Chapter: 273
As soon as I entered the dungeon, the scenery that unfolded before my eyes was that of the Burrow Mansion I had just seen.
To be more specific, it felt like the mansion was frozen in time, caught in the middle of everyday life.
Maidens pausing mid-chat while wiping the floor.
The head maid frozen with a dissatisfied look.
The pendulum of an old grandfather clock that stopped moving along with the tick-tock.
A servant bustling through the hallway.
The chef, who must bear the heavy load forever.
I took a deep breath as I gazed at the scene that felt like I had stepped into a photograph and channeled the Divine of Ankhir to spread around me.
To drive away the darkness.
However, the scenery did not change.
…Ah, is this it?
You little rascal. You prepared the crappiest one.
[You're being unexpectedly cautious.]
‘Well, I don’t know anything about this.’
A dungeon that exists solely in this world created by Tariki for me.
A damp little gift that a trash loli pervert prepared, filled with his own romantic delusion.
The moment I let my guard down, my neck would likely be on the chopping block.
This is my first time tackling a dungeon, and a forced one-coin play? If there’s such a gimmick in the game, I would have wondered if the creators were out of their minds.
Just as I was trying to ease my tension with a forced smile, Grandpa yelled urgently.
[You don't know?!]
‘Nope. I don’t know anything!’
<…You're kidding, right?>
‘I swear to Lord Jushin I know nothing about this dungeon.’
I thought it was doubtful that the slovenly Jushin would believe my swearing, but thankfully Grandpa took my words seriously.
[What kind of crazy talk is that! You stepped into a place created to kill you, and your body's in bad shape!?]
‘This much is fine.’
[What's fine about it?!...]
‘What could that dumb Tariki even do?’
I lightly replied to Grandpa as I heightened my senses.
Then, from the still scene of the Burrow Mansion, a faint sound came.
The clinking of armor; must be a skeletal knight.
There were two of them.
As for the weapons… By the sound cutting through the air, I can tell it’s a sword?
I instinctively moved my shield, but the Iron Wall told me to block somewhere else.
Ah. So it’s not here?
Ding!
Due to my unstable defense, my stance faltered slightly.
Realizing that continuing this battle would accumulate damage, I decided to unleash the divine through my shield to halt the skeletal knights and retreated a good distance back.
It took a bit more divine energy than expected, but it was better than letting strain accumulate on my body.
[What’s happening?!]
‘Grandpa. Can’t you hear the sounds?’
[What sounds?! This place is quiet!]
Damn it. Looks like Ankhir’s ability doesn’t reach Grandpa.
‘Do you know of a sensory disturbance? You experience it when facing Tariki.’
<…Is it spread throughout this entire dungeon?!>
The sensory disturbance.
A pattern you encounter when battling Tariki, who revives from his seal.
A gimmick where your five senses are stolen by Tariki’s power.
In the main game, the screen would turn black, sounds would stop, and the HP bar or status window would turn completely dark.
This gimmick showcased how strong and troublesome Tariki was, but from a player’s perspective, if you don’t know, you just die.
Of course, it doesn’t mean there’s no way to tackle it.
If you bring an item like Ankhir that can dispel darkness, you can regain your hearing.
What about the other senses? They’re beyond recovery. To defeat Tariki, you must get past the patterns just through sound play.
Just hearing about it sounds like crap, and actually dealing with it makes you want to curse, but the evaluation of this gimmick was not bad.
After all, it’s something you only see once. Once you properly learn the strategy, breaking it is easy.
Among veteran gamers, there would be quite a few complaining that this was a pattern for a top-tier Evil God and that it should be harder.
In the end, the hatred of this gimmick by people—specifically those deeply immersed in Soul Academy—only grew nearly half a year after the main storyline released.
At that time, a particularly nasty mod revealed that he could insert sensory disturbance gimmicks throughout Tariki’s entire dungeon.
That bastard was nice and diligent. He even created a manual explaining how to utilize the gimmicks for other nasty players.
Thanks to that, I had to face sensory disturbance dungeons multiple times after that.
Looking back, it was terrifying. The moment you make a mistake, you die, so I cursed nonstop.
Again, I heard the sound of the wind cutting through, and I raised my shield.
This time, I didn’t trust my senses and solely relied on Iron Wall’s voice.
I could make mistakes, but Iron Wall was always telling me the best moves.
Following Iron Wall’s guidance, I moved, and while I couldn’t dream of counterattacking against the opponent’s attacks, I wasn’t rushed.
I learned what happened when you threw caution to the wind in a situation like this, courtesy of a knight.
Blocking. Blocking. And blocking again.
I don’t know how long I kept it up.
Gradually, my senses began to align with Iron Wall’s voice.
‘From the upper right, diagonally.’
Is that sound from the upper right? Ah. So it’s diagonal?
Got it. I’ll correct it.
Little by little.
‘Slice widely from the side.’
Slice widely from the side. That was accurate.
‘Then from the left, another knight charges in.’
I understood the left flank but realized that this was an actual charge.
