Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

The red-haired girl gently patted her cheek, clearing her mind of the jumbled thoughts, then turned to look at the mansion's gate, having made up her mind.

Just like she said to Sai Emi, she was going to actively lure the strange creature from the "hospital" into the house from the outside, breaking the rules protecting this mansion.

The reason for this is quite simple: Kita needs to reinforce the spatial nodes already existing within the mansion, making them more stable—stable enough for a powerful player like Kita to pass through. Since the living person initially sucked into this passage, Yurikawa Hana, is still alive, the dungeon path she created through her exploration won't dissipate before her death. Kita can then use this explored path to directly reach the deeper space after stabilizing the passage, and then try to reunite with Miko. Of course, finding and rescuing Hana along the way isn't out of the question, but that depends on Hana's luck, since Kita doesn't know the true size of the deeper space or where she has gone.

Steady footsteps echoed from upstairs. Kita knew that Sai Emi had taken Yotsuya Touko to a room on the third floor. After closing the door and windows, the room itself could be protected by Takami's "House Rules." Although the protection provided by a room located within an corrupted building was greatly reduced due to the building's erosion and alteration, making it possible for even Twilight-level monsters to breach the defenses from the outside, Kita was not without countermeasures. She was confident that she could complete her mission while protecting Miko's mother.

squeak-

The gates of the mansion are opened once again.

The girl gazed at the relentless downpour outside, exhaled softly, and her expression turned serious.

The difference between truly feeling the eerie atmosphere of the dungeon world and observing it from inside Mr. Gao's body is indeed quite significant.

So, this is the first instance that I actually investigated myself after I was resurrected and returned to the human world.

Cut your finger and leave a mark on the door.

The blessing power of the Blood Flower quickly activated, providing a considerable degree of protection for the entire building.

This is one of the blessings Kita Ikuyo received from the Blood Flower: the [Spiritual Protection]. With the protection of this power, she can ensure that no external force will invade the mansion and harm Yotsuya Touko, who is hiding inside, when she goes deep into the dungeon space.

With protective measures in place, the next step is to find suitable prey.

Tread-

Kita walked into the rain. Even though she didn't use an umbrella or take any precautions, the rain seemed to be pushed away by some invisible force, and not a single drop could actually fall on the girl.

You can feel the restless, foul energy in the air.

After handing over one of the extra electronic devices containing fragments of the Crimson Domain to Sai Emi, Kita walked into the rain empty-handed. Like fresh flesh and blood placed in a primeval forest, Kita stimulated all the predators around him, as if extending an invitation to them to "come."

For these mindless creatures that only act according to rules, such an unmasked target that meets the conditions for attack is naturally not to be let go.

whoosh-

Something was rapidly approaching through the torrential rain.

A chilling aura emanated from her front, back, sides, and even above and below her head. The sheer number of these strange creatures surprised Kita, who wondered how they had managed to reach such numbers in such a short time. However, this level of attack was far from enough to force Kita to retreat. She barely used her main abilities, simply lifting her foot lightly and stomping down.

boom! ! !

The next moment, all the monsters that had attacked Kita were pinned to the ground, lying motionless in the collapsed rubble and mud. No matter what form these monsters took or what abilities they possessed, they were completely suppressed by Kita in that instant and lost all ability to resist.

"So now it's time to choose a suitable target. Hopefully, we'll find one."

Kita reached out and fiddled with her long red hair, which had been disheveled while dealing with a modified monster of the Abyss Domain level. Then she started walking slowly in the rain, her gaze sweeping over the monsters that she had suppressed to the ground, unable to make any moves.

This one is at the Twilight level... It's too weak. Even if I could further stabilize the spatial node, I still wouldn't be able to pass it.

This one is Dark Night level, no, this one won't do either. Although this one is very weak to me, a single Dark Night level player can still easily be wiped out. If this thing brings something along and runs into the house while I'm not around, the player left behind and Aunt Yotsuya might be doomed.

This one... well, its strength is very low, just an ordinary Dark Night level. Perhaps... no, this won't do, this one is too much like a derivative monster, it's likely mass-produced. Although it looks weak, you can't tell the corresponding dungeon strength. What if you accidentally blow up a shark while shoving fish? That would be a disaster.

Kita frowned, rummaging through the numerous strange creatures scattered on the ground. These terrifying monsters, which should have terrified players and ordinary people alike, were now all unable to resist, lying obediently on the ground. Clearly, such an ability was not easily achieved even among Red Moon-level players, yet Kita Yuyo showed no signs of exhaustion, which was enough to demonstrate the extent of her current strength.

