Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Night Has Fallen
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Regin reflected on the post he had written.
In hindsight, it wasn't a perfect guide.
‘The definitive way to spot raiders perfectly? I never figured that out either. At best, it was only about an 80% success rate.’
And yet, it was still worth revisiting.
Because in the DAT community, it was the post that had saved the most newbies.
‘And right now, I'm basically a newbie myself.’
The first clear user?
The greatest player known as the Grand Sorcerer, the spell crafter supreme?
Such titles had to be set aside for the moment. Regin thought coolly.
In this moment, when he had no idea how DAT had changed.
He had to suspect that nothing was certain, no matter the possibility.
‘And I need to combine it with all the trial and error I've gone through.’
At the same time, Regin didn't lose his composure.
After all, he was the user who had doubted and played this game more than anyone.
He was confident he could produce answers close to the truth.
‘The reason raiders are plentiful on the 4th Floor. It's because... there are no escape portals below the 5th Floor.’
That was the reason.
Points that had lingered as mysteries began to resolve.
The 4th Floor's difficulty itself, plus the fatigue accumulated so far, meant low-floor explorers hit their limits there.
So, if you were aiming to plunder, it was the optimal spot.
...Unlike players, NPCs couldn't leave the 4th Floor.
‘And this game has a structure where you can't go down from higher floors to lower ones.’
Regin paused in thought, then rummaged through his bag.
“Here, take this.”
“Huh? It's a spell scroll. What is it?”
Manannan took the scroll and gauged the traces of mana emanating from it.
“...What the heck?”
“Why?”
“The mana output is a bit different.”
Manannan stared through the scroll and continued.
“This isn't the same as the Tier 1 scrolls you've been using... right?”
“Correct. It's a Tier 2 scroll.”
“What...? You can already make Tier 2 scrolls?”
“No. I didn't make it—Clina made it and gave it to me.”
Clina Clipport.
The dozen or so Tier 2 scrolls she had given him.
He judged now was the time to use them.
“Oh, that stuff you mentioned getting back then... Spell crafters really take good care of newbies, huh.”
Regin let out a smirk.
This wasn't newbie treatment so much as... a gift born of Clina's worry and concern, not grasping Regin's full capabilities.
‘Right now, even that sentiment helps.’
The spells inscribed on this scroll were even more necessary.
“This is Mana Shield.”
“Mana Shield? Heh. Solid. A Tier 2 Mana Shield is something that's used often even on the 7th and 8th Floors, right?”
Manannan smiled, seeming a bit more at ease.
“Feels reassuring. Honestly, with this... even if we run into that monster, we can survive at least once.”
“That monster?”
“Yeah. The one on the 4th Floor... the Werewolf!”
Regin nodded.
Werewolf. The apex predators of the 4th Floor.
As Manannan said, with a Tier 2 Mana Shield, they could survive at least one encounter with them.
‘I thought he meant that other one.’
The monster called the lord of the 4th Floor.
But no matter what he tried now, he couldn't take it down.
He couldn't even handle Werewolves yet—what would happen if he faced the lord?
They probably wouldn't run into it anyway. Regin checked the possibilities and continued.
“Let's head up. Keep track of time. The 4th Floor is darker than the 1st Floor, and... it's the widest one too.”
He didn't forget to emphasize time. It was dark all day there, making the sense of time even more crucial.
* * *
Night Forest.
‘This is Night Forest. What did they call it in the DAT community again?’
After resting, Regin headed to the 4th Floor with Manannan.
An endless dark forest stretched out. Only the moonlight high in the sky illuminated it.
“It's dark enough to be scary.”
“Yeah.”
“Feels like ghosts could pop out.”
“Those are on the 6th Floor.”
“...I was speaking figuratively.”
Honestly, Regin was more afraid of something else than ghosts.
—An annoyingly large, dark map that just wasted potions for no reason.
...The fact that he'd use up almost all his items here was scarier.
He recalled the community evaluations in his head.
