Stone pillars stood one by one within the rocky cave structure, quietly looming in the darkness like silent giants.
Takumi and Chika spent some time finding an iron sign standing inside the cave, and saw the writing and brief introduction on it.
[Large Space]
[This area is Zone No. 12 of the Red Nut Grey Cave. It is a naturally formed large-scale area, second in size only to the "Plains." After passing through here, you will reach the "Artery" area and proceed toward the deepest part of the cave, the "Heart."]
[Please note that the temperature in this area is relatively low. Do not remain here for extended periods, especially after intense activity, as prolonged stays are not advisable.]
There was not much content, and there was not much that could be analyzed.
However, at the very least, it allowed them to roughly confirm their current location.
"If this is the Large Space, then where was the place those few people were in earlier?"
Chika spoke with a somewhat puzzled expression, reaching out to tap her lips.
"Who knows. The terrain here can change on its own, so it's better not to judge it by common sense."
As Takumi spoke, he turned his head to look back at the path they had come from. At this moment, the cave entrance was still perfectly intact there, and the safety rope could still be seen, along with the corpses crouching upside down while gripping the rope, lying along the top of the cave.
He blinked.
There were no corpses. It was just a very low and narrow cave.
"First, let's confirm whether there are any branching paths here. Don't split up. We'll go around this cave together. Once we find a second cave other than the entrance, we must immediately retreat to where we came in."
As he said this, Takumi gestured for Chika to follow him, while his gaze unintentionally swept over the girl's chest.
Earlier in the cave, that ghostly thing following behind him had imitated Chika's voice, trying to trick him into establishing a dialogue.
Because of the blessing, Takumi was immediately able to tell that the thing behind him carried malicious intent and was not human. Of course, even without the blessing, he would not have fallen for it. The rules clearly stated what could not be violated, and he had already encountered such a trap once before on the first floor of the Shirakawa Apartments. There was no way he would make the same mistake again.
However, when that thing imitated Fujiwara Chika, it had deliberately used "got stuck" as an excuse, which was something worth paying attention to.
Although the protective suit was relatively form-fitting and tight, with just a rough comparison, Takumi could determine that while this well-developed girl's shoulder width did not compare to his, her impressive size was still extremely striking.
The narrowest part of the cave just now only required squatting to move forward. But if they encountered a place so narrow that crawling flat was required, would she really not get stuck?
This was a possibility that needed careful consideration.
"Report, a new entrance has been discovered."
Chika extended her hand and pointed toward a cave opening located behind several stone pillars.
This opening was relatively large. Even with Takumi's height, he could walk into it without lowering his head.
Leaving Fujiwara Chika behind to keep watch, Takumi walked to the front of the opening and discovered that it slanted slightly upward. He could also feel a very faint breeze. Perhaps this was a direction connected to an exit, a path leading out of the Red Nut Grey Cave.
"Keep searching. We must confirm that there is no third cave entrance here."
After briefly checking the opening, Takumi turned back and said this. He remembered very clearly that the rules emphasized that within the correct passage of the Red Nut Grey Cave, there were no branching paths. If a fork was encountered, they had to return the way they came.
Previously, the two of them had been in a chaotic area whose location they did not even know, so this rule could not be applied. But now that they had arrived at a place suspected to be the correct area, they had to carefully verify this rule.
This time, the two of them searched for quite a while, but they still could not find a third route. They also checked the top of the cave and all kinds of edge and corner areas, yet there was still nothing to be found.
Takumi, who had relaxed slightly, took out a bottle of water from his backpack, twisted open the cap, and took a sip. Then he handed the bottle to Chika and took out two energy bars for her.
"Next, there will definitely be more branching paths waiting for us. Replenish your water, eat something, and don't let yourself get too tired. We can rest here at most… about five minutes, and then we have to return to where we were just now."
As he spoke, Takumi once again looked up at the hollow ceiling, at the stalactites hanging straight down one by one.
This time, he did not see any corpses stuck on them.
Speaking of which, when they had encountered those four people earlier, he had heard the sound of corpses speaking. That guide had told the Tourists to raise their heads and look at the stalagmites above. But stalagmites are things that grow up from the ground, standing on the floor like bamboo shoots, while stalactites are the sharp formations that grow down from the top of a cave. And when stalagmites and stalactites grow longer and longer until they touch and merge, they become stone pillars.
Could it be that the guide's level was not very high?
Or was it that…
Takumi thought of the corpses lying along the top of the cave, as well as the things lying above him one by one when he passed through the tunnel.
Reversed?
In the perception of those Tourists and the guide, was everything here reversed?
