Chapter 51

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 51

Chapter Title: Ruins Underground (4)

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Ikeda Hiro. When he was summoned to this other world, he thought that the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

A world with a massive dungeon-like space called the Labyrinth. A world where skills—superpowers—existed. A world where fantasy races like elves, orcs, dwarves, and beastkin actually lived.

On top of that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a cheat skill that seemed to announce he was the protagonist.

The moment Hiro learned about skills and the Labyrinth, he blindly bought a sword with the settlement funds he'd been given and headed straight into the Labyrinth alone. Up to this point, it was the same reckless enthusiasm of an otherworlder lacking any sense of reality that Ian had seen before...

-Slash! Slash!

Hiro—no, the [Auto Combat] skill he possessed—was strong. Even at just level 1, it allowed him to cut through enemies like a one-man army. And there was hardly any sensation of having killed a living being for the first time. While [Auto Combat] was active, his body felt like it wasn't even his own.

What was it like? It felt like controlling a game character. A goblin spilled its guts and died right in front of him. But to Hiro, it was just like watching slightly realistic game graphics.

He tried forming a party and descending into the Labyrinth. His party members betrayed him, trying to steal the overpowered gear he carried as a newbie—not to kill him, just petty theft.

But his constantly active [Auto Combat] skill in the Labyrinth immediately raised his sword and decapitated the party member.

His first murder, across Earth and this world. An accidental killing that happened in an instant, without time to prepare. Hiro's reaction to it...

'Feels like a game.'

That was it. Relying on [Auto Combat] every time he delved deeper into the Labyrinth, he advanced triumphantly. Of course, there were enemies his physical specs couldn't handle, so he was still a Beginner Adventurer, but he was praised for his unusually rapid growth.

He wasn't even fighting himself with [Auto Combat], yet he acquired skills like [Swordsmanship] and [Hunting]. As he gained more skills, his movements became even more refined, allowing continuous improvement. It was as if he brimmed with talent.

Then one day, he suddenly felt an urge not just to rely on [Auto Combat], but to hunt and feel the sword in his own hands. During [Auto Combat], nothing really clicked. So he grabbed a sword and, on the first floor of the Labyrinth, cleanly bisected a goblin using the [Swordsmanship Lv.3] now etched into his body.

And the result was.

"Urgh... Uweeeek! Uweeeek!"

The sensation of bone slicing through his hand. The metallic stench of blood in his nose, the foul and rotten smell from the bisected corpse. And as he vomited, the killing intent of other monsters targeting his opening.

He immediately activated [Auto Combat], and all the unpleasant sensations faded away as he slaughtered the monsters in one go.

The skill he possessed, [Auto Combat], filtered out all mental shocks received while maintaining combat during activation, like a kind of filter. His ability to endure Labyrinth exploration so far wasn't due to his mental fortitude, but solely the skill's effect.

A guy who only played games on Earth was far too mentally fragile for the Labyrinth's environment to begin with. Hiro had deluded himself into thinking he'd accepted everything like a game because of his exceptional mental strength, like some manga protagonist. In reality, his mentality was even weaker than an average Beginner Adventurer.

Typically, adventurers who went through this process either quit or grew mentally stronger and overcame it.

At that point, Hiro should have either overcome the mental pain and grown stronger, or realized his limits and quit adventuring. But Hiro chose neither, simply preserving his fragile mind and relying on [Auto Combat] to delve deeper. After all, he had his cheat skill.

His skill's performance was genuinely outstanding, propelling him to the 10th floor and just one step away from Intermediate Adventurer promotion.

To fill the achievements needed for promotion, he took a high-reward commission for exploring the Labyrinth right after a mutation event. That's where he met two women and one man.

As he advanced with his party members, they discovered something called 'ruins.' Hiro activated [Auto Combat] and observed the ruins exploration from a distance, detached like a spectator.

And the 'something' inside the ruins spotted an easy prey among the intruders: someone with an exceptionally fragile mind despite excellent physical performance. It seemed protected by some mental means, but it was laughably crude.

No, it was crude because the protection wasn't true mental reinforcement or a barrier—it was just a flimsy cognitive filter.

So the 'something' inside the ruins diverted some of the mana flowing through the entire structure toward Hiro. No need to touch him directly. A guy relying on one skill for everything—just tamper with the skill's filter, and it was done.

'.....Huh? Did I just...'

Hiro's mind blanked for a moment before snapping back. But instead of shaking his body and advancing through the ruins, he held a familiar game controller, not in the ruins depths, but in his familiar room, running multiple games as usual.

"...What are you doing?"

"You usually find something by breaking jars."

Huh? Was he playing a multiplayer game? Wasn't this a solo game? Too many games at once; they were getting mixed up.

"Phase 2?"

