RPG 3

Most rifts are divided into chapters.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4…

Usually, it ends at Chapter 4 or 5, but sometimes there are rifts that go beyond Chapter 7.

Anyway, that’s not the important part.

‘The city defense earlier was Chapter 1.’

The battle I fought as the mercenary Bjorn Jandel against the monsters could be considered Chapter 1.

But the key point here is…

‘Is this similar to the Doppelganger Forest?’

The fourth-floor rift, Doppelgänger Forest.

At that time, we were trapped in a cage as soon as we entered, and it wasn’t until the other two teams entered the rift that we could escape and start Chapter 1.

The three teams started Chapter 1 from their respective start points and then merged in Chapter 2…

This labyrinth we entered now is of the same type.

“I started in a rural village. The military was invading at the time.”

Erwin’s experience in Chapter 1 was different from mine.

Although it was also a battlefield from the beginning, unlike me, she didn’t clear the chapter with a massacre.

“I was probably at about 1/10th of my usual strength… maybe even less.”

Erwen, who was heavily debuffed from the start, barely managed to escape the village with the help of nearby NPCs.

And then…

“I just kept climbing the mountain blindly, and monsters kept appearing. The weird thing was, they attacked the soldiers following me but ignored me.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t just pure debuffs.

“Anyway, while being chased like that, I wandered through the mountains and eventually arrived at this cave. I hid inside, but… soon enough, a knight found me.”

“Wait, did the knights or soldiers have this emblem on their chests?”

Before continuing the conversation, I drew the Empire’s emblem and showed it to her. Erwen nodded.

“Yes! That’s it!”

Hah, Those damn Empire bastards are everywhere.

“Got it. Keep going. The knight found you, and then?”

“I thought I was going to die, but he said I shouldn’t worry because he wasn’t here to kill me.”

The knight introduced himself as a friend of Erwin’s older brother.

Then, he handed her a compass and said that if she followed it through the cave, she would meet her brother.

“He said he wanted to come with me but couldn’t, so he’d send help in a few days.”

That was the entirety of Erwin’s Chapter 1.

The moment the knight finished speaking, before Erwin could even respond, everything went dark.

“But then I suddenly sensed movement next to me… S-sorry.”

“No, stabbing first when you don’t know what’s going on is the right move.”

“Uh… r-really?”

“Good job.”

As I patted her on the head, Erwin smiled. It was an unconscious gesture on my part, but for some reason, it felt uncomfortable, probably because of her childlike appearance.

It felt like I had become a barbarian uncle, teaching something bad to a little kid.

“Anyway, can you show me the compass that knight gave you?”

“Here it is.”

I took the compass from Erwin.

“Do we just need to go in the direction this points to…?”

Given the circumstances, that seemed likely. But before setting off, I checked Erwin’s condition first.

‘First, all her equipment’s been stripped…’

Unlike me, who still had all my original items like Demon Crusher and Aegis’ Barrier, Erwin was completely unarmed.

Also…

“I can still use my essence and spirits, but… I don’t think I’ll be able to use my full strength.”

Her MP was extremely low, so her output was about 1/10th of what it normally was.

The only thing worth looking forward to was [Chaos Circuit], but Erwin hadn’t been able to test it yet.

“I figured the recoil could cause serious problems, so I did my best to control it while escaping.”

[Chaos Circuit], which activates when all resources are exhausted, would grant her infinite MP for one minute.

In that state, if she used [Focused Shot] and summoned the Spirit King, she could unleash insane firepower for that minute.

‘…Though even at full charge, it’d only be about 10% of her usual output.’

Even with the same charging time, lower stats result in lower coefficients and weaker damage.

Still, it’s still better than most ranged damage dealers.

‘It’s best to save this for emergencies…’

After further testing, we discovered another peculiarity besides ‘not being targeted by monsters.’

“Ugh…!”

Her wounds weren’t healing.

It wasn’t just because her stats had dropped, which had reduced her natural regeneration.

After all, potions work independently of stats.

