༺ Netherworld (2) ༻
As we got closer to the portal, the light cluster started to vibrate menacingly.
It was as though warning us to stay back, otherwise, there would be severe repercussions. And it was indeed true, if we just tried to directly launch our way through, we would just bounce off.
So, at this time, I took out the black card that the Headmistress gave me.
I threw it as soon as we were about to get in contact with the portal. The light cluster wriggled in which tore a hole in the space itself.
At the same time, I set a timer of exactly 2 minutes.
‘…This is the limit of Atalante’s access pass.’
Originally, this was end-game content that was only given to players who had achieved the Eternal status.
The black card was something like an identification given to these high beings. Without this, I’d be quarantined once I entered the other side of the portal.
It was being strictly managed.
“…”
In other words…
The Netherworld was such a crazy place where even an Eternal like Atalante was only allowed entry for a mere two minutes.
Occasionally, depending on the route you take, you might have to enter this place again during the main scenario and not just in the DLC.
‘…Absolutely not.’
Really.
Please no.
God forbid the occurrence of that case.
I would also have to work my ass off to prevent that from happening.
“Wow.”
A surprised exclamation came out of Iliya’s mouth as soon as she entered the portal.
“I thought it would be straight hell as soon as we enter, but this…”
“Yeah, I get what you mean.”
Well, it might look pretty right now but the reality couldn’t be more terrifying.
Various objects of all shapes and colors were scattered throughout the place; as though various filters were overlayed on top of the terrain of the real world.
Astral bodies. Forgotten ancient objects. Spirits.
All of them were powerful and extremely dangerous.
“Try to not carelessly touch things. They are dangerous.”
Iliya was just about to touch a white haze that was floating nearby, but immediately snapped her hand back in a flurry after hearing my words.
If something bad did happen, there was still the angel’s protection. However, it was best not to come into contact with objects from the Netherworld as much as possible.
“… But how high did we go up? How much higher do we need to go?”
“Just a little more.”
In fact, if it were just simply entering and exiting the portal, there would have been a more suitable flying item from the Vision Warehouse and not this makeshift catapult.
But there was a reason why I used such a primitive method, that is, to obtain the items that existed in Gregory Hall’s Highest Level.
“… Coming to such a high place reminds me of the old days.”
Iliya, who was on a free flight with me, suddenly muttered.
“You’re familiar with this experience?”
“My older brother is as crazy as Mister. He had thrown me from the top of the mountain without any equipment since I was little. Looking at it that way, aren’t you two the same?”
“…”
“He always saves me in the end, and says that this was to train my courage.”
“…”
No wonder she was still strangely calm even in such a situation.
“That idiot really loved heights.”
Iliya continued with a glowing smile on her face.
“… I wonder where and what is he doing now?”
The longing was clear in her tone.
“…”
But.
Twelve years ago, the Crimson Night Incident happened.
It was a terrorist incident caused by the Descendants of the Apocalypse, a group of devil worshipers who follow the Red Devil.
Iliya’s family was killed at that time.
“…”
If she was left alone, Iliya would have grown up in a peaceful farmhouse. Her missing brother probably played a significant role in her taking up the role of a Hero candidate, even though she had no interest in it.
Iliya’s brother was the only one who survived the Crimson Night Incident, but he went completely missing. There was not even a single trace of his whereabouts.
Iliya couldn’t help but constantly cling to the hope that if she became famous enough, he might recognize her and come find her.
Originally being a farmer’s daughter, she had never even held a sword in all her life. I can’t imagine how much she had to push herself to get to this point.
“Oh, there’s something there.”
I got pulled out of my thoughts when Iliya suddenly exclaimed and pointed in front.
It was a pure white smoke that was the most noticeable even amidst the colorful surroundings.
Its appearance closely resembled that of what was generally called a spirit.
The faraway smoke didn’t look ordinary.
‘The Spirit of the Gregory Hall.’
It originally appeared as an Easter egg long after the main story.
It manifested itself in the material world once using the inter-dimensional access route earlier.
“…”
And there was one thing that only those who saw it at that time knew.
This is one of the things that the earlier you get it, the more broken it would be.
Players were even data-mining like crazy to find its original location and get it as soon as possible.
“Yosh.”
I unfolded the sack I prepared beforehand.
Of course, it was not just some random sack.
[ Magic Sack! ] x3
[ Price: 500pts ] x3
[ Item: Junk ]
[ Can hold any item inside for one day! ]
[ Remaining Points: 1,000 ]
A sack that was able to store anything that was treated as an item for a day.
First things first, the spirit was considered as an item. It was impossible to capture it by normal means, but with the sack, it became a possible event.
Although the 500pts price tag was steep, it was worth it.
As for the two remaining sacks, I gave one to Iliya.
“Here, hold this.”
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Grab something nearby when you run away. Anything is fine.”
“…Yes? Run away?”
I then silently pointed up.
To which Iliya only frowned.
“What’s wrong, isn’t that just the sky?”
I continued to point at a huge dot moving around at the center of the sky.
“Do you see that?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the pupil.”
“…Yes?”
And with that, I left the confused Iliya and checked the watch instead.
