Chapter 595: RPG (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 595: RPG (3)
Usually, rifts were divided into chapters. Chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four... Most of them ended at chapter four or five, but a few rifts extended to chapter seven and beyond.
Anyway, that wasn't what was important.
That means the city defense just now was chapter one.
I could take the moment of me waking up as mercenary Bjorn Yandel and fighting the monsters as chapter one. However, the important part here...
Maybe this is similar to Doppelganger's Forest.
The fourth-floor rift, Doppelganger's Forest. As soon as you entered that area, you were stuck in a prison and only able to progress through chapter one after two more teams entered the rift. The three different teams, all from their own unique start points, needed to clear chapter one to proceed to chapter two.
The labyrinth we had just entered was probably of the same type.
"I started in some countryside village. An army was moving through the place."
The chapter one Erwen experienced was different from mine. It seemed that she was also on a battlefield as soon as she woke up, but it wasn't a chapter like mine where she needed to fight a bunch of monsters.
"Ten percent of my usual strength... No, I might have gotten even weaker than that."
Having been affected by an absurd level of debuff from the very beginning, Erwen was barely able to escape the village with the help of a few NPCs.
"We were running up the small mountain, and the monsters kept appearing. But for some reason, even though they attacked the soldiers that were following me, they didn't attack me."
Thankfully, it seemed that she received something other than the debuff as well.
"In any case, after running while being chased like that, I arrived in this cave. I got in and hid myself...but in the end, one knight found me."
"Wait, did the knight or soldiers have this insignia on their chest?"
Before we continued with the conversation, I drew the mark of the empire, and Erwen nodded. "Yes! That was it!"
I sighed. These imperials always got themselves into trouble. "Got it. Continue. What happened after the knight found you?"
"I thought I was going to die, but he said he wasn't here to harm me and that I could relax."
The knight personally introduced himself as her older brother's friend. He then handed her a compass and told her if she followed it through the cave, she would be able to reunite with her older brother.
"He said that he wanted to go with me, but he couldn't and that if I waited for a few days, someone would come to save me."
That was all Erwen experienced in her first chapter. Right after the knight finished speaking, her vision turned to black before she could respond.
"After that, I suddenly felt a presence next to me, so... S-sorry."
"No. It's right that you tried to stab it since you didn't know what was there."
"Uh...i-is that so?"
"Good job." I gave her a part on the head as I said it, and Erwen gave a bright smile in return. It was an unconscious action I had taken, but for some reason, I felt a little guilty inside as I looked at her young face. It felt like I had become a big, bad barbarian who had taught something naughty to a young child.
"...In any case," I continued, "can you show me the compass you got from the knight?"
"Here." Erwen handed the compass over to me.
So we just need to keep going in this direction...
There was a high likelihood that was the case, but before we began moving, I checked Erwen's condition first.
Looks like she's lost all her equipment...
While I still had my Demon Grinder, Wall of Aegis, and all the other items I already had on me, Erwen had nothing.
"I can use my essences and my spirits...but it's difficult for me to use them at the same level as before."
She was completely lacking in MP, only about 10 percent of her original amount if our rudimentary experimentation was anything to go by. Chaos Circuit was the one thing I still held out some hope for, but Erwen hadn't been able to confirm it yet.
"I thought I would be in big trouble if I got hit by its recoil in that situation, so I controlled it as much as I could while I ran away."
Chaos Circuit would activate when she used all her resources. While it was active, she would practically have infinite MP for one minute, and if she used both Concentrated Fire and summoned the Elemental Ruler to attack in that state, she could dish out an impressive amount of damage.
...Still, even if she fully charged the attack, it would only be 10 percent of her usual damage.
Ignoring the MP, with her lowered stats, her damage would also be lower even if she charged for the same amount of time. Even then, though, she would be stronger than most ranged damage dealers.
I think we should save this for a potential worst-case scenario...
Through more research and investigation, we found another characteristic of her form other than not being attacked first by monsters.
"U-ugh...!"
Her wounds didn't recover. It wasn't simply because her Natural Regeneration rate decreased due to a decrease in stats, not when potions worked regardless of stats.
Pshhhh!
Her skin recovered so slowly that it was hard to believe a potion had been poured on her.
This is a bit of a problem...
What would happen if she got stabbed in a vital spot in this state? Just imagining it was terrifying.
"Erwen, you are now forbidden from fighting. Got it?"
"...What?"
"I'll protect you no matter what happens, so just trust me and follow me without question."
"Ah...! Okay!"
Alright, let's begin chapter two.
