The Death Sanctum

—

Honestly, he had reached this conclusion with a bit of “malice” and “subjective inference.” Since he was born into this world, Carver had never treated him like a real father—more like the designated villain of this story. Many, many details, like deeply hidden clues, pointed to Carver.

For instance… the second phase of that worm was something that only someone who had watched Will train, who knew his greatest strengths and weaknesses, could have designed. Besides his teammates, the person who knew him best was probably that “indifferent” father.

“Of course, he was very careful. If I hadn’t caught you here, I probably wouldn’t have any evidence. So, Carver not only knew my ending, but he also wanted you to be the one to achieve it, right?”

Will stood firm, looking at Reibel.

“Your reasoning… no, I should say your ability to find clues through intuition, is quite bold. Although there’s no ‘direct’ evidence, to have figured this much out with your knowledge of ‘fate’ and your understanding of others is impressive.”

“Cut the crap. Don’t forget, you’re the one being controlled by the two of us now.” Shuna, who had been holding the gun steady, interrupted Reibel’s cryptic speech with an impatient raise of her eyebrows.

“Then… may I ask a question?”

“Ask.”

“I want to know how ‘he’ lost. Besides you, Will, being able to defeat the monster he assigned… Miss, where did you come from? The Adventurer’s Guild monitors everyone who enters a dungeon, and you weren’t on the list.”

Listening to him, Will sensed something “strange.” In fact, this strangeness had been present since Reibel first appeared. Reibel specifically emphasized how “he” lost, not how he himself lost.

“That’s a good question. Didn’t you notice? This isn’t the usual first floor of Dustbone Corridor.” Shuna’s smile grew wider.

“…What?”

“Have you heard of ‘interlayers’—a method often used by witches? Of course, who else besides witches has mastered this construction method is unknown.” Will answered for Shuna. Having been trapped in an interlayer himself, he knew more about it.

In Frostpeak Spire, Leah had once created a “two-choice” path, leading him to a dungeon floor that seemed non-existent from the outside. If he hadn’t been trapped in Leah’s interlayer, he would never have thought that his death would be so closely tied to this method.

“Shuna discovered it earlier. The original first floor—the one all adventurers face in Dustbone Corridor—was strange. No monsters at all. That was very abnormal.” Will gestured to the current first floor, a barren desert with windswept sand highlighting its emptiness.

“But if that public first floor is an ‘interlayer,’ and its exit connects to the second floor, while the real first floor is only triggered when I enter—say, by some kind of Hysterm family mark—then everything is explained.”

“You mean… this place is marked as ‘Floor 1’ by Dustbone Corridor, and this monster was placed here. And to prevent other normal adventurers from noticing, it created a fake interlayer. So, anyone other than you who enters the dungeon will first enter the interlayer, and after crossing it, the exit will be on the second floor?”

“Probably something like that—but the specific details, especially why only I would enter this real first floor, would probably take a whole lesson from a witch like Teacher Leah to explain clearly, right?” Will shrugged.

“So, a fake, empty first floor, an ‘interlayer,’ to fool others. And a real first floor with a monster to trap me.”

“Then… how did she reappear here?”

“And coincidentally, someone just so happens to have experience… on how to get back to the previous floor after exiting an interlayer.”

“Mmm… basically, the entrance is the exit—only interlayers are like that. After exiting from there, you can enter the dungeon’s internal space and find the real first floor.” Shuna explained simply.

“I discovered it when I was scouting this place before, so I gave it a try.” Then, she explained, winking confidently at Will, as if waiting for his praise.

“Exactly! Shuna, with her library-like brain for dungeon experience, could spot this problem right away!”

“…”

Reibel didn’t speak, but he looked at Will, as if, through these few exchanges, he truly realized that this young master before him was no ordinary person.

Will looked at him seriously. This was… information Leah had given him, and it was a crucial step in his victory. Every experience he had in this life was not useless.

“Alright, it’s just as that lady guessed… you are very smart—especially when it comes to dungeons.”

“That… lady?”

Before Will could ponder who Reibel was referring to, he continued.

