Ch.5[Chapter 5] Bug Report: Area 1

Sir Dominic couldn’t understand the current situation, but he was focused on following the guard.

The interior paths of System Industries were complex and constantly changing.

“How much further do we need to go?”

“Almost there. Just stay focused. And be careful not to get swept away.”

The guard, with a complicated expression, quickened his already rapid pace.

Sir Dominic wanted to ask more questions, but seeing the guard’s determined face as he concentrated, he kept his mouth shut.

After turning through roughly 40 alleys, the guard finally stopped.

They had arrived at a place with numerous doors, each labeled with names like Development Team, Maintenance Team, Patch Team, Security Team, followed by numbers like 1, 2, 3.

The guard knocked on a door marked “Development Team 15922.”

Then he pulled out a baton from the small leather pouch on his waist.

Sir Dominic watched this and readied himself with his sword and shield, tensely facing the door.

“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could you come out right now? It’s the security team.”

After knocking and waiting for quite some time with no response, the guard called out loudly through the door.

Then he turned to Sir Dominic and said in a low voice:

“Actually, in situations like this, don’t speak after knocking. It might provoke them.”

Sir Dominic nodded slightly. Apparently, there were dangerous individuals behind this door.

“…Come in. We can’t open it from inside right now.”

A trembling voice came from behind the door.

It sounded less like someone frightened and more like someone who hadn’t slept for a long time.

“According to security protocols, in dangerous situations, they lock themselves in. Fortunately, the security system allows entry from outside. It’s the latest technology and the essence of science at System Industries.”

The guard tried his best to explain to Sir Dominic.

It was an effort to look after his junior who had joined after a long time.

Sir Dominic, who came from Feralant—truly the countryside of countrysides—and had always lived on battlefields lacking in both resources and human rights, found such kindness somewhat unfamiliar, but he remained vigilant.

“And this is top-secret security information—”

The guard carefully began, lifting a potted plant beside the door to reveal a spare key hidden underneath.

“The spare key is always under the potted plant. If it’s not there, check under the corner of the carpet. Remember that.”

Advice born from experience spilled out.

While Sir Dominic stood dumbfounded, the guard opened the door with the spare key.

Inside was frighteningly dark, but he could tell something was wriggling and moving.

“It’s one of System Industries’ features.”

The guard continued speaking as he began stomping his feet.

“The company is huge, but land is expensive, so they build offices on cheaper land and connect them with portals.”

“Portals… you say?”

“Yes. Portals. There’s a bit of loading time when you enter, so be patient even if it feels uncomfortable.”

Portals, huh? Magic wasn’t particularly advanced in Feralant, though it was studied academically.

He thought it might be similar to well-known magic like teleport or warp.

“Oh, and don’t forget to jump when entering.”

After saying this, the guard hopped toward the door.

Pop.

The guard who had clearly been right in front of him suddenly disappeared. Inside the door, there was still only something flowing darkly.

“I suppose I have to experience it myself.”

Sir Dominic moved toward the dark flowing space.

Of course, he didn’t forget to jump.

Then his vision blurred, and the whole world turned white.

Black began to spread, forming sentences and patterns.

[LOADING…]

[TIP: Did you know? The original founder of System Industries is a person from the distant future who hasn’t been born yet!]

An incomprehensible message.

But Sir Dominic stared at it intently.

He instinctively realized that focusing on the sentence was the best way to avoid dizziness in this white space where he couldn’t tell where or how he existed.

[TIP: System Industries buys and sells all items at their original price, no matter how unpopular they are. Of course, reputation does have an influence.]

[TIP: First-time loading may take time to download the connection data needed for portal operation. We recommend using Wi-Fi!]

[TIP: Ah, I want to go home. Oh no, Director! I wasn’t thinking about leaving early by myself—]

[TIP: Strange messages are sometimes hidden in the tips on the loading screen. You could call them Easter eggs!]

“…When does this end?”

Sir Dominic was starting to get bored.

“If only there were music or pictures. No, even something trivial to pass the time would have been nice.”

This white space with no sense of direction also confused his sense of time.

Sir Dominic grumbled in what felt like an eternity.

[TIP: That’s right. Mr. Park, did you hear that? Put something trivial on the loading screen by the next patch.]

[TIP: Wow! Did you hear that, Hans? Looks like we’re working overtime!]

…It must be his imagination that the loading screen was increasingly being used like a company group messenger.

Finally, when the elongated bar on the loading screen filled completely, the already bright place became even brighter, and the sentences and patterns that had existed disappeared.

Or more accurately, they became invisible.

Fortunately, Sir Dominic adapted relatively quickly since he only had one eye.

Whether one-eyed people actually adapt faster is uncertain, but that’s what Sir Dominic believed.

“Was that your first time using a portal? It took a while. Well, System Industries’ portals have quite the capacity.”

As soon as his vision recovered, he heard the guard’s voice.

The guard was leaning against a rock with his baton drawn, peering around to check the opposite side.

“What exactly is this place?”

With his vision fully restored, Sir Dominic looked around and asked with genuine curiosity.

