My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! Volume 14 Chapter 1

 CHAPTER 1

This is the biggest shock since I came to this world!

Cavern Quest.

This was the stage of the game crafted by the sage Van.

As the name implied, it was a world below ground, though the specifics remained shrouded in mystery. The realm was divided into a town for preparing for adventures and the field where the adventures themselves occurred.

Several towns of similar nature existed, distinguished by channel numbers. The fields operated likewise, though there were some exceptions.

One such exception was the Sky Castle Field. This was the ultimate destination in Cavern Quest, and there existed only one. Regardless of the channel through which one played, there was no choice but to journey here to vanquish the final boss, the dread Lasbo.

The Sky Castle Field was a small island, divided into four areas.

The first to be visited was the Entrance Area. This was a plain that occupied most of the island, composed of sandy beaches and forests.

The next area was the Prison Area. A colossal pyramid loomed in the center of the island.

After passing through the pyramid, two more areas were said to await, though their specifics remained unknown, veiled in the enigmatic mists of the subterranean realm.

Because Yogiri and the others were at the temple on top of the pyramid, and it seemed that the area beyond it was a separate area.

Van was sitting on the altar in the middle of the temple with a lack of enthusiasm, and Yogiri, Tomochika, Atila the incarnation of a dragon, and a dog named Dai were confronting Van near the entrance of the temple.

By the way, Yogiri and the others were wearing equipment given to them by the great sage.

Yogiri was dressed in all-black gear, Tomochika was dressed like a villainous female executive with a lot of exposure, Atila was also in black clothes, and even the dog Dai wore black armor. The concept seemed to be that of an evil army.

"I understand that we are going to fight, but what exactly should we do?"

The goal of Yogiri and the others was to return to their original world, and to do so, they needed multiple philosopher's stones.

They thought that if they collected the philosopher's stones, the goddess Luu would be revived, but Luu had already been revived and had gone somewhere, not coming to Yogiri and the others.

In that case, there was no point in being in the Cavern Quest anymore, so they were trying to clear the game and escape the game world, but the situation seemed quite ominous.

They thought they just needed to defeat the final boss, Lasbo, but the sage Van said that there was no such person.

In fact, it turned out that the battle of Lasbo was a battle royale among those who possessed the philosopher's stones.

"I told you before, but feel free to take any weapons you want from there. Then, go through the door in the back to the Antechamber area. It's a waiting area with nothing special. When all the participants gather, we move to the final battle area," Van said in a sulky manner.

On the temple walls were displayed swords, bows, staffs, spears, daggers, axes, and shields, evenly spaced apart.

"If it's so casual, do we even need them?"

"If you don't want them, that's fine too."

Yogiri thought that carrying extra items might be troublesome, although there might be some ingenuity in each piece of equipment.

"So the participants ended up being more than a hundred parties, right? What are we going to do?"

Originally, Van seemed to be planning a decisive battle with seven parties. However, for some reason, the number of philosopher's stones had increased, and more and more participants were coming.

"How about a tournament format? If we do all the matches simultaneously, the number of participants will be halved each time, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Is it okay to decide that now, in the middle of the game?"

Tomochika was dumbfounded.

"Just to be sure, if we win this tournament thing, we clear the game and can get out of here, right?"

"The reward for clearing the game is having your wish granted. If your wish is to leave, then yes."

For now, they had no choice but to believe. If he was going to make it difficult later, they'd deal with it then.

"How will the outcome of the battles be determined? I don't want to have to fight to the death."

"Well, it's generally appropriate to consider a battle settled by death, but if one side admits defeat, that's enough."

Hearing that, Yogiri felt a little relieved.

There might not be many people who would admit defeat, but it's always better to have room for negotiation.

"Oh! Speaking of which, didn't the great sage say he would give us some kind of power?" Tomochika said as if she had just remembered.

Yogiri had not heard it personally, but it seemed that the Great Sage had said that the first ten or so people to arrive at the final area of Cavern Quest would be granted any power they wished.

"Really? Well, that's what my grandpa said, but I don't know."

"I see. I didn't know what kind of people you were, but you're pretty brazen, aren't you?"

Before they knew it, a young boy was sitting next to Van and naturally started talking to them.

Even Yogiri was surprised by this. There was no sense of suddenness, as if he had been there from the beginning.

"Grandpa!"

Van's face lit up with joy.

"Are you the Great Sage?"

Van had been complaining just a moment ago, but now that the person in question was in front of him, his joy seemed to be greater. Since Van's grandfather was said to be the Great Sage, Yogiri had assumed he was an old man.

However, the person in front of them was a beautiful young boy who looked even younger than Van. It would be strange to think about it normally, but in a world with magic and supernatural gifts abound, appearances might not matter.

"It's a bit pompous to call myself the Great Sage, but I'm in charge of organizing the sages, so there's no helping it. Is this the first time we've talked? I'm Mitsuki. Nice to meet you."