However, her current abilities are ultimately the result of clearing the [Infant Cry Village] instance. Without the blessing of the Blood Flower, even if Kita Ikuyo fully recovered, she would only be a mediocre Red Moon-level player, not as strong as Goto Ichiri in terms of raw power.

tread--

The girl suddenly stopped and looked at a strange creature that was being pressed to the ground, which appeared to be a young female nurse.

The nurse's face was so badly ulcerated that it was just a mass of rotten flesh, but her figure was extremely alluring. She had a great figure with a full bust, a waist, and a butt. Coupled with the nurse's uniform that she was wearing, which looked utterly lewd, she practically had the word "slutty" written all over her body.

It is a Dark Night-level monster with very low strength and not much power of rules.

However, this aura seems to be connected to the core obsession, suggesting it's a relatively important creature within the dungeon. Considering it's only a low-level Dark Night-class creature, it must originate from a low-level Dark Night-class dungeon. So, this one is the one; it should be fine.

Grabbing the nurse by the foot, Kita went straight back to the mansion and closed the door. First, she checked again to make sure the defenses she had set up were in place. After confirming that, she took the monster to the vicinity of the spatial link point inside the mansion, released the suppression of the monster, and kicked it towards the erosion point of the instance space.

Oh... Oh oh ho...

Amidst strange and heavy breathing, the nurse-like monster stood up and swayed as it attempted to launch another attack on Kita.

But before this thing could take action, the already abnormal spatial structure around it was further altered by the contact with the new [Hospital] faction's eerie aura. In an instant, the entire corridor was distorted into fragments. Kita could even clearly see different pieces in those fragments, such as projections of various building areas and figures of people coming and going doing something.

The space is stabilizing again.

Kita could sense that this corridor now led to two different instances: one was the Twilight-level instance that Yurikawa had mistakenly entered, and the other was the Night-level instance to which the nurse monster he had just thrown in belonged.

The boundary between the real world and the virtual world can now be broken so easily; I don't know what to say. In short, let's focus on the present.

Taking a step, Kita entered the space passage that had become more stable and could accommodate high-level players.

Then, after spending about 10 minutes, she successfully found the core obsession in the Dark Night-level dungeon. First, she used a suppression bullet that Gao Hai had prepared for her in advance to suppress the opponent and render it unable to move. Then, she found the core obsession object and brought it out. She returned to the real world and gave the obsession object to Sai Emi, who was responsible for protecting Yotsuya Touko. Then, she returned to the corridor and headed towards the Twilight-level dungeon.

The reason for undertaking such a troublesome operation is that finding the path between lower-rank and higher-rank dungeons is extremely difficult and requires in-depth exploration and puzzle-solving to have any chance of success. However, Kita simply doesn't have the time for that right now, so utilizing the already discovered paths is the correct choice, such as the one that Xiaohua found by chance.

hum-

In the blink of an eye, Kita had arrived at the stinking corridor filled with cockroaches.

The girl covered her nose, feeling somewhat disgusted, and let out a soft groan. An invisible force instantly spread out, pulverizing all the surrounding insects and forcibly suppressing the foul odor.

She strode forward, searching for traces of Yurikawa Hana in the corridor, and soon arrived at the peculiar room, finding the corrupt corridor made of barbed wire.

Yes, this is the place.

"It went so smoothly, without a single mishap, which actually makes me feel uneasy."

The girl muttered a complaint under her breath, then took a step and prepared to enter the corridor.

Then, she suddenly stopped, realizing something. She turned to look around at the empty room, then closed her eyes and carefully sensed her surroundings. Her expression changed as she realized what the problem was.

The core obsession is not here.

The core obsession of this instance, which should theoretically remain within this instance—the Twilight-level core obsession monster—has already left the instance and disappeared.

It couldn't be in the real world. Before entering the corridor, Kita did a final reconnaissance. A mere Twilight-level core obsession couldn't possibly evade her sensory scan. This was determined by the absolute difference in strength between the two sides.

Therefore, it is only possible that it entered this passage and actively headed to the deeper area where the [hospital] is located.

This is very abnormal; under normal circumstances, core obsessions do not leave the instance.

But since that thing has definitely left, it proves that when Yurikawa Hana entered the passage, she triggered some kind of supernatural rule related to the core obsession, causing that thing to pursue her even at the cost of leaving its place of origin. Frankly, this situation is quite dire. Hana is, after all, just an ordinary human. Even now, with her awakened supernatural power to become light, her light can only burn derivatives; against a monster of the core obsession level, she'd still be easily defeated. If that core obsession is determined to kill Hana, Kita seriously doubts whether it can withstand the attack.

We can't waste any more time; we must move forward at full speed!

Realizing the problem, Kita didn't hesitate and wasted no time, disappearing into the dark passage in the blink of an eye.

At the same time that the girl on one side started to move, another girl had just opened her eyes and regained consciousness in the dark room.

