Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 047
Chapter Title: Where the Story Lingers (3)
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The Rabbit Hole was a sort of instance dungeon.
The greatest feature of an instance dungeon was that progress was shared.
‘It’s a place up to four people can challenge. But for players, it was a setting that was practically meaningless.’
DAT was a solo play game, so the features of instance dungeons didn’t get much attention.
What did party members matter when you were playing alone?
Honestly, even after going in and out of the Rabbit Hole dozens of times, he hadn’t paid it much mind.
He could just progress as he pleased, grab the rewards, and leave.
‘There were hardly any NPCs coming into the Rabbit Hole, either…… so it was practically like renting the whole place.’
A problem had arisen. He hadn’t expected someone else to enter this Rabbit Hole.
‘……Did the investigation squad already find this place?’
Regin’s mind raced at full speed.
No matter how systematically they moved, how could they have found this place already?
Even Greg had spent weeks holding out here before finally discovering it?
“Could it be that the investigation squad entered this place?”
“……That’s the most likely possibility.”
“So they’ve finally found it. Then should we just head out like this?”
“No.”
Regin shook his head.
If they could escape on their own, they wouldn’t be agonizing over it like this.
“It’s a magic circle that only activates if everyone who entered this Rabbit Hole lays a hand on it.”
“……What?”
“It means we can’t leave until they get here.”
A situation where the portal only activates if all entrants consent.
In other words, like it or not…… they had to make contact with those two investigation squad members who had entered separately.
“……Is there no other exit?”
“There might be, but we’ll probably have to go back out the way we came.”
“That means a high chance of running into them.”
“Exactly.”
It was while they were deep in thought. The sounds from the end of the passage had stopped.
It meant they had already finished all the battles and were heading this way.
‘Since we fought four mole dogs in the last plaza, that means they’ve passed the room with ten mole dogs.’
If they had come the same way he had, there wouldn’t have been any battle sounds.
At this distance, it meant they had passed the previous plaza, so it was the plaza with ten mole dogs.
And yet, the battle was already over.
‘Damn it.’
It seemed the one being he least wanted to enter had come in.
Time passed, and footsteps echoed from the far end.
They were heading straight into this reward room without stopping.
“Faster than expected.”
A woman’s voice rang out.
“I didn’t think you’d come this far already. Regin Petrichio.”
Squad Leader Ellis entered with an expressionless face and looked at Regin.
* * *
‘Did she already know I’d be here?’
Regin stared at Ellis, continuing his thoughts for a moment.
Ellis slightly raised the corner of her mouth and lifted her hand.
“The Thread of Promise. I placed one on you too.”
“……!”
“You never know, right? If you and that dwarf were backdoor users, I could have tracked you.”
When she had connected the thread to Greg earlier.
She had also connected a thread linking her directly to Regin.
‘From Ellis’s perspective, it was a mindset where it didn’t matter either way.’
If he and Greg were backdoor users, she would have tracked and captured them outright.
But if they led her to the Rabbit Hole, she could follow and find it like this.
“Ah, I’m grateful to you both. Thanks to you, I saved time finding the Rabbit Hole.”
“…….”
“I’m not here to cause trouble, so no need to be on guard.”
Even if they were on guard, there wasn’t much they could do.
Ellis and one knight.
That knight was probably just brought along to provide light. From the equipment to his physical condition.
He didn’t look particularly strong.
‘That means Ellis handled all the battles on her own.’
And yet, she showed no signs of fatigue even after coming this far.
As expected of someone at the peak of 3rd rank.
She was probably a mage who could reach up to the 15th floor, while Greg was 11th floor level and Regin, at best, 10th floor fringe. It was impossible for them to oppose her.
“Whether you stumbled into this place by chance or came here on purpose doesn’t matter.”
“…….”
“Help me from now on. Assisting the investigation squad’s mission is also by the kingdom’s command.”
Ellis continued as if bestowing a favor.
“Ah, you can keep whatever you pick up here. It’ll be valuable to you.”
“…….”
“You can keep whatever comes up ahead too. In return, I’ll take just one item.”
“What item?”
Her expression suggested she had no interest in the ornaments or rabbit feet here.
Well, the kingdom likely knew the true nature of the Rabbit Hole.
Most items dropping here wouldn’t be necessary at the kingdom’s level.
And yet, the investigation squad had come in, which meant they were after something specific.
“The Orb of the Specter.”
“……!”
“I’ll take just that in the kingdom’s name.”
Regin’s eyes shook.
There was an item Regin had never personally seen, even while conquering the place.
An item that only one member of the Rabbit Hole conquest team had ever succeeded in obtaining.
‘……She can obtain that? No, more than that…… does the kingdom intend to use it?’
* * *
Honestly speaking, it wasn’t a bad deal.
‘Excluding the Orb of the Specter, we get all the items. That alone isn’t bad.’
No party would ever offer this kind of split.
In terms of item distribution alone, Ellis’s proposal was practically a sucker’s deal.
‘On top of that, if combat breaks out, Ellis will likely handle it. Someone at the tail end of 3rd rank like her won’t struggle here.’
It might not be a difficult conquest. Until obtaining the Orb of the Specter, that is.
The problem was that the Orb of the Specter was so rare even Regin had never seen it.
