kscans

Chapter 348 - Inside Zaratan

Hayato and the others landed on the shell of the giant turtle, Zaratan.

Although it was a shell, only a part of it was visible, and over many decades, sand and soil had accumulated, making it look like an island.

It was oval-shaped, about a kilometer in diameter. It must have been set to not submerge in the sea, as the soil was dry and there were even palm-like trees growing on it. If it had retracted its head and limbs, one would undoubtedly mistake it for an island.

It seemed to be in a good mood now, as its head was out, and it was swimming through the open sea with a sound more like gogogogo than a swish.

Once he finally got used to the swaying ground, Hayato spoke.

"There should be a dungeon somewhere, so let’s look for it."

The leaders of each clan, Rauxal of Imperial, Keith of Over the Top, and Lutz of Starkest, nodded at Hayato’s words and began their search with their respective members.

Hayato then searched for the dungeon with Ash’s group, Gil’s group, and Jolth’s group.

"By the way, how did you know there was a dungeon here?" Jolth asked Hayato, stroking his chin.

"Apparently, there was a sailor who was swallowed by Zaratan. He wandered around looking for an exit and ended up here. He could have just returned from death, but since he was fine even after being swallowed, he decided to explore."

"So the proper route is to get swallowed?"

"Maybe. I think this is more like a back entrance. But I’d rather not be swallowed."

"True. But even if it’s a back entrance, going inside its body takes… courage."

"You don’t want to see a realistic interior?"

This virtual reality was realistic. Hayato had never seen the inside of a turtle, but he did not think it would be a pleasant experience. He did not want to imagine it, but it was probably a squirming kind of dungeon.

The female members must have thought the same, as none of them participated. Even Cecil, who seemed immune to such things, made a disgusted face and said, "I’ll pass too."

Jolth seemed to feel the same and gave a wry smile.

"Of course. I’m not a doctor, so it’s not something I’d want to see by choice."

"I don’t think doctors want to see it either. They’re just doing what’s necessary to heal people."

"True. I wouldn’t want to be treated by a doctor who enjoys looking at that kind of thing."

Jolth’s mention of doctors reminded Hayato of Mist and the others.

Mist and Damian worked as doctors in Colony Hospital. On the side, they also tutored Ruth and the others.

Hayato thought they must be busy in reality, but when he asked for their cooperation in the upcoming event, they replied that they would help as much as possible.

(They even reached out to their vampire friends in the Demon Country. I’m grateful for that.)

If Lunaria lost the event, Amanda would become the Demon Lord and would become strong enough to defeat Diite. If Diite were to be defeated, Hypnos would seize control of this world and the spaceship Aphrodite would be hijacked.

And though it would take time, he would eventually set out to conquer the world. Since it would affect reality, they should prioritize this, but explaining the situation to people who did not know would just get him laughed at.

Mist and the others knew the situation, but to those around them, it would seem like nothing more than a delusion. In that situation, if they abandoned reality and became completely absorbed in the virtual reality, they would probably be fired from their jobs.

With Ney around, finding a new job probably would not be a problem, but there was also public perception to consider. It was normal for people to not want to be treated by doctors who would abandon their jobs for a game. So, despite the circumstances, they could not ignore their real-world situations.

It was the same for Hayato. He could not close his cafe and devote himself entirely to the virtual reality. He was still opening his cafe in the afternoons and working.

Because of that situation, Diite was grateful to Hayato and the others.

(Diite-chan seems to be busy with various things too. I wonder if she’s okay…)

Diite knew almost nothing about the details of this event.

She had apparently been thinking about the clan alliance function and the Conflict event itself for some time and had requested them from Infinity, but before she could grasp the details, Amanda and Hypnos had taken the Demon Lord’s Castle.

And Amanda was far too relaxed.

Despite the situation where she would be put into cryosleep if she lost, Hypnos had said that she did not think she could lose.

Diite was in the middle of investigating whether there was some secret behind that.

(One more week… Diite-chan is doing her best, so I need to increase our chances of winning, even if it’s just a little.)

Hayato steeled himself and searched for the dungeon leading into Zaratan’s body.

After searching Zaratan’s broad back for about twenty minutes, they found the place that led inside.

He had no idea what kind of structure led to this, but there was no other likely place.

"To think a place like this still exists! I’ve been playing this game from the start, but it’s amazing that there are still new discoveries to be made!" Keith exclaimed in a very good mood.

With the Shuten Doji subjugation event, the skill and stat caps had been raised. That had triggered many players to start doing things no one had done before, wondering if there were still unknown events or unreleased features.

