It was only a dream.
At this moment, Takumi understood what had happened.
He had not left the Blood Vessel.
After discovering the fork, because he was unable to retreat immediately, he was seized on the spot by the core Obsession Item within the Blood Vessel and dragged into the branching path.
From that moment on, he had already been trapped in a dead end from which escape was impossible.
The reason he had been able to continue acting after that—climbing out of the Blood Vessel, passing through the Great Cliff and the Big Slide together with Fujiwara Chika, and even reaching the final step of escaping the Red Nut Grey Cave, successfully sending them out of the instance—was because he had been dreaming.
A dream.
Takumi understood this core Obsession Item, this bizarre manifestation of ability that hid within the Blood Vessel.
It would drag into itself any player who entered the Blood Vessel and violated the rules, but… it would not kill the player. After pulling the player into an immobile rock-cavern area, not only would it not kill the player there, it would even grant the player a dream. Within this dream, the player would properly walk out of the Blood Vessel and continue with subsequent actions. As long as the player remained within the bounds of the Red Nut Grey Cave and was not killed by other anomalies, this dream would not end. The player within the dream would be just like a normal player: the Obsession Items and all kinds of items the player possessed could be used and consumed normally. Of course, what was consumed was also the player's own possessions; nothing new would be created out of nothing.
However, if these dreaming players truly reached the exit—reached the place where they could escape the Red Nut Grey Cave—then the dream would end. The player would return to this cramped cavern, returning once more to the place where they were trapped to death and unable to move.
Just like now. Just like what Takumi was experiencing at this very moment.
"Uh…"
Breathing became difficult.
His chest was being compressed simultaneously from the front, from the back, and from both sides.
Intense pain pressed down on his breathing. Takumi could feel that at least four of his ribs had broken. This place was far too narrow—so narrow that it directly crushed his bones. The broken bones further compressed his lung cavity, turning every single breath into torment.
Both hands were almost impossible to move. His upper arms were jammed by the excessively low rock walls; only the area from the forearms upward was slightly wider and able to move normally.
His head could barely be lifted a little, but it too was essentially completely stuck. There was even a stone pressing against his throat, further obstructing his breathing.
"Urgh…"
His chest and abdomen were tightly wedged, leaving him unable to move even for a single second.
Both legs were likewise immobile, also jammed by stone.
These rock walls were like a coffin custom-made for Takumi, trapping him firmly in this place and preventing him from moving even the slightest bit.
In the boundless darkness, he could only hear his own labored breathing.
And that faint sound of something lightly dripping down.
Drip—
Another drop of rancid, bloody liquid fell onto his head.
Takumi struggled to raise his head and look upward.
In the darkness, he could not see anything.
But he knew that something existed above him.
In this place where he was wedged head-up in the rock cavern, above him, something was there—remaining silent, always right in front of him.
He extended the only arm that could barely move, stretching his hand forward to feel.
He touched dry skin, and sticky liquid.
He touched a nose… a mouth… eyes… hair…
It was a person.
A person who, like himself, was wedged in the cavern, head down.
No… that was not right…
At this moment, the power of blessing gave Takumi its response.
That was not a person.
That was an anomaly.
And it was the core Obsession Item—the second core Obsession Item existing within the Red Nut Grey Cave, following that bloodstained white dress.
This thing was right in front of him now, no more than half a meter away.
Hey, hey—what kind of situation was this supposed to be?
Takumi was stunned for quite a while. In that short span of time, he even completed a mental adjustment, already prepared to be killed on the spot and experience yet another bizarre way of dying.
But nothing happened.
He waited for quite a long time, and still nothing happened.
The instance's core Obsession Item—the most terrifying anomaly within the Red Nut Grey Cave—was now completely motionless, just like a real corpse. No matter how Takumi poked its face, it did not react at all, utterly lacking the ferocious terror a core Obsession Item should have.
So what exactly was going on?
Takumi could not quite understand what was happening with this thing.
No matter what, Maki and the others had now been successfully sent out.
Now, only he remained here alone.
Takumi had to think of a way to get out of this predicament.
Takumi took a deep breath and tried to move a little, only to find that no matter what he did, he could not move even the slightest bit—he was completely stuck here.
