Chapter 898 – 898. God’S Atlantis
「Golden Key
The Golden Key can unlock any lock.
Remaining uses: 2
Rank: SS」
I took out the item I had obtained from killing the Sphinx in the pyramid in the past. A golden key, true to its name.
“That’s quite an impressive item. Every time I see you, I realize you have so many amazing things.”
“I just happened to get my hands on them.”
I used the Golden Key. Anything that was locked would have no choice but to open before this Golden Key. It didn’t matter if it was protected by a barrier. Of course, it wouldn’t change even if it was a system.
The golden aura from the Golden Key seeped into the entrance door of the Hell’s Shelter.
「You have used the Golden Key to open the entrance to the Hell’s Shelter.」
「The Golden Key has 1 remaining use.」
Creak.
The door opened.
The inside was dark.
Elena looked inside with suspicious eyes.
“Is it really safe here? Something feels strange.”
“It’s fine. It’s the Devil’s Shelter. Just go in.”
I confidently stepped inside. In the original story, the 9,371st district, the Drought Hell, didn’t appear, but there was information about the Hell’s Shelter, so I knew about it.
「Entering the 9,200th district, Hell’s Shelter.」
「This is a hidden area.」
「The effects of the Drought Hell disappear.」
「The Hell’s Shelter is a paid area. 1 AP is charged every 10 minutes.」
I shivered as I entered the Hell’s Shelter. All the penalties disappeared. The curse that lowered my stats every 24 hours was lifted.
Most welcome of all was the disappearance of the heat. And of course, the restriction of only being able to drink 100ml of water per hour also vanished.
I summoned a glass of water with ice floating in it and gulped it down. The cold water spread throughout my body, and my mood improved rapidly.
“Oh. It was a hidden area. This can’t be the end. There must be something hidden.”
“Let’s go inside first.”
Knowing about this place, I moved forward without hesitation, and Elena followed behind me cautiously.
After a few minutes, we reached the end of the shelter and found a door.
When I grabbed the round doorknob, a system notification window appeared before my eyes.
「Do you want to enter the main building of the Hell’s Shelter?」
「The entrance fee is 200 AP.」
“200 AP is nothing. Elena, how much AP do you have right now?”
“About 200,000 AP. I used some recently, so it’s a bit less.”
“A bit less, my ass.”
It’s hard for an average continental person to even get 10,000 AP. I get frequent sponsorships because I have two high-ranking contract seats, but that’s not the case for others.
‘With 200,000 AP, I don’t have to worry about it.’
Elena stared at me and asked.
“Do you need AP? I can give you all of it.”
“I have more AP than you right now. Keep your AP.”
I grabbed the doorknob and pushed. The door opened, and she and I went inside.
The first floor of the Hell’s Shelter was a city.
A city with a musty smell.
The sky was gray and gloomy, and the brick houses were pitch black. Light seeped out of the windows of the buildings, but it was swallowed by the thin fog in the city, creating a heavy and gloomy atmosphere.
We were in an alleyway. When we closed the door we had entered through, the door became blurry and disappeared.
“A city? Is this really the Hell’s Shelter?”
“I guess so.”
The Hell’s Shelter is connected to the hells of the hellish districts, including the 9,371st district we entered. In short, there is only one Hell’s Shelter, but there are hundreds of entrances. Of course, it’s impossible to move to other hellish districts through the Hell’s Shelter.
This isn’t a passageway, but a shelter. A place to rest.
Elena and I walked out of the alleyway. At that moment, something popped out of what I thought was a trash can and blocked our path.
It was a skinny orc who looked like he hadn’t eaten for at least several dozen days. As soon as the orc saw us, he knelt down and bowed his head.
“P-please! Share some of your AP! 100 AP!! Just 100 AP! Please! Please! Think of it as saving a poor orc…! I beg you!”
There are all kinds of races in this world. Humans are the most common and numerous, but there are also orcs who are not monsters, like the orc in front of me.
