Chapter 5
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 5: Deal
We arrived in another world.
Actually, before crossing the door, I was a bit nervous and also had expectations about going to another world, but the other world we arrived in was not much different from the worlds I knew.
An ordinary world with lush vegetation and a blue sky.
I looked up at the sky and asked Ratatoskr.
"This is another world?"
"Yeah. It's a completely different world outside the nine worlds supported by Yggdrasil."
"For that, it's too ordinary..."
"Just what on earth were you expecting? I told you another world is a world that couldn't even receive Yggdrasil's protection! It's likely more backwards than the world we were in, not a better world."
"Is that so..."
Still, since it's another world, wouldn't there be something special unique to this world?
Unable to let go of a sliver of expectation, I focused power into my eyes to look around this place with a dragon's vision.
However, before I could even examine the surroundings, something interesting appeared before my eyes.
And it seemed it hadn't appeared only before my eyes.
"This is?"
"Huh?"
Both Ratatoskr and I expressed doubt at the same time and looked at each other.
"Did something strange appear for you too?"
"It seems that way."
I turned my gaze forward again and looked at the message that appeared before my eyes.
[Intrusion of an extra-dimensional being confirmed.] [The intruder's power exceeds the standard that current humanity can handle.] [Initiating isolation.]
"Isolation?"
No sooner had I spoken than the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred.
As I barely managed to stand catching my balance amidst the shaking that wasn't an ordinary tremor but one that shook the space itself, the surrounding ecosystem gradually changed.
In a space filled with bushes and a blue sky, the grass withered, the trees dried up and twisted, and the sky filled with dark clouds and started snowing.
It's a familiar scenery.
"This is exactly like Niflheim..."
"Eek!"
Smack!
As I muttered while looking around at the changing scenery, Ratatoskr smacked the crown of my head.
It didn't particularly hurt, but when I glared at Ratatoskr with a look asking why she did that after suddenly getting hit on the head, she instead spoke angrily.
"You ignorantly strong stupid lizard! This happened because you're pointlessly strong!"
"What?"
"Then do you think the surroundings changed like this because of cute and lovable me? It's all because you're ignorantly strong that the world directly interfered to trap you!"
No, if you weigh whether I'm strong or weak, I am strong, but... is this something to go this far for?
I didn't particularly have any intention of doing anything to this world, you know?
"I told you! It's a more backwards place than where we lived without Yggdrasil's protection! But you, who possess power counted among the top in the nine worlds, suddenly dropped in, so of course it's an uproar!"
"Then you should have chosen a world that could withstand a being like me."
"Do you think such a world is common? And I didn't know it would react like having a seizure like this either!"
To think I'd be subjected to isolation measures as soon as I crossed over to another world.
"What's the method to cross over to another world again?"
"I need time to recover my power to open a passage large enough for us to pass through. And if we get isolated intentionally like this, I have to find a passage that bypasses this isolation, so it takes even more time."
It seems we'll have to spend time in this barren place that reminds me of Niflheim until Ratatoskr finds a passage.
"...Should I build an igloo at least?"
"Just die!!"
I threw out a joke to lighten the mood, but it seems it wasn't the right answer.
The day the 20th century turned into the 21st century.
Something called a Gate suddenly appeared in the world.
The Gate, which appeared with a black fissure in the air exuding an ominous aura, poured out monsters from within as its appearance suggested, and humanity had to begin a survival competition against the monsters emerging from the Gates that appeared without any warning.
30 years have passed since the Gates appeared.
With the appearance of the Gates, humanity's awakening phenomenon occurred, and systems such as Associations, Guilds, and Parties were established, showing that people had adapted to this kind of world.
The five people who are currently inside the Gate hunting monsters and gathering materials are also a common party formed by freelance Awakened.
Five low-ranking Awakened who registered with the Association but didn't join a Guild, four of them kept an eye on their surroundings since they were inside a Gate, while occasionally glancing at Shin Su-ah, the only woman among the five.
It was because her appearance was not ordinary.
A beauty with dark black, long hair and sharp, cat-like features.
And her large chest drew gazes enough to make passersby turn around at least once.
Furthermore, the smile she showed whenever their eyes met made all four of them harbor a hopeful expectation.
"Su-ah. We've been walking since morning, aren't you tired? Let us know whenever you're tired."
"Yeah. We've already met our quota enough, so we can take it easy. Just tell us if you're tired."
At the consideration of the others who wanted to look even a little bit good, Shin Su-ah smiled brightly and answered.
"No. I can still move, and it would be a nuisance if we rest because of me."
