Chapter 810: Hidden Story (2)

Arta Secret Base. And the mechanical monster Arta that appears as the final boss there.

‘It can’t be a coincidence.’

My gamer’s intuition, developed over almost 10 years of playing [Dungeon and Stone], is telling me. Those two sharing the same name can’t be just a coincidence.

‘Could using ‘Final Day’ on this island be the condition for meeting this guy?’

For now, I don’t know. So, from now on, I’ll have to find out.

“Raven, use barrier magic.”

“All of a sudden? You’ve been telling me not to use it because of mana consumption.”

“This time I think we need to have a conversation, even if we have to bear with the cost.”

“Understood.”

Following my instructions, Raven immediately spread a dome-shaped barrier around us. Like an umbrella, you could say?

Boooooom-! Flash-! Rumble-!

A translucent barrier that blocked the meteors and lightning falling from the sky. Okay, now we have a quiet environment to talk.

Swish

I shift my gaze back to the man who appeared through the mysterious portal and identified himself as ‘Arta.’ After briefly showing wariness towards us strangers, his eyes lit up as he saw the scene beyond the barrier.

“Indeed, this is the final day of the world… It’s exactly as I imagined……!”

Well, considering his appearance, the way he talks, and what he’s wearing…… He doesn’t look particularly threatening……

“Hey, you said you’re Arta?”

“……Yes? Ah, yes…! That’s correct. But who are you all? If you don’t mind, could you also tell me what situation we’re in—.”

“We’re the ones asking questions.”

“Ah……! Yes! You’re right, you must be curious as well. I’ll answer anything you ask. In return, may I make one request? Ah! It’s nothing major, so please don’t be too wary!”

“……Speak.”

“If I provide all the answers you want, could you also answer my questions? Actually, I’m quite curious about this situation too… Hahaha……”

What’s with this guy? Is he actually hiding his power? I was slightly taken aback by his bold attitude that contrasted with his weak appearance, but I nodded compliantly since gathering information comes first.

“Fine. I promise.”

“Well then, please ask. What would you like to know?”

“Who are you?”

“As I introduced myself earlier, my name is Arta. Currently… Or should I say in the past? Anyway… I’m the chief researcher at the First Magic Engineering Research Center of the Empire! Haha, not to brag… But only the deputy director and director are above me.”

“Research center……?”

For a moment, something crossed my mind at those words, making me frown, and he showed curiosity.

“Oh, are you familiar with our organization?”

Well, not exactly. Just something that came to mind.

“Is it a research center that used monsters as test subjects to create biological weapons?”

“Pardon? We’re not that kind of place. Our research center is, you could say, at the forefront of magic engineering development. While weapons are created using our research materials, we’re not an research center for creating weapons.”

Hmm, I see…… Come to think of it, the place I explored on basement floor one was officially called the Panthelion Research Center. Not something like Magic Engineering Center whatever.

“Anyway, what business does someone so impressive have here?”

“What else would a researcher from a research center be doing? Research, of course.”

“I don’t have time for wordplay.”

“Ah…… Of course, from your perspective, time must be limited. Considering you’re not experts, let me explain simply in a way you can understand…… The research we were conducting was observing space-time in the future.”

“Space-time observation……?”

“Yes, observing the future to change the present…… That’s the core of our research.”

“……Not the past?”

“Haha! You seem to be talking about time travel, but it was concluded a long time ago that changing the present through the past is impossible. That’s why we decided to focus on the future.”

What, is he saying their research succeeded and he flew to the future or something?

‘All sorts of things show up in this fantasy world……’

It’s absurd, but I at least understand the idea.

“So may I ask just one question in return? Honestly, I’ve been dying of curiosity.”

“……”

“What year is it here right now?”

So, we’re supposed to be people from the future.

***

RPG stands for Role-Playing Game. Literally, it means a game where you play a role. Broadly speaking, what we’re doing now isn’t much different. As you progress through the story following the concept, episodes eventually end, and there’s always a sweet reward at the end.

Therefore……

‘Now it’s time to get a clue to progress the story.’

Having made this judgment, I continued talking with him for quite a while to gather information. This isn’t a game where you can just hold down the spacebar to skip dialogue and have everything summarized in the quest window.

“The year of the New World……? How can this be……! You mean the name of the era itself has changed?”

“The world was already destroyed once by a witch, and now only one city-state ruled by the Rafdonian royal family remains…… Truly astonishing……!”

“Oh, you’re asking if I knew about the situation here? Haha. That’s somewhat true. The time coordinate I specified was the end of infinite time, literally the final day!”

“Huh? Why did I do such a thing, you ask? Isn’t it obvious! I was curious about the end of the world I lived in!”

