Chapter 26: The Underwater Castle and a Sudden Hurdle

“In my case, I killed all three groups, so my quest was to wipe out the remnants seeking revenge. Generally, it’s a quest where the Slugs and Lions declare war on the Orcs, or all three engage in a free-for-all. You get one of the two based on how you clear the previous stage.”

“But I cleared it without any sacrifices from the three races, right?”

“Exactly. If there’s a hidden mission directly linked to that specific main story branch, this is the only place it could be.”

His calm explanation was easy to follow. Surprisingly, the guy was quite logical when he wanted to be. Though, hearing that Sephiroth had crushed even the last survivors of the races trying to get revenge on him was very… on brand.

“So we have to perform the hidden quest here. There don’t seem to be any obvious clues…”

Sephiroth offered a suggestion.

“Shall we try walking out onto the lake first?”

“Is that okay? Won’t the ice break?”

“So what if it does? It’s a game; we can just swim back out.”

Right. Good point.

I had made a foolish comment because the graphics were too realistic. Blushing, I took the first step onto the frozen lake. The solid ice didn’t seem like it would break under my weight. My reflection flickered dimly on the thick surface.

“Don’t you come up.”

“Why?”

“I’m scared it’ll break.”

“Cowardly, aren’t you?”

Brushing off my grumbling, Sephiroth brought his heavy iron boots onto the ice. I cursed inwardly when I saw him lift his leg up to his knee and intentionally stomp down. Despite the terrifying thud that echoed across the lake, the ice remained peaceful, without a single crack.

“See? It didn’t break.”

“Did you really have to stomp like that to check?”

“Our Princess said he was scared, so I was just reassuring him.”

“Who are you calling Princess?”

Honestly, he couldn’t go a second without saying something annoying.

“You’re always muttering and pouting, so you’re a Princess.”

“Is that your substitute for a curse word?”

“Did you catch on?”

“You practically shoved the hint down my throat; I’d be an idiot not to catch on.”

“Ah, so you’re not an idiot?”

This jerk…

His way of speaking was truly obnoxious. Huffing with frustration, I marched ahead across the ice. I heard the clanking of iron armor behind me. At least he was following quietly for once.

“I wonder if there’s a mark on the ice?”

I muttered, scanning the surface, but the solid layer of ice showed no special scratches. As I sat down and swept my hand across the surface, a not-unpleasant chill crept up from the ice.

Sephiroth, who had followed me, tapped my shoulder lightly.

“Isn’t your butt cold?”

“It’s a game. I can just turn down the sensory sensitivity.”

“It’s going to leave a wet spot on your pants.”

“What?”

At that, I hurriedly stood up and checked my backside. My plain leather pants had a slight trace of moisture, but no massive stain. When I glared at Sephiroth, he just crossed his arms and looked away innocently.

“Fooled you again?”

Is he being extra mischievous today?

I narrowed my eyes and stared him down before letting out a sigh. God is truly indifferent. He clearly gave Sephiroth god-tier controls but didn’t put a single drop of personality into him. Every time I talked to this guy, I felt like I was developing an ulcer.

Then again, he was a ranker in a massive global game. If someone had these controls and was as kind-hearted as Na Eun-hyeok? If I were a bystander, I’d call them a “cheat character.” Maybe it was necessary for the balance of humanity. One cheat character like Na Eun-hyeok was enough for this world.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Huh?”

I snapped out of my wandering thoughts at Sephiroth’s voice. He was staring at me intently.

“Thinking about your crush?”

“Why are you so obsessed with that since earlier?”

“Because it’s fun.”

Damn it. It’s my fault for using this guy as a ‘bamboo forest’ secret-keeper.

Come to think of it, even in the King Midas story, the bamboo forest repeated the secret every time the wind blew. I should have been more careful with my metaphors.

“Stop talking nonsense. I was thinking about how to clear the quest.”

“Oh, really?”

“Could you not say that in a tone that clearly indicates you don’t believe me?”

“No, I believe you.”

Answering half-heartedly, Sephiroth pointed at me.

“Take out the amulet.”

“Oh, right.”

“You should use things once you get them.”

