Ahead in his line of sight were the three old players he had encountered in the first playthrough—those who appeared to get along on the surface but were estranged at heart—as well as that foul-mouthed newcomer.
He remembered that the aloof woman was called Shelby. The talkative Japan man was called Kawano. The newcomer who spoke recklessly was an outdoor streamer named Dennis. There was also one person who had never revealed their identity, but Takumi had no interest in knowing that person's name. After all, in the previous playthrough, this group had not brought him anything good.
Takumi's gaze quickly swept over the four of them. Judging from the direction they were moving in, it was obvious that they were heading toward the Large Space. In that regard, there was no difference from the previous playthrough.
It was just that this time, the location where he encountered this group was completely different from last time. Could it be that he had unintentionally blocked their path?
"Hello, you two. I'm an Explorer. Kawano—also a player. And you?"
The Japan man named Kawano showed a look of delight upon seeing Takumi and Fujiwara Chika. In particular, when he saw Chika, his attention clearly lingered for a moment, making it seem as though he was somewhat concerned about this girl who was in the prime of her youth.
"Please step aside."
Takumi, who had no intention of having too much contact with these people, merely frowned as he spoke, positioning himself in front of Fujiwara Chika.
He would not forget the faint malice he had sensed from this man in the previous playthrough. However, at present, the other side had three old players, and this cave was not very large. If a conflict were to break out, it would not necessarily be advantageous for him. Therefore, Takumi decided to act cautiously and get away from this group as quickly as possible.
"Why be so cold? Acting alone in a place like this isn't a good thing. The strength of you two combined can't possibly compare to the strength of the six of us together, right?"
Kawano blocked Takumi's way. Just like in the previous playthrough, this man seemed not to know what courtesy was. He put on a forceful stance, clearly expressing his desire for Takumi's side to join the team. Although the smile on his face looked very sincere, there was an unmistakable tone of insistence in his voice.
It seemed that he sensed something again—something was trying to influence his mind, yet he could not find the source. Moreover, because this force was far too faint, Takumi, who was currently being "watched" by the power of the core Obsession Item, could barely perceive it at all… Wait. Come to think of it, although this team appeared harmonious on the surface, neither Shelby nor that silent man looked as though they were willingly teaming up here, yet they were still standing on either side of this person. Could it be that…
He turned his head and looked back at Fujiwara Chika, who was cautiously trying to peek out from behind him and still did not quite understand the situation.
She seemed to show faint signs of being persuaded by what Kawano had said, but for the moment she was still obediently following Takumi, simply waiting for him to make a decision.
Could it be some kind of special Obsession Item, capable of helping this guy establish a loose team?
"I'm not interested in your group-hugging. Don't block the way. I won't keep being polite forever."
After a brief moment of thought, Takumi did not show any unusual expression. Just like at the beginning, he coldly gave his reply.
Then, regardless of how the other party might respond, he gestured for Fujiwara Chika to follow him, and the two of them prepared to leave together.
"Uh, seriously, there's no need to be this cold, right? I'm also thinking for everyone's sake…"
Kawano's brows furrowed slightly.
No effect. This kind of thing should not have happened.
This man indeed possessed an Obsession Item, and it was an extremely rare mental-inducement type Obsession Item.
As long as he made an invitation, he could, to a certain extent, quietly guide the direction of the thinking of the person conversing with him, thereby ensuring that the other party would make choices favorable to him, or at least would not develop hostility toward him.
The effect of this Obsession Item was not particularly strong. It could not truly control another person's thoughts, but when used covertly, it could still help Kawano gain some benefits no matter what.
Just like this loose team that Kawano had organized at present: in reality, aside from that curiosity-filled Dennis, the other two were not people who liked team action. They had merely been induced by his persuasion and entreaties, and thus stayed.
But the man in front of him—he did not look affected at all.
Could it be that the other party possessed an Obsession Item capable of offsetting mental inducement? Or was this guy's mental fortitude so strong that he could even withstand the power of a supernatural item like an Obsession Item?
He wanted to try once more, to see if he could persuade the other party to stay.
"I gave you some leeway, and now you're asking for trouble?"
But Takumi was already too lazy to waste time on him. He directly took a step forward. At some unknown moment, a pair of blood-colored scissors had already appeared in his left hand, while his right hand was already resting on the gun holster at his waist, prepared to draw and fire at any time.
Damn crude bastard!
"Ahahaha, don't say that, don't say that. Please, go ahead. Take care."
Realizing that the other party was indeed impossible to communicate with, Kawano's expression darkened for a moment. Immediately afterward, however, it turned into a smile, and he obediently stepped aside to make way for Takumi.
Shelby and the other man both remained silent. They were highly wary of Takumi and Chika's group, yet had no intention of taking action to help Kawano. If a conflict were to break out on his own, Kawano truly could not be sure whether this strange man would pull out some Obsession Item that he himself would be unable to deal with.
