Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

It smelled different from the one in the living room; it was even more nauseating and unsettling.

Even though she hadn't seen what was inside yet, Hongxia found herself so flustered that she couldn't even steady her steps.

Calm down, stay calm.

The girl said to herself again in her heart.

“Mr. Gao…you…you’re still here, right?”

Hongxia carefully clutched the squirrel plush toy she carried with her and murmured almost in a dreamlike voice.

I'm still here. Now, have you figured out what to do?

Gao Hai's voice quickly answered Hong Xia, and upon hearing it, the girl felt her increasingly uncontrollable fear subside briefly, and her consciousness became clearer and more focused than ever before.

"An 'unknown room' in a dungeon world is inherently dangerous. Not to mention the strange creatures or trigger traps that might be hiding inside, the narrowness of the room itself poses a great challenge. Therefore, when exploring such a room, you must try to confirm the presence of any creatures inside. You must proceed slowly and not rush in to save time."

Hongxia whispered the experience that Gao Hai had previously shared.

Reach out.

The girl slowly grasped the doorknob.

"Well……"

The doorknob of the bedroom door was very cold; when I grabbed it, it felt like touching an iron railing in the dead of winter.

Hongxia's body trembled slightly, she gritted her teeth, and couldn't help but let out a soft groan. But she quickly adjusted and slowly pulled the door open, gripping the doorknob.

squeak-

The door hinges made a protesting sound, which was particularly jarring in the darkness.

Hongxia didn't pay much attention to the door hinges; instead, she focused her gaze intently on the widening crack in the door, unconsciously extending her senses.

Huh? This feeling... the aura coming from behind the door, um? It seems a bit fainter than the one outside?

Before she could even fully open the bedroom door, Hongxia noticed something strange.

At first, I felt like I was being watched from all directions, but now it seems like things have changed. Is this some kind of spatial distortion? Or has something that was originally hiding here run away?

The girl, filled with doubt, did not stop what she was doing, but continued to slowly open the door.

After she fully opened the door and confirmed with [Gao Hai] that she was not being targeted by any strange power or cursed, Hong Xia finally stepped into the small bedroom.

There were no beds or bedding at all. A huge crater had collapsed in the very center of the room, and the floor and walls were covered in cracks, as if a meteorite had crashed into the bedroom.

"Hey?"

Unexpectedly witnessing this scene, Hongxia slightly opened her mouth and made a troubled sound.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The character design for Hirano Kurasuke, which was commissioned, is finished. Thanks to artist Xiaolang_lxl! Here's the character design for everyone to see.

Chapter Sixteen: Unusual Messages and the First Signs of Anomalies in the Instance

In my unsettling dreams, I often see that tunnel, that dark passage with no end in sight.

The dark passage stretched beneath my bed, beneath the floor, into a place where its end was nowhere in sight.

When I wake up, it disappears, as if it left under my bed.

But as soon as I close my eyes, as soon as I fall asleep, it comes back, it goes back down under the floor.

I also heard someone constantly banging on the floor, from day to night, from the moment I closed my eyes until I opened them again.

[Under my bed, beneath the floor where that passage is buried, there is a constant, daily tapping.]

I can't see his face, I don't know who he is, he never speaks, he doesn't breathe, he doesn't make any other sound, he just keeps knocking, just keeps knocking.

The sound echoed endlessly in the darkness, never receiving a ray of light.

I still couldn't see him.

Sometimes I feel that the voice isn't coming from under my bed, but from deep within my mind.

It relentlessly pounds on my thoughts, my memories, my mind.

It made me increasingly confused, irritable, doubtful, and unlike myself.

I don't know why it chose me, or what it wants from me.

I spoke to it, pleaded with it, and yelled at it countless times. I tried all sorts of methods to communicate with it.

But it just kept hitting me, over and over again, relentlessly hitting me.

The property management company told me that it was all just my imagination; there was solid mud floor beneath my bedroom, no passageway, and no one trapped inside banging on the walls.

I tried many medications, saw different doctors, and tried different treatments.

But as soon as I return here, as soon as I return to this bedroom, those voices continue to appear in my dreams and continue to occupy my thoughts.

This can't go on anymore.

I don't care what others think; I can't take it anymore.

This nightmare must end.

Regardless of the method used, this nightmare is due to end.

I will dig up my bedroom floorboards, I will find that passage.

Perhaps in the end I will find nothing at all, perhaps there is nothing down there, and perhaps all my nightmares are just my own conjectures and delusions.

But only after I actually dig into it can I determine the final outcome.

I don't think I'm crazy, even though many people believe so, including my parents, my lover, and all my trusted friends.