“Ah? Haha! Am I not scared, you ask? I’m fine. I can return to my original time period anytime if my heart stops or I’m in danger. The best Magic engineers are waiting there, ready to revive anyone as long as they aren’t completely dead.”

“Pardon? You’re asking why there are magic engineers instead of priests? Don’t tell me, has magic engineering technology has been lost in this place?”

“But why did the world end up like this? According to what you said earlier, shouldn’t the witch who once tried to destroy the world already be dead?”

Through our conversation, Arta obtained information from us, and we, in turn, were able to hear Arta’s story. And in conclusion……

“To think that the end of the world truly exists. I must find out the cause of this end and ways to prevent it. Oh, people of the future! Will you help me? If you assist me, I will return to the past and try to find a way to prevent this tragedy!”

The quest details were roughly like this. Well, the most important thing here is the reward.

“…………What reward will I give, you ask? Don’t you want to prevent the end of the world? I have nothing I can offer you……”

Hmm, so does the reward come in a different form? Like a treasure room that can only be entered with him, or something like that.

“I was joking. What would rewards matter if we fail and the world ends? We’ll do anything if it helps prevent this end.”

“As I thought, I knew you were joking!”

And with that, the reward talk was wrapped up as a joke.

“From now on, let’s talk while moving.”

“Yes, that sounds good. I don’t have much permitted time left anyway.”

“Permitted time?”

“Ah, I haven’t mentioned that yet. The time I can stay here is limited. So I need to gather as much information as possible and return within that time.”

“If you can’t return within that limited time, what happens then?”

“That won’t happen, but… Well, in that case, I would face the final day here with you all.”

“I see.”

I brushed it off as if I were merely curious. After all, I can’t say it to him directly, right? That I’m considering forcibly preventing him from returning if no special situation or reward appears while traveling with him.

‘Maybe the real quest only begins if he can’t return.’

Since this was a hidden piece I’d never experienced in the game before, I figure I should try everything possible.

“Raven! Release the magic now!”

After that, once Raven’s barrier magic was lifted, we began properly circling the island again. And, at the same time.

“……Excuse me, it’s Mr. Arta, right?”

Raven, who couldn’t participate in the conversation while focusing on maintaining her magic, now actively engaged Arta in conversation…….

“Mr. Arta?”

“……”

“Do you… Not like talking to me?”

“Ah, it’s not that… I’m just a bit shy……”

“But you were talking just fine with Mr. Yandel?”

“……”

I was paying close attention in case anything useful came up, but so far all I’ve learned is that Arta is shy around women.

And……

“I’m also interested in magic engineering, could you tell me about it?”

“Oh! Someone as beautiful as you is interested in magic engineering?! Is that true!”

“……Huh? Ah, yes, that’s right……”

“Haha! Ask me anything. I’ll answer……!”

It seems Arta has a weakness for women interested in magic engineering.

‘…Okay, then if there’s anything we need to get out of him, I’ll just have Raven do it.’

I listened to their conversation a bit more, but since it was just magic engineering talk that sounded like alien language, so I skipped it. However, since it’s good for Raven to increase her knowledge, I didn’t stop them and just focused on clearing the island.

And……

[Over 50% of the monsters in the area have been defeated. The Ancient Beast’s Authority weakens.]

[Over 60% of the monsters in the area have been defeated. The Ancient Beast’s Authority weakens.]

[Over 70% of the monsters in the area have been defeated……]

When about 70% of the island had been cleared.

“Ahem… I-I’m sorry, but… This isn’t the time for this, I should focus on gathering more information about this era.”

“Ah……”

“D-Don’t worry! I’ll find a way to save Ms. Raven somehow……!!”

Arta seemed to finally come to his senses, ending the magic engineering discussion and returning to his main task.

“Um… Mr. Yandel, right? You said the Beast is the cause of the end, so why aren’t we going there?”

Huh, only now he asks about that. Just how weak is he to women who share his interests? I was practically speechless from how ridiculous it was, but I answered him anyway.

“We need to defeat the island’s monsters to weaken the Beast.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Did you find anything while looking around?”

“Well… I’m not sure yet.”

Yeah, figures. He was too busy excitedly chatting with Raven.

“Ah! But there is one thing I discovered!”

“What is it?”

“At the center of the island where that beast that brought about the End is said to be! I’m detecting some kind of unknown powerful magic wavelength from there.”

A magic wavelength…… Could it be some hidden space I never discovered in the game? Or is it simply the location of the boss? Well, whichever it is, I’ll find out soon enough.

[Over 90% of the monsters in the area have been defeated. The Ancient Beast’s Authority has been removed.]

Since I’m planning to head into the boss battle now.