Sssss—

His skin regenerated at an unbearably slow pace, as if the potion had no effect whatsoever.

‘This is a problem…’

What would happen if she were stabbed in a vital spot while in this state?

Just imagining it was horrifying.

“Erwin, you’re absolutely forbidden from fighting from now on. Got it?”

“…Huh?”

“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you. Just trust me and follow quietly.”

“Ah…! Okay!”
***

Alright, let’s start Chapter 2.

Step, step.

Leaving the sealed cave entrance which was blocked by a barrier, we followed the compass deeper inside.

As we walked, I realized something.

Actually, I’d been thinking about it since the cave entrance.

“Mister, this place feels like…”

“The first-floor Crystal Cave?”

“Yeah.”

Of course, there were differences.

This cave had no monsters whatsoever.

Thanks to that, we were moving much more comfortably than expected.

But…

Physically, at least. Mentally, I was still deeply unsettled.

‘The fact that nothing’s appearing is driving me crazy…’

The prolonged lack of events made it hard to stay alert, no matter how much I tried.

My mind kept wandering as we walked.

‘This is weird…’

I’d learned scouting from Rotmiller.

Naturally, since he was obsessed with speedrunning, he’d studied the first-floor Crystal Cave the most. Thanks to his teachings, I was well-versed in it too.

To exaggerate a bit, I could tell where I was just by touching the walls and noticing subtle differences.

Which made me wonder:

‘Is the terrain different from the labyrinth?’

Our current location was likely near the Land of the Dead.

But Erwin had said he started in a normal village, not the Land of the Dead.

So where did this divergence come from?

‘Maybe as time passes… that village turns into the Land of the Dead?’

 

It wasn’t an impossible hypothesis.

One of the features of the Dead Man’s Land was its soggy black earth and buried ruins of stone buildings.

“…I’m wondering.”

“What?”

“The compass is pointing to the west, towards the Stone Desert.”

“Yeah, so what?”

Erwin, looking confused, asked what was wrong.

That was probably the normal reaction.

But…

“I’m just wondering… what about the other places?”

I had a feeling that, like in Chapter 1, the moment we found the exit, we’d move on to the next chapter. If that happened, we’d never get to investigate Chapter 2’s structure properly.

“Um… what about other places?”

“There might be something hidden in the center. I’m also curious about the other exits.”

“Well… you’ve always been curious about things like this, haven’t you?”

It’s more like greed than curiosity.

You never know what reward might be hidden there, right?

Even in Chapter 1, if it weren’t for information gathering, I would’ve searched every corner.

“Hmmm, let’s just go check them out.”

“But if there’s nothing there, we’d just be wasting time.” Erwin objected.

“Isn’t that what exploration’s all about…?”

“Uh… well, yeah.”

I had already made up my mind, so I immediately changed direction and headed towards the center of the cave.

“Is this the place? where the monument is supposed to be?”

The very spot where the monument to Gavrilius was supposed to be, and where the witch altar was located in the Pilgrims Cave.

“The terrain matches, but there’s nothing here.”

Tch, a dead end?

“Well, since we’re here, let’s search a bit—”

“Mister…?”

Suddenly, Erwin flinched and called out to me.

“Something… is coming.”

“Coming?”

“It’s coming… from over there!”

Erwin pointed toward the direction of the wall.

But I didn’t question the validity of the information.

“Step back. Quickly!”

I pushed Erwin behind me and prepared for battle, staring at the wall.

And then, after a moment…

Squeak..

Instead of a violent monster attacking us, a translucent figure emerged through the wall, slowly scanning left and right. When our eyes met, I was at a loss for words.

“…Hamsiki?”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

***
Black eyes, twitching ears.

A slightly protruding chin and front teeth.

Glossy beige fur and a plump pink belly.

And tiny, adorable front paws.

By all appearances, it was Hamsik.

But…

[Ham… siki?]

The pressure emanating from its voice and tone was confusing.

[So, the mortals dare to give me such a trivial name…]

A chilling killing intent.

The moment I sensed it, I acknowledged it.

