Chapter 229 : The Final Gate
Chapter 229: The Final Gate
Lapin's hearing and sense of smell had surpassed human limits to the point of being almost animalistic.
And Lapin had just told me that someone was following behind us.
...But I had already known that myself.
I quietly spoke.
“Don't ever act like you've noticed.”
“Okay.”
From the moment we entered the dungeon, I'd felt someone trailing us.
It would be a lie to say I hadn't been paying attention at all.
Still, I wasn't particularly wary of our pursuer.
After all...
'At best, they're just an amateur.'
If it were a dangerous villain, they would've tailed us much more skillfully and meticulously.
'They can't even use stealth, and judging by how clumsily they're following us... it's definitely a student.'
If it were an upperclassman from the second or third year, they wouldn't recklessly enter this dungeon.
I didn't think it was them.
It had to be a first-year student with almost no dungeon experience.
'If it's one of Philip's classmates following us... who could it be...?'
It's only been two days since the entrance ceremony.
The only person I could think of who had any connection to Philip was his fiancée.
'Tsk, this never happened in the game.'
Yeah.
His fiancée following him into the dungeon.
This was an unexpected incident.
“Philip.
You didn't tell anyone you were entering the dungeon today, did you?”
“No.
Just as written in the contract, I didn't tell anyone at all.”
“...Good.”
He didn't seem to be lying.
'Did they just happen to follow us by coincidence?'
I was curious about their reason for tailing us.
If I called them out right now, they probably wouldn't tell me the truth.
I'd never find out.
'There's plenty of time.
No need to rush.
If an opportunity comes later, I'll deal with it then.'
And so...
We continued down the path.
Although this dungeon consisted of four gates in total, its overall size was enormous.
'This dungeon was so complicated that quite a few players simply skipped clearing it altogether.'
The maze-like layout meant it took quite a while just to reach the next gate.
“We've been walking for ages...
This path is incredibly long.
Are all dungeons like this?”
“No.
This place is unusually bad.”
“I see...”
Philip nodded tiredly.
Several times along the way to the next gate, we encountered monsters.
However...
'Nothing special so far.'
They were weaker than the Bremen Band.
Since they were Ghost-type monsters, Hwayo's flames burned them down in an instant.
After walking like that for several dozen minutes...
We finally reached the next gate.
The second gate was called the False Path.
Rather than monster hunting, it was more like a mini-game.
'I think I'm the only one who realizes this is actually a gate.'
Lapin and Philip seemed to believe it was simply another continuation of the path.
Neither of them appeared to realize the trial of the second gate had already begun.
In reality, only one path actually led forward.
The gimmick was that you'd unknowingly wander around the exact same location over and over again.
Fortunately...
I already knew the correct answer.
There was no reason to waste time walking aimlessly.
I stopped and looked toward the left.
There stood a broken wooden signboard.
Beyond it stretched a forest thick with lush green bushes.
I headed straight toward it.
“Let's go this way.
It's a shortcut.”
“Huh?
But there's no path over there...
Ah!
You used your detection spell, Senior!”
I casually nodded.
Leaving the trail behind, we entered the forest.
After walking for roughly five minutes...
A new path appeared.
And then...
“Isn't...
Isn't that a treasure chest?”
A wooden chest sat before us.
Philip looked at it cautiously.
“P-Please be careful, Senior!
I've heard you're never supposed to open treasure chests in dungeons recklessly.
It could be a Mimic.”
“You're well informed.
You're right.
You shouldn't touch treasure chests carelessly.”
Despite saying that...
I placed my hand on the chest anyway.
“But if your Magic Power is high enough like mine, you can tell whether it's a Mimic or not.”
“Ah...
As expected of the Finders Department!”
Philip accepted my nonsense with complete seriousness.
...Seriously?
You're actually going to believe that?
'Anyway...
Let's open it.'
I opened the chest and checked the loot.
Just like in the game, the contents of this treasure chest were completely random.
I pulled out a small glass potion.
Recognizing it immediately, Philip spoke first.
“Isn't this...
A Reinforcement Elixir?”
“That's right.
We found something pretty useful.”
I opened my Subspace and stored the Reinforcement Elixir inside.
Though I didn't show it outwardly...
I was secretly delighted.
It was one of the rare items capable of significantly increasing a weapon's durability and toughness.
'If I keep collecting items one by one like this...
I'll be able to survive against the Janitor.'
Little by little...
Hope was beginning to appear.
After another long journey...
We arrived at the third gate.
The Whispering Ancient Tree.
Rumble—!
The monster here was an enormous tree.
Its attacks centered around its roots and explosive tree fruits.
You had to dodge both the roots erupting from the ground and the falling fruits.
It possessed a fairly complicated strategy.
But...
'This is ridiculously easy.'
The fruits flew toward me like homing missiles.
“Kyaaahaha~!”
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With Lapin's cheerful laughter...
The fruits exploded in midair.
Using Speed Accumulation, she destroyed every fruit before it could even reach me.
'Lapin and I work incredibly well together.'
The more we fought together...
The more obvious it became.
It felt as though we had become a single body during battle.
Slash!
My sword swept forward.
The monster immediately caught fire.
'I guess I've grown quite a bit.'