Could it be that this anomaly's way of killing was to wedge a person here until they starved to death or died of thirst?
That thought made Takumi shudder with fear.
No, he had to do something.
"Huff…"
Amid his labored breathing, Takumi took a scalpel out of his watch.
A scalpel that could supposedly cut through anything with ease—one that, in theory, should be able to cut open these rock walls.
Clang!
After the crisp sound, Takumi discovered that the blade had bounced off the rock wall.
He could not cut it. Why could he not cut it?
Could it be that the rock cavern in front of him was formed by this anomaly's power?
Takumi faintly began to sense something was wrong.
He then tried to use the scalpel to cut his own clothes, creating a flaw in his identity as an Explorer, making it impossible to perform perfectly, to see whether that would bring a different effect. However, after a bout of struggling, although one side of his sleeve really was cut open, he was still stuck in place and unable to move. Nothing happened in the process, either.
Takumi began to realize that the situation in front of him might be even more terrifying than he had anticipated.
He put the scalpel away, took out the Blood Scissors, and tried once again to damage the rock wall—failed.
He tried using the scalpel and the scissors to damage the anomalous corpse wedged above him—also failed. When the blade cut into the other party's body, it was like chopping into slime: he could only feel a soft, yielding texture, and the blade would be bounced back.
After a brief hesitation, Takumi took out the Faceless Head-Eater, deciding to let this thing kill him to end this cycle. But he could not take it out. The area pinning him was far too narrow; that head could not be retrieved at all. This was also the first time Takumi discovered that when the current environment could not accommodate the item he wanted to take out, this damned watch would actually reject his intent and prevent him from retrieving the item.
Did this damned thing actually have terrain detection?
His final attempt was the Rescue Team Badge. Right now, Takumi had no way to wear it on his chest, so he tried attaching it to his sleeve, but it did not trigger any effect. So Takumi simply steeled himself, pushed the pin through his own flesh, and fastened it on his wrist. This time, it successfully summoned the Rescue Team clothing, but even with his physical qualities greatly strengthened, Takumi still could not move. He had no way to break free from the current environment. Not only that, he found he also had no way to summon Rescue Team members. As for the reason, it seemed that one of them had been eliminated earlier, and it would take some time before it regenerated and could be summoned again.
Unfortunately, the previous Rescue Team member had been intercepted before even reaching the Gentle Slope, and Takumi himself had arrived at this place because of Dream Awakening, leaving him with no way to attempt it again.
Drip—
Takumi blinked and barely shifted his head, but the drop of liquid still fell onto his head. He immediately felt another wet patch spread across his forehead.
It seemed to be blood—blood flowing from the thing wedged above his head.
He had to do something.
He could not stay stuck here like this.
Takumi struggled once again, but no matter how he exerted himself, he could not move even a fraction of an inch.
"Huff… urgh…"
His head spun again, stars dancing before his eyes.
Takumi knew he had fallen into hypoxia once more, but he could no longer afford to care. The current situation made him realize a certain extremely terrifying possibility. For that reason, even if it meant death, he had to break free from his present state.
But it was useless.
Struggling with all his strength brought no change at all.
After reaching the limit of oxygen deprivation, Takumi passed out directly. Then, after an unknown number of hours had passed, he woke up again, remaining groggy for quite a while before realizing that he was still stuck in place, unable to move.
A sensation of hunger rose from his stomach.
Takumi did not know how long it had been since he last ate, but clearly, after the violent struggle earlier, a great deal of his physical strength had already been drained, and hunger had begun to set in.
Yet in this state, Takumi had no way to eat. He could not even take out any food.
His throat was very dry.
After prolonged exhaustion, thirst had begun to appear as well.
But Takumi likewise had no way to replenish water.
At this moment, all he could do was endure the hunger and thirst, continuing to think about how to escape from here.
The conclusion was that there was no way.
He was completely wedged here. Relying on his own strength alone, escape was utterly impossible.
The Obsession Items in his possession were likewise unable to help Takumi resolve the current predicament. Even the only item that might have had an effect—the Rescue Team Badge—had produced no results.
Perhaps… he could only try suicide.