“I’ll give you 500 AP if you answer my questions.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Here’s 100 AP as a down payment.”
「You have given 100 AP to Chibamk. You have paid a 3 AP fee to the system.」
It was possible to give AP (Atlantis Points) to someone. However, the system takes a 3% fee.
“Anything. Ask me anything!”
Elena and I asked several questions. In my case, I asked a few questions to confirm if the information I knew was correct and if I had missed anything.
Chibamk.
This orc was a vagrant.
Vagrants are those who live aimlessly in the safe Hell’s Shelter. They don’t want to go outside because it’s hell out there. The problem is that the Hell’s Shelter isn’t free, but paid. It takes 1 AP every 10 minutes.
So what happens if you don’t have AP? You become like the orc in front of me. It takes away your life force instead of AP. If you don’t have that life force, you die.
“I don’t understand why you’re trying so hard to stay here. Go live outside. You can get AP by killing monsters, right?”
Elena looked at Chibamk with a pathetic expression.
“I, I don’t have the strength to kill monsters! And the hell I was in was a terrible place! The prison guards are everywhere, and they make us work 23 hours a day! If we don’t work, they whip us!”
“That’s a bit interesting. What kind of work did you do?”
“We build buildings with rocks. When we finish building them, we dismantle them and build them far away. And when we finish that building, we dismantle it again…. Ughhh. There’s no end to it. It’s real hell…!”
Each hell has slightly different characteristics. But they are all painful enough to be called hell.
“…Are you done with your questions? Then, the remaining 400 AP… *cough*!”
Chibamk rubbed his hands and approached me with expectant eyes. I summoned Stormbreaker and pierced Chibamk’s chest.
Chibamk, with his eyes wide open, coughed up blood.
“W-what’s going on…!”
“You’re sloppy. If you want to deceive us, you should have gotten rid of the smell of blood on your body first.”
“Y-you quick-witted bastard…!”
Chibamk collapsed and died.
Clang. A dagger that came out of his wrist rolled on the floor.
The easiest way to get AP. The first is hunting monsters, and the second is hunting humans.
「You have acquired 78 AP.」
Perhaps because my luck was high, I got 78 AP out of the 100 AP he had.
“Hell’s Shelter…. It doesn’t seem like a place to stay for long.”
“It’s the Hell’s Shelter, what do you expect? Let’s go. We need to get information about the 9,371st district, the Drought Hell.”
We headed to the largest building in the center of the city.
•••
The building in the center of the city.
The Hell’s Shop.
It was a shop that sold everything.
Clink.
I opened the door and entered the building. Inside, all sorts of items were displayed. Weapons, potions, furniture, food. Even human corpses were on display.
“Welcome. This is the Hell’s Shop, where we have everything except what we don’t have.”
There was a giggling devil at the counter. He was a middle-aged man with black hair wearing a suit. His face was broad, and he had two horns on his head. A long devil’s tail could be seen behind his back.
「A gentlemanly devil (僞) welcomes you.」
The devil in front of me was a false god.
I knew his true name.
“Mammon.”
“Oh, you recognized my true name right away! You’re no ordinary person!”
“Enough. I came because I want something.”
“Shall I guess? You want information about a certain hellish district, don’t you?”
“Do you have many customers like me?”
“Yes, I do. There are also many customers who suddenly turn into robbers.”
I don’t not understand the actions of those robbers. If you kill the false god in front of you, there is a high chance that you can gain control of the district.
But the opponent is a devil. Not just any devil, but a devil of greed. It’s best to avoid facing him head-on.
“I’ll sell you control of this district for 30 million AP. Isn’t that very cheap?”
“I don’t have that cheap money.”
“Oh, dear. That’s unfortunate.”
“The 9,371st district, the Drought Hell.”
“Oh! You’re the first customers to come from that district. Wow, being dropped into the Drought Hell means you angered the World Leap…. It’s amazing that you survived and came to the shelter.”
“Do you know about it?”
“The World Leap is famous. He drops those he doesn’t like into the Drought Hell. When you fell, didn’t a lot of monsters gather? They didn’t gather for no reason.”