This place consumed far too many resources compared to its farming efficiency.
Fortunately, this expedition just needed to reach the 5th Floor, so no problem.
‘I’ll use everything I have if I have to, to get up there.’
Fwoosh.
He pulled a lantern from his bag and lit it.
“No idea which way to go here.”
“Hmm, hold on.”
“Doing what?”
“Footprints. See which direction has the most. Check the flow of remaining mana too.”
“...Ah! I’ll help.”
Manannan.
You really are overflowing with luck.
‘Getting to enter the 4th Floor with me.’
“Let’s go that way. I read in a book that if you use the Twin Rocks as a landmark, it’s easy to navigate.”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard that too?”
“The footprints are thickest that way, so the Twin Rocks are probably there.”
“Yeah. Everyone heads there looking for the Twin Rocks.”
“Hmm. Going left from here has the lowest chance of running into Ghouls, it said.”
Regin quickly and precisely found the path.
Manannan watched his brisk back and gaped.
“How many books did you read to pull info like this without missing a beat?”
“Hmm. A few dozen times?”
“What? That many reads?”
It was a joke.
Actually, dozens of times? Hundreds. He’d played this game that much.
“If it were just me, I’d never find the way...?”
Manannan, following for a while, blurted out.
“I should’ve read some books. Books really are key.”
“Of course. Information is power. Never heard that?”
“...First time?”
“You haven’t read books, so of course it’s your first time.”
After this run, when he got back outside the tower, he’d circle through Master Nuada’s library.
Manannan vowed as he followed Regin.
“...Stop.”
It was then.
“Huh?”
“Don’t you smell something?”
“Smell what...? Huh?”
Their senses were twice as sharp as usual, heightened by the forest’s atmosphere.
So even something they’d normally brush off stuck out sharply.
Their noses reacted sensitively, seeking the source of the faint scent.
Regin scanned the surroundings with a serious gaze.
“Blood. Not strong, but... stay alert.”
Finding the way back wouldn’t be hard.
But as he’d told Manannan earlier, the easiest path was around here.
‘To safely reach the next floor, I need to find the objects or structures I know.’
The Twin Rocks, thirty minutes’ walk from the starting area.
Regin’s steps halted.
His nose keenly picked up the scent.
‘Unsettlingly, the blood smell keeps going that direction.’
Should he turn back?
Or find the Twin Rocks and secure a stable path?
“Monster blood, probably...?”
“No idea, but let’s check it out. You got the scroll I gave you?”
“Yeah. Use it if things go south?”
Nod.
Yes. Regin nodded to Manannan and headed forward.
The decision was quick.
If something happened, protect with the Tier 2 Mana Shield and escape.
‘Need to confirm it anyway.’
No matter how he looked at it... it didn’t seem like monster blood.
“Is that... it?”
“...Yeah.”
A bit further along.
Manannan pointed to two massive rocks visible in the distance.
Two enormous boulders, visible even in the darkness.
But they couldn’t approach any closer.
“...Huff. Cough!”
Because prior visitors were there.
“H-Help... me...”
A wounded man collapsed on the ground pleaded desperately.
* * *
‘Encounter event.’
The event Regin had emphasized to community users.
‘In DAT, you run into explorers a lot... and each time, it creates one of two major situations for players.’
They ask for cooperation.
Or they pick a fight.
Before touching DAT, Regin had tried and played many games.
One he’d been hooked on for quite a while suddenly came to mind.
‘Capsule Monsters had exactly this system.’
A game where you captured monsters into small, round capsules.
The innovative game that sparked the 2D boom.
‘Usually, you capture monsters and rack up experience, but if you ran into a map NPC by chance... trouble brewed.’
Those NPCs in that game challenged you to battle the moment your eyes met.
Dragging you straight into battle screen without warning—how annoying was that!
DAT was similar: encountering explorers inside the tower always triggered such an event.
Of course, unlike Capsule Monsters, it wasn’t always combat here.