“I assume you lured me in here to get more information, right?”

“Yes, and to get more out of you—with the threat of death if you don’t talk.” Shuna’s gun remained steady, its muzzle never wavering. But Will was actually wondering, having never seen Shuna fire a gun, how this weapon would kill someone when the trigger was pulled. She probably didn’t even know what a “bullet” was.

“If you, Will, want to confirm if Carver intended to kill you, then yes. Luring you into Dustbone Corridor was his idea. My presence here was also his command. And as you said, to send you to your true ‘ending,’ he did indeed order that—I have a slime in my ring, want to try it now?” Reibel’s raised hands seemed tired. He lowered them slightly, gently flexing his fingers.

“Then, do you know why?”

“How should I put it… I’m not the one who knows the most. His purpose and persistence are something I’m also curious about—but, you can ask other things about him. Mmm… I guess I’m more like his son than you are? If we’re talking about his trust in me…”

“Are you trying to rub salt in the wound?” Shuna took two steps forward. “Using the father-son relationship to mock him here?”

“It’s fine, Shuna. I never had any feelings for Carver from the start. In fact… I’m relieved to confirm he really has malicious intent.” Will was actually happy that Shuna was clearly standing up for him.

“Your father-son relationship is truly strange.”

“It’s fine. Anything else you want to ask? You can ask now. I’ll answer what I know about Carver.”

Reibel was strange. Will felt that his desire to communicate was even stronger than his intent to kill. His words seemed to be guiding Will to ask certain questions. Could it be… he wasn’t Carver’s “accomplice”? Perhaps, on some level, he could even be on Will’s side.

But, since he allowed him to ask, and they were in a dungeon space where it was hard to be monitored, he had to ask all his questions clearly. For instance… after this, Treya told him that the knowledge she gained wasn’t from outside this world, but from this world itself—

Since he was Carver’s confidant, he must know the answer to this question, and Will would definitely seize this opportunity.

“What I want to know, no, not just me, but a poor dungeon Empress friend of mine wants to know.”

“You have dungeon friends? That’s rare for an adventurer.”

“Yes. It’s just… Carver has been able to lead the Adventurer’s Guild to this point, is it because… he also has direct cooperation with the dungeon side? For example, controlling a certain dungeon, signing a contract with a certain dungeon?”

What Treya had told him. Two hundred years ago, to consolidate its power, the dungeon known as “Demon Castle Zero” had signed a contract with the first king of Entark to share its abilities. That was how “Demon Castle Zero” had survived in its strange way to this day. And Lucifa had also said that the development of dungeons relied on the challenges of adventurers. Since dungeon monsters and “outside” humans could communicate and cooperate, was it possible… someone had done it long ago?

“Especially here. In Dustbone Corridor… the dungeon could directly lure me into an interlayer and place a monster that clearly doesn’t belong here. The distribution of the Adventurer’s Guild and the intentional introduction of adventurers to certain dungeons… all of this suggests he has connections and control over certain dungeons…”

“Yes. Not just you, but any adventurer of a slightly higher level should be able to sense this.” Reibel nodded in agreement.

“He has a very deep cooperation with a certain dungeon, and has even been constantly getting more dungeons to join this ‘alliance’.”

“Those who don’t become ‘lapdogs’ either get cleared, or don’t get any adventurers, becoming isolated dungeons, right?”

“It seems you’ve seen such a dungeon.”

“Then… ‘a certain dungeon’ refers to…”

“You just fought a whole battle with a monster from there, and you still haven’t realized?”

Will’s eyes widened.

Yes… that Death-Eater Worm, and the humanoid moth that regenerated from corpses, they all pointed to…

“The Death Sanctum. Right?”

However, the one who gave the answer was Shuna.

“Shuna? How did you…”

“Oops, looks like I let it slip. I was trying to hide it. Actually, I got here early, so I was watching your whole fight with a telescope. Little Will, taking on a BOSS by yourself, so cool, you know?”

Shuna stuck out her tongue, a very satisfied smile on her face.

—