I nervously look around and notice that the dead-end wall has tilted a bit. My sense of hearing is essentially nonexistent, so there’s a good chance I simply didn’t hear it moving. The surrounding living dead are also pretty loud. In any case, I immediately head over and give the shifted wall a push—it seems like a hidden door. I keep pressing and pushing until the wall has done a complete 180 degree turn and has closed again as though it were once again a dead end—but with me on the other side.
Inside, the ceiling is incredibly high, and the room is quite vast. It looks like that space on the second floor really was an atrium.
Unlike outside, the ornamentation is beautiful…ah, scratch that, maybe not. Although the decorations are lavish, they haven’t been maintained. Long story short, they’re filthy. This is what I imagine a VIP’s grave would be like if it was abandoned without a care.
As I head from the entrance to the center, something long and thin suddenly lifts into the air in the distance. Is that a sword…? My moment of pondering is cut short as it suddenly zips through the air and pierces my chest.
By the time I realize it, I’m staring at a familiar ceiling in the real world. This is absurd—the undead should have instant death resistance. That means I must have died from the raw damage? Usually, I’d be locked out for a while before I could revive, but it looks like I can log in right away. Which means that was a scripted event? All right, let’s head back in.
I clamber my way back down to the third floor and stick to the wall until I find the button again. It should be right around here. Its location hasn’t changed…probably. I don’t really remember the first time, so I can’t say for sure. I enter through the revolving wall.
Now what? The sword doesn’t come at me until I move from the entrance, so is there anything noteworthy? There, at the back of the room—that looks like a door. That’s probably my destination. Now what to do about the sword? Seriously, like, what do I do?
Are there any hints…?
Hmm, nothing catches my eyes, although my terrible vision makes it difficult to search. But this is a grave, which probably means that thing in the center is a gravestone. I think that’s where the sword came from, meaning I can’t get any closer to it without being insta-killed. It’s impossible to dodge with a zombie’s body. It was slow when it started floating, but it was fast when it aimed at me.
With the next step, I’m pierced through again. I die, head to the hidden room, die again, and head back. This is how you brute force a game—or maybe how a zombie brute forces it. You know what? Let’s take a lunch break. Mulder, I’m too tired.
Mom’s not home today, so I guess I have to do the cooking. Would omurice be all right? Looks like we have eggs. As for meat, well, pork belly should do. I’ll just have to cut it a bit thin. Oh, we don’t have enough ketchup. Then let’s make it butter rice instead!
My sister comes down just as I’m almost finished cooking.
“Something smell’s good! What’s for lunch, Koto?”
“We’re having butter omurice!”
“Whoa, nice.”
“It’ll be out soon, just wait.”
“Okaaay.”
I transfer two servings of rice to the plates, then whisk together two portions of eggs, pour half into the pan, fry it, and put the finished omelet on one of the plates. Then I pour in the second half into the pan and finish up the second serving.
“All done, Akina.”
“Sweet! Ketchup—ah, we’re almost out.”
“That’s why it’s butter rice instead.”
The two of us chow down as we talk about the game.
“Right now, the hunting team’s doing their best against the boss to unlock the next town. But they’re low on healing items.”
“The game limits the distribution of goods, right?”
“That’s right. It’s a real hassle when consumables are out of stock.”
“You need Compounding to make potions, right?”
“Yeah, Compounding or Alchemy. But Alchemy only makes goods at a fixed level, and Compounding is pretty annoying.”
“What’s annoying about it? Low profits, or a lack of materials to use?”
“Both, I hear. Also, it takes a lot of time to make them. The skill level is too low for our current player base, so they can’t make anything decent either.”
“It sounds like you’re talking about a completely different game from what I’m playing.”
“Well, you chose to be a zombie. Ah, by the way, how are things going?”
“After filling out the map, I found a hidden room, but there was an instant-death trap gimmick. I’m brute forcing it to see if there’s any way to get through.”
“Oooooh, secret room!”
