Chapter 91

"Drago, why are you here in Feas? I thought you were diligently working on the strategy in Zeronoa?"

At the café, while sipping my morning coffee, I asked Drago.

"I had some matters to attend to and came to Feas just before the event. The difficulty of this event shouldn't change whether it's Feas, Griffith, or Zeronoa. It would be a waste of time to move around, so I decided to settle here for this event."

"Hmm... I guess I would do the same if I were going back anyway. So, what brought you all the way to Bloom?"

"I wanted to have a talk with Ms. Rinne. What do you think about this event?"

"Well, I think there's a lack of information about the dungeon."

Honestly, I don't really care why Drago is in this town, but I could somewhat understand the intent behind her vague question. The difference between the information released beforehand and the current information about the dungeon we are tackling is clear. Frankly, the event organizers are deliberately withholding information.

The Monster House, which has been causing chaos in the threads since yesterday, is a sudden addition without any announcement. While I wasn't entirely unprepared for the Monster House when the dungeon event was announced, the fact that it didn't appear on the first day led everyone to assume it didn't exist, and they let their guard down.

The addition of the Monster House can indeed improve efficiency, but for regular players, it's quite a malicious move. After all, in this game, if you receive a penalty, you generally face a six-hour status restriction. During the event period, this is shortened to two hours, but even then, getting penalized means you can't enter the dungeon for two hours.

If the addition had been announced, everyone would have been more cautious. However, this time, there was no announcement, and a significant number of players, like us, got caught by the Monster House. In our case, Nana took care of everything on her own, but many players suffered from it. Incidentally, Nana's Monster House strategy video got over 100,000 views in a day. It seems players were using it more for information gathering than as a reference for strategy. After all, it was just a one-sided PS ghost.

"It seems we share the same understanding, which is reassuring. Personally, I think the dungeon's difficulty will increase at least two more times."

"One of them is the 'Tenth Knight,' right? What's the other one?"

"While clearing out the Monster Houses, I obtained a certain document that you and your group probably don't have."

He showed me a stone tablet. Given that it's a document, it must have some text on it. When I saw the content, I couldn't help but frown. It was one of the worst or at least the most troublesome elements I had anticipated.

"So, it's about adding traps, right?"

"Aye. In that sense, the addition of the Monster House might already be part of the content on this stone tablet. After all, it's a type of dungeon trap."

Thinking about it, the reason Drago used the term "at least two times" is probably because the number of times the dungeon structure will change is uncertain. Currently, the traps we encounter in the dungeon are basic booby traps, status effect traps, and the Monster House.

There are a few other elements that could be added. For example, in this dungeon, traps like pits or jump floors that span levels might actually benefit players. However, for players who struggle with reading maps or remembering routes, these could be effective traps. In a cave-type dungeon with few landmarks, being suddenly teleported to another level can make it difficult to determine your position. Other possibilities... as I was thinking, I noticed Drago smiling at me.

"What is it?"

"Hehe, I'm still impressed by how quickly you put together your predictions."

"Predictions are just predictions. Yesterday, my poor judgment put Nana in danger... I still have a lot to learn."

"Ms. Sukuna. I watched yesterday's video. The atmosphere around her is quite different when she's in battle compared to when she's in a peaceful setting like this."

Looking at Nana, who was chatting and eating a parfait with Bloom at a nearby table, Drago mused. Personally, I was quite surprised by how Nana's demeanor changes completely when she enters combat. From what I know, Nana isn't the type to get emotionally charged. More accurately, she's not the type to show her emotions.

Before starting this game, I had never seen her get so excited and laugh. Laughing itself was an extremely rare occurrence. The old Nana was so emotionless that no one could read her feelings.

"I'd like to fight her someday... but I don't think we're compatible. The only ones who can match her in this game are probably people like Ms. Arthur or Mr. Shuya, or in our clan, maybe Nemi. At the very least, you need to have a speed-type status to stand a chance."

"Rou put up a good fight, apparently."

"The Murder Princess? When did they fight?"

"Two days after she defeated Aria, I think. You know, the incident with the black dragon in the swamp. It happened during that event."

"Hmm... Ms. Sukuna is a topic that never runs out."

"Well, the black dragon attack ended the match, and with the level gap closing, I think even Rou would find it difficult to take down Nana now."

The Murder Princess continues to appear sporadically on the front lines and PK repeatedly. Recently, she has been leveling up more actively and PKing more frequently. She's a troublesome opponent. Not only does she have high stats, but her fighting style is meticulous and malicious. Especially for magic users, it's impossible to fight back, and tanks are often taken down by status effects. The fact that Nana, who was at least two levels higher, managed to handle her is already unusual. It's difficult to maintain composure when facing a PK player who attacks with pure malice.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No, there's one more thing. It's uncertain information, but I think you should know. I saw it on the strategy thread, but actually—"

After hearing the serious story, I couldn't help but put my hand to my forehead, feeling my concerns multiply.