Isekai Online's

Chapter 43 - The Cave Hall

The cave discovered by Hans is a small branching of the main cave inhabited by a giant skull. The limestone rocks that formed the stalactites and stalagmites gave Hans a narrow space of motion.

Hans, Elliot, and Shirayuki alternately lined up to make room for a slightly wide cave passage. The limited illumination of Hans' flashlight and the slippery texture of the cave floor gave him a thousand questions about the cause of the giant skull.

The information Hans knew slowly gave rise to a red thread that formed a spider web inside his brain. The events related to the Demon Ancient Rune slowly formed like pieces of a puzzle that fused together and became the temporary hypothesis of that event.

The Demon Ancient Rune and the case it once solved became the crucial key of a continuous Quest. Especially with the small instructions delivered by Arvis. The giant skull is the embodiment of an imperfect death. A body separated from the soul and locked in a living skull container, it was a common torture often used by the Demon race. Find out the facts of the history of Isekai Online that occurred in the past, Hans could deduce the existence of someone trying to use past magic for use in the present era or someone from the past who rose up in the present.

The discovery of Arvis who brought up the flaw in the Demon Ancient Rune became a special attraction to Hans. If that understanding is changed in the form of a program language, it will become an obsolete programming language against new programs that have been refined to be more efficient, fast, and secure. The weakness of this Demon Ancient Rune was a flaw capable of destroying its magic structure in a single strike. In order to carry out the attack that destroyed the giant skull, Hans needed to know the source of the magic and the magic structure that became the main core for the giant skull.

Thanks to a small attack by Elliot, the MOCAD system that became Hans's navigation tool became useless. The magic interference caused by the Elliot Warlock skill turned off the magic functions scattered around the main cave. It was an advantage for Hans because his Detective Class was very useless if he did battle between Players. By evading the battle route and cutting off the path to the core of the main cave, Hans and Elliot become the first Players to perform stealth exploration without detectable NPCs in the forbidden zone.

“Hans, is this still far away?” asked Elliot who set the rhythm of his heavy breath.

“We've been running for over an hour! And we have not found the destination we are looking for!” continue Elliot's speech with a more cheerful tone than usual.

Hans responded to the question with a screen of the MOCAD system that stretched in front of Elliot's eyes. The map recorded by the MOCAD system shows the three-dimensional shape of a winding underground cavern forming a labyrinthine passageway. The red dots that were a danger sign of something had disappeared and Hans' route was an alternative one that avoided potential surprise attacks from unknown entities.

“If only you had not carried out such an attack, we would not have needed to circle around a dangerous place like this!” hans grumbled with his cynical tone.

“Eh? From earlier.. We walk around?” reply Elliot with his innocent tone.

“Of course, those little dots came from something emitting magic energy and were detected by the MOCAD system. We move around to cut time and avoid unnecessary battles. It's just, someone has tampered with the MOCAD system and forced me to switch to manual mode in the form of a three-dimensional blind map,” Hans said.

“Hmm.. Who did it? Sounds very familiar to me,” reply Elliot without feeling guilty for his actions.

Hans did not respond to Elliot's reply. His brain continues to work as a navigator that guides the way and solves the puzzles of an intricate labyrinth. The labyrinth shape successfully recorded by the MOCAD system has an elongated and branched texture like an underground dungeon.

“Hng?!” Hans stopped his movements after his flashlight hit a different ground rock from the limestone. He slowly approached the ground rocks and touched them.

Hans took a handful of the land and squeezed it. Brown water droplets were clearly visible and the distinctive smell of dirt was smelling on Hans's hands.

Meanwhile, Shirayuki who was standing next to Hans grabbed the handle of her weapon and acted alert.

“Ugh.. What are you doing, Hans?” elliot comments after smelling the scent of dirt from Hans' hand.

Hans immediately opened his three-dimensional map and estimated his position point based on footstep calculations. The location points are close to small points that are clustered. Realizing that his location point was in danger, Hans immediately observed the situation with a focus on estimating the direction of the surprise attack.

Throughout his eyes, Hans looked very confused by his calm situation.

“There's a strange, Elliot.”

“Eh? What?”

“This shit.. You feel it, don't you?” hans said as he moved his hand to Elliot's face.

“Hey! Oye! Eliminate that! So gross!” Elliot moved away from Hans' hand and took refuge in the dirt-covered rocks of the cave.

“Ugh.. SH#%! Why did this happen to me?” elliot grumbled with regret.

“Master Hans, let me clean it,” Shirayuki said.

“No need, I hand over all the upcoming attacks to you, Shirayuki!” hans' orders.

“I will do it even without orders, Master Hans.”

