Hans Chrisen. The name looked familiar.
«Uhh! Bjorn! That person is...!»
Even without Missha telling me, I remembered it. All kinds of summoned creatures surrounded him.
«He's a summoner!» raven said.
Summon formation consisted of one attack type and three support types, with a mid-range of 7. Once each of them was confirmed, I sighed.
No wonder it looked so familiar.
With this, the possibility that he was a similar-looking person was zero. This was Hans G, the guy I judged a player based on his knowledge of Riakis' pattern and the appearance conditions of a Death Knight.
Damn sea.
What happened the last time I met him? A troll came out on the fourth floor and almost killed everyone. Player or monster, every Hans in this world was a plague.
Step.
My heart froze.
I have to kill him.
Only that thought dominated my mind.
«Mr. Yandel? Why is he so quiet...?»
I launched myself harder than ever. The pause just before was just to gain momentum.
¡Bum!
Leaving clear footprints on the hard surface of the ground, I shortened the distance between me and the bastard in an instant. Hans G didn't stare either.
«Kyaaaaaa!» A lizard screamed and spat fire. To be precise, it was a beast summoned from the fire attributed with the name Naimpi.
¡Whoosh!
As a rank 7 summon, its flames were not very threatening, but when followed by the boosters of support-type summons, the firepower increased explosively.
¡Chhhhh!
The heat sizzled on my skin. But so what? «Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!» My upper body was covered with a shield and the rest was compensated with flame resistance. As I ran through the fire I burned some skin, but everything came with priorities.
The mace, which contained the ogre's power, let out a beautiful sound. Simultaneously, Hans G's head exploded and he collapsed. It had to be an instant death because it turned into light before his body even touched the ground.
«W-what are you doing!» raven shouted, as my actions were different from my promise.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand his anger, but it wouldn't be too late to explain this later. «Don't come near!» I shouted with authority and quickly approached my companions. Then I breathed hard. «Hup!»
Done. I may have encountered a Hans, but he wasn't breathing polluted air. So it would be nice. No, it should be fine...
«It can't be, is it poison?»
No, but... How should I describe this?
«Yeah. Let's leave this path.»
«Excuse me? Wait, is it really poison? There was nothing to suggest...»
«Enough. Let's go.»
With a somewhat arrogant attitude, I led the team where we had come from. Wasn't Raven familiar with this side of me? He started following me without asking, but he had a serious expression.
«This is as far as we have come». After walking for about five minutes, I stopped. Just as I was about to turn around and explain what had happened, I tripped over a jagged stone and tripped. «Uhh!» I managed to find my balance and didn't fall, but even that didn't seem like a coincidence to me. Could it be that the Hans effect had begun? But he was just a double, not the real Hans. Maybe the misfortune would end here...
«Yandel! There's more ahead!»
Hearing Mr. Bear's scream, I quickly looked around again. Two doubles were approaching. I was certain of this as soon as I laid eyes on them for one simple reason: The two people who emerged from the darkness had the same identical face.
Damn sea.
I squeezed my eyes and opened them again, but the scene before me had not changed. Was this hell?
«Soy...C-Chri...sen».
«H-Hans…Chri…sen…»
Hans was being copied.
It was the same as the first time. Whether the flames were getting louder or not, I immediately lunged and crushed his head. Our coordination was an advantage.
«Let everyone hold their breath. Let's pass!»
"¿Hey? ¿What? ⁇
«No time to explain!»
Since there was no turning back, I held my breath and sprinted down the passage. When it occurred to me that it was enough, I turned around and checked on my companions.
«Bjorn, your eyes are scary!», Ainar shouted.
«What the hell is going on? No matter how you think about it, I don't think it was poison. Was it someone you know?» raven asked. My companions could not hide their confusion at my strange behavior.
«Yeah. I knew him». I calmed down and explained everything to them: that the name of the doppelganger we had just met was Hans, and all the bad things that happened to me every time I met a Hans.
«This is a big problem! But what do I do? I breathed». Knowing the Hans Education that I gave to the barbarians, Ainar listened to my hidden story and bit his nails out of nervousness.
«...It seems that it is not just a coincidence». Like an explorer who believed in superstitions, Mr. Bear also put on a doubtful expression.
«Excuse me? What do you mean by that?» Remaining motionless with a look that seemed to say: «What nonsense are you talking about?». Raven burst into laughter. «Pft, Puhahaha!»
Was she a psychopath? How could he laugh in this environment?
«I guess you really are a barbarian after all, Mr. Yandel».
«That is a racist statement».
«Oh, I'm sorry if it sounded like that. But... p-pft! If you're really worried, do you want the protection of a magician?»
Protection of a magician? That didn't exist in the game.
When I tilted my head, Raven explained calmly, as if speaking to a child. «When a magician visits a poor neighborhood, the children come running to ask us for luck. That is the protection of a magician».
...So they are just empty words?
«I don't need it.»
«Because? At least it will help you calm down». Raven laughed and said she wasn't kidding. He began to explain a study that showed that firmly believing in something could affect the physical body.
It seems to refer to the placebo effect... What do you think I am?
«Hazlo.»
«Okay. Sure? How was this done again? Can you bend down for a moment?» When I collapsed to the ground, Raven tapped me on the shoulders as if I were knighthooding with a rather reverent expression on my face. He added some unusually affectionate words. «Everything will be fine. You have inherited my luck».
I didn't know what luck was, but I felt like I was right. When I thought about it, this was nothing more than jinx. Was there a Hans when I met the dragon slayer?
«Ugh, really! Control yourself! You are the leader of the team!»