If that was the case, then why had the first corpse they encountered, the one with its head split open from the back, not exhibited this situation? Generally speaking, the anomalies within the same instance should share a certain degree of commonality, right? Could it be because their identities were different?
And also…
Maki and Kaguya—up until now, there had been no trace of either of them at all. Where exactly could they be…
Various doubts and pressures made Takumi's mood somewhat heavy at this moment.
He took out a vanilla-flavored energy bar, tore open the packaging, and ate it, then crumpled the wrapper into a ball and stuffed it into the small side pocket of his backpack.
"Um… thank you, Takumi, for the food and water."
On the other side, Chika had already finished drinking the water and eating the energy bar. She returned the water bottle, still more than half full, to Takumi, while the empty energy bar wrapper was carefully folded and placed into her own clothing pocket.
"It seems to be getting a bit cold. Let's rest for another three minutes. After three minutes, we'll go back. Following that safety rope, we should be able to reach the Heart."
As Takumi gradually began to feel the temperature here dropping, he spoke while once again scanning his surroundings.
This time, he saw a vague figure flash past in the distance, as if someone were strolling around inside the cave.
Along the way, Fujiwara Chika did not seem to have seen many strange things, yet he himself could sense many abnormal presences. Could it be that the reaction caused earlier by that guy called Dennis had affected him?
While Takumi was thinking this, he felt Chika's gaze beside him growing more intense.
So he turned his head and made direct eye contact with the girl. Seeing that he had noticed her, Chika hesitated for a moment, then still spoke to ask.
"That rule sheet… there are some parts that feel a bit concerning. Some of the rules in it actually contradict each other, don't they? But Takumi, you seem to trust the contents of the rule sheet a lot. Is there some reason for that?"
Was she referring to the conflicting rules that emphasized identity, and the conflicting rules regarding the descriptions of the cave's interior?
It seemed that along the way, the girl had actually been thinking about those rules the whole time. She probably could not figure out why such conflicting rules were allowed to exist so openly, and thus hoped he could explain.
"It's very normal for a rule sheet to contain contradictions. What determines how this place operates are non-human anomalies—distorted obsessions. Therefore, there may be situations where the rules are already outdated, and following the rules completely would lead to trouble. It's also possible that true rules and false rules are mixed together, with multiple different forces influencing and altering the contents of the rule sheet. However, as for this rule sheet, I am more inclined to believe that every single rule on it is true."
Takumi spoke very seriously.
"Every single one is true?"
Chika paused slightly, not quite understanding what Takumi meant.
"No matter what kind of rule sheet it is, the very first rule sheet that players obtain is always meaningful. It can provide various clues to help analyze and deal with the situation at hand. Even if it's an outdated or inaccurate rule sheet, it will still hide extremely crucial elements that determine the probability of survival."
"And this rule sheet—if you don't look at the surface-level clauses, its most fundamental core actually lies in a single issue of identity. We are Explorers. This is our current identity, and so far, there doesn't seem to be any disadvantage in sticking to it. It's through this identity that we can increase our chances of survival. Starting from this point, I'm more inclined to believe that this rule sheet is true, and that we need to act according to the rules written on it."
Takumi thought for a moment, then began to explain his perspective to Chika.
"But if that's the case, then there is one rule that conflicts with this identity principle."
Although Chika did not explicitly state which rule she meant, Takumi knew she was puzzled by the strange contradiction where, when facing rescue teams or fire crews, the Explorer identity could not be used, and instead one had to claim to be a Tourist.
"Although this is only a conjecture, I think this might be because, as Explorers, we have no way to avoid them through this identity. In other words, the essence of the conflicting rule is something like 'it only takes effect under certain conditions, and once those conditions are met, it becomes invalid.' However, as for how it actually works, we'll only know when we truly face such a situation. So, we should probably pray that we never get the chance to verify whether the rule is true or false. Sigh…"
Takumi explained patiently. As he continued explaining, he suddenly raised a hand to cover his face, and his mood visibly sank.
"H–hey, hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?"
Not understanding why Takumi had suddenly become dejected, Chika grew a little flustered.
"It's nothing… It's just that, back when I was doing my beginner quest, if only I could have met an experienced player who was willing to patiently explain the settings and information to me like this…"
Thinking that everything he was now explaining to Fujiwara Chika were lessons he had only managed to piece together after completing his beginner quest—while she could simply sit here and listen—Takumi felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow.
However, he quickly stopped dwelling on those minor emotions.
Because he heard footsteps—heard the sound of people talking to each other.
From the wide passage of the Large Space, there came sounds as if someone were approaching.
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