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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 5: Mystery Room (1)
How long had he been moving through the drizzling black rain?
The place Yohan arrived at was in front of the Unopened Gate that had appeared before Cheonho Station's Exit 3.
'Thankfully, I'm not late.'
A characteristic of Unopened Gates was that an Outbreak would not occur even after time passed.
This meant that even if the gate wasn't cleared within a time limit, monsters wouldn't pour out into the modern world.
In addition to this.
1. Once you enter, you cannot leave until it is cleared.
2. The rewards are great for the difficulty, and in particular, the Mana Stone deposits are more than three times that of a comparable gate.
It had these additional features.
A kind of treasure dungeon.
For that reason, they were quite popular.
Normally, the major guilds would have been the first to stake their claim, their eyes ablaze with greed.
But with the apocalypse just a week away, they wouldn't waste their forces just to earn a bit of money.
'Thanks to that, quite a crowd has gathered. The tiger is away, so the foxes and rabbits have come out to play, I see.'
Small groups looking to strike it rich, known as treasure hunters.
Here and there, he could see quite a few shady-looking characters.
They were likely closer to criminals than Hunters.
It was highly probable that he would be in competition with them inside.
Perhaps... he might even witness something far more vicious.
Right at that moment.
"The rank is 'D'. Due to the nature of Unopened Dungeons, the Association will not be involved. Everything that happens inside is the individual's own responsibility."
An employee from the Association, having finished their measurements, shouted.
Since an Outbreak wouldn't happen anyway, it was their way of saying, 'deal with it yourselves.'
The biggest reason was likely the lack of manpower due to gates appearing simultaneously all over Seoul.
'I finally get to go in here.'
In the early parts of the forbidden book, there was a phrase the protagonist repeated like a habit.
If he could go back in time and make a choice once more...
...he would go to the gate that appeared at Cheonho Station right after the black rain fell.
He had said it was incredibly dangerous, but that if played right, it was a chance to obtain the greatest of all the early fortuitous encounters.
He'd said it so often Yohan was sick of hearing it.
He had also called it a chaotic battlefield, overflowing with important figures and various incidents from the episode.
For the protagonist, it was a wish that could never be reached, but Yohan, who was just now at the starting line, could do what that guy couldn't.
‘Come to think of it.’
If the book he had repeatedly entered was not just a forbidden book but a true book of prophecy, didn't that mean that guy wasn't a character in a book, but a real person living in reality?
The thought of meeting him again soon made him feel strange.
The Divinity, 'Seo Changhee'.
The protagonist of this world, trapped by his obsession with saving humanity, and...
...a destructive troll who ruined every single thing he did.
How, exactly, would it be most advantageous to establish a relationship with Seo Changhee?
'His personality is garbage, and he has a bad case of main character syndrome, but I'll have to take that into account.'
In any case, the abilities that guy possessed were surely the real deal.
The best-case scenario would be to slowly gaslight him, then put a leash on him and train him.
Or put him in his debt so he's completely beholden to him.
If he could then slowly polish that raw gemstone and make good use of him, he would undoubtedly be a great help in clearing the episode.
While he was thinking that.
The first group of people entered the gate.
Yohan followed the crowd and took a step forward as well.
Woooong!
His vision went black.
[You have entered the 'Mystery Room'!]
When it cleared again, a massive, resplendent room came into view.
It was as if a cross-section of a lavish, medieval royal palace had been cut out and moved here.
Inside were all sorts of miscellaneous items: a wall clock, a TV, a fountain pen, tissues, a coat hanger, a lantern, and so on.
There were more than enough items for the hundreds of people here to choose from.
"Wh-What is this place?"
"What a peculiar place. Are all Unopened Gates like this?"
"This isn't some five-star hotel. Look at this. It even has a bidet, haha. Should I take a refreshing dump before we start?"
"Ugh. Disgusting, as always."
"Oh. This sculpture looks really expensive."
People muttered in wonder, touching this and that.
However, these were not simple objects.
They were closer to items, each imbued with a unique special ability.
Moreover, if chosen well, they could be of great help in clearing this dungeon.
In other words.
What one chose here was the key to conquering this dungeon.
Tiring!
An additional status window appeared.
[Only one item can be selected per person.]
[However, inside the dungeon, the limit on the number of items one can possess is removed.]
At first glance, it seemed advantageous to those who had come in organized groups.
It meant they could secure multiple items at the start and could plunder more based on their numbers once inside.
But.
'Securing a large number isn't what's good here.'
The important thing was to pick the pearl out of the mud.
"We should check each one before choosing."
"Yeah. It's obvious they'll help with the dungeon, so we have to be careful. Let's take this area here."
"Sounds good. In exchange, the area under that chandelier is our territory."
The groups began to divide the room, trying to claim ownership of different sections.
That wasn't going to work.
Because.
[Time Limit: 0H : 09M : 59S]
The time they had to choose was far too short.
To distinguish the jade from the common stone among this many items?
Well, that would not be an easy task.
After all, the vast majority of the things here had properties quite different from their conventional uses.
"H-Hurry up and pick one!"
"Damn it. Which one of these is actually helpful?"
"There are ones that look obviously useful!"
"This one... do you use it like this?"
FWOOSH!
As someone who had picked up a lantern turned it on, a beam of white light shot out.