In Raven's words, I need to wake up. Even if the Hans effect really existed, as long as we were inside the rift, knowing Hans' true self was a fait accompli. All he could do was be more careful than usual.
«Me too! Do it to me too».
«Can you... do it later?»
«Ahem, me too».
When my face eased again, my companions gathered in front of Raven like little birds.
«Ha...Good. Everyone stand in line». Even as he sighed, Raven granted protection to each one, even adding words of blessing. Was it always like this? I felt like I was witnessing an unexpected side of her. «Now, tell me. I'm sure you didn't kill him without thinking about the consequences. You already know that, right? About that Hans or whatever».
«To some extent». After the blessing, I took my time to share the information I knew, what essence Hans Chrisen had, and who his companions were.
«So a fairy archer, a human warrior and a wizard?».
«The last thing I saw».
«Only four people?»
«Since they are in the crack, it is very likely that there are now five people. He probably added a guide to the remaining seat». The fourth floor crack opened somewhere above stage 25. Without a guide, finding the crack before it reached its maximum capacity was virtually impossible.
«That seems likely».
When I told them what I also knew about his teammates, Raven nodded in relief. I thought I knew what I was thinking. Unless there had been a major change, Hans G's team was clearly inferior to ours.
«We won't have to worry about any weird cast-related issues with them».
«Strange matters are our business».
«If the situation allows it. We still don't know anything about the last team».
Once the exchange of information was over there, we resumed exploration. Luckily we seemed out of reach, because after that we only ran into our own doppelgangers.
A shame. I was hoping to know something about the last team beforehand.
It seemed that our paths had not crossed because the unidentified equipment showed no signs of appearing. But it was useless to be disappointed.
«Oh! Another mana stone box!»
We wandered around the cave all day and from time to time opened the boxes that appeared. It was the main reward of the first chapter, the Shadow Cave. Since doppelgangers didn't spit out mana stones, this was our way of finding a balance.
Still, it's a little strange.
I thought it was just the game system, but when I experienced it in person, I had a feeling of incongruity. It almost seemed like a real game.
«The hypothesis that has been circulating lately in the academic world is that they did not discover the labyrinth, but rather created it».
Maybe Raven's words then were true. If someone created the maze, this structure made sense.
What is this world in the first place?
Was it a game, or another reality? The questions I had asked myself since the first day I woke up in this world lingered in my head, but, as always, I pushed them back and buried them in a corner again. No answer would come from the clues I had right now. Draining energy into something useless was unreasonable.
«Now everything is open boxes. There are almost no doppelgangers, either. What are you going to do?»
«Aren't you supposed to make the decision here?». I shrugged and ceded authority to Raven.
Whatever she said was what I was going to say, anyway. «I think we should rest here and head downtown tomorrow».
There you have it.
«Your reason?»
«Because there is a high probability that the other teams have already gathered in the center. There is no need to camp together, right?» It was a magician's judgment, oriented towards security. I especially liked the underlying distrust of others in that trial. «What, is there anything you want to say about my decision?»
«Nothing at all.»
«Hmm, your eyes look weird, though...»
«I was thinking how happy I am to have a magician like you on the team». This was sincere. She would never know how much easier things had been since she joined the team.
«...Flattery will get you nowhere.»
Yes, yes, your shoulders are already in your ears, though.
After that, we set up a rough camp and took turns watching as the eighth day came to an end.
This is how the ninth day began. Waking up a little earlier than usual, we headed to the center of the cave. We didn't get lost along the way. We had only stayed here for the boxes, but the way to get there was really simple. You just had to follow the passage with weeds.
Walk walk.
The closer we got to the center, the more weeds and moss appeared on the wall. Soon, a wide cavity was in front of us.
«The stragglers have finally arrived!» Ten explorers had already gathered there.
«Oh! You're here, Mr. Yandel!» Of course, Hans G was there too. Did you spend the night here? When we arrived, the scouts were clearing the hectic surroundings. I quickly did an exploration.
Hans G's team is as I expected.
No member had changed and all four were the same ones I saw last time. The unknown woman must have been the newcomer.
The other team is...
I was not sure. They were a dwarf, a beastman and three humans. Their team seemed similar to ours. The only peculiarity was his sharp eyes. Considering the circumstances of the crack, it was not particularly peculiar either.
«Who is the leader there?» The dwarf approached us. He was the one who caught our attention for being late as soon as we arrived.
«O-oh, Mr. Yandel is probably the leader. I-He's the one I told you about».
«Little Balkan?»
«Y-yes.» It seemed like they had already greeted each other. Hans G said something to the dwarf and then seemed friendly to me. «Nice to see you again. And to think I'd see you here. You don't know how surprised I was to see your double».
«Enough.»
«...Sorry?»
«Don't come near». I lowered my voice and stopped Hans from approaching. The way I saw it, this distance was right for us. There were no masks in this world, right? I turned away from Hans G and headed towards the dwarf. «Identification label?»
For some reason, it was Hans G who responded. «Oh haha! I've already checked their labels, so you don't have to...».
Yeah? The way you're acting only makes me more anxious.
«Identification label». I ignored Hans' words and repeated.
The dwarf smiled satisfied and asked back: «You take yours out first».
Did he want to start a war of nerves or something? I didn't want to avoid it either, but identification came first, so I showed it to him. «Now it's your turn».
At my request, the dwarf showed us his. «Now, are we done?»
«...We're done.» I nodded.
At that moment, Raven's voice rang in my head using streaming magic to secretly transmit messages. «Mr. Yandel. These people are not from the city».
Yes, you have realized it too. These bastards are from underground.