DNSG CH 04

A stream of information about the skill followed.

★ Unique Skill <Unreleased Guidebook>

— The contents of an unreleased guidebook that has never been made public have been synchronized.

➊ You can learn about upcoming updates in advance.

➋ When you save collected information, you can obtain additional information.

……An unreleased guidebook?

Myojin slowly read through the text floating in the air.

For a moment, vitality returned to her gray eyes.

Is this what regressors in web novels feel like?

It was as reassuring as having an answer key beside you while solving a difficult math workbook.

[Team 1, third teammate matching complete]

While the two of them were talking, more than half of the teams had already chosen their third teammate.

“Damn, there aren’t many people left, so let’s hurry up and pick someone too.”

“I’ll take a look and see if there’s anyone useful.”

Myojin intended to use her newly acquired skill immediately.

She quickly scanned Section C and saved all the information about the people she could see.

★ Unique Skill <Unreleased Guidebook> activated

Like a highly capable AI assistant, the status window quickly identified a common trait among dozens of people.

[Section C Trait: Former Criminals]

A strange light flickered in Myojin’s gray eyes.

‘As I thought. She must have gotten cursed because she stole something.’

Myojin soon noticed that the female mage’s twisted deadwood staff had no nameplate.

She needed to avoid that woman if she wanted to stay out of trouble.

ᕷ˖° Midterm Check ᕷ˖°

With a sound effect, the squirrel Rune hopped into view from the air.

He took an acorn-shaped microphone from his pocket and began speaking.

“We’ll have a brief midterm check. So far, a total of twenty-nine teams have been matched.”

Rune snapped his fingers, and those who had already chosen their third teammate were moved to the seats on the second floor.

“I understand that you’re taking your time because the results of this examination are at stake, but… at this rate, I’m afraid we’ll still be here until sunrise.”

Rune curled the corners of his mouth upward and lightly flicked his fingertip.

Rumbleeeee!

A thunderous roar rang out.

The ground beneath their feet began splitting apart as though an earthquake had struck.

It was similar to what had happened when Team 4 was swallowed up.

As the cracks continued spreading, the earth shook as if it were screaming.

“Aaaah!”

The ground where Jang had been standing split apart, and half of it collapsed.

He lost his balance and staggered, but thanks to Myojin’s quick reflexes, she managed to grab him and barely saved his life.

The entire area where Jang had been standing moments ago split wide open, forming a terrifying abyss.

‘…This is insane.’

Myojin clenched her fist, damp with sweat.

A chilly breeze brushed against her back.

“To speed things up, I’ll be adding another rule. You will have only one minute to select your final teammate.”

Rune’s laughter-filled voice echoed loudly throughout the hall.

A countdown appeared in midair.

Time remaining to choose a team

00:00:59

The numbers mercilessly decreased, like sand falling through an hourglass that could not resist gravity.

“Anyone who fails to form a three-person team within the allotted time will be eliminated.”

The hall instantly descended into chaos.

Those standing near the edge of the cliffs pushed and pulled one another as they desperately began choosing their remaining teammates.

“We’ve decided!”

“So have we!”

Groups that had made their choices without much thought were transferred to the second floor one after another.

Rumbleeeee!

A second earthquake began.

The ground started splitting apart once again, and the cracks fiercely chased after the feet of those who had yet to choose their teammates.

“L-Let’s just pick anyone now, okay? Anyone!”

Jang shouted in a frightened voice.

“Wait! I’m still looking!”

Myojin quickly scanned the people remaining in Section C.

A red exclamation mark had appeared beside every nameplate floating above their heads.

Prisoners.

Wanted criminals.

Serious offenders…

It was nothing but a minefield.

‘Do we really have to choose someone?’

For a moment, she considered it.

Then she remembered the team that had been annihilated earlier for refusing to follow Rune’s rules.

Damn it.

She was trapped in an impossible situation where there was no good choice.

She had to choose the lesser evil among the worst possible options.

Time remaining to choose a team

00:00:32

The ground continued shrinking.

There wasn’t even enough space to stand properly anymore, so Jang and Myojin had to rely on each other, standing on their tiptoes at the very edge.

‘What should I do?’

Her heart pounded against her ribs like a gigantic drum.

With her life on the line, she hesitated to make decisions as quickly as she normally would.

Myojin rapidly ran simulations in her head using the remaining candidates.

No matter how much she thought about it, all she could envision were the worst possible scenarios.

Her head began to feel hot.

And then—

★ Unique Skill <Unreleased Guidebook> activated

[Additional information has been acquired through persistent observation.]

[Section C Trait: Prisoners, Wanted Criminals, Serious Offenders… (NEW) Wrongfully Accused]

Myojin’s gray eyes widened.

‘…A character who was falsely accused!’

That was right.

Now that she thought about it, there were characters in the game with exactly that kind of backstory.

“Myojin! There’s hardly any time left!”

Jang’s desperate shout struck her ears.

‘There has to be one.’

There had to be someone here who had been wrongfully accused and treated as a prisoner.

Myojin desperately searched through the remaining candidates while racking her brain for the information from the guidebook she had last read.

Time remaining to choose a team

00:00:10

00:00:9

00:00:8

00:00:7

There was nowhere left to retreat.

“Just pick anyone!”

Jang screamed.

At that moment, a commotion erupted on the opposite side.

“Hey, you bastard! Quit blocking the way and get lost! If you’re planning to die anyway, then stop getting in everyone’s way and just curl up quietly in a corner!”

A person wearing full plate armor delivered a rough kick to someone.

The man who had been sent flying without putting up any resistance staggered as he got back to his feet.

His painfully thin forearms were covered in bruises.

‘That man…’

Myojin’s breath caught in her throat.

She had spotted the white ears sticking up from the head of the battered man.

“I found him.”

Myojin quietly moved her lips.

In the world of Dungeon of Legend, there were four major factions divided according to their respective occupations.

The Warrior Alliance, the Mage Empire, the Merchant Federation, and the Healer Association.

The main storyline revolved around them searching for scattered ancient relics for their own respective reasons.

And the greater the potential of an ancient relic, the more powerful a dungeon it created around itself.

There was only one reason Myojin had recalled all of this.

‘The silver-haired cat beastkin. He may not look like much right now, but… he’s an NPC from the Tomb of Ra, which is considered one of the strongest dungeons.’

The Tomb of Ra was the main story of the game.

Myojin’s heart began slowly heating up.

Before coming here, she had barely managed to recall the contents of the unofficial guidebook she had read last.

‘So what was his name again?’

Hii…

Myojin muttered his name as though talking to herself.

“…Hikari.”

At that moment, the white ears of the cat beastkin standing far away twitched.

A nameplate rose above his silver hair, which shimmered like a salt desert holding sunlight.

ミ★ [NPC] Hikari

Myojin’s gaze locked with his.

Hikari’s golden eyes shone clearly even in the darkness.