LIGHTNOVELWORLD 46. Business Trip (3)
To think one could enter without permission even from outside Kill Screen.
“For now, there are too many eyes here. Let’s go to the Kill Screen branch office.”
The Solaris Kill Screen branch also has a guild leader’s office. Though not frequently used, it’s a place they utilize whenever they visit.
They took the elevator and arrived at Kill Screen.
Only after confirming that the office was empty did Chae Jiseok open his mouth.
“Are those ‘gaps’ you mentioned present here as well?”
“……”
Habin quickly scanned the office. Even here, there were a few faintly rippling errors, though they were dim.
“Shall we just give it a try?”
Habin reached out and widened the gap of one. The error, which had been just a tiny dot, expanded with a whoosh.
Chae Jiseok stepped back at the sight, which looked as if a new gate had opened.
“What on earth is this…?!”
[You have opened an unknown interdimensional space!]
You can enter interdimensional space through nearby errors.
*Skill level is low. Maximum of 1 companion can enter, including the caster.
‘One companion.’
Libe and Ahezar wouldn’t count towards the one-person limit, as they’re considered part of Habin. They had entered and exited together as a trio before.
Then, could she bring Chae Jiseok along?
Habin turned her head.
“Chae-ssi, take my hand.”
“Hey, are you sure this is safe…?”
“Hurry!”
Habin grabbed Chae Jiseok’s hand and slipped into the interdimensional space.
[You have entered an unknown interdimensional space!]
As they entered the interdimensional space, a familiar serene silence enveloped them. A faint rainbow-like shimmer rippled all around, resembling a soap bubble membrane.
Habin looked back at where they had come from. The office scene was faintly visible. Beside it were errors leading to the urban areas around Kill Screen and the cafe, and even errors showing the Kill Screen portal and various cities beyond it.
“As I thought, it’s possible to move to such places as well.”
Habin raised her head. The errors below were related to urban areas where people lived, like the office they had just passed through.
And beyond that, the errors clustered together like a tower pointing upwards were-
[Beyond this is Kill Screen Floor 3. Do you wish to enter?]
“This side is the urban area, and that side is Kill Screen.”
Habin nodded, finally understanding the principle of the interdimensional space.
“…What exactly is this place?”
Chae Jiseok, who had been dragged along, belatedly asked. He was frantically looking around at the errors twinkling like stars all around them.
Just then, he touched an error related to Kill Screen.
“Huh? It says that beyond this is Kill Screen?”
Chae Jiseok, who had touched the error, received a notification as well.
[Beyond this is Kill Screen Floor 7.]
“You’re getting notifications too, Chae-ssi? Can you enter as well?”
Habin asked, seemingly surprised.
‘Enter?’
Following her words, Chae Jiseok reached out to the error. However…
[Warning! You do not have entry permissions. Entry is not possible.]
“…It says I don’t have permission to enter.”
“I see. Looks like you need the skill to do it.”
Habin nodded nonchalantly, as if she had expected as much.
“You mean the ‘Interdimensional Entry’ skill? Don’t tell me you can move to all these twinkling spots here?”
If that’s really the case…
The upper areas must be higher floors of Kill Screen. Can Hyun Habin really move around such places?
Chae Jiseok unconsciously looked up at the error at the very top. The moment he examined it with his skill,
[Warning! Beyond this is the adm ㆍᅟᅡᆼnistra tor’s z one%wja*w!]
[Warning! This exceeds your authority. Your skill is forcibly terminated!]
‘Ugh…!’
With a burning pain, Chae Jiseok quickly covered his eyes and lowered his head.
“What’s wrong? Why are you like that?”
“I looked at the topmost floor and…”
“Hmm.”
Habin tilted her head. She spoke, recalling her previous visit.
“Come to think of it, entering the top floor triggers some kind of emergency mode for the administrator. Seeing how much pain you’re in, Chae-ssi, maybe there’s some embarrassing history of the administrator up there? Did you see something you shouldn’t have?”
‘…I was just in pain.’
Leaving behind a bewildered-looking Chae Jiseok, Habin shook her head.
“Anyway, let’s leave that alone. We’re supposed to visit the 50th floor today.”
-Piyaak!
