Chapter 312
Chapter: 312
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 312
>Chapter Title: Under the Surface (3)
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>"Like last time, you're spacing out again. Newbie, you feeling okay or something?"
Owen trailed persistently after Seongjin as he walked.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"But..."
It wasn't just Owen who was worried about Seongjin. The Silent Villains and Dexter were also watching him closely, their faces full of concern.
Their party leader kept zoning out the moment they entered the dungeon, so it was understandable why they were anxious.
"What do you want to do? Wanna sit this one out?"
Tch, what a fuss.
Seongjin waved him off dismissively without even turning around.
"Quit talking nonsense. You heard Dexter earlier, right? Mages are the key in this dungeon. How do you plan to clear it without me?"
Theme Dungeon B-Rank: Witches' Conclave.
Unlike the 'Orc King's Labyrinth' where mobs from various classes were evenly distributed, this dungeon was centered around magic-user mobs specializing in mental magic and summons.
Naturally, breaking 'Justitia's conditions' required a mage's power above all else.
In terms of mob types alone, it was similar to the Ice Banshee dungeon. And in that D-Rank dungeon, Seongjin and the Silent Villains had nearly died.
'Plus, the strategy Dexter came up with this time is probably tailored to my stats. Clearing without me would be impossible.'
Seongjin smirked inwardly and added,
"Don't forget, Owen. We're still in the middle of a time challenge."
"That's true, but... if you push yourself and something dangerous happens..."
"Ah, I told you not to worry about nothing? I'm fine. This dungeon's actually safer than the Orc King's Labyrinth."
Seongjin meant it.
He was confident he could sweep through any dungeon in one go. After all, his condition was at its peak right now.
Dark Justitia.
The thing that had been creating big and small discrepancies until now, gnawing at him like a leech, had completely lost its power. So there wouldn't be any sudden issues for a while, and his fatigue would be much less than before.
'Plus, I've squeezed a bunch of stuff out of Justitia.'
But even with Seongjin's firm assurance, Owen's expression didn't relax.
Why was that? The moment he saw the newbie standing next to that crimson flame earlier, a strange sense of déjà vu had hit him out of nowhere.
'What is it? Have I seen something like this before?'
Owen racked his brains trying to remember, but nothing came to mind no matter how hard he thought.
[Hey, focus.]
Seongjin snapped at Owen, who was lost in thought.
Just then, they finally encountered the first mobs: witches draped in black cloaks.
Kuh huh huh huh...
Sinister laughter echoed as the women billowed thick clouds of black energy.
The moment they entered the witches' detection range, mental magic would probably rain down mercilessly on the party.
[Alright, you're up. Lee Seongjin!]
At Dexter's tense command, Seongjin stepped forward confidently. To dispel the conditions with magic attacks.
Pop!
But what Seongjin pulled out this time wasn't Hayes's Evil Spirit.
"Ignition."
A short incantation, one they'd never heard before, slipped from the baby goat's mouth.
[......?]
Everyone stared in confusion, not understanding. Then, an astonishing sight unfolded before their eyes. Crimson flames erupted simultaneously from the clustered witches!
Whoosh!
Kyaaaa...!
The flames burned short but fierce. The witches vanished into the air as ash before their death cries could even finish.
Instant death damage, bypassing any conditions.
[......!?]
[Whoa, the damage is so overkill it's a problem. This kinda ruins party hunting.]
As everyone gaped in shock, only Seongjin checked his skill window with an unrelated concern. A new skill he'd just acquired from Justitia was blinking there.
〚new! Unique Skill - Ignition〛
>〚Designates a target, causing spontaneous combustion regardless of defense, instantly reducing HP to 0.〛
>〚Max targets: 5〛
>〚Acquisition condition - □□□ □□〛
>〚MP cost: 1 per target〛
>〚Rank: SSS〛
>〚Proficiency: SSS〛
A skill exclusive to Seongjin, with no class or level requirements.
Enemy HP or defense didn't matter at all. MP cost was negligible.
It didn't even require precise aiming—a truly cheat-level instakill.
[...What the hell was that?]
Dexter finally snapped out of it, asking in a trembling voice. But Seongjin brushed it off casually as he strode forward.
[Eh, no big deal.]
[Wait! No big deal? Hey!]
This skill, crude in its overwhelming performance, had been created by Justitia at great personal cost. She'd even given it unprompted.
-I don't need this. I've got Demon King No. 2. Just fulfill the demands I made.
Seongjin thought his current power was enough, but Justitia clearly disagreed.
-This is a gift from me, separate from your demands, □□□ □□.
-A gift? No strings attached?
-Indeed. No conditions. So please, accept these skills and never use that dangerous flame in Pangea Chronicle again!
Her voice carried genuine desperation. Justitia was clearly extremely wary of Demon King No. 2.
Why wouldn't she be? She'd just witnessed a leech with equal name and divinity vanish pathetically.
If it could erase the accumulated errors that had become laws, then proper laws—not to mention the world itself—could be revived effortlessly.
"Hey, Lee Seongjin!"
At that moment, the mole engineer scurried up and whispered urgently in Seongjin's ear.
"What happened to you? You didn't have skills like this before."
But Seongjin merely gauged the distance to the next witch cluster and replied nonchalantly.
"I've got more. Too early to be surprised."
"...What?"
Yeah. And the skills Justitia had gifted weren't limited to [Ignition].
〚new! Unique Skill - Lava Zone〛
>〚Turns the designated ground area into a lava field. Works on any surface, including ice or water. Targets trapped inside can't escape and take 30% HP damage on activation, plus 10% per second, ignoring fire resistance.〛
>〚Acquisition condition - □□□ □□〛
>〚MP cost: 5〛
>〚Rank: SSS〛
>〚Proficiency: SSS〛
Another area skill that utterly ignored game balance.