“He was a pain in the ass. I’ve been wandering in the red desert for over ten days. Is there no way to get out?”
“60,000 AP. For just 60,000 AP, I’ll provide you with satisfactory information.”
“……I’ll pay.”
I paid him 60,000 AP. This was a transaction, so no fee was charged.
“The Drought Hell is a hell of wandering. It’s a hell where you wander until your body withers and dies. In the Drought Hell, no matter how much you move, it’s meaningless.”
“…It was meaningful. Thanks to it, I found the Hell’s Shelter.”
“Hehe. You’ve got me there. There’s only one way to escape that hell. You have to conquer the Drought Hell district. Then you can naturally escape.”
“You’re not going to not tell me how to conquer it, are you? I paid 60,000 AP.”
“What you think is just what you think. The way to conquer the Drought Hell is to create a forest in the desert. That’s it. Easy, right?”
“What the hell. Are you kidding me?”
“It can’t be helped even if you’re angry at me. Oh, we also sell saplings. …They won’t last more than an hour in the Drought Hell, though.”
“Haa. I’m going crazy.”
“Here’s a tip. The land in the Drought Hell is surprisingly fertile. The problem is that there’s no water. If there’s enough water, plants will grow easily. Of course, considering the environment of the Drought Hell, you’ll need a lot of water.”
“A lot of water….”
I scratched my head. I had a rough idea of how to do it.
“Would you like to buy a sapling? There are trees that grow well in the desert.”
“Give me one.”
“That’ll be 20,000 AP.”
“And… I want to buy lifespan?”
“Is it because of the young lady next to you? Hmm. I’m sorry, but our shop doesn’t sell lifespan.”
Mammon’s eyes sparkled. Even if he doesn’t sell lifespan directly, he seems to sell items related to lifespan. I thought about it but gave up. There was still time. I needed to create a desperate situation to seduce Elena.
「Mammon’s Apple Tree Sapling
A tree that grows well in any area.
It grows faster than other trees.
Rank: B」
“Hey, young lady.”
Mammon called out to Elena.
“Are you talking to me? I don’t want any items or information.”
“Hehe. I have a great nose for money. The item you want… isn’t it this? I’ll give you a special 10% discount.”
What Mammon took out was a dildo.
A dildo. A toy made to resemble a male’s genitals.
Elena’s face instantly contorted.
“Do you want to die?”
“Oh, dear. I was just showing you the item you wanted… Was the size a problem?”
“Die.”
Elena was about to use magic. I was horrified and grabbed Elena’s body and went out of the shop. Fighting Mammon now is not a good choice.
“Please come again next time. I’ll be waiting with anticipation.”
•••
We moved away from the center of the Hell’s Shelter and settled in a dark place and lit a fire. The surroundings became brighter. There was nothing around, but it was better than walking in the desert. At least we wouldn’t suffer from the heat.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What else? We have to conquer the Drought Hell. If we have this sapling… we can do it.”
I know from the original story. Mammon might overcharge, but he’s not a scammer.
“Starting tomorrow.”
“……Starting tomorrow?”
“We have to rest today. I’ve been through so much.”
“I see. Rest well.”
I rested comfortably while having various conversations with Elena. The long-awaited rest was sweet. When we were about to go to bed at night, Elena reached out her hand towards my forehead. I pulled my head back to avoid her fingers.
“…Why are you avoiding me?”
“I can sleep well without being under an illusion today. It’s not hot like outside the Hell’s Shelter.”
“…But wouldn’t it be better to be under an illusion to get a good night’s sleep?”
For some reason, Elena seemed restless. It was as if she wanted me to fall into a deep sleep under an illusion.
“Hmm. It’s good to get a good night’s sleep as you said….”
“Go to sleep. We have important things to do starting tomorrow, right?”
Thump.
Elena’s finger poked my forehead. Sleepiness washed over me. Even though I thought it was strange, I didn’t resist the sleepiness.
