Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Red Portal (1)
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"I've seen it in Master's study."
Mentioning Master was always effective when persuading Manannan.
He tended to believe it relatively easily if I said I'd heard it from Master or seen it in the study.
"After the portal opens, if you wait about three days on the first floor..."
"You can get the Rafflesia?"
"Yeah."
A precious flower material that bloomed at regular intervals.
The Rafflesia was a rare plant that appeared when certain conditions were met on the first floor.
"A plant? Not a monster?"
"For now."
"Hmm. Is that expensive too? Like the apple?"
"That's hard to put a price on."
"...!! Regin! Then we split that one exactly in half too?"
"Yeah."
Regin subtly hid his smile.
In truth, it was practically an exclusive item for spell crafters.
'But with that, I could even take Manannan up to the tenth floor.'
Tenth floor on the first expedition.
That alone would be a huge honor for Manannan, so it should be enough to smooth things over.
"Oh, and one more thing I want to ask."
"What?"
"Do we really need to hide like this? An open clearing seems better... Why pick such a cramped spot..."
The campsite was shielded by rocks and trees on all sides.
He must have felt it would be stifling to spend three days here.
Even fetching water was inconvenient since the stream was a bit far.
"Can't be helped if we're waiting a long time. Better to be somewhere that minimizes combat."
"Hmm. Fair enough."
"If you clean up like you did today, we could move the camp."
"...Nah. I actually prefer cozy spots over open ones. But we just wait and get the flower? How long exactly? Three days?"
Regin's gaze swept the surroundings.
Right now, it was just a forest lingering in the early dawn hours.
But once the conditions were met, the atmosphere around here would change completely.
"To be precise... until everyone else besides us heads to the second floor."
"What?"
The first floor's hidden stage.
Only a maximum of three people could enter it.
And it wouldn't open unless three or fewer remained on the first floor for six hours.
It had dangers befitting a hidden stage, but Regin knew the trick to clearing it.
Regin hid another smile as he fiddled with his bracelet.
'You listening, Ketchup Thief?'
If they just entered, he could fill this inventory nicely for the first time in a while.
'Prepare to loosen the belt.'
* * *
"...Hmm."
Three days.
It was already the third day of staring at the same dawn scenery.
Manannan tried to hold it in as long as he could before blurting it out.
"...That book. Is it accurate?"
It was about time for doubts to creep in.
Honestly, rather than thinking he was whining, Regin empathized.
Such doubts?
They were what Regin always carried while playing this game.
'It was like that back when I roamed around trying to uncover every hidden stage.'
Hidden stages varied in conditions and spawn locations per floor, making them hard to find.
How many times had he thought, 'Does this really work? Maybe I should just head back'?
Even Regin hadn't found some floors' hidden stages.
'And this first floor was one of them.'
The first floor's hidden stage had been discovered completely by accident.
A single post that rocked the DAT community at the time.
[Title: Guys, what is this?]
[Content: Turns out if you're alone on the first floor, this pops up? (Screenshot)]
The user who posted explained the situation like this.
[My home PC is a potato, so the monitor turns off sometimes. No idea why.]
A player whose low-spec computer often caused the monitor to black out.
Amusingly, the user thought it was routine and waited for the screen to come back on.
'Who would've thought that would redefine DAT's rules once again—not even the guy himself.'
The user dozed off waiting for the monitor and only noticed it hours later.
There, a system window announcing the Red Portal awaited him.
'Something you couldn't find even if you tried. The answer was just to wait!'
Recalling that time still brought a hollow laugh.
Who could've guessed the speedrun spot was actually the one requiring the longest stay?
In the end, that user became the first to stay on the first floor, and the Unforgettable Twilight became widely known.
'This is what got me seriously researching the spell crafter build too.'
Rafflesia.
And the materials that followed.
This was where he started designing ways to maximize the spell crafter.
That was the moment Regin waited with such conviction.
― Woooong!!!
"Manannan."
"Yeah?"
A familiar vibration.
Regin's eyes snapped open at the subtle tremor.
"...It's here."
The red portal.
The red portal to the hidden stage floated before them.
'Hidden stage... Unforgettable Twilight.'
It had finally opened.
The portal to the hidden stage with the Rafflesia.
* * *
"W-What? What's this red hole?"
"Red Portal."
"What? This?"
Manannan seemed to know about the Red Portal too.
'Not everyone in DAT is clueless about hidden stages.'
In DAT, fulfilling specific conditions opened portals to new areas.
Hidden stages, for short.
Spaces hiding something different from normal floors lurked throughout the DAT Tower.
'Veterans go crazy digging into stuff like that, of course.'
What was unique was that even the NPCs here showed keen interest in hidden stages.
Back when he played, he'd thought it fit their lore as tower devotees.
Now inside, he wondered if it was more than just setting.
"...I don't think I've heard of a Red Portal on the first floor."
"Usually, they say it only appears on floors right before ecosystem shifts, like the fourth, ninth, fourteenth."
"Not the case?"
"That's what the book said."
"...Hoo. This is nuts."
"That big a dilemma? Go in or not?"
Manannan stared at the Red Portal in confusion.
"...Haha. You kidding? A first-floor Red Portal... might be worth a shot."
"They say difficulty scales per floor."
"But Red Portals are unpredictable, right...?!"
"Exactly."
"Right, the book...! Did that book you saw have strategies for this too? Then we could do it?"
Regin pondered.
He knew the strategy.
But if knowing guaranteed success, he wouldn't have been tense entering DAT.
'As the guy says, Red Portals do have real difficulty.'
That was why you couldn't let your guard down even on the first floor.
