Chapter 898
Chapter 898
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 898
Chapter Title: God's Atlantis
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I pulled out an item I'd obtained long ago after killing the Sphinx in the pyramid: the Golden Key, true to its name, a key made of pure gold.
"That looks like quite the impressive item. Every time I see you, I can't help but notice how many amazing things you have on hand."
"They just kind of fell into my lap."
I used the Golden Key. No matter how sealed shut it was, nothing could stay locked against this key—not even if it was protected by some barrier. And of course, that held true even for the system itself.
A golden glow emanated from the key and seeped into the door at the entrance to Hell's Shelter.
The door creaked open with a long, grating screech.
The interior was pitch black.
Elena peered inside with a skeptical gaze.
"Is this place really safe? Something feels off about it."
"It's fine. It's a demon shelter, after all. Let's go in."
I strode confidently into the darkness. The original story never mentioned Zone 9,371, Drought Hell, but it did cover Hell's Shelter, so I had the intel on that much.
As soon as I entered Hell's Shelter, a shiver ran through my body. All the penalties were gone. The curse that drained my stats every 24 hours had lifted.
But the best part? The blistering heat was gone. And naturally, the restriction limiting me to 100ml of water per hour vanished too.
I summoned a glass of water bobbing with ice cubes and chugged it down. The cold spread through my body, lifting my spirits in an instant.
"Ho. A hidden zone, huh. This can't be all there is to it. There has to be something more tucked away."
"Let's head deeper first."
I pressed on without hesitation, armed with prior knowledge of the place. Elena followed cautiously behind me.
A few minutes later, we reached the end of the shelter, where another door stood.
Grabbing the round doorknob brought up a system window in front of my eyes.
"200 AP? Pocket change. Elena, how much AP do you have on you right now?"
"Around 200,000 AP. I used some recently, so it's a bit low."
"Low, my ass."
A typical continental dweller would struggle to scrape together 10,000 AP. Sure, I got frequent sponsorships from two high-tier contract divinities, but most folks weren't so lucky.
'200,000 AP means we don't have to worry about it.'
Elena stared at me intently.
"Need some AP? I can give you all of it."
"I've got more than you right now. Hang onto yours."
I pushed the door open. It swung wide, and we stepped inside.
The first floor of Hell's Shelter was a city.
A city reeking of stale, musty air.
The sky hung heavy and gray overhead, the brick houses blackened with grime. Lights leaked from the windows of buildings, but the thin fog blanketing the streets swallowed them, creating a oppressive, gloomy atmosphere.
We emerged into some dingy alleyway. As I closed the door we'd come through, it blurred and vanished.
"A city? So this is the real Hell's Shelter?"
"Must be."
Hell's Shelter connected to hell zones like our Zone 9,371—in other words, there was only one shelter, but hundreds of entrances. Of course, you couldn't use it to travel between hell zones.
This wasn't a transit hub. It was a shelter. A place to rest.
Elena and I headed out of the alley. That's when something burst from what I'd taken for a trash bin, blocking our path.
It was a gaunt orc, skin and bones like it hadn't eaten in weeks. The moment it spotted us, it dropped to its knees and bowed low.
"P-please! Share some AP with me! Just 100 AP! Anything! Please! Have mercy on this poor orc...! I'm begging you!"
This world was home to every race imaginable. Humans were the most common by far, but there were also non-monster orcs like the one groveling before us.
"Answer our questions, and I'll give you 500 AP."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. Here's 100 AP upfront."
You could transfer AP—Atlantis Points—to others, but the system skimmed a 3% fee.
"Ask away! Anything!"
Elena and I fired off a barrage of questions. For me, it was mostly confirming what I already knew and checking for any gaps.
Chibemk.
This orc was a drifter.
Drifters were the types who eked out a spineless existence in the safety of Hell's Shelter. Outside was hell, so they had no desire to leave. The catch? Shelter wasn't free. It cost 1 AP every 10 minutes.
Run out of AP? You ended up like this orc. The system took your life force instead. And when that ran dry... death.
"I don't get why you'd go to such lengths to stay holed up here. Go live out there. Hunt some beasts, earn some AP."
Elena eyed Chibemk with pitying disdain.
"I don't have the strength to hunt beasts! And the hell I'm from... it's a nightmare! Overseers everywhere, forcing us to work 23 hours a day! Slack off, and they whip you bloody!"
"Now that's intriguing. What kind of work?"
"We build buildings out of rocks. Finish one, they make us tear it down and build another farther away. Finish that, tear it down again... Argh. It never ends. That's real hell...!"
Every hell had its unique flavor of torment. But they all earned the name "hell" for good reason.
"...Are you done with questions? Then the remaining 400 AP... Gurk!"
Chibemk rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming with anticipation as he approached. I summoned Stormbreaker and ran him through the chest.
His eyes bulged as he spat blood.
"Wh-what the...?!"
