Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 236

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Chapter 236 – Inside the Crack

“You really have an unusual hunting method… I’ve never seen anyone target them like this before.”

“Haha… Just killing time, I guess?”

I scratched my head and smiled wryly to hide my embarrassment.

The receptionist seemed used to this and pointed out that I had an unusually large number of Gray Soul’s magic stones. But it was too late to worry about that now.

This is Auber Sam’s final currency exchange.

In the end, I decided to stop at skill level 3 for Non-Attribute Magic.

It was simply too inefficient compared to ordinary monsters. The presence of the other watcher, who had disappeared, made me wary of burying too much money underground.

I don’t currently have any reason to use Non-Attribute Magic other than to earn experience points. If I ever feel the need for a higher level and can’t obtain it any other way, I’ll come back here.

For now, that’s good enough.

Besides, I’ll probably get stronger faster if I hurry up and enter Freyvile.

I have a feeling that I’ll come back to this hunting ground again someday.

I can’t shake this strange feeling.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“There’s that Ghost Menace that screams really loudly, right?”

“Yes, it’s the root of all evil that sucks the life out of this town,” said the receptionist.

Those words seemed to express the feelings that the people of this town had harbored for years.

“…Have you ever heard other hunters say that the Ghost Menace smiles and says ‘thank you’?”

“Huh?”

The receptionist’s expression changed from hatred to bewilderment.

I was hoping to get some kind of clue, but unfortunately, I got no information.

“So far… about eight days, I think. It only said ‘thank you’ twice.”

“…”

“What do you think it means?”

“I-I don’t know.”

If I could make a guess, I might be able to narrow it down further.

There have been cases where I’ve solved problems based on guesses like that before.

But this time, I have no idea what the conditions are.

I don’t even know if there are any.

In this game-like world, I can’t help but feel that the word “thank you” is connected to something.

Maybe if I keep exploring, I’ll eventually find a clue or insight.

If I don’t feel like I can gain anything by persisting, I’ll come back when I do.

“Well, see you later.”

I glanced at the town and the Old Auber Ruins from above Auber Sam, then resumed my journey toward the western border, which was now just a short distance away.

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

The rest of the journey went smoothly.

I passed through two small towns with only F- and E-rank hunting grounds. The endless Great Palmera Forest stretched out to my left.

To my right, the cracks in the plateau gradually widened. Beyond them lay the Lagreath plateau, which I hadn’t seen in about a month and a half.

Between the forest and the cracks, I saw a strange stone wall and soldiers on horseback keeping watch.

According to the map, it should take about 30 minutes to fly to Bezart from here.

However, I’m heading north.

From there, I’ll head to Grille Morg and connect the outer perimeter of the Kingdom of Waltz.

I am also looking forward to proceeding with the exploration of the interior of the crack.

Looking down from the bridge, I can see a vast forest at the “Rubelium Border” connecting Lagreath and Waltz.

Given the depth and width of the cracks I’ve seen so far, the only places to enter are at the beginning of the cracks in the north and south.

Since it’s a sheer cliff, it’s difficult to climb out once you’ve entered; therefore, the inside of this crack is likely an untouched, unexplored area.

It wouldn’t be surprising if it were a treasure trove of rare monsters or if there were suspicious-looking areas.

That’s how a gamer’s mind works!

“Hyahaha!”

As I continued mapping the area, I used the Investigation function to search for monsters while gradually delving deeper and wider into the crack.

In fact, from a certain point onward, the interior of the crack was more fantastical than I had imagined. I ended up ignoring the Waltz Kingdom side entirely.

The crack was narrow and abnormally long. An untouched forest stretched on endlessly inside it, and many ordinary wild animals inhabited the bottom.

There were also some larger types, so if this were an accessible area, it would likely be designated a “G” rank hunting ground, a type I’ve seen before.

The almost vertical walls had groundwater seeping out in places, suggesting that earthquakes occur here and that fault lines exist.

If I dug a hole in this cliff, it would definitely be an unfindable treasure trove, and building a house inside the wall would be interesting.

Despite this exciting environment, however, there were no monsters.

I didn’t want to take any chances, so once the cracks were deep enough, I stayed away from the bottom and flew around.

I couldn’t see much this way, but the area was definitely within my Investigation range. Yet, I didn’t detect a single monster, and the first day of exploring the cracks came to an end.

Then came the second day.

I thought that if I continued like this, I would reach Grille Morg by the end of the day. While conducting a “search” and looking for suspicious points, I made a huge mistake and flew toward the south.

Apparently, I had mistaken the direction I was heading in when I entered the crack.

To make matters worse, the surrounding scenery was nothing but walls, so I didn’t notice I was going in the opposite direction.

Man, I’m an idiot!

Realizing this, I headed north, checked my surroundings, and opened the map. At that moment, I was heading south again.

I was actually heading even further south than where I started today.

Hahaha!

“……No, no, no. What the heck is going on?”

I think this was the moment I looked the most serious since arriving in this world.

The first time was understandable, but I was sure that I had confirmed I was heading north the second time. I was sure.

Nevertheless, I was flying south again.

I have no idea when I turned around.

Something incomprehensible is happening, and I have no idea how I got into this situation.

Sigh…

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m sure I switched the map orientation. If I just keep looking at the screen, there’s no way I can go wrong.”

I flew at high speed until I reached the mapping completion point, then slowed down near where I thought I had turned around and switched the map orientation.

The map had always been oriented with north at the top until now. It had changed to a display where the map rotated according to the direction of travel, so I continued flying with the map screen open.

Having my view blocked was scary, but it was the most reliable way to know which direction I was heading in.

After proceeding in this state for a while…

“……Oh, I turned.”

If I close the map screen immediately, my field of view will be a solid wall.

This means that I had unconsciously turned sideways.

Had I not noticed, I would have continued flying in the opposite direction, heading south again.

The view in front of me, where I wanted to go, looked normal.

There was a normal forest and a cliff that seemed to extend more than 100 meters into the distance.

After carefully repeating the flight, I saw something else.

(Not all the cracks are impassable.)

If I throw a small stone, it falls normally.

(If I entered from the north, I could turn north.)

It was the fact that there were limited points that I couldn’t map or enter.

The area was small, probably no bigger than a tennis court or a 25-meter pool.

“What should I do? This isn’t normal.”

Should I retreat, go a little further, or call for help?

It was a difficult choice.

I was interested in the strange phenomenon occurring in a place I suspected was strange.

However, I had just been saved the other day, so I was reluctant to call on the goddess for help again.

It’s not like I’m in a life-threatening situation.

(Nothing unusual. The ground is just forest, and the sky is normal. The investigation doesn’t pick up any monsters or people, and as far as I can see… Ah, I see.)

This place is another world.

―Magic Perception―

I still can’t see anything.

But I don’t think it’s time to give up yet.

“Finger Lightning.”

The lightning that shot out from the tip of my finger changed course as if deflected midair, flying off in the opposite direction.

Yeah, I definitely hit something just now.

When it bounced, I felt something like a membrane ripple for an instant.

Then, I gathered my resolve and gently reached out my hand.

The stone doesn’t react, but the magic does. Whatever is reacting must be “magic power.”

Now, what will happen?

Huh? I was prepared for my hand to burn, but nothing happened.

My hand passed through normally, but I couldn’t see it on the other side.

There’s no pain or discomfort.

When I bring my hand back, it looks normal again.

I see.

There’s no choice but to go.

I take a deep breath, hold it, and press my face against the transparent membrane.

The forest looks exactly the same as before, but one thing is different.

On the side wall, at a slightly higher position, there’s a hole that seems to be tempting me with its wide, black opening.

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