The Truth Room
“Ah, so you intend to pile every scrap of armament onto a single person?”
“No.”
That wasn’t it either.
“Then what is it?”
“You take the armor. The weapon, however, is mine.”
“······Excuse me?”
“You can’t use skills, but the ‘Position Swap’ authority should still work. When a pack appears, swap places with their leader and hold the line.”
“My stats are so low I can only manage it twice a day at best.”
“Which is precisely why you will hold.”
“I’ve never properly trained in shield techniques.”
“I trust you.”
“Good heavens.”
The moment the worst-case scenario became reality, Serengeti’s face drained of all color.
Yet this was the most practical way to use what we had. Had I possessed that ‘Position Swap’ authority myself, I would have trained exclusively for defense. Serengeti, by contrast, had only ever employed it offensively. She had lived a life utterly divorced from defense, preferring to toy with enemies and deceive them with agile feints—the same way she had killed Haksal. That approach wasn’t bad, but it was useless in our present situation.
“Hold until I kill the leader. Do that, and you’ll live.”
“······I shall hold with every ounce of strength I have.”
How far did the definition of a “tool” extend?
Everything except equipped gear, essentially. Which meant “this” was usable as well.
KWA-RUUUNG!
Kkae-gaeng!
Lightning crashed down amid the Warwolf pack. Confronted by the colossal monster that had suddenly appeared, the Warwolves froze in momentary panic.
Hydragon!
The ‘Soul of the Hydragon’ was also a tool. Its presence was overwhelming—yet.
Huff, huff, huff!
The Hydragon’s heads were already gasping for breath.
······So even the Hydragon’s every stat is capped at 20.
Summoned creatures seemed to fall under the same restriction. Maintaining that massive body alone made a stat of 20 laughably insufficient. At best it could serve as a totem for intimidation. Still, that alone was enough.
Puk!
Seizing the brief chaos, Serengeti finished off the Warwolf leader she had swapped places with.
Keung?
Keong-keong!
With their leader dead, the Warwolf pack plunged into confusion. The perfect chance to wipe them out.
Ag-jak!
I pulled out the Corpse Crow’s core and swallowed it.
Tuduk, tudududuk!
My form shifted in an instant; I became a Corpse Crow. This, too, counted as a “tool,” so it was permitted.
And if my guess was correct—
······I can use the Corpse Crow’s skills.
Strictly speaking, becoming the Corpse Crow King and using its skills was no different from consuming the core and activating the skills engraved upon it. That was why the skills vanished the moment I returned to human form. Therefore, the skills were usable.
Furthermore—
King of the Dead
Dominates the soul of the Warwolf leader.
The skill I had stolen with Gingoa was usable as well. I poured a soul into the Warwolf leader and raised it. My stats were so low that a single undead was the limit—yet.
The Warwolf leader’s dominion has been strengthened.
Keung-keung?
Auuuuuu!
The Warwolves gathered around their leader. Hostility—none.
Honestly, I had been half-skeptical. I never truly believed this would work.
······It works.
O faithless ones.
Demigod.
An absolute being who designed dungeons and imposed trials. Though only his will remained after death, across the long ages no one had ever cleared this dungeon.
Because there was no faith.
Because they could not trust one another.
Even the exacting entry conditions he had set changed nothing. Humans could never overcome desire. They were forever swayed by the instinct to trample others and climb higher.
Humans truly are foolish.
The will shook its head. It had watched humanity for ages and found no hope in them. No matter how much time passed, humans never changed. They were too foolish even to overcome a single trial he had painstakingly crafted.
These challengers would be no different.
······How dare they.
Yet this group was slightly different from those before. From the moment of entry they had erased one of the four propositions he had laid down. He had forcibly warped them to deny them preparation time, yet the man was advancing through the floors in a manner utterly contrary to the dungeon’s design.
Faith, honor, honesty.
