Chapter: 273
The moment I stepped into the dungeon, what met my eyes was the scenery of the Burrow mansion I had just seen.
To be specific, it was a mansion where time had stopped in the midst of daily life.
The maids, frozen mid-conversation while wiping the floor.
The head maid, looking displeased while stuck in place.
The pendulum of a grandfather clock that had stopped moving alongside the second hand.
A servant bustling down the corridor.
A chef forever burdened with a heavy load.
As I quietly absorbed this scene, like a photograph, I took a deep breath and infused my divinity into the area with Ankhil.
To dispel the darkness.
However, the scenery around me didn’t change.
…Ah. Is this it?
What a pathetic setup.
[You’re unusually cautious, aren’t you?]
‘I know nothing about this place.’
This dungeon, a gift prepared solely for me by Taliki.
A creepy little pervert’s idea of romance packaged up as a surprise.
The moment I let my guard down, my head would surely roll.
It’s my first time tackling this dungeon, and I already have to deal with a forced “one-coin” play? If any production team actually incorporated such a gimmick into the game, I’d be questioning their sanity.
I was forcing a smile to calm my nerves when my grandpa suddenly shouted.
[You don’t know?!]
‘Yeah. I don’t know anything!’
[…You’re kidding, right?]
‘I swear by the gods, I know nothing about this dungeon!’
I wondered if it was pointless to swear to the pathetic god, but thankfully, grandpa took me seriously.
[What insane nonsense is that! You, in poor condition, are stepping into a place made to kill you!?]
‘This level of challenge is okay.’
[Whatdo you mean it’s okay?!…]
‘How much trouble can Taliki, that creepy idiot, really cause?’
As I lightly bantered back to grandpa, I sharpened my senses.
Then, from the paused scene of the Burrow mansion, a faint sound emerged.
The clattering of armor, likely a spectral knight.
Two in number.
And with the sound slicing through the air, they must wield swords?
Acting on instinct, I shifted my shield, but the Iron Wall told me to block differently.
Oh. Not here?
Ting!
Because my defense was unstable, my center was slightly thrown off.
If I kept fighting like this, I’d face accumulated damage, so I decided to unleash divinity from my shield to halt the specter before backing off.
Although it took a chunk of my divine energy, it was better than accumulating physical strain.
[What’s happening?!]
‘Grandpa. You can’t hear that noise?’
[What noise?! This place is silent!]
Damn. It seems Ankhil’s ability doesn’t reach grandpa at all.
‘Do you know about sensory disruption? It’s something you experience when facing Taliki.’
[…It’s spread throughout this dungeon?!]
Sensory disruption.
A pattern encountered when battling Taliki after his revival from sealing.
A gimmick that robs you of your senses through Taliki’s authority.
In the main game, the screen would turn black, sound would vanish, and both HP and status bars would be engulfed in darkness.
It demonstrated just how strong and troublesome Taliki is, but for someone trying to conquer it, it felt like a death sentence if you didn’t know.
Of course, there were ways to counteract it.
If I brought items like Ankhil that could lift the darkness, I could regain my hearing.
Other senses? Those were irrecoverable. Only by playing through sound could I surpass Taliki.
Even hearing about it sounded trash, and in practice, it was infuriating, but I didn’t rate this gimmick too poorly.
After all, it was something you’d only see once, and if you mastered the strategy, clearing it would be straightforward.
Among veterans, some would grumble that this pattern was on par with upper-tier evil deities, and it should be even harder.
The actual hate for this gimmick didn’t brew until nearly half a year after the main game launched.
Back then, a malicious modder revealed the ability to implant sensory disruption gimmicks throughout all of Taliki’s dungeon.
What a rotten little bastard he was. He even made a manual of methods and usage for other evil doers.
Thanks to him, how many times did I have to face sensory disruption dungeons after that?
Looking back, it’s horrendous. Just one slip could mean certain death, and I lived with curses on my lips.
Another gust of wind sliced through, and I raised my shield once more.
This time, I didn’t trust my senses, only relying on the Iron Wall’s call.
I might make mistakes, but the Iron Wall always told me the best moves.
As I moved according to the Iron Wall’s guidance, I couldn’t dream of counter-attacking the opponent.
I wasn’t anxious.
A single knight taught me what happens when you gamble in urgency.
Block. Block. Block again.
How long had that gone on?
Slowly, my senses began to align with the Iron Wall’s calls.
‘From the upper right, diagonally.’
From the right above, direct… Ah. This sound is diagonal?
Got it. I’ll adjust.
Little by little.
‘Swing horizontally hard.’
Horizontally hard. That was accurate.
‘Then a charge from the left by another knight.’
I registered the ambush from the left, but it was a charge. That’s why the sound felt heavy.
The gap between judgment and judgment was narrowing.
‘Attack together from both sides.’
Attack together from both sides.
At a certain moment, the dual judgments perfectly aligned.
It felt surreal.
The only sense available to me was sound.