This thing in front of me was nothing like Hamsiki.

“…Who are you?”

[You are not permitted to ask questions.]

Hamsiki coldly dismissed my question and fixed its gaze on Erwin.

[Human girl, do you know of the fate you carry?]

“Uh… who are you?”

Unlike with me, Hamsiki answered Erwin’s question more kindly.

[I am one who can either aid or harm you, Pitiful Thing.]

“…?”

Hamsiki stepped fully out of the wall and approached.

Its majestic aura exuded a heavy presence, but its waddling walk was unmistakably Hamsiki.

Is this due to its biological structure?

As I was thinking this, Hamsiki spoke in a grave tone.

[Human girl, the moment you are captured by the pursuers, a terrible catastrophe will occur. However…]

“…But what?”

[If you die here, the world will be preserved.]

It spoke as though there were two choices, but anyone who saw the look in its eyes could tell what decision it had already made.

‘You son of a—’

I came here hoping for some loot, but instead, a hidden boss popped out.

[You are not at fault. You may blame me if you wish…]

I cut off Hamsiki’s muttering.

There was no need to hear more.

It didn’t matter anymore whether this was the Hamshik before it lost its memory or perhaps one of its parents.

Whoosh—

I swung my hammer and blocked its path.

“Hey, stop acting all high and mighty with that cute face.”

[Q-quit calling me cute…?]

Hamshik seemed to tremble in humiliation.

[Squeak—! How dare a lowly mortal! The audacity—!]

And so, the hidden boss battle began.
***

To cut to the chase, Hamsiki was strong.

About a mid-tier Level 3 monster.

But…

[Squeak—! Let go! Release me…!]

Hamsiki had a fatal flaw.

Its durability and regeneration were high, but its casting time was long, and while it had AOE skills, the single-target damage was low.

In other words, its skillset was specialized for farming.

‘If I were still a shield barbarian, my damage might’ve fallen short.’

But as a hammer barbarian, I could break through its defenses and subdue it.

Ah, of course, Erwin’s performance was the biggest factor.

Even with that insane debuff, using [Chaos Circuit], she could still pull her weight.

Even with all those crazy debuffs, she was still able to utilize [Chaos Circuit] and pull her weight.

‘Somehow, even in that state, her damage output’s better than mine…’

“…Mister! Are you okay?!”

After successfully defeating it, Erwin rushed over, panting.

With my defense stats lowered, my body was in rough shape.

But fighting so desperately had revealed something.

“I’m fine. Nothing too serious.”

But through this desperate fight, I was able to figure out something.

“I’m fine. There are no serious injuries.”

To be more precise, the serious injuries had already mostly healed. Though once some of my wounds started healing, the recovery rate slowed drastically.

‘Does the regeneration value increase the more you’re injured?’

Seems like there’s a mechanic in place where the more injured I am, the faster I regenerate.

It appeared that the status condition I was under did more than just boost my attack and lower my defense.

‘This mechanic actually synergizes well with [Hero’s Path].’

Anyway, self-reflection could wait.

“Hamsiki.”

[My name is not Hamsiki—!]

“Hamsiki.”

[…What do you want, mortal?]

“What’s this?”

I pulled out a small orb, and Hamsiki’s eyes widened.

[H-how did you get that—!]

How?

I just checked its pouch while it was briefly unconscious, and there it was.

“Never mind that. Just answer me. What is this?”

[…….]

Wait, I never read it its Miranda rights or anything.

“If you’re not going to speak, does that mean I get to keep this?”

I politely asked for permission, but once again, Hamshik didn’t say a word.

Was it something precious to him?

“Answer me.”

[…….]

“Not going to answer?”

I muttered in a slightly frustrated voice.

[I was going to give it to you…]

That voice sounded so pitiful that I couldn’t say anything in response.

[I was going to give it to you… after testing you and deciding you wouldn’t just die meaninglessly……!]

What the hell?

As a gamer who’d seen it all, I was genuinely taken aback.

[Why must I suffer such humiliation……!]

…Wait, was I not supposed to just beat it up?

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