Ch.4Chapter 4

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Title: Question) Can you actually defeat the Underground Prison Watcher?

This wolf cub looks disgustingly ugly for a reason;

It spams AoE attacks as soon as you hit it, is this right?

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ㄴWelcome to the newbie thresher.

ㄴYou can’t defeat it, that’s correct. It’s just that kind of Outer God.

ㄴI keep dying, what do I do?

ㄴYou’ve fed the thief and filled its belly, so turn around and leave.

ㄴ(Something about him being a good sacrifice)

ㄴLevel up and come back, then you can defeat it.

ㄴAh, you’re talking about ‘that.’

ㄴIf you have ‘that,’ you can solve it.

ㄴWhat is ‘that’?

ㄴ(Something about now not being the time)

ㄴW-what?

“

I suddenly remembered a post I had made on the community forum.

I distinctly recall the being in front of me now was so disgustingly ugly that it was hard to even make eye contact, but maybe because of Super Coward Mode, it just looked like a cute girl taking a nap.

Though it did seem to be an Outer God, as I could see deformed eyeballs in its inner hair.

No.

An Outer God appearing as a woman? Could there be a more horribly twisted sexual deviance?

Maybe the “psychopath” written on that paper was due to my distorted vision caused by this cognitive filter.

You crazy developer.

Don’t bother with unnecessary plausibility in places like this!!!

…is what I’d like to say, but I’ve long since become a person from a different world than him.

This isn’t the time for that.

I need to focus on dealing with what’s in front of me.

Despite the Watcher’s appearance, this place is a newbie slaughter zone where rushing in recklessly would result in endless deaths.

As someone who was pure clean water rather than stagnant water, I needed to move more cautiously than anything else.

To survive in this dark fantasy world, being strong alone isn’t enough.

Even if you’re incredibly powerful, there are plenty of Outer Gods who would chew you up without a second thought.

The most important thing is to escape well, understand patterns, and break them.

A truth you’d realize after playing Snow Castle for just a little while.

So I surveyed my surroundings first.

I needed to know how The Huntsman and the thief would react.

The Huntsman was glaring at the Watcher with bloodshot eyes.

Ever since Outer Gods massacred The Huntsman’s family, they were nothing but evil that deserved death in his eyes.

While I understood his feelings, it was clear that leaving him like this would lead to trouble.

This isn’t a game where you respawn after death, and we don’t even have weapons to face the Watcher yet.

Even if The Huntsman could beat the Watcher for 24 hours straight without taking a single hit, it would probably be impossible to defeat it.

…Of course, hardcore veterans had actually managed to defeat it with just The Huntsman wearing a cloak and cloth clothes, but this is reality.

“Mr. Huntsman?”

Perhaps hearing my concerned voice, The Huntsman flinched and came to his senses. Looking at me, he seemed to read my expression and sighed, suppressing his fierce energy.

“It’s fine. I’m not stupid enough to rush in without understanding the power difference.”

“That’s a lie. You looked like you were about to charge in any second.”

“If I responded to every fight I wanted to pick, I wouldn’t be in one piece right now.”

Well, that’s true.

He never threw himself into battles without a chance of winning—the true ‘Outer God Slayer’ who only hunted when he discovered a definite method.

Even if a fight started unfavorably, he was the kind of person who would survive until the end, honing his blade to strike at the vital point of an Outer God.

Hiding his hatred and turning away, The Huntsman questioned me.

“By the way, you seem quite composed after seeing that thing.”

Was I acting too normal?

It seemed too late to act scared now, so I decided to be confident.

“Um… because I’m a psychopath?”

I couldn’t exactly say “The Outer God looks like a girl with wolf ears so I’m not scared at all~”

I had no desire to openly declare myself a pervert.

“What a convenient excuse.”

The Huntsman made an incredulous expression, as if he no longer thought of me as a psychopath.

After seeming lost in thought for a moment, The Huntsman shook his head and said:

“Well, I suppose someone who remains calm after seeing something like that can’t be in their right mind, so I have to believe you.”

I’ve been acknowledged by The Huntsman!

Wow, Raedan Tanthyn, a psychopath recognized by the protagonist!

…That’s a compliment, right?

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen The Huntsman say he believed someone else.

The Huntsman was known for traveling alone because he couldn’t trust others.

…Though it seemed like he might have meant it as a joke.

“Anyway, try talking to the thief next to you. You’ll probably communicate better with her than I would.”

Wondering what he meant, I turned my attention to Aghartha.

“Huu…”

Aghartha’s face, which had been relaxed until now, had turned bluish, clearly terrified.

She was hugging herself with both arms as if ice had been put down her back, trembling violently.

Comparing this to my meager game knowledge, these were the typical symptoms of being afflicted with the fear status effect.

“Are you okay?”

I tapped Aghartha’s shoulder to check her condition.

She responded by stretching her arm toward me with a wild expression.

Damn…!