They couldn't hear the knocking, they couldn't dream of that dark passage, they could only see me being tortured, that was all they could see.

I won't blame them for this; they did everything they could. They just didn't understand.

But that has nothing to do with tonight; it's just you and me here now.

I've already prepared the shovel, and also the pistol and knife.

I will find you.

No matter how deep you hide, I will find you.

If you were down there, I would dig you out right now.

If you're in my dream, I'll dig you out of it.

I've had enough of this torture. I don't care what the final outcome will be; I'm determined to dig you out.

I won't give you a chance to hide from me. Today, you must face me.

There is no other way to resolve this issue.

—Isidore K. Coz

The English words carved with a knife are neatly arranged on the wall where the wallpaper is cracked.

The person who left these words must have been a very calm person. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to write such a long "last message" in such a state of mind, with even the capitalization of words and sentences being very clear and without any errors. This shows that the writer was emotionally stable when writing these words.

However, that's not the focus right now.

Although there is indeed a lot of information that can be interpreted in the message on the bedroom wall, in Gao Hai’s view, the biggest problem now is not the message itself, but the message.

"Ugh, I can't understand any of this..."

Hongxia stared at the English letters covering the wall, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Although she tried to use her English knowledge from high school to decipher the words on the wall, she couldn't figure out the correct sentences at all. Instead, the more she looked, the more confused she became and the less she understood what it was saying.

And this is precisely what Gao Hai cares about most.

Why is it in English?

He couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Prior to this, everything—from the rulebook in the lobby of the Zhenyang Apartment to the notes in the duty room, the notes in the corpse's hand in the bushes, and the text on the furniture in room 109—was written in Japanese. Furthermore, according to Ryo herself, the curfew regulations, company notices, and elementary school essays she had seen on the street were also written in Japanese.

Based on all the information available, this instance should be a Dark Night instance set against a neon backdrop from the mid-to-late 20th century.

But now, a lot of English information has appeared in this copy, which Gao Hai finds quite strange.

Why is the information in English?

While it's not impossible for people from other places to appear in a dungeon, the presence of this information here feels incredibly out of place. Especially since Gao Hai doesn't seem to have any sense of being from a foreign country in this person's information, which makes it even more intriguing.

However, despite feeling a strong sense of unease, Gao Hai did not ignore what needed to be done at the moment and quickly turned his attention back to Hong Xia.

Can you understand it?

Gao Hai asked Hong Xia.

"I don't quite understand it. The grammar and vocabulary are not exactly the same as what I learned in the book."

Hongxia tried her best to identify it again for a while, and answered softly with some reluctance.

If you don't understand something, immediately say so, instead of forcing yourself to try. This only wastes time communicating. In dungeons, unless absolutely necessary, don't force yourself to do things you're not good at. Especially in multiplayer scenarios, delegate tasks to those who are skilled; this is much more efficient. Understand?

"Oh? I understand. I'm very sorry, Mr. Gao Hai."

[No need to apologize to me. I'll tell you the contents of this text now and pass on some language-related power to you. This extraordinary power isn't very strong, and it won't always be effective, but it can at least help you confirm various information, which will greatly assist in exploring dungeons.]

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gao Hai casually gave the girl a lesson, and then used his own power to copy some things into the girl's mind.

That was something Gao Hai already possessed before the first instance began; it was likely the first extraordinary power granted to him by the black watch, named [Omniscience of Language]. This power gave Gao Hai the ability to understand and master all languages ​​and scripts since the dawn of human civilization. Even information from outside the realm of human civilization could potentially be understood and mastered by this power.

This ability isn't usually very noticeable, since it doesn't produce any magical special effects or amazing results like a pistol, a domain, or an aerial bomb. But with this power, Gao Hai still managed to gain a lot of information and receive help more than once along the way.

Now that he has reached a completely new state, Gao Hai is able to fully analyze this power and copy it for others to use.

Of course, given Hongxia's mental strength, it was impossible for her to fully withstand this power. Therefore, Gao Hai only bestowed upon Hongxia language knowledge related to "English," enabling her to directly learn all English words from the birth of humankind to the present day. She could correctly understand all the changes from Old English to Modern English and interpret any English sentence without any errors, even if the writer might not have strictly adhered to correct grammar.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaah... What am I doing..."

The girl let out a dazed scream. She couldn't fully understand what was happening to her, but she vaguely felt that something had been added to her head. Then, the words written on the wall that were originally difficult to understand suddenly became as fluent as her mother tongue, and she could easily understand their meaning.

"It's amazing, I can understand it all at once."

Hongxia murmured softly, her eyes sparkling like a child's, her face full of curiosity and amazement.