As Habin finished speaking, Libe popped out of thin air.
“We’ll think about the rest after we get back.”
[The dragon’s blessing dramatically increases your resistance to gravity.]
Grabbing Libe and leaping upwards, they could float up to high places just like last time.
Carefully holding onto Libe’s wings, one on each side to avoid hurting her, Hyun Habin and Chae Jiseok soon found the entrance to the 50th floor.
[Beyond this is Kill Screen Floor 50. Do you wish to enter?]
Swoosh-
At last, they set foot inside the 50th floor.
◆◇◆◇◆
[You have entered Kill Screen Floor 50, ‘The Demon Realm’!
This is the most harsh and shunned place even in the forgotten world of Auraiden.
On the other hand, it is also the stronghold of the seven wicked and powerful Demon Kings.]
[50th Floor Conquest Condition – Obtain the ‘Ring of the Demon God’]
“The Demon Realm…!”
Tak.
Chae Jiseok, who was the first to bounce out of the interdimensional space, looked around.
Everything was covered in black rocks, the sky was pitch dark, and a faint smell of sulfur tickled their noses.
The Demon Realm.
It was truly a word that only appeared in novels, games, or item names. Occasionally, items or dungeons had information related to the Demon Realm, but he never knew it referred to the 50th floor.
Jiseok rummaged through his inventory.
[Demon Realm Guidebook]
Grade: ?
An item containing information about high-ranking demons and Demon Realm-related monsters.
An item he had obtained from clearing some miscellaneous quests in the past.
‘I think I received this as a reward from a dungeon called the Demon’s Library or something.’
As Jiseok was flipping through the pages, recalling his memories…
-Piyaak!
[This is the Demon Realm! It’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time! To think it would be recreated like this in Kill Screen!]
The voices of Libe looking around and Ahezar exclaiming in amazement could be heard.
“Is this a place you know, Kim Jaljal?”
Habin asked.
[I’ve rarely visited, but I’ve heard much about it. This is the dwelling place of demons, magical beasts, and demon-kin. If they discover you’re human, you’ll attract unwanted attention.]
“Unwanted attention meaning……”
-Woowooowooo!
Just then, a howl was heard nearby. A massive wolf was eyeing them and licking its chops.
It was one of the miscellaneous monsters they had seen in Demon King Kriksha’s office last time.
Jiseok immediately threw his dagger.
-Kkaegang!
The wolf collapsed in one hit. Jiseok spoke up.
“I get what you mean. As long as we’re here, being human means we’ll constantly draw aggro, right?”
The stronghold of monsters hostile to humans. It wasn’t much different from other dungeons in that regard.
Chae Jiseok immediately assumed a combat stance, as if he was used to this.
On the other hand, Habin frowned as if troubled.
“Isn’t that a really annoying method? Do we have to face endless attacks from monsters and demons until we find Jise-unni?”
Of course, with Hyun Habin’s abilities, it would be possible to easily wipe out all the monsters on a floor, just like in the previous Mirror Dungeon.
It would be even easier if she used an area-of-effect skill.
“But we still don’t know exactly what situation Jise-unni is in, and we don’t know what this ‘Ring of the Demon God’ is, which is the conquest condition for this floor.”
Turning the entire Demon Realm against them would be inefficient, and there was a risk of accidentally harming allies, important conquest clues, or innocent demons.
[Innocent demons? That’s the first time I’ve heard such a thing in all my life.]
Habin shrugged.
“For example, that Kriksha we saw last time turned out to be quite friendly. We became somewhat close, so it would be wrong to accidentally kill such beings, right?”
While Ahezar seemed to understand, Jiseok looked unconvinced.
“Kriksha…?”
“Come to think of it, I wonder if he’s doing well after moving to the 50th floor. He said he’d give me some data next time we meet.”
Habin muttered, looking down at her phone. Hearing this, Chae Jiseok made a subtle expression.
“Wait a minute, you have a friend here? Someone who moved to the 50th floor?”
He fell into deep thought. ‘Kriksha’, who recently moved to the 50th floor. The name doesn’t sound ordinary either…
No, it’s not just that the name isn’t ordinary, but I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.
‘Kriksha…!’
