Question: Can We Really Beat the Prison Watcher?
A post I'd uploaded to the community suddenly came to mind.
I remembered the being right in front of me looking so repulsive it was hard to even meet its eyes. But was it because of Super Coward Mode? It just looked like a cute girl taking a nap.
Of course, it was still an Outer God—I could see those deformed eyeballs peeking from the inner strands of its hair. But still.
No way. An Outer God looking like a girl? Was there such a twisted, perverse fetish out there?
The note calling it a "lunatic" might've been my perception filter warping things too. That mod developer, you mad bastard. Don't bother with needless realism in a place like this!!!
...I wanted to yell that, but I'd long since become someone from a different world than him.
This wasn't the time. I had to focus on dealing with the thing in front of me first.
The watcher herself looked like that, but this was still a newbie slaughter zone where charging in blindly meant infinite deaths. As a total noob—not even a casual vet—I had to move with utmost caution above all else.
To survive in this dark fantasy world, being strong alone wasn't enough. No matter how overpowered you were, Outer Gods would just go "Pfft, that all you got?" and devour you.
The real key was running well, reading patterns, and countering them. A truth anyone figured out after a bit of Snow Castle.
So I scanned the surroundings first. Had to see how the Hunter and the thief were reacting.
The Hunter was glaring at the watcher, eyes bloodshot. Ever since Outer Gods wiped out her family, to her they were vermin that deserved extermination—pure evil incarnate.
I got her feelings, but leaving her like that would definitely lead to trouble. This wasn't a game where you respawned, and we didn't even have weapons to fight the watcher yet.
Even if the Hunter beat on it one-sidedly for 24 hours without taking a hit, catching it might be impossible. ...Though total vets did it with just a cloak and light armor-clad Hunter. But this was reality.
"Hunter?"
Maybe because of my worried tone, she snapped out of it with a start, looked at me, read my eyes roughly, sighed, and reined in her killing intent.
"I'm fine. I'm not dumb enough to charge in without knowing the power gap."
"Liar. Your eyes were screaming you wanted to lunge right now."
"If I jumped into every fight I wanted, I wouldn't be standing here unscathed."
Well, true. She never threw herself into hopeless battles—only hunted when she had a surefire plan. The ultimate "Outer God Slayer." Even if a fight started badly, she'd survive till the end, sharpen her blade, and stab the vitals.
Hiding her hatred, the Hunter turned to me with a question.
"Anyway, you're awfully calm after seeing that."
Had I acted too normal? Pretending to be scared now felt off, so I went bold.
"Uh... 'cause I'm a lunatic?"
Couldn't say "Outer Gods look like wolf-eared girls to me, so zero fear~" That'd make me a blatant pervert, and I wasn't gunning for that rep.
"Handy excuse."
At least the Hunter didn't peg me as sane anymore—she gave an exasperated look. She pondered a moment, then shook her head.
"Makes sense. No one normal stays calm seeing that, so I have no choice but to buy it."
Hunter approved me! Hell yeah—protagonist-endorsed lunatic, Leydan Tantun!
...That a compliment, right?
Also, first time seeing her say she "believes" someone. She was the type who traveled solo 'cause she trusted no one.
...Though she probably meant it as a joke.
"Anyway, try talking to the thief next to you. You'll get through to her better than I would."
Wondering what she meant, I turned to Agartha.
"Hnnng...."
Her face, usually so relaxed, was pale blue—clearly terrified. Arms hugged tight like ice down her back, body shivering. Classic fear status effect symptoms from my meager game knowledge.
"You okay?"
To check her state, I tapped her shoulder. Then—wild-eyed—she lunged an arm at me.
Crazy...! Before I could react, something was already at my gut. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing humbly for death.
But... no pain came.
"Calm down, thief."
Luckily, the Hunter snatched it away. What Agartha had thrust at me? The needle from opening the door.
...Did I almost die just now? Hit the wrong meridian and you're done, right?
Still ashen and trembling, but after a bit she broke a sweat and reverted to her smiling face.
"Calm... yeah, I'm calm now."
"Body feel okay?"
Agartha shook her head at the Hunter's question.
"No, my whole body's still prickling like it's stabbed with sharp thorns."
Sure enough, goosebumps bristled her arms, hairs standing on end.
"Sorry, Tantun. I got startled and overreacted."
"N-no, it's fine."
Almost killing me and brushing it off with an apology? Sketchy, but what could I say?
As I soothed her verbally, the Hunter eyed me like she was analyzing.
I shot her a quizzical look.
"...You've got good eyes, surprisingly."
"Huh?"
"Your gaze tracked it."
She meant when Agartha lunged—my eyes followed. Wasn't that just reflex under pressure?
"With proper training, you might've even parried."
...Huh, that big a deal? The Hunter seemed to mutter it to herself, then shifted back to the Outer God.
Seeing them so on guard, it must've looked seriously threatening. If asked why I played dumb despite playing the game...
Fear, grotesquery, danger—I'd long tossed that trash into my brain's bin, sorted it, incinerated it thoroughly.
Why? Scary as hell. For mental health, forget it fast?
All I needed was knowing it'd make me piss myself in terror back then.
"Should we head down for now?"
Unanimous agreement. We backtracked quietly to avoid waking the watcher and held a strategy meeting.
"Oh yeah—if the guards all vanished 'cause of the Outer God, how'd I end up here?"
I voiced the question I'd been mulling.
"You didn't notice, huh. Makes sense rushing to escape on waking. Hole in the prison ceiling. You were dangled down by rope. Don't ask who—I don't know."
"Hmm... so can't we climb up that hole?"
Agartha grinned and pointed at herself.
"Then I'd have bailed solo, right?"
Door-opening pro, wall-climbing pro, escape pro. Just go already.
Lost in thought, the Hunter held up two fingers.
"So only two options left. Sneak past it super quiet and quick to the main gate."
Her eyes gleamed.
"Or fight and kill it."
She folded one finger, dropping the bombshell. Probably dismissed the second as impossible herself.
But the first wasn't viable either. We'd make noise, and it'd wake for sure.
"The guards took our weapons beyond the Outer God, right?"
"But without that, any way out? No food here. Starve, and escape odds hit rock bottom."
Agartha objected incredulously but trailed off hearing the Hunter. All too true.
I could guess the Hunter's intent. She never bet on uncertainty—pure safety-first. Can't hunt the Outer God? Run. Meaning, bait us and bail solo either way.
Selfish jerk? Sure, but that's how she survived. No reason to embrace prison scum anyway.
Even chatting with Agartha, her gaze flicked to me.
"...."
"...."
Like "I can't beat an Outer God alone, right?"
Challenging me to prove it, huh. Honestly, my earlier claim was a desperate survival bluff—no plan.
But that wall-scrawl, reflexes—they'd kept me alive so far. Even if "alive" meant lame game clears.
Suddenly, the wall writing hit me. Mystic scholar build needed for the Outer God takedown guide. That comment saying return here. The constant "that."
Years of gaming narrowed it to one possibility.
Wait, gimmick boss?
This world's built on game mechanics anyway.
Decision made, I grabbed the Hunter's hand with both of mine. Her eyes widened, but whatever.
More important: unfolding that one finger she'd dropped.
Getting it, Agartha and the Hunter's pupils shrank as they stared.
I said flatly,
"If I said there's a way to beat the Outer God in here, would you believe me?"