[B-Rank 'Radiation-Emitting Lantern' has been activated!]
Tsssssk!
With that horrific sound.
"Gyaaaah!"
Someone who had been touched by the light began to melt.
＊＊＊
"G-Gyaaaah! My body... my body is!"
The screams continued for a long while after.
The man, his entire body covered in blisters, thrashed wildly before collapsing.
"What the hell."
"Turn it off! Turn off the light, you son of a bitch! Before I kill you! You think you're the only one who can use these things?"
"Damn it. So you're gonna play it like that, huh?"
Having lost a companion, the scene instantly devolved into pandemonium.
What kind of ability did an item have? The process of finding out...
...they began to use other humans as test subjects.
[D-Rank 'Old Fountain Pen' has been activated!]
As the fountain pen moved, a giant letter was carved onto a muscular man's body like a tattoo.
"Aha... hahaha! Ahahahaha!"
The man began to laugh like a maniac.
The sight of him hiccuping while foaming at the mouth was quite grotesque.
"Find cover! We don't know what abilities these things have, so don't get hit by anything!"
"Yes, sir!"
The movements of those belonging to guilds were different.
Unlike the rampaging criminals and treasure hunters, they were calmly assessing the situation.
[C-Rank 'Charcoal Brazier' has been activated!]
When the flames from the brazier touched them, their fatigue recovered, and new flesh grew over the small wounds on their bodies.
‘So that’s a healing item.’
It was certainly difficult to figure out an item's ability until you actually used it.
"Okay, say cheese."
A woman with a bob cut pressed the shutter of a camera, pointing it at a Paladin in priest's robes.
[A-Rank 'Broken Camera' has been activated!]
Click!
With a cheerful sound, the Paladin vanished.
There was no telling where he had gone.
It was as if he had been carved out of space itself.
The Paladin's very form had evaporated.
"Oh my, he disappeared? So sorry. I didn't mean to do that, hehe."
The short-haired woman bowed her head politely.
“……!?”
"To think such a wicked ability exists."
"Kill her! She laid a hand on a priest of the gods!"
The Paladins and priests belonging to the Order of the Sun moved toward the short-haired woman.
CRASH! KWAANG!
They overturned desks. They made a barricade with bookshelves.
While some items were lethal, there were far more non-lethal types.
Nevertheless, because so many items were being used, there were bound to be casualties.
The time given was a mere ten minutes, but that short time felt like an eternity.
"Aaargh!"
"You... son of a... gyaaaah!"
As various special abilities were unleashed, dozens of people had already died or disappeared before even properly entering the dungeon.
'As expected of a place with few proper Hunters. Is this how it starts?'
Yohan lowered his posture and carefully crossed the Mystery Room.
He hadn't mentioned it earlier, but there was a third characteristic of Unopened Dungeons.
-The mortality rate is considerably high. However, this is presumed to be due to attacks by fellow humans, not monsters or traps.
There was a famous saying in the dungeons.
What happens in the dungeon, stays in the dungeon.
Since no evidence was left behind, only the strict law of the jungle existed.
Yohan chewed over the reality with a grim look on his face.
Even so, his eyes moved quickly.
There were only about five truly useful items here.
Acquiring any of them would help in clearing the dungeon and securing a Hidden Piece, but among them, there was one that suited him best.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Another heavy explosion erupted.
He didn't know who it was, but it seemed they had gotten their hands on a fairly powerful item.
[Time Remaining 0H : 3M : 52S]
He had to hurry.
Leaping over three display cases like a flying squirrel, Yohan arrived next to a luxurious circular sofa.
Just a little further and he would be at the place where 'it' was.
Perhaps because it was the most remote area within the Mystery Room, there were almost no people in sight now.
"L-Let me down! You, down there! Uwaaah!"
A man, his body swollen like a balloon, bounced off the ceiling.
Yohan was curious as to what kind of item could have caused such a state, but he did his best to ignore the man's desperate pleas for help.
It was obvious there was no way to help him other than to pierce his body with something sharp.
'This one-week period is certainly fresh, with so many things I don't know.'
For a veteran of the forbidden book, it was highly stimulating content.
Of course.
He was an expert in theory.
He had never been here himself, but in the countless playthroughs that followed, he had heard and gathered information about the 'Mystery Room' and the 'Withered Garden'.
Tap.
As he went over the sofa, Yohan's eyes sparkled.
...Found it.
On a wooden table that showed the passage of time lay a book with a green cover, a fancy lighter, a quill, and a coat hanger.
But just as he was about to reach out his hand.
A white hand shot out from the opposite side.
Two hands touched the book at the same time.
"This is mine."
A towering height of over 188cm and a face like a sculpture.
Meeting the serious eyes, filled with conviction, felt suffocating.
No way.
Yohan's mouth slowly fell open.
After experiencing 999 playthroughs, he thought he had been through every kind of situation imaginable.
And why wouldn't he?
In that immense amount of time, there must have been a flood of literally bizarre and extraordinary events.
But.
The moment he saw the person before him, he was forced to realize that this world still held countless variables and singularities.
The person before him was none other than the Divinity, Seo Changhee.
The protagonist famous for flushing countless opportunities down the toilet, and...
...the one person who had never once come to this dungeon in all those long playthroughs.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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