Chae Jiseok, who had been racking his brain, suddenly lifted his head.
“Hold on, wasn’t Kriksha the name of the 26th floor boss, the Demon King! I remember seeing that when I researched the dungeon later!”
“Oh, his name was revealed?”
Habin’s eyes widened in surprise. Chae Jiseok seized the moment and pressed on.
“So it really wasn’t tint but monster blood back then, right? What did you do on the 26th floor? Don’t tell me you actually became friends with a Demon King?”
“Umm……”
Habin started to avoid eye contact. Chae Jiseok continued.
“Come to think of it, when I searched for that ‘Latitude Heading Color’ tint, I couldn’t find any such product……”
“Wow, Chae-ssi. You even looked up the tint? You’ve got potential as a beauty guru.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“Shh.”
Habin reached out to cover Jiseok’s mouth and gestured to the side with her eyes.
“…Your voice is too loud. This is a dungeon, remember?”
“……”
Rustle rustle rustle-
Clack clack clack-
Just then, a giant centipede monster several meters long was passing by near them, moving its bright red legs. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to notice them.
Habin wrinkled her eyebrows.
“Ugh, disgusting… If we have to cut down all these monsters as we go, our clothes will get all dirty, won’t they? Even with anti-pollution and antibacterial effects, that won’t cover this.”
Habin looked down at her new luxury brand Ajual clothes.
It’s only been a few days since I bought this, I can’t throw it away already!
She spoke as if she had reached a conclusion.
“Let’s go peacefully after all. I’m a benevolent power-hider. From today, I’m a pacifist who hides her strength. We need to gather information anyway.”
Habin gestured towards the ‘Demon Realm Guidebook’ Chae Jiseok was holding. As Jiseok handed over the guidebook, he asked.
“Why do you need the guidebook?”
“I want to try using a different skill for a change.”
A technique to evade the system’s eyes. You can disguise your job title, skills, and appearance as desired. (Only usable within the scope of yourself and what belongs to you. No time limit.)
Deceiver’s Wish.
So far, she had only used it to hide Ahezar, conceal her job, or disguise Libe as a lizard.
‘But if I use it properly, I can even change my own appearance.’
Habin chose a demon to imitate from the demon guidebook Chae Jiseok had been holding.
A female demon with a plain appearance.
While Habin was disguising herself with the ‘Deceiver’s Wish’ skill, Chae Jiseok added what he knew.
“Demons generally have red eyes and prefer red and dark colors.”
Following that advice, Ahezar changed from his usual white and blue combination to black and red.
“If we change Piyak to black, it’ll look like a monster too, right?”
-Pii!
Libe, transformed from a white dragon to a black dragon, made a fierce expression while looking at its reflection in a puddle. It seemed to judge itself quite intimidating.
‘To our eyes, it’s still just a small and tiny Piyak though.’
-Pii! Pi!
Well, as long as it’s satisfied.
Stroking Libe, who was excitedly flapping its wings, Habin opened the guidebook again.
“But the writing in this guidebook is hard to see. The language is unusual……”
“You can read it with an information confirmation skill or translation item. Let me take a look.”
The moment Jiseok took back the guidebook…
“Human! Human! I smell humans!”
“Human? Did you say human scent?”
“It came from over there, over there!”
“Human! Human! I smell humans!”
Small monsters gathered around them, chattering excitedly. Judging by their ability to speak, they seemed to be somewhat intelligent magical beasts.
Habin gave a reassuring look. She was already disguised as a demon using ‘Deceiver’s Wish’. The Demon Realm monsters are afraid of strong demons, so if Habin intimidated them a bit, it should resolve the situation.
However, the monsters’ reactions upon seeing her were unsettling.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”
“Gyaaak!”
“Kyaawaaaaa!”
[W-why are they acting like this?!]
Ahezar whispered. Jiseok froze in place while looking at the guidebook. After interpreting the guidebook with his information skill, Jiseok slowly turned his head towards Habin with a creaking motion.
“Hey… We’re in big trouble. You chose the wrong demon to disguise yourself as……”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
At that moment, the monsters shouted.
“It’s the Demon King!”
“The Demon King has arrived!”
“Demon King!”