‘……I thought it was a bug-exclusive stage you couldn’t see otherwise. But if the kingdom is moving directly, that doesn’t seem to be the case.’
He remembered the entry method, but it was probably an insanely low probability.
That’s why, despite challenging it so many times, he’d never seen it once.
Even if they entered that stage, it would be a problem.
‘I don’t know if we can endure it, even if Ellis can.’
There would be monsters he’d never fought before, so no combat data.
Regin couldn’t predict what variables might arise.
“Let me ask one thing.”
“Go ahead.”
“What is the Orb of the Specter?”
Regin tossed the question at Ellis while looking at her.
First, he needed to know how much she knew and what she had confirmed.
“Ah, you wouldn’t know. Most think the Rabbit Hole ends here.”
“…….”
“Even after entering, it’s standard to grab the spoils and leave. Can’t be helped. Well, it’s the easy and comfortable path, so I understand not pondering it.”
That stung a bit here.
When playing DAT, he hadn’t left right away but kept conquering further.
And yet he’d never obtained the Orb of the Specter, so what could he do?
“But this Rabbit Hole has another path.”
Ellis continued with her expressionless face.
“Enter there, and you’ll encounter the specter. I plan to kill it and obtain the Orb of the Specter. I don’t know what it is yet, so I can’t tell you more. Is that answer enough?”
She phrased it as a new path.
Only then could Regin believe Ellis’s words.
It matched the information he had.
“But I don’t understand why you need us. Greg aside, I don’t think I’m much combat power.”
“I know that full well. I plan to handle the fighting, so it doesn’t matter.”
“…….”
“But if just the two of you leave, the new path won’t open.”
He didn’t grasp it right away.
It clearly involved some trick, but he was still skeptical about what it was.
“Then I understand. We’ll assist you, Squad Leader.”
In the end, Regin and Greg nodded.
Greg had no choice but to accept the proposal, but it was different for Regin.
His curiosity was greater.
‘Just how does she plan to open that path?’
He could go to a stage he’d never seen even in the game.
With Ellis as insurance, there was no reason to hesitate further.
“Then let’s begin.”
The four returned to the three-way fork.
Contrary to expectations of something special, they just kept breaking through paths as before.
Passing passages, resting briefly in plazas.
Repeating passage after two-way forks.
After breaking through about five or six plazas like that.
“Let’s rest a bit.”
Following Ellis’s words, they took a break to recover their fatigued bodies a little.
“Want some water, Regin?”
“Of course.”
Regin and Greg moistened their parched throats with water.
They’d walked quite a distance, yet the end of the Rabbit Hole was still nowhere in sight.
While sipping water, Regin glanced at Ellis, who was leaning against the burrow wall, lost in deep thought.
“Regin Petrichio.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been staring. Do you have something to say?”
“No. I was just rethinking what you said about us not being able to leave.”
The unique aura from her striking beauty had caught his eye, but.
He was really just looking out of curiosity.
Why had Ellis gone out of her way to keep Greg and Regin here?
“I told you.”
Ellis answered lightly.
“It only opens for four.”
“Ah.”
Something flashed through Regin’s mind.
‘……Wait.’
Only then did Regin realize why he’d never been able to reach that stage.
It only opens for four?
‘It was a place that only appeared when the party was full.’
He had preferred situations with no other NPCs entering and had played most runs that way.
So he’d always cleared the Rabbit Hole solo.
That’s why he hadn’t known.
“As four walk the path, a four-way fork appears. That’s the start.”
The way to reach the Rabbit Hole’s final location.
“Rest is over. Let’s move again.”
After that, as they kept going, a new form of path appeared before them.
Not a two-way or three-way fork, but a path unfolding right in front of their eyes.
‘Crazy. It actually exists.’
The four-way fork in the Rabbit Hole that he hadn’t seen while playing DAT.
“It’s finally here.”
The moment the path to the hidden stage’s boss opened.
* * *
[Rabbit Hole—anyone still conquering it?]
Someone had once posted that on the community forums.
Most reactions were skeptical.
Ancient Rabbit Hole bait. Don’t you know it was abandoned because the rewards suck? Comments like that followed.
Most seemed sick of it and didn’t even want to look.
‘……I saw it back when I was on the verge of giving up too.’
It was an unforgettable memory.
[Guys. If you keep wandering the Rabbit Hole, a four-way fork appears at very low probability. I just found it today for the first time—checking it out and will post more.]
That post had reignited the fading flame in Regin’s heart.
That user said they used their few save scrolls to check each of the four paths once.
Regin had followed suit, trying everything, but never got to see the four-way fork to the end.
‘I always wanted to experience it once.’
He never imagined it would happen like this.
It was a strange feeling.
Joy? Or trouble?
‘If that post was right……’
Two of the four were the same ordinary paths as before.
‘One is the Path of Ruin.’
The plaza with the ancient specter—the one Ellis was after—was supposed to appear.
Honestly, later on, he’d thought it was just a bug or a fabricated post by the user.
Since Regin himself had never confirmed it.
‘……If it’s like the video, even Ellis would struggle against it. If the ancient specter is real.’
The 4th floor already had a stage master-level monster called the lycanthrope.
How could anyone believe there was another monster of that caliber on the same floor?