Chapter 52: 4F Hidden (3)

[You have failed the Nightmare Difficulty 4F Hidden challenge. (2/3)]

Back in my room, I went over everything that had just happened.

‘Teleportation was blocked...?’

Was there some kind of defensive system that prevented spatial intrusion?

Considering how technologically advanced this world appeared to be, it would hardly be surprising.

Still, it stung to have wasted an entire attempt simply because I hadn’t known.

The only thing I had learned from my first try was that the Master Code Room couldn’t be entered through teleportation.

It was as though the Tower itself were telling me not to even think about taking the easy way out.

[Do you wish to enter Nightmare Difficulty 4F?]

I immediately began my second attempt.

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

[‘Ability Nullification Part’ acquired!]

After eliminating all the golems, I managed to pull the Ability Nullification Part on my second try.

Points held: 25,500P

Once I defeated the boss, I left through the exit and made my way upward along the same route as before.

“So what I’m saying is, we need a way to increase the mana core’s reactivity even further...”

Remaining concealed, I lingered nearby and listened to the researchers as they passed.

Everything unfolded exactly as it had during my first attempt. Iska appeared, and I followed him.

“Come in.”

Since I already knew what he wanted, I quickly steered the conversation to the point.

“Just answer one question. Are you an enemy of the Workshop?”

“Yes.”

“If this entire Workshop were blown to pieces...”

“I’d be delighted.”

“...Then it seems we have reason to cooperate. Because I intend to destroy this Workshop completely.”

Just as before, I received the quest to copy the Master Code, along with the items required to do so.

“Is there no way to enter the Master Code Room using Teleportation magic?”

Iska answered without hesitation.

“That won’t work. Spatial Coordinate Distortion Devices are active around the Workshop’s key facilities.”

...So there really was a system like that.

It would have been nice if he had mentioned it sooner.

Then again, I hadn’t asked. I could hardly blame him.

There was one more thing I wanted to know.

“By the way, does this Workshop use people as fuel or something?”

Iska replied without so much as blinking.

“Some are used as fuel, others as test subjects. When extracted, a human soul produces an enormous amount of mana. I assumed you already knew that.”

Ah.

So that was the kind of setting this was.

Aside from the fact that it floated in the sky, this world truly was a wasteland devoid of hopes and dreams.

After finishing my conversation with Iska, I stepped back into the corridor.

I had confirmed the location of the Master Code Room.

Now that I knew the shortcut wouldn’t work, it was time to try the conventional approach.

To find the Workshop Master, I headed toward Sector 1.

“Excuse me. Do you happen to know where the Workshop Master is?”

I stopped a kindly looking researcher and asked him.

“The Workshop Master? He’s probably observing the mana-core fission demonstration right now. It’s being held in Demonstration Room 3...”

“Thank you.”

The man’s explanation proved every bit as helpful as his appearance had suggested, and I immediately set off.

Following the internal map, I eventually arrived at Demonstration Room 3 in Sector 1.

Still concealed, I approached the entrance.

The doors were shut, however, and several guards stood watch outside.

I paced along the corridor, wondering whether I would have to wait outside the building for him to emerge.

Just then, the doors to the demonstration room opened, and people began filing out.

Amid the crowd of researchers in white coats stood a white-haired old man who alone wore a formal suit.

The moment I saw him, I knew he had to be the Workshop Master.

It wasn’t merely because his clothing made him stand out.

It was because of the person walking beside him.

Unlike the other guards, who wore black suits, this woman was dressed in a platinum-colored one.

So that was the bodyguard Iska had warned me about.

‘...She’s no joke.’

Perhaps because I had raised Sixth Sense to level 2, I could now perceive an opponent’s strength even more clearly than before.

She felt similar to the monstrous Black Knight I had fought during the 2F Hidden challenge.

No—perhaps she was even stronger.

One thing was certain.

She was far more powerful than I was.

The Workshop Master stopped in front of the entrance and began speaking with the researchers.

I moved closer, intending to examine him.

After all, I needed to find the Master Key.

‘...!’

At that moment, the bodyguard frowned and turned her head in my direction.

Sixth Sense screamed a warning.

Startled, I immediately retreated.

She tilted her head, stared at the spot where I had been standing, and then finally looked away.

Oh, shit...

‘He said no one would detect me.’

Iska had clearly told me that, aside from him, no one in the Workshop could see through my concealment.

Had I taken even one more step, I would almost certainly have been in danger.

She hadn’t actually seen through the concealment, but it seemed that if I entered a certain radius, she could sense my presence.

Did she possess some kind of absurdly sharp instinct?

‘...This makes things far more difficult.’