1 minute remaining.
‘I’ll manage somehow.’
Although I was no scientist, I had already proven my actions to be correct, in this world built on top of the game system several times.
This should be safe enough.
“What do you mean those are the pupils—”
Just as Iliya was about to ask such a question, she immediately shut her mouth.
That was because she saw the color of the sky change for a moment before immediately returning to its original state.
This phenomenon was caused by a being closing and opening its eyes.
To put it differently.
What looked like the sky right now was simply the white part of the being’s eyes.
And the pupil looked like a huge dot in said sky.
At this moment, Iliya finally realized that we were being watched.
“This is, this is crazy-!”
With a deafening roar, the sky receded.
[ A moment of danger has been detected. ]
[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX Class. ]
Specifically, the Netherworld Beast that sensed us pulled its head back and was now approaching us with its jaws wide open.
‘… This is why the Netherworld is quite literally hell.’
Mind you, this was a trash mob of this world.
A creature at the bottom of the food chain.
“M, Mister, this, damn it!”
Iliya drew her sword as she said so.
Her whole body was trembling and tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Ge, get behind me!”
“… Are you sure it’s safe to venture through that route?”
“You saved me before! This time, I’ll…!”
“…”
I see, I understand how you feel. And for that, thank you very much.
The courage and mental strength to put yourself in the face of danger without even knowing the opponent was amazing. Definitely deserving of a round of applause.
But fighting that thing with our current strength alone was more or less suicidal.
“Calm down, we are not here to fight that thing.”
Saying so, I reminded her of the sack I gave earlier.
At this moment, our soaring bodies were about to stop.
All that remained was a free fall downwards.
“From now on, gather everything that comes pouring down.”
“Pour, pour down?!”
“That thing.”
I pointed to the white lumps pouring out of the beast’s open mouth.
“Take as many as you can. It can be used in a lot of places.”
“Y, you really have the time to think about that right now?!”
But despite my instructions, she was screaming in protest.
Iliya was more concerned about our lives being in danger and she was definitely not wrong for feeling like that.
‘…Still, it was absolutely necessary for us to take as many as we can.’
To do so, I even bought two more sacks and spent 1,000 points.
If my calculations were correct, we wouldn’t be in a situation where we’d die.
‘Ah, that’s right.’
Can I use it here?
[ Skill: Evil Ruler has been activated. ]
[ Triggering command right to target Iliya. ]
“Relax, it’s fine.”
When I said that, Iliya’s trembling suddenly stopped.
“… Uh?”
I couldn’t imagine that before this calmness, she was just on the verge of tears.
Even she, herself, was shocked by such a sudden change.
‘The effect is better than I thought?’
I hesitated because the term command was a bit ambiguous, but just telling her to calm down, removed her fear of death.
I didn’t know just how far it could go specifically, but it was certain that its persuasion power was not ordinary.
“Have you calmed down?”
“…Uh, yes, yes. Somehow. So, uh? What is it again?”
“Then put that thing in.”
Then I tried giving her the sack again.
“It’s necessary, alright? Believe it or not, we are safe.”
“…”
Iliya looked at me with questioning eyes, but rather than answering, I checked my watch instead.
10 seconds remaining.
The beast’s jaws were getting closer and closer. It was coming at us faster than we were falling. But because of it, the white lumps were also falling quickly.
“…Ahh, I don’t know. Why can someone be calm in this situation?”
With a half-giving-up expression, Iliya finally followed my lead and opened her sack to catch the falling white lumps.
This and a humongous creature larger than a mountain coming to devour us was quite a strange sight to see.
9 seconds.
“So, what’s the plan!? We’re almost there!”
Her words had a double meaning.
Above was the gaping maw of the beast while below was the hard ground.
It’s either death by vore or death by fall.
Still, there was nothing to plan or say.
“Just… Watch your step.”
There was no room for mistakes here.
As the main character, her life was precious.
“Yes?!”
One second left.
As the alarm on the watch went off, the world that had just been filled with various filter-like colors returned to its original state.
The entry permit that allowed us to enter the world had expired and thus we got forcibly expelled.
“Ehut… Cha.”
At the same time, we made a soft landing on the ground.
Basically, by spending the time limit and getting kicked out made it so that our coordinates were newly generated.
What did that mean exactly? In other words, in the current situation, the only force that would affect me and Iliya was the momentum from jumping from this two-story building.
Kung, kung. A series of thuds rang out.
“…”
“…”
Iliya looked around with a dazed expression, before ignoring everything for now and checking the sack’s contents.
[ Gregory Hall’s Spirit ]
[ Item: Epic ]
[ Grants contact with the spirit of a legendary figure. ]
[ Ectoplasm Blob ] x3
[ Material: Special ]
[ A mysterious substance only secreted by Netherworld beings. Can maximize certain properties depending on the catalyst. ]
Right, so…
Gregory Hall’s Spirit will be used as a material for my exclusive equipment. While the Ectoplasm Blob will be used for the cannon I asked Percy to make for my use.
‘…Good.’
Although it was risky, this was a very good harvest.
“Mister.”
