Chapter 235: A Revelation at the Bottom of the Earth
[Author's Note: I managed to pull Varuna with a single ticket, so from today I'm going by the name “Varuna Katarina.” Just kidding. That's a lie.]
No, this is bad.
Not the content, though that's also bad, but is it okay for me to be seeing this now? This feels like something that should come later—specifically, after the Abyss Alarm Bell starts going off like crazy and that... thing... that dragged the scientist into the hole in a way that, to put it vaguely, looked like crushing a cream puff... appears as a clear enemy.
No, no, no... Since this was given as a quest from Vash, there must be some way to activate the elevator. Wait, maybe the field itself hasn't been officially unlocked yet, and it's only accessible because I took the quest?
Sunraku: "No, no, no... I said earlier that they didn't debug enough, but there's no way this is completely outside their expectations."
There are even Uniques that only spawn when you fight enemies over 100 levels above you. At the very least, a 300-meter wall run using a continuous series of normal skills can't be a bug. It might be an exploit, but it's within the intended mechanics, so it's fine!
Sunraku: "Anyway, you get it, right, Emul? You judge someone by what they did."
Emul: "Hai na... That unlikeable person, at the very end, I felt a Vorpal spirit in him, wa..."
I've seen way too many "supporting character bad endings" to feel much of anything at this point. But acting all smug about it would just be hollow. Besides, I have that scientist to thank for letting me get the Delta devices in the first place.
Sunraku: "Anyway, now that we know this place is more dangerous than we thought, let's pack up and get out."
I've got a feeling that the "something" the Abyss Alarm Bell warns about—the enemy that will appear when World Quest Stage 4 unlocks after one more Unique Monster gets taken down—is exactly that thing. So for now, the chances of danger are probably low. But this game once put a Unique Monster in the newbie area, so I can't let my guard down.
Sunraku: "Emul, just in case, be ready to dash for the elevator."
Emul: "H-Hai na...!"
No self-destruct... no self-destruct... Damn it, here goes nothing!
With a click, I pulled one of the Delta devices out of the machine. Keeping my Dis Pater, Nether King's Mirror Shield, ready on my left arm, I scanned the area—especially the hole.
After about ten seconds with nothing happening, I relaxed a bit and collected the remaining Delta devices.
Sunraku: "Thinking about it calmly, that scientist wanted to pass the devices to someone. It would be a joke if he'd rigged them to self-destruct..."
Just to be safe, I kicked another piece of unknown equipment into the hole. No reaction. Good, all clear.
I judged there was no immediate danger. I'd secured my objective—the Delta devices—but I might as well do anything else I needed to while I was here.
Sunraku: "Pencilgon really is a rare strategist, huh..."
In summary, she basically forced me to buy a "Recording Eye Orb," saying something like, "You always stumble into important info, so bring a recording item." First a tear, now an eyeball from the god of fate? Rough gig. Anyway, it's a recording item. Apparently, it used to be a consumable early on, but players complained, so now it's reusable.
I played back the recording of the scientist's final moments and used the Recording Eye Orb to capture it. With this, I can either sell the video without revealing the location, or sell the location itself for even more money. Classic Pencilgon. She didn't build her little red empire for nothing.
Sunraku: "Next time we come here, that throw-up worm thing might still be around, so... Emul, quiet for a sec."
Emul: "Hai na!"
There were a few background noises like "eep" and "eek" from Emul, but as a recording, it's probably acceptable.
What concerns me are the two corrupted folders. Is there a way to repair them, or are they just flavor?
If it's the latter, fine. But if it's the former, I have two options. Do I bring the means to repair them here, or do I take the corrupted data somewhere that can fix them?
Sunraku: "...Hmm?"
I almost had something just now... Hmm? Whatever. I'd probably need some kind of item to carry data around, and I might need to find a place that has data-repairing tools.
Sunraku: "...Hmm?"
Now something's coming. It's right at the back of my throat. Not vomit—an idea. Okay, let's think this through. My most recent train of thought was about the corrupted data in this sci-fi computer. If it's just flavor, that's fine. But if it's unlockable by meeting certain conditions, then how would I repair it?
If there are other Divine Era facilities, like the Iron Ruin of the Divinity, where data repair is possible, then would I bring the repair tools here, or take the corrupted data out... using what...?
Sunraku: "Carry data in something... ugh."
A revelation. A genuine revelation.
It's not a new idea. But I just remembered something I'd completely forgotten.
Sunraku: "Daaaaaaaaaah!!"
Emul: "Pyaaaaah!?"
Wait, wait, wait! Can I do this? Is this possible!?
Sunraku: "The slot... where's the slot...!? Damn it, is there no physical insertion port in this super-advanced future!? No, I have the other piece. I can guess the shape...!"
Emul: "S-Sunraku-san, what's wrong, wa!? You've got the scariest face you've ever made, wa!"
Sunraku: "Of course I do, I just realized—I completely forgot! Too many events happening at once, and the Inventoria overshadowed everything!"
Not the Inventoria. Something that had been shoved into my regular inventory because I'd completely forgotten it existed. A translucent cube with lines of light running through it.
In simple terms, it's just a storage device. But the information inside it... it contains the very know-how behind the ultimate technique that, no matter how hard I tried, I could only ever reproduce as a knockoff.
The Clear Sky Style Secret Tome... After defeating the Unique Monster "Wethermon the Tombguard," me, Oikatzo, and Pencilgon each got different drops. What came to me was this small cube containing an unbelievably vast amount of information.
Sunraku: "The Tactical Machine Beasts didn't work. They're more like portable devices, probably not meant for serious computing. But what about this...?"
I don't know what that scientist was trying to do, but this equipment was prepared for something. Maybe it can read and display data. Damn it, where's the slot on this thing? With its needlessly stylish design, at least put an arrow locator on it or something.
Sunraku: "Is this it? Here? Right here!"
After searching the casing like I was licking it, I set the cube into a recess near where the hologram was projected. Bingo. The cube, which until now had only served as a stylish blank die, finally showed its true worth.
Sunraku: "Ohhh...!"
Light... flooded in—!
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