Even if information was posted online, it would be quickly deleted, but within the game, all sorts of new information was flying around, creating a buzz similar to when the game first launched.

And regarding Zaratan, it had been around as a monster since the beginning, but this was the first time anyone had found out about such a dungeon. Discovering the unknown was exciting, even if it was not a game, and though Hayato was acting calm, his own excitement was quite high.

"Then, we shall go first. The rest of you may follow," Rauxal said, and without waiting for the other leaders’ replies, they formed a line and went inside.

Their movements, as coordinated as an army, were reassuring to have on your side, Hayato thought.

"I hope there are some interesting enemies," Lutz said this time, and he and his members went inside.

After them, Keith’s group went in, then Hayato, Ash, and Jolth’s groups, and finally, Gil’s group stepped into the dungeon.

It was a place like a normal cave, with a smooth downward slope. It was about five meters high and four meters wide. The walls were a continuous stretch of what looked like jagged rock.

(Is this the shell part? It looks like ordinary rock, though…)

Zaratan was a giant turtle, so its shell was quite thick. He was glad the walls did not immediately become visceral, but Hayato still felt a sense of wonder as he proceeded deeper.

"Hayato, can I have a word?" A voice chat from Rauxal, who was ahead, came in.

"Did something happen?"

"There’s a door."

"A door? Here?"

According to Rauxal’s more detailed explanation, the gentle slope ended in a dead end, and there was a metal door there. It was a double door of considerable size, he said.

A door inside Zaratan’s body. The conceivable explanation was that someone was there.

"Is it alright to open it? It doesn’t seem to be locked, and it looks like a few people could push it open."

"Go ahead, then. Please open it carefully. There’s probably someone inside."

"Right. Alright, maintain combat readiness and open the door."

He heard Rauxal’s voice giving orders to his members over the chat, followed by the sound of a door opening from deeper inside. It seemed to be a rather large door, as a gogogogo sound echoed.

"Hayato, is this really inside Zaratan?" Rauxal’s puzzled voice came through the voice chat. But he did not quite understand what he meant.

"I think it’s definitely inside Zaratan."

"It didn’t feel like we were teleported, so it must be…?"

"Was there something beyond the door?"

"I think it would be faster for you to see for yourself, but to put it simply, there’s a passage made of metal. And it’s quite wide."

"Huh?"

"It’s a modern-looking wall that doesn’t fit the worldview of this virtual reality. Come to think of it, wasn’t there a modern facility on the floating island too?"

"Ah, maybe it’s something similar."

"So it’s sci-fi, not fantasy. This is quite interesting."

The floating island was a scientific island that was terraforming this world, in other words, making it habitable for humans. There had been signs of life forms that seemed to have come from another planet.

Hayato thought that this Zaratan might not be just a monster, but something created by that ancient civilization. If the situation were different, he would want to investigate it thoroughly, but he did not have the luxury of time for that now.

"Zaratan might not be a living creature. Be careful, we don’t know what might come out. In the worst case, we might even see dinosaurs."

When he sent a message to everyone via voice chat, some of the members let out cheers of joy.

(Dinosaurs are popular. That said, dinosaurs have considerable defense. It’ll be difficult to win without a weapon with special attack properties.)

Dinosaur Special Attack, which deals massive damage to dinosaurs. The duration of the battle would change considerably depending on whether their weapons had this property or not. If Lunaria were here, she could use her defense-ignoring attacks, but there were no female members today.

He could craft special attack equipment on the spot, but to make a weapon with Dinosaur Special Attack, he needed dinosaur bones or claws. Alternatively, if he made juice from the fruit that grew on the floating island, he could temporarily grant the Dinosaur Special Attack property to a character.

(Damn it. Were the palm trees outside the ones that could make a drink that grants Dinosaur Special Attack? It’s a waste of time to go back and get them, but would it be faster to go back once…)

As he was thinking about that, a voice chat from Rauxal came in.

"Hayato. We are currently under attack. We will engage, is that alright?"

"That’s fine, but did dinosaurs appear by any chance?"

"No, this is a Chimera."

A Chimera was a monster synthesized from various animals. It had the body of a goat, the heads of a goat, a lion, and a dragon, a snake for a tail, and wings.

Its attack methods were also diverse, from magic and dragon breath to bites and poison attacks, and it was recognized as a troublesome enemy. However, it was not a particularly strong monster if you were prepared for it, and it was not impossible to defeat one-on-one if you had the right skills and equipment.

"Can you defeat it then?"

