YMDR 06

Chapter 6 …

 Is It You?

I stood there for a while, the cold wind brushing my face as I quietly gazed up at the moon.

《S-Rank Dungeon — Nightmare Dungeon》

The name of the dungeon.
The very same that lent its title to the game—Nightmare Dungeon.

Clearing that place was the only way to reach the ending.

Whether the same rules applied now that this was no longer a game but reality, I didn’t know.
Still, one thing remained unchanged—one day, I’d have to go there.
Because if it remained uncleared, it would eventually bring about the end of the world.

“So, in the end, my objective hasn’t changed.”

I’d need to earn renown through steady dungeon raids—collecting relics, equipment, and mysteries to grow stronger.

But I wasn’t interested in some balanced, well-rounded build.

No, I would focus on a single aspect—vitality.

The cultist class was frail by design. Dodging or defending was hopeless, so the only logical answer was to take every blow head-on—and survive regardless.

That led to a particular build.

The Immortal Cultist.

Not a worshipper of a fire god—“immortal” as in undying.

“There’s no reason to use any other build.”

It was a build that even foreign players had marveled at—one that had once made them fall in love with the raw, unkellable resilience of the so-called K-Cultist.

As long as I collected the right relics and artifacts according to plan, I’d gain a tenacity that would make even zombies flinch in disgust.

That much hadn’t changed since the game.
But some things had.

“Maybe I should form an expedition party.”

Recruiting and training others—something cultists were never allowed to do in the game—was now finally possible.

I was going to become an explorer trainer.

And the first candidates for my little experiment were a pair of tiger beastkin siblings whose potential, if cultivated properly, could pierce the heavens.

《Your body is frail enough to catch a cold from the slightest breeze. Unless you are a deviant who enjoys fever, coughing, and runny noses, it is advised that you stay away from open windows.》

I obediently shut the window and rubbed at my right temple. That was when Marlin quietly approached me.

“Sir.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you for saving me and Abel. I don’t know how we could ever repay you…”

“Don’t worry about it. Protecting the dreams and hopes of children is reward enough.”

“…Could you at least smile when you joke like that?”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Of course you weren’t.”

The tiger beastkin girl flicked her tail against the floor, tilting her head.

“But sir, what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you ‘mister.’”

“Good question. What is my name?”

“Oh, come on!”

“This time I’m not joking. Most of my memories are gone. I can’t even remember my parents’ faces.”

“…Really?”

It wasn’t a lie.
The cultist’s background always involved amnesia, and in my case, I genuinely had no idea what my parents looked like.

“How can someone without a name know so much about the dungeons?”

“I told you. ridney knows all.”

“You mean that evil god told you everything?”

“Something like that.”

In truth, all He ever did was grumble and demand offerings—but still, invoking His name let me flaunt my knowledge freely, so He wasn’t entirely useless.

Marlin looked at me with something like pity.

“Then… until you remember your name, can I give you one?”

“Got a suggestion?”

“Hmm… how about Gold Eye? Your golden eyes are so striking!”

I smiled and rested my hand on her shoulder.

“Whatever you do in the future, child, don’t ever open a naming shop.”

“……”

“Hold on, I think I might have something.”

I reached into my coat and pulled out a round metal plate like a medal.

It bore the symbol of a holy shield—a sign of legitimacy issued by the Church of Harmony—and engraved at its center was a name.

[Carr]
[Cultist of Twisted Truth]

“Carr…”

Marlin murmured the name softly as I led her back to the table.
The clerk, who had been napping before, was now awake.

“Ah, good evening, Explorer. You’ve returned safely.”

He was a young man dressed in a black-and-white ceremonial robe, hands folded in greeting.

《Lucius (Human, 23) — Junior priest of the ‘Lamp of Inquiry’ under the Church of Harmony. Lazy, but devoutly follows the hypocritical goddess of virtue. Mild personality—easy to befriend and exploit.》

A priest of Artein, goddess of protection and wisdom.

Devout faith, poor work ethic. His face still wore the heaviness of interrupted sleep.

“Where are Tunrak and Barnes?”

A question that could only draw silence.

I placed a hand to my chest and replied gravely.

“Brave Tunrak and seasoned Barnes have embarked upon a journey from which there is no return. Priest, could I ask that you offer a prayer for their souls?”

“……”

“Why are you staring like that, Marlin?”

The girl blinked at me, bewildered.

“You sound… normal now. When you talk to me, you always sound like a crazy person.”

“Marlin, do you have a hobby of slandering your savior?”

“……”

She sulked and fell silent.

“We didn’t see the end ourselves, but the two of them fought to the last to buy us time against the ghouls. It was a noble sacrifice.”

“Artein preserve them…”

Lucius muttered solemnly, brushing a strand of messy hair back into place as he gave us a searching look.