30% on cast plus 10% per second meant any target could be killed in 7 seconds flat.
'Wanna test it?'
No need to hesitate.
The moment the witches entered his sight, Seongjin murmured softly.
"Lava Zone."
Far ahead, the ground where the mobs clustered transformed into a vast lava field.
Whoosh!
Kyah...!
This time too, the witches perished before they could even spot the party, without so much as a scream.
[......!?]
A scene too unbelievable even seeing it with their own eyes.
Dexter and the Silent Villains could only stare dumbly as the witch cluster dissolved into light in an instant.
'Pretty useful, huh?'
Yeah. To keep Seongjin from pulling out Demon King No. 2, she had no choice but to give him comparable cheat skills.
Even if it wrecked balance, it was better than Demon King No. 2 rampaging unchecked again, apparently.
〚new! Unique Skill - Flame〛
>〚Envelops the caster's weapon in fiery aura. Adds magic attribute to weapon's innate properties. Deals +200% attack damage.〛
>〚Acquisition condition - □□□ □□〛
>〚MP cost: 1 per second〛
>〚Rank: SSS〛
>〚Proficiency: SSS〛
Kyaa! Gah!
A beginner's sword wreathed in scarlet flames sliced through the witches.
[Lee Seongjin! Don't go melee! To break the 'conditions,' we need magic...!]
Dexter tried to stop him in a panic, but shut his mouth upon seeing the witches vanish into light.
A buff skill that granted magic judgment even on melee hits. Though the damage boost far exceeded any normal buff.
'Anyway, with this, I can break Justitia's [conditions] without a mage.'
Skills perfect for theme dungeon crawling. Their intent was so transparently obvious it was almost funny.
'Anything to keep me from using Demon King No. 2, huh?'
Satisfied after testing the last skill, Seongjin approved of the simple, intuitive incantations. Probably because they'd been hastily slapped together.
[Sorry, everyone. Had to test them early while we had some breathing room.]
He apologized to the party staring at him with wide eyes, habitually extending his tiny hooves forward.
[Lee Seongjin...]
[I'll explain later. For now, let's keep clearing the dungeon. Time challenge is still on.]
The party's stunned tension melted away like magic.
[R-Right! We gotta save time!]
[Got it, Lee Seongjin.]
Watching them hurriedly adjust their gear, Seongjin suddenly felt exasperated.
'Hang on. I said it, but why do they all believe me so unquestioningly?'
The mindset of suckers was sometimes truly baffling.
Anyway, Seongjin summoned Hayes's Evil Spirit as originally planned. Testing was done; time to follow Dexter's carefully devised strategy.
'Plus, that guy's been too quiet...'
Strangely, every time Seongjin unleashed flashy fire skills, Owen's expression soured more. It had been bothering him since earlier.
[My soul's master!]
Hayes's Evil Spirit appeared eagerly, spewing black mist as it charged the witches.
[Let's go!]
At the baby goat's signal, the party dashed energetically toward the boss room.
* * *
"All errors in the game have temporarily vanished..."
"Yes, that's correct."
Matilda furrowed her brow at the subordinate's report.
She was a high-ranking executive at Impulse Soft and the lead engineer on the Homunculus Engine development team. It was only natural she'd receive real-time updates on anomalies in Pangea Chronicle, the first game to use the Homunculus Engine.
"Cause?"
"Still investigating."
"I see..."
Matilda responded indifferently, without much expectation.
She knew better than anyone how tangled the game had become, making log analysis a nightmare.
"Go on. Report back if anything unusual comes up."
She waved the employee off, then felt her blood nicotine levels plummet sharply. Glossy lipstick parted as she lit a new cigarette.
"Hoo..."
A few drags eased her headache and relaxed her body. Signs of heavy addiction.
Stress from the precariously teetering Pangea Chronicle had noticeably increased her smoking lately.
"Damn that director..."
The giant error mass gaining divinity was entirely the lazy game director's fault.
In hastily polishing the rushed game, he'd clung to the settings from his debut work, the Astria Chronicles.
He loved his creation and worldbuilding. Especially the final series, 'Dark Astria,' which earned praise for introducing tension via the benevolent goddess's duality.
That stodgy man's career peak.
"That's why this hastily built world nearly ended in futility..."
At any rate, the errors being resolved was good news for the users and Impulse Soft alike.
As Matilda cleared her mind briefly, she noticed her subordinate hadn't left yet and turned.
"Something else?"
The employee hesitated before speaking.
"Um... it's about the former item, the Ice Heart..."
Ah, the Ice Heart.
That was a massive headache in its own right.
"We cautiously asked the VIP, but they said they can't return it anytime soon."
"This is..."
She'd half-expected it, but hearing it confirmed made it all the more frustrating. She'd firmly believed the VIP wouldn't cause issues.
But she couldn't blame them entirely. Rushing completion by pouring in code from other games had been her unilateral decision.
"I'll figure something out. You're dismissed."
She shooed the subordinate away with a hand wave, then silently smoked while gazing at the photos on her monitor.
Screenshots from an observation drone, taken from afar.
Some were blurry and hard to make out, but the main subject dominating most was a small mole wearing goggles.
"Yes. Even after leaving Earth, you seem to be doing just fine on your own."
Matilda's short fingers gently caressed the monitor. The gesture seemed hesitant at first glance, but the affection in her fingertips was unmistakable.
"But why, even in a new world with a new body, do you still look so small like before, Dexter...?"