Chapter 399: Pure White Silence
Several hours later, inside a somewhat narrow lava cave.
"So hot..."
Iwanaga Kotoko fanned herself continuously.
Her fair, cute face was already covered in sweat. Although she had transformed her Phantom Dress into a cooler outfit consisting of a camisole and loungewear pants, the excessively hot and dry temperature still made her feel somewhat unbearable.
If even Iwanaga Kotoko was like this, then it went without saying for Yamauchi Sakura, whose physical fitness was not even as good as an ordinary person's.
However, even while enduring the high temperature torture, which could be called cruel punishment, Yamauchi Sakura clenched her teeth tightly and did not say a single word of complaint.
She did not want to put pressure on her four teammates because of her physical condition.
It would not matter if she fainted from the heat here.
It would not matter even if she became severely dehydrated and her life was in danger.
Even if she died, it would just be a more painful process. Yamauchi Sakura would not truly die in the Dungeon, but if she could survive, she would be able to obtain a high level completion rating.
Yamauchi Sakura had already made up her mind.
This might be her last Dungeon.
When she went to the hospital for a checkup last time, she discovered that her illness had become more serious. It was possible she would not even last until next month.
Even if she did...
If she missed this Dungeon opportunity, would her pancreatic disease still have another chance to be cured?
Yamauchi Sakura was not a pessimistic person, but with things having progressed to this point, she really had to consider it.
Thinking of this, she cast her gaze toward Asagiri, who was leaning against the wall, a hint of complexity appearing in her eyes.
As long as she could successfully complete this Dungeon, even though she had not helped much in battle, she had provided sustain along the way. Coupled with her participation in the hidden main storyline, it would at least be an A+ level completion rating or higher.
The team needs a healer...
Yamauchi Sakura's thought was very simple.
If she could not obtain an item to cure her physical illness in this Dungeon, then she would use the time before the next Dungeon opened to have Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and the others quickly find a new team member.
And then...
She would transfer her mobile phone, which served as her Player equipment, items, and identity registration rights, to that person.
That way, there would still be a healer in the team.
Because of this, Yamauchi Sakura was willing to endure the pain brought by the high temperature and was determined to persist until the end of this Dungeon.
"It's really strange..."
"For several hours, we haven't even seen a single monster. If it were because of the high temperature, then it would be fine if there were no small monsters like flying insects, but there aren't any large monsters either..."
"This is too abnormal."
Hearing the doubt raised by Iwanaga Kotoko, Asagiri, who did not find the heat as unbearable as she did and had not even broken a sweat, spoke softly.
"It is abnormal, but we have obtained several action logs from Blackwatch members, so it can be considered a gain."
After entering the lava zone, the five person team had obtained a total of two action logs from Blackwatch members, and Kaguya Shinomiya's team had also found one.
The three action logs respectively recorded the ecological changes that had occurred in the lava area and mentioned the traces left by a certain monster.
The areas where the three action logs were located were different, and the descriptions of the monsters were also different.
In other words...
In the lava area, there should have originally been three terrifying monsters.
What Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko could not understand most was why, in areas where key information had clearly been left behind, there were no monsters like the Furious Rajang acting as Dungeon bosses.
Instead, they had obtained the Blackwatch action logs easily.
Thinking from the perspective of a game, this was truly counterintuitive.
And from the three Blackwatch action logs, Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko had already roughly pieced together the truth of this island.
At the beginning, Blackwatch had only accidentally discovered this isolated island and the powerful monsters living on it.
Their goal was very simple.
To create biological weapons.
The ideal biological weapon was probably of the same strength as the Furious Rajang.
After all, Blackwatch was a modern military organization, and the biological weapons they wanted to create would not be too large in size.
Therefore, a certain high ranking official of Blackwatch decided to release the Blacklight Virus prototype on this island to select individuals among the monsters that met the standards through survival of the fittest.
However, things began to become Cursed from that point onward.
The originally normal island underwent Cursed changes in terrain and ecological environment within just half a month of the Blacklight Virus being released, forming the appearance of this Dungeon.
And when Blackwatch wanted to launch an investigation, a certain high ranking Commander expressed opposition, believing that Blackwatch's current priority was the game, as well as dealing with otherworld Players like Shadow, and that they could not waste their strength in such a place.
This order looked normal at first glance, but thinking about it carefully, it was completely illogical.
