The Art of the Loophole
You have completed the ordeal of 1-B. One of the Degraded Relics, the Tangled Red Thread, has been granted as a reward!
New Keyword: Degraded Relics has been added!
Another notification window spouting things only it understood.
What the hell is a Degraded Relic anyway?
Exhausted, I slumped to the ground and opened my status window.
• Active Blessings: [None]
• Traits: [None]
• Inventory: Purifying Sword, Tangled Red Thread
• Active Bonds: Witch, Loyal Subject, Sister
• Completed Quests (Viewable)
• Assigned Quests (Viewable)
• Keyword Dictionary (Viewable)
Come to think of it, a lot of things had been added after meeting Ariella.
I checked them one by one.
A sword forged to cleanse the impure.
However, this sword does not purify.
It simply cuts.
It cleaves sin before flesh, corruption before blood, and obsession before skin.
• Deals effective damage to death-related entities.
• Can cut through corruption, curses, obsessions, and illusions.
• The blade vibrates in response to evil energy.
• Its ability to cut physical matter depends entirely on the user's skill.
A thread that forcibly binds a connection that otherwise would not be permitted.
Invisible threads entangle all people.
However, the connection bound by this thread may not necessarily be a welcome one.
• Creates an opportunity for a new connection with one nearby person.
• Used by untangling the thread.
• Single-use.
This description feels awfully familiar.
Does "Degraded Relic" just mean a single-use item?
Now that I think about it, there was a new quest too.
It was a quest added after meeting Ariella.
There is currently 1 Main Quest, 3 Sub-Quests, and 0 Hidden Quests to complete.
Sub-Quest List:
1. Union of Soul and Flesh
• Objective: Use Aura in Sheol.
• Reward: Enhanced Mana Control.
2. Trust
• Objective: Spend the night in the same bed with the lady who is boundlessly loyal to you.
• Reward: A Gentle Kiss.
3. Destiny, Not Coincidence
• Objective: Meet the sister who loves you three times.
• Reward: Unlock More Information.
The Main Quest was clearing ten sub-quests, right?
The newly added quests were straightforward.
I assumed the last one meant meeting Ariella three times.
But seriously, who is that girl?
She called me "Oraboni"...
Was she someone I knew before?
Given that she gave me the sword, she's definitely not hostile.
If not for this sword, I'd probably be dead by now.
Without the blade's vibration, it would have been hard to notice the fake Thalia's strangeness, and even if I had, I wouldn't have been able to cut her down.
Come to think of it, what Ariella said... She was giving me hints.
'Keep in mind that a different rule applies every time you enter a new room. And remember, every room in Sheol is dangerous.'
A new room, a new rule.
I had naturally assumed the next room would have something like the goat-headed monster.
Instead of attacking, however, this room tried to swallow me whole by showing me a sweet illusion.
A different rule applies to each room.
But every room is dangerous.
This was the structure of this place that Ariella had tried to explain.
And one more thing.
After defeating the fake Thalia,
I realized something strange.
I had clearly opened the door from the room with Ariella and walked through, so why did I enter a new room instead of waking up from the dream?
Ariella's words came back to me.
'This isn't a room! It's more like a crevice between rooms.'
Wasn't that the hint?
That place wasn't a room.
That was why, even though I had left that space earlier, I hadn't woken up from the dream.
“...Like hell! Screw that!”
Spouting settings only it knows.
I don't give a crap about any of this!!!
I was dreaming of an easy-mode, cheat-filled romance fantasy harem transmigration!!
Give me back my harem!!!
“...Ugh, sob.”
Still, I had to check.
My life was on the line.
Finally, I opened the Keyword Dictionary.
As a sinner with deep transgressions, only limited knowledge is permitted to you! You may view the provided information at any time.
Degraded Relics
Imitations created in Sheol that mimic the power of divine relics—the great forces of the world that govern destiny and logic.
• They possess immense power, but because they are degraded, they have a limited number of uses.
Just as I thought.
So they're limited-use items.
If a real relic like the Pale Cameo is like equipment, then these knockoffs are more like consumables.
Let's organize my thoughts.
What I've obtained: a sword with elemental damage that only works here, and an item that triggers relationship quests in reality.
