Early TNG Vol. 23 Chapter 3 Part 1

Full title: THE NEW GATE

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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Chapter 3 - The Gambling Dungeon

Beyond the door lay the dungeon’s first floor.

Though randomly generated, this layer was nearly always an action stage. The route to the stairs below, the traps, and the monsters might vary, but the shared feature was an obstacle course modeled after a giant casino facility.

The spot Shin stepped into was the starting area: like a waiting room ten mels square, one wall torn open to lead forward.

“The shift in perspective isn’t so bad. The real issue is stride length and arm reach.”

His body’s reduced size had changed his field of vision. Shin had never experienced such a debuff in the game days, but it wasn’t especially disruptive, like walking while crouched.

The real problem was his stride. He tried jogging lightly before the others arrived; his stats hadn’t changed, yet he covered less ground than expected. The shorter stride had a greater effect on distance than he’d thought.

When he tried to draw the katana at his hip, he found himself fumbling. His shorter arms meant the familiar motion left the blade half-stuck.

“The katana feels longer now. More awkward than I expected. Best avoid flashy moves until I get used to it.”

Weapons weren’t restricted, so he could freely switch. Shin equipped the black-sheathed katana 『Void Swallower』 on his left hip, and the short blade 『Swift Gale』 on his right.

『Void Swallower』 carried the effect of slowing an enemy’s movements when it dealt damage. It wasn’t crippling, but it applied even to simple actions like walking or running—and extended to magic and skills—making it a solid support while he adapted. Its other attached effects leaned defensive, making it his main weapon here.

『Swift Gale』 was a short blade imbued with wind. It extended reach with gusting blades, and when thrown, the wind aided its speed and accuracy. Shin chose it for ease of handling, a fallback when his sense of range betrayed him.

He was beginning to regain control of his limbs, but his weapon reach still felt off; the familiar katana seemed unnaturally long.

After sending word that he was ready, Schnee and the others stepped through. Tiera and Retoneka, first-timers, looked around with wide, restless eyes.

“How’s your condition?”

“—! N-No, I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. Just… I’ll need a little more time to adjust.”

Because Shin had shrunk, Schnee leaned down to meet his eyes. Unfortunately, in her bunny girl outfit, that placed a pair of “unignorable presences” right before his gaze.

Perhaps because he was smaller, or because Schnee seemed larger in comparison, the sight struck him harder than ever. When their costumes had first changed, he’d simply thought they suited them. Now, all manner of other impressions intruded. The destructive power of bunny girl attire was no exaggeration.

“My, my. Someone’s reaction is priceless.”

Catching his stare, Milt struck a pose and teased him.

“D-Don’t fool around just because no one can die here.”

Shin shook himself, peeled off the grinning Milt clinging to him, and gave her a light chop on the forehead.

“Alright, time to focus. Let’s get serious.”

“Ow…”

“Our equipment’s fine as-is, but Retoneka, do you have a preferred weapon?”

“A warhammer’s what I’m most comfortable with. Though I can’t promise I’ll be useful…”

“There are traps that isolate you. I held back on giving you gear until we knew how the debuffs worked, but now it should be safe.”

Hearing her answer, Shin rummaged through his item box for something suitable. Overpowered equipment would trigger stat restrictions, so he tried different pieces, searching for the highest performance one she could use without penalties.

Thanks to the dungeon’s mechanics, he didn’t need to make her change clothes; simply touching the gear to her bunny outfit equipped it. One by one he checked—this fails, that works—until he settled on a full set of Legend-grade equipment. Since not all had been upgraded, he reinforced them afterward.

“My body… feels light.”

“That’s because the equipment boosts your stats and emphasizes defensive skills. The change in sensation is from the increased values. Move around a bit and get used to it.”

“Understood.”

“Shall I keep an eye on her?”

“Yeah. I’ll leave it to you, Milt.”

If Retoneka misjudged her strength, Milt would step in. While the two tested her movements, Shin once again checked his own altered body.

He unsheathed 『Void Swallower』 and held it ready. Schnee stepped forward.

“I’ll be your opponent.”

“Thank you. Could you use a spear? I want to gauge distance.”

Schnee nodded and manifested a spear, 『Ruyi Fang』: a three-mel shaft with two pale violet blades mounted at right angles. Since this was a spar, she covered the tips with special cloth to make them blunt.

They squared off, then moved in unison.

(This feels much farther than I imagined…)

When Shin tried to close in after deflecting her thrust with 『Void Swallower』, Schnee pulled back and launched another strike to bar him.

『Ruyi Fang』 could extend and contract its shaft, and combined with her technique, it denied him any easy approach. With his altered sense of reach, Shin struggled to seize the right moment to step in.

He stopped and focused on batting aside her rapid thrusts, like a hedge of spears.

Just how far would the spearhead reach before it touched him? Did 『Void Swallower』 strike where he intended? He tested each as they clashed.

“Whoa!”

Suddenly, her thrust turned into a sweeping slash. She had timed it just as Shin was growing accustomed to the distance, striking from the follow-through without pulling the weapon back.