Especially after the other party had clearly displayed hostility, and considering the characteristics of his own Obsession Item, Kawano was forced to start contemplating the possibility that this man was actually a perverted serial killer, a twisted and terrifying madman, who simply was not attacking him immediately because of the guiding effect of the Obsession Item.
"Why be so aggressive? Wouldn't it be good for everyone to cooperate together?"
Although Kawano had stepped aside, Dennis frowned, clearly unable to understand the situation, and stepped forward to block Takumi's path.
Before he could say his next line—"We're all people, why should we hurt each other?"—Takumi had already reached out and covered Dennis's mouth. Then, with force applied by one hand, he slammed the man against the nearby wall. Dennis's back hit the wall with a dull thud, and a look of pain appeared on his face.
"Saying the wrong thing here comes with a very high price. Do me a favor—next time you open your mouth, think carefully about what you should say."
With that, Takumi left directly with Chika, paying no further attention to the movements of the four people behind them.
After hearing Takumi's words, Kawano realized something and turned toward Dennis, about to say something to him.
However, before that could happen, Dennis—who felt he had been struck for no reason at all—spoke up first, clearly displeased.
"What are you doing? We're all people—why can't we just talk things out properly?"
Were so-called party-wipe engines always this relentlessly persistent?
Very much wanting to complain like that, Takumi grabbed Chika's hand and sped up, fleeing as quickly as possible.
At this moment, Kawano also came to understand Takumi's meaning. After cursing "bastard" at Dennis, he immediately took out his Obsession Item.
In the next instant, Takumi felt the direction of that gaze shift.
The gaze that had been fixed on him—from the world where the research base was located—rapidly diverted its attention after Dennis spoke the words "we're all people."
Immediately afterward, waves of malice began to spread throughout the cave.
Shrill wails, pained moans, and chaotic footsteps—like the sounds of countless people trapped here struggling—rose all at once from the cave behind Takumi and Chika.
This time, Takumi and Fujiwara Chika, having distanced themselves in time, were completely unaffected by that self-destructive newcomer player. As for what kind of ending those four people ultimately met, Takumi had no interest in finding out.
However—would openly revealing one's identity as a [human] directly draw the attention of the core Obsession?
If considered from this angle, then if he were to capture a few players and find a way to induce them to say something like [I am human] at a specific point in time, would it be possible to divert that thing's attention, thereby successfully reaching [the real ground] and clearing the stage?
Takumi suddenly froze.
In the period between his death and revival in the previous playthrough, he had originally been thinking that this dungeon was fundamentally impossible to clear—an utterly unreasonable dead end.
But now, after Dennis's self-destructive newcomer's final act, he had suddenly discovered where the breakthrough lay.
The reason the world where the security guards were located could not be cleared was that this twisted, hateful Obsession was constantly watching those who attempted to escape the cave. Therefore, as long as it could be ensured that, at the moment when he and Maki and the others were escaping, that thing's attention was drawn to other players, survival could be guaranteed.
This method had a very high degree of feasibility.
The only problem was that, for it to succeed, at least one player would have to remain behind as a sacrifice.
No—actually, it should be two. Although the corrosive effect of the security uniform had not yet been fully displayed, based on the various rules, it was not difficult to infer that this identity was extremely dangerous. Therefore, there would also have to be one player acting as a security guard who would say something like [You're off duty now. I'll take over the shift] to the other players acting as security guards, allowing the others to smoothly leave the cave and head to the surface.
Within just a few seconds, Takumi successfully came up with a feasible method of clearing the stage.
A method with a very high probability of success—albeit one that would be troublesome to execute—that could achieve [a normal clear], that is, the so-called normal end.
It was worth trying.
Takumi thought this quietly to himself.
Although it would inevitably result in sacrifices and require letting others die, Takumi truly did not want to experience those twisted and painful modes of death again. Given a chance to clear the stage normally, he still wanted to try to see if it could be done. Even if he himself failed, at the very least, getting Maki out of this dungeon would be enough.
"Earlier, Takumi-kun, your presence was really intense. I didn't dare say a single word at all—and those sounds just now…"
It wasn't until they had completely distanced themselves from the four people and reached a relatively larger space that Fujiwara Chika finally let out a breath. Then, still somewhat shaken, she spoke in a low voice. While fleeing just now, she had very sensibly not turned back to look at what was happening to those people, but she had still been startled by those strange sounds.
"If they choose to take in a newcomer who understands nothing and also has quite a temper, then they need to be prepared to get dragged down by that decision."
Takumi shook his head and replied casually.
"Eh—then, Takumi-kun, do you think I'm the kind of newbie who would drag you down?"
Fujiwara Chika froze for a moment, then asked softly, sounding a little worried.
"At least for now, you're quite reassuring. So from here on out, you need to keep performing well."
Takumi, not expecting Chika to ask such a question, paused for a moment, then put on a serious expression and answered earnestly.
"Understood! Then rookie Explorer Chika reporting in—I'll work hard and won't hold you back!"
Hearing this, Fujiwara Chika immediately put on a solemn expression, straightened her posture, and bowed to Takumi.
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