Before I could react, something was already approaching my stomach.

I closed my eyes tightly, ready to accept my fate, but for some reason I felt no pain.

“Calm down, thief.”

Fortunately, The Huntsman had intercepted it.

What Aghartha had thrust at me was the needle she had used earlier to pick the lock.

…Did I just almost die?

They say hitting the wrong pressure point can kill you.

Though still pale and trembling, after a little time passed, the thief returned to her usual smiling self with just a bit of cold sweat.

“Calm… yes, I’m calm now.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

At The Huntsman’s question, Aghartha shook her head.

“No, I still feel like my entire body is being stabbed with sharp thorns.”

As if to prove her point, goosebumps had raised all over her arms with hair standing on end.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Tanthyn. I overreacted from the shock.”

“Oh, no. It’s fine.”

It seemed a bit off to just brush off nearly killing someone with an apology, but what could I say?

As I was verbally trying to calm Aghartha down, I noticed The Huntsman watching me with an analytical gaze.

I gave him a questioning look.

“…You have better eyes than I thought.”

“Pardon?”

“Your eyes followed it.”

He must be referring to how my eyes tracked what Aghartha thrust at me earlier.

Isn’t that just a reflexive response in emergencies?

“If you were properly trained, you might have even been able to deflect it.”

…Hmm, is that so?

The Huntsman seemed to be just musing to himself, as after saying that, he simply shifted his gaze back toward the Outer God.

Seeing how Aghartha and The Huntsman were on guard, it must have been quite a threatening presence.

If you’re wondering why I’m pretending not to know despite having played the game…

Fear, grotesqueness, and danger were things I’d thoroughly sorted into my mental trash bin, separated, and incinerated long ago.

Why?

Because they’re scary.

Isn’t it better for mental health to forget such things quickly?

All I need to know is that its appearance was terrifying enough to cause urinary incontinence on the spot if I were to see it now.

“Shall we go downstairs for now?”

We unanimously agreed and returned the way we came, careful not to be detected by the Watcher, to hold a strategy meeting.

“By the way, if all the guards disappeared because of the Outer God, how did I end up here?”

I voiced a question I’d been wondering about.

“You didn’t notice, I see. Understandable since you escaped as soon as you woke up. There’s a hole in the prison ceiling. You were lowered down by a rope.

Don’t ask who did it, I don’t know either.”

“Hmm… then we can’t climb up through that hole?”

Aghartha responded to that question with a smile, pointing to herself.

“If we could, I would have escaped by myself already.”

Lock picking, door opening, wall climbing—you’ve got the trifecta.

You should just leave on your own.

As I was lost in thought, The Huntsman held up two fingers and spoke.

“Then we only have two options. Either move quietly and quickly enough to get past that thing without it noticing and exit through the main door.”

A gleam appeared in The Huntsman’s eyes.

“Or just fight and kill it.”

The Huntsman folded one finger as he presented the shocking alternative.

He probably folded the latter option because he thought it was impossible even to himself.

But that didn’t mean the former was possible either.

That Outer God would definitely wake up when it heard us passing by.

“The weapons the guards collected are beyond the Outer God, aren’t they?”

“But if not that way, is there any other way to escape? There’s no food here.

If hunger sets in, our chances of escape will hit rock bottom.”

Aghartha objected with an incredulous expression, but reduced her words after hearing The Huntsman’s response.

It was all true.

I could roughly guess what The Huntsman’s intention was.

He was a thorough security-minded person who never fought unless victory was certain.

If he couldn’t hunt an Outer God, he would flee.

In other words, whichever option we chose, he ultimately intended to use us as bait while he escaped.

One might think he’s a dirty egoist, but that was how The Huntsman survived.

Besides, he had no reason to show such inclusivity toward criminals imprisoned in a jail.

Even while talking with Aghartha, The Huntsman’s eyes were directed at me.

“…”

“…”

His gaze seemed to say, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t defeat the Outer God alone?”

He wanted me to prove it.

Honestly, it was a statement I’d made thoughtlessly just to survive.

It was more like a reckless action without any plan.

But wasn’t that quirk, that reflex, the secret to my survival so far?

Even if “survival” just meant in trivial games.

Suddenly, I remembered the writing on the wall.

The strategy for defeating an Outer God that normally required a mystic scholar build to barely see.

The comment on my previous question post saying I could return to this place.

And the “that” they kept mentioning.

Years of gaming experience converged on a single possibility.

Could this be a gimmick boss?

After all, this world was probably implemented based on a game.

As soon as I finished assessing the situation, I grabbed the hands of The Huntsman, who had been quietly watching me.

The Huntsman’s eyes seemed to waver greatly, but that didn’t seem important.

What mattered was unfolding the finger he had already folded.

Understanding what this symbolized, Aghartha and The Huntsman looked at me with constricted pupils.

I spoke to them calmly.

“If I told you there might be a way to defeat the Outer God in here, would you believe me?”