＜ 23. Test (1) ＞
Trisha looked into Emilia’s eyes. Emilia was holding her forehead with a serious expression, while Mimick was staring at Andrea.
Andrea closed her eyes for a moment and caught her breath. It was quite impulsive words and actions that revealed everything. I regretted it a little, but on the other hand, I felt relieved. There was always a bit of skepticism about having to lie to my colleagues forever.
He finally opened his eyes and spoke to his companions.
“Okay, the explanation ends here. Now, if you have any questions, I will take them.”
“Um… Andrea.”
Trisha was the first to speak. However, it was a face that did not seem to know well what to say and where to start.
“So… eh… is ‘game’… magic that creates illusions?”
“It’s similar, but… in fact, it’s impossible to accurately explain it with the concepts that exist in this world. I think you can understand that it is not magic, but creating a virtual world through some machine, and directly manipulating the characters in that world.”
“So we are people who exist in that world, and you manipulated us and have already been to the dungeon thousands of times…?”
“right.”
Even after hearing the explanation, Trisha didn’t look like the question was resolved at all. Trisha narrows her eyebrows while nimbly biting her thumb nail.
While she was lost in thought, Emilia stepped out.
“Then, Andrea, you… have the memories of a real human being, but are you actually in the same situation as us?”
“yes.”
“···Right. So it was like that.”
Andrea slightly raised her eyes. I thought I would be treated like a crazy person, but this kind of reaction was unexpected again.
Emilia nodded and continued speaking.
“Hmm… I’ve always thought it was a bit strange. You said you got to know the dungeon well after receiving a revelation from the shadow god, but isn’t a dungeon a place where the intervention of the gods is restricted because of the manager? But how does the Shadow God figure everything out and give revelations one by one… I wanted to.”
“…”
“And rather than someone who received a revelation, he looked more like an expert who had already experienced dungeons.”
In fact, Emilia had said before that Andrea was like someone who had explored dungeons many times before. From then on, he seemed to have already realized that there were circumstances he could not tell Andrea.
After washing her face, Andrea faced Emilia again.
“It’s easier to believe than you think. I thought you were going to treat it as nonsense, saying I was out of my mind.”
“Because it’s such a situation… Well, it’s a bit shocking, but.”
“…is that the end?”
“yes. Well, knowing that fact doesn’t mean that the world we live in suddenly undergoes drastic changes… They say there is a separate real world, but at least for me, this is reality.”
Even Khalicis was confused when he realized that this place was not real, but the priest who served the Earth God seemed to have a strong will that could not be compared to anyone else. Emilia looked at Andrea with a small smile.
“Even if everyone is just doing what they were designed to do, aren’t they designed to live their best lives instead of sitting still? By being sincere with the people around you. If that’s the case, I wonder if I can say that this place is real enough.”
Tricia, who had been silent while listening to Emilia, also helped.
“…I agree with what Emilia said. Well, it’s not like this is a fake reality and nothing changes. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
“Mi, Mimic is a difficult topic, so I don’t know. It’s just, a mimic is a mimic… I’m content with living like this no matter where it is.”
Everyone reacted more lightly than expected. To the point where I felt dejected at the time when I feared that if I didn’t believe, I would be treated like an insane person, and if I believed, I would be shocked.
In fact, the reason why they were not so upset was that Andrea had never treated them insignificantly as characters in the game. If Andrea had thought of using her companions as a means to climb the dungeon, they would have felt a great sense of discomfort at what they were hearing now.
Anyway, I’m glad things worked out better than I was worried about. When he touched his forehead, sweat broke out before he knew it. Andrea wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve and spoke to the party.
“Everyone, thank you anyway for trusting me… Let’s go up the remaining floors to the 100th floor as well. No one is killed or injured.”
I had just finished explaining the challenges and meeting with the manager. The group nodded their heads in unison. Everyone had a determined expression.
Andrea made the same expression as them and added a word.
“Let’s see the end of this journey safely.”
* * *
The 90th floor is a heterogeneous space different from the general floors.
First of all, it is not divided into 9 floors from the 91st to the 99th floors like other floors. It is only divided into two layers, an upper layer and a lower layer.
The way to pass the two floors is not to face any events or catch monsters. You can pass each floor only if you pass the test within the specified time.
Of course, if you die in the test, that’s it, and even if you don’t pass the test within the specified time, there is a terrible penalty.
“what is that···?”
Andrea responds to Trisha’s question with disgust all over her body.
“The level is reset, you fall to the first floor, and you have to go up the dungeon again from the beginning.”
Trisha opened her mouth wide, and Emilia looked as if she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. Two people opening their mouths at the same time.
“Are you crazy…?
“Oh my God, such nonsense…”
Of course, it’s a shocking penalty, but it didn’t have to make me worry too much before the test.
“Time is tight, but as long as we are in our group, it won’t be that short. . . Actually, the real problem is something else.”
One difference that the 90th floor is decisively different from other floors.
It’s not that the dungeon is created individually for each challenger. All challengers share the same floor.
Because of this, on the 90th floor, all sorts of hit-and-run events often happened.
Challengers who have lost their enemies face each other, a guy decides to drop all the other challengers, a challenger who didn’t pass the time limit just got together with another challenger, or the challengers form an alliance and unintentionally It becomes a team competition…
“…Humans are the variables. Monsters have at least a pattern, but humans don’t know what to do.”