“Unlike the other places, it looks like it’s a grave for someone important. Pretty big and luxurious too. There seems to be a gravestone in the middle.”
“Hmm! What sort of trap is it?”
“The sort that attacks if I’m in range. I can see a door in the back, so I want to get through somehow. But I die instantly if the trap springs and the sword hits me.”
“Undead are immune to instant death, aren’t they? They should have quite a bit of stamina too, but you still die in one hit. Weird.”
“I’m going to challenge it again after this. I’ll try to find a way around.”
“Do your best to get there before someone else finds it!”
“I haven’t even seen anyone else yet…”
“Well, you’re a zombie! So, like, why are you even putting yourself through all this, Sis?”
“Ha ha ha, my instincts are telling me to do it.”
“Then go for it, I guess.”
Akina says she’ll do the dishes this time, so I head for the catacombs as soon as I’ve finished eating.
Now it’s time for rematch with the hidden room. I head left as soon as I’m through the entrance, sticking fast against the wall as I lurch forward. Before lunch, I figured out that the sword returns to its resting place if you leave the range before it stabs you. So I need to know its full range.
I inch forward: No reaction from the sword yet. Maybe this is the right answer. The moment the sword starts floating, I immediately stop and press myself back against the wall. I’m prepared to go bowlegged if I have to. As soon as I stop and move out of range, the sword goes back where it came from. Maybe I should be thankful that my chest rotted away. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to stay completely out of range.
In fact, there’s a high chance this would have been impossible if I evolved and my breasts came back. With a flat chest and determination, I can do this!
Err, not exactly. I promptly find myself impaled again. Why?!
I was fine up to a certain point. Presumably, the safe zone somehow changed. Am I really supposed to solve this without any hints? Seriously?
Well, that’s not going to stop me.
Don’t think you can stop me forever, you potentially rare item you! Not that I even know if there’re any potential rare items to be found.
I set my pain transmission to zero. I’m working under the premise that I’m going to die again and again. Up to a certain point, I slink along the wall. Then I part from it, crouching down, holding out my hand as I observe the sword. If it starts floating, I quickly pull it back, then stick it out elsewhere. Repeat ad nauseum, et cetera, et cetera.
What about my legs? If I use my legs, I’ll trip. And then it’s over for me. I get stabbed.
Through endless repetition, I gradually grow closer and closer to the door. This is one of those games, the ones where you’re meant to die again and again. This isn’t the advertised genre for FLFO, but the catacombs don’t seem to offer any hints. I should be thankful the sword goes back at all when I back off. Now I don’t just up and die the moment it comes out.
I keep at it, taking breaks every few deaths. Learning from dying is, in essence, a test of patience. Now and then, my sister’s words come back to me. “Why are you even putting yourself through all this?” Must just be my overactive imagination.
It takes a few hours, but I’m finally in front of the door. I don’t make any unnecessary moves once I’m there, heading straight for my destination. The hinges swing open, and I practically collapse onto the ground beyond it.
I made it!
The room is a bit cramped due to the coffin at the very center. A brief glance around the room heralds nothing else of note. I try rummaging around and come up empty-handed. How tragic after all my deaths. In any case, I’m just grateful that the coffin didn’t burst open when I first got close.
In any case, this coffin must be what I’m after. The moment my hand brushes up against the lid as I attempt to open it, I’m suddenly stripped of my bodily autonomy. My hands move on their own and crack it open. The system is controlling me… Is this a scripted event?
I watch it transpire—as if I have any choice.
Beneath the slanted lid is a mummy of what was once presumably a woman. Rather, I know it was a woman, because that’s what my Appraisal skill is telling me. The Princess Mummy, to be more precise.
Under the system’s control, my hand heads straight to the mummy’s chest and rends its way straight through her rib cage with a terrible cracking sound. It firmly clutches something as it snakes its way out.
[EVENT] ROYAL FLESH
Rarity: EX
The divine flesh and blood of royalty.
A key item to unlock an extra race.