Chapter 337: The Perilous Wasteland (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 337: The Perilous Wasteland (3)
[Not even a bicorn, but you've captured the heart of a pure female unicorn! Are you sane, human?!]
[Would you like to register Riyal Everhart as a match?]
[Y/N]
The moment the screen appeared before me, I doubted my own eyes.
I captured what now?
‘...Crazy.’
My gaze naturally shifted to Riyal.
Her head was bowed low, and her earlobes and the nape of her neck were flushed so red there was no explaining it away.
I couldn't even dismiss it as me getting ahead of myself; the app had already guaranteed it.
‘No, but why?!’
Honestly, I was bewildered.
Of all people, I had never expected Riyal to harbor such feelings for me.
Considering what I'd said to her the day I seduced her with the Millennium Deer Antler because I needed a unicorn's fluids, it wouldn't have been strange if she'd cut me off for life.
‘...Could it be because I saved her from the ogre?’
I quickly shook my head.
If picking up women were that easy, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would quit being a hunter to become a hero and hit on girls.
Besides, after what happened last time, Riyal's favorability toward me should have hit rock bottom, probably even dipping into the negatives.
Even if I had saved her life, it was hard to believe her affection would skyrocket to the point of falling in love.
‘What do I do about this...’
After a moment of hesitation, I finally pressed the accept button.
I already had a history of registering someone on the app without particularly liking them.
Melissa, a follower of an evil god I met in the fantasy world, was a prime example.
Ting—
[Name: Riyal Everhart
Age: 317
Race: Unicorn
Affiliation: Everhart Family
Occupation: Heir to the Everhart Family
Disposition: Misanthropy, Misandry, Arrogant, Self-righteous, Puritanism]
[Favorability Change]
[Riyal Everhart 70♡ → ♡87]
[Bond Level Change]
[Riyal Everhart Lv.0 → Lv.1]
[※You cannot acquire coins from relationships with individuals not met through the Another World Dating App.]
‘...Talk about a blatant personality.’
Misanthropy, misandry, and even puritanism.
She was the very picture of a unicorn.
But then a question popped into my head: was it even possible for someone with a disposition like that to like me?
‘The Millennium Deer Antler definitely had some effect... Did saving her this time act as some kind of trigger?’
It was a plausible theory, but nothing was certain until I heard it from Riyal herself.
Besides, that wasn't the important thing right now.
“Where are the others...”
Just as I dismissed the screen and was about to ask Riyal about the others’ whereabouts...
Ting—
[The number of individuals registered on the Another World Dating App has reached 10.]
[You have achieved the ‘Casanova Wannabe’ achievement.]
Another screen that made me doubt my eyes filled my vision.
‘What is this now...’
More screens popped up one after another, but I swiped them away.
Right now, every second counted.
“Riyal, where are the others?”
As I approached, Riyal turned her head, avoiding my gaze.
Her face was so red it looked like it might burst as she parted her lips.
“...I don't know either.”
Thump.
Riyal's words made my heart drop.
I desperately hoped she was joking.
“This gate wasn't a wasteland like this to begin with. It was an ordinary cave-type gate.”
I knew that much.
Han Lael had told me this field training was scheduled to take place in an E-rank gate, a goblin den.
“At first, there were no problems. Minha and I were just supposed to watch from behind so the first-years could get some real combat experience. But the moment we entered the central area, the space suddenly distorted, and blinding white light enveloped everything. When I came to my senses, I was alone in the middle of a wasteland. If I weren't Minha's summon, I never would have been able to rejoin her.”
“...”
Crrrack—
I clenched my fists without realizing it.
The situation was spiraling toward the worst-case scenario, far beyond what I had imagined.
*
When I found Shin Minha and Riyal, I had seen a small glimmer of hope.
Finding Lumina would be difficult, but if Han Seoah was with the others, I could use the app's ability to get a rough idea of her location.
But if everyone was scattered as Riyal said, then even if I succeeded in rescuing Han Seoah, the others would just die in the meantime.
No, they might all be dead by now.
It had already been thirty minutes since we entered the gate.
Realistically, it was impossible for first-year students to survive for long inside a gate where A-rank monsters like Bear Wolves roamed in packs.
And the same went for the Magic Tower professors.
“Hoo...”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I grabbed a bottle of holy water.
My hand was trembling slightly.
It was the aftereffect of using Empty Energy to defeat the two-headed ogre.
‘...This is driving me crazy.’
After downing the holy water and a vitality potion, I sat cross-legged and began circulating my qi to recover even a little bit of my stamina.
Thinking rationally, I shouldn't have defeated the ogre like that if I wanted to conserve my strength.
If I had fought with Noel and Jeon Seoha's support, it might have taken a little longer, but I could have handled it without much difficulty.
