kscans

Chapter 2 - Dungeon Remodeling Project Part 1. Pitfalls, Poison Swamps, and the Hall of Illusions

It was my third day since being reincarnated as a Hobgoblin. Just as I was beginning to accept the reality of being a weak monster, I realized something.

This cave dungeon... its layout is too simple.

It's a single, straight path from the entrance. You pass through a tunnel that looks like the roots of a great tree, and at the very end is a small, open area. That's where the Hobgoblin's "boss room" awaits.

"This is just a bonus stage..."

For the hero, it's just a snack for leveling up. With a layout like this, no matter how much I train, it will immediately become a head-on battle. To prevent that, I made a decision.

The Dungeon Remodeling Project is a go. The first thing I started on was making the terrain more complex.

I bent the straight path left and right, and added side routes to obstruct the line of sight. I also created differences in elevation and dug a ravine spanned by a narrow bridge. Underneath the bridge was muddy water. Falling in would not end well. Of course, I didn't forget to make a "safe passage" on the side for my goblin subordinates.

Next, I started setting up pitfalls. I dug out the earth supporting the floor and camouflaged it with dead leaves and moss. Sharp stakes await anyone who falls. I tried making a spring mechanism using an old tire, and it worked surprisingly well.

The construction work was tougher than I had imagined. I gripped a bone as a makeshift shovel, dug holes drenched in sweat, and was too sore to move at night. But I know this. This hardship is the first step toward killing the hero.

And then, the poison swamp zone. I boiled down forest mushrooms and leaf mold to extract toxins. I slowly collected it and poured it into a hollow. The smell was terrible, but the effect was outstanding. The advice from the Old Imp, a veritable fountain of monster wisdom, came in handy here.

"Heroes are weak to poison, they are. The stronger they are, the more conceited they get. According to this game's history, the hero should be arriving at this cave in about three years."

I see. I'm grateful for the shrewd advice.

Finally, the hall of illusions.

What caught my eye was the Hallucino Grass growing in clusters inside the cave. If you dry it and roast it over a fire, hallucinogenic components fill the air. By combining this with the maze-like terrain, I can throw off the hero's sense of direction and confuse him.

"Welcome to my labyrinth... something like that."

What would happen if a hero, armed with nothing but a starter wooden sword, came to a dungeon full of traps like this? He'd either get scared and run away, or get lost and exhausted, running out of strength before he even reached the boss room.

If that happens, I can see my chance of victory. ...No, it's not that I want to win.

"I'm going to survive. Until that day three years from now."

I will no longer be a supporting character in someone else's adventure. In this world, I will build a fortress for my survival with my own two hands.

And so, without any blueprints, using only a shovel and my own hands, I continue to build my one of a kind, heavily modified dungeon today.

This has turned into something like SASUKE.