Squeeeeak….
With the sound of metal hinges grinding, the prison door opened.
The Hunter took the lead, and as Argarta and I stepped over the threshold, we saw rows of iron bars.
This indeed seemed to be the underground prison from the prologue.
But why is it so hard to see ahead?
Even when I blinked, contrary to my memory, the inside of the prison was incredibly bright.
The original underground prison was dark and gloomy, like something out of a horror game, so if you messed up the controls, you'd bump into walls or go the wrong way, ending up moving backward instead of forward.
Even with the brightness settings maxed out, you couldn't see ahead, making you anxious about skeletons or ghosts jumping out.
But this... yeah, the game should be this bright.
How nice.
"It's brighter than I thought, so it should be easy to get through. I heard most underground prisons are in total darkness."
"Huh?"
Argarta looked at me with a bewildered expression.
Why is she looking at me like I've said something absurd?
"Why? Isn't this considered bright?"
"No, you call this bright?"
She blinked, seemingly unable to comprehend.
Where did these people live that they think this is dark?
You're a thief, shouldn't your night vision be better than mine, a regular person?
Annoyed by our chatter, the Hunter turned his head back.
"...You're noisy."
"But Mr. Tanton said it's bright here."
"Must be the eyes of a frozen fish, good at seeing in the dark. Stop yapping and watch where you're going."
The Hunter spoke in a slightly less gruff tone, as if he was trying to joke.
Even so, making jokes about someone's appearance is not okay.
In my twenties, I had the kind of looks where little kids would follow me around calling me a handsome oppa.
...I kept that thought to myself as we walked. Then the Hunter spoke.
"It's certainly empty. No one's here."
"What did I tell you?"
Argarta grinned and spoke, but the Hunter merely nodded in response.
Our dazed walking was short-lived. Reaching the end of the corridor, we found a dead end and a staircase leading up.
On the dead-end wall, some writing was scrawled, looking like it had been carved with something sharp, like claws.
The letters that caught my eye were instinctively read by my modern, educated brain.
Without realizing it, I leaned forward.
Hello! Today we're going to learn about 'How to Defeat Outer Gods'!
That's right... 'Defeating Outer Gods' is very difficult.
It's such a pity that many knights have lost their lives for this cause... T.T
Among the recently known methods, it's said that you can 'defeat Outer Gods' by using weapons made from their flesh, but from here on, even I'm not sure;;
So, I hear many knights are still researching this. I hope we find an answer soon!
That's all for today's talk about 'How to Defeat Outer Gods'!
…
What is this? It reads like something from a green-text blog?
Baffled by the content, I tried to read it again, but someone grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and forcibly pulled me away from the writing.
Looking to see who it was, it was the Hunter, who had been walking ahead, staring at me with a sharp gaze.
"Rondan's First Iron Rule: Do not read writing on books or walls not inscribed by humans. Even for a mental patient, you don't know this?"
With that, the Hunter practically threw me toward the wall opposite the writing, causing me to land hard on my backside.
"Are you okay? You don't feel mentally corrupted or anything, do you?"
Argarta approached, looking worried, and started shaking me to check my condition.
I had forgotten something important.
One of the taboos in Snow Castle: Do not read text.
In the game, reading shocking text was described as lowering your sanity.
But I didn't feel anything.
The text wasn't so much shocking as it was like a child's graffiti, which was ironically shocking in itself.
Anyway.
"Can you hear me? Snap out of it! You mustn't lose! Mr. Tanton!"
Argarta shook me violently, as if trying to wake someone who looked like they were about to die.
I think I'm gonna be sick…
I reached out to push Argarta away.
"Eek?"
But Argarta, refusing to let go of my hands until the end.
The momentum carried us toward the lighter Argarta.
I stretched my arms out to brace my fall on the floor.
And we ended up falling in what looked like a compromising position!
With our noses almost touching, Argarta blushed.
"Even if you've lost your mind, you shouldn't do this here…"
Embarrassed by her sudden nonsense, I quickly got up.
Oblivious to our little skit, the Hunter interjected bluntly.
"You can read that text, can't you?"
"Th-that's right? Why can I read it?"
"You can read the text…"
The Hunter's voice dropped lower than before.
