Chapter 98

Miu, who had been silent until now, suddenly urged them on.

Yeonhoo glanced around and found that Miu had already gone on ahead and was waiting inside the elevator leading to the next dungeon area.

(Cook) BBQ: Ah yeah true lol even if Round One is more of a headache, we’ve still got Round Two left

(Cook) BBQ: Let’s go let’s go lol

—Yep! Let’s go!

“Okay!”

Come to think of it, they had only cleared half the dungeon. They would have to face the final boss of Round Two before the real rewards appeared and the dungeon could actually be cleared.

Feeling a little sheepish, Yeonhoo moved 0momo0 forward. Once YoureGettingSued and BBQ stepped into the elevator as well, the doors snapped shut and the loading sequence began.

Entering Round Two of <Memoria Locked Ward>, <The Concert Hall Where Time Stopped>!

—Creeeak, clank.

The floor began to vibrate and rise amid the grinding noise of rusted chains locking into place.

Then the narrow glass window inside the elevator gradually expanded, and beyond it, peacefully smiling NPCs flickered past in glitching fragments.

But something was strange.

No matter how far they rose.

—Clatter, clatter, clatter.

No matter how high they went.

The view beyond the glass never changed. Figures smiled peacefully and disappeared, screens full of static growing larger and larger, then larger still—

—Ding!

The elevator stopped.

—You have arrived.

The instant the doors wrenched open to either side, a number appeared before them.

4F

It was eerie that after passing what had seemed like countless floors, they had only reached the fourth.

The moment the party stepped into the corridor—

That’s music.

At the same time, the lights along the dark corridor walls came on.

The bleak, ominous atmosphere vanished, revealing a floor covered in red carpet.

The candles flickered as though urging the party onward, and all four characters began moving at once.

At the end of the corridor, they arrived at...

Concert Hall

A concert hall? Out of nowhere?

A concert hall inside a locked ward made no sense.

Yeonhoo wondered whether he had misread the sign, but then the massive doors ahead swung open with a heavy boom, revealing an actual concert hall.

—♩ ♬ ♪ ♫

The opening of a lavish orchestral concerto erupted from the speakers at a volume loud enough to tear them apart.

The camera swept rapidly over the audience.

Patients dressed in brilliant gowns and tuxedos sat watching the stage.

Yet on the stage itself...

Only one person?

Despite the grand music, there was no one there but the conductor.

As though he had sensed the party’s presence, the man turned around with elegant grace.

—Well, well. More guests have arrived on this wonderful day! More guests have arrived on this wonderful day! Sit, sit! Though, of course...

With a soft whoosh, every candle went out at once, plunging the screen into darkness.

—We will first have to see whether you are truly members of the audience, won’t we?

“Whoa!”

Yeonhoo recoiled in shock.

The conductor’s face had suddenly lunged right up against the screen.

(Notification) Boss “Arister” reveals himself in a state of madness!

That’s disgusting!

And it was no ordinary face.

Through the gaps in a bloodstained, shattered crimson mask, two tiny vacuum tubes glowed red-hot and gleamed wetly.

They were not human eyes.

Yeonhoo sat frozen, too dumbfounded by the abrupt cutscene to react, when he heard delighted laughter.

—Ahaha! Momo, you got scared!

That reaction from YoureGettingSued was only the beginning.

(Cook) BBQ: lololol this jumpscare is fun because you get to see people’s reactions lol

(Cook) BBQ: Been a while since I came with someone who hadn’t been spoiled, this is great lol

Judging by the excited chat, most people must have been startled here on their first run.

“You could’ve warned me...”

When Yeonhoo spoke awkwardly, YoureGettingSued giggled.

—I forgot! But I think it’s better that I did! You were really funny when you got scared, Momo!

“I’m funny when I get scared...?”

—Yes! It’s like your reaction comes half a beat late, and you sound like you’re not scared even when you are. It’s hilarious.

In truth, he had not expected the boss to shove its face at him so suddenly, which was probably why his reaction had been delayed.

“I’m kind of bad with things like this...”

—No, everyone gets scared here! I was really startled the first time too!

“...Really?”

—Yes. I even swore!

YoureGettingSued confirmed it with laughter in her voice.

—Compared to that, your reaction was actually pretty cute... Hm?

He never got to hear the rest.

Ding!

The distinctive Zombie Village notification sound struck his ears as a system window appeared on-screen.

Raid Leader “Miu” requests confirmation that all raid members are ready.

YES

NO

And there was more than one.

Raid Leader “Miu” requests confirmation that all raid members are ready.

YES

NO

Raid Leader “Miu” requests confirmation that all raid members are ready.

YES

NO

Yeonhoo blinked at the unending series of notification sounds.

(Cook) BBQ: Huh? lol what’s wrong Miu?

(Sniper) Miu: Could we hurry a little

(Sniper) Miu: Something urgent came up so I think we need to clear this fast

(Cook) BBQ: Oh then yeah we should hurry okay okay

Apparently, it had been a silent demand for them to stop chatting and get ready.