"No problem. However, there are a lot of them. We’ll draw their attacks here, so could you attack with long-range attacks? That would be faster."

The ones who raised their hands for that attack were the members of Over the Top who had long-range firepower.

The leader, Keith, had maxed out his close-range attack power, but other members had maxed out their long-range attacks like magic or bows. As usual, their equipment lacked uniformity and looked uncool, but they were reliable.

(I also wear strange outfits when I’m doing production…)

Hayato also sometimes raised the effect of his production skills by wearing fashion that was a bit embarrassing to be seen in public, like wearing geta sandals or a chef’s hat.

Diite had said she often received emails asking her to fix the appearance of equipment because when players focused on firepower, their gear became a mismatched mess.

That aside, Hayato and the others also caught up to where Rauxal’s group was fighting.

Beyond the door was a passage with metal walls, just as Rauxal had said, and it was quite wide. Though it was called a passage, it was wide enough to be a room, with a width of about four road lanes and a ceiling as high as a three-story apartment building.

And there were nearly thirty Chimeras, and the battle had begun.

Long-range attacks began immediately.

Hayato was surprised by the firepower.

(Whoa, they defeated a Chimera in one hit. It’s not Esha’s Destroy, but there are powerful bow skills too. And that one over there must have maxed out fire-type magic. As expected of a firepower-focused clan. They seem like they’ll be reliable in the event too.)

As Hayato was impressed, Ash’s group and Gil’s group also let out voices of surprise.

They knew about Lunaria and Ivan’s fighting styles, and there was also Esha’s Destroy, so they were used to seeing high firepower, but they were impressed by the attacks that, while not reaching that level, still dealt considerable damage.

And the members of Imperial who were acting as tanks were also quite something.

Under Rauxal’s command, they all moved as if they were a single living creature. To Hayato, it was almost a little creepy to watch.

"Rauxal-dono is magnificent!" Gil said happily beside Hayato.

"That kind of movement is something we should learn from. We must strive harder to protect Lunaria-sama and the Black Rose!"

"I think you guys are amazing too, Gil-san."

"In our case, we cannot achieve such coordinated movements. My, my, this is a good reference. It was worth coming here just for this!"

Gil and his members were watching Rauxal and his group’s movements intently, so as not to miss anything.

(Even though they’re that strong, they still think it’s not enough. That’s amazing.)

A few minutes later, the nearly thirty Chimeras were annihilated without a struggle.

Hayato and the others continued deeper without stopping.

It was mostly a straight path, so they did not get lost. However, the monsters that appeared were gradually getting stronger.

At first, it was Chimeras, but next came monsters called Manticores, which resembled Chimeras.

A Manticore was a synthesized monster with the face of an old man, the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion.

They defeated these without any particular problem, but next came Cockatrices.

A Cockatrice was a giant chicken that breathed a petrification breath. However, its tail was a snake.

At this point, some of the members realized what kind of place this was.

"Is this a facility that synthesizes monsters?" Ash said, and everyone who heard him groaned.

"It might be a facility that not only synthesizes monsters but also creates them," Jolth replied to Ash’s question.

It was not clear whether the monsters that had appeared so far were failed experiments or if they were originally created in this form, but it was highly likely that this was a facility with that kind of setting.

(It would be interesting if the setting was that they created monsters to counter the dinosaurs because they were driven out of the floating island.)

Hayato thought about that as he proceeded deeper.

In the end, he did not know what kind of facility it was, but the objective was not to find that out, but to obtain the materials to make the Philosopher’s Stone.

(The Philosopher’s Stone might be an item like the crystal of ancient wisdom. If I go around all the ruins in this world, I might find the answer. I’d like to go on an adventure with everyone someday… I wonder what Diite-chan thinks of the current situation…)

This virtual reality, Another Frontier Online, was a game world. Even if there was an original base, there was no doubt that it was Diite who had thought up the various settings and events.

Hayato had been caught up in the incidents and problems that had occurred in this virtual reality since the end of the Clan Wars. The time he had spent purely enjoying it as a game was probably less than half of this past year.

The majority of those problems were related to his clanmates, including Ash and Relic, so he did not dislike it in the slightest. It would be more accurate to say that he actively got involved rather than being caught up in it.

But Diite had apologized to him for getting him involved.

Diite’s only wish was for him to enjoy this virtual reality, but this virtual reality would not allow it.

And this time, though it was through Amanda, Hypnos had taken away various authorities from her. The current virtual reality was in a state far removed from Diite’s wishes.