These three were the dungeon’s core—yet once one entered, even the will itself could not intervene. Even a god who stepped inside had to obey the dungeon’s rules.
And yet.
An existence the great will itself had never anticipated had appeared—one who cleared the dungeon while ignoring the rules entirely. He transformed, raised the Warwolf leader as an undead, then steadily expanded the pack through dominion.
This zone was originally meant for companions to entrust their backs to one another and press forward together. A trial ground designed so that facing the Warwolf pack would forge their bonds!
Instead the man was simply taming the Warwolves themselves. A pack that began at twenty swelled in moments to fifty, then a hundred. He even trained them.
Countless humans had challenged this dungeon across the ages.
What kind of monster is this······!
He had never seen one like him.
Truth Game
“Alliance Leader, which dungeon was the hardest for you to clear?”
One of the Korean Alliance players gathered at the dungeon entrance asked. The man called Alliance Leader—clad in golden armor and helm—answered.
“Thunderblade Dungeon.”
“Thunderblade Dungeon—the level-11 one?”
“Right. Elite Raid Boss Monster Thunderblade. Even now the thought of it gives me chills. It was that strong.”
“But isn’t the dungeon we’re about to raid also level 11?”
The Alliance Leader gazed at the vast cave mouth. The dungeon their alliance intended to clear was the Sky Whale Dungeon—home of the Sky Whale, likewise level 11. Twenty of Korea’s elite players had gathered for the assault.
“We’re stronger now than we were then. Me, and the rest of the alliance.”
He shrugged. Compared to those days the alliance had grown tremendously. At this rate Korea would soon officially claim a major city in Pangenia.
“Ah. Then which dungeon was the absolute worst trash?”
“Worst trash dungeon? Why ask that?”
“So I can avoid it later if possible.”
A trash dungeon, was it.
Ask which was hardest and everyone would give a different answer. There were plenty of places with high difficulty, absurd entry restrictions, or fiendish clear conditions. The definition of “hard” shifted with personal experience.
But ask which was the most garbage dungeon of all, and nine out of ten would give the same reply.
“······The Demigod Trait Dungeon.”
“Ah! That one’s famous.”
“Alliance members are forbidden even to set foot there.”
“Why is it forbidden ground?”
“Because it makes people worse.”
“Makes people worse?”
When the member looked puzzled, the Alliance Leader’s face twisted. Ugly memories from the past were rising fresh.
“No human is purely good. Likewise none is purely evil. But that dungeon thoroughly magnifies only the worst parts of a person.”
“······For example?”
“The contents differ for every challenger, but when I went in they planted a fake. There was a floor that erased part of everyone’s memories and made us vote for who the fake was.”
“What happened if you voted?”
“Whoever got the most votes died. And it turned out they were all real.”
Not even a prank—something that twisted?
The dungeons bearing the name Demigod were all joint works of great beings and their “wills,” were they not?
“Insane······.”
“Four of us went in. Only I came out. Even the legendary Phantom never conquered it, so that should tell you everything.”
“There was a dungeon Phantom couldn’t conquer?”
The member’s eyes went round. Phantom was legend. Myth. No dungeon he failed to clear was supposed to exist.
That was the story, but reality differed.
“There are a few. The Demigod Trait Dungeon is one of them.”
“Well······ Phantom must be sick to death of betrayal. Ah, come to think of it, he should be challenging a party dungeon around now too, right?”
“Probably.”
Randolph—widely inferred to be Phantom’s player character. Randolph had cleared Main Quest 5, Obtain the Mystery, with a fantastical score. He had also soloed a Dimensional Rift. Players were in an uproar because of it; none of them had obtained a single reward that should have come from clearing the Rift King.
And that was not all.
Maxim was dead. The death of one of the Eight Heroes had been officially confirmed—both in reality and in Pangenia. The shockwaves were anything but small. Before long cracks would form among the players themselves, and a great wave would rise.
I have to grow as strong as possible before then.
