Dungeon Gourmet

 

Since he is a very strong-willed human being, maybe he’ll be reborn as an undead over time from a very accidental result, or even astonishingly be able to breathe, even with a half-broken body like that!

Of course, that didn’t happen at all.

 

Corpse Status

Race: Human

Occupation: Holy Knight

Level: 88

Attack: 936

Defense: 780

Strength: 120

Intelligence: 37

Agility: 99

Luck: 68

Titles: [Advanced Knight] [Golden Conquest Breaker] [Master of Divine Protection] [Hero…] 

 

After all, it seemed impossible for the dead to come back alive in this world.

I checked again, and the results weren’t any different from before.

But, this?

 

[Hero…]

 

Upon closer inspection, there was an ellipsis after the title “Hero”, meaning that something was being omitted.

There were quite a few titles, and the last title looks a little bit cut off, but what the hell could be attached to the title of Hero?

 

[Title: Hero(Reserve)]

 

“What…..”

Reserve…..?

I was curious, so in order to examine the title, I put my finger in the air and pressed the title. The result was…

Heroes, preparation, backup… What does this mean? If you’re a Hero, doesn’t that mean you’re the Hero?

 

The Savior of all Mankind who appears when the world is in crisis?

 

‘…..?’

I couldn’t understand this ambiguous story.

So, if the title is upgraded later on, will it be displayed as ‘Hero(Real)’?

Maybe the person I killed wasn’t a complete Hero, but someone who came to me to gain experience and defeat the demon king, although I seemed to have slaughtered the inexperienced Hero without any mercy instead.

I’m sorry.

‘Oh, but also.’

For a moment, I was reminded of another topic I had forgotten.

The second problem was that when I opened my eyes, my age was displayed as 117 years old.

But unlike the first problem, which was resolved quickly, it was difficult to grasp the truth.

My memories as the enemy and a monster were only fragmented recollections.

There was no way to find out the current date when this forest was huge, and all the people around me were dead.

‘100 years?’

 

Above all, it was difficult to comprehend the fact that 100 years had passed.

‘How could you believe that it’s been 100 years now?’

The maximum life expectancy of a human being here is less than 60 years for a commoner…

 

Even if I was a special being in this world, because I lived to be over 100 years old, my body had to be completely different. But…

 

‘…….’ 

My hands.

I put my hands in front of me and rubbed them lightly, but they didn’t wrinkle up.

In addition, when I put both of my hands up above my head to check how long my hair was, surprisingly, it was the usual length of my hair cut short.

If I don’t cut my hair for 100 years, then it would have grown as long as an old tree. 

What does this mean……….

 

‘……’

Actually, there was an easier way to check if you were older rather than checking your hair and hands like this.

It was to look in a mirror.

Maybe my hands did not make any noticeable change as I got older. Who knows if my hair had fallen out, or maybe I unconsciously trimmed my hair as a monster. 

But it was impossible to hide 100 years of age on your face. 

 

‘…..’

It seemed like there was nothing to use as a mirror here.

But then suddenly, something flashed into my eyes.

Around one corner, there was a piece of plate armor worn by the body of a decaying shields man, whose corpse was so ruined that you couldn’t tell when he quite died.

If it reflects light well, wouldn’t it be possible to use it as a mirror if you wipe it a little? Was what I was thinking.

 

‘…….’

But I didn’t do it.

I couldn’t exactly…

 

‘You monster! You killed my colleague!!’

‘That horrible look, I feel like I’m going to throw up just by looking at it.’

‘Don’t come, you bastard!’

‘That horrible…!’

I didn’t want to see my own face.

It was because I faintly remembered the voices of the people who had confronted me when I was a monster.

Memories that did not reflect my own circumstances before and after were all literally fragmented, but most of the people who I saw beyond the hazy gaze in my memories had similar expressions.

Contemplation, fear, astonishment, disgust, displeasure, anger. In any case, most of them were just memories of seeing me and then grimacing and then swearing at me.

‘“Obviously, because of his skill, he transformed into a monster.” Even if I had said that, the face on its torso would have still been mine…’

Arachnephobia.

This skill had the typical half-human half-beast form with a human upper body grafted to the body of a spider.

In the past, it was just a little bit of monster-like embellishments added to my bare upper body.

When my colleagues saw me like that, they weren’t uncomfortable at all and even said that I looked cool.

Even with the appearance of a spider, we would casually dwell inside the dungeons, light a fire, talk together, share a conservatory meal, and even joke around……

Could it be that I grew a horrific face because I was assimilated with monsters during that time?

So much so, that adventures took one look at me and acted like that?

 

‘…….’

It doesn’t seem to be the time to be concerned about aging.

The expressions of the adventurers, who were shaking and swearing as if they were about to vomit in front of my face whilst screaming and foaming, were so intense that I couldn’t forget them.

After being exposed to such reactions so many times over and over again, even I imagined myself to be the face of a horribly distorted monster.