By Regin's feel, it matched the sixth floor.
"The book has it written down. Like a strategy guide."
"Yeah?"
"But it could still be dangerous. I'm going in, but I won't force you."
"...That Rafflesia must be some flower you're craving."
"..."
"Or should I assume there's another reason you want in so bad?"
Regin slowly nodded.
"The reason I decided to become a spell crafter is in there."
It was sincere.
After discovering this place, Regin's spell crafter path truly developed.
And to do that, he had to enter.
Squeeze.
"...L-Let's go."
"Huh?"
"Let's go, man!"
Manannan clenched his fist, glaring at the Red Portal.
"You said you know the way... Clearing this on our first adventure would be one hell of a brag, right?"
"..."
"To become a grand wizard, I need a start worthy of my future... Let's go!"
Seeing Manannan like that, Regin couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Later, to people..."
It was because the guy's hand entered his view.
"I'll explain that trembling hand as excitement."
"...Thanks."
"Alright, ready? Let's go."
He seemed tense but had steeled himself, so no reason to hesitate.
Swish.
Regin and Manannan slowly walked toward the Red Portal.
* * *
"...Phew!"
"Ugh... This feeling again..."
They had entered the hidden stage: Unforgettable Twilight.
Regin and Manannan looked around.
"Why's the vibe here so weird?"
Manannan gawked at his surroundings.
A sunset yellow veering into red.
The once-vibrant green plants were all withered and twisted.
A barren forest as if life itself had dried up.
DAT players had speculated this might be the original first-floor map design.
Of course, no official word from the devs, so who knew.
'Honestly, even for Regin, this is my first time inside. Seeing this eerie map design in person hits different.'
The chill was on another level compared to viewing on a screen.
"But this Red Portal... like the rumors? Can't exit till the end?"
"Probably?"
Regin eyed the closing Red Portal.
"Doesn't look like we can anymore, from the looks of it."
Portals close after time passes.
Or if all three on the first floor enter.
No one else seemed to have joined, seeing only him and Manannan around.
Regin nodded, confirming that.
"Let's move."
"...Walk this way? The path seems more straightforward than I thought. Feels like just follow it."
Regin and Manannan followed the forest path.
One difference from the regular first-floor forest: clear start and end points.
It looked overgrown and untended at a glance.
But up close, there was a path leading to the final destination.
And one more thing.
― Grrrrowl!
'Dark Goblin.'
Monsters spawned along the way.
Including special variants not seen outside.
"...Crazy. What's that?"
Whoosh!
Kekek!
Startled by the unfamiliar look, Manannan fired off a spell on reflex.
"Huh? Regin! This thing's weaker than I thought!? One-shot... Isn't it just like a Green Goblin?"
"Yeah."
Regin nodded.
It was nothing special.
...For now.
Swoosh.
Regin casually picked up the fallen Dark Goblin's hide.
Even trash had uses.
These junk items had their own value.
"Gotta collect stuff like this so people believe our story."
Manannan planned to use it as proof of their journey.
A few battles followed along the forest path, but only Dark Goblins kept appearing.
Wasting mana on pointless fights, Manannan halted and spoke.
"Regin, is there really something special here? That Rafflesia or whatever. Feels like we're just walking and fighting on repeat."
"If it were easy, it wouldn't be rare."
"Rare item...?"
"Anyway, I heard if you keep going, you'll hit a clearing with no trees. It'll be there."
"..."
They walked a bit further.
Now, a new weed grew from the ground.
"Regin, found it!"
"What?"
"That's... the Rafflesia, right?"
Of course not.
That weed screaming 'pull me' was far less tricky than the real deal.
'Whether you can even call it a plant.'
Regin stayed alert and pulled out goblin hide.
"Gonna pull it?"
"Y-Yeah, have to eventually."
"But why wrap your hand in hide...?"
"Got to..."
Pffft!
Regin yanked the plant from the soil without hesitation.
From the dirt emerged something grotesque, like an onion with a human face.
Seeing it, Manannan flinched and instinctively covered his ears.
He knew what that creature was.
"Mandrake...!"
Manannan grimaced, ears plugged.
The Mandrake was a plant that emitted a horrific scream.
Anyone prepped to climb the tower knew to plug their ears—pure reflex.
But.
'...Why's nothing happening?'
"...Huh?"
Manannan relaxed his grimace and looked at the Mandrake again.
It didn't scream.
The half-pulled thing didn't open its mouth.
Its eyes stayed peacefully shut.
Regin nodded at the sight.
'As expected, same here.'
The Mandrake strategy.
Grab it with Dark Goblin hide, and it won't scream.
With only one, Regin tested it.
Relieved the trait matched the game's lore.
'Or my ears would've been done for right now.'
"Manannan. Deal with it before it screams."
"Got it. Icicle!"
Crack.
At Regin's order, Manannan promptly stabbed an ice shard into the Mandrake's face.
Pierced by the blue icicle, it slumped with root-like arms dangling.
"Keep them from meeting. Grab every one we see..."
No sooner said than Dark Goblins appeared in the distance.
They bared fangs, charging at Manannan.
Slash—!!
"Urk!!"
His sharp claws tore Manannan's shoulder.
The casting spell fizzled.
In that defenseless moment.
Sizzle—
"Flame Ball. Triple shot."
Regin's hand moved fast, activating all remaining scrolls.
Boom!!
A class that fired spells even if casting broke, like Manannan.
The only job that could unleash prepared firepower anytime, anywhere.
'Spell Crafter.'
Regin's hands tore through scrolls like mad. Explosions ripped apart the surrounding Dark Goblins' bodies at once.