No, that's not right.

It's not a restoration of consciousness; I've never lost my consciousness.

This feeling is that you have seen something again, something that others cannot see, something that should be deeply hidden.

[Sizzle…]

A piercing electrical buzzing echoed in the darkness.

The dark red signboard shimmered slightly, revealing the words "Happiness Clinic".

Yes, this is the place. Jianzi remembers this place. This is the passage chosen by the [Hospital] to completely occupy the residential area. This clinic may have originally come from a Dark Night-level instance, a lower-level instance belonging to the [Hospital], just like [Shirakawa Apartments] and [Infant Cry Village].

The players from Jianzi and the Sunflower Squad did not explore this instance area in depth. They did not care much about what kind of core obsession existed in this place. They just wanted to find the entrance to the deeper area as quickly as possible. They soon found the place and found a bottomless, pitch-black hole in the room that was terrifying to look at.

Then, they all jumped down.

Miko herself didn't have a deep memory of what happened after she jumped into the hole. She only remembered that she seemed to have jumped more than once, and each time she fell into the hole, she seemed to arrive at a new room, and there would always be a new, pitch-black, deep pit waiting for her to jump into.

At first, the Sunflower Squad players were still around her, advancing alongside her. But at some point, they all vanished, leaving only Miko awake in the dark room, continuing to jump deeper into the darkness.

She knew she was going deep into it.

Delve into the depths of the twisted world of the Sacrifice Game, reaching places inaccessible to other players.

That place is the spatial structure between the [Hospital] and its various subordinate instances, a space that is extremely distorted and bizarre and difficult to measure using conventional physical rules.

The senior, after ascending the throne of thought, saw that place. He said that space was like a dream, a subconscious dream created by the obsessions of all the lower-level copies of the [Hospital], linked to the [Hospital] itself. It was this ethereal, elusive dream that formed the connection, creating that deep space linking them together.

The reason I chose to delve into this place was to break one of the tendrils that connects this deep space to the real world.

But what will I see now? Could it be the core obsession of this "Happiness Clinic" and its connection to the "Hospital"?

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

The piercing sound of electricity rang out once again.

But unlike before, Miko could sense that this time, the sound of electricity was mixed with someone's sigh.

He seemed to be a very old man. He and his wife ran a small clinic in a small place called "Happiness Clinic." They had lived there for a long time, spending their days treating patients, giving injections, and prescribing medicine.

He knew his aging wife had finally passed away, and the man, now old and alone, had no children to inherit the clinic.

He endured this kind of life for many years, guarding an empty house, hoping every day that he would die the next day, but when he woke up the next day, he was just as energetic as the day before, without any of the signs of old age.

It's as if one's body and mind have been separated into two things, the former always full of vitality, while the latter is already scarred.

Perhaps if he deliberately harmed himself, his overly healthy body would meet its end much sooner. But he couldn't do that; after all, he had promised his lover that he would live out the rest of his life well and not do anything foolish. But the remaining days were so lonely; the old man, with nothing but himself, felt that every day was a torment of pain.

So, let us save you.

The voice spoke to me like that, and I almost gave in to it. I don't know why I couldn't refuse it; it was like my instinct... fighting against my reason...

I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on, so I'm leaving this record. I know I'm not the only one who's encountered something so bizarre. I'm too old to be the one to break the deadlock, so I can only hope that those who come after me can learn from my experience, and that you can find a solution in my last words.

Then, the old man's voice rang out from the static, an exceptionally calm voice, as steady as a mountain, befitting someone facing death.

I can feel my memories being rummaged through, my emotions being twisted step by step, and being presented in a crazy way that I cannot accept.

I experienced happiness in my hallucinations; all the things I had dreamed of seeing in the past were realized one by one, in the form of a false dream, and left me with strong memories.

Therefore, I became increasingly disappointed and dissatisfied with the real world.

Even though I don't want to be this way, even though I want to break free, I inevitably find myself immersed in that false happiness day after day. I think if I continue like this, I'll be beyond saving, and I'll no longer be myself, but I can't stop the process. The place where that voice comes from, those monsters, their transformation of my mind and body is irreversible...

Perhaps this is good news. I promised my partner I wouldn't do anything foolish or hurt myself needlessly, but now this is no longer just about me. To prevent more people from getting hurt, I believe my choice is the right one.

The old man's voice sounded like he was talking to himself, yet also like he was communicating with someone; his words remained steady and powerful, maintaining his composure.

However, before finishing this last thing, I think I have other tasks to complete.

I couldn't find a way to stop those monsters, but I found a place, a place that only people like me, who have been affected and modified, can reach.

It was like a dream, but a complete nightmare. Everything was intertwined and fragmented, beyond repair.