The Variant’s Domain
From ahead, I watched Laura Crown smile brightly while Lydia Straw brought her along.
Communication had clearly gone wrong somewhere.
I had specifically asked to be shown someone suspicious.
Then why the hell was she bringing Laura Crown?
"As you said, I've brought her!"
When exactly did I ever tell you to bring her?
Lydia Straw gave Laura Crown's back a light pat.
Laura Crown blinked in surprise at me and quickly shook her head.
"I-I don't know anything."
She shook her head as if she'd committed some crime.
"..."
As expected, I hadn't expected her to know anything.
Bringing this woman with me had never been part of my plan in the first place.
Or rather, neither of these two belonged in my plan.
They wouldn't belong in it going forward either.
Madwoman and a Chapter 2 boss?
Seeing these two complete strangers staring at each other like this made my mood sour for no reason.
Was it because the sight of a Variant flashed through my mind?
Or maybe the feeling of two disasters crossing paths?
Anyway.
These people were nothing but trouble.
I decided to politely convey the meaning of "stay the hell away."
"Get lost."
At my words, Lydia's eyes widened.
Laura nodded and turned around.
"Understood."
"Huh?"
Then Lydia grabbed Laura.
"W-What?"
"I've been living with you lately and have roughly understood your words."
What nonsense is this?
If you've understood my words, why bring Laura Crown with you?
"Don't talk nonsense."
"See, you said I was right."
Where exactly?
I poured my Dread into the words "get lost."
Lydia's face paled and she looked down.
Are humans really the most adaptable creatures?
She was resisting the pressure I emitted earlier better than before.
Or had she just gotten used to it?
No, the capable characters like the student council president didn't come looking for me.
They came for a real bomb like you.
"...I don't know. I'm going."
Laura muttered and turned to leave.
Lydia looked at her with a gaze that seemed to ask if she was really leaving.
But when our eyes met, Lydia still nodded with her face pale.
"Y-Yes! I won't leave at all! Don't worry!"
No.
Get lost.
I don't like you.
Wait, I don't dislike you.
I'm just terrified.
"If you don't leave right now-"
"I've isolated myself."
Before I could even finish my sentence, Laura's voice came from behind.
She must have gone out in between.
By the way, isolated?
I slowly turned around and looked at her.
Laura's eyes met mine again.
She looked down and muttered.
"Something unknown is blocking me."
"..."
Something unknown...
"It looks like a Variant."
Laura muttered, and Lydia's eyes widened.
"Don't worry! I, I, I, Aiden... I mean, Starfive-nim! One strike and he killed two Variants!"
"...So the rumor was true."
Lydia's words made Laura mutter.
I listened to their conversation out of one ear and checked the status window.
[Debuff: Weak Isolation]
I still stared at the floating debuff window.
One-strike Enhancement...
[Available One-strike Enhancements: 2 times]
Two times?
[Respect: 29%]
Wasn't it supposed to give one-strike enhancement every 5%?
Then I should have gotten four one-strike enhancements, right?
Do these guys even do math?
I couldn't hold back my anger at this blatant overreach.
As a result, my voice came out sharper than usual.
"Report."
"...What?"
"Don't make me say it twice."
At my words, Laura closed her eyes tightly and began to explain.
She shook the coin pouch, and a jingling sound echoed.
"The opponent is a Variant.
Probably one of the students here turned."
"..."
"And this place is like that guy's stomach."
"Stomach?"
"...Yeah, I think we can consider ourselves inside a disguise."
Laura answered with a cold sweat, glancing at me for confirmation.
How could she know that so well?
No, of course she could.
Laura had the Scout skill.
Thanks to it, she could peek at the skills of bosses or mobs in advance.
Apparently the entire space here was treated as an organism, so she knew everything.
That made sense now.
I slowly nodded.
Laura's face, which had been watching me, suddenly showed confusion.
"...Isn't this strange?"
"What is?"
"...Never mind."
She slowly shook her head.
She's being too honest.
I organized my thoughts.
After hearing Laura's words, I immediately figured out the situation.
Variants came in several types.
There were Variants like Benjamin who had become a single organism.
And also Variants that had turned into a single massive environmental factor like the huge disguise surrounding us right now.
In the future there would be Variants that had become mazes too, but anyway.
For now, I should check for myself.
I took a step forward, and the two followed behind me.