I didn’t even know where the Workshop Master kept the key.

And whenever I approached him, the bodyguard would sense me.

That meant stealing it while concealed was out of the question.

For the time being, I withdrew from the building.

I sat on a bench outside, crossed one leg over the other, and considered my options.

Stealing the Workshop Master’s key under concealment was impossible because of the bodyguard.

Should I wait until the two of them separated?

She was his personal guard. There was no guarantee they would ever be apart.

Even if such an opportunity arose, I couldn’t follow the Workshop Master indefinitely.

My concealment had a time limit.

...Should I ambush the bodyguard with Destruction Ray and remove her from the equation?

Then I could take the key from the Workshop Master.

“Hmm...”

Even setting aside whether I was capable of defeating her, I had no idea whether I could survive the chaos that would follow.

Besides, something about the whole situation felt wrong.

It didn’t seem as though I was supposed to use concealment to steal the key at all.

Was this meant to be some kind of puzzle?

Like a spy in a movie, was I expected to manipulate the people around me, exploit the situation, and somehow trick the Workshop Master into giving up the key?

“What a pain.”

The hidden challenge on the fourth floor was far more convoluted than those on the previous floors.

The clues and instructions were far too vague.

Naturally, the difficulty would increase as I climbed higher.

But even so, it was irritating how every remotely convenient shortcut seemed to have been sealed off deliberately.

“...”

Perhaps I should investigate the possibility of a shortcut a little more thoroughly.

An idea occurred to me, and I returned to Iska’s room in Sector 6.

He looked surprised to see me.

“...Don’t tell me you’ve already succeeded.”

“Not a chance. I just have a few questions.”

I began with the most important one.

“The Spatial Coordinate Distortion Device. You said that’s what prevents me from teleporting into the Master Code Room.”

“That’s correct.”

“Is there any way to disable it, even temporarily? Is there some kind of central control room or management facility inside the Workshop?”

The device had to be powered by something.

Couldn’t I simply flip the proverbial breaker?

I hadn’t expected much, but Iska gave me an affirmative answer.

“There is a control room in each sector responsible for circulating mana throughout the Workshop. If you destroy the Central Mana Circuit inside Sector 1’s control room, the Spatial Coordinate Distortion Device protecting the Master Code Room will also cease functioning.”

I pressed him further.

“Then what if I wreck the Sector 1 control room, destroy everything inside, and teleport into the Master Code Room while everyone is distracted? Could I copy the code that way?”

“...The Master Code is housed within an independent structure, so it would continue functioning even if the Central Mana Circuit went down. Yes, theoretically, that would be possible. However...”

Iska looked at me.

“You only have one body. How do you intend to accomplish both tasks? Do you have an ally?”

So it was possible.

A grin spread across my face.

***

After allowing Diul’s strength, which had been drained by my prolonged concealment, to recover, I went straight to the Sector 1 control room.

Still concealed, I stood before its tightly sealed doors.

Then I summoned Plli.

At my command, Plli hurled himself against the heavy metal entrance.

KRASH!

The double doors were ripped clean from their hinges, revealing a chamber filled with complex machinery and terrified personnel.

The staff froze in the middle of their work and stared at Plli in horror.

“...Aaaaargh!”

Wheeeeeeeee!

They scattered in panic as emergency alarms began to shriek.

Guards poured into the corridor almost immediately.

Remaining concealed, I focused on the bamboo-shoot-shaped machine positioned in the center of the control room.

According to Iska, that was the Central Mana Circuit.

‘Destroy that first, Plli. Then cause as much chaos as you can!’

Plli sprang into the air and smashed the device apart with a single blow.

I stayed only long enough to see it destroyed before moving on to my own objective.

I sprinted toward the Master Code Room as quickly as I could without breaking concealment.

Partway there, I felt Plli’s presence disappear.

Damn.

He hadn’t lasted as long as I had hoped.

Were the Workshop’s guards stronger than I had expected?

Either way, I soon reached the Master Code Room.

Standing directly outside the entrance, I activated Teleportation.

This time, there was no repelling force.

The spell activated without resistance.

“Phew.”

Success.

Safely inside the Master Code Room, I looked around.

A capsule-shaped machine stood in the center of the chamber.

That had to be the Master Code storage device Iska had described.

Without wasting a second, I approached it and pressed the Copy Tool against the capsule.

The device adhered to the surface like a magnet.

A process began, and a gauge on the tool’s side slowly started to fill.

I crossed my arms and waited.

“...”

How long was this supposed to take?

Iska had said it would require only a minute, but more than a minute had already passed.

Nothing that old man said ever seemed entirely accurate...

If the system came back online while I was still inside, I would be trapped.

