The New Gate (LN)

“Well, I answered all the questions you asked, but is there anything you forgot to ask?”

“You’re strangely thorough.”

It seemed that Hades was so thorough that the idea of her being too cooperative came back to his mind.

“Doubts about this world, and doubts about yourself. I want to eliminate those things as much as possible. What resides in your body is a part of a being that had the power to transcend the walls of the worlds. You never know what might trigger it and turn it against the world.”

“Didn’t you say thank you for stopping Origin at first?”

“That is true. But it is also true that you are a dangerous being. By looking at the people around you, I don’t have to worry, but I am still a person who has been called a god. It would be good to be a little concerned about the welfare of the world.”

Listening to Hades, he got the feeling that even in his current state, Shin himself could not fully utilize his powers.

If an individual had too much power, others would feel a sense of danger. Even he could understand that.

It was better that Hades didn’t jump to the conclusion that “you’re dangerous, so I’m going to eliminate you.”

He put aside his concerns about Hades aside for the moment, because they could change in any way, depending on the situation that followed.

There might not be another opportunity like this. Shin searched his memory to see if he had forgotten anything.

Thinking about what had happened since he had arrived here, he suddenly remembered something.

“When I first came here, I fought a guy called Skullface Lord, but do you know anything about that? Also, I just remembered that there was some kind of trouble when I came in contact with Eleven.”

“Oh, that. It was what you guys call an undeveloped monster. It had a slightly special appearance condition, but it got its physical form through the influence of the dungeon and the ley line. That’s the problem that Eleven was talking about. Because of that, the recovery of my power was delayed a bit.”

“Is that so?”

Just to be sure, Shin told her about the time he encountered Skullface Lord.

“It was out there while I was recovering my strength. It was a miserable existence, too. I thank you for stopping it. It was like a victim of a natural disaster.”

“Victim?”

“I did some research on it. It was originally Pixie royalty. It seems that it was caught in the collapse caused by the natural disaster while they were visiting a city built by a player. I don’t even know if they were conscious when they became the Skullface Lord.”

When Shin heard the word “conscious,” he remembered that Skullface Lord had said something at the end of its life.

He could not hear clearly, but perhaps some of its wishes had leaked out in words.

“If the Skullface Lord was a victim of a natural disaster, doesn’t that mean that the dungeon’s current isn’t meant to be?”

“Some of the dungeons in this world are like dungeons combined like here. It’s like the dungeon borrowing a part of another dungeon. This is also one of the consequences of natural disasters. Dungeons have a kind of self-healing ability. In the process of repairing damaged walls and floors, multiple dungeons can become one dungeon. You could say that this is one of them. What has been combined is a player’s town rather than a dungeon, but there is no great difference. In such places, the laws set for each area interact, and phenomena that have never happened before may occur.”

Hades said that this seemed to be the case here as well.

Hades was waiting in the dungeon because it was one of the convergence points of the ley line to regain her power.

It was a coincidence that the dungeon was moved due to a natural disaster, and Hades was not the dungeon boss. Although she used it as a passageway to send terminals to the surface, she never actively interfered with the dungeon. It seemed like she didn’t have a detailed understanding of what was going on inside the dungeon.

“Let’s take a look. Wait a moment.”

Hades didn’t seem to care much about it so far, so she didn’t look into it in detail, but she could have examined the inside of the dungeon if she wanted to.

Hades closed her eyes for a few minutes and seemed to concentrate.

“It seems that certain monsters have information about past players mixed in with them. This is probably due to the effect of merging with the player’s city.”

“What do you mean the player’s information is mixed in?”

“There are monsters that imitate players, right? That’s the specific monster. Normally, they would only imitate the opponents they fight, but now they seem to be trying to imitate the strength and fighting styles of players who have challenged them in the past. I suppose you have fought in the past as well?”

It seemed that Hades needed some time after Shin and the others entered the dungeon before she woke up, and she had not seen any battles with humanoid figures.

“Is that why humanoids appeared from the beginning? But their equipment and appearance seemed to be imitations of ours.”

“Hmm, maybe they’re bound by the law of gradually becoming stronger, or maybe it’s not perfect. Based on the information I’ve read, I predict that there will eventually be copies of Shin and his friends.”

“…Eh?”

Come to think of it, he once challenged the dungeon with Rokuten members.

Although the humanoids imitate the players, they did not fight against the Rokuten themselves, so they were able to clear the challenge without any difficulty, but what about now?

The uniqueness of the place lay in the converging ley lines.

Furthermore, the player’s information – especially the troublesome Rokuten’s information – was mixed in.

According to Hades, there was a high probability that it would eventually take the form of the strongest player.

Therefore, it was safe to assume that what would appear would be a copy of Rokuten’s member.

From Shin’s point of view, Hades’ prediction could almost be considered a prophecy.

“When we attacked, I’m pretty sure we had a full team…”

The time when the event took place was what made Rokuten famous in the first place.

It was a time when his status and equipment were more than sufficient.

“Even if it’s from the game, isn’t it really bad?”

“If the equipment is also copied, it might be tough.”

Milt, who was well aware of Rokuten’s strength during the game, asked him this, and Shin began to get nervous.

If they combined the upgraded equipment with this technology and the increased status, Schnee, Firma, Shibaid, and Sety would probably have no problems. However, Tiera and Kagerou still have a long way to go.

Although the Rokuten members had different equipment based on their professions, they were practically all all-rounders.  They could play both the vanguard and the rear guard with ease.

If the Rokuten members were completely imitated, even Schnee and the others would be in danger.

“Do you know where our companion is now?”

“When I looked inside the dungeon, they were about to enter the final arena.”

“What bad timing. Can you teleport us there like you summoned us here?”

The humanoids showed no mercy to opponents who entered the arena. The battle would continue until you or the opponent was annihilated.

The battle has probably already begun. If possible, he would like to join them immediately.

“It is possible. But if that happens, you won’t be able to ask any more questions. Don’t you want to get more information?”

The current Hades was only temporarily suspending the sleep she needed to recover in order to meet Shin, and it seemed that the amount of time she could stay awake was limited.

“I don’t care. Schnee and the others are given priority!”

“Yeah.”

“Kuh!”

Yuzuha and Milt nodded as well, saying they had no objections.

He wanted information. But considering the situation, there was no time to talk long and hard. Shin answered Hades’ question clearly and asked her to do it immediately if it was possible.

“Very well. Then, go. When you cross the world, we’ll see each other again.”

Hades held out his hand, and Shin and the others’ bodies were enveloped in a white light.

The next moment, two people and one animal disappeared from the scene.

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