All I could see was the mansion scenery, like a photograph.
Yet, it felt like I could visualize the knight standing before me.
Shall I start counter-attacking now?
Even if most of my senses are impaired, the enemy still has all theirs.
So, my voice could be heard in their ears.
And if they heard it, I could provoke them.
“Hey, pervy bones♡ What are you trying to do with the girl’s eyes covered?♡ Why’s your desire so strong when you’ve got no dick~?♡ Were you unsatisfied in life?♡ You pathetic nerds who couldn’t even hold a girl’s hand?♡ Right?♡”
Before I could even finish my words, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn nearby.
From above to below.
‘From above to below.’
A foolish attack concentrating solely on power.
‘A strong attack.’
Dodge and then aim for a head smash.
‘Dodging is safer than blocking.’
Crack!
The sound of a skull shattering echoed loudly in my ears.
It’s a shame that I didn’t feel the sensation in the hand holding the mace. The most enjoyable moment when swinging a mace is feeling that heavy sensation in your grip.
Taking care of the remaining spectral knights wasn’t too hard. Now that my senses were returning, those knights were nothing more than toys compared to Frey or Arthur.
After taking down the two, the scenery at the entrance of the mansion began to shift.
The paused scenery of the Burrow family vanished, replaced now with the mess left from combat.
As soon as my senses fully returned, the first thing I recognized was the smell of blood.
So thick that it was impossible to ignore, it assaulted my nostrils.
[Young lady! Don’t look down! Whatever you do, don’t lower your head!…]
What did they see? Grandpa shouted in panic, but by that moment, my chin had already tilted downward.
Ah. So that’s why they said not to look.
There was the knight.
Not a white skeleton nor a decayed corpse.
A person.
A head shattered, unable to close their eyes in death. The faces of those who left bloodstains behind lay sprawled on the ground.
Upon facing them, something surged within me.
I tried to suppress it, but it was futile.
My body acted of its own accord.
After vomiting several times and lifting my head with a sore throat, I was met with the lifeless stares of those who had lost all vitality.
They seemed to be staring upwards, not understanding where they were looking.
[Lucyyyy!]
Startled by the voice enveloping my mind, I shot my head up.
[Lucy! Get a grip!]
‘…I’m good now.’
[Then look up at the ceiling! After that, just sense the energy below you!]
‘What do you mean by that?’
[Enough with the chit-chat. Just do as I say! Quickly!]
Half out of my mind, I obeyed grandpa’s commands and focused on the energy below.
It was bizarre. My senses identified the knight’s corpses as monsters.
I felt no hint of humanity.
‘…Fake?’
[Right. A fake.]
‘But what I just saw was…’
[Think about it. This is a dungeon that only one person can enter. Could there be another human here?]
Grandpa’s words were correct. Given the limitations of the dungeon, it was impossible for anyone else besides me to be present.
Therefore, the things under me right now…
No matter how I thought about it, those things that looked human were.
Fakes.
A nasty little surprise prepared by Taliki for me.
…What a creepy little bastard. He was trying to hit me with this from the start?
He wasn’t planning on suppressing me through the dungeon’s gimmick.
He aimed to gnaw away at my sanity and make me choke on it instead.
[Now do you understand? You didn’t kill any humans. You just defeated monsters. So.]
‘I get it, Grandpa. I understand, but just give me a moment.’
How ridiculous.
Is this really the strategy you thought up, Taliki?
Drowning me in guilt until I suffocate?
Ha. What a true god of evil you are.
I’ll give you credit. Your manipulation is incredibly effective.
If it weren’t for grandpa, I’d probably still be staring at those corpses.
What bothers me more is that even having realized this was Taliki’s trick, I still feel a chill at lowering my head, repulsed by the scent of blood filling my nostrils.
…Crack!
Even after smashing the head of what was mimicking a human corpse, the red emotion bubbling inside me refused to settle.
The thrill of conquering a new dungeon vanished with the evening; all that was left was the rage directed at Taliki.
Closing my eyes and steadying my rapid breaths, I took another step forward.
[Young lady, are you alright?]
‘No.’
To be honest, I’m far from alright.
The moment I closed my eyes, the faces of the two knights were engraved in my mind—sleeping would be difficult for a while.
‘But this won’t hinder my mission to wreck this dungeon.’
Having reciprocated the effort my enemy put into this little gift, it was my turn to show them something too.
Ahh. I hope Nakrad’s face goes hard.
That way, I can smash him a whole bunch with my mace.
[…Alright, got it.]
‘But grandpa.’
[What is it now?]
‘Could you call me Lucy like before?’
[…I can’t tell what you’re saying. You must be hearing things.]
‘Nope! I clearly heard it! It was a desperate voice calling out “Lucyyyy!”’
[Enough of that! Focus on conquering the dungeon!]
Puhaha! Grandpa, are you being too cute at your age?
…
Thank you.
Thanks to you, I feel a little better.
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