“Oh.”

Fortunately, the gauge soon reached its limit, and a blue light appeared on the Copy Tool.

I grabbed it and immediately teleported out of the Master Code Room.

The uproar inside the Sector 1 building was still going strong.

Remaining concealed, I slipped outside and made my way back to Sector 6.

Once I reached an empty section of corridor, I released concealment and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

‘Mission accomplished.’

Damn.

It had actually worked.

Apparently, if you searched hard enough, there was always another way.

Now I only had to deliver the Master Code to Iska.

Although I wasn’t certain that would be the end of the challenge.

I arrived at his room.

“You succeeded?”

I nodded and held out the tool.

“The blue light means the copying process is complete, right?”

“...You truly did it. Well done.”

Iska accepted the tool, surprise clearly visible on his face.

The challenge-clear notification had yet to appear, so I asked him what came next.

“What are you going to do now?”

He had said that he intended to destroy the entire Workshop.

Presumably, I would have to see that part through as well.

“Come with me.”

Iska put on the lab coat he had set aside and left the room.

I followed him.

We crossed a corridor, took the stairs instead of the elevator, and descended into the basement of the Sector 6 building.

Like the passage leading to the Master Code Room, the basement consisted of a long corridor with a single entrance at its far end.

Beep.

Iska pressed a card against the reader, and the door opened.

Beyond it lay a vast chamber resembling a laboratory.

Golems of every imaginable color stood inside.

Iska produced some kind of controller and pressed a button.

The golems began to awaken.

Thud. Thud. Thud...

One after another, they marched through the entrance and disappeared into the corridor.

The door closed behind them.

Iska then approached a complex machine in the center of the laboratory and began operating its controls.

A core as large as the golems that had just departed was embedded in the middle of the apparatus.

– Charging initiated.

A mechanical voice echoed through the chamber, and light began to pour into the core.

[0.01%]

A percentage appeared on the display.

Iska inserted the Copy Tool containing the Master Code into the machine and adjusted several more controls.

Another announcement followed.

– Highest authority for mana circuit management approved.

– Transferring all available mana to Zone T5K1.

Fine vibrations rippled through the core as it began to shine with increasing intensity.

[15.6%]

The displayed percentage started climbing at a breathtaking rate.

At the same time, alarms began ringing outside the laboratory.

“What are you doing? What is that thing?”

Iska answered without looking away from the machine.

“It is a core I forged from orichalcum—the substance they call God’s material. You could call it my life’s masterpiece. It is capable of absorbing and stabilizing mana of any nature, and its maximum capacity is beyond imagination. It can easily contain the Workshop’s entire mana supply.

“I am drawing every reserve of mana inside the Workshop into this core. Once it reaches seventy percent, I will detonate it.”

Ah.

So that was how he intended to destroy the Workshop.

Even to someone with no technical knowledge, the explanation was refreshingly straightforward.

“...But won’t I be caught in the explosion too?”

I had no intention of dying alongside him.

Would the challenge-clear notification appear before the detonation?

Iska reached into his pocket and handed me a small object.

It resembled a miniature globe.

A jewel-like green sphere was surrounded by two metal rings, and beneath its transparent surface I could see something resembling a delicate mechanical structure.

A timer on the device read:

[9:51]

“This is a Warp Device.”

“...A Warp Device?”

“The mana will detonate exactly ten minutes after the core reaches seventy percent. I have set this Warp Device to activate ten minutes from now as well. You will be able to escape through it.”

I see.

Escaping the Workshop through this device was probably the final condition for completing the challenge.

I slipped the Warp Device into my pocket.

[35.6%]

[42.1%]

[49.7%]

.

.

.

[50.5%]

Then the percentage, which had been climbing so steadily, came to an abrupt halt.

It refused to rise above fifty percent.

“It stopped.”

Iska’s expression hardened.

Something had clearly gone wrong.

“...They couldn’t possibly have responded this quickly. How?”

He worked the controls, then let out a low groan.

“The Workshop’s entire mana circuit has been shut down. It appears your attack on the control room prompted them to take emergency measures. Otherwise, they could never have disabled the circuit so quickly.”

“...What?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“So what do we do now? Is it over?”

Iska released a defeated sigh.

“...It is. A pity.”

“Wait. We already charged it to fifty percent. Can’t you detonate what we have?”

“That is not how it works. The core must produce a mana overload. Unless it reaches the seventy-percent threshold, the reaction will not occur at all.”

Oh, come on.

Whatever the details, the plan had clearly fallen apart.

“I do not blame you,” Iska said. “You did your best. Remain hidden until the Warp Device activates, then use it to escape.”

I bit my lip.

I had thought we had succeeded.

