Survive as a Prison Guard in the Game

Chapter 164
Purgatory (1)

When he was roaming around looking for hidden pieces.

Occasionally, NPCs passing by would blurt out.

-That place is dangerous….

Thinking of it as a clue for a new area, he pondered for a while, wandering around the continent trying to figure out where ‘that place’ might be.

Then, he stumbled upon a book.

[Purgatory Expedition].

An ancient tome whose author is unknown.

It was written in an alien language that he couldn’t decipher, and even the translation magic available in-game couldn’t translate it.

So, he quietly stored it in the item warehouse.

Afterwards, the Burning Hell update was implemented.

Clues about the Purgatory began to surface one by one. He returned to investigate about it once again.

He found an item that allowed transcendental translation, through which he could decipher parts of the [Purgatory Expedition].

The beginning of the book went like this.

-There is another place that is not included in these three: the Celestial Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Middle Realm, where we are.

-I have chosen to call it Purgatory.

-These are the things I wrote down as I traveled through Purgatory.

The heavenly and demonic realms.

And the Middle Realm, where he is.

It’s not just these three realms, it’s another realm stretching out. It was the beginning of a larger worldview.

He shared this information with the community.

Then various opinions arose.

– Purgatory? They didn’t even release the celestial and demonic realms?

– What the hell is Purgatory?

– They’re dropping strange clues again without even updating anything. I’m tired, really sick of it.

Reactions were generally negative.

The game was also on the decline, and with so few players, it wasn’t a situation where help could be sought easily.

So he decided to delve into it alone.

– I am an explorer. I enjoy traveling to various places and analyzing and discovering ancient ruins.

– It was by chance that I stumbled upon Purgatory

– I was analyzing ancient ruins on an island across the ocean when the ground collapsed and I was sucked into something.

The “island across the sea” the person was talking about. He traveled to every island on the continent to find it.

He checked all the ones with ancient ruins, and made sure there was an interactive button to go down to the bottom.

Despite traveling all over the continent, he never found the island across the ocean.

‘Ha…’

He gave up looking for Purgatory for a while because of all the esoteric information, and started digging into Burning Hell.

But then he discovered a new clue about Purgatory.

– Burning Hell was originally established during the early days of the Empire. Over time, as six kingdoms rose and the Empire fell, prisoners were sent to Burning Hell, shaping it into its current form.

Few people seem to know much about Burning Hell.

– What the people at Burning Hell don’t know. It’s not only nine levels underground, but there’s a tenth level underneath.

The existence of a tenth floor.

Along with that, delving into the past of Burning Hell, he discovered that ancient ruins existed here.

The island mentioned by the author of the Purgatory Expedition was Burning Hell, and the pitfall that he fell into clearly referred to the tenth underground level.

The next step was easy.

He focused on finding a way to descend to the 9th underground level, and then concentrated on discovering how to go down to the 10th level.

However, perhaps due to a lack of implementation in the game, there was no way to enter Purgatory.

“Now it’s different.”

Redin followed the green trail that Arrakis’s eyes showed him as he plummeted downward. He braced himself, not knowing when he would hit the ground.

How deep he’d drop.

There was a small breeze rising from the floor accompanied by a warm heat. The green glow that warned him of the impending impact intensified.

He ramped up his mana to prepare for the landing.

All of his senses faded away as darkness enveloped him.

– A black sky appeared. There were several objects emitting light.

As described in the Purgatory Expedition, soon various colors such as red, yellow, blue, etc., began to emit light.

Along with that, his body began to move slowly.

– It was both fascinating and frightening. Where could this be? Lost in thought, I eventually arrived at a place emitting white light.

White light in the distance.

His body moved towards the white light.

With a sensation of being sucked in, his head began to throb, and inexplicable strange sensations occurred.

*Sizzle*

Should he describe it as his body no longer feeling like his own? Or should he say it felt like his mind was separating from his physical body.

The skin was the first to disappear.

Then, veins followed by major organs began to vanish.

Finally, only white bones remained visible. Watching as the bones turned to dust, he became conscious.

He was not dead.

If he were, the Phoenix Heart would have activated.

The surrounding scenery turned white.

And as the pure white light began to move, it began to form something.

Buildings that looked like houses.

Shapes that resembled people.

Something that resembles a person.

In addition, various races appeared.

And with the sensation of someone hitting him in the head with a blunt object, all of his senses returned as the world around him became more detailed with color.

“Ugh!”

Gasping for air, he slumped to the ground. Then someone reached over and patted Redin on the back.

*Thump*

*Thump*

When his breathing returned to normal, he looked at his surroundings once more. There were towering buildings.

It was a strange amalgamation of buildings that symbolized each of the Kingdoms.

– Purgatory felt like a village where various cultures converged. Firstly, there were diverse architectural styles, and secondly, various races lived together.