It seemed that the Great Sage had sent a one-sided message to people all over the world, but Yogiri had not heard it.

"Nice to meet you, you say? We're quite troubled by all this, you know."

Yogiri frowned.

Right now, it was Mitsuki's fault that Yogiri and the others were being targeted by people all over the world. He didn't feel like getting along with someone who wasn't directly harming them.

"Well, I think the trouble you've caused is also quite significant, don't you?"

Mitsuki might be talking about the damage Yogiri had caused to this world, but to Yogiri, it seemed like a false accusation.

"Even if you say that, it was you who brought us to this world against our will, and all we're trying to do is find a way to get back."

"Hmm, I do think I went too far, but... well, that doesn't matter. In the end, everything will work out, right? So, about the question earlier, haven't I already given you powers?"

"Ah! That's right, this outfit is your fault!"

Tomochika was indignant. It seemed she was still holding a grudge about her revealing, villainess-like outfit, even though she seemed to have gotten used to it.

"Huh?"

Mitsuki had a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong, Grandpa?"

"No, it's just... I'm surprised that a girl seeing me for the first time is acting so normally. It's kind of strange."

"That's true. Girls who see Grandpa usually blush and act suspiciously."

"Scary! It's scary how confident you are in your good looks!"

Although Tomochika seemed to recognize Mitsuki as handsome, it didn't seem to matter much to her.

"I was born to be popular. I'm liked by everyone, young and old, regardless of their gender or race... Well, just like this."

Yogiri looked in the direction Mitsuki was looking.

Atila and Dai were staggering towards Mitsuki.

"Hey!"

Tomochika called out in a panic, but Atila knelt before Mitsuki, and Dai rubbed his body against Mitsuki's leg, wagging his tail.

'Is this... what they call cuckolding!?'

"I don't think that's it! Huh? He might be good-looking, but can someone suddenly fall in love with such an incomprehensible person!?"

"I'm a bit hurt by that. It might be the first time in my life that I've been treated this poorly."

Even so, Mitsuki stared at Tomochika with great interest.

'An interesting woman, you say... Then--!?'

"I'm not interesting at all!"

"Is Mokomoko unaffected?"

'Of course. As I don't possess a physical body, it may not concern me.'

However, since Atila and Dai, whom they thought were comrades, suddenly went to the Great Sage's side, Yogiri was not feeling calm inside.

"What did you do?"

Yagiri thought it might be some sort of charm or mental manipulation.

"I didn't do anything. This is just the kind of existence I am. This is their decision, so I'd be in trouble if you asked me to return them."

"Atila, are you okay with that?"

Just to make sure, Yogiri asked.

"How could I oppose this!? You guys might be the ones acting strangely!"

"Hmm..."

It's impossible to understand a dog's feelings, but Dai seemed to be feeling apologetic. However, in the end, it seemed that he preferred to be by the Great Sage's side.

"No way..."

Dai was a dog they met playing Cavern Quest, and they hadn't interacted much.

But even for the usually unshakable Yogiri, being abandoned so easily by a dog he had cared for was tough to bear.

"This is the biggest shock since I came to this world!"

'Well, you prioritized the dog over Hanakawa... or is it that Hanakawa is just too insignificant in comparison?'

"I thought everything was over when Grandpa showed up, but I guess not."

Van said, sounding surprised. To him, it must have been natural for Yogiri and Tomochika to be captivated by Mitsuki, bow down to him, and have various problems resolved according to the Great Sage's wishes.

"It's good that you're not attracted to me, Yogiri-kun. I don't want to kill someone who likes me."

"Don't you think of killing me directly?"

"That's a last resort. I want to enjoy what can be done in this situation."

The Great Sage seemed to think he could kill Yogiri at any time. He was a powerful being who could reset the world. Perhaps he believed that he could settle the score in the end.

"If Dai leaves the party, I won't have a Philosopher's Stone. What happens to the participation requirements for the last quest?"

"I think Grandpa would be disappointed if you didn't participate now, so let's consider your participation confirmed."

"Isn't that too convenient?"

Tomochika seemed irritated by the way Van spoke.

"Meeting other participants here would be a hassle, so could you go ahead quickly?"

"So we don't have to wait that long? But you said there were over a hundred parties with a Philosopher's Stone."

"We'll close the registration at some point. It's not good to keep Grandpa waiting."

"Yeah, I think it's fine to close the registration in about half a day."

"That's right. The inside is quite comfortable, so just wait and relax."

"I can't afford to relax too much."

Clearing Cavern Quest only allowed them to return to the surface. They were still unsure how to return to their original world, so they needed to find another way.

Even though the world had been reset, they felt like they had spent a considerable amount of time in this other world. They wanted to know a sure way to return soon.

"Shall we go then?"

"It's become lonely, though..."

Tomochika glanced at Atila and the others.

Yogiri looked too, but they didn't seem to have any intention of coming along.

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