***
Step, step.
After leaving the cave entrance that was blocked by a barrier, we continued to follow the way the compass was pointing us deeper into the cave.
While walking, I did notice something that I had honestly thought about from the cave entrance.
"Mister, I think this place..."
"Looks like the first-floor Crystal Cave, right?"
"Yes."
There were still a few points of difference, one being that there were no monsters in the cave. Thanks to that, we were moving much more comfortably than I anticipated. Of course, that was just my body—my heart was in a constant state of unease.
I'm gonna lose my mind because nothing is happening...
Time continued to pass without anything happening, and eventually, my focus and vigilance began to crumble away every time I tried to bolster them. I started to just let my thoughts wander as we walked straight ahead.
So we just need to keep going in this direction...
There was a high likelihood that was the case, but before we began moving, I checked Erwen's condition first.
Looks like she's lost all her equipment...
While I still had my Demon Grinder, Wall of Aegis, and all the other items I already had on me, Erwen had nothing.
"I can use my essences and my spirits...but it's difficult for me to use them at the same level as before."
She was completely lacking in MP, only about 10 percent of her original amount if our rudimentary experimentation was anything to go by. Chaos Circuit was the one thing I still held out some hope for, but Erwen hadn't been able to confirm it yet.
"I thought I would be in big trouble if I got hit by its recoil in that situation, so I controlled it as much as I could while I ran away."
Chaos Circuit would activate when she used all her resources. While it was active, she would practically have infinite MP for one minute, and if she used both Concentrated Fire and summoned the Elemental Ruler to attack in that state, she could dish out an impressive amount of damage.
...Still, even if she fully charged the attack, it would only be 10 percent of her usual damage.
Ignoring the MP, with her lowered stats, her damage would also be lower even if she charged for the same amount of time. Even then, though, she would be stronger than most ranged damage dealers.
I think we should save this for a potential worst-case scenario...
Through more research and investigation, we found another characteristic of her form other than not being attacked first by monsters.
"U-ugh...!"
Her wounds didn't recover. It wasn't simply because her Natural Regeneration rate decreased due to a decrease in stats, not when potions worked regardless of stats.
Pshhhh!
Her skin recovered so slowly that it was hard to believe a potion had been poured on her.
This is a bit of a problem...
What would happen if she got stabbed in a vital spot in this state? Just imagining it was terrifying.
"Erwen, you are now forbidden from fighting. Got it?"
"...What?"
"I'll protect you no matter what happens, so just trust me and follow me without question."
"Ah...! Okay!"
Alright, let's begin chapter two.
***
Step, step.
After leaving the cave entrance that was blocked by a barrier, we continued to follow the way the compass was pointing us deeper into the cave.
While walking, I did notice something that I had honestly thought about from the cave entrance.
"Mister, I think this place..."
"Looks like the first-floor Crystal Cave, right?"
"Yes."
There were still a few points of difference, one being that there were no monsters in the cave. Thanks to that, we were moving much more comfortably than I anticipated. Of course, that was just my body—my heart was in a constant state of unease.
I'm gonna lose my mind because nothing is happening...
Time continued to pass without anything happening, and eventually, my focus and vigilance began to crumble away every time I tried to bolster them. I started to just let my thoughts wander as we walked straight ahead.
It's odd...
I had received adventuring lessons from Rotmiller. It may sound obvious, but that guy was serious about speedrunning and had researched the first-floor Crystal Cave the most out of all of us, and it was thanks to his knowledge that my information about the Crystal Cave was pretty robust as well. To show off a bit, I could touch the wall here, and depending on the small differences in sensation there, I could tell almost exactly where I was in the cave.
That was why a question arose in my mind.
Isn't the structure a little different from the labyrinth?
I estimated that the place we were currently in was near the Land of the Dead. However, Erwen had said something, that the place she started in wasn't the Land of the Dead but just an ordinary village. Then where did that change start?
Does that mean after some time passes...that village will turn into the Land of the Dead?
Hmm, it didn't sound like a nonsensical theory. One of the characteristics of the Land of the Dead was that there were many remnants of stone buildings half-buried in the black ground.
"...This is interesting," I mused aloud.
"Pardon?"
"The place the compass is pointing to is west in relation to the Crystal Cave, in the direction of the Rock Desert.
"Eh? So?" Erwen seemed confused about what the problem was.
That was the normal reaction, yet still, I said, "I'm just a little curious about what the other places are like."
For some reason, just like in chapter one, I had a feeling that the moment we found the exit here, we would be transported to the next chapter. When that happened, we would never be able to confirm the structure of chapter two.
