Chương 12: Chapter 3 : The Price of Becoming a Witch(Part 3)

The voice answered with obvious reluctance.

"Exit by passing through the Gate. If multiple individuals maintain physical contact, they will emerge together at the same location. Otherwise, each individual will appear independently at the uppermost floor. Floors one through five contain environments similar to the current area and relatively recent discarded materials. The initial container will contain one weapon for every entrant. Replacement weapons must be located within the floors themselves. Conditions below the fifth floor are unknown.

Spatial expansion has occurred. Monster populations and environmental mutations cannot be predicted. However, individuals possessing classes will not experience immediate termination. Descent requires locating Gates similar to the entrance. Multiple examples exist." The explanation continued.

"Regarding exit procedures: Would you truly choose to leave? Efficient cleaning is desirable. Resources necessary for migration are available. Other individuals may depart freely. However, from an efficiency standpoint, it is recommended that you remain here permanently." I nearly laughed. So their solution was for me to become a full-time dungeon janitor. Not happening. I still had a life outside. A wife. A home. Responsibilities. The Gate wasn't becoming my permanent address. The voice continued.

"Exit Gates will be installed on Floor Five and every ten floors thereafter. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Exit destinations will correspond to the entrance location used. Spatial overlap prevention measures will be applied. Locations must be discovered independently. For transportation purposes, compressed dimensional storage technology can be provided. Please specify desired form. Suggested options include necklace, ring, or bracelet.

Future negotiations are undesirable. However, emergency protocols require exception handling. A ceremonial altar will be installed somewhere within the Waste Bin. Negotiation rights are restricted exclusively to you." Restricted exclusively to me. Apparently I was now their official customer support representative. Wonderful.

"I can't stay here," I replied.

"If you want more cleaners, I need to operate outside and recruit them. As for the storage device... make it a ring. And if possible, add automatic size adjustment so it doesn't fall off."

"Request accepted. Overflow Gates require urgent response. Storage ring will be placed within the initial container. Manufacturing cost is significant. Limit established: one ring per individual." A moment later, a black ring appeared inside the container. Its surface possessed a subtle metallic shine. Simple. Elegant. Almost ordinary. Almost. My wedding ring already occupied my left hand, so I pressed the new ring against the ring finger of my right hand. The metal was visibly too small.

Then it slipped onto my finger effortlessly. The size adjusted itself instantly. Even when I shook my hand, it didn't move. Comfortable. Secure. Perfect.

"How do I use it?"

"Direct the ring toward the target while imagining storage. To retrieve an item, imagine both the object and desired destination. Contents are visible only to the wearer. Should the wearer become permanently inactive, all stored contents will be lost." That sounded dangerous. But useful. Very useful. I pointed the ring toward the container and imagined storing it. The box vanished. Immediately, an image of the container appeared inside my mind. Not a visual hallucination. More like instinctive awareness.

I simply knew it was there. A sharp pain stabbed through my head. I winced. Then I retrieved the decomposition rod. The baton appeared neatly in my hand. The moment it did, another wave of pain struck. Stronger this time. Apparently every stored item increased the burden.

"This headache," I muttered.

"Is it permanent?"

"Class acquisition will resolve the issue. Pain is temporary. Resource catalog generation complete. Catalog transferred to storage container." Wonderful. The catalog had arrived. So had an even worse headache. I rubbed my temples. Then another question occurred to me. One that should have been asked much earlier.

"Do you have names?" A brief silence followed.

"Remaining compensation exists. However, further negotiations are undesirable. Individual designations do not exist. On other worlds, we are referred to as the Collective of Thought-Created Constructs." That was far too long. I wasn't calling them that every time. Most major issues had already been addressed. The rest would have to wait until after I escaped this place.

"Use the remaining compensation." I raised a finger and began listing requests.

"Three medicines effective on humans, ranked by effectiveness. Put them in the ring. Two emergency escape items. And if anything remains after that, dump it all into my stats. Also tell me where the overflow Gate is. I can't solve a problem if I don't know where it is. And confirm something. If I leave from Floor Five, I can return later? Will I have to start again from Floor One?" The answer came immediately.

"Medical restoration compounds and Gate evacuation devices have been transferred. Remaining compensation converted into attribute enhancement. Optimization will occur upon class acquisition. Exit point is located immediately beyond Floor Five. Future entry is possible. Visualize desired floor during entry. Arrival location will adjust accordingly. Overflow Gate currently located approximately one thousand one hundred fifty-four point eight kilometers from your position.

Local geographical references suggest designation: Shouyougen. Estimated overflow event occurs in approximately two hundred forty hours. Class acquisition will begin six hours from now according to your stated preference. Temporary inactivity will occur during acquisition. Designation 'Soutsu' accepted. Future communication will use this identifier. All negotiations are concluded. Monster fixation will be released in ten seconds. Begin cleaning." The headache worsened instantly. The medicine. The escape items.

The new data. Everything had been dumped into storage at once. My skull felt like it was being squeezed. Still, one piece of information stood out. Ten days. Roughly ten days until another Gate overflowed. That wasn't much time. And whatever "Shouyougen" actually was, it sounded foreign. Possibly somewhere in China. Possibly not. Either way, if monsters poured out into the real world, people would die. Which meant dying here wasn't an option. Not before I delivered the information. Not before someone listened.

The Three-Eyed creature floated motionless nearby. Its countdown had already begun. I tightened my grip on the baton. The negotiations were over. Now came the part where I found out whether I could actually survive.