Who Lives Where, Who Are You (2)

"Wait, so he's got it easy too?"

"How is a human even alive in an infinite ocean..?"

"At that point your lungs are basically a balloon, aren't they..?"

Then again, if I started nitpicking things like magic and aura, where would it end?

More importantly, if he could only move around near those air vents, his range had to be tiny. Could he even find anything to eat?

"So this is what hardcore looks like.."

Would I have ended up somewhere like that if I weren't from Earth? The moment I thought about it—

"I've done plenty of deep-sea exploration, but being unable to leave the ocean is a whole different story.."

Still, if I'd found an oxygen tank fast enough, I might have scraped by on tank duplication too.

Anyway: from Mircia, Ocean Backrooms, a plain baseline human by Mircian standards.

"Is there no one else?"

"Judging by the username, he's probably in the Ocean Backrooms too."

Could Backrooms with the same background actually be connected?

"This one too? Nothing's easy, huh.."

"So Earth gets mocked for a reason, huh."

I'd thought only humans' individual abilities were weak, but our technology is leagues behind too.

"Oh, so you two really did meet? Because you're in the same Backrooms?"

So GreatPirate and UnderTheSea had definitely met. BreathBubble was still up in the air.

Was that why Ukiki had reacted the way he did, asking whether things connected to the forest?

Another comment had come in.

"I see."

"A noble, so she's the real high human here?"

She might actually be the closest to a pure human, the most Earth-like of them all.

So much for pure human — she was a holy-power-soaked duchess and Saintess.

"Hmm.. that's about everyone, isn't it?"

I turned on my phone, intending to type up a memo.

"Come to think of it, my phone's battery is infinite."

My flashlight had definitely died when its battery ran out.

"That leaves just seven: SaveMe and the Main Mod, Flying Dragon and Gigigogagak, Beunswaegi-museowo, WalkingIntoTheRoad, and ThereAreManyOfMe."

Granted, that was assuming everything the gallery users said was true — but for now, that was the tally.

THUD—!

"Gah — what the!?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The space suddenly lurched as if an earthquake had struck, and I went sprawling face-first onto the floor.

"If that's a real earthquake, I'm getting buried alive..!"

Thump. Thump—

Something was walking toward me.

The sound was coming from the direction of Tunnel 3 — the direction the Mud Man was presumed to have gone. The massive tremor just now must have been something happening over there, too.

I snatched up my pickaxe in a hurry.

"So you've finally shown yourself, Mud Man..!"

Thump, thump—

The footsteps drew steadily closer.

"Good, come on..!"

But what if it wasn't a normal Mud Man? No — wait, even a normal Mud Man wasn't supposed to move. I didn't even know if I could beat one that moved.

I changed my assessment fast. Three oxygen tanks had been a struggle, so I wedged just one under my arm, leaving the rest behind. If it came to it, I'd be ready to sprint straight for the First Passage. At this weight, I wouldn't get swept away by the water.

Thump—

And what appeared before my eyes was—

Ge-ek—

"Where on earth did you come from?"

Had the one I found before entering the Backrooms followed me here? In that case, was Tunnel 3 actually an exit?

But no — this one was two or three times bigger than that one had been.

Unless that earlier one had been this creature's offspring, in which case Tunnel 3 really might hold some kind of answer.

"Looks like my next stop is Tunnel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠3, then.."

The thought that the Mud Man that had vanished into Tunnel 3 might come back scared me quite a bit — so I decided to shove a pile of oxygen tanks against the entrance and go to sleep.

I meant to head for the First Passage with just my flashlight and phone, but fearing the Mud Man's return, I grabbed the pickaxe as well.

Ge-ek—

"You're coming too?"

The creature climbed up my leg and settled onto my wrist, sticking to me as if glued there. With something the size of a human head clinging to my arm, it almost looked like a shield — especially with a body harder than most anything else.

I let out a hollow laugh and stepped into the First Passage.

"It won't collapse, right..?"

If the tremor from before came with a surge of water too—

"It'll be fine. It's a Backrooms, after all."

After a long walk, I reached the small hole.

Glug-glug-glug—!

As the water rose and I returned, I confirmed the items had doubled once more. The mud didn't surge up again. Maybe once one of them popped out, it didn't reappear until it was destroyed. Even if I couldn't wipe out the mud by beating the things down, digging the mud out to see the reset passage again might work too.

Clang-rumble!

Shuttling back and forth through the First Passage several times, I rolled the multiplied oxygen tanks one by one into Tunnel 3.

"Can I get some sleep now..?"

Even if something appeared now, I'd catch it by sound at least.

I laid my exhausted body on the floor, set the glowing salamander down, and closed my eyes.

Yagwang-i — that was this glowing salamander's name.

"...You are.."

Just on the edge of sleep, I thought I heard something — a voice, slipping through the seams of a dream.