kscans

Chapter 238 - Sneaking Mission

Hayato proceeded cautiously through the thirty-first floor of the Necropolis.

So far, he hadn't seen any monster-like opponents, but the passages were becoming somewhat complicated, and he sometimes ended up at a dead end. Since there was no mapping skill, Hayato hand-drew a map on a piece of paper he had.

This was so Hayato himself wouldn't get lost, and just in case. There might be a case where he had to try again if he was defeated. Information about what was where could be used next time.

(I'm glad I brought paper and a pen. But I'm not very good at this. As a craftsman, I want to make a perfect map.)

Not good didn't mean he had a bad sense of direction, but that he wanted to be particular about it. It was probably a common act for some people in regular games. Even if there was nothing special, they were driven by the desire to make the map perfect.

Or perhaps it was close to the feeling of relief one gets when going to a dead end rather than the path that leads deeper when there's a fork in a game dungeon.

In Hayato's case, it was a similar state of mind. Rather than finding the portal, he was driven by the desire to draw a map that covered this entire dungeon.

Hayato had a craftsman's spirit, or rather, he was the type to be particular about things. He would create things that others might not care about down to the finest detail. This time, even if he found the portal midway, he wanted to draw the map of this floor to the very end.

(Maps of places like this don't exist online either, so I feel like I could sell it for a pretty high price if I put it up for sale. It might be useless if it gets copied, though.)

Hayato thought this as he proceeded.

As he walked, checking several passages, he saw a monster. He returned to the corner of the passage and checked from there. It was a child with dark purple skin and bat wings. It had no hair and was only wearing a cloth wrapped around it.

It was a low-class demon called an Imp, and it attacked with magic. There were probably other things, but that was all the knowledge Hayato had.

Hayato left the spot so as not to be noticed and proceeded down a passage he hadn't yet taken.

Passing through the place where the monster was was his last resort. For now, he would proceed through places where there were no monsters, and if that didn't work, he intended to force his way through.

From the thirty-first floor, the space was devoid of sound and smell, so he could generally tell where monsters were. He could faintly hear footsteps or something talking.

However, the same could be said for Hayato, so he was walking without making any loud noises. He intended to use "Invisible" when he was noticed, but Hayato was now in a bit of a bind.

(I can fool their sight with an item, and I just have to not move for sound, but scent... Should I have brought a deodorant item?)

There were several ways monsters could notice a player.

The most common was sight. If you stepped into a monster's line of sight, hostile monsters would attack.

Next was sound. If you made a loud noise, monsters would gather there. It was a common act when hunting monsters efficiently.

However, some animals had an unusually keen sense of smell, and they might notice you by scent even if they couldn't see you. It was a common story to be attacked by a monster that was quite far away in a jungle.

There were also other special conditions for being attacked, such as being attacked when they sensed magic, or when you had a specific item.

Hayato walked around the thirty-first floor of the Necropolis, paying attention to various things.

The map was almost complete.

All that was left was what seemed to be a large room where the Imps were. Hayato thought the portal was beyond that large room.

Hayato let out a breath at the corner of the passage, out of sight of the Imps.

(Now, what to do. Even if an Imp is the weakest demon, with that many, I'll be taken out in no time. A normal combat class wouldn't lose, but it's impossible for me. I have no choice but to lure them over here and then run through.)

After taking a deep breath, Hayato walked to a point where the Imps would notice him. He then hit the wall of the passage, making a noise.

The Imps noticed the sound and Hayato's figure. And they headed towards Hayato. Their appearance was probably like children who had found a toy. For Hayato, it was unbearable.

Hayato immediately started running and returned to the corner of the passage. He then leaned against the wall and used the item that made his form disappear, "Invisible."

From Hayato's perspective, he looked translucent, but from others, he was completely invisible.

Just as he thought he heard footsteps, the Imps came running around the corner of the passage. Since Hayato was on the very inside of the corner, the Imps ran past him without bumping into him, further down the passage.

After confirming that the footsteps had gone far away, Hayato immediately began to move. He thought he would pass through the room before the Imps came back.

The moment he started moving, Hayato's form became visible. And he started running towards the large room where the Imps had been.

However, there was a single Hellhound at the corner of the passage.

Hayato noticed. A Hellhound was a demon, but it was also a dog. Its sense of smell was excellent. It had been wandering around nearby because Hayato's scent was nearby.

Hayato immediately switched his ring and bracelet equipment.

The attack where he temporarily increased his martial arts skill to use a low kick, which he had done in the fight with Diite. Hayato unleashed a low kick before the Hellhound could attack him.

It was a clumsy kick, but since it was a sudden encounter, Hayato's low kick hit the Hellhound.

The Hellhound entered a stunned state. But Hayato started running towards the large room in the back before confirming that. It was no use confirming whether the Hellhound was stunned or not, so he chose to move even one step forward.

Since it was a virtual reality, he wouldn't get tired, but if he couldn't move his legs properly due to the fear from his injury, he would fall. To avoid that, he ran while telling himself to "calm down."

After running for a bit, he heard the growl of the Hellhound from behind him. And Hayato could even hear footsteps from behind him.

(This is bad!)

If it caught up with him here, he would definitely be defeated. And at Hayato's movement speed, he would definitely be caught.

Hayato took a gamble, not knowing if it would work. He scattered meat for his usual cooking from his item bag. There was even bone-in dragon meat among it, but he scattered it without hesitation.

Monsters would attack if you had a specific item. He thought he could stall the Hellhound by throwing that item away. It was unclear if it would actually work, but he made a realistic response, thinking that a dog would want meat.

Hayato continued to run without looking back. He didn't know if it would be effective, so his thought was to move even one step forward. But the sound of the Hellhound's footsteps behind him disappeared.

(Alright, it literally took the bait! Now's my chance!)

There was no one in the large room, and there was a door at the back.

Hayato opened the back door and jumped in without confirming what was inside, then closed the door. And he took a deep breath. Since it was a virtual reality, it wasn't that he was out of breath, but a deep breath to regain his mental composure.

Once he had calmed down, he looked around. In the middle of a room about five meters square, there was a cylinder about one meter in diameter and two meters high, a portal.

This was a safety area where monsters didn't appear, but Hayato immediately touched the portal.

Now Hayato could transfer to this portal.

(For now, mission complete. But that was tough. This isn't something a production class should be doing... Oh well, first I have to bring everyone here.)

Hayato transferred to the entrance with the portal.