Chapter 198: Reaching the Heavens Part 4 Part 1

Here’s something to consider: what is actually required of the players that are playing this game?

Yo go around the maps. You slash and kill everything that comes up to you and wants to kill you. You gain EXP points. Yay! Great! You level up as a result…… It may seem really simple, almost like your typical Hack’N’Slash games, but there is something more here…… It’s mystery. No, not quite mystery. There is a better word for it: it would be ‘unknown’.

Let us take a certain situation as an example here: we have a suspension bridge. This suspension bridge is not in the greatest condition, as the ropes tying it all together are worn out and snapped in various places, and the planks making the foothold are broken and moldy, with some of the planks hanging ominously on the ropes or downright missing. Now, even without thinking too hard about it, it does not take a genius to figure out that if you happen to sprint through the bridge you’ll end up dead in no time, falling to the valley below you. If you want to safely arrive on the other side you need to inspect the ropes to see if they are going to hold the construction together and see if the planks won’t just break under your weight or that you won’t slip off from them.

This here is a ‘consideration’ that needs to be applied. You need to approach situations like this like you would approach the jigsaw puzzle. Sure, you can guess what the picture is even with some of the pieces still missing, but you won’t get the full picture that way and some crucial information could be omitted.

In that case, what is the main theme of this Unique Scenario EX: ‘Gazing at the Abyss, and the World Turns Around?’

「Don’t you think something is bound to happen once we enter the castle?」

「…… It would be wise, to assume that.」

The interior of the castle looked like your typical castle from various other games out there. The only exception here was the fact that it was all blue…… and calling it ‘typical’ was maybe not all that accurate, but it surely looked just like you would expect a castle to look like on the inside. Immiedietaly after entering we were all wary for traps or guards coming our way, but a few minutes have passed and the enemies were yet to be seen. Also, no alarm has been risen so far.

「Could it be that there is another dungeon inside of this place? And this is merely the entrance?」

「Sanraku-san! We have found a staircase! It goes both down and up!」

Oh wow, just what you would expect from a shinobi assigned to do some reconnaissance up ahead. But for now, instead of doing anything hasty, it would be best for us all to consider our options and deciding on a course of action before going anywhere further. However, the core dilemma remains here: bottom or the top of the stairs? Where is Kutanid of the Abyss lying in wait for us?

When it comes to common sense, it would be natural to think that it is literally impossible to jam-pack a huge octopus-like monster on top of a European-looking castle. It would only seem logical to think that the only place of hiding suitable for a monster like that would be underground. Then again, we have to remember that Kutanid is not a normal and simple monster, like any other. Its not even normal as far as Unique Monsters are concerned. It’s more like a cheat monster. So it may be entirely possible that it is waiting for us right at the top of the castle thanks to some sort of a cheat-like ability.

「For the time being, let’s check all the rooms on this floor before proceeding upwards or downwards.」

「Want us to, split up?」

It was always wise to listen to Rust’s words, and after some deliberation we have arrived at the following conclusion: it is highly unlikely that some drastic change is going to occur as long as we all remain on this floor, so as long as no one uses the stairs to go either up or down we should split up to cover more ground here. That way we should investigate the ground floor of the castle in no time. I have a strange feeling that upon entering this castle the type of the game that we play here has drastically changed. It feels as though every single action right about now will be like rolling a dice. But oh well, this is Unique Scenario EX we are talking about here. Unique Scenario Ex’s dungeon, Unique Scenario EX’s rules.

「It is important that we search every nook and cranny in here. There may be some clues as the Kutanid itself hidden somewhere in here.」

「Look at that! The candles are all blue in here as well!」

「Hmm, it seems as though this is nothing more but a flavor for this entire location.」

I mean, if there was really something of importance in here, that would be something that would stand out, right? Like an item or something else like that. However, from experience I can tell that in RPGs the placement of items and key items can be random at best, as the most important or powerful items or equipment would often be hidden away in places that you would never even think to look for them. I guess even though we are in the VR era of gaming, some things never change, huh? That is why I believe that ShanFro would not possibly take a shortcut like that and place the all-important items at the mere entrance to the dungeon. That would be too easy.

「Now then…… It seems that our dear octopus wants us to go on a search for it. The question is: up or down? Where should we look first?」

Of course, being a team it was cast to a vote. And just like that, the majority of the team decided that we should first go down to the basement, and eventually work our way up floor by floor. We then moved towards the staircase that Akitsu Akane had discovered……

Yup, and here we go with a SAN check right from the get go. When we opened the door leading to a spacious chamber, there was a huge octopus-like creature waiting for us there, looking about ready to do battle.

「Eh, wait just a moment! Say what!? A battle right from the get-go!?」

No, no, no! If you are going to set up such a grand stage and place such grand door in here, then the least you can do is to allow us to properly enjoy it, take it all in! And it might be just my imagination, but is that an evil aura pouring from the chambers that are further ahead? Would you be so kind as to give us a save point here? This is totally like all those messages in the old RPGs, the ones telling you that you should save your game right about now, because you will not be able to do that later.