Honestly, I don't know why I can read it either.
And was the text written there originally like that?
I never progressed far enough in the story to be able to read it anyway.
How would a newbie like me know?
"In these times, few humans can read letters. They go so far as to use magic to erase memories related to letters because understanding the script of the Outer Gods would drive one mad."
"But you seem perfectly fine."
The Hunter approached me with heavy steps and brought his face close to mine.
His eyes, as if trying to figure something out, stared intently at me.
"What are you?"
But even if you ask me that, I have no idea why I can read it!
If I were acting based on knowing the entire game story, I wouldn't feel so wronged.
Now even Argarta's eyes sparkled as she came up to me.
"Are you a Mystic Scholar? Or perhaps the mental patient mentioned on the paper, one who can read text?"
"If so, you might be able to read without going mad."
"You can't drive insane someone who's already insane."
Wouldn't it be better to just go with being a Mystic Scholar?
In this game, Mystic Scholar was one of the builds the Hunter could choose.
…Not that I'd ever taken that route, so I knew nothing about it.
If I pretended to know and got caught later, I'd be in deep trouble, and all sorts of major problems could occur.
Both of them stared at me uncomfortably, waiting for my answer.
Can't we just ignore this and move on? Seriously.
Swallowing my frustration, which felt like it could bring tears of blood, I blurted out what was written on the paper.
"It's because I'm a mental patient… So maybe that's why I'm fine?"
Ahh, fuck.
The whole world is forcing me to be a mental patient to survive.
Seemingly moved by my words, Argarta clenched her fist and shouted.
"I knew it! You were strolling naked in the streets because of your mental illness and got caught?!"
"No, not that extreme…"
Argarta grabbed my shoulders even tighter.
"You don't have to be ashamed!"
They say the one with the louder voice wins.
Argarta's voice, which instantly crushed my excuses, was booming, as if she'd eaten a train whistle.
She even welled up with tears, which was extremely embarrassing.
But the corners of my mouth were trembling.
As if to hide it, she bowed her head and began to scold the Hunter.
"Scaring someone who's already hurting! He could have read it by accident!"
Even the Hunter seemed taken aback by her audacity; his eyes widened for a moment before he frowned and held his forehead with his hand.
"What a fantastic pair you two make."
The Hunter shook his head and started walking forward again.
Sigh.
Life, damn it.
But seriously, why am I sane after reading that text?
I'm not really mentally ill, am I?
Could it be?
No way.
It's probably just a little different from the game.
…Gritting my teeth internally, I rationalized it and followed the Hunter.
After climbing the stairs, what appeared before us was the great hall of the underground prison.
If my memory serves me right, the giant 'thing' should be here.
The first Outer God to appear in the story.
Nicknamed the Warden of the Underground Prison.
I don't know why an Outer God is in a prison meant for holding people, since I never finished the game, but I had to suffer for a long time because of this 'newbie crusher'.
Remembering that time, I felt a surge of anger for no reason.
Around that time, the area where the Outer God was supposed to be slowly came into view.
And seeing what was inside, I was stunned.
"What is this?"
The Outer God that was supposed to be there was gone.
Instead, a cute girl with wolf ears was inside, sleeping soundly, snoozing.
I felt a sense of dissonance, as if I'd seen her somewhere before.
Stunned by the unexpected development, I looked at the Hunter and Argarta, but their expressions made me even more confused.
Argarta was trembling fearfully, her pupils constricted, while the Hunter was looking at the girl in the cell with a gaze filled with more murderous intent than ever before.
That expression on the Hunter's face was the same one he made when facing an Outer God.
Which meant that thing was indeed an Outer God.
But while it looks like an Outer God to the Hunter, it doesn't look like one to me.
The strangely bright underground prison.
The wall text that should have been crudely written but looked like it was written by a blogger.
The Outer God in the form of a girl.
The events of that day flashed through my mind like a panorama.
'Join the Super Coward Club, you punk.'
'If you like it, just shut up and hit the recommend button!'
Finally, I could feel the plausibility of everything I'd experienced so far clicking into place.
That's right.
I hadn't just been transported into Snow Castle.
I had been transported into the Snow Castle with the 'Super Coward Mode' installed.