RPG... was he playing an RPG? Maybe a dungeon crawler...

"Hiro? Hiro?"

Uh... a dating sim? Must've picked the wrong choice. The heroine on the monitor looked terrified, then suddenly vanished from the screen.

While controlling the character, he found a room underground in the dungeon. Whoa, hidden piece!

He moved the character to pick up an item that looked like a torn book page. The item window appeared with info. Let's see... Necronomicon? So game-like.

Alright, back to the game? What was he playing again?

Oh, right.

"Don't touch it!"

First, take out those stealers. Those monsters, steel, other users? Beat them for experience, favor, gold, buy items at the shop, destroy portals to clear the dungeon game.

■■ them and ■■■ to ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■...

Hearing. The sense that detects sound wave frequencies—what we commonly think of as 'sound.' From simple conversations to birds flying, flowing water, and more...

But sounds like nails on a chalkboard, blaring horns, or the upstairs neighbors summoning hell can cause massive discomfort, or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even burst eardrums from intense vibrations. Noise alone can harm humans in many ways.

Layer noise disputes have led to murders, so the stress humans endure from 'noise' is beyond imagination.

With that in mind.

What if a man screamed at full volume for 30 seconds right in front of you, scraping metal and clashing objects, while you blocked all hearing for those 30 seconds—then released it all at once?

"I don't know what the hell you're suddenly—Guh?! Grah! Kk... Kaaaaaaaah!"

The moment the skill released, all the pent-up sensations exploded at once. What does hearing everything burst forth feel like? Multiple sounds at maximum volume simultaneously?

'Kkiiingclangcrashbangkablooey@#$@$$%!%'

The horrific sensation ringing not just in his ears, but his skull, snapped even the Necronomicon-possessed Hiro's mind awake for an instant. Was it 'snapping back' or 'flying apart'?

Perhaps survival instinct. The will maintaining [Auto Combat] broke. Rather than cling to the skill with his feeble will, blocking this horrific 'noise' took priority on a primal level.

He deactivated the skill on his own weak will, stopped attacking or defending, and just clutched his ears with both hands. [Sensory Release] was instantaneous, and the sounds were already heard—blocking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠late did nothing—but instinct made him cover his ears. Game? Huh? That wasn't game sound... reality? Game? ■■? What was he doing? ■■-san?

-Useless.

'Now!'

The instant Hiro's face went slack, unable to even scream properly as he clutched his ears, I sprang into action.

[Limit Break]'s duration was nearly over. I had to squeeze every ounce of strength to pierce his barrier in one strike.

Slipping from the sight of Hiro, who was lost in agony and oblivious to his surroundings, I activated [Stealth]. Thanks to accidentally using [Lust Absorption] on Lena earlier, my leveled-up [Assassination] activated too. [Body Enhancement] naturally kicked in as well.

The dagger was already coated in poison. While Lena stalled, I'd drunk a potion and applied it. I hadn't expected the barrier to prevent even scratches... but once pierced, the poison would work. This poison, maximized with [Venom Arts], even affected me with [Poison Resistance Lv.3].

Time ticked down while stealthed. Plus, [Sensory Release]'s overload was momentary. Recovering from the aftermath wasn't easy, but no room for complacency.

'[Assassination]!'

Among my skills, [Assassination] provided the greatest power amplification. My nearly breaking dagger hurtled toward the back of Hiro's head as he cowered on the ground.

But doubt crept in. What if the power fell short?

Hiro's barrier had blocked Intermediate Adventurer Lena's magic. My power with [Limit Break] exceeded Beginner Adventurer level, but was it stronger than Lena's spells?

...Insufficient.

His barrier was visibly weakened after blocking her spells multiple times, but I had only one chance. Miss it due to lack of power, and it was over.

Thus.

'[Sensory Block] release. Activate [Sensory Release].'

I released the [Sensory Block] I'd kept active on myself—not the one on Hiro.

'Release the blocked mana sense.'

When I cast [Sensory Block] on Hiro, I'd applied it to myself too. Mana drained continuously during upkeep, blocked by [Sensory Block] and building up for [Sensory Release].

The erupting power I'd felt multiple times in meditation surged forth. Severely depleted mana from repeated [Sensory Block] uses today.

Heartbeat, bursting veins, spreading muscles, inner organs—all felt.

No, it wasn't feeling them. It was sensing another flow coursing through them. A power always in my body, yet one I couldn't wield directly.

As the new skill message appeared, I channeled the surging energy through instinct into my dagger hand. No dramatic flair—no sword aura or energy burst.

But the mana concentrated in my arm's mana circuits made my attack faster, stronger.

"I... I'm not in a game...!"

"Die!"

-Clang!

The dagger shattered Hiro's barrier and buried into the back of his head.