Normally, wielding a long weapon that way would lack speed or force. But with Schnee’s stats, it was more than enough as both feint and attack.

With his old physique, he would have had to jump back or block. In this child’s body, however, he could slip beneath the shaft.

Of course, Schnee had the strength to redirect mid-swing. Shin knew this, so he ducked low and darted sideways, dodging the descending 『Ruyi Fang』. Before she could recover, he grabbed the shaft, dragging the fight into a contest of strength.

Schnee’s reaction was immediate. She raised the weapon high.

If Shin clung on, he’d be hurled skyward. He released his grip, avoiding it, and simultaneously stepped in closer.

Even factoring in 『Ruyi Fang』’s shifting length, she couldn’t retract in time.

But ending it there would be underestimating Schnee. The spear’s butt-end lashed toward him as she brought it up.

Lifting the spearhead could seamlessly convert into a strike with the shaft; a danger one always had to account for against polearms.

Shin blocked the rising blow, but the blade now came scything down from above, exploiting 『Ruyi Fang』’s extendable design. The weapon had shortened to a third of its full length, matching 『Void Swallower』’s reach.

Sparks flew as scabbard and shaft ground against one another.

At point-blank range, the two locked eyes and abandoned their weapons in unison, plunging into a contest of bare fists.

“It felt like my reach was longer with weapons, but barehanded it seems shorter.”

“That’s natural, your actual range has shrunk. In exchange, I feel like your speed has increased.”

They conversed while each tried to seize the other’s wrist. Their hands clashed in rapid succession, each impact ringing out with sharp slaps.

Normally, Schnee could never have resisted Shin this far. Full Vegas’s restrictions on their stats played a part, but the main reason was that Shin kept missing the moment to catch and pin her hand.

The distances he was accustomed to suddenly betrayed him, leaving his grasp empty. Schnee exploited those gaps, weakening his offense.

(This is far more troublesome than I expected.)

He had thought he was prepared after moving about before the others arrived, but sparring proved him wrong.

Two or three fists’ worth, the gap from his old sense of reach was especially crippling in close combat.

(And the height difference, too.)

Where once he stood a head taller than Schnee, the roles were now reversed. That, too, hampered him. Shin was tall even among men, and his style centered on weapon combat, meaning he had rarely fought at close quarters against larger opponents. Schnee, by contrast, excelled with close-range weapons; her experience in melee surpassed his.

“Kh!”

Again, Shin’s hand cut the air. As if she had been waiting, Schnee seized his wrist.

Danger. He thought it just as his world flipped. She slammed him into the ground, twisted his joints, and pinned his other hand beneath her weight.

“This is as far as you go.”

“Yeah… this is more of a debuff than I imagined.”

No stats had been reduced, no skills, titles, or equipment sealed. Yet experiencing it firsthand drove home how disruptive a change in body size could be. Habits ingrained over the years did not adjust so easily.

“Ah—by the way, Schnee? Why are you still on top of me?”

Schnee pressed close, holding him down. Some contact was needed to restrain him, but the intimacy here was excessive. Even through her dealer costume, her softness was unmistakable.

“You seemed rather distracted by others earlier, so I thought I’d leave a strong impression.”

“T-That’s…”

He had half-expected her to scold him for joking around with Milt, but realizing she had noticed exactly where his gaze had lingered, leaving him sweating.

With such beauties in the party, and now dressed as bunny girls, averting his eyes had been impossible.

Resigned, he explained.

“I can’t deny I was looking. But it’s like with Milt, I wasn’t being lecherous. Bunny girls are just… wonderful, that’s all.”

“…You truly like bunny girls that much?”

He couldn’t see her face from where she held him, but her voice alone conveyed exasperation.

“They never even appeared in the story, yet they were popular enough that official goods had bunny costumes. It’s seriously that big a thing.”

It was the truth, and here he spoke from the heart.

“Should I be angry or simply astonished? I can’t tell. Still, despite that, you rarely had me or Filma wear one.”

“Well… forcing my own companions into those outfits felt a bit guilty, you know…”

The same reason applied to swimsuits; he had hesitated to push them into anything too revealing. Pressed for why, Shin himself could scarcely articulate it.

“Now that you mention it, you used to hold back in odd ways.”

With that, Schnee released him and rose. She extended her hand, and when Shin took it to stand, she pulled harder than he expected, pulling him close.

The force and their proximity left him unable to avoid her, and with his current stature, his face pressed right into her chest. A situation unimaginable under normal circumstances.

(Wait—she definitely misjudged her strength there!)

Shin immediately tried to pull away to excuse himself, but Schnee held his shoulder down and whispered into his ear.

“You don’t have to restrain yourself anymore.”

“S-Schnee…?”

He drew back, pressing the ear she had breathed into. Her voice had been different—sweet, intoxicating. A shiver coursed down his spine.

“This costume seems to make me… bolder.”

Her smile, too, carried a different shade than usual.

“…You mean it? Then I really won’t hold back.”

“Yes. That’s what I want.”

Shin’s throat clicked as he swallowed. Possibilities crowded his mind despite himself.

