Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Other Side World (4)
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Luckily, Im Da-hee—the one I'd been hoping to find—joined us first.
Then, one after another, Lee Seo-yeon, Park Ga-ram, Noah, Arthur, and ten other classmates whose names I still didn't know trickled in.
With that, all fifteen of us had gathered.
Our defense was so effortless that the zombies and ghouls couldn't even climb up anymore.
To be exact, from the moment Noah and Arthur joined, my rifle muzzle stopped spitting fire.
Thud, thud thud!
A massive blue shield had materialized midway up the path they were climbing.
Arthur's defensive skill, Heavenly Bastion, was thoroughly blocking the monsters' ascent.
The beasts, mad with the desire to chew, tear, and taste us up above, hurled their bodies against it in a frenzy.
But true to its name, Heavenly Bastion didn't have so much as a scratch.
Whoosh!
They only burned fiercely in Noah's Holy Flame Domain skill, which he'd spread out beneath the shield.
- Graaaah!
- Keeek! Kieeek!
- Kigigik, kigik!
True to their demonic energy, the monsters let out agonized shrieks as the sacred flames engulfed them.
Honestly, they might not even want to eat us—they were probably just thrashing to put out the fire clinging to their bodies.
Either way, thanks to Noah and Arthur, we were resting very comfortably.
📜 MAIN QUEST CHAPTER 2 📜
【Escape】
Escape the Netherworld.
📍 Reward: 20,000 points (additional rewards based on performance), 2 Grade-Up Tickets (C-grade or below), B-grade Talent & Skill Selection Ticket, 3 Random Cheat Usage Tickets.
💀 Failure: Death.
I checked the main quest during a break.
As expected, its contents were identical to the game's.
The only difference was the inclusion of "Random Cheat Usage Tickets" in the rewards.
'If I clear this quest and snag those random cheat tickets...'
Including the ones I already have, that'd make six in total.
In other words, I'd have a chance to draw one more cheat.
'Sigh... Do I really need to save them up?'
When I first got my cheat Super Accuracy, I made a plan.
Even if a random cheat ticket opportunity came up, I'd hold off and collect selection cheat tickets first.
For maximum efficiency... But now that the chance is actually here, the temptation to use them is making my plan feel pointless.
...My desires whispered wildly.
But I just mocked those inner urges and closed the quest window.
'No premature kimchi soup drinking.'
If it were after clearing the quest and collecting the tickets, even I might think, "Eh? Why not?"
But doing it right after just checking the quest? I couldn't give in even if I wanted to.
'Let's push a bit harder, desires.'
Patting away the desires that shamefully vanished in a flash, I checked the timer I'd set on my smart watch.
[Remaining time: 1 min 20 sec]
Seeing the time was nearly up, I rose from the ammo crate I'd been sitting on.
I opened the ammo crate and grenade box, stuffing my tactical vest and grenade belt—preparing to move out.
The smart watch timer was meant to wait for any straggling classmates, set generously to thirty minutes.
But with the time almost expired and no one else showing, it seemed like Lee Seo-yeon was right—these were all of us.
Beep, beep.
[Set timer has ended.]
The wait was over.
Time to move.
"Everyone, gather up."
At my call, they all stopped what they were doing—even with the hooks floating over their heads—and came over.
"I'm about to explain how we're escaping this place. Listen carefully."
My words turned every face serious.
Confirming they were all in listening mode, I began laying out the strategy in my head.
"You all know how the Netherworld manifests."
It was common knowledge for superhumans and civilians alike, so they all nodded.
"Still, before the main point, let me give a quick rundown."
The way the Netherworld appears.
Unlike the mock Netherworld rifts that shift suddenly, an anomaly—like glass shattering in midair—occurs first.
From there, the dimension slowly tears open, forming a vortex-shaped rift that expands.
The growth ranges from at least a village to at most a city.
Once it's reached a certain size, the rift lingers over the affected area until its core is destroyed.