Even without coating myself in Shark's Darkness—my greatest source of combat power—
I could still deal devastating damage to monsters.
'Is it because I mastered swordsmanship?'
The Wolf Swordsmanship.
A style that embodied the ferocity of a predator through the blade.
Slash!
Slash!
Rather than attacking head-on...
I targeted the sides, blind spots, and rear.
A traditional knight guided by chivalry would probably call it cowardly.
But so what?
I wasn't a knight.
Winning was all that mattered.
“Hoo...”
I let out a quiet breath.
Lowering my stance, I pulled my sword slightly behind me.
A posture prepared to spring forward at any moment.
Rumble—!
Even as vines lunged toward me...
I never closed my eyes.
I simply gripped my sword.
The moment I focused...
The monster's movements seemed to slow.
I slipped into that tiny opening.
Rushing forward at tremendous speed...
Slash!
Flames spread across the giant tree.
Boom!
Its massive body lost balance and crashed to the ground.
After collecting the loot...
I happened to glance toward Philip.
The guy was staggering as though he were about to faint.
“Hey.
You alright?”
“Huff... Huff...”
Philip nodded weakly.
Pushing forward recklessly while exhausted was inefficient.
Resting was the better choice.
“Let's catch our breath for a bit.”
I built a campfire using broken pieces of wood.
Lighting a campfire greatly reduced Fatigue inside dungeons.
I sat down and observed Philip's condition.
Having rested beside the fire, his pale complexion gradually improved.
“I think...
I'm feeling a little better now.”
Starting from Dangerous Zone difficulty and above, dungeons had harmful effects on the human body.
That meant not only physical fatigue...
But also a mental condition known as the Stress Level had to be managed.
There was a reason this place had been designated a Dangerous Zone where parties were recommended.
Raw strength alone wasn't enough inside a dungeon.
Dungeon battles were closer to survival than combat.
No matter how powerful someone was...
If the dungeon consumed their mind, escaping became nearly impossible.
The reason Philip was becoming increasingly exhausted was exactly that.
The dungeon itself was raising his Stress Level.
I turned toward Lapin.
“You okay too?
No fever?
No dizziness?”
“Yep.”
“...Really?”
Lapin nodded repeatedly.
Perhaps because she was both human and a Spirit Creature...
Her mental resilience was exceptional.
'I'm perfectly fine too.
My mind's still completely clear.'
I didn't think it had anything to do with Villed's naturally fearless personality.
'Your personality doesn't reduce a dungeon's influence.'
Developing resistance against dungeons was something only veterans who'd conquered hundreds of them possessed.
Naturally...
Neither Lapin nor I qualified as veterans.
This was our first Dangerous Zone dungeon.
Then why?
The one thing Lapin and I had in common...
Was our connection to Spirit Creatures.
'Then is it because of the Spirit Creatures...
Or perhaps the System itself?'
I still couldn't be certain.
Perhaps having regained some strength, Philip spoke again.
“I think we've already been inside this place for over four hours.”
“Time flows differently here.
In the real world, not even half that much has passed.”
“Do you happen to know how much progress we've made?”
“We're almost there.”
Opening my Subspace, I organized the materials we'd gathered.
Eternal Root
Fairy Ancient Tree Leaf
Reinforcement Elixir
'These should prove useful.'
They were materials for Light Armor.
Equipment that maintained decent defensive capability while remaining lightweight.
'As expected of a Dangerous Zone.
The harvest is excellent.'
Greater risks naturally brought greater rewards.
With the fierce battle against the Janitor approaching...
Every piece of loot I collected felt like another ray of hope.
'And the main course hasn't even appeared yet.'
That's right.
Defeating this dungeon's boss carried a low chance of dropping an incredible reward.
A special material known as the Small Calamity Crystal.
'Both in terms of performance and lore...
It was an absurdly valuable material.'
It was directly connected to the Calamity that would one day bring this world to ruin.
With just that tiny crystal...
You could forge a near endgame weapon.
'Though that's only wishful thinking.'
The drop rate was, after all, quite low.
And fitting for something connected to the Calamity...
The boss itself was extremely powerful.
As if on cue, Philip brought up the boss.
“That enormous sphere...
Even you should be careful, Senior.”
“I will.”
The boss was concealed within a gigantic black-hole-like mass of darkness.
Even in the game, its true appearance was never revealed.
It nullified magic.
Physical attacks were also ineffective.
That was what made it such a difficult boss.
However...
Not only did I know the strategy...
I also possessed the abilities of Spirit Creatures—something that was practically a bug.
...Time passed.
Once Philip's eyes had regained their clarity, I stood.
“If you're feeling better, let's move.”
There wasn't much left.
We headed toward the final gate.
“Ahhh!
Senior!”
“Stop struggling.
I'll pull you out.”
This place was filled with traps.
Quicksand...
Swamps...
There were countless hazards demanding constant attention.
Some time later...
The end of the forest finally came into view.
Far ahead...
A field of colorful flowers stretched across the landscape.
Philip stopped walking and quietly spoke.
“...Senior.
That's the place.”
His voice trembled slightly.
“It looks exactly the same as before it became a dungeon.
I think we've finally arrived.”
At last...
We stood before the final gate.