To fail now, when we were so close...

Still unwilling to give up, I asked one last question.

“Is there really no other way to supply the remaining mana?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“...Wait. You said the core can absorb any kind of mana, didn’t you? Then couldn’t we charge it by firing magic directly into it? I can use magic.”

Iska gave a dry laugh.

“It is theoretically possible. But even if you gathered every remaining trace of mana in the Workshop, the core would still fail to reach eighty percent. How do you intend to provide the missing twenty percent? Even an archmage would be incapable of such a feat.”

I scratched my head in frustration.

So the problem was that I had destroyed the control room?

But without doing that, there had been no way to enter the Master Code Room through teleportation.

...Was the game truly refusing to accept any solution other than the intended one?

Did I really have to steal the Workshop Master’s key, with no exceptions?

‘This is seriously pissing me off.’

Just as I was beginning to accept that I had no choice but to abandon the attempt, an idea struck me.

I opened the shop window.

[Shop]

– Physical Damage +10% (500P)

– Magic Damage +10% (200P)

– Willpower +10% (100P)

– Attribute Conversion (500P)

– Barrier (50P)

– Slow (50P)

– Stop (100P)

– Special Gacha! (5,000P)

Points held: 25,500P

Special Gacha.

The Skill Effect 300% Scroll.

And my most powerful skill—Destruction Ray.

...What if I used the scrolls to increase Destruction Ray’s power as much as possible?

If everything went well, perhaps I could supply the missing twenty percent myself.

I already possessed one 300% Scroll from the pull I had made after defeating the boss.

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

I applied it immediately.

Then I began pulling from the gacha.

With the points I had left, I could make five pulls in total.

I didn’t expect much.

It was no more than a final gamble before giving up.

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

Ding-ding-ding—

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

Another scroll appeared on the very first pull.

A promising start.

When it materialized out of thin air, Iska’s eyes widened.

“...What did you just do?”

“Shh. Give me a second.”

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

That brought the multiplier to nine times its original strength.

I silenced Iska with a gesture and made another pull.

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

Ding-ding-ding—

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

Oh...

Oh?

Another one?

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

The total multiplier rose to twenty-seven.

I made the third pull.

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

Ding-ding-ding—

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

“...?!”

Again?

Three in a row?

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

Eighty-one times.

I made the fourth pull.

Surely it couldn’t happen ag—

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

Ding-ding-ding—

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

“...”

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

Two hundred and forty-three times.

Without saying a word, I made the final pull.

‘There’s no way...’

Could it really happen?

[‘Special Gacha! (5,000P)’ purchased.]

Ding-ding-ding—

[‘Skill Effect 300% Scroll’ acquired!]

“...Yeeeaaaaahh.”

I picked up the scroll as an electric thrill raced through my entire body.

Ah...

The rush of dopamine was unbelievable.

Was this it?

Was this the true essence of gacha?

[‘Skill Effect 300%’ Scroll applied to ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]

The 300% Scroll had now been applied six times.

Total multiplier: 729x.

After an absurd streak of luck that had granted me five consecutive scrolls, I had amplified Destruction Ray to a truly ridiculous level.

I turned toward Iska.

“Stand back.”

“I already told you. It will be useless—”

“Move!”

At my shout, Iska reluctantly stepped away.

[50.5%]

I extended one hand toward the core.

Then I stopped time and activated Mental Concentration.

All right.

Here we go.

A fully charged Destruction Ray, amplified seven hundred and twenty-nine times over.

An ultra-super-mega-powered blast...

Fire.

“...!”

A pitch-black beam swallowed the core.

At the same instant, the percentage began to soar.

[56.7%]

[68.3%]

[79.5%]

.

.

.

The original target of seventy percent was surpassed in an instant, yet the number continued to climb.

“What in the...!”

Iska’s mouth fell open as he stared at the scene before him.

Ninety percent...

Ninety-five...

One hundred.

[100%]

The core reached full capacity almost immediately.

But the beam still showed no sign of stopping.

RRRRUMBLE!

Violent tremors shook the entire laboratory.

Iska, who had been staring in stunned silence, suddenly shouted.

“Wait! Stop! Stoooop!”

...I want to stop too, sir.

Once the skill had been activated, there was no way for me to cancel it manually.

Was the core about to explode?

Were we completely screwed?

Fortunately, Destruction Ray finally faded before the core could rupture.

Ruuuuuumble...

[100%]

The core now blazed with a radiance as fierce as the sun.

I stared at it for a moment before turning to Iska.

“Did it work?”

Breathing heavily, Iska looked at me as though he had just witnessed something that defied the laws of nature.

Then, slowly, he nodded.