A shaking Iliya suddenly called out as I was lost in my thoughts.
“… No way, did you plan this all from the beginning?”
“Uh? What?”
“Going up to the Netherworld, getting unknown things, being chased by a monster, and a safe landing. Ahhh, I don’t know how it works. Anyway, did you know that this was going to happen?”
“… I guess?”
If I didn’t why would I even do something so dangerous?
Veteran Sera players call this the Gregory Hall Spirit’s Early Farming Method. If the conditions are met, it was actually quite easy to do.
In addition, it was a widely used method because you could also obtain the top-quality material, Ectoplasm.
“Then why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?”
“… Then if I had told you, would you have followed me?”
Eung.
I’m sorry, but that was the truth.
I was confident that it would be safe, but not everyone would be willing to experience something that crazy.
“… Then why did you need me in the first place?”
“Because I needed extra help.”
“Yes?”
“I had to get at least three of these white things, but I was short on hands—”
[ You have influenced the target Iliya. She bears intense anger for the target Dowd! ]
[ Marked with negative tendency! ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ Skill: Evil Ruler has been activated. Obtained 1 command right over the target! ]
“…”
Eum.
My command right got refilled as soon as it was used.
What was happening here?
“Just, barely, that kind of, that hellish thing, hu, huhu…”
Iliya was glaring at me, her voice shaking.
Her eyes were out of focus.
… It was scary to say the least.
“I’m sorry. I apologize.”
“If people could just apologize and solve everything with words, what’s the need for laws in this world-!”
“I’ll do anything you ask.”
This was the promise she made when she apologized to me.
I would return the favor when I can.
Iliya’s outburst immediately stopped as soon as she heard those words.
“… Anything?”
“Anything.”
She awkwardly scratched her cheek.
Then, with pouted lips, she held out her pinky finger.
“Then promise me.”
“Uh?”
“Pinky promise.”
“…”
Are you a child?
But when I asked her, she didn’t ask anything, I just needed to reciprocate when she did.
So I held out my pinky and tied the promise, after which she broadly smiled.
‘…So she just let it slide just like that.’
Was it that simple?
“… Heh. As expected, you’re similar.”
“Eung?”
“I used to do this often with my older brother.”
Having said that, Iliya moved away from me.
There was still a wide smile on her face.
“… Just looking at Mister made me want to do something like this for no reason.”
However…
It was certain that hidden beneath her cheerful words was a mixture of all sorts of complex emotions.
‘…He’s really a strange person.’
Iliya watched as Dowd left with his sacks, after saying he had somewhere to go, and then turned her gaze to her hand.
Her pinky finger had linked with Dowd’s just now. She could feel his warmth still lingering.
She absentmindedly fiddled with that part of her finger.
“…”
She silently recalled what had just happened.
When the unidentified giant monster had opened its mouth and was coming to devour them.
‘Relax, it’s fine.’
She was so scared.
It felt like she was going to die.
But when that man told her to calm down, she suddenly felt relieved.
It really felt like that.
His words just pierced straight through her heart.
‘It’s strange. Really strange.’
At first glance, he seemed indifferent and just blurted out things carelessly.
But if you were to stay by his side for a little while, you would realize that he always seemed to see things that others were unable to.
Most of all…
He would always do things that striked people’s hearts during crucial moments.
‘They’re a little bit similar?’
Her brother had always remained stuck in her heart for better or worse.
He was mischievous, insensitive, and usually only played silly pranks. Sometimes, she wondered if there was another dolt like him in the world.
But at the same time…
No matter what adversity, he would always rise up and overcome it.
No matter how strong the opponent was, he never backed down.
Above all.
Whenever she was in danger, he always rushed to her rescue.
He was her only Hero in the world.
Didn’t he used to say that every time?
‘Relax, it’s fine.’
“…”
And, oddly enough…
After experiencing the previous situation, that man called Dowd strangely reminds her of him—
“Aaaaahhhh-!”
Iliya groaned and slapped her cheeks with both hands.
‘Crazy, are you insane!?’
How could she compare her brother with that person!?
In the first place, he was someone else’s man! And he said he liked Lady Tristan! It was disrespectful to compare someone involved with that damn family to her brother!
“So annoying! That Mister, ahh it’s irritating!”
Yeah, that guy was annoying!
-Relax, it’s fine.
“…”
His voice once again echoed in her mind. But, Iliya immediately shook her head and shouted again at the top of her lungs.
“I really hate you, Mister!”
She was screaming so much that her face started to dye in a hue of red.
It was as if she was trying to force out a voice that was coming from inside of her.
“Aaaaahhhh-!
“So annoying! That Mister, ahh… It’s irritating!
“I really hate you, Mister!”
“…”
I suddenly heard such words echoing as I was dragging my sacks.
‘She’s really angry, huh…?’
I should apologize properly next time.
Otherwise, I might really get killed…
[ The favorability of the target Iliya has greatly increased! ]
[ The favorability level has been upgraded to Interest Level 4! ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ Reward has been reduced due to the good alignment of the target! ]
“…”
In the meantime, I didn’t know why this suddenly popped up.
No.
Why were you here, seriously?