Surprisingly, besides the three of us, no one else was visible.
If this was such a huge Variant, someone should have been trapped inside, right?
Plus, the people who had entered to avoid me were here too.
This was weird.
*
How long had I been looking around?
As Laura said, every path was blocked.
Or rather, this was something that should be called a blockage.
The walls were writhing.
These grotesque walls writhed while showing off their grotesque forms.
"All of this."
Laura muttered while looking at me and Lydia.
"Can it be pierced?"
"..."
In short, it can be pierced.
Let's think about the Dark Fantasy Saga.
Inside a Variant that had become an environmental factor, you could cut your way out.
Probably with Cursed Swordsmanship.
But you can cut it...
"There is."
"What? Then hurry up and pierce this-"
"But I'm not doing it."
Both of them gave me confused looks.
I recalled a video from the Dark Fantasy Saga community while staring at their faces.
There was a famous environmental Variant called the Paradise of the Great Forest.
That was the moment it was destroyed.
The user character's character destroyed the Paradise of the Great Forest.
At the same time, the character stepped out.
Then the screen went dark with the message <You have fallen into the eternal darkness.>.
No companions left.
The user spouted curses, unable to move except with arrow keys.
The character wandered aimlessly in endless darkness for hours.
The user turned off the video, and the event ended.
After that, many testimonies came out warning that you shouldn't recklessly cut through the outside of an environmental boss.
If that eternal darkness really existed in this world too, opening it right now would be too reckless.
"Not doing it...?"
Laura looked at me with suspicion.
Lydia looked at me with puzzlement too.
Explaining this was impossible.
Knowing too much would just make people suspicious.
What should I do?
"Ah!"
Lydia clapped her hands.
"It's just like Starfive-nim!"
"What?"
Laura muttered as if she was puzzled.
Of course, my reaction was the same.
What nonsense was she talking about now?
"The remaining people are worried, right?"
"..."
Laura looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask, "Who is this guy?"
Of course, when our eyes met, she immediately looked down.
"Maybe the others are trapped too, so if only we leave, those people will be in trouble!"
"...No, then we can go out and call for support."
Laura's words were absolutely right.
Just go out and call for the professor, right?
"No."
"What?"
What did you say?
Lydia clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"If the remaining people get injured because of that, what then?
After all, Starfive-nim is! Since he can handle Variants with one strike, the goal is to quickly solve the source of the incident and reduce even one sacrifice!"
"...Really?"
Laura looked at me in shock.
No, that's wrong.
Absolutely not.
But saying "no" here felt awkward too.
I just closed my mouth.
"Hmph."
I crossed my arms and closed my eyes.
"See? I'm right!"
My conscience prickled, but I just stayed quiet.
"...Fine."
Then, Laura who had been watching me stood up and took something from her pouch.
A few coins.
"I like that mindset."
She muttered without looking at me.
"I also have to save the people."
The people.
Laura Crown's story instantly flashed through my mind.
The princess of a fallen kingdom.
The only survivor of the Crown Kingdom.
Or at least, the one who thought she was.
"There's nothing more important in this world than money and my life."
She muttered calmly and scattered three coins into the air.
With a crisp jangling sound, the coins that had been flying in the air vanished as if someone had taken them.
Laura's skill that searched for the desired person using money.
Laura's eyes sparkled with golden light as she turned her gaze somewhere.
"But that doesn't mean three coins are worth more than a human life."
She muttered and turned her gaze forward.
"This way."
She drew her rapier and strode forward.
We two followed her behind.
How unbalanced was this combination?
The guy who was supposed to die in the tutorial.
The woman who was always in the top three characters everyone avoided meeting as a boss.
And the woman who would become the Chapter 2 boss.
Honestly, it wasn't unbalanced.
I just wanted to puke.
Only the friends who I wished never to meet had gathered into this dream team.
"So."
While walking, Laura looked at me and Lydia.
"The three coins are what you two are paying, right?"
"..."
"..."
We both looked at Laura.
She twirled the ends of her hair and muttered like she was doing a good deed.
"...I can pay about one coin."
"..."
"..."
"T-Then... I can even pay two coins including that guy's share..."
I thought about it.
"Shut up."
[Party Leader / Aiden Starfive]
[Party Member / Lydia Straw]
[New Party Member / Laura Crown]