Eventually, when the otherworldly monsters saturate and overflow, the Netherworld begins eroding reality to spew them out.
Which is why this place—suddenly warped in like a mock Netherworld—isn't a normal one.
"Not a normal Netherworld... You mean..."
Noah, grasping my intent, shot a chilling glare like he'd spotted some hated evil.
"The Fallen. Those heretics are behind this."
To be precise, it was Fallen worshippers who'd tampered with the mock rift.
But worshippers were basically Fallen-in-waiting, so I nodded.
"Yeah. I don't know how they pulled it off, but it looks like they overlaid a real rift onto our mock one."
"...So there's a Fallen worshipper inside the academy."
It was a secret, but with his position as an inquisitor, Noah picked up on it right away.
"Just like you think, that's my take too. Only Fallen or their worshippers could manage something like this."
Even the game never explains how they manipulate rifts.
Veterans like me speculate it's power granted by some extraterrestrial entity.
And whenever there's a rift anomaly, it's always them.
"If I can just identify the heretic, I'll interrogate them on the spo—"
Sorry, Noah, but I'm the one catching that heretic.
I know exactly who's behind this mess, but they owe me big time, so I can't spill it yet.
Of course, once I've milked them for all they're worth, I'll tip off Noah or Instructor Kang Cheol-su.
"Anyway, since the Fallen tampered with it, there's more than one core here."
This Netherworld has five cores in total.
Four sub-cores and one main core.
One sub-core each to the east, west, south, and north, with the main core somewhere in the center.
As I explained, one nameless classmate raised a hand.
"Then why not smash the main core first? The center's close from here."
I shook my head.
"Unfortunately, that's impossible. The main core's wrapped in demonic energy until all sub-cores are destroyed—no damage can get through."
"...But, top rank, couldn't your ability do it? Your attacks pierce magic power, so they'd probably pierce demonic energy too."
Right on the money.
Just as he said, I could pierce the demonic energy and deal direct damage.
But that wasn't why I said it was impossible.
"...It is possible."
"Then..."
"Then we'd be trapped here forever."
"......What?"
The Fallen are vicious.
On a rift they've tampered with, skipping the procedure and destroying the main core first...
...blows the rift connecting to reality.
That's why superhumans enter rifts first to check for sub-cores.
Ironically, you learn this manual right after finishing mock training like this.
But the kids here were learning it through live combat, not theory.
"You get why we can't smash it now, right?"
"......"
Nod.
The kid who'd asked nodded, face stiff as a board.
"Anyway, we have to take out the sub-cores first to reach the main one. So now, we're forming teams."
In my view, the ideal lineup was this:
East - Me, Park Ga-ram, Im Da-hee.
West - Lee Seo-yeon + 3 others.
South - Arthur + 3 others.
North - Noah + 4 others.
...It wasn't because I didn't want to team up with the nameless ones.
Instructor Kang Cheol-su's original teams were balanced anyway, and with leads like Lee Seo-yeon, Arthur, and Noah—protagonist-tier powerhouses—there'd be no issues with coordination.
"Take these, everyone."
I pulled three flares from my inventory and handed them to Lee Seo-yeon, Arthur, and Noah.
"...Fire them when the sub-core's destroyed."
Arthur immediately grasped their purpose and glanced my way.
But the moment our eyes met...
"...Uht."
...she made a weird noise and whipped her gaze away.
Her cheeks seemed to flush pink—she was probably recalling yesterday...
'No, why bring up yesterday right now...?'
Your sudden reaction just made the serious vibe all weird...
'What do I even do with this mood...'
The ten nameless classmates alternated stares between me and Arthur with eyes screaming, "What the hell's up with these two?"
Lee Seo-yeon... stared holes into Arthur with some unknowable intensity.
And finally, Noah was fiddling with the flare like it was a fascinating new toy—probably his first time.
"Haah..."
I let out a deep sigh at the suddenly chaotic atmosphere.
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