NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
Walls. Walls. Walls.
Countless walls block the tentacles ahead. No matter how strong and fast the monster’s onslaught is, it can’t ignore the walls.
Even if the walls crack and crumble after being hit by the tentacles, they certainly have the effect of shielding me. With a brief moment of respite, I lowered my head to look at the floor.
The dirt floor looks like it’s made of the same material as the 1st floor. Based on the information so far, I could roughly guess the structure of the dungeon. I had done this countless times over the past ten years. To survive, one must memorize the terrain meticulously, and to use skills effectively, one must grasp the materials. I wonder how many years it took to figure out this simple formula.
I plunged my shovel deep into the dirt.
“Crafting.”
The earth shook, and a pillar made of dirt struck the ceiling. My initial idea wasn’t quite enough yet.
“Renny! Buy us as much time as you can!”
“What are you planning?!”
“I have a thought!”
“Just do it quickly!”
It’s Renny, so she won’t go down easily. I fired off skills until I felt dizzy. Walls formed, new pillars emerged, and piles of blocks began to rise to replace the stairs. Just as the tentacles became out of sight, I stepped onto the blocks and climbed up. The ceiling was roughly 15 meters high. Not too high but still not insignificant.
This is getting wild.
How many times almost fell while trying to climb to the ceiling? The tentacles flailed about, smashing the structures I built, and if I was even slightly slow, I felt like I’d crash down to the floor and be turned into mush.
“Repair.”
I immediately repaired the broken materials, repeating the process of climbing up. I was finally able to reach the point where I could touch the ceiling.
Let’s see if this works as well.
“Crafting.”
I’ma break the ceiling. More accurately, I’m tearing it apart to create a stalactite-shaped pillar. Given the monster’s size, it wouldn’t be able to avoid it. The fake stalactites began to pierce into the monster’s body.
A few won’t be enough.
“Crafting.”
Crafting. Crafting. Crafting. Crafting. Crafting. Crafting…
No matter how low the cost of the skill is, using it excessively like this is a no-no, but there’s no time to worry about that now. It’s a situation where I have to do whatever it takes to kill that thing.
Stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite, stalactite…
My neck hurts. My heart is racing like crazy. I could barely even speak anymore. Leaning against the pillar, I looked up at the ceiling. I had pulled so much from the bricks and dirt that a giant hole opened up in the ceiling. While I couldn’t bring the whole dungeon down, this much would leave that monster in rough shape.
I moved my weary body to check the state of the creature.
A monster howling with stalactites embedded all over its body. Does it know pain, or is it angry at what’s been done to it? I can’t tell which, but it seems I’ve landed some effective hits. Still, it doesn’t seem to be severely wounded.
If killing it is the condition, then somehow dealing with that annoying regeneration is the key. During the moment of reprieve, I needed to think of a way to strangle its chances.
As I pondered, I suddenly recalled the words of the skull bucket.
Cheating.
If there’s cheating, then there’s also a legitimate way.
What is the legitimate way? Let me think about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors.
The structure of the dungeon follows the style of old horror-adventure games. While there are elements that can be quite threatening, it’s only threatening by the standards of regular folks. The method of going to the next floor is mainly through solving puzzles, with little focus on combat. This dungeon seems to have been designed from the start so that even people without combat abilities can clear it.
In that case, there must be a way to solve this without shedding blood.
Let’s think, what was the core element of this dungeon’s story? What was tied to this dungeon’s narrative?
My head instinctively turned back. I could see Karina, breathless and slumped down, and Millia, who was worriedly talking to Karina.
Right.
It’s Millia.
While it might be cheating, Millia is deeply intertwined with this dungeon. The story tied to this dungeon ultimately revolves around Millia’s past. Therefore, it’s highly likely that Millia holds the clues to end this dungeon. Yet, an ominous possibility arose.
Even if the guy who made this dungeon is crazy, surely he wouldn’t do something like that…
I desperately pushed the unsettling thought away and focused on finding the solution to the problem.
…Millia’s body.
Carcassonne, who desired eternal life. Assailants that move without heads.
A headless Millia.
“Millia! Where is your body?!”
“…That guy! Inside! That guy is inside!”
As expected.
If one desires eternal life and sacrifices something, there tend to be manifestations in accordance with that. Like a cliché B-grade horror game ending, what if the creature was born from sacrificing Millia’s body? Then somewhere inside that body, there might still be Millia’s form left. That would be performing the task of a heart.
“Does that mean I have to penetrate that body? Millia! Can you pinpoint the location of your body exactly?!”
As if clinging to a lifeline, I asked, and thankfully, Millia quickly responded.
“Johann! Throw me! At that guy!”
“What?”
“If I make contact with it, I might be able to find the location of my body!”
“Millia?! What do you mean? How can you…”
“Karina! It has to be done! It needs to end! If I regain my body, I can make the core manifest!”