But the moment I saw the two of them collapsed and seriously injured, I had let my emotions get the better of me.
‘Recovering my stamina is the priority right now.’
After that, I planned to use the app's ability to rescue Han Seoah first.
Judging by the faint sense of her location, she was clearly still alive.
‘Hoo...’
I wanted to rush out immediately, but in my current state, I was sure to collapse before I got very far.
So for now, I needed to set aside my impatience and calmly recover my strength.
—Please take good care of my granddaughter.
Grit.
But the fact that I couldn't sense Lumina's location no matter how hard I focused was driving me mad.
I tried to calm myself, reasoning that it was because my bond with her wasn't that deep.
‘...Dammit, if only the shop sold a useful item at a time like this, it would've been a help... No, wait a minute.’
I shot up and opened my inventory.
The existence of an item I had long forgotten suddenly came to mind.
“...Found it.”
Rummaging through a corner of my inventory, my hand closed around a small die.
[Random Dice
Grade: Epic (Consumable Item 2/3)
1: Misfortune occurs.
2: Minor misfortune occurs.
3: Ambiguous misfortune occurs.
4: Nothing happens.
5: Ambiguous good fortune arrives.
6: Minor good fortune arrives.
7: Good fortune arrives.
8: ??]
It was the die I had used to summon Noel in the World Tree's underground labyrinth.
When I first bought it, it was guaranteed to roll a 6 or higher, so I could use it without worry. But after that, I never faced a situation urgent enough to risk rolling a 3 or lower, so I had just tossed it into my inventory.
But now was different.
“...I need at least a 5.”
I only had two chances.
It wouldn't matter if the first attempt resulted in a 3 or lower. I could handle most misfortunes.
Even if the die landed on 1 and the gate boss appeared right in front of me.
Still, just in case, I decided to move away from the base camp.
I sent a telepathic message to Noel and was speeding across the wasteland when I sensed a familiar presence.
“Hyun-woo!”
Looking up at a giant rock formation, I met the eyes of Jeon Seoha, who was waving at me, her white ears twitching.
I kicked off the rock face and climbed up, and she threw herself into my arms as if she'd been waiting.
Unlike Noel, her armor was light, so it wasn't uncomfortable.
I stroked her head like I usually did, and her white tail swayed back and forth.
“What were you doing?”
“On watch and scouting. No results yet, though.”
“...You're working hard.”
I gently squeezed Jeon Seoha's cheeks, clearing my head.
It felt therapeutic.
“But where are you going, Hyun-woo?”
“...”
“Is it hard to talk about?”
“...Sorry.”
Explaining everything to Jeon Seoha from start to finish would be complicated, and more importantly, I didn't have the time.
Despite that, she just shook her head and gave me a faint smile.
“You don't have to apologize. But can you promise me one thing?”
She held out her pinky finger, her eyes filled with boundless trust in me.
“That you'll come back safely.”
“...I promise.”
“If you come back hurt, I won't let you leave the house for a week.”
I couldn't help but laugh at the fierce glare Jeon Seoha shot me.
After parting with her, I stopped about five kilometers away from the base camp.
In the middle of the endlessly stretching wilderness, I threw the die.
Tuk.
The die hit the ground and began to roll slowly.
It was all or nothing.
Win or lose, it was a 50/50 chance.
I watched the die, ready to humbly accept whatever result came.
And then, the result was in.
Tak—
“...A 5.”
The die showed the number 5.
Ting—
[Ambiguous good fortune will come to you.]
I cheered inwardly at the screen that appeared.
But that was short-lived.
[Necessary information will be given to Kang Hyun-woo.]
“...What?”
I couldn't hide my bewilderment at the text that followed.
It wasn't teleporting me to where the survivors were, but just giving me information?
I wanted to complain right then and there, but it would have been a waste of time.
I was better off just rolling the die again.
Ting—
But as if to stop me, a new screen immediately appeared, blocking my view.
And when I saw it, I was at a loss for words.
[Excluding Kang Hyun-woo's party, all survivors within the gate are gathered in one place.]
*
A poet who lived for romance once said:
—Follow your desire, until it leads you to ruin.
He believed that human nature should not be suppressed, and that desire was the inevitable path to truth.
And a playwright who criticized hypocrisy also said this:
—I can resist everything except temptation. I must have what I want.
These were the words of a man who believed that temptation was irresistible, and that it was better to follow it honestly than to be sullied by hypocrisy.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of soft applause echoed through the cave.
“Such wonderful words.”
A voice as clear as rolling jade beads seeped into the ear, seductive. A pair of eerie, glowing red eyes slowly curved into a smile.
“Don't you think so?”
The question from the strange woman, who was human yet not quite human, echoed softly.
Her gaze fell upon Han Seoah and Lumina, bound in chains.