
Utterly unfair!
In my past life, no one but one pro gamer cracked it!
And it's not fixed answer MC—the user chooses! Variable bullshit!
Wall cornered?
Player's fate sealed!
Bang!!!
'Gaaack!!'
Three left!
Next bullshit move!!
From the same game as the last.
A director thought high-level vs newbie unfair, added this gem!
Newbie-beats-pro clap tech. Once caught, you're dead till the end!
Vanish in total despair amid applause!!!
Clap!!
'Groooan.'
Two left!
Target the annoying one first!
'Damn!'
'E-Eric-san?!"
Clang!!
Hm? I aimed at that pretty boy imposter.
But another jumped in to block.
Legs locked from pressure, though.
"That's within c-grip range."
Grabbed the stiffened one, floated him midair.
Spun and pile-drove into the floor.
Boom!!
'Eric saaaan!!!!'
Last one's that player.
Was gonna kill quick...
But those burning eyes? I like him.
Time's almost up anyway.
Doll moves perfectly to my will now.
Dungeon shelter needs promo too, so let him go.
Always be grateful, player!