Trapped in the Virtual Abyss - Mysterious overlapping voices

The door to the third layer opened with the heavy grinding of stone. From deeper in the corridor came the low sound of gears turning. Click, click, click—at regular intervals, something moved within the walls. "So this is the third layer." 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) held up his torch and looked ahead. From the ceiling to the floor of the passage, gears of various sizes were embedded. Each time the gears meshed, the stone floor tiles rose and fell, and iron spikes shot out from the walls—a trap mechanism. The Silent Corridor—the dungeon of the first floor—the third layer was a place like this. "Confirming trap placement." 早瀬真一 pushed his glasses up and surveyed the corridor. His gray eyes quickly tracked the movement of the gears. At twenty-three, his ability as a Strategist class was genuine, and his situational analysis was faster than anyone else's. "The gear cycle is five seconds. Three seconds moving, two seconds stopped," "So we run through during the two-second pause?" 璃音 tilted her head slightly. Her pale purple wavy hair swayed softly. At seventeen, the Arcanist was bright-faced even in moments like this, showing no tension whatsoever. "Exactly. If you miss the timing, the floor spikes will pierce you. It won't kill you, but it'll hurt like hell," "Ugh, so we absolutely can't mess up, right~?" "Don't mess up," "Let's go. I'll take point and confirm the path. Follow on my signal," 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) steadied his breathing while tracking the gears with his eyes. Click, click, click—three seconds. Then two seconds of stillness. Now. He ran. Kicked off the stone floor, onto the next foothold, then the next. He cleared it in exactly two seconds. "Now!" 璃音 dashed forward. Despite her fluffy movements, her feet were surprisingly fast. She made it through safely. 早瀬 ran next, slipping through at the last possible moment. An iron spike grazed the hem of his robe. "That was close. Well, within expected parameters," "You really like saying that, don't you, Hayase?" "It's a fact," That was when it happened. The Origin Mark—a wristband-type item all players possessed, used for calling up menus and communications—suddenly emitted static. Zzzzzt— "Hm?" 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) looked down at his wrist. The communication function was on. But he hadn't called anyone. "—Oh, got through! Hey you guys, nice! You're pulling off some seriously solid strategy!" It was a man's voice. Cheerful, light, like a game commentator. In the dim corridor of the dungeon, only that voice rang out brightly. All three stopped simultaneously. "…Who is this?" "Me? I'm 凱悠真. Twenty-two, used to be a pro streamer. I'm logged in as a Chronicler class in this game. I've been recording your strategy run this whole time! It's amazing, that tactical use of the misfired magic and all!" "Don't record us without permission," The voice reacted immediately. It showed no sign of being bothered by 早瀬's anger. "Nah, chill out. With the Chronicler's special ability, I can intercept communications from nearby players. Pretty convenient, right?" "Not convenient at all." 早瀬 and 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) said it at exactly the same time. The two exchanged glances. "Oh, rare. Kou and Hayase actually agree on something," "That's not relevant right now." Again, in perfect sync. 璃音 giggled. 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) shifted gears and spoke toward the communication. "Question. How did you intercept us? Chronicler communication interception should only work within the same party," "Ooh, you know your stuff! Correct. Normally, yeah. But I tweaked mine a little. I can reach other parties' comms within about a fifty-meter radius. The trade-off is the audio quality gets worse—" "…That's abuse of the system," "Well, I won't deny it. But hear me out—this is gonna be super useful later! I've got data on like thirty different monsters recorded so far. It's basically a strategy guide video. The kind of thing I can share with other players," There was a moment of silence. 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) thought it over. He'd heard that the Chronicler class was chosen by only about five percent of all players. Combat ability was low, but it could auto-record maps and auto-generate monster encyclopedias. For a team actively pushing through the dungeon like theirs, that could be decisive information. "Not a bad proposal. If records exist, we can deliver strategy information to the settlers—players staying on safer floors," "We don't need to take on security risks just for one record-keeper," "But it really is convenient, isn't it?" "Shut up," "Roger that," 璃音 giggled again. This time out loud. "You're funny, Kai~" "Right? I've been recording you too, Rin—that misfired magic is insane. In a good way. The damage output is crazy, and there's a pattern to the direction so it's predictable. And Kou here, building that into his tactics—you're a genius," 璃音's face lit up. She was weak to compliments. "Huh? My magic? Stop it~, it just misfires all the time~" "That's what makes it interesting! You're actually hitting your targets, in the end. That charge into the moss crab swarm—that was godlike, seriously," "…Well, as a record-keeper, maybe you could be useful," 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) looked at 早瀬. 