Combat frequency was actually quite low.
‘No reason to fight people on purpose. By kingdom law, harming anyone inside the tower is illegal to begin with.’
Need money? Hunt and sell monsters. Need fame? Climb higher.
Harming people was inefficient.
That’s why cooperation offers came more often.
— ...If you don’t mind, how about allying with us for this floor?
— As you can see, we need a mage right now. If you’re okay with it, want to tackle it together?
— A named monster appeared ahead, and we’ve lost contact with our guildmates. Mind sticking with us until we find them?
Just the ones that came to mind offhand. Plenty more NPCs had proposed alliances.
He’d cleared floors with them... and gotten wiped out together too.
Such cases flashed through Regin’s mind repeatedly.
‘Usually, you form temporary alliances for clears. No one sane fights without reason.’
But sometimes, those insane incidents happened.
‘When intentions clash and turn hostile. Or...’
When the other side were raiders who made a habit of such madness.
“Pull out the scroll first.”
“Got it.”
Swish.
Even as they approached the man, Regin’s eyes gleamed sharply.
He needed to observe him closely.
From his gear and weapon, his class was thief or assassin type.
Regin quickly recalled the gear’s info in his head.
‘Gear that’s been to at least the 7th Floor or higher. Hard to gauge skill level, but...’
Struggling on the 4th Floor meant he wasn’t a high-floor explorer.
At most, he could wield Tier 2 or 3 skills.
Exploration experience? Maybe 1-2 years?
Explorers with that tenure often lingered on lower floors.
Gear-wise, it was a setup that could go higher, but without the experience to back it, it was just gear.
The man before him seemed like that case. Skill not matching the equipment.
...Of course, just speculation.
‘Need more info.’
This wasn’t enough.
Regin glanced at Manannan and nodded.
Meaning: let’s get a bit closer first.
“H-Help... me...”
“...Are you hurt?”
“Yes. As you can see. If you have any potions left... could you spare one?”
At about ten meters’ distance.
The man’s expression became visible.
A face sunk in despair?
Hard to tell yet.
He seemed to be in pain, at least.
“Manannan. Hand me a health potion.”
“On it.”
Swish.
He carefully tossed a low-grade potion to the man from Manannan.
“Th-Thank you!”
“It’ll hurt a bit.”
One thing he’d realized since entering the tower: low-grade potions were truly just survival items.
They restored just enough to keep you alive... but the pain lingered fiercely.
Sizzle!
“Guhhh...!”
A groan escaped the man as he downed the potion. His wounds burned, new flesh sprouting amid the sound.
‘The wounds were real. Looks like an actual fight happened.’
Whether deep wounds or shallow, no way to know.
“Thank you. You saved my life.”
“...What happened?”
“...”
The man hesitated, then spoke.
“...We were ambushed.”
“Ambushed?”
“Yes. Hard to believe, I know. But it felt like someone attacked us. While my party was focused on combat... a sudden strike came.”
“More party members?”
“Yes. Two others besides me.”
“Were they explorers around your level?”
“Yes. All of us had similar gear and skill levels.”
...Hard to believe.
An assassin-type explorer wielding Tier 2-3 skills. And party members of similar caliber.
If solo, struggling made sense, but as a party? Different story.
Did that mean the attackers were superior?
‘...Variables always exist, but this alone isn’t certain. It’s suspicious instead.’
After pondering, Regin slowly spoke.
Yeah.
First procedure: verify identity.
“One question.”
“Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
What Regin had emphasized in his DAT community guide.
【Oh, and avoid these guys at all costs. High chance of running into them early on. You can safely steer clear—they’re raiders 90% of the time.】
The infamous raider list.
‘First off, not one of those three names.’
At first, people asked how to tell by name, but after getting hit, they marveled at Regin’s method.
The most frequent names culled from heaps of data came to mind.
【Fabrik, Alonso, Petnia. Steer clear of these three.】
A roster that had claimed his character’s life countless times.