kscans

Chapter 224 - Bugs and Features

Hayato asked Rose to show Damian to a room, then contacted Diite to confirm the situation.

There was a possibility that an event was occurring, just like with Ash and Ren's Dragon Soul. It was possible for a new event to start while the treasure hunting event was still active.

Since it happened in a dungeon, there was a chance they were linked. From other players' perspectives, it would be downright unfair, but he decided to at least confirm whether it was a planned event or not.

"Diite-chan, is now a good time?"

"Hey, good morning, Hayato-kun. It's rare for you to call so early in the morning."

"Good morning. I have something I want to ask. Is the matter of Mist-san going missing an event? Is it something you're aware of? I got a little worried."

It was probably a rude way to ask. It was a statement that questioned Diite's management capabilities. But a lot had been happening recently. The Hypnos incident, the hacking incident, there were many things Diite had not been aware of. It was only natural to ask.

"Mist-kun? No, I'm not aware of any such event. What are you talking about?"

"Mist-san went missing while exploring a dungeon called Necropolis. Just a little while ago, his companion Damian-san came and asked for our help in rescuing him."

"Missing? In Necropolis? ...Ah, maybe he got caught in a new trap?"

"A new trap?"

"We're in the middle of a treasure hunting event right now, right? Dungeons are more active, so I increased the appearance rate of treasure chests and the drop rate of keys from monsters. At the same time, I also increased the types and occurrence rates of traps in treasure chests and passages... Come to think of it, I don't think I anticipated Mist-kun getting caught in a trap..."

"Um, what do you mean?"

"I think the trap Mist-kun got caught in was a teleportation trap. I believe he was teleported to a place called a monster room."

Havato had heard of monster rooms before.

They were moderately sized rooms where monsters spawned infinitely. They were once often used for leveling up close-range attack skills, but they were hardly used anymore.

The monsters that spawned there did not drop any items. Since the monster respawn time was short and you could fight endlessly, it was suitable for skill leveling. However, the monsters were not strong enough to raise skills to 100. It could be called a training ground for beginners.

"He can get out by unlocking the door in the room, but Mist-kun doesn't have the Lockpicking Skill. Also, he won't take damage from the monsters in that room, so he can't resurrect at his base either."

"So..."

"He can't get out, no matter how much time passes. Mist-kun has high natural recovery because he's a vampire, so I don't think he'll lose even if he doesn't fight back against the monsters."

"...That's a bug, right?"

"...No, it's not. It's working as intended. It's just that in Mist-kun's case, he can't get out."

"Isn't that what they call a feature bug? Vampirism is popular, so I think other players will end up in the same situation."

"It's just that Mist-kun's natural recovery is unusually high. Other players, even as vampires, would lose in a monster room, so it's not a problem. But it's no good for Mist-kun. I was careless."

It had been a while since he had heard Diite's careless admission. Still, if that was the case, there was no need to worry, and he felt somewhat relieved.

"In that case, will you get Mist-san out, Diite-chan? We're actually about to go rescue him."

"Since you're going anyway, could you go and rescue him? I'm sorry this happened, but I'd like to get some data from it."

"No, but it's a monster room, right? Isn't Mist-san fighting endlessly? What about sleep?"

"I didn't intend for those places to be used for skill grinding, so I got rid of the infinite monster spawns. Only one hundred monsters will appear there in a day. Also, I've prepared a bed in the corner of the room so players can log out. Mist-kun can't log out, but I think he'll be fine as far as sleeping goes."

"Then could you at least make it a little more comfortable for him? Like having meals served in the morning, afternoon, and evening, or having the bed turn into a coffin."

"You're right, that's necessary. Understood. I'll take care of that right away."

"Also, I'd like you to make some arrangements for Mist-san after he's rescued."

"That's true too. Well, I'll think of some kind of apology. I'll get on that right away, then."

The voice chat with Diite ended.

Just knowing that Mist had not gone missing due to an external factor was enough for Hayato. It was bad news for Damian, but for Hayato, it was no longer a situation that felt particularly critical.

However, even if Diite took measures, being unable to get out would be stressful. Several days had already passed, so it was best to start the rescue mission right away.

Havato decided to contact some people who might be able to lend a hand.

"...Disturbing the Demon Lord's second nap. Should I take that as a declaration of war?"

"Lunaria-san, actually, Mist-san has gone missing in a dungeon called Necropolis. I'd like to borrow your help in clearing it."

"Mist-san? He's from the Demon Country, so I'd like to help, but he's been away from the Demon Country for quite a while, so it might be difficult for a while. Besides, the Black Roses are also in a tough spot... Oh, that's right. I just contacted Gilcchi, so I think he'll lend you a hand."

"Who's Gilcchi?"

"Gilcchi from the Ten Dark Knights."

"Ah, the Dark Knight. So his name is Gil-san?"

"Yes, Gil Kliff. He's a muscle-supremacist tank, so you can really count on him as a wall. And his attack power is pretty good too. I recommend him."

Havato heard a philosophy he could not ignore, but he decided to let it go. However, it did bother him that Rose had also almost called the Dark Knight 'muscle' for some reason.

"Thank you. I'll ask Gil-san then."

"Yeah. I can't help directly, but I'll help in various indirect ways, so please save Mist-san."

"I promise. I'll contact you if anything happens."

Havato ended the voice chat after hearing Lunaria's reply.

(Gil-san, huh. If Lunaria-san says so, he must be strong. A tank would be necessary for a long-term dungeon delve. I should make sure to ask him properly. But before that, I should contact some other people.)

Havato tried contacting others, but he did not receive any positive replies.

The response from Cecil's Dragon Busters was this.

"Sorry. The Dragon Busters have been away from the Empire for too long, so we got chewed out and can't go on expeditions to other countries right now. It's pretty harsh, considering we gave them the treasure. We didn't give them the sword, though."

"Isn't that the reason? But roger that. I'm partly responsible for you getting in trouble, so I'll make some good swords for everyone later."

"You'd better!"

And the reply from Ney and the Kokuryu was also that they could not lend a hand.

"Sorry. Actually, there's a lot of paperwork to do now that I've become an investor. I'm having the Kokuryu members help me with that in the real world, so it's a bit difficult."

"I see. Sorry for putting you through so much trouble."

"What are you talking about? This was the best course of action, so there's no problem. We'll all come and hang out again when we have time, so just hold on until then. Next time, you should come on vacation with us, Hayato!"

"Yeah, I'll look forward to it."

Most of Hayato's connections were a no-go. He had other options, like the Bandit Clan and the Demon Summoning Research Association, but it was unclear if they would help rescue Mist, and he felt it would become a hassle, so he removed them from the list of candidates.

As he wondered what to do, there was a knock on the door. It opened immediately.

"Good morning! It's been a while!"

"Maris, and Sieg too. Good morning, both of you. It feels like it's been a while."

The tamer Maris entered with Siegfried on her right shoulder. Maris was normally cheerful, but she had a huge smile on her face now, an expression that made you think something good had happened.

"My Nekomanma Deluxe ran out, so I came to have you make some more. Sieg has become a gourmet, you see. He says he doesn't want regular food..."

"I'll make it right away. By the way, is everything alright with your work at the Tamer Guild? You were busy with something, right?"

"Yes, things have settled down for now. We've rounded up the tamers who were engaged in illegal trading. A few got away, but I think it's only a matter of time before they're caught. So, for a while, I was thinking of just playing with the animals at my base...!"

"Is that so? Oh, in that case, do you happen to have some time?"

"I do. What's up?"

Havato decided to tell Maris the story so far.