Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Ahem! Greetings, mortals. I am Gregory, the gatekeeper of Purgatorio’s door.”

A dignified voice echoed through the vertical cave.

Then, hop!

A light brown rabbit leaped in place.

“Hrmph, where are you all looking? I’m the one speaking. Here, look here!”

“What’s that ball of fur?”

“A talking rabbit…? Little one, where’s your master?”

The strange rabbit with its adorable appearance and deep voice eventually stamped its hind legs on the ground.

“How dare you ignore me, you insolent fools. I sentence you all to 15 years of imprisonment.”

[You have become the target of the skill ‘Sentence Pronouncement (S)’.]

[Skill activation canceled due to insufficient status.]

A dark mist seemed to envelop us, then dissipated with a faint hiss.

“Curses! If only I hadn’t fallen for that Mort’s trickery!”

I picked up the disorderly acting rabbit, which was bowing its waist. Apparently displeased, the rabbit—Gregory—kept squirming incessantly.

“Unni, that rabbit……”

“Yes, it seems this rabbit is the NPC we’ve been looking for.”

◆◇◆◇◆

As I had analyzed, the mirror in Cell 13 was indeed a transportation magical device. I had to pretend it was a new ability from the monocle I got from Shin-ju, but it was truly a close call.

With no other options, we immediately activated the mirror. The place we were transported to was this cave full of mirrors. And the one we met was this rabbit, or rather, NPC Gregory.

Unconsciously, I started scratching Gregory’s back, and gradually, his struggles subsided.

“How dare you lay hands on me…… Hmmm, you have quite the skill.”

The fluffy fur clung to my hand.

‘Is this why people receive animal therapy?’

I shook my head vigorously from side to side to regain my senses. Perhaps the tension had eased, knowing we could exit at any time now. I stopped my hand and instead opened my mouth.

“Are you really Gregory?”

“Indeed, you must have heard of my great reputation? The mighty one who has punished 9,999 evildoers……”

“The mighty rabbit, you mean? How adorable.”

“I am not a rabbit!”

The rabbit that insisted it wasn’t a rabbit escaped from my arms and jumped to the floor. Then it bumped itself against Shin-ju’s leg, who had called it a rabbit.

“It’s only because of that cunning Mort that I’m in this state!”

“By Mort, you mean the Hell Duke Mort, right?”

Pleased that we knew something, Gregory leaped into Hong Yun-jae’s arms. Hong Yun-jae, who caught the rabbit in bewilderment, looked at us with perplexed eyes.

“You ignorant fools must at least know that he’s coveting the mortal world. If Hell and the mortal world connect, chaos will ensue. So, hurry up and cooperate so I can regain my power.”

“What do you mean by Hell and the mortal world connecting?”

“There’s a limit to ignorance!”

Gregory, who burst out in anger, began explaining as if he had no choice.

“This place is the final cave, Purgatorio. It’s the only passage connecting the afterlife and the mortal world, and also the prison holding the 99 worst sinners in history.”

“Say, Gatekeeper. We just visited a place called Cell 13 earlier.”

“Ah, you must have met the soldier. He was imprisoned here for the sin of destroying an entire nation.”

Gregory boasted that there was nothing he didn’t know about this cave.

Wait. If that’s the case, wouldn’t he know about that as well?

“Then, do you know about the Hell Tree?”

This NPC might know why a gate appeared exactly where that tree was uprooted. The rabbit nestled in Hong Yun-jae’s arms raised its chin.

“Of course I do. Ahem, wasn’t that tree the reason this passage was created? It arrogantly spread its roots to the point of violating the boundary between realms, causing chaos. Even a sentence of tens of thousands of years wouldn’t suffice.”

As always, it was a context-driven World Tower design. To think it was connected like this.

“Gatekeeper, you really do know everything!”

“Ahem, of course I……”

“Don’t inflate his ego. If he was really that great, would he be in this state?”

Before Gregory could rejoice at Cha Tae-yang’s praise, Jo Sung-hyun poured cold water on it.

“Watch your insolent tongue! They couldn’t subdue me through just means, so they used vile trickery to imprison me in this lowly body.”

“If we defeat Mort, will you regain your power?”

“It’s not that simple. Mort tore my power into five pieces and scattered them. You must find them all.”

Gregory, speaking in a gloomy tone, twisted his body to escape from Hong Yun-jae’s arms. Then he tapped my foot with his front paws.

“That human can’t pet properly at all. You do it again.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Hoho, and defeat Mort? I’d like to see you try.”

Gregory, who seemed satisfied with my petting and closed his eyes gently, laughed unpleasantly and looked down on us.

“Hey, rabbit, what’s that supposed to mean? If you’re going to spoil things, do it properly.”

“I told you I’m not a rabbit! Hmph, if you face Mort without me, your heads will roll before you can even take a breath.”

Occasionally, there are quests that can only be cleared with the help of an NPC. If this is such a place, it resolves the contradiction of the quest and field ranks being different.

‘If Hell Duke Mort is an S-rank field boss, but there’s assistance from an NPC of the same rank, it makes sense that it’s rated as A-rank.’

At that moment, as if reading my thoughts, a popup window appeared.

[Information acquired! Quest information has been updated.]