Throw Millia into that thing?
Millia?
Really?
My hands shook. It was a situation that demanded a sacrifice.
A fitting sacrificial lamb for a cheap horror game. From the very start, was Millia not created with the premise of meeting us? I must have just found her too quickly due to my cheating.
Is there no other way?
“…You know there isn’t.”
I looked at Renny. Countless tentacle bunches that had been severed around us. But just as many regenerated tentacles began to overwhelm Renny again. Even someone as strong as her wouldn’t last long against a monster that regenerates infinitely. After all, she’s still human.
If the unorthodox method doesn’t work, I must rely on the legitimate approach. I jumped off the block and ran to Millia.
“Why are you so late! Come on! Quickly throw me!”
“Millia…”
“This was my fate anyway. Don’t be too sorry.”
The smile Millia forced looked sad.
“Just do it quickly, you fool.”
I grabbed Millia’s head and threw her at the creature. The creature diverted all its attention to me as I walked forward holding Millia’s head. Does it want that head? I hurled Millia’s head with all my might.
As soon as Millia’s head was caught by the tentacles, the monster howled, bringing her head to its torso. Flesh tore apart. No, that’s its mouth. A gigantic mouth swallowed Millia, and I began to hear a chilling laugh that seemed filled with euphoria.
“Johann! Why are you suddenly…”
“Come this way.”
I leaned on my shovel like a cane and glared at the creature. The rejoicing monster soon sensed something was off and began to scream in pain as it thrashed around. However, due to the dozens of stalactites I had embedded into its body, it was unable to move freely.
The monster’s mouth opened again. A gigantic heart leapt out, spewing a nauseating heartbeat.
“…Is that the main body?”
I gripped the shovel with both hands and began to walk forward. Renny, holding her sword, accompanied me.
There was only one thing we had to do.
———————————–
“Is it over?”
“…What about Millia?”
Renny said that and turned her head to look elsewhere. Following her gaze, I saw the skull bucket reappear, clapping at us.
“Wonderful. You’ve excellently figured out the answer with limited clues.”
“What happened to Millia?”
“That monster was born by using Miss Millia’s body as the core. And just now, you all killed it, haven’t you?”
Killed it… huh. It’s not wrong, but it still grated on my nerves.
Whatever expression I wore, the skull bucket spoke to me soothingly.
“When the play ends, all characters are bound to exit. Millia has fulfilled her role, so it’s time for her to leave.”
“That’s absurd.”
“What can be done? After all, this is a law.”
A law, huh…
Bullshit.
“Don’t be too heartbroken. Isn’t life all about constant farewells and meetings? More importantly, don’t you have something you want to ask me?”
I wanted to split that annoyingly grinning skull in half right then and there, but I needed information.
After a moment’s contemplation, I organized my question to the skull bucket in my mind.
“Will the vortex disappear?”
“Yes. It will disappear. After all, it was merely a device for tutorial purposes.”
“Tutorial? What do you mean by that?”
“Fufu, isn’t it more familiar to say it that way?”
It knows game terminology…?
What the hell is its deal?
I stared at the skull bucket with my doubts, but it didn’t seem like it would answer.
“Why was I stranded on this island?”
“You’re not the one who was stranded. It’s the possessor. Ah, this might be a bit problematic for you.”
A finger snap. And suddenly, the world fell silent, and I looked around in shock.
The world came to a halt.
The only ones moving were me and the skull bucket.
“Doesn’t this make it easier to talk?”
“Answer me.”
“The possession of that body was a coincidence. I could have possessed another body. That body just happened to drift ashore.”
“This world is indeed the world of the Survival Academy, right?”
“Ah, that’s correct. Although it might be a bit different from what you know.”
“…Different how?”
“You’ll find out once you experience it directly.”
“…Can I return?”
“Well, that’s entirely up to you. You can choose to return or not. But keep in mind that you can only do so after witnessing the real ending of this world.”
“Real ending?”
“Don’t you remember? The day you were possessed, the True Ending DLC came out.”
…It did happen.
“…You’re providing more information than I expected.”
“I only share what I can. After all, I’m in the position to support you.”
“In the position to support me?”
“I sincerely wish for you to reach a new ending, not the countless ones you’ve experienced.”
Is that sincere or a lie? I couldn’t gauge it.
The skull bucket quietly stared at me before suddenly snapping its fingers as if it remembered something, then it cracked its jaw and said.
“My time here is up. Before I go, I should reward you for clearing the dungeon.”
The skull bucket rummaged through its robes and produced a translucent silver sphere, handing it to me.
“This is…”
“I trust you remember how to use it. Now, I shall take my leave. I wish for the four of you to return safely.”
The skull bucket began to slowly disintegrate from its toes. I stared blankly at the spot where it had vanished and quietly murmured.
“Use.”