“But how did you manage to avoid the ghouls? I thought escape was impossible.”

A fair question.

A cultist and two children—hardly a capable group.
By all logic, we should’ve died before the orc did.

“Did you perhaps discover a hidden clear condition? If so, I’d like to purchase that information for a fair price.”

《Dungeon raids begin and end with information.》
《And your method of clearing [The Hidden Ghouls’ Den] was unprecedented. Selling the details to that hypocrite priest will yield a worthy reward!》

Dungeon intel trading—a classic money-making route whenever a new hidden condition was found.

“I was planning to sell it anyway.”

I explained the precise condition required to render all ghouls temporarily inert.

Of course, I left out the part about the hidden reward—the Book of Mysteries.
That only appeared the first time someone triggered it, so there was no point in mentioning it.

“Thank you for the report.”

Lucius jotted everything into his notebook, then disappeared into the back room.

When he returned, he carried a heavy pouch.
Even from a distance, the weight was obvious enough to make the siblings’ eyes widen.

“An advance of fifty gold coins. The rest will be paid after verification, though the reward may not be much—E-rank dungeons rarely are.”

“Honestly, calling it E-rank when it has ghouls is unfair.”

“That may be, but the clear condition is easy.”

At that, Marlin’s tail shot upright.

“Easy? That was easy?”

“You only needed to survive eight hours without dying. That’s considered simple.”

“Then what’s a hard one?”

“There’s a dungeon that requires you to drift at sea and survive for a full year.”

“……”

The girl’s mouth hung open.

If she was already shocked by that, I’d better not mention that such conditions only appeared in A-rank dungeons.

“Any other requests, Explorer Carr?”

“Dinner, if that’s all right.”

“Of course. Though at this hour, all we have left is hardened bread and cold stew.”

“That will be more than enough. Artein provides through humble means.”

I was exhausted, body and mind both screaming for food.

Apparently the siblings felt the same—their ears perked up at the mention of stew.

I ordered extra portions for them.

“You’re helping us again… we really are indebted to you.”

“Good, you realize it.”

“Abel, say thank you.”

The boy muttered a half-hearted thanks, head tilted away.

Marlin moved to scold him, but I waved her off.
Kids his age didn’t need to bow for every little thing.

“Dinner is served.”

Soon, bread as hard as stone and lukewarm stew were set before us.

They tasted terrible—but hunger made even misery delicious.

After the meal, I turned to Lucius.

“Do you have any rooms available for the night?”

“Two left.”

“Then I’ll take both—one for me, one for the siblings. Some spare clothes too, if possible.”

Marlin immediately waved her hands. “Oh, no, we couldn’t—!”

But I pressed on.

If left to their own devices, they’d probably sleep in an alley.
I wasn’t about to let that happen—not as an adult, at least.

The fact that they were rare tiger beastkin with high potential was merely a convenient bonus.

I paid three gold coins—enough to cover the food, the rooms, the clothes, and even a generous tip, since this was, after all, an American game.

Then we climbed the stairs.

My room was at the end of the corridor; theirs was right next door.

“Thank you again for everything… goodnight, Carr.”

“Sleep well, Marlin. You too, Abel.”

Creak.

I stepped inside, shut the door, and collapsed onto the bed.

Exhaustion and a full stomach—two gentle fairies of sleep hovered just above my head.

If I closed my eyes now, I could sleep forever.

《Proper rest restores lost mental strength. Today, I grant you the luxury of slumber, oh weary seeker.》

Still, before sleeping, I had something to confirm.

Now that I finally had a moment of peace, questions I’d ignored in the dungeon began to surface.

The biggest one pierced through them all—simple, fundamental, inescapable.

Who am I?

I wasn’t about to fall into a philosophical spiral, so I turned to the small mirror beside the bed.

Not bad.

Golden hair and eyes that gleamed like molten metal, skin pale as moonlight.

The delicate features of someone who inherited both human and elven blood—the worst of both worlds, except when it came to sheer charisma.

The inscription of the [Eye That Sees Through All Lies] confirmed my suspicion.

《Carr ??? (Half-Elf, 22) — Cultist of Twisted Truth》

Even in the game, the cultist’s family name was always hidden.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

A half-elf cultist.

One of the hardest ways to experience Nightmare Dungeon—and here I was, living it.

The combination was volatile, unpredictable, and yet… I couldn’t help but smile.

“Who could’ve done this to me?”

Who had blessed me with this glorious insanity?

And then, from somewhere deep within—like a whisper brushing against my mind—

—You who walk the path toward Twisted Truth. The Great One has been moved by your devotion.

I remembered the words that appeared on my monitor before I lost consciousness.

There was only one possible answer.

“Leadni… was it You?”

My voice trembled with awe.

Yes.

It was my god who had called me into this world.