"Phew. What do you mean a nuisance."
"Seeing you hunt goblins, your skills are extraordinary. We don't know if we're the ones being a nuisance instead."
In the amicable atmosphere of praising each other, once the gazes of the four moved away, Shin Su-ah erased the bright smile she had maintained until a moment ago and thought with an expressionless face.
'It's definitely today... exactly when?'
Unlike the other four who entered the Gate purely for the purpose of hunting, she was waiting for a time.
And the moment she was waiting for arrived shortly after.
Right when they were hunting goblins and extracting materials and magic stones.
Rumble-!!
The inside of the Gate shook violently and the surroundings began to change.
Grass and trees dried up and twisted, and snow fell from the sky.
The four were shocked by the sight and balanced themselves to avoid falling, while a twisted smile formed on Shin Su-ah's lips.
'It's here!'
Except for Shin Su-ah, who was rather enjoying the long-awaited situation, the faces of the four turned deathly pale.
"G-Gate Mutation!"
"Fuck this! No wonder our luck was so good!"
Gate Mutation.
Once a Gate has formed, it does not change unless it becomes saturated and causes a monster wave, or the Gate's core is cleared and it disappears, but occasionally, a Gate changes when special conditions are met or for unknown reasons, and people call that a Gate Mutation.
And the reason the faces of the four turned pale was that a Gate that underwent a mutation changes into a higher-tier Gate by at least 2 levels.
The shaking subsided, and inside the fully mutated Gate, snow fell, and a cool, chilling wind blew.
"W-what do we do?"
"What do you mean what do we do! Of course we have to escape!"
"B-but if we move needlessly and run into a monster..."
"Then are you planning to wait here quietly and become monster food?"
Opinions clashed and voices rose over the suddenly changed situation, and the raised voices were enough to attract surrounding monsters.
-Guhhhh...
From between the dried-up bushes, a monster with a hairless gray body and sharp claws leaped out.
"G-Ghoul!"
"Fuck, of all things!"
Unlike goblins, which were merely F-rank, a ghoul is a D-rank monster.
In addition, the claws of a ghoul contain corpse poison, so even a single scratch is fatal to them, who came equipped with gear for hunting goblins.
-Kuaaaa!! "Everyone run!"
At the appearance of an enemy they couldn't handle, the four fled in different directions all at once.
Since there was only one ghoul that appeared, they judged that if one became bait, four out of the five could live.
And among the people running away in all different directions, the one the ghoul chose was Shin Su-ah, who was running at the slowest speed.
Shin Su-ah, who ran in a distant direction to overlap as little as possible with the others, adjusted her speed so the ghoul could sufficiently follow her.
At the point where the four were so far away they couldn't be seen, she stopped in her tracks.
-Kwak!
She apathetically watched the ghoul jumping toward her and swinging its sharp claws, and drew the sword at her waist.
Slash!
The sword, drawn at a speed that couldn't be seen, instantly cut the ghoul's body in half.
Martial prowess that couldn't be considered that of a mere E-rank low-level Awakened.
Shin Su-ah, who had cut the ghoul in half, flicked the black blood off her sword, sheathed it back at her waist, and took steps in one direction as if nothing had happened.
Walking as if heading toward a destination, she sliced through every monster that appeared on her path with a single strike.
Zombies, ghouls, banshees, even living armors.
All the undead monsters couldn't even touch a hair on her.
How long did she walk like that?
When increasingly high-tier undead monsters were appearing.
The trees and forest disappeared, and a wide plain appeared.
'Found him!'
With a faint smile thinking she had finally arrived at her destination, she looked at the massive something visible in the distance.
Dark blue scales and massive wings.
Black poison spewing from its mouth just by breathing.
A dense demonic energy and presence incomparable to the other undead monsters she had seen until a moment ago.
A dragon.
Shin Su-ah's face turned pale at the massive presence pressing down on her entire body, but despite that, she took a step, then another, forward.
The dragon, which initially showed no interest at all, also gradually showed interest in the sight of the woman approaching it.
And Shin Su-ah, who had barely managed to stay alive, grabbed her shaking legs, arrived in front of the dragon, squeezed out her strength, and shouted.
"Nidhogg! I've come to make a deal!"
"Hm?"
I was contemplating what to do next when a human appeared from somewhere and shouted for a deal, spitting out a line that sounded like she'd repeat it until she died if I refused.
A deal? You and me?
More importantly, how did a half-dead human know my name?
Somehow, I had a hunch that doing a deal with this human would lead to something fun.