A Core Ship From The Start

As before, Duanmu Huai and Ogis entered the world of memory, once again witnessing the man’s heart-wrenching sorrow over his daughter and his joy after her resurrection.

Then, it was that moment again.

“Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!!”

The urgent knocking sounded, soldiers broke down the door and stormed into the mansion, clashing with the man once again. Then one of the soldiers drew his longsword, thrusting it towards the man……

“Boom!!”

However, at that moment, an iron hammer appeared out of nowhere, sending the soldier flying. Following this, Duanmu Huai shouldered his war hammer and stepped forward, standing between the man and the soldiers.

“Who are you?”

At this point, both the man and the soldiers finally noticed Duanmu Huai. In fact, Duanmu Huai had been standing there the whole time, but each side had been oblivious to him. It wasn’t until Duanmu Huai decided to intervene that they suddenly “saw” him appear.

“Are you an accomplice of that necromancer?”

The soldiers’ faces drastically changed as they spotted Duanmu Huai, hastily retreating, while Duanmu Huai sneered, raising his war hammer.

“Leave this to me, sir. I’ll annihilate these bothersome pests!”

A wave of flunky aura to the final boss came rushing forward.

“Ah… Oh… This…”

Seeing the suddenly appeared Duanmu Huai, the man was taken by surprise, unsure of what to say. However, Duanmu Huai didn’t engage in further conversation, instead, he swung his war hammer forward, sending the soldiers blocking the entrance flying. He then strode out of the mansion where tens of fully-armed warriors were waiting, staring at him with fearful amazement.

“Come on, lads.”

Duanmu Huai tightened his grip on his war hammer, and stared down at the soldiers.

“Let me have a little fun with you!”

A full villain vibe.

“Charge! eradicate these filthy evil beings!!”

Immediately, the soldiers rushed at Duanmu Huai, engaging him in combat.

As for these soldiers, they presented no difficulty to Duanmu Huai. After all, these soldiers were not like the elusive ghosts; his power armor could entirely withstand their attacks. Hence Duanmu Huai did not hold back at all but instead bore their aggression and retaliated.

Initially, Duanmu Huai’s combat proceeded smoothly?. However, as the battle continued, he felt that something was amiss.

Duanmu Huai could clearly remember there being only thirty to forty soldiers when he first stepped out of the mansion. However, he had killed over four hundred soldiers since the fight began, and yet they seemed to be endlessly spawning.

Could this be some sort of bug?

If this had happened in a game, Duanmu Huai would have reported to the GM immediately. This endless monster respawning is clearly faulty! Which part of the software is problematic? Or is there a error in the dungeon?

Shall we continue like this?

Eventually, Duanmu Huai decided to persist and see who would last.? But as he continued to fight…

An dawn came, he was kicked out of the dungeon again.

“This is strange… what exactly is wrong?”

As he nibbled on the hard jerky, Duanmu Huai stared at the ruins in front of him, perplexed. He had bought these rations before he left the City of Silver. Their taste wasn’t the best, but they served their purpose of filling his stomach. Initially, Duanmu Huai was confident in his ability to solve the puzzle of the dungeon space based on his experience. It was unexpected that he would fail twice in a row…

There must be some clues that I have missed.

Having experienced similar dungeon scenarios many times in the game, Duanmu Huai was certain that he must have overlooked something amidst what he had previously observed.

So, what could it be?

Wait, could he have gotten it all wrong?

At this thought, Duanmu Huai seemed to have arrived at something crucial that he had missed.

That is… who exactly is the core consciousness that this space is modeled after?

Each fragment of space drifting in subspace is solidified by the potent will and sentiment of an entity. For instance, in the puppet house that Duanmu Huai previously visited, it was the emotions of the Puppeteer Master that solidified that house. The old saying goes, “It takes the one who tied the bell to untie it.” The aim of any space infiltration ultimately boils down to resolving the core issue.

So, who is the core of this mansion?

At the beginning, Duanmu Huai presumed that the core space was formed by the purple-haired girl. However, upon giving it thorough thought, it didn’t seem right. Although it was true that the purple-haired girl witnessed her father being murdered, it didn’t necessarily imply that she was the core consciousness of this space. It was also probable that the man was not completely dead at that time and saw something right before his demise. Especially considering that they also saw the scene where the man was walking back to the mansion carrying his daughter’s corpse, it was evident at that time the purple-haired girl was not yet revived.

Could it be then, that the one who formed the core consciousness was the man?

But if that were the case, why did his previous rescue mission glitch? For that man, having someone help him fend off the pursuers while he escapes with his daughter would be a good option, wouldn’t it?

Or does the girl, like in Frankenstein, wish for a companion just like herself? It seems unlikely, though. If that were the case, it would surely have been hinted at in the memories they previously viewed.