Come to think of it, Miu does seem especially off today... Maybe he just wants to finish quickly.

As long as Miu was not rushing because he was angry with him, that was fine.

(Sniper) Miu: Momo could you go watch the mechanics first?

“Then I’ll go watch a guide really quickly! I’m going to turn off my mic and game sound for a moment.”

Following Miu’s advice, Yeonhoo decided to study the mechanics for Round Two of the locked ward.

Round Two has an actual boss, so I should probably watch a guide.

Unlike Round One, which could be cleared easily as long as everyone understood the puzzle mechanics, this section contained a boss room.

It seemed best to at least skim the guide before going in.

—Okay! See you in a bit!

(Cook) BBQ: Okay okay I’m grabbing a cup of coffee too

(Sniper) Miu: Go ahead

Yeonhoo hurriedly muted the game, searched for a video, and played it.

Round Two looked easier than expected.

So you can basically just overpower it.

In Round One, everyone had been forced to participate and solve the puzzles together, but in Round Two, it seemed they only had to handle the major mechanics correctly.

It was also easy enough to clear even if one party member died, which took some of the pressure off.

So that’s why they said it was manageable!

Compared to <Sky Terror>, where a single mistake in aim could make everything explode, this dungeon was almost cute.

Judging from the comments and reactions, though—

People mostly avoid it because Round One is annoying.

The level requirement was part of it, but meeting a strange party member in one of the Round One puzzle rooms could turn the whole run into a nightmare, so people did not seem to like the dungeon much.

Round Two will be over in no time!

And for once, Yeonhoo’s prediction proved correct.

—Momo, we’ve already taken off more than half the boss’s HP. What do you think? Easy, right?

“Uh... it is easy!”

The raid was going almost absurdly smoothly.

Despite the dramatic cutscene and all the fanfare, Arister’s movements were slower and more straightforward than expected.

For instance, when he fired lasers, he visibly gathered energy first, giving them time to dodge.

And the movement of the musical notes that inflicted restraints could be read easily by watching his baton.

But there was another reason the raid was so easy.

(Cook) BBQ: Our damage is so fast we’re only seeing like ten mechanics out of a hundred lol

(Cook) BBQ: Miu what even is this damage lol Snipers seriously need a nerfㅠㅠ

(Cook) BBQ: And YoureGettingSued’s buffs are insanely good lol

It was thanks to the rest of the team.

—Stack up, Hymn going out! Nice. Full damage now! Go!

YoureGettingSued was a high-level support, and with only a slight exaggeration, she nearly doubled Yeonhoo’s damage output.

And he was not the only one receiving those buffs.

(Sniper) Miu: If Blessing is off cooldown I’ll use my skill

(Cook) BBQ: Buffs going up!!! I’m doing damage too!! Buff me please!

The same applied to the high-level Miu and BBQ.

Under the force of their overwhelming damage, Arister melted away like a snowman.

—Wow, this really is insanely fast!

Arister was supposed to pressure the party with all manner of theatrics, but he was dying before he could even begin.

This is fun.

They had only gone through three rotations, yet the fight already looked nearly finished.

As Yeonhoo watched Arister’s HP rapidly drain until it was almost empty, his tension began to ease.

“Um... sorry. I’m restrained.”

—Oh dear.

Heeheehee.

Arister’s laughter rang out as a discordant shriek vibrated through the hall.

Yeonhoo had been so focused on controlling the Skeleton that he failed to dodge the musical note that had crept up on him.

—Wait just a second! I’ll save you!

(Sniper) Miu: No I’ll do it

(Cook) BBQ: Nice teamwork lol

Miu immediately rushed toward Yeonhoo.

—No... No! This performance cannot end! My audience... My happiness...!

Along with Arister’s scream, every light in the concert hall flared a furious red.

—Our damage must’ve been too fast. We triggered the really annoying Curtain Call mechanic!

Curtain Call began when the entire map turned red.

It was the most troublesome mechanic Yeonhoo had seen in the guide.

One party member would be marked, drawing all aggro, and the others would have to protect them.

But something was wrong.

(Cook) BBQ: No one’s getting marked?

(Cook) BBQ: Is it bugged? lol

By now, the mark should already have appeared, yet none of the party members had been designated as the target.

Everyone was beginning to assume it was a bug when—

“Hm?”

Yeonhoo’s eyes widened.

Something had entered his field of vision.

What is that... lips?

It was revolting.

It looked as though shredded pieces of flesh had been forcibly sewn back into the shape of lips, the seams lined with densely packed, rusted staples.

Between them, some unknown black-red fluid oozed out in sticky streams.

“Uh... it’s dangerous over there!”

And of all places, the crimson lips had split wide open directly beneath Miu’s feet as he came to rescue him.

Yeonhoo shouted without thinking.

“Ms. Miyoung?!”