VIP Chapter 334: Death Hall (3k)
To be honest, he had come to this conclusion with a bit of “malice” and “subjective deduction.”
Ever since he was born in this world, Carver had never treated him like a real father—in fact, he was more like the villain BOSS preordained in this book. There were many, many details, like deeply hidden clues, pointing to Carver.
For example…
The second phase of this bug was clearly designed by someone who knew exactly where Will was strongest and weakest, someone who had watched him train. Besides his teammates, the person who knew him best was probably that “father” who pretended to be indifferent.
“Of course, he was very careful. If I hadn’t caught you here, I would have had no evidence. So, Carver not only knew my ending, but he also wanted you to bring it about, right?”
Will stopped and looked at Ribel.
“Your reasoning… no, I should say your ability to follow clues with intuition is quite bold. While there’s no ‘direct’ evidence, it’s impressive that you’ve reached this conclusion based on the ‘fate’ you know and your understanding of others.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Don’t forget, you’re currently under our control.” Shuna, who had been holding the gun the entire time, impatiently interrupted Ribel’s cryptic speech, raising an eyebrow.
“Then… may I ask a question?”
“Ask.”
“I want to know how ‘he’ lost, besides you being able to defeat the monster he assigned. Miss, where are you from? The Adventurer’s Guild monitors people entering dungeons, and you don’t seem to be on their records.”
Will felt something “strange” as he listened to this. In fact, this strangeness had been present since Ribel walked in. Ribel had specifically emphasized how “he” lost, as if he hadn’t mentioned how he himself lost.
“That’s a good question. Haven’t you noticed something? This isn’t the first layer of the Dust Bone Corridor that’s open to the public.” Shuna’s smile grew even more pronounced.
“…What?”
“Have you heard of ‘mezzanines’—a method often used by witches. Of course, how many people besides witches have mastered the method of creating such structures is unknown.”
Will answered for Shuna. After all, having been trapped in a “mezzanine” himself, he understood it better. During Moonlit Ice Extreme, Teacher Liya had created a “choose one of two” path that led him into a layer of a dungeon that outwardly didn’t exist. If he hadn’t been trapped in Liya’s dungeon mezzanine, he would never have realized that his death was so closely related to this technique.
“Shuna discovered earlier that the original first layer—the one all adventurers face in the Dust Bone Corridor—was strange because there were no monsters. This is highly unusual.” Will gestured to the current first layer; the desolate desert was being swept by gusts of wind, the swirling sand highlighting the emptiness.
“But if the outward first layer is a ‘mezzanine,’ and exiting it links to the second layer, while the true first layer is only triggered when I enter—perhaps by some mark of the Hysterm Family—then everything is explained.”
“You mean… this is the ‘first layer’ marked by the Dust Bone Corridor, where this monster was placed. And to prevent normal adventurers from noticing, it created a fake mezzanine. After entering the dungeon, others would go into the mezzanine first, and the exit would be placed on the second layer?”
“That’s probably it—but the specific details of how it was achieved, especially why only I would enter this true first layer upon reaching the entrance, would probably take a witch like Teacher Liya an entire class to explain thoroughly?” Will spread his hands. “In short, a fake, empty first layer masquerading as the real one to deceive others. And a true first layer with a monster placed in it, meant to trap me.”
“Then… how did she reappear here?”
“And it’s a coincidence that someone happens to have the experience of… how to return to the next layer after exiting the mezzanine.”
“Hmm… actually, it’s quite simple: the entrance is the exit. It’s only like this in a mezzanine. After exiting here, you can enter the interior space of the dungeon and find the true first layer.” Shuna explained briefly. “I discovered this when I scouted the area before, so I gave it a try.” Then, she explained, winking confidently at Will, as if expecting praise.
“That’s right. Shuna, who can store dungeon knowledge in her brain like a library, can keenly notice this problem!”
Ribel remained silent, but he looked at Will as if, through these exchanges, he had truly realized that the young master he was facing was indeed extraordinary. Will looked at him intently. This was… the “information” Teacher Liya had given him, and it was a crucial step towards his victory. Every experience he had in this life was not in vain.
“Alright, it is indeed as that lady guessed… you are very smart—especially when it comes to dungeons.”
“That… lady?” Before Will could ponder who the “lady” Ribel was referring to, he continued.