“What… exactly am I watching?”

“Kuuu… lovey-dovey…”

Tiera stared with exasperation, Yuzuha with sparkling eyes of delight, while Kagerou simply yawned.

𑁋

Once Retoneka had grown accustomed to her enhanced state, Shin’s party advanced into the dungeon.

Beyond the starting point, the destination appeared within their view.

The first floor was, as expected, an action stage. There was no fixed path; reaching the staircase to the second layer was all that mattered.

“Maybe it’s because I’m smaller, but everything feels more imposing than before.”

Shin muttered as he studied the stage’s mechanisms. The difference between an adult’s perspective and a child’s; every oversized object placed along the stage felt even larger than it should.

“There’s no time limit, so let’s take it steadily.”

Even Shin didn’t know every gimmick. The chance of triggering a sudden death trap wasn’t zero.

Many of Full Vegas’s dungeon traps ignored resistances or nullification skills. That was allowed only because this was treated as an amusement attraction with no death penalty. Serious players, however, had often complained.

“Does it start out the same every time?”

The group proceeded down a red-carpeted corridor stretching straight from the start.

Even in Shin’s memories, that crimson carpet had left an impression.

“Now that you mention it, I remember this too. Maybe it’s a common route.”

“Could be.”

Milt also recalled it, and though cautious of his surroundings, he seemed nostalgic. The path ended after about fifty mels.

“Well then, which way do we go?”

The carpeted corridor ended abruptly before Shin, cut clean as if sliced away. Beyond lay a bottomless void. From here on, they had to choose their footholds.

As Shin weighed which route might be safest, Tiera peered down at the abyss and asked:

“Hey, Shin. What’s down there? If we fall, isn’t that dangerous…?”

“Fall, and you’re disqualified. I think you get a buffer of about a hundred mels, though.”

“Even with a buffer, doesn’t that still mean the end?”

“Not necessarily. Tie ropes to your companions, or use aerial jump skills; there are ways to handle it.”

Shin’s options were threefold:

A route using enormous floating cards and coins as platforms.

A path along oversized objects like roulette wheels and poker tables.

Or a hybrid of both.

The most precarious path wasn’t always the fastest; that was the dungeon’s trick. Sometimes the hardest route turned out to be the longest detour.

“We don’t actually die if we fall, right?”

“Right. Cross the drop limit and you’re teleported to the losers’ holding area. Strictly speaking, the avatar vanishes and your consciousness returns to your body.”

Even so, the fear of falling lingered. Tiera’s expression remained stiff.

“Since we’ve got first-timers, we should go that way. No guarantee that the scariest route is the right one.”

“True. Guess there’s no point agonizing, best pray for luck.”

Following Milt’s suggestion, Shin turned his focus to the continuous route ahead.

“Just to check, does anyone feel a certain route is better? I’ve heard of people guessing right by instinct.”

Skills like 【Farsight】 or 【Clairvoyance】 couldn’t pierce the paths ahead.

Still, some claimed that occasionally one route just felt correct, though most dismissed it as an urban legend. Shin had never experienced it, but he knew this world sometimes allowed perceptions the game never had.

Tiera and Yuzuha were proof of that, so he asked, just in case.

“Nothing stands out. Honestly, it all looks strange to me.”

“Kuuu…”

Neither Tiera nor Yuzuha sensed anything. The others also shook their heads.

“Alright then. We leave it to fate.”

Remaining wary, Shin stepped onto the edge of a roulette wheel, the central route. Only the rotating section floated, its red-and-black numbered slots already cracked in places.

Once everyone entered the wheel’s circle, a sharp crack rang out.

“What was that?”

Tiera glanced left and right, following the sound. Kagerou raised his ears, and Retoneka tensed in worry.

The rest, however, showed little alarm, because they knew what came next.

Yuzuha, who was now about two mels, padded up to Retoneka to soothe her.

Moments later, fractures spread across the platforms of each route, then, starting from the edges, they collapsed with a rumbling crash.

“W-Wait, what!? The path just fell away!”

Shrieking, Tiera clung to Shin. With the size difference, it looked like she had pulled him against her chest. She didn’t notice at all; her eyes were locked on the falling platforms, filled with fear.

“Mngh… it’s alright. This just prevents us from turning back if things look dangerous. Once you choose, you’re meant to follow it through.”

Shin answered, trying to ignore the soft sensation pressed against him.

His view was swallowed by black fabric and pale skin, so he pieced together the crashing debris below from the echoes reverberating upward.

“Really? This platform won’t collapse too, will it?”

Pressed so close, Shin could feel Tiera trembling slightly.

Fighting monsters was one thing, but watching the ground vanish into darkness before your eyes was a different terror altogether. Her exaggerated reaction was only natural.

(No matter how I explain it, the fear won’t vanish.)

This dungeon kept overturning the common sense Tiera had lived by. She trusted Shin and Schnee, but head knowledge couldn’t banish the dread that welled up from staring into a bottomless void.

To ease her nerves, Shin kept his tone as calm as possible.

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