Chapter 3: Remember Your Role

Chapter 3: Remember Your Role

At this moment, in the large area, four people had already gathered.

Four was not a lucky number.

The good news was that, thanks to the blessing's ability to discern, Takakai was certain that all four were human.

The news that was neither clearly good nor bad was that none of the four seemed to be new players. He didn't feel any clear goodwill or malice from them. Clearly, they had noticed him, and all their flashlights were pointed straight at Takakai.

"Hey, you over there, are you an adventurer? A player participating in this exploration?"

One of the four took two steps forward and asked. Judging by the voice, this person seemed to be Japanese.

"We're all human here, all humans, don't worry. I'm Dennis, a streamer focused on the outdoors and also an adventurer."

Another man joined the conversation, waving his hand and smiling. This one didn't seem like a veteran player, more like a newcomer who had stumbled in by accident.

Apart from the two who greeted him, there was one other man and one woman, who simply stood at a distance observing Takakai.

From their actions, it seemed they were ready to use Obsession at any moment; they looked extremely cautious.

"I'm an adventurer."

Knowing that he had been exposed, Takakai stood up straight and calmly responded.

"I'm a player from the adventurer faction, here for exploration. I haven't reached the central area yet. What about you?"

Takakai didn't rush to bring Chika out but told her to keep waiting while he questioned the four.

"We haven't reached it either. This is a large area, but we haven't figured out which direction leads to the 'Blood vessel.' Don't be too cautious; bring your teammate out here. There's no danger in this area, don't worry."

The Japanese man continued speaking, seemingly having some way to assess the situation in the area, and paid special attention to Chika, who was hiding.

"Really, they're all very nice. Without their help, I definitely wouldn't have made it here."

Dennis smiled warmly, his attitude enthusiastic.

"No need, we'll stay here. Which direction did you come from? Did you encounter anyone else?"

Takakai refused to come closer. In reality, in his two-person group, only he was the experienced player with Obsession, while Chika was a newcomer whose physical capabilities weren't as strong as Shijo Maki's. Meanwhile, the other group had at least three experienced players. If a conflict arose, Takakai would be under immense pressure, so he was determined to maintain a safe distance.

"There are plenty of entrances around here, as you can see. This area is completely different from the information we had. The only certainty is that direction leads to a stop. But we're adventurers, right? We need to find a way to locate the 'Heart'; otherwise, this wouldn't be called an exploration. Would you like to join us? I think working together would make everything much easier."

The Japanese man took another step forward, cheerfully suggesting.

"No, two of us are enough. Good luck reaching the 'Heart.'"

Takakai frowned, realizing the conversation wasn't yielding anything useful. He decided to return to the initial cave area.

Based on his experience so far, the caves did indeed pose dangers, like strange corpses. However, as long as he adhered strictly to his role as [Adventurer], wore the proper adventurer attire, and followed the rules closely to avoid attacks, he could safely bypass those threats.

Yet, the other group of three carried too many uncertainties. The two who remained silent were unsettling, while the Japanese man seemed overly friendly, but Takakai's blessing didn't sense any goodwill from him. In fact, Takakai's refusal to cooperate had begun to elicit a vague sense of malice, though it hadn't yet escalated to an intent to attack.

For Takakai, their attitudes clearly didn't indicate they could work well together. Thus, abandoning contact or collaboration with them and continuing with Chika—a person he at least understood to some degree—was the safer choice. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back during a critical moment.

Having made up his mind, Takakai took a step back but suddenly felt that something was off, as if he had overlooked something important.

"At least consult your teammate's opinion; don't make arbitrary decisions like that. Cooperation is the only way to survive better, isn't it?"

The Japanese man refused to give up, taking another step toward Takakai, his tone serious.

This guy is relentless...

Takakai was trying to recall what he had overlooked when the other man's words interrupted him. Feeling slightly annoyed, he was about to retort, but then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

The guy just said his teammate's opinion?

Takakai immediately turned around, and at that very moment, he noticed Chika had somehow crept to his side, crouching and hiding behind him.

Why did she act on her own like this?

Frowning, Takakai was surprised that Chika had come out without asking for his permission. He was about to say something, but Chika pointed at the Japanese man and then pulled out her phone, typing a few words before showing it to Takakai.

[I've been listening to you talk to the two people, but suddenly, one of them stopped speaking. Could it be that a deadly event has been triggered?]

Those words made Takakai jolt and whip his head back to look at the man who called himself Dennis.

He was no longer there.

Dennis had disappeared from his original spot.

Attacked by some monstrous force?

Or completely vanished?

But earlier in the cave, Takakai and Chika had seen corpses. Typically, the monstrosities in this area would leave behind bodies.