“I suppose you tricked me into coming here because you want more information, right?”
“Yes, we need to extract more from your mouth—using the method of ‘die if you don’t talk.'” Shuna’s grip on the gun remained steady, the muzzle never wavering. But Will was actually thinking, having never seen Shuna fire a gun, how would her weapon kill when the trigger was pulled? She probably didn’t even know what “bullets” were.
“If you want to confirm if Carver has the intent to kill you, that’s right. Luring you into the Dust Bone Corridor was his idea, and my appearance here was also his command. And as you said about sending you to your true ‘ending,’ he did indeed give that order—I have a Slime prepared in my ring. Do you want to try it now?” Ribel’s raised hand seemed to be getting tired, and he lowered it slightly, flicking his finger gently.
“So, do you know why?”
“How should I put it… I’m not the one who knows the most. His goals and persistence are also something I’m curious about—however, you can ask others about him. Hmm… I guess I am indeed more like his son than you are? If you consider the level of trust he places in me…”
“Are you deliberately bringing up sensitive topics?” Shuna took two steps towards him. “Using the father-son relationship to mock me here?”
“It’s fine, Shuna. I never had any feelings for Carver from the very beginning. On the contrary… I feel relieved to confirm he truly has malicious intent.” Will was rather happy that Shuna was clearly standing up for him.
“Your father-son relationship is truly quite strange.”
“It’s alright, is there anything else you want to ask? You can ask anything. I’ll answer whatever I know about Carver.” Ribel found it strange. Will sensed a desire to communicate from him that surpassed his murderous intent. His words seemed to be guiding Will to ask certain questions. Could it be… he wasn’t Carver’s “accomplice”? Perhaps from a certain perspective, he might even stand on the same side as them. However, since he allowed Will to ask, and this was a space within a dungeon that was rarely noticed, Will was determined to clarify all his doubts.
For example…
What Treya told him afterward was not knowledge from outside this world, but knowledge obtained from this world itself. Since he was Carver’s trusted subordinate, he would surely know the answer to this question, and Will would definitely seize this opportunity.
“What I want to know, no, not just what I want to know, but also what a poor Dungeon Empress friend wants to know.”
“You have Dungeon friends? That’s quite rare for an Adventurer.”
“Yes. It’s just… for Carver to have brought the Adventurer’s Guild this far, is it because… he also has direct cooperation with a certain dungeon? For example, controlling a dungeon, signing a contract with a dungeon, or something similar?”
Treya had told him that two hundred years ago, to consolidate its power, a dungeon called “Zero Demon City” had signed a contract with the earliest king of Entak to share dungeon abilities. This allowed “Zero Demon City” to survive in a peculiar way until now. And Lucifer had also said that the development of dungeons themselves relied on the challenges posed by adventurers. Since dungeon monsters and humans from the “outside” could communicate and cooperate. Was it possible… someone had already done so long ago?
“Especially here. In the Dust Bone Corridor… the dungeon’s ability to directly lure me in with a mezzanine, the placement of monsters that clearly don’t belong here, the distribution of the Adventurer’s Guild and the deliberate introduction of adventurers to certain dungeons… all of these suggest he has ties and operations with certain dungeons…”
“Yes. Not only you, but adventurers of a slightly higher level should be able to sense this.” Ribel nodded in agreement. “He has extremely deep cooperation with a certain dungeon, and is even constantly bringing more dungeons into this ‘alliance.'”
“Those who don’t become ‘lackeys’ are either conquered, or fail to recruit any adventurers and become lonely dungeons, right?”
“It seems you’ve encountered such dungeons.”
“Then… ‘a certain dungeon’ refers to…”
“After fighting that entire horde of monsters from there, you still haven’t realized it?” Will’s eyes widened. That’s right, the corpse-eating bug, and then the humanoid moths that constantly regenerated through corpses, all pointed to…
“Death Hall. Right?”
However, it was Shuna who gave the answer.
“Shuna? How could you…”
“Oops, looks like I’ve revealed myself. I was planning to keep it a secret. Actually, I’ve been here for a while, so I watched you fight the whole time with a telescope. Little Will, fighting a BOSS alone is super cool!” Shuna stuck out her tongue, revealing a very satisfied smile.
