Chapter 847: The 5.5th Floor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 847: The 5.5th Floor
“I haven’t seen it myself, so I can’t be certain, but I’ve heard rumors that a similar pattern exists in the place where the 6th Floor’s Floor Boss resides.”
As Duke spoke, he pointed to a wall where a small but distinct, picture-like engraving seemed to be carved.
Up until now, there had never been anything like this in the passages between floors, so I must have overlooked it. But Duke, true to his veteran Adventurer nature, seemed to have kept his guard up even in the passage, meticulously searching his surroundings.
Anyway, a pattern similar to one found in the 6th Floor’s Floor Boss’s lair, of all places, must mean something. It must be a clue to descending to the next floor.
In other words, I wouldn’t have to suffer through that hell again, searching for a special male specimen!
“You son of a…! Well done…!”
Unexpectedly regaining hope, I intended to embrace Duke to express my gratitude before examining the pattern.
Normally, hugging a sweaty man’s body would be unthinkable for me, but that just showed how desperate the situation was.
Thwack.
However, Duke blocked my forehead with his palm as I approached with open arms, shaking his head with an expression more stern, solemn, and serious than when confronting a pervert harassing a woman.
“Please refrain from such actions in your current state.”
His expression was as solemn as a father sacrificing himself in a storm to protect his alien son’s secret, which only served to unnecessarily infuriate me further.
Wham!
“Guh-ooh-ooh…”
Phew. That feels a little better.
Until now, I couldn’t act so rashly, not knowing when a battle might break out, but now that we were in one of the Dungeon’s few perfect safe zones, I could punish him as much as I wanted.
After landing a clean hit on his jaw, I decided to examine the pattern on the wall.
Perhaps due to the overall gloom of the 6th Floor, the passage we were in was particularly dark.
It was so dark that it was hard to make out the details of the pattern with the naked eye.
How did this Duke guy even find something like this? Well, I guess that’s what makes him a veteran Adventurer.
While I could technically be considered a veteran Adventurer myself, given the floors I’d cleared, our party had grown rapidly based on overwhelming stats. It was true that we lacked in such meticulousness compared to Adventurers who had steadily progressed through the Dungeon.
Anyway, since it was hard to see the pattern with the naked eye, I took out a Magic Stone and relied on its light to examine the engraving on the wall closely.
I couldn’t even guess what it depicted, but I could tell it was elaborate.
Everyone else, except me, was probably thinking that as they looked at the intaglio carving.
But I, with the game abilities granted by the Goddess, could instantly discern the true nature of that drawing.
This isn’t a drawing; it’s text.
It’s a bit late to say this, but naturally, the language and writing of this world are different from those of my original world.
It would be awkward to speak Korean and write Hangul in a world like this, wouldn’t it?
So, how can I communicate so freely? That’s thanks to a built-in game feature.
The game console from my original world was a virtual reality game console that controlled and displayed everything via brainwaves.
Because of that, even if I read unfamiliar characters or heard an unknown language, sending the meaning via brainwaves was simple… or maybe not, I, an outsider, wouldn’t know for sure, but it was a possible technology nonetheless.
In other words, there was a near-perfect translation system.
And as evidenced by my ability to converse with others without any issues, that system was still active thanks to my game abilities.
Well, considering that others without game abilities also understand me, it seems the Goddess might have exerted some additional power, rather than just me having the translation ability.
In any case, because of this, I could recognize all the unfamiliar patterns on the wall as text and interpret their meaning.
And on the wall, it was written:
Congratulations on clearing all Sub-Layers!
Clearing the Main Layers alone would have been enough, but to go so far as to clear all the Sub-Layers as well, you truly are a genuine Adventurer.
Thanks to people like you, I, too, feel the reward of creating such hidden elements.
“Was this a developer’s commentary?!”
Goddess! What did you engrave in the Dungeon?!
Even if this world is exactly like the game, this is too much!
Weren’t you serious about the world’s crisis, summoning me specifically to conquer the Dungeon?!
I hadn’t even finished reading it, but already, the urge to raise my middle finger to the sky and unleash a torrent of curses began to fill my chest.
Phew. Still, I should read it first.
How do you feel? Does this lighten your mood a little?
The fact that you can read this means you are someone who is conquering the Dungeon through a contract with me.
The only time you could speak with me was during the brief contract we exchanged when you first arrived in this world.
It seems our Goddess abducted other outsiders in a similar manner to how she abducted me.
Well, I didn’t even read that contract; I just skipped it.
Even if you have made a Saintess your companion, you can only meet me once a month through a Goddess Advent.
…Huh? Wait a minute. Once a month? Not once a year?
Surely… Ah, I see. Leia was able to use Goddess Advent because I invested skill points to force her to learn it. So, the official Goddess Advent that a Saintess can use must have a shorter cooldown.
Now that I think about it, I do recall hearing that a Saintess could converse with the Goddess once a month.
I couldn’t possibly alleviate all the burdens that would have accumulated as you descended the Dungeon with such limited conversations, so I decided to play a little prank to lighten your load, even if just a little, now that you’ve reached the final stages of the Dungeon.
Of course, this short message couldn’t possibly relieve all your burdens.
The Sub-Layers you passed through must have served as stepping stones to the next Main Layers, aiding you in your adventure.