(There are just too many problems. The only ones with high-performance AIs are Diite-chan and Hypnos, everyone else is human. Since so many people are involved, it might be natural for problems to occur… but aren’t they happening a little too conveniently…)

Diite was responsible for the Clan Wars, so there was no particular problem there, but there was Hypnos’s secret maneuvering during the Stampede event, the hacking and cheat characters during Relic’s time, Mist’s undying sleep, and the cage that was so poorly suited for Maris and Siegfried.

To begin with, all of it was happening close to Hayato. And in a timely sequence. It was hard to dismiss it as a coincidence.

(Could it be that someone is intentionally making it happen…? No, that’s too much of a fantasy. I don’t even understand the motive, and the only one who could do something like that is—)

"Hayato, what’s wrong?" Ash’s voice brought Hayato back to his senses.

"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking a bit."

"It’s fine since you’re not fighting, but the enemies are gradually getting stronger, so be careful."

"You’re right. If I fall, the MP for a resurrection spell will be wasted, so I’ll be careful. Oh, right, even if I fall in battle, you don’t need to resurrect me right away. So, what’s the situation like now?"

"With this many people, it’s going smoothly. But the enemies are getting stronger the deeper we go, so it seems like a powerful enemy will appear at the end."

"At this rate, what do you think will appear? A dragon with many heads?"

"We had one of those in the Eastern Country."

"Oh right, Yamata no Orochi… I wonder if it’s from here?"

As they had this conversation, Hayato and the others proceeded deeper without stopping.

When their movement stopped, a voice chat came from Rauxal, who was leading the way.

"There’s a giant door at the end of the passage, what should we do? I don’t think not entering is an option."

"You’re right, but there might be a boss inside, so please be careful."

"Understood. Alright, let’s go."

When Rauxal gave the command, the members of Imperial pushed open the door and went inside. Keith’s group followed after them, and Hayato’s group also went inside in order.

Beyond the door, unlike the passage, there was almost no light, only something like an emergency light flashing on the floor.

As everyone was on guard, the door Hayato and the others had entered through automatically closed. After that, the ceiling lit up, and for a moment, they were blinded.

When their eyes finally adjusted, they saw that they were in a place like a giant research laboratory. Several cylindrical water tanks filled with blue or green water lined the walls, and inside them, smaller versions of the monsters they had fought so far were floating.

It was as expected, but what was concerning was the water tank embedded in the front wall. Something like a person was floating in a water tank about ten meters tall and wide.

Looking closely, it was humanoid but not human.

It had the muscular torso of a human, the head of a lion, the feet of an eagle, the tail of a scorpion, and four bird wings on its back. Its arms seemed to be the same as a normal human’s, but it was something with so much crammed into it that one could say it was a bit over the top.

Hayato did not want to get close, but Rauxal approached the water tank as if it were nothing. He looked around the water tank and then stopped when he saw a certain place.

"Did you find something?"

"There’s a plate that says ‘Pazuzu Prototype.’ I think Pazuzu is the name of a god or demon from somewhere. And prototype means it’s a trial product."

"A prototype of a god or demon. That’s rather intimidating."

"There’s something like an activation switch, what should we do? I’m sure it will lead to a fight."

"We have no choice. The door we came in through won’t open, and the other doors won’t open either."

"Then let’s do it. Are you ready?"

Replies came from the leaders of each clan that there was no problem. After that, Rauxal pushed the switch near the plate.

A sound like something coming loose was heard, and the water in the tank was drained.

As the water level in the tank lowered, the Pazuzu floating inside gradually had its feet touch the floor of the tank, and as the water level lowered further, it fell to the floor.

After all the water had been drained, Pazuzu’s body moved slightly. Then, it swayed and unsteadily stood up.

Once it was fully standing, it stopped moving, not even a twitch.

As everyone readied themselves, Pazuzu’s eyes snapped open. As its bright red, ruby-like eyes shone, Pazuzu let out a roar.

The vibration shattered the glass of the water tank, and it rained down on the members.

"Ah, this is bad—"

Hayato was hit by the fragments, took damage, and his HP dropped to 0, and he fell to the floor.

Most of the members knew about Hayato’s situation, but they had not expected him to be defeated by a cutscene attack, so they stared blankly at Hayato lying on the floor.

"We can resurrect Hayato later! First, let’s take down Pazuzu!" Ash shouted loudly, and as if they had somehow pulled themselves together, the more spirited members let out a roar to psyche themselves up.

(Well, even if I get resurrected here, it would be a waste of MP, so I might as well stay like this until the fight is over.)

And so, the battle with Pazuzu Prototype began.