"What do you mean...other places?"
"I've got a feeling that something is hidden in the central area. I'm also curious what the other exits are like."
"I guess... Your desire for exploration has always been pretty strong, right?"
Rather than a desire for exploration, I was just greedy. A reward could be hidden there, right? If I hadn't tried to gather information during chapter one, I would have gone around all over the place to take a look.
"Hmm, can't we go check them, then?"
"But if there's nothing there, we would've only wasted time," Erwen protested.
"But isn't that what exploration is like in the first place...?"
"Uh...that's true."
Honestly, I had already decided on it anyway, so I immediately turned our trajectory toward the center of the cave.
"So this is the place? Where that monument is supposed to be..."
The center of the cave, also known as where the Monument of Gabrielius was supposed to be, and where the witch's altar was supposed to be in the Pilgrim's Cave.
"Just looking at its structure, I think we're in the right place, but there is nothing here."
Tsk, was this just a waste of time? I thought, then continued to say, "Still, I'm a little disappointed coming all the way here, so let's take a look around—"
At that moment, Erwen flinched. "Um...Mister? I can feel...something weird."
"You can feel something?"
"It's approaching us...! From there!" Erwen pointed at a wall.
I didn't doubt her information.
"Get behind me. Quickly!"
It's odd...
I had received adventuring lessons from Rotmiller. It may sound obvious, but that guy was serious about speedrunning and had researched the first-floor Crystal Cave the most out of all of us, and it was thanks to his knowledge that my information about the Crystal Cave was pretty robust as well. To show off a bit, I could touch the wall here, and depending on the small differences in sensation there, I could tell almost exactly where I was in the cave.
That was why a question arose in my mind.
Isn't the structure a little different from the labyrinth?
I estimated that the place we were currently in was near the Land of the Dead. However, Erwen had said something, that the place she started in wasn't the Land of the Dead but just an ordinary village. Then where did that change start?
Does that mean after some time passes...that village will turn into the Land of the Dead?
Hmm, it didn't sound like a nonsensical theory. One of the characteristics of the Land of the Dead was that there were many remnants of stone buildings half-buried in the black ground.
"...This is interesting," I mused aloud.
"Pardon?"
"The place the compass is pointing to is west in relation to the Crystal Cave, in the direction of the Rock Desert.
"Eh? So?" Erwen seemed confused about what the problem was.
That was the normal reaction, yet still, I said, "I'm just a little curious about what the other places are like."
For some reason, just like in chapter one, I had a feeling that the moment we found the exit here, we would be transported to the next chapter. When that happened, we would never be able to confirm the structure of chapter two.
"What do you mean...other places?"
"I've got a feeling that something is hidden in the central area. I'm also curious what the other exits are like."
"I guess... Your desire for exploration has always been pretty strong, right?"
Rather than a desire for exploration, I was just greedy. A reward could be hidden there, right? If I hadn't tried to gather information during chapter one, I would have gone around all over the place to take a look.
"Hmm, can't we go check them, then?"
"But if there's nothing there, we would've only wasted time," Erwen protested.
"But isn't that what exploration is like in the first place...?"
"Uh...that's true."
Honestly, I had already decided on it anyway, so I immediately turned our trajectory toward the center of the cave.
"So this is the place? Where that monument is supposed to be..."
The center of the cave, also known as where the Monument of Gabrielius was supposed to be, and where the witch's altar was supposed to be in the Pilgrim's Cave.
"Just looking at its structure, I think we're in the right place, but there is nothing here."
Tsk, was this just a waste of time? I thought, then continued to say, "Still, I'm a little disappointed coming all the way here, so let's take a look around—"
At that moment, Erwen flinched. "Um...Mister? I can feel...something weird."
"You can feel something?"
"It's approaching us...! From there!" Erwen pointed at a wall.
I didn't doubt her information.
"Get behind me. Quickly!"
After putting Erwen behind me, I took on a battle stance and kept watch of the wall.
Pyong!
Instead of a raging storm to assault us, a translucent figure peaked through the wall before slowly turning left and right. When our eyes met, I was struck speechless.
"...Hamsick?"
What the hell are you doing here?
Black eyes, twitching ears. An elongated mouth and a protruding front tooth. Beige-colored fur that looked smooth to the touch, and a round and pink belly. Even those cute, short arms.
It looked like Hamsick no matter how I looked at it. However...
"Ham...sick?"
The pressure I could feel from it and the way it spoke confused me.