What I need to do: fight enemies at least as strong as the goat-headed monster without even being able to use aura. Or see through and overcome mental attacks.
“The balance is absolute garbage. Seriously.”
What a trash game.
Despair washed over me.
I have to fight like this every few days?
When a single mistake means death?
...No. I can't do this.
I had absolutely no desire to open the door and move forward.
If I opened that door, I'd wake up from the dream.
But what about after that?
One night, I'd fall asleep and wake up here again, and I'd be forced to move forward—
“...Huh?”
Wait a minute.
There was a door in front of me.
Its design was different from the door I had entered through. It looked larger and sturdier.
Then I looked back.
There stood a door that looked exactly like the one I had come through.
What this meant was...
“There are... two doors.”
The trigger to wake up from the dream was opening a door and moving to the next room.
So, what if I went back through the door I came from?
What if I just looped back and forth between the doors every time? Couldn't I safely pass the nights indefinitely?
Is it... possible?
I swallowed hard.
If that was possible, surviving the night world would be a breeze.
I would just need to keep going back and forth between room 1-B and room 1-??? where Ariella was to wake up.
I walked toward the door I had entered through,
“...Of course it doesn't work.”
I immediately clicked my tongue.
The door was locked tight.
They had already anticipated the loophole.
Just then, a notification window popped up.
This door connects to a place of ordeal the sinner has already passed!
The obsession and curses of Sheol hold the doorknob tight, preventing it from opening!
“Ugh, 'obsession' my ass.”
I tried to hold back the curses,
but the sheer frustration was unavoidable.
So they absolutely refuse to let me survive using a loophole, huh?
“...Wait, hold on.”
As the curses rose to my throat, I paused, my eyes catching a word in the second notification.
Obsession and curses?
I was sure I had seen those exact words somewhere.
Where was it?
“Where else? The sword!!”
- Can cut through corruption, curses, obsessions, and illusions.
The description on the Purifying Sword.
Could it be?
With half-doubt, I swung the sword at the door.
Clang!
The blade struck something invisible,
and shattered it.
Oh, wait. Did it work?
“No way, no way, no way... Is it really?!”
Giddily, I placed my hand on the doorknob,
and turned it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I opened my eyes.
I looked around for a moment.
And then, I found the sword at my bedside.
It wasn't the Purifying Sword with its blue-glowing black blade, but just an ordinary sword.
Thank goodness.
This wasn't a dream.
“Yeah. It's not a dream.”
I muttered to myself.
After a brief murmur, I suddenly screamed.
“It's not that shitty dream!!!”
It's reality!
Reality! It's actual reality!!
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Of course, it was currently the middle of the night.
And this was the academy dormitory.
Sure, someone might hear me.
But who cares? I'm alive.
I'm alive! I'm fucking alive!!
I'm going to scream, and what are you going to do about it?!
“What? 'Obsession and curses hold the door'? 'The door is locked'? Yeah, right! I'm going to abuse this loophole to hell and back!”
What can you even do if I just open the door with the sword Ariella gave me?
What can you do besides trembling in rage and throwing shitty notifications at me?! You trash system!!
“Bwahahaha!!! Fuck, I'm alive!!! You bastard, I'm so fucking alive!!!!!”
“...Lord, who on earth are you talking to?”
“Hahaha... *cough*, *wheeze*, *cough*! *Cough*! ...Thalia?”
I turned my head.
Thalia was staring at me with a pale face, as if she had just witnessed something she shouldn't have.
Her eyes said it all:
Have you finally lost your mind?
No, Thalia.
It's not what you think!
“...Thalia, how much of that did you see?”
“From the moment you woke up. Specifically, from when you said, 'Yeah, it's not a dream. It's not that shitty dream!' Then you said, 'Yeah, right! I'm going to abuse this loophole to hell and back!' And then, 'Fuck, I'm alive! You bastard, I'm so fucking al—'”
“Alright, stop!!”
Thalia mimicked every single word I said, her face remaining completely deadpan.
I buried my face in my hands in sheer embarrassment.
I mean, cut me some slack! Anyone would talk a little crazy after a near-death experience!
“Ugh, why is the world always out to get me?!”
“...Are you crying, Lord?”
Wait, why the hell was Thalia in my room at this ungodly hour in the first place?!
I screamed in my heart.