Except for the very last Sub-Layer you just passed through.
As you, having passed through that place, might have already anticipated, the final Sub-Layer was not for the next floor, but a rehearsal for our ultimate goal.
I hope that experience served as an opportunity for you to renew your resolve, and that it will aid you in what you must do at the very end of the Dungeon.
With that, the text on the wall concluded.
It was an incredibly long message, yet what was carved on the wall was merely a picture-like pattern. It certainly didn’t look like such a lengthy piece of writing.
Yeah. Of course, it would be impossible to interpret this. They wouldn’t even know it was text in the first place.
If there was a similar pattern in the 6th Floor’s Floor Boss’s room, Diana must have seen it, and it was perfectly understandable why she hadn’t even mentioned it.
Well, anyway, that’s less important than this right now.
So, Goddess. I keep telling you, I don’t know what “our contract” is, or what “I must do at the end of the Dungeon”! I have no resolve or anything!
No. Well, it’s not like this message was written just for me, but still.
In the end, there was only one fact I could glean from reading this long message.
“Did you figure something out?”
Threon asked, looking at me as I stared blankly at the incomprehensible drawing for a long time.
And in response to his question, I nodded with a grim expression.
“…Yeah.”
“What?! R-Really?! What did you find out?!”
“From a drawing no one has understood until now?! Truly the Goddess’s messenger!”
“Ohh! As expected of the Saint! I believed in you!”
Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to nod, as Threon reacted with intense surprise.
And Duke and Greg, true Adventurers, also had their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
But would they be able to maintain those expressions after hearing my answer?
“That we wasted our time.”
“…W-What?!”
“Fuck! We wasted our time!”
Ugh! Damn it! No wonder that particular Sub-Layer was a sausage fest, despite being a Sub-Layer!
I should have turned back without a second thought the moment I confirmed it was a dick-field!
There was no passage leading to the end, or anything of the sort!
The Goddess even confirmed that this was the end of the Sub-Layers!
So, does that mean I have to go through the 6th Floor to reach the end of the Dungeon?!
Then why did you even create this place?! You said it wouldn’t even help with the battle on the 6th Floor, unlike other Sub-Layers!
If I had a proper reason, I wouldn’t be so angry!
Just vaguely bundling it all up with ambiguous words like “contract” and “final task”!
This was the first time since coming to this world that I felt such intense rage towards the Goddess.
After all, meeting my girls was all thanks to the Goddess, so even while I was slightly suspicious and wary, I’d only held positive feelings for her until now.
And Miriel is also a problem from the start.
With what confidence did she spout that nonsense about that dick-field being the passage to the end, making me suffer so much?!
Just wait until I see her again, I’ll just… her ass!
Haa. What’s the point of getting so worked up alone here?
“…Let’s go back.”
“Wait a minute. What did that drawing mean? You can at least explain that.”
Given the situation, the best course of action was to escape this hell as quickly as possible.
That’s what I thought as I turned to leave, but Threon seemed to have difficulty accepting that all their efforts had been in vain.
“It’s text. Text written by our Goddess. It says ‘good job clearing all the Sub-Layers.’”
“…Lie. Is that really all it said?”
“Is that true?!”
Threon understood what I meant and wore a look of utter despair, but the tiger-man for some reason started to sparkle with excitement.
“That’s why I’m making this face, isn’t it? Oh, and you two. As you know, finding this text here, and the fact that it is text, is a secret.”
Since there was a similar pattern in the 6th Floor’s Floor Boss’s room, there must be some other text written there too.
And that text is probably the hint to reaching the end of the Dungeon.
Even if the Arachne Clan members found out it was text, they wouldn’t be able to interpret it anyway, but there’s no need to cause unnecessary trouble by telling them.
“…Is that so. A wonderful song about the Saint who passed the Goddess’s trials and his three retainers just popped into my head.”
“Sing it and I’ll kill you.”
Seriously. The me right now could do it. If I surrender to this rage, I feel like I could kill a person without a second thought.
Especially if it’s a sweaty man.
“But for this song to remain only in my head would be a loss to the world! However, I cannot trouble the Saint, who strives for world peace. It cannot be helped. I shall sing this song only while we are exiting the 5.5th Floor.”
“You bastard, didn’t you just hear me?! I said I’d kill you?!”
Does this guy genuinely respect me, or is he just messing with me?!
“Hahaha. Saint, there’s no need to be shy.”
I’m serious?!
Goddess. Please forgive me for killing one of your innocent children here… He’s not even innocent. Let’s just kill him.
“S-Stop it!”
Perhaps sensing the sincerity in my eyes, Duke hastily stepped in front of me, trying to restrain me.
But even as he did so, I could feel him being careful not to touch my body.
That action, overlapping with the stern, solemn, and serious expression he wore when he blocked my hug earlier, only fanned the flames of my already burning rage.
“Come to think of it, the best way to keep a secret is to eliminate all witnesses.”
“…Want help? No. Let me help. Without those guys, the way back might be a little easier.”
And Threon, too, seemed to fully agree with the plan to eliminate all witnesses.
“U-Uwaaah! No infighting! Please calm down by listening to my song! Ohh~ just the Saint’s Touch caressing those darkly shining muscles~.”
“What color is your blood, you bastard?!”