 

“I… What did I look like?”

I broke out in a cold sweat.

To make matters worse, I’m starting to forget my original face here. 

It was absurd. My outter expression was calm, but I was shaken with mad anxiety.

I don’t know if it was the aftermath of time, or maybe because my brain went crazy from the stress and shock, but my memory of my own face from my previous life was hazy.

Moreover, I was now obsessed with the idea that I should probably not look in a mirror.

‘My face… Why can’t I remember?!’

 

It’s like going to the bathroom with the lights off in the middle of the night and washing your face.

Just like the horror ghost stories, I bend down to wash myself with water, and when I hold my head back up, I see a horrible face identical to mine, looking back at me in the mirror.

Something might be terribly wrong.

In the mirror, I might see a monster that has turned hideous enough that I would fall backwards. 

And what if the monster in the mirror pops out and devours me again while I’m still acting surprised?

Is this just an absurd thought?

In any case, I felt like I could be dragged back by the dark shadow at any moment. I still can’t forget the dreary feeling of falling from a high place, where my consciousness was still darkened.

‘I’m scared……’

I couldn’t even confirm the effectiveness of ‘Fairytale’ because I lost consciousness, so it wouldn’t be strange at all if my face changed into nothing more than a spider monster in the aftermath.

 

‘…….’

Even if I said that there was nothing that could be done, when I thought about it rationally, I couldn’t make a normal judgement because I was exposed to too much stress.

‘Ugh……’

I’ve been trying my hardest to pretend I’m okay and think efficiently, but in fact, I may be feeling an immense amount of guilt for turning into a monster and attacking people.

 

‘This……’

With my eyes closed and a cold sweat running down my neck, I soon took a deep breath and raised my head. One fact came to my mind strongly.

‘I can’t be here any longer!’

That was the answer.

It doesn’t matter whether 100 years have passed or not.

Once I get out of this place filled with piles of corpses, I felt like I would finally be able to breathe again.

‘Yeah, no matter how reserved, a hero is a hero.’

‘No matter how much I look at the circumstances, someone has come from somewhere to subdue me……’

So I got up and started packing my things.

There are quite a few people that know I can turn into a spider monster with ‘Arachnephobia’.

If I am rumored to have such a valuable skill, I’m bound to get involved in a lot of troublesome situations.

Right now, I was keeping my mouth shut until I fully learned how to use it, so only a few acquaintances who went around the dungeon with me knew.

And there’s no chance that the secret will be leaked out.

That was because I just remembered that everybody who knew it was dead, except me.

 

‘…….’

[Durable Leather Bag(Normal)]

 

A bag made of Honkau leather. It’s sturdy and can carry heavy objects safely. I think it can hold up to 30kg……

I picked up the leather bag next to the unnamed corpse, until I suddenly thought that it looked similar to the bag of a priest who came with me to this forest.

 

 

‘……’

This long sword is also similar to the cheap sword of the knight who led the way, and this leather armor is similar in design to that of the archer who had light movements, what about this thing and that thing……

“How did you… What’s going on here…?”

I stopped moving the items and looked at the hand of an adventurer on the ground. 

When I was commissioned to go to this forest, I came with four people.

But now, there was not a single person left to leave this place and go back with me.

I didn’t want to learn any more about who they were killed by. Silently, I decided to ignore the reality.

Even though I was the cause of all these horrible things, I didn’t want to cut my own throat right away.

Despite having lived as a spider monster for an unbelievable amount of years, my consciousness now clearly knew what I wanted. 

‘I want to live.’

Even if I couldn’t be treated as a human being anymore, I wanted to at least live like one.

Sleeping normally, talking to people, laughing when something good happens, being a member of society for the sake of the human community, working, buying something delicious with the money you’ve worked hard for……

‘I don’t want to be subjugated as a monster like this.’

For a long time, I used ‘Status’ dozens of times to search through the piles of corpses, and took only simple equipment that could not be inferred from the original owner.

 

‘If you become greedy for the expensive equipment the corpses have, you’ll only get caught.’

By the time I was finished, I finally dug up a pitch that was half-buried in the dirt.

‘I have to run away……’

Almost everything was ready.

I took off most of the eye-catching equipment I had originally worn and buried it in the dirt. And then I wore the equipment I had collected.

‘Even if I had a secret that I was the same person as the spider monster, what if there was a wanted person down there? I must not become a suspect.’

 

I did this because of those assumptions.

 

 

Hello, translator here!

This chapter was quite bitter, especially the recollections of the MC’s past and his colleagues. But on another note, our MC seems to be quite paranoid about his appearance (which explains why the book is covering his face on the novel cover).

And finally, the story is picking up! I am very excited to soon be able to show to you the next chapters of this novel! Although I have only read until chapter 25 because those were the free episodes on ridi… Nevertheless, things will really be picking up now!

 

The next update will be coming soon, please look forward to it.