The alertness of Shirayuki and the condition of the cave that has dirt is a natural sign of the living creatures that live in the cave. The narrow entrance of the limestone rocks looks very clean compared to dirt-filled ground rocks. The thought of Hans knowing this fact put a wary attitude on his body. Hans cleaned his hands with fine limestone rocks.

The smell of the stinging dirt can be removed by the limestone. Hans and Elliot took their leisure time jokingly using the remaining dirt.

“Elliot, I was just warning you about this. This shit is a very trapping sign for us. The aroma.” Hans stopped his words and recalled how disgusting the topic he was trying to cover was.

“Er.. This unique aroma,” Hans continued.

“Hey.. Why did you stop in the middle of the sentence?” reply Elliot in a flat tone.

“It's okay, I just remembered my scientific work on biogas. Comparing human waste and animal waste to the quality of biogas produced.”

“So, what results do you get?” ask Elliot, please,

“K-You seriously want to know?” hans replied as if he did not believe what he had just heard.

“Holmes, as your assistant. It is my duty to know a glimmer of your knowledge for the good of myself.”

“What is this? Now you're turning into a detective assistant and dumping your identity off the Warlock road?”

“Ayo.. For personal pleasure only,” replies to Elliot who ignores Hans's question.

“...” Hans was silent after hearing that. His instincts moved and realized the awkwardness of Elliot's strange behavior.

“Elliot, whatever you do. Don't forget the profit sharing.”

“I-That.. Can be set.” Elliot replied with a hesitant tone and small vibrating movements of his body.

“Sounds very dubious, we will make his contract later.” Hans smiled sinisterly behind his hood. Elliot's reactions and answers have shown the hidden intentions detected by Hans.

Hans let out a heavy sigh and prepared to follow Elliot's play.

The game between a detective and a detective assistant has begun as Hans becomes more serious than usual. Hans could guess about what Elliot was working on. A side business that deals between him and Isekai Online.

“Human and animal impurities have a big difference in composition and quality. The composition used greatly influences the manufacturing process of biogas.”

“The first difference is chemical composition. Human waste is generally richer in organic matter and nutrients than animal waste. This is due to the diverse human diet and their status as omnivores. Foods that contain fiber, fat, and complex carbohydrates can affect the chemical composition of their feces. Meanwhile, animal manure such as cows, goats, or poultry contains more coarse fiber and less nutrients.”

“Both is water content. Human feces in general contain more water than animal waste. The concentration of the density of impurities greatly affects the biogas manufacturing system. Animal manure tends to be drier and has a higher concentration of solids.”

“Next is potential methane gas content. Human and animal feces have different methane production potentials. Human excrement tends to produce less methane than animal waste. The cause is a much different nutrient composition. And.. Do not use skills that ignite fire!” hans said with a firm tone.

“O-Okay.. The noted! Holmes.” replies to Elliot who seriously heard Hans' explanation.

“You don't want to try it?” canda Hans's.

“You want me to do it?” reply Elliot.

“No need to bother, I have a more efficient way than using magic.”

Hans pulled out a Gross-17 gun tucked away from his pocket. After seeing Hans' gun preparing to shoot. A cold sweat drenched Elliot's forehead, the fear between life and death began to permeate his all-round body.

“A-I was just kidding,” Elliot said to save himself from the possibility of a silly death.

Hans put his gun on the sidelines of his clothes and continued the topic of the discussion being cut off.

“This one, an important factor in the manufacture of biogas is microorganisms. The microorganisms involved in the formation of biogas vary depending on the type of feces used. Human feces and animal waste contain different microorganisms that affect the performance and stability of the biogas making system.”

“Kurasa, those four things are already contained in my scientific journal. Those different qualities require additional attention, especially on the uniquely-unique human waste in each individual. Well, in the end it was just a journal comparing dirt to produce biogas products and used by my old school.”

“So, the conclusion?” ask Elliot.

“Quite reasonable.”

“Hmm.” Hans held onto his chin and thought about the one thing that was troubling his mind.

Human feces or animal feces contain methane due to biological processes that occur during the breakdown of organic matter in them. The feces have remnants of food that is not fully digested and other materials that enter the digestive system of humans or animals.

Methane is produced under anaerobic conditions, a condition in which oxygen levels are very low or close to nonexistent. The anaerobic decomposition process occurs through methanogens, a microorganism that is the main suspect of methane decomposition and can live in environments devoid of oxygen.

Methanogens decompose organic matter in human or animal feces through a series of complex biochemical reactions. In this process, methanogens convert organic matter into methane and carbon dioxide. Methane is the end product of this reaction and is released as a gas.