No matter how strong the otherworld Players were, they ultimately did not live in this world, and the threat they could pose to this world was limited.
But the monsters on this island, not to mention the Furious Rajang, monsters like the Lightning Dragon that possessed flight capabilities and could also influence the weather to a certain extent, were already enough to cause serious harm to an entire city.
Because of this, some members of Blackwatch who noticed something was wrong decided to ignore the high level decision and go directly to the island to investigate.
Regarding the current situation, Iwanaga Kotoko and Asagiri both had a vague, terrible conjecture in their hearts.
If the monsters in the lava area had not disappeared, but had instead gathered in the central area for some reason...
Would that not mean that the moment the five person team entered the central area, they would not only have to face the dangers that originally existed there, but also deal with all the monsters from the lava area?
After resting, reorganizing, and replenishing enough water, Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and the others continued advancing toward the depths of the lava cave.
After another long several hours, just when Iwanaga Kotoko began to suspect whether this was some kind of Cursed phenomenon similar to a ghost wall, everyone finally arrived at the end of the lava area.
However, the scene that appeared before their eyes made all five of them feel incredulous.
"This is... a corridor?"
Amid the black red walls of the lava cave, an extremely abrupt white corridor appeared.
This white was not a beautiful pure white, but a pale color that exuded a Cursed sense of dead silence. Just looking at it made one feel chilled and uneasy.
"This corridor..."
Iwanaga Kotoko's brows furrowed, and a look of unprecedented gravity appeared in her dark purple eyes.
"This corridor... seems to lead to an extremely terrifying place. I can vaguely feel... a presence at the end of the corridor that makes one feel inexplicably afraid..."
"Yeah, I have that feeling too."
Asagiri said this softly, then looked at Yuuki Asuna and the others beside him and spoke in a tone tinged with a smile.
"You should only follow me up to this point."
"Only to here?"
Yuuki Asuna's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and she immediately retorted.
"Are you planning to enter the central area alone? Even for you, that's impossible..."
"I'm just going in alone to scout for information first."
Asagiri reached out and ruffled Yuuki Asuna's flaxen long hair, chuckling as he said,
"My physical fitness is stronger than any of yours, and I also have the time reversal of the Mark of the Pointer, as well as the full healing of injuries from Sacrifice."
"No matter what the situation is inside the central area of this island, it is certain that the danger level is extremely high."
"If I encounter an unexpected situation, I can leave alone. If it's a situation that even I cannot easily escape from, you four following me would only hold me back."
"Therefore, it is the most prudent choice for me to enter this area alone, confirm the specific situation inside, and then communicate with you through the Persona left outside."
"But..."
"I agree with his plan."
Just as Yuuki Asuna was about to say something, Kato Megumi had already expressed her opinion.
Although her expression was calm, she took two steps forward and raised her right hand, gently stroking Asagiri's chest.
A hint of worry appeared in the depths of her eyes as she instructed him in a soft tone.
"Don't push yourself. If you encounter any tricky danger, you must withdraw at the first opportunity."
"Don't worry."
Asagiri smiled and replied, then turned and waved.
"Alright, I'm off."
Watching Asagiri's back as he entered the pale corridor without hesitation, the four girls, Yuuki Asuna, Yamauchi Sakura, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi, could not help having the same thought emerge in their minds.
This guy really is cool...
Fifteen minutes later, at the exit of the pale corridor.
After leaving the corridor, Asagiri finally saw the full view of the venue before him.
The surroundings were vast and empty, so wide that even with his superhuman vision, he could not see the end at a glance.
Above was a dome structure resembling an artificial sky, and it was impossible to judge its specific height.
The important point, however, was not the surrounding environment.
It was the scene about fifty meters away.
"You've come..."
A middle aged man wearing a black tactical combat suit, but no helmet, sat on a pure white throne.
He had grayish white hair, and his gaze fell upon Asagiri.
His appearance seemed plain and unremarkable, but...
"Bang... bang..."
Seeing the three restless, gigantic black shadows behind him, Asagiri recognized them at a glance.
"Black Dragon, Alatreon, Fatalis..."
These three monsters were undisputed first tier existences in the Monster Hunter worldview, terrifying beings crowned with titles like gods and demons.
"Shadow..."
The gray haired man did not approach Asagiri.
He simply stood quietly in place.
Although those were human eyes, they contained not the slightest shred of emotion, as if they carried a sense of aloof divinity.
"We finally meet."
.....
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