Realizing this left Takumi feeling deeply helpless.
In this state, if he wanted to kill himself—biting his tongue? But in fact, biting one's tongue would not cause death. Those who died from biting their tongues usually suffocated because blood flooded the airway. That process was extremely painful, and unless absolutely unavoidable, Takumi still did not want to use such a method to torment himself.
Shouting "I am human" directly would lead to the same result. That kind of excessively painful way of dying was something Takumi truly did not want to endure. His willpower was strong, but he was not a masochist, nor was he mentally deranged. He genuinely did not want to experience something like that again.
However, perhaps he could rely on the Rescue Team Badge. Although its pollution had been reduced, wearing it for too long would still transform him. If he kept wearing it continuously, perhaps he could die by transforming into an anomaly, thereby escaping from here.
Since the badge fastened to his arm had not been removed, Takumi simply let this thing continue piercing through his flesh. It still hurt—very much so—but with the blessing's enhancement, it was not unbearable. If it continued, he should still be able to use this method to end his own life.
Thinking this, a faint bitter smile could not help but appear at the corner of Takumi's mouth.
He had clearly just said he needed to conserve rollback attempts and tackle as many low-difficulty instances as possible, yet now he had encountered a situation where death was unavoidable.
Still, at least after this attempt ended, he would know what to do. In the end, this thing stayed within the branching area of the Blood Vessel. As long as he did not enter the Blood Vessel, but instead exited the instance through other clothing and another identity, he could avoid this thing altogether. The only remaining problem was how to endure this period of time.
Drip—
While Takumi was thinking with his head lowered, another drop of liquid fell onto his head.
Takumi was not very clear about what kind of death the corpse wedged above his head had suffered, nor did he really understand why this thing kept dripping blood onto him. Since there was no way to avoid it anyway, Takumi simply closed his eyes, trying his best to hypnotize himself into falling asleep, attempting to get through this period in that way.
Close his eyes. Open his eyes.
His consciousness went from hazy to clear once more.
He had not been dreaming.
After the Dream had awakened, Takumi had not dreamed again.
He did not know how much time had passed by now.
But one thing was certain: he had not been transformed into an anomaly, nor was there even the slightest sign of such a transformation.
What was going on?
Takumi widened his eyes.
The power of the Rescue Team Badge had been suppressed.
After sleeping for a short while, the Obsession Item he had been wearing all along had actually had its effect suppressed; even the Rescue Team uniform that had originally manifested on Takumi's body had vanished directly.
Was it because this was an area under the influence of a core Obsession Item, so the power of Obsession Items was being suppressed?!
"I… am human…"
After a brief hesitation, Takumi slowly spoke these words.
His voice sounded somewhat hoarse—perhaps because his thirst had grown even more severe.
The white-dressed figure did not appear.
The white-dressed figure that should have come out immediately after this sentence to kill him now showed no reaction at all. Even though Takumi could still sense the other party's gaze, that thing seemed as if its rules had malfunctioned and simply did not take any action, showing absolutely no intention of coming over to kill him.
Something was wrong.
This situation was not right.
The ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
Takumi took a deep breath, then steeled himself and almost completely bit through his own tongue.
Fresh blood spread throughout his mouth.
Enduring this intense pain, Takumi immediately began to breathe, forcibly letting the surging blood pour directly into his throat.
It was very painful.
He could not breathe.
The pain was almost unbearable.
But he still did not die.
"Cough… uh… uh…"
Even though he had already been unable to breathe for more than ten minutes.
Even though blood had almost filled his lungs.
Takumi still did not die.
He understood another kind of power possessed by the eerie entity that had trapped him to death, or rather, he understood the way this eerie entity tortured people.
Its power did not lie in how it killed people, nor in how it tortured them.
Its power was used to protect people.
To protect those trapped to death within this narrow rock crevice.
To make these trapped people—
Never able to die.
Drip—
Another drop of foul-smelling liquid fell onto Takumi's forehead, landing on his head that was already suffering unbearably from more than ten minutes of suffocation.
And that corpse simply continued to remain silent.
Just as before, no different from the long stretches of time in the past, it continued to remain silent.
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