In fact, what bothered Hans' mind was the involvement of monster feces that contained methane. Hans' instincts and curiosity have activated a tentative hypothesis regarding the monster's feces and the methane content in them.

How much methane is stored?

What foods are found?

And what kind of monsters live in caves?

All those answers were stored in the shit Hans found.

Hans' detective equipment and skills were able to solve the question along with answers that satisfied Hans' curiosity.

“It's interesting.” little murmur Hans.

Quietly, Hans took a portion of the soil and dirt samples found into the disposable gloves. Tying it firmly and throwing it into its inventory system.

“What are you doing?” asked Elliot who saw Hans' strange movements.

“Science..” answer briefly Hans.

“...” Elliot fell silent after hearing Hans reply.

“Let me guess, you want to know if that shit can be used as biogas? After your explanation earlier, it seems you are very sure if this pungent smell is methane.”

“Ingin to try it?” ask Hans.

“S-It is better not to be rash.”

“As a gas that causes global warming and greenhouse gases, isn't the source of this problem too pretty to take advantage of? In a world with simulations that approach the real world. I want to make a capsule that stores the explosive power of the monster methane. Hows it? Good idea, isn't it?” ask Hans.

“H-Holmes.. Please do not use your creative ideas and become a source of new problems for developers Isekai Online.”

“It's not like that, Watson. The mechanism of flammable and explosive methane provides several advantages that can be developed into useful things. Its oxidation-prone nature, susceptibility to combustion processes, and susceptibility to gas expansion make it an emergency weapon for side characters like me.”

“Side characters, huh?”

“Unfortunately, Class Detective was created to solve a case. Even the Quest I was running was not much related to otherworldly evil that was difficult to understand. For the Player-to-player fight, I'm very overwhelmed if that happens.”

“Didn't you have a gun?”

“Well, I have only used it once to NPC.”

“How does it feel?”

“Less satisfactory because I used it to kill a girl who asked for death to me.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

There was a long silence between Hans and Elliot.

“It doesn't mean I killed him on purpose. As a defense, he asked for it. I just granted her request. Didn't you see it?”

“Hmm.. Did that ever happen? It felt like I was looking at an incomplete recording of the game. I'll check your game log after this job is done.”

“Speaking about your work, will they be okay?”

“They? Oho! Ooohs.. Queen Order turned out.”

Elliot's response that almost forgot his main goal and job was a short-term memory that could be compared to a goldfish's memory.

Hans, Elliot, and Shirayuki continue their journey by enduring the foul smell. The use of masks will be very futile and late, the best solution is to make their noses tired with a foul smell. After their noses got used to smelling the scent left behind in a holy maze full of dirt, their journey paid off by finding a thick, half-opened iron door.

“Holmes, do you see what I'm looking at right now?” elliot asked to confirm his eyesight in the darkness illuminated by the limited light from Hans' flashlight.

“Yep, that seems to be the goal we are looking for, Watson.”

Like the door from the last boss' floor. A half-open thick iron door looked extremely calm, as if inviting someone to enter and explore it.

“To beware.. I'll keep an eye on the rear formation with supporting magic,” Elliot said.

“It happens once, for additional care. I'll keep an eye on the wing formation with the Anzios rifle. Shirayuki, can I count on you for the leading formation?” hans' orders.

Without waiting for any further orders, Shirayuki immediately lunged at the room in front of her.

“Holmes, it seems Maidmu is very excited. You need to praise her later.” Elliot said to tease Hans.

“Haaaah.. What am I supposed to do? This is the first time I've treated the undead as servants. Help me find praise that does not offend the Undead race, Watson.”

Elliot and Hans are wearing their best war gear.

Unlike Elliot who looks like a top-tier Player, Hans's gear is very inversely proportional to him. The armor Hans wore was only detective clothes with a headscarf as well as an exclusive weapon that only Class Detective had.

The unique abilities of Hans's Class Detective are still stored with the factory's built-in seal. Hans needed more research on the skill needs of other classes that could be used by Class Detective.

Although Class Detective is able to use the skills and weapons of other classes. But, if Hans can't use it properly. It will be a burden to his character.

“Holmes, are you ready?”

“Egh! Don't ask that.”

With a small nod, Hans' flashlight slowly penetrated the half-opened thick door.

The smell of a more concentrated stench and thin fog became their new sight.

Behind that open door, Hans found the answer to the events of the giant skull and the source of the magic from the Demon Ancient Rune.

“Oh.. My.. God.. You see this, Holmes?” said Elliot who was amazed by the sight before his eyes.

“Yeah, Watson.. We found the answers we've been looking for all this time.”