"Sloppy. If you wanted to fool us, you should've washed off that stench of blood first."
"Sharp-eyed bastard...!"
Chibemk collapsed and died.
Clink. A dagger tumbled from his wrist to the ground.
The easiest way to get AP? First: hunt monsters. Second: hunt people.
Thanks to my high Luck, I scored 78 AP out of his 100.
"Hell's Shelter... Doesn't seem like a place to linger."
"What'd you expect from a hell shelter? Come on. We need info on Zone 9,371, Drought Hell."
We headed for the largest building at the city's heart.
???
The building at the city's center.
Hell's Shop.
It sold everything.
Ding-a-ling.
We pushed through the door into the shop. The interior was decked out with every manner of item: weapons, potions, furniture, food. Even human corpses on display.
"Welcome! Hell's Shop—everything except the impossible."
A chuckling demon manned the counter. A middle-aged black-haired man in a suit, broad-faced with two horns sprouting from his head. A slender devil tail peeked from behind his back.
The demon before me was a pseudodeity.
I knew his true name.
"Mammon."
"Oho! You discerned my true name at a glance. You're no ordinary customer!"
"Cut the crap. I'm here for something specific."
"Shall I take a guess? Info on a particular hell zone?"
"I see you get a lot of my type."
"All the time. Plenty turn robber on the spot, too."
I could see why. Killing this pseudodeity might net control of the zone.
But he was a demon. Not just any demon—the demon of greed. Best not to tangle head-on.
"30 million AP, and this zone's dominion is yours. A steal, no?"
"Don't have that kind of loose change."
"Such a pity."
"Zone 9,371: Drought Hell."
"Oh! You're the first from that zone. Dropped into Drought Hell? That means you pissed off the World Leaf... And you survived to make it here."
"You know it?"
"Everyone does. The World Leaf dumps anyone it dislikes into Drought Hell. Weren't there swarms of beasts waiting when you fell? They don't gather by chance."
"Bastard lived up to his rep. I've been wandering the red desert for over ten days now. No way out?"
"60,000 AP. For that, I'll give you satisfying intel."
"...Paying up."
I handed over 60,000 AP. No fee for trades.
"Drought Hell is the hell of endless wandering. You roam until your body withers and you drop dead. No amount of movement matters."
"It mattered enough. Led me right to Hell's Shelter."
"Heh. Touché. Only one way out: conquer Drought Hell zone. You'll escape naturally."
"You're not about to say you won't tell me how, after 60k AP?"
"Perish the thought. To conquer Drought Hell? Grow a forest in the desert. That's it. Simple, right?"
"Fuck off. You're joking."
"Yell at me all you want; doesn't change facts. Oh, we sell saplings... Though they won't last an hour in Drought Hell."
"Hoo. Great."
"A tip: Drought Hell's soil is surprisingly fertile. Water's the issue. With enough, plants would thrive. Of course, the environment means you'd need a ton."
"A ton of water..."
I scratched my head. A rough plan formed.
"Saplings? Got any that grow well in deserts?"
"One yours."
"20,000 AP."
"And... I'd like to buy some lifespan?"
"For the lady? Hmm. Sorry, we don't sell lifespan directly."
Mammon's eyes sparkled. He didn't sell life itself, but life-related goods? I mulled it over, then passed. Still had time. To seduce Elena, I needed to stage a more desperate scenario.
"Hey, missy."
Mammon called to Elena.
"Me? I don't want anything here—items or info."
"Heh. I can smell money like a bloodhound. Isn't this what you want, missy? Special 10% discount for you."
What Mammon pulled out was a dildo.
A toy modeled after a man's member.
Elena's face twisted in disgust.
"Wanna die?"
"Whoa, I just showed you what you wanted... Was it the size?"
"Die."
Elena moved to cast a spell. I panicked, grabbed her, and dragged her out of the shop. Fighting Mammon now would've been a bad move.
"Come back anytime. I'll be waiting!"
???
Out of the main building, I lit up the dim area. Better than trudging the desert—nothing around, but no heat torture either.
"What's the plan now?"
"Conquer Drought Hell, obviously. With this sapling... we can do it."
I knew from the original story: Mammon might gouge you, but he didn't outright scam.
"Starting tomorrow."
"...Tomorrow?"
"Gotta rest today. After all I've been through."
"Fair enough. Rest well."
We chatted idly as we relaxed. The long-overdue break felt like honey. As night fell and I prepared to sleep, Elena reached for my forehead. I leaned back, dodging her fingers.
"...Why dodge?"
"No need for illusion tonight. We're not out there."
"...Wouldn't deep sleep via illusion be better?"
Elena seemed oddly fidgety, like she desperately wanted me under illusion and out cold.
"Mm. You're right; sound sleep would be nice..."
"Sleep. Big day tomorrow, right?"
Poke.
Her finger jabbed my brow. Drowsiness crashed over me. Weird, I thought, but I didn't fight it.