Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Hell Gate
Thud…
Thud…
“Is it really going the right way?”
“We’re almost there.”
When the Dungeon Core is activated, mana flows into the dungeon. This mana is used to activate and utilize the dungeon’s basic facilities.
Expanding or reinforcing the dungeon requires more mana, which is replenished by unlocking those basic facilities accordingly.
The basic facilities are truly the alpha and omega of the dungeon.
Right after activating the Dungeon Core, most facilities are locked except for the heart chamber where the core resides—except for one facility that’s unlocked from the start.
“This is it.”
“……”
“There’s a Hell Gate sealed here.”
The Hell Gate.
In Remegaton, the summoning altar—practically the reason gacha games exist—takes the form of the Hell Gate.
A space connected directly below the heart chamber. Mana flowing from the upper spaces poured into the dark room, heading toward the object known as the Hell Gate.
Whooooosh…
The actual form of the Hell Gate was bizarre.
‘Should I say it looks just like in the game?’
The firmly sealed Hell Gate.
An ominous aura seeped from its cracks, and even the thickness of one door panel was extraordinary. It was wrapped tightly in chains, and at the top of the door dangled a crowned skull.
The skull lifted its drooping head and spoke toward me and Lucifer.
“Ooo… Is this the sound of a contractor after so long?”
“…A skull?”
Lucifer tilted her head as if seeing the skull attached to the Hell Gate for the first time.
‘Of course. The Hell Gate Faust first obtains isn’t an ordinary one.’
Clatter…
“Ahhh! Demons! I smell demons.”
“…Pardon me, but who are you?”
“This one? You dare ask who this one is!”
“That’s right.”
“This one is…”
The skull trembled, then tilted its head.
“Who was I again?”
“……”
“My memories… I can’t remember.”
Lucifer sighed at the remark, which was no different from idle banter.
Among those present, only I knew the identity of that skull.
‘The skull of the ancient demon tribe, Aje Rup.’
The Hell Gate that Faust obtains.
The skull imprinted on it contains the soul of the ancient demon Aje Rup.
This is revealed later as the main episodes progress.
‘Well, that’s not important right now. I don’t care if it’s Aje Rup or whatever.’
Clack clack…
“It feels like I almost remember… Do you know who this one is?”
“No idea. Or why you’re stuck there.”
“This is troubling, most troubling!”
Dissatisfied with Lucifer’s answer, Aje Rup grumbled curtly.
If I gave it time for a monologue, it’d ramble on forever.
“Fulfill your duty, undead.”
“Undead… Heh heh… Not wrong. Duty? Fine! First, the imprinting.”
The skull’s empty eye sockets glowed.
“Place your hand on the door, fledgling demon.”
…It saw right through me being a fledgling.
Anyway, I placed my hand on the Hell Gate as instructed.
Prick…
‘Ugh…’
Something like needles pierced all five fingers at once.
Drip…
My blood trickled down the Hell Gate.
The blood flowed downward in the exact shape of my fingers.
[Hell Gate imprinting ritual completed.]
[The imprinted Hell Gate will use your offerings to seek out all sorts of monsters and treasures, bringing them before you.]
[Beings that crave your offerings will claim to be your familiars, and dangerous artifacts will be drawn by the power of the offerings to appear before you.]
[If you’re lucky, it might even find a demon from the deep hells below, bored enough to answer your call. It’s an extremely rare probability, but definitely possible.]
[Tip: Dungeon operations and combat consist of not just familiars, but various other elements.]
The Hell Gate normally offers two types, but during pickups, the varieties increase.
‘It’s unified to one right now since it’s the tutorial.’
Now that the imprinting was done, it was time for the gacha… the pull.
With Faust’s body burdened by the sloth debuff, unlocking all basic facilities would take forever, so from now on, familiars had to do the heavy lifting.
“Lucifer, the mana stones.”
“Yes.”
As Lucifer placed the chest of mana stones on the altar near the Hell Gate, the energy from the stones began getting sucked into the skull’s hollow nose.
Whooooosh…
“Fine mana stones. Good, I’ll lend my power. I’ll bring forth ones suited to you.”
The skull started chattering noisily from the get-go.
‘Is that what five years gets you?’
A five-pull.
The single pull, commonly called single gacha, and the ten-pull—known as the flower of most mobile games—make up all of gacha, but in the tutorial, a five-consecutive pull was possible.
The reason ties into what happens next.
“Ooo… Found them! I found them! Loyal minions just for you!”
Rumble rumble rumble…
Green energy swirled in the skull’s eye sockets.