"Sure, it seems those mortals have given me such an unflattering name..."
The level of killing intent made a chill go down my spine. Sensing that, I had to accept it.
This creature in front of me was completely different from Hamsick.
"...Who are you?" I asked warily.
"I didn't allow one such as yourself to ask me questions." Hamsick coldly batted away my question before it locked eyes with Erwen. "Human girl, do you know the fate you possess?"
"Who...are you?"
When Erwen asked the question, it answered a bit more kindly than it did to mine. "I am a being that could help you or harm you. Pitiful creature."
After staring down at Erwen, Hamsick fully left the wall and walked toward us. It was looking at us with cold, dangerous eyes while emitting a similar aura, but the way it walked up was just like how Hamsick would walk.
Maybe there was a limit to how the body could move?
As I seriously contemplated that question, Hamsick spoke with an imposing voice and relayed some important information.
"Human girl, the moment you are captured by your pursuers, a terrible disaster will befall the world. However..."
"...However?"
"If you die here by my hands, the world will be maintained."
It spoke as if there was a choice to be made here, but anyone could guess from looking at the eyes of Hamsick. This guy had already made the choice.
Damn it.
I came here expecting something to pop up, but I never expected it to be a hidden boss.
"You are sinless. You may resent me—"
I cut off Hamsick's words in the middle of its mumbling. There was no point listening to it anymore. It also didn't matter if this was Hamsick before it lost its memories, or if it was one of Hamsick's parents.
Fwoosh!
I swung my hammer around and blocked the way. "Hey, how about you stop trying to look so menacing in that cute body of yours?"
"C-cute... Me?" Hamsick started to shake as if it had been insulted. "Squeak! A mere mortal! You are impudent!"
And with that, the hidden boss battle began.
***
In summary, Hamsick was strong, around the level of a rank three monster. It was at least around the mid-level among the rank three monsters.
"Squeak! Let go! Let go of me...!"
However, Hamsick had a fatal weakness. Although its resistances and regeneration were both high, it had a long casting time and each skill it used dealt low damage even though they could hit a wide area. In short, its skillset was specialized for farming.
I might have lacked damage if I tried to fight with the shield barbarian...
Thanks to becoming a hammer barbarian after being promoted to a mercenary, I was able to get past all of Hamsick's defenses to overpower it.
Ah, of course, the reason this result was even possible was thanks to Erwen. Even while under that absurd debuff of hers, she was able to carry her own weight while using Chaos Circuit.
How does she do more damage than me in that state...?
"...Mister! Are you alright?"
After we successfully suppressed Hamsick, Erwen ran up to me while panting.
Due to my low defense stats, my body was in a total mess. However, through the intense battle, I realized something.
"I'm fine. I don't have any serious injuries."
Precisely speaking, my serious injuries had already healed up. But for some reason, my regeneration rate decreased after a few injuries healed.
Looks like there's a mechanic here where I regenerate more the more hurt I am.
It seemed that the status condition I was under didn't simply increase my attack power and decrease my defense.
I guess this mechanic will match nicely with Heroic Path.
In any case, that feedback loop wasn't what I needed to focus on in the instant.
"Hamsick."
"My name isn't Hamsick—!"
"Hamsick."
"...What do you want, mortal?!"
"What's this?"
As I took out a small marble, Hamsick's eyes went round. "H-how did you—?!"
What do you mean, how did I?
After it was knocked unconscious just then, I went through its belly pouch and found this inside it.
"Don't think about that, just answer my question," I advised. "What is this?"
Hamsick went silent.
You know, I haven't said anything about your Miranda Rights or anything like that.
"If you're not going to talk, I'm just going to take it."
I had tried to gently pry some information from it, but Hamsick didn't say anything this time either. Maybe it was something it treasured a lot?
"Answer me." When it still didn't respond, I demanded, "You're not going to?"
It then quietly mumbled with a sorrowful tone, "I was going to give it to you originally..."
Hearing how dejected it sounded, I was lost for words.
"After testing you, if I came to the conclusion that you wouldn't die easily...I was going to give this to you then...!"
What the hell? As a gamer who had encountered all sorts of nonsense in my life, I got quite bewildered.
"Why do I have to endure such humiliation like this...?!"
Was just beating it up not the answer?
After putting Erwen behind me, I took on a battle stance and kept watch of the wall.
Pyong!
Instead of a raging storm to assault us, a translucent figure peaked through the wall before slowly turning left and right. When our eyes met, I was struck speechless.
"...Hamsick?"
What the hell are you doing here?