早瀬 was facing the wall, arms crossed. "Do what you want. I'm on record as opposed," "Yes! Looking forward to working with you all!" --- They exited the dungeon thirty minutes later. The Verdant Meadow—the vast grassland covering the first floor—felt warm in the evening air, the opposite of the dungeon's cold stone. It smelled like blue grass. In the distance, wind lizards could be seen darting around, launching wind blades with sharp sounds. The three sat down on the grass to rest. "Hey, where is Kai right now?" "Me? I'm wandering around the Verdant Meadow. Solo. Been collecting data on different players. But lately, it's been a little lonely, you know—" "…" 早瀬 and 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) both went silent at the same time. "Oh, the mood just got serious," "No, that's not—" "It's fine, it's fine! I mean, I mixed some real talk in there, but I'm good at this. The skill of saying serious stuff in a jokey way. Streamer survival skill," 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) heard that and felt something catch slightly. He let it pass, but there was something beneath that cheerful voice—he felt it. But that was a conversation for another time. "Kai, I have a proposal. Join our team. We're running an attack group called Frontline—sixty people strong, working toward clearing the game. Our goal is to send all two hundred sixteen players home. Would you be interested in joining?" "Ooh, a formal recruitment! But I can't fight, you know? I really can only record, is that okay?" "It doesn't matter. Auto-mapping and monster encyclopedia generation are abilities we're currently lacking," "Well…yeah, I guess that's true," 早瀬 said it reluctantly. You could tell he didn't want to admit it, but couldn't logically deny it. Then— "Oh, wait! There's another player nearby! My communication interception is picking up a signal beyond fifty meters—and it sounds like they're in trouble—!" 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) stood up smoothly. "Location?" "About three hundred meters northeast! Hurry!" The three ran. They pushed through grass, crested hills, barely avoided wind lizard territory. 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) led, with 璃音 and 早瀬 right behind. Shun—! The air ahead was sliced by a wind lizard's blade. But there were voices. Human voices. Over the hill, they saw it. Seven or eight wind lizards—first-floor monsters with a danger rating of D, quick and deadly—had surrounded a corner of the grassland. In the center, two players stood with weapons drawn, completely surrounded and unable to move. "Hayase, immobilize them! Rin, get ready for the usual setup. Bait the back two and fire!" "Understood," "Got it!" 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) drew his sword and charged straight in. Three wind lizards reacted and turned toward him. Perfect. "'Slow Field,'" 早瀬's support magic spread out. The wind lizards' movements slowed noticeably. 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) brought his blade to the first lizard's neck and swept. The second he dodged and got behind, slashing its back. The third was slowed by 早瀬's magic—the sword pierced its body. The remaining five turned toward 璃音. 璃音 didn't run. Instead, she stepped forward and traced her fingers through the air. Purple lines of light twisted into a warped pattern in the sky. Deliberately. "'Flare Lux!'" DOOOOOOOM!!! The explosion erupted. Not behind 璃音, but directly into the center of the wind lizard pack—a massive fireball hit dead-on. The grassland shook. Flame and shockwave spread, and all five lizards were blown away at once. Silence. Two players stood dazed in the drifting smoke. Late teens, probably. Light armor, clearly inexperienced. "YOOOOO!!! THAT WAS INSANE!!! THIS IS DEFINITELY GONNA BLOW UP!!! BEST THING EVER!!!" The voice on the other end of the communication exploded. His energy was so high it almost sounded calm. "Stop saying 'blow up.' Outside the game, fine, but not here," "But I can't help it! Instinct!!!" "…" The two rescued players cautiously approached. "Thank you so much…really, we're saved. Who are you?" 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) sheathed his sword. "We're Frontline—an attack group aiming to clear the game. Our goal is to send all two hundred sixteen players home. If you're interested in joining, come to the Lamplight Inn in Rendvale," The two exchanged glances. A look like they were confirming something. Then they nodded. "We'll come. Definitely," After watching the two run off across the grassland, 璃音 spoke. "We actually fought with Kai today for the first time. Well, not fought," "That's contradictory," "But it helped! If Kai hadn't told us, we wouldn't have noticed those people," "…That's true," 早瀬 said it with surprising straightforwardness. He looked a little surprised at himself. "I did it! Hayase acknowledged me! This is a historic day!" "Don't get cocky," "Roger that," 璃音 giggled again. 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) looked out across the twilight grassland. Orange light painted the grass gold. Wind blew, and the grass swayed with a soft rustle. "I'm saying it officially. 凱悠真—join Frontline. As our record-keeper. As our teammate," There was a brief pause on the other end. A different kind of silence than usual. "…You sure? I can't fight, I'm kind of a pain, I intercept communications without asking—" "We need you," Another pause. Shorter this time. "—Alright, I'm in! Thanks, everyone!!" "Yay~! Kai's one of us now!" "…Well, as a record-keeper, anyway. I'll see if you're actually useful first," "You're so kind~! Hayase, you're really kind!!" "I'm not kind," "You are!" "I'm not!!" 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) smiled softly and turned his gaze to the edge of the grassland. The sun was setting. The walls of Rendvale were visible in silhouette in the distance. A fourth member had joined. The shape of the team had changed. One who fights and one who records. One who advances and one who preserves it all. They were still on the first floor. The road ahead was long. But—in just one day, they had definitely moved forward. (The fourth layer is next. The floor boss is close. With Kai's records, our strategy will change.) 蒼井紘(あおいひろ) reorganized the attack plan in his mind. At the same time, something still nagged at him. The words 凱 had said—"it's been a little lonely." Was that really just a joke? The wind blew across the grassland again. The orange sky was slowly growing darker.

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Episode 4

Name: Trapped in the Virtual Abyss
Author: Novelia

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