No wonder the sound felt heavy.
The gap between judgments slowly narrowed.
‘Together from both sides.’
From both sides.
At some point, the two judgments perfectly aligned.
It felt surreal.
All I had was the sense of sound.
Right now, all I could see was the scenery of Burrow Mansion frozen in time like a photograph.
Yet it felt like I could visualize the knights standing in front of me.
Is it time to start counterattacking?
Even though most of my senses were out of whack, the opponent still had their senses intact.
So they could hear my voice.
If my voice was transmitted, I could provoke them.
“You perverted skeletons♡ What are you trying to do with a girl’s eyes covered?♡ Without anything, why are you so loyal to your desires?♡ Were you frustrated in life?♡ You awkward losers who couldn’t even hold a girl’s hand~♡ Right?♡”
Before I could finish my speech, I heard the sound of drawn swords right next to me.
From above, downward.
‘From above to below.’
A careless attack focusing solely on power.
‘A strong attack.’
I dodged and aimed for an opening to crush their skulls.
‘Avoiding is safer than blocking.’
Crack!
The sound of a skull shattering pierced my eardrums.
It’s a shame I didn’t feel the sensation in my hand holding the mace. The most enjoyable moment while swinging the mace is when weighty sensations flow through your hand.
Dealing with the remaining knight wasn’t that hard. Once my senses returned, they became nothing more than toys not even comparable to Frey or Arthur.
After handling those two, the scenery at the entrance of the mansion changed.
The halted scenery of the Burrow family vanished and was replaced by the chaotic space from the previous battle.
Soon after I regained my senses, the first thing I felt was the stench of blood.
It was so intense that I couldn’t ignore it, stabbing my nose.
[Young lady! Don’t look down! If you lower your head…!]
What could they have seen that made Grandpa cry out in a panic? But at that moment, my chin was already pointing downward.
Ah. That’s why they told me not to look!
There lay a knight.
Neither a white skeleton nor a rotting body.
A person.
One with a shattered head, dead without even being able to close their eyes. Faces of those who left only bloodstains on the floor lay there.
The moment I faced it, something welled up inside me.
I tried to suppress it with all my might, but it was futile.
My body had already left the will of my mind.
After several rounds of nausea, when I lifted my head, I met the lifeless eyes of those who once had life.
A gaze that seemed to not know where to look.
[Lucy!]
Startled by the voice filling my head, I looked up.
[Lucy! Get a grip!]
‘…I’m all here.’
[Then lift your head and look at the ceiling! After that, only sense the energy beneath you!]
‘What do you mean?’
[Stop talking nonsense and do as I say! Quickly!]
Half-conscious, I sensed the energy below without understanding its significance.
Strange. My senses recognized the knights’ corpses as monsters.
They felt utterly devoid of human traces.
‘…Fake?’
[Exactly. It’s fake.]
‘But what I just saw…’
[Think about it. This dungeon can only admit one person. Is it possible for another human to be here? ]
Grandpa’s words were correct. Given the restrictions of the dungeon, no one but me could enter.
So what lay below me was…
No matter how I thought about it, what looked human to me…
Was a fake.
A surprise gift prepared by Tariki for me.
…That trashy little pervert, you had this planned from the start?
It wasn’t to suppress me with gimmicks in the dungeon.
He was planning to gnaw at my mind, assuming I’d be challenged.
[Do you understand? You haven't killed a human. You've defeated monsters. So,]
‘I get it, Grandpa. I understand, just give me a moment.’
This is absurd.
Is this truly the strategy you conceived, Tariki?
Suffocating me in a pile of guilt?
Ha. That’s so Evil God-esque, you deserve accolades for it.
Yeah, I’ll admit it. Your vertical approach was incredibly effective.
If it weren’t for Grandpa, I would still be staring at those corpses.
What’s even more annoying is, realizing now that this was Tariki’s trick, I’m still afraid to lower my head, and the overwhelming stench of blood makes me sick.
…Crack!
Even after smashing the head of the one mimicking a human corpse, the red feelings kept bubbling within me.
The joy of conquering a new dungeon faded into the evening, leaving only pure rage toward Tariki.
I shut my eyes and steadied my rapid breathing, then took a step forward again.
[Young lady, are you alright? ]
‘Nope.’
Honestly, I’m not okay at all.
The moment I now close my eyes, the faces of the two knights are etched in my retina, so I’d probably struggle to sleep for a while.
‘But this won’t affect my demolition of the dungeon.’
Since my gift was met with theirs, I must show them something in return.
Ah, I hope Nakrad’s face is stiff.
That way, I can hammer my mace in well.
<…Alright then.>
‘But Grandpa.’
[What is it?]
‘Could you call me Lucy like before?’
<…I don't understand what you're saying. You must be hearing things.>
‘No, I heard it clearly! A voice as if begging, saying Lucy!’
[Enough of that! Focus on conquering the dungeon now!]
Pffft-ha-ha. Grandpa, isn’t it a bit too cute at your age?
…
Thank you.
You’ve helped me feel a bit better.
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