Black eyes, twitching ears. An elongated mouth and a protruding front tooth. Beige-colored fur that looked smooth to the touch, and a round and pink belly. Even those cute, short arms.
It looked like Hamsick no matter how I looked at it. However...
"Ham...sick?"
The pressure I could feel from it and the way it spoke confused me.
"Sure, it seems those mortals have given me such an unflattering name..."
The level of killing intent made a chill go down my spine. Sensing that, I had to accept it.
This creature in front of me was completely different from Hamsick.
"...Who are you?" I asked warily.
"I didn't allow one such as yourself to ask me questions." Hamsick coldly batted away my question before it locked eyes with Erwen. "Human girl, do you know the fate you possess?"
"Who...are you?"
When Erwen asked the question, it answered a bit more kindly than it did to mine. "I am a being that could help you or harm you. Pitiful creature."
After staring down at Erwen, Hamsick fully left the wall and walked toward us. It was looking at us with cold, dangerous eyes while emitting a similar aura, but the way it walked up was just like how Hamsick would walk.
Maybe there was a limit to how the body could move?
As I seriously contemplated that question, Hamsick spoke with an imposing voice and relayed some important information.
"Human girl, the moment you are captured by your pursuers, a terrible disaster will befall the world. However..."
"...However?"
"If you die here by my hands, the world will be maintained."
It spoke as if there was a choice to be made here, but anyone could guess from looking at the eyes of Hamsick. This guy had already made the choice.
Damn it.
I came here expecting something to pop up, but I never expected it to be a hidden boss.
"You are sinless. You may resent me—"
I cut off Hamsick's words in the middle of its mumbling. There was no point listening to it anymore. It also didn't matter if this was Hamsick before it lost its memories, or if it was one of Hamsick's parents.
Fwoosh!
I swung my hammer around and blocked the way. "Hey, how about you stop trying to look so menacing in that cute body of yours?"
"C-cute... Me?" Hamsick started to shake as if it had been insulted. "Squeak! A mere mortal! You are impudent!"
And with that, the hidden boss battle began.
***
In summary, Hamsick was strong, around the level of a rank three monster. It was at least around the mid-level among the rank three monsters.
"Squeak! Let go! Let go of me...!"
However, Hamsick had a fatal weakness. Although its resistances and regeneration were both high, it had a long casting time and each skill it used dealt low damage even though they could hit a wide area. In short, its skillset was specialized for farming.
I might have lacked damage if I tried to fight with the shield barbarian...
Thanks to becoming a hammer barbarian after being promoted to a mercenary, I was able to get past all of Hamsick's defenses to overpower it.
Ah, of course, the reason this result was even possible was thanks to Erwen. Even while under that absurd debuff of hers, she was able to carry her own weight while using Chaos Circuit.
How does she do more damage than me in that state...?
"...Mister! Are you alright?"
After we successfully suppressed Hamsick, Erwen ran up to me while panting.
Due to my low defense stats, my body was in a total mess. However, through the intense battle, I realized something.
"I'm fine. I don't have any serious injuries."
Precisely speaking, my serious injuries had already healed up. But for some reason, my regeneration rate decreased after a few injuries healed.
Looks like there's a mechanic here where I regenerate more the more hurt I am.
It seemed that the status condition I was under didn't simply increase my attack power and decrease my defense.
I guess this mechanic will match nicely with Heroic Path.
In any case, that feedback loop wasn't what I needed to focus on in the instant.
"Hamsick."
"My name isn't Hamsick—!"
"Hamsick."
"...What do you want, mortal?!"
"What's this?"
As I took out a small marble, Hamsick's eyes went round. "H-how did you—?!"
What do you mean, how did I?
After it was knocked unconscious just then, I went through its belly pouch and found this inside it.
"Don't think about that, just answer my question," I advised. "What is this?"
Hamsick went silent.
You know, I haven't said anything about your Miranda Rights or anything like that.
"If you're not going to talk, I'm just going to take it."
I had tried to gently pry some information from it, but Hamsick didn't say anything this time either. Maybe it was something it treasured a lot?
"Answer me." When it still didn't respond, I demanded, "You're not going to?"
It then quietly mumbled with a sorrowful tone, "I was going to give it to you originally..."
Hearing how dejected it sounded, I was lost for words.
"After testing you, if I came to the conclusion that you wouldn't die easily...I was going to give this to you then...!"
What the hell? As a gamer who had encountered all sorts of nonsense in my life, I got quite bewildered.
"Why do I have to endure such humiliation like this...?!"
Was just beating it up not the answer?