Green.
Meaning the highest rarity in five pulls was a measly 2-star.
For Remegaton’s gacha, tiered from 1 to 6 stars, it was a massive flop, but it was the tutorial after all.
The familiars were predetermined by the developers.
Vrrring…
[★ Summoning Goblin Grunt.]
[★ Summoning Goblin Slinger.]
[★ Search successful: Sturdy Stone Basket.]
[★ Search successful: Rusty Short Spear.]
……
The Hell Gate didn’t budge as it emitted light, spitting out the little ones and items.
All gray-colored kids and goods.
1-star stuff.
Ssshh…
[★★ Summoning Goblin Brawler.]
A more burly goblin than the previous ones was summoned with crude effects.
Lucifer frowned and said,
“The mana stones… such a waste on these.”
Whether taking it as praise, the goblins grinned.
“Kerrk…”
“Kerrrk…”
“Keeheek…”
Lucifer glanced at me, but this setup was fixed from the start.
Three as one.
The tutorial’s hopeless trio: Big Go, Second Go, Third Go brothers.
I could’ve given them more creative names, but since they’re never used after the tutorial, no such effort was made, as I recall.
Clack clack…
“Uh… Um…”
“……”
The skull embarrassingly turned its head.
“The supplied mana wasn’t enough yet… Couldn’t even peek into hell with these eyes.”
“……”
“S-so hurry and supply more mana to me! This is the apocalypse brought by your laziness!”
Lucifer glared fiercely and said,
“How dare you speak to Lord Faust that way…”
Hey, no fighting.
It’s all following the scenario anyway.
Swish…
I raised one hand to halt her.
“Enough.”
“Lord Faust.”
“The skull speaks truth, it seems. Is there a way to increase the mana supply to the Hell Gate?”
Ssshh…
Lucifer closed her eyes and faithfully followed my order.
When her eyelids met, she shone with a new allure. Being the impassive Faust, I felt only the thrill of admiring a fine view.
“…Found it.”
“Close?”
“Not far from the heart chamber. But…”
I know.
It’s uncharted territory.
…And that’s exactly why this hopeless trio appears.
“Let’s go. Time is of the essence.”
“…Yes.”
After hurrying back to the heart chamber, I sent the goblins toward the uncharted mana geyser.
The Goblin Slinger took the rear, the other two the front, forming a proper formation as they moved.
As they entered the uncharted area, tutorial messages appeared.
[Familiars head to the mana geyser, an uncharted area.]
[Successfully charting the mana geyser fully allows construction of a mana production site.]
[Tip: Combat is carried out by the familiars’ abilities and will.]
Reading the tip, one might feel a twinge of worry.
‘So, just how competent is familiar autonomous combat here?’
A crucial point.
Long-term, better autonomous combat from familiars means higher survival for me.
“Kerrrk…”
“Kerk…”
The goblin brothers advanced, eyes on the front. I watched via the projections from the Dungeon Core.
-Squeak-!
-Squeeeeak-!
Something spotted.
‘Plague rats.’
Plague rats shrieking upon discovering the goblin brothers.
Sable-sized, with razor-sharp teeth—utterly vicious.
‘Still, they’re just bottom of the rotten root dungeon food chain.’
“Kerrwk!”
Pooow-!
The Goblin Brawler’s fist was merciless.
A gruesome shriek erupted in an instant.
-Squeak…
One punch shattered ribs, making the plague rat stagger back.
“Keeeeshik!”
Pooow-!
The nearby Grunt swung its club, smashing the staggering plague rat’s skull.
No need for the Slinger; the pack was methodically cleared.
As long as it wasn’t a huge swarm, these three could handle home cleaning with ease.
Fitting for the tutorial—going smoothly.
But too early to relax.
‘Need to check irregular situations too.’
Vrrring…
Crimson energy gathered on the Goblin Brawler’s fist.
[Goblin Brawler’s Flashing Fist activates.]
[Goblin Brawler’s next strike is guaranteed critical hit.]
As a 2-star familiar, the Goblin Brawler had a decent skill.
And it wasn’t me who used it.
The familiar’s own will.
‘…Not bad.’
Pooow-!
Even in tutorial, irregular patterns start popping up around now.
-Squeeeeak!
Right on cue, something leaped from an unseen blind spot.
‘As expected!’
A plague bat diving from the air.
Sudden ambush pattern.
But the Goblin Slinger had its eyes wide open, watching.
Squeeee-!
Pooooow!
Perfect hit.
