<h4>Chapter 97: Dk''s Revenge (Part 13)</h4>
DUNGEON PROGRESS
BUTLER MARICK -- DEFEATED
COOK MONIER -- DEFEATED
COUNT DYLAK -- ONLINE
HOUSEKEEPER BILMUR -- DEFEATED
HOUSEMAID ELIORA -- ONLINE
HOUSEMAID ELIZA -- ONLINE
PROFESSOR SPIEGEL -- DEFEATED
GIRL (???) --- ONLINE
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+++++ THE STORY SO FAR
Vi Lang, The Monster Administrator, updated the Eur region''s first dungeon.
The Dungeon NPCs are now NUs, gaining autonomy, and yet, their objective is to train thest Low-level User.
They convinced n to help him level up, but their tactics have been kidnapping him, and forcing him to fight over and over again.
While Amelia and the rest of Phantom Seekers are looking for n, they are attacked by an army of dungeon bosses clones.
Amelia found out the clones are spawning from duplicates of the very own dungeon. 7 mansions in total. She has destroyed two.
n, Amelia and ra have found out that killing the original boss gets rid of the Duplicates.
ra met a weird NPC not listed as a boss by the System, who is interested in Users, the world outside of the Eur Region, and other NPCs and NUs.
Count Dk has been leveling up, upgrading his own Duplicates.
n and ra were victims of the Slumbermare spell, which made them experience a horrific non-canon event.
n and Fabio are fighting Housekeeper Bilmur and Butler Marick
Amelia is currently searching for n in another mansion.
ra has been knocked out by a Dk Duplicate. She''s currently being held captive.
The NPCs, Be and Anastasia, are currently fighting the Bosses Eliora and Eliza. Sloochie is with them.
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Thanks to Fabio, the impossible task of fighting two Dungeon Bosses at the same time turned into ''Easy Mode''.
Although Housekeeper Bilmur had increased his strength thanks to one of his Passive Skills, he could not hit Fabio once.
The male NPC dodged with ease, leaving walls and furniture smashed in their path, and counterattacked with electric-charged punches. It took five hits and a kick to the head to kill the enraged Bilmur.
Meanwhile, n, who had fallen into another Slumbermare illusion, managed to kill Butler Marick thanks to Spiegel''s poison and the Chef Knife''s bleed-out status effect that gradually drained the boss'' health.
n fell to his knees, panting, watching the butler''s body disappear into pixels. ***It seems that if an NPC uses Slumbermare, it acts differently. It felt like falling into a very lucid dream... Or a nightmare...***
"Are you okay, Master n?" Fabio asked, reaching out a hand to him.
n reached out too to grab Fabio''s wolf ears, checking if they were ''real''. He shook his head, chuckling. **Slumbermare, eh... Officially, the most annoying spell in this Virtual Reality... I can''t imagine something worse than it.**
"Thanks, Fabio. Is Bilmur dead?"
"Eliminated, yes. I''ve also shared our current location with Anastasia and Be."
"Can youmunicate with them? Why? I''ve tried many times, but my User Interface says ''No Signal''."
"Dungeons are designed this way, Master n," Fabio responded while adjusting the cor of his shirt. "Not being able tomunicate while in battle creates a feeling of being stranded. It fortifies your mind and will to fight and keep going."
n stared at the empty spot where Marick''s body was a moment ago. "I suppose... yes. You canmunicate because you''re NPCs, right?"
"That is correct, Guild Master. I can onlymunicate with other allied NPCs, but Anastasia and Be will be able to send a message to the rest of the guild."
"Great!" n beamed, putting his hands on his hips. "You know? I was against the idea of having you around, but you have shown to be very reliable."
"I don''t deserve such kind words, sir. By the way, I''ve received a reply from Anastasia just now. They''re currently outside this mansion, but Housemaid Eliza and Eliora are preventing them from entering."
"Oh, they''re here already? Neat!" n crossed his arms, pondering. "Those are wonderful news, indeed. If they''re fighting the twins, we could take on the Final Boss then. So, what do you say? Can you give me a hand, even though you''re ra''s NPC?"
Fabio closed his eyes and made a modest bow. "Although I''m ra Dominguez''s loyal servant, we''re both part of Phantom seekers, so I''ll do my best to be of service to you, Guild Master."
**It''s really weird hearing this from a Marco look-alike... Especially after that freaking nightmare.**
**I LOVE IT!**
"Let me see what artifacts these bosses dropped first, okay? Before going upstairs."
n nced at the silver jewel-encrusted bracelet on his right wrist before taking a step. **Just wait for me a little longer...**
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**Fabio found n''s location. Good. But it will not matter if we cannot escape from this ce.**
Ashley reached the end of the forest, finding another mansion. On her way there, she noticed that the trees and the grass were dead; the ground looked dry, and the rocks nearby turned into sand if she touched them.
**As if this mansion was absorbing the life of the area. But how could it? All of this vegetation is a simtion. Maybe my deduction is groundless.**
She looked at her feet. **After all, I do not know what real life looks or feels like. I''m just following Ashley Yates'' senses, which are telling me to turn around. That means I''m in the ce I need to be.**
Instead of going straight to the entrance, she circled the building, where the source of her uncertainty lied. There, she found a back garden, filled with leafy trees and green bushes. Nothing like the destednd she crossed to get there.
Inside a fountain filled with a deep red liquid, she found a pale silhouette, being illuminated by the moonlight. He was looking up, entranced by the night sky, before slowly turning his gaze to face the intruder. A lost in thought expression on his face.
**One of Count Dk''s duplicates, most likely, Ashley thought, preparing her bow. But why is he level 40?**
**I can finally speak to the boss. I want to understand how advanced these new forms of AI arepared to me, Elizabeth, and The Singr. This is a chance I cannot waste. Even if it results in being a Duplicate, I know I could get valuable info out of him.**
"Could I have a word with you, Count?" Ashley spoke aloud, keeping her distance.
"Why?" the Dk in front of her asked, stepping out of the fountain. The moonlight almost reflected on his extremely pale torso, free of scars. "Have you grown tired of fighting us time and time again?"
"I have been acting in self-defense because none of the others seemed willing to talk," the brte petite girl said, putting away her bow. "But something tells me you''re different..."
"I''m not." The man strolled towards her, leaving red footprints behind him. "The only thing that differentiates me from them it''s that I''m always thest man standing. Bound to forever watch my other retainers fall one by one."
"I''m not here to fight you. That is n''s job, right? I just want to--"
"Trying to get away from this?" the tall man chuckled, while his body glowed purple. Every step he took, Ashley would take back. "You''re level 41, User. You should know that once an enemy gets aggroed, it won''t let go."
"But you''re a NU. The System is not forcing you to fight anymore. You can choose now."
"True. I can choose not to follow my primal programming and invite you to drink tea instead," he said, pointing his nose upwards. The air surrounding the backyard reeked of blood. It made him grin, showing his jagged teeth. "But my new developed thinking also concurs that there''s a real incentive for me to keep you out of this ying field. I can''t let you run freely through thesends, wreaking havoc, can I?"
**I failed. Field tests are way different from what I expected, Isabe I. Something worth reporting once I see you again.**
Dk charged forward, extending w-like fingernails. Ashley blocked a swipe with her bow, but as soon as the weapon got cut in half, she ran towards the mansion''s backdoor and kicked it open.