[Quest, ‘The Boundary of Realms (A)’

– Clear condition: Defeat Hell Duke Mort

– Remaining time: 70:47:13

※ This quest can only be abandoned through NPC Gregory.

※ If you release NPC Gregory’s sealed power, you can nullify the field boss’s special attacks.]

“Unni, look at this!”

“So it wasn’t a useless rabbit after all.”

“Eek, what did you say? A useless rabbit? You wet-behind-the-ears human!”

Gregory, enraged by Jo Sung-hyun’s unfiltered words, leaped out and frantically stomped on Jo Sung-hyun’s feet with his hind legs. Jo Sung-hyun whistled as if it didn’t tickle at all, seemingly intentionally provoking the NPC’s temper.

“By the way, we’ve coincidentally obtained some good information.”

“Junior, surely you’re not satisfied with just this?”

“Pardon?”

Shin-ju, who said that this wasn’t enough for a reconnaissance team, picked up Gregory, who was still fuming at Jo Sung-hyun’s feet. Gregory, suddenly lifted into the air without knowing why, blinked his eyes.

“Gregory, you said you know everything about this cave, right?”

“Ahem, indeed I do.”

“Is that so? Then let’s get along nicely from now on.”

Shin-ju, with her remarkable eloquence, coaxed and cajoled Gregory to extract information.

Gregory, weak to flattery, occasionally lost his temper at the barrage of questions, but Shin-ju’s skill in appropriately stroking his ego was impressive.

‘Did she always do this on reconnaissance missions?’

Seeing Hong Yun-jae taking out a pen and notebook to record as if it were routine, it seemed this might have been the case since their training days.

According to Gregory’s explanation, there are a total of 100 mirrors attached to this place.

Ninety-nine mirrors are connected to prison cells, and Gregory’s power and Hell Duke Mort are hidden somewhere here.

“Ugh, does that mean we have to search them all one by one?”

“Of course not. Hoho, my power may have been stolen, but my intuition wasn’t sealed. I shall personally guide you to their locations.”

“As expected of a gatekeeper!”

Even at this soulless praise, Gregory was overjoyed.

“If 99 are connected to cells, what’s the one remaining?”

“It’s the door to the mortal realm.”

After that, Gregory continued to pour out information according to Shin-ju’s intentions. Things like Mort riding a ghost horse, or spreading a blood mist that absorbs the enemy’s health when in danger – all information useful for our strategy.

“Ahem, now hurry up and move. You need to break the seal before Mort gathers enough power to open the door.”

It seemed about time to politely refuse, saying it’s too difficult a request to accept. Shin-ju, probably thinking along the same lines, began to speak.

“Um, I’m sorry but……”

“Gatekeeper, may I ask one more question?”

“Hrm, I’ll specially allow it.”

“Thank you!”

Cha Tae-yang, smiling brightly as her name suggests, pointed at the floor she was standing on.

“Is this mirror also a door to a prison?”

“Oho, sharp child. This is the door to Cell 99.”

“Cell 99?”

I thought this vertical cave itself was the last of the ninety-nine branch caves. There was a separate Cell 99?

Everyone held their breath, focusing on Gregory’s words.

“It’s the cell of Yana, the worst and strongest omnipotent being of all time.”

Yana, a criminal who was barely imprisoned by thirteen gods and forty-nine heroes sacrificing their lives. Even Gregory, estimated to be S-rank, is said to be in a realm far beyond his reach.

‘It must be at least SS-rank. Well, considering the field rank, we probably won’t encounter it.’

Gregory added that the magic formula cast on this mirror itself was extraordinary.

‘If that’s the case, I can’t help but check it out!’

Secretly activating Explorer’s Eye away from Shin-ju’s gaze, dozens, hundreds of overlapping circuits appeared on the mirror. Seeing the circuits engraved so meticulously, almost obsessively, sent chills down my spine.

‘……They’re all the same formula.’

This vast circuit was entirely composed of sealing formulas, or more precisely, petrification formulas. Although the way they were tied was unique, the purpose was simple.

‘To seal the target eternally.’

The phrase “strongest and worst omnipotent being” finally felt real.

“Hey, Gatekeeper, can I touch this?”

“Hoho, you’ve been stepping on it all this time and now you ask?”

“Ah, that’s right!”

“It’s a door that will never open without the proper key. Of course you can touch it.”

Cha Tae-yang carefully lowered the goblin sitting on her shoulder to the floor and bent down. It felt strange to see the goblin, who would normally have made a fuss along with her, staying still on the mirror like an inanimate object.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been quiet since we entered this place.’

“Sniff sniff, but child.”

Gregory, who was sniffing and smelling, called out to Cha Tae-yang just as she was about to place her hand on the floor. Her palm stopped just before touching, and she raised her head.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. There’s a peculiar scent coming from you.”

“Really? I can’t tell. I have a really good nose too, you know.”

Cha Tae-yang shrugged and lowered her posture again.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Ding!

Just as the goblin, who had been silent all this time, was about to rush at Gregory, Cha Tae-yang’s hand touched the mirror.

And the tightly tied knots of the seal began to loosen one by one. My blood seemed to drain from my entire body as I alone noticed the beginning of the calamity.

‘The circuit, the seal is being released!’

“Gregory!”

With that cry, all the formulas scattered and disappeared, and we fell helplessly below the mirror.