-Squeee!
[Tip: Flying enemies take critically increased damage from projectiles.]
The tutorial steadily educating.
‘Alright, what’s the next pattern?’
-Squeak!
-Squeeee…
-Sque…
No waiting needed; two plague rats and one plague bat appeared simultaneously.
Moreover, one plague rat was twice the size of the others.
‘Tutorial ends here.’
The final hurdle of familiar tutorial.
Boss fight.
[Tip: Among enemies entering the dungeon, some individuals exert greater power than others.]
Just a slightly bigger plague rat now, but later adventurers or stronger monsters will appear.
No time for deliberation. Just follow the predetermined path.
I could only watch if the goblin brothers could execute my battle plan.
Squeee-!
The Slinger’s projectile flew at the plague bat.
Priority target sniped perfectly.
Splaatt-!
-Squeeeeak!
The plague bat dropped at battle start, and the Slinger rummaged for another stone.
Meanwhile, the Goblin Brawler clashed with the giant plague rat.
Pooow-!
Kwachik!
‘Grazed!?’
The giant plague rat’s claws grazed the Brawler’s shoulder.
[Goblin Brawler infected with foul plague.]
Not fatal.
Plague can be treated after charting upon return.
‘Now, Grunt blocks the other plague rat’s intervention.’
Sure enough, the Grunt independently blocked the remaining plague rat’s path.
Shiiik…
Poof!
-Kk…
Branching point here.
Slinger had one shot left.
Vrrring…
The Slinger’s hand turned red.
[Goblin Slinger uses Skull Aim.]
[Inflicting 5+ damage to beast-type enemies stuns them.]
A virtually useless ability for the Goblin Slinger, limited by type and conditions.
But in tutorial, its effect was decent.
Squeee-!
Bzzzt-!
The giant plague rat struck by the Slinger’s attack staggered.
-Keeeeeak!
The Brawler charged at that moment.
“Kerrruuuk!”
Pooooow-!
-Squeeeeeeak!
With a grotesque shriek, the giant plague rat fell.
[Tip: Goblin Brawler inflicts critical hits on stunned enemies.]
Tip message popping up.
I knew that already.
With the giant plague rat rolling over eyes-up, the battle seemed finished.
-Keek…
The last plague rat fell.
[All threats in the mana geyser eliminated.]
[Charting the mana geyser.]
[All spoils belong to the dungeon: Rotten Roots.]
[Mana production site construction now possible.]
Vrrrrring…
[Mana production site construction complete.]
[Assigning labor to mana production site enables more efficient production.]
[Current mana production: 100/200]
[Tip: Most basic facilities yield better results when supplied with appropriate labor.]
‘Well… tutorial’s over, I guess.’
[Mana production site complete; sufficient mana supplied to Hell Gate.]
Mana production site was just the geyser renamed, flow redirected to Hell Gate.
Visually almost no difference, but it felt like something was done.
“Lucifer.”
“Then…”
“Yeah.”
While the battle-worn goblins returned, Lucifer and I headed to the Hell Gate.
Clack clack…
Aje Rup’s skull, connected to the Hell Gate, welcomed me—no, the mana.
“Ooo… This is it, this power! This mana! You’ve done splendidly!”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. That mana is solely for Lord Faust’s well-being.”
“Bwahahaha! Whatever. So… what do you want?”
The tutorial boss, the giant plague rat.
A reward was due, naturally.
It spits out what’s probably the most valuable resource in all of Remegaton.
“Lucifer, that.”
“Yes.”
Whooo…
A iridescent rainbow mana stone.
Commonly called a Demon Stone.
Something players can never obtain unless it’s tutorial or a massive dev mistake as reward.
“…That’s.”
“Yeah.”
“This… is fun. Kuhahaha!”
The crowned skull burst into mad laughter.
“You want me scouring the depths of hell?”
The Demon Stone summons one of Remegaton’s 72 demons—the highest 6-star grade…
A guaranteed pull of one with six-star potential.
Swish…
Placing the Demon Stone on the altar, I gave a warning that was more warning.
“Make it worth it for once.”
Aje Rup’s skull flashed with fierce eyes and said,
“So I shall.”
Fwooooong…
Aje Rup absorbed the Demon Stone’s energy.
Zzzzzzzzt…
An overwhelming rainbow light identical to the stone burst from the skull’s eye sockets.
“Aa… Aaaaaa! Uwaaaaa!”
Thud…
Ruuuumble…
Vibrations came from beyond the Hell Gate.
…Something was crossing through that door.