As Redin turned his head to look at the person patting his back, he saw that the lizardman was sticking out its tongue.

“Are you all right?”

“Thank you.”

The Lizardman, who was smiling with slitted eyes, lowered his posture and asked.

“How did you get here?”

A gaze that seemed to know and covet.

He recalled what the person who explored Purgatory had written.

-There are three ways to enter Purgatory.

-Firstly, those chosen among the deceased can enter Purgatory.

– Secondly, at the moment of reaching a special state, when the boundary between life and death becomes blurred, one can enter Purgatory.

-And thirdly, there was a special path like the one that I took to enter Purgatory.

He fit into the third case of exploring Purgatory, however, there was a word of advice from someone who explored Purgatory afterwards.

– If by any chance you come to Purgatory after reading this, never speak of the third case.

– Everyone here is dead. Occasionally, there are those who covet the flesh. If they take away your body, you’ll be unable to return from Purgatory for the rest of your life.

– I saw it with my own eyes. Dozens of deceased fighting to possess the one who spoke of the third case.”

– Remember it well. You must always answer that you came here because you died.

Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth.

“I died and woke up to find myself in this place.”

“How did you die?”

“I was in the process of mastering my sword, attempting to enter a new realm, and I remember not being able to break through the wall and losing consciousness.”

“I see. I thought you were an Irregular. Get up.”

With the help from the Lizardman, he rose to his feet.

“Do you see that blue clock tower over there for now?”

“Yes.”

“If you go there, you’ll be able to get a purgatory certificate that says you’re a resident of Purgatory. Anything else you want to know, go there and ask.”

“Thanks.”

As the lizardman left, he followed suit and started walking. Upon entering the building with the blue clock tower, Redin saw people standing in line.

The deceased who had just died and arrived here.

There were humans, orcs, and elves, among others. Not only human races but also various other races of the deceased stood in line.

“Next.”

A man who appeared to be an official at the clock tower ushered the dead into the building one by one.

“Damn. What the hell is this place? What’s taking so long?”

An orcish figure walked forward in anger. The employee approached the orc, who seemed to be trying to cut in line.

“Stop right there.”

“What’s your problem?!”

As the orc extended out his hand, a blade made of blue mana unfolded, forming an aura blade.

An aura blade taking the form of a sword, even though there was no actual sword present.

Just looking at that showed that the orc’s skill was far from ordinary.

At least an Advanced Expert.

But the staff was no slouch either. Grabbing the orc’s deployed Aura Blade with his hand, he promptly crushed it into pieces.

*Heh*

“Kid, that crap won’t even get you past me here, so shut up and go to the back and wait again.”

An expression of horror stained the orc’s face as he gulped.

– I was informed about purgatory by a good friend who lived there.

– It is a place where the dead are sent, but not just any dead people.

– It is where those who have reached great heights, who have a desire to reach even greater levels. It was said that those who could not let go of their desire to be stronger were gathered here.

That’s why Purgatory had the highest number of Experts on average.

Those who have not crossed the threshold of Mastery.

For their desire is the strongest.

That’s why there were so many people who were enlightened and became masters in this place, and even those who were even higher than masters could be seen along the way.

Redin’s reason for coming here was similar.

He came here to take advantage of the special method that has allowed those who have reached Expert advanced status to reach Mastery.

“Next!”

He slowly waited his turn and stepped inside the clock tower. Walking inside, he followed the instructions of an attendant.

There were desks spread out like the ones in a bank.

As he sat down at an empty spot, a person who seemed to be an official handed him something with a stern expression.

A piece of paper about the size of his palm.

“Hands up.”

He held up his hand as instructed.

Mana surged through his body and flowed into the paper.

“You’re Expert Advance. Couldn’t surpass the Master level and ended up here, huh?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll have to start from the lower leagues then. Take this and head to the place marked as the lower leagues over there.”

Taking the paper the employee handed him.

Lower League.

With so many of those who had attained higher realms, Purgatory didn’t operate like a normal place.

Everyone here strived to reach a higher plane.

Thus, a system was created.

The Arena of Enlightenment.

One could pick an opponent similar to themselves or a slightly stronger opponent to fight, and if they won, they could take their opponent’s enlightenment.

As one advance through enlightenment.

They could engage in combat with master-level practitioners, and if they emerged victorious, they could also gain the enlightenment held by those masters.

From here, breaking through the Wall of the Expert is the first priority, and reaching the Wall of Mastery is the final goal.

However…

-Those who are not dead can only spend 20 days in Purgatory, after which they are automatically ejected.

He must work quickly.

As he followed the path guided by the staff, a teleporter-like device appeared.

Before him, another staff member questioned.

“Are you aware that you must participate in five placement battles, and if you lose three or more times, you will be expelled from Purgatory?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will send you to the placement battle arena.”