But I wasn’t too worried. For the other challengers to be a threat, they had to be at least similar in strength, but it was obvious that most of the challengers couldn’t even follow Andrea’s toes.
‘Still, there’s nothing wrong with being careful.’
Andrea warned the party about what could happen on the 90th floor and went upstairs.
When the door was opened, a large plaza was revealed. There were a lot of challengers inside. When Andrea and the others entered, all eyes were on them.
Challengers who judge how strong their competitors are. A look mixed with a sense of admiration and wariness.
The rest of the party looked uncomfortable, but Andrea didn’t care much. Anyway, according to the rules of the ‘lower class’, there was no direct confrontation with them, and even if they did, there was no problem. Andrea was confident of winning even if she fought all the challengers here at the same time.
However, the challengers looked at Andrea and company for much longer than when facing other challengers. There’s even a buzzing sound.
I thought about why this was so, and when I followed their eyes, I could understand why.
“What is that…?”
“Isn’t it Mimic?”
“How come the monsters are here…?”
Mimick scratched the cover as if he didn’t know why he was getting this attention.
The attention was focused, but no one spoke hastily. It was because the behavior of Andrea and the others was unusual. Pushing through the challengers, Andrea and the others moved forward.
At the back of the plaza, there was a door much larger than the entrance, guarded by a statue in the form of a knight holding a sword. As Andrea and the others approached, lights came out of the statue’s eyes, and a deep voice came out.
[Finally, all 64 challengers gathered. Only those who have passed both tests on the upper and lower floors will be able to enjoy the honor of reaching the 100th floor.]
[The test of the lower layer is the ‘Great Labyrinth’. In the huge labyrinth, numerous traps and powerful monsters are trying to suffocate you. Those who prove their courage by killing monsters will get a Mark of Courage. Collect 5 Marks of Courage and find the exit.]
[The time limit is 4 hours. If you can’t collect the tokens or find the exit within that time, there will be a huge penalty. Also, unnecessary battles between challengers on the lower floors are strictly prohibited. If caught, there will be a penalty like exceeding the time limit.]
[Now, let’s go. Glory be to the brave and wise!]
coo goo goo –
The statue finished its explanation and sank towards the hole in the floor. And the door to the labyrinth opened at the same time as the statue that was guarding it disappeared.
kyaaa –
Kirrr!
shish sis sis-
Ominous cries were heard from beyond the great wall. In addition, it was dark without a torch, so it was an insidious scene that even the strong-hearted could not readily venture out.
The challengers here are all those who have survived to the 90th floor. In other words, it meant that everyone was at their best when it came to how to survive in a dungeon.
There was no one among them who had not experienced a trap room. It’s a bit of a cowardly idea, but it was clear that if someone went ahead, it would be of great help in figuring out what traps were in the labyrinth.
Since everyone had the same idea, no one came forward paradoxically. The challengers glanced at each other and only looked at who came first…
“Let’s go, boys.”
Andrea was the first to step out.
The party followed Andrea as if they had been waiting. For some reason, it was a car that everyone had an intuition that Andrea would be the first to step out.
A murmur similar to the first time I saw the Mimic spread among the challengers.
“Author… is it strong?”
“No, surprisingly, those kinds of chisels didn’t really work.”
“A Mimic follows you around like a pet…?”
“Thankfully, you’re taking the lead to die…”
Hearing those voices, Andrea secretly burst into laughter.
In fact, even Andrea had no idea what kind of traps and monsters could be found where in the ‘Great Labyrinth’. This is because, unlike labyrinths in trap rooms where the path is set to some extent and rules are set, everything in the ‘Great Labyrinth’ is random except for the limited number of ‘Signs of Courage’.
‘It doesn’t matter anyway.’
Andrea decided on a way to pass the Great Labyrinth. If they were able to suppress the steamer to this extent, they wouldn’t have to worry about being seduced by a strange guy from the lower floors.
Seeing Andrea’s posture, the challengers all made a puzzled expression. I couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly doing something like that.
It was the same for my companions. Trisha cautiously approaches and asks questions.
“What are you doing, Andrea?”
Andrea responded with action.
And all the challengers in the square were astonished.
blah- uh!
Kwahu Classes and Friends and Logistics !!!!
The flames extending along the right fist drew a straight trajectory. The neatly condensed power exploded from a point in the air. A shockwave that splits the air and spreads, and an enormous amount of power surges toward the labyrinth.
Quarrr – Quarrr –
There was a hole the size of a house in the walls like a fortress. Then, it could not withstand the load and collapsed, spraying thick dust. A catastrophic blow brought about a disastrous collapse.
With just one punch, the labyrinth turned into a scene where the building seemed to have been blown up.
The ‘liberated grip of hell’ was definitely at a level different from before liberation in its destructive power. In addition to the special effect being activated at all times, the increase in strength proportional to the mana that has doubled.
At this level, it was no different than a normal hit. Andrea satisfactorily touched the gauntlet.
The challengers who were watching from behind were at a loss for words. Everyone stared at Andrea with their mouths open as if their jaws were missing. There was a dead silence, and the sound of someone hiccuping was exceptionally loud.
Andrea smiled and said to the party.
“Now, let’s go.”
They were in a crazy mood and followed Andrea.
SOMEBODY HAS TOLD ME…