Or could it be…

Takakai looked up.

He directed his gaze toward the ceiling of the cave.

It didn't take long for him to find him.

The man, mouth gaping wide, was lying on the rocky wall. In defiance of gravity, his body hung suspended in a crevice, his lifeless eyes staring blankly at Takakai.

In the dim light, the man's face was ghastly pale, devoid of any blood.

His eyes had rolled back into his head, leaving only bloodshot whites glaring straight at Takakai.

The explorer's outfit he wore was now in tatters. No… to be more precise, it seemed to be slowly disintegrating, as if it had lost some kind of sustaining force and was now collapsing into nonexistence.

When Takakai locked eyes with that face, he felt as though he could hear a silent scream emanating from the man, directed squarely at him.

For a moment, Takakai thought his death was certain. He had already steeled himself to use Obsession for one last desperate struggle.

But as he calmed himself slightly, he realized it was just a corpse. Like the body of the "keyboard warrior" he had seen earlier, lying on the ground with its ashes scattered, this body had not yet been invaded or transformed by any monstrous force—it was simply an ordinary dead body.

The problem was: why did he die so silently?

And where was the thing that attacked him?

Takakai's eyes shifted slightly as he glanced toward the ceiling of the cave.

Drip…

A corpse pierced through by a stalactite, hanging loosely from the ceiling, suddenly came into Takakai's view.

Following that was another corpse, impaled through the abdomen by a stalactite, hanging upside down in blatant defiance of gravity.

One body after another, in various poses, hung suspended from the cave ceiling amidst a forest of dense stalactites. These corpses hung so quietly that Takakai hadn't noticed them until he looked up.

"Welcome to Nutty Putty Cave."

"Hope we'll all have a wonderful time together here."

Chaotic voices suddenly rang in his ears.

The corpses seemed to begin moving.

But not the ones hanging from the ceiling.

Instead, it was the "tourists," led by a guide, exploring the cave.

Tourists?

Were they [Tourists]?

At that moment, the sounds around Takakai's ears grew sharper, more piercing, and increasingly harder to distinguish.

The Japanese man was still speaking, saying something Takakai couldn't quite make out.

He stepped closer, seemingly trying to get a better look at Chika, who was crouched low behind Takakai, concealed by the stone columns. The man's gaze couldn't pierce through her cover.

Takakai tilted his head slightly, straining to make sense of the cacophony.

What were those voices saying?

They were saying…

"Everyone, look up now. See? The structure of the stalactites here is quite unique, isn't it?"

In an instant, Takakai threw himself to the ground, pulling Chika with him. Both of them rolled as a single unit, tumbling back toward the entrance they had come from.

The piercing sounds of screams, agonized cries, and chaotic footsteps echoed endlessly in the background…

All of it mingled together—the voices of the three other players and indescribable, haunting noises—creating a chilling and oppressive atmosphere.

It seemed that the three players had not yet been completely wiped out by the sudden attack.

Even so, Takakai had no interest in confirming their fate. He made the resolute decision to move on and head toward another path.

"Those sounds just now…"

Chika, still shaken by the earlier chaotic and eerie noise, cautiously followed Takakai, her curiosity evident despite her lingering fear.

"They have nothing to do with us. We're just explorers. I'm Takakai, an adventurer. My goal is to reach the 'heart' of this cave and then leave. What about you?"

Takakai turned to look at Chika, his voice firm.

"I'm Fujiwara Chika, an adventurer as well. I'll also head to the 'heart' of the cave and leave afterward. Um, I didn't do anything wrong earlier, did I?"

Chika quickly replied, then hesitantly asked for reassurance.

"Noticing something unusual and warning about it was correct. But don't act so covertly. If you had been a moment slower, there would have been no chance to regret it. In any situation, make sure to notify me immediately unless there are extreme restrictions."

Takakai spoke bluntly, not paying attention to how Chika nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken. Instead, he focused on replaying the events from earlier in his mind.

The man named Dennis had become some kind of medium for the activation of the horror story's power. Those things on the ceiling could emerge through his corpse. But the question remained—why did he die so quietly? Did he say something he wasn't supposed to?

If that were the case, then what he said at that time was…

"We're all human, all part of humanity."

Could it have been because of his misrepresentation of his identity?

Realizing this, Takakai now understood more than ever why the game's rules emphasized the importance of "personal identity" so repeatedly.

Someone tugged gently on the hem of his jacket.

He turned and saw Chika pointing ahead.

Following her direction, Takakai spotted a faint yellowish light deeper inside the cave. It was distinct from the light emitted by the supply crate earlier.