“This doesn’t look like an office at all.”

Sir Dominic took in the scenery beyond the rock.

Even with his half vision, it was clear this wasn’t the same building interior as before, but rather an exterior—something like a remote wilderness, jungle, or swamp.

“It’s a primitive jungle.”

The guard said.

“I read the map description and initial settings on the way. Seems they were developing it for the next raid cycle.”

Sir Dominic had many questions, but none made it past his lips.

Instead, he swung his sword to deflect something flying toward him.

“Is this… bone?”

The projectile, which came from slightly behind on his right and was difficult to block with his shield, was a sharply ground bone fragment.

The yellowed bone was coated with an ominous purple liquid; he thought that if he hadn’t blocked it, it could have quickly become dangerous.

“I told you. It’s a primitive jungle.”

The guard, pressed tightly behind the rock, observed the surroundings whenever the flying projectiles subsided.

“A stage with primitive goblins wielding poison darts, primitive animals, and dinosaurs. Damn. I’m a DPS, so I hate stages like this.”

The guard grumbled but showed no signs of tension or despair.

He merely furrowed his brow as if it were just annoying, focusing intently on assessing the situation.

“Oh, and maybe you could move from that spot? The person underneath can’t breathe.”

Sir Dominic looked down at the guard’s words.

“Oh my, you finally noticed!”

Sir Dominic jumped in surprise and moved two steps to the side.

The person who had been lying face down beneath him sprang up, dusted off the dirt from their black and brown checkered shirt, and adjusted their high-prescription glasses.

“I almost died. A coder’s stamina can be replenished with energy drinks, but our physical strength is unimaginably weak, so please handle me like a hamster or a sparrow. If you wish, I can provide you with a manual about me… Oh. I don’t have the 1927-page revised edition right now, but would you like the 122-page summary?”

The woman who called herself a coder chattered incessantly in a languid, trembling voice.

“Let’s focus on the situation first. We don’t come prepared for everything.”

“Oh right.”

The woman, who had been speaking according to her stream of consciousness and was about to explain the connection between the stock price fluctuations of an anti-virus research institute she visited in elementary school and medieval novels, was interrupted by the guard.

Sir Dominic was just thinking he’d rather fight than endure her chatter.

“So this is for raids, designed as an instant raid that can accommodate up to 4-person parties. The reward table hasn’t been connected yet—”

“Just the point. What kind of enemy, and what are their weaknesses?”

The woman called a coder looked dejected.

But realizing that the faster they overcame this, the higher her chances of survival, she quickly got to the point.

“The boss is a goblin riding a dinosaur, with defense type [Large Heavy Armor] and attack type [Single Impact]. The mobs are raptors riding orcs, and the mid-boss is a twin-headed pteranodon. Except for the boss, they’re all [Medium Light Armor] with [Single Impact].”

“Wait, did I hear something strange? Raptors riding orcs? Not orcs riding raptors?”

The guard looked at the coder with an incredulous expression.

But the coder continued confidently.

“Yes. Raptors riding orcs. A masterpiece combining the raptor’s powerful jaws with the orc’s sturdy lower body…”

“Let’s move on. So where did things go wrong? If it warranted an emergency call, there must be a problem.”

“Ah. About that.”

Just as the coder was about to continue, suddenly a raptor riding an orc jumped out from behind her. The raptor gripped the orc’s hair with its short front legs, controlling it like a joystick, and the orc charged toward Sir Dominic.

By instinct, it should have gone for the weakest—the coder—but the orc’s honorable combat instinct drove it toward Sir Dominic, who appeared strongest.

“The weakness is the raptor’s hind legs! 5x damage! The tail or nostrils are 2x!”

The coder said urgently.

Sir Dominic raised his shield to prepare for the collision.

However, the raptor riding the orc seemed to naturally climb over the shield, then lost its balance and crashed upside down into the ground, perishing instantly.

“Wow! You’re a tank! Tanks naturally deal 3x damage to mobs.”

The coder started clapping.

The guard shook his head at the strangely cheerful coder.

“So, where’s the error?”

“Ah. About that.”

Just as the guard asked the coder about the problem.

“What a strange creature.”

Sir Dominic was poking at the raptor with the tip of his sword.

Even in Feralant where he lived, there were many strange animals, but he had never seen anything like a dinosaur.

From what he’d heard, dragons might be the closest, but since dragons only showed themselves to important figures, Sir Dominic, being just a knight, had never seen one.

He had seen plenty of fire giants, frost giants, dwarves, and invisible big rock faces, though.

As Sir Dominic poked this strange animal, the creature called a raptor began to twitch, its nerves apparently still alive.

And while Sir Dominic was observing the dead raptor, the coder finally explained the problem.

“A zombie code appeared. There’s a bug causing the mobs to respawn infinitely.”

Just as she finished speaking, the dead raptor exploded.

Then a mosaic of purple, orange, and mint colors contaminated the surrounding landscape, and an orc riding an orc riding a raptor raptor appeared.

“And they’re mutating randomly.”

Sir Dominic sighed as he faced this bizarre reanimated life form.

With his shield raised forward.