I remembered there was an item that appeared when I accepted the hidden quest. I quickly opened my inventory and pulled out the amulet. As I held it, a strange phenomenon began to occur beneath our feet.

CRACK.

“Wait, it’s breaking!”

The floor of the lake where Sephiroth and I were standing began to split apart. Panicked, I flailed, trying to run toward the shore. But we were already quite far into the center, and the speed of the cracking ice was much faster.

“Ugh!”

CRUNCH. The ice beneath my feet gave way with a vivid sound. My body lurched forward. I let out a scream as I tumbled. SPLASH. My body plunged into the water.

“Hey.”

I heard Sephiroth’s voice, laced with laughter.

“What are you doing?”

“…Uh.”

I slowly lifted my head. Sephiroth’s black helmet was right above me. A large shadow enveloped me. My arms were pressed against Sephiroth’s chest, and his arm was wrapped around my waist, supporting me.

And underwater… I had forgotten again that this was a game.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly and pulled away from Sephiroth’s embrace. In my panic to escape the breaking ice, I must have instinctively leaned into him. Sephiroth didn’t seem to have had any intention of holding on, as he readily let go. That naturalness made it even more embarrassing.

Ah, what is wrong with me today…

My face turned beet red. I hurriedly opened the settings and set “Expression Sync” to minimum. Even so, my neck and ears were likely flushed enough to show.

Why is there no ‘Turn Off Expression Sync Completely’ option?

I couldn’t see Sephiroth’s face behind the visor, but it was obvious he was enjoying this more than anyone. His posture already screamed “silent laughter.” I couldn’t even curse at him this time. I was the one who put on a one-man show and ended up hugging him.

I’m a newbie; how am I supposed to be used to virtual reality yet…

And why did they have to implement such subtle warmth? The sensation of being held in Sephiroth’s arms lingered faintly on my skin. To banish the embarrassment, I tried to deflect the blame.

“By the way, why did you wrap your arm around my waist?”

You didn’t have to strike such a pose.

“Our Princess hugged me so naturally that I got a bit flustered too, you know?”

I am so sorry.

Since it was clearly my fault, it would be shameless to argue further. Of course, Sephiroth was shameless, but just because he was didn’t mean I had to be. Unable to sacrifice universal moral values just to hide a moment of embarrassment, I awkwardly changed the subject.

“Anyway, are we underwater?”

“Looks like the bottom of the lake.”

Even when I opened my mouth, the only graphical effect was a few bubbles; there was no sensation of drinking water or suffocating. So this is a VR game. Marveling at it anew, I looked around.

My vision was tinted with a soft blue light. The color, like a mix of sky blue and pale emerald, gave the strange feeling of looking at the world through a gemstone. Trees grew from mounds of dirt on the lake floor, sprouting green leaves, and colorful fish swam nearby, waving their tails.

Before us stood a massive earthen wall. In the center, a bronze door, rusted bright red, was tightly shut. It was obvious: this was a new dungeon.

“Have you been here before?”

“No, first time for me too.”

As I approached the door, the quest updated.

[Hidden] <Secret of the Race War>

• Clear the dungeon ‘Castle of Doltec.’

There was no time limit.

“I guess this is the Castle of Doltec.”

“Doltec?”

“Do you know the name?”

“It’s a name mentioned in the later main quests. It seems we’re definitely on the hidden route.”

With Sephiroth’s explanation, there was no reason to hesitate. Now we just had to clear the quest. Just as I was about to open the dungeon door, a message appeared.

[This dungeon is for 5 players only.]

Huh?

“Wait, what?”

“What’s wrong?” Sephiroth asked at my stunned reaction.

“It says it’s a 5-player dungeon.”

“Suddenly? Here?”

“I know, right.”

I thought there would only be the Regressor and his helper, but suddenly we needed five people. It was an awkwardly high number.

“It’ll probably be hard to clear this unless we’re at max level, right?”

“Looking at the progress, probably.”

“Right…”

Since the game already considered me a “Regressor” who had reached max level once and was starting over, it probably assumed I’d have a few max-level friends.

Sure, I have max-level friends. But asking me to bring three more at once? Isn’t that a bit much?

Thinking I should bring Seong-jin and Gyu-tae first, I started counting on my fingers.