To keep from being swept away and killed by the storm, one had to bulk up. For Korea’s players to survive they needed to found a major city in Pangenia and begin serious campaigns on both sides—Pangenia and Earth. Securing that city before the next Dimensional Rift appeared was the Alliance Leader’s plan.
Even so, they were already late compared to those racing ahead.
“Which dungeon do you think Phantom is challenging?”
“Who knows. One thing’s certain—it won’t be the Demigod Trait Dungeon.”
He was certain Phantom, who was thoroughly sick of betrayal, would never re-enter a Demigod Trait Dungeon that actively encouraged it. Anyone who knew both Phantom and the Demigod Trait Dungeon would think the same.
Grit!
The Alliance Leader ground his teeth.
Damn it. Just remembering that place leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
It really was a garbage dungeon of the highest order.
You have defeated the Floor King ‘Blue Wolf’.
Kuuuuung!
The enormous azure wolf finally toppled, announcing its death. Surrounded by more than a hundred Warwolves and subjected to a thorough gang-beating, it had no chance of holding out.
Six hours.
That was how long it had taken to clear this floor. Under normal circumstances one would have spent a full week hunting, gearing up, and only then challenging the Blue Wolf. But with the shortest-clear condition hanging over us, there had been no choice.
Besides—
I never intended to clear this place the normal way.
From the very beginning I had no intention of beating it by conventional means.
Shortest-time clear achieved.
Several Constellations of the Hall of One Hundred Constellations begin to gleam with interest.
The Constellation of the Shining Hero shows deep interest in the dungeon clear.
One by one the Constellations of the Hall of One Hundred Constellations were taking notice. It was not on the level of Main Quest 5, Obtain the Mystery, but by the time the clear finished most of them would be watching.
The Constellation of the Shining Hero, is it.
What stood out was that the Constellation of the Shining Hero was showing deep interest—not in me, but in the dungeon clear itself. A name that had never appeared even once except during Obtain the Mystery. If I continued to demonstrate a proper breakthrough, it might start showing up every time like the Constellations of Fortune or Adventure and upgrade the reward list.
Proceeding to the next floor. Everything obtained on the previous floor is reset.
Shiaaaa!
The moment we crossed the warp, the equipment we had first chosen was stripped away. Naturally the Warwolves I had dominated were all reset as well.
A place of pure, lightless darkness. Looking around I saw neither Serengeti, nor Isaac, nor Isabella. Only a few sheets of paper floating in the air and a single pen.
You have entered the Room of Truth.
Write one question you wish to ask each entered party member.
Questions are guaranteed to be anonymous.
However, the process will not begin unless every party member completes the Oath of Truth.
Oath of Truth.
A kind of contract. A document swearing that one would speak only the truth. The moment you signed your name the contract took effect; if you uttered even a single lie you would be expelled. That was what it said.
······Worst possible scenario.
Why did a Trait Dungeon need a Room of Truth at all? I had never seen this floor even when I challenged it as Wilhelm. The Demigod who designed this place truly was not right in the head.
If the entire party did not swear the oath, nothing would even begin. The instant I signed, every Hidden Trait I possessed would stop working—because I myself would have consented. There would be no method left except to speak the absolute “truth.”
In the worst case the entire party could lose all trust in me.
But if I flipped the thought—if the questions turned out to be trivial, we might simply laugh them off. For someone aiming at the shortest clear, this trial could even be pure honey.
All party members have completed the Oath of Truth.
Please write your questions now.
One question per person. I roughly jotted down three questions in total. If the other party members had done the same, everyone only needed to speak the truth three times each and the floor would clear.
How simple was that? Depending on how you looked at it, it was free real estate.
All party members have finished writing their questions.
Maintain absolute silence regarding the content of the questions you yourself wrote.
Failure to remain silent will result in expulsion from the dungeon.
Kuuung—!
With the sound of something enormous shifting, the darkness began to brighten.