Chapter 74 15. The Filthy Outer Dimension
The Filthy Outer Dimension
Episode 75
After Erkwi—a heroine whose intentions were as uncertain as whether she would come to kill me like the others—vanished,
irregular winds began gathering in one place.
"Uh... this wasn't within my expected range?"
...The giant's upheaval of the world was about to trigger a storm of global proportions.
『Skill 「Circuit of Reckless Uncertainty」 allows the coexistence of Outer Dimension's Record within your body.』
I tightened my grip on the regressor and quickened my pace. The mist beneath my feet, crushed with each step, scattered and faded as if dissipating.
That was when it happened.
Sssss—
A distortion in space erupted from my shoulder.
Without even looking, I twisted my body.
『Reading the distortion of the Outer Dimension.』
A sudden ripple swallowed the space before collapsing into the distance.
Already the seventh time.
It was spatial displacement—something I'd suffered through as routinely as eating meals in the game.
Outer Dimension = Spatial teleportation. That much was undeniable.
Which was why, even when walking cautiously in the game, I'd sometimes find myself abruptly dumped into another location.
But now,
『Reading the distortion of the Outer Dimension.』
I could vaguely see the fissures. An encouraging development—one that shouldn't have been possible in the game.
'To think I can even read the distortions of the Outer Dimension... Still, there's one... disappointing thing.'
I couldn't predict where the displacement would take me.
Meaning, I had no confidence in throwing myself into a spatial rift and arriving where I wanted.
'If I misstep and end up teleported straight to the Turbid Throne, I'm just instantly done for...'
I was lost in such thoughts when—
My eyebrow twitched.
Flickering in and out of existence, a vast land, hazy as if bleeding mist, flashed into view.
Uuuuuu...
As though the Outer Dimension itself groaned, imprecise phenomena overlapped.
Grotesque shapes flickered before vanishing.
The space grew even more unstable.
'Erkwi, you damn bitch...! Couldn't you have just shown up quietly?'
Cursing inwardly, I ran faster.
Several minutes passed like that.
Up ahead, pale figures came into view.
[...Finisher... ate something weird... again... going wild...]
[...Run... away...]
Phantom silhouettes woven from desolate mist.
The Wanderers I'd been searching for.
But then—
Sssuuu—
The space reflecting them rippled, sketching out concentric waves. They seemed to grow distant.
"Ah. Fuck me."
Soon, only faint ripples remained before my eyes.
Their figures had been flung far away.
Space had twisted again.
"......"
Frustration surged, but there was nothing to be done. The Outer Dimension had always been like this.
Absently, I lifted my head and looked up.
The sky showed no discernible depth—just a world blurred like mist.
What could possibly lie at the end of this world?
I shook my head and let out a dry laugh.
"...How long have I even been here to start losing my mind?"
It was probably just nonsense, infected by the Outer Dimension.
Brushing it off, I ran again.
I ran for dozens of minutes. Or maybe hours.
Even that much wasn't certain.
The Outer Dimension was in disarray.
So, I couldn't gauge the fluctuations in its passage of time.
『「Read」 calculates the average temporal velocity of the Outer Dimension.』
『Based on the current irregular flow's average: 54... 67... 23... 78... 56 days...』
The Outer Dimension's time slowed, then sped up, ceaselessly fluctuating.
The flow of time was absurdly unstable.
I clicked my tongue.
'Erkwi, you damn troll bastard!!'
Why did she have to show up and flip an already unstable Outer Dimension upside down?
The aftermath of her rampage lingered in the world.
Violent winds, sharp as blades, howled against me.
Standing against them, my entire body trembled uncontrollably.
The forces of chaos, running wild as if berserk, were eroding deep into my body.
At this rate, I might lose my mind.
'You goddamn, troll bitch. If you're gonna pull this shit, at least drop some loot before you go. Ah, no. You're busy too, right? Gotta get going.'
If she ran into me and dragged me along to show me the pleasures of sex, that'd be a real disaster.
Then I'd be trapped in the Outer Dimension forever, becoming Erkwi's husband...
"Haa..."
『The 「Circuit of Reckless Uncertainty」 is shaking under the chaos.』
Thanks to the 「Circuit」, I thought I could endure to some extent, but of course, withstanding such unstable power was beyond me.
That's why—
"!?"
In an instant, 「Read」 faltered.
Because of that, I failed to detect the anomaly beneath me in advance.
The moment I stepped down, a hole abruptly spread open in the mist.
My body, robbed of gravity, plummeted downward.
"Waaah—!"
Instinctively, I flung out my hand.
And then—
Thunk!
My fingers barely caught the edge of the mist.
"Hahk, hahk..."
Dangling from the cliff, I swayed precariously.
In that brief moment, the terrain of the mist had transformed into a sheer precipice.
The howling wind grew even fiercer.
As my bangs whipped wildly in every direction, I glanced to the side.
Tirpe, cushioned by my back, was breathing softly in deep sleep.
'...Must be nice, sleeping so soundly.'
Bitterly, I stole a glance downward.
A suffocatingly thick river of mist flowed below.
If I fell there, space itself would invert.
And then I'd come face-to-face with the Turbid Throne?
'Yeah. That'd be fucking game over.'
Those guys were the real deal—genuine lunatics.
Out of them, two were women, so maybe I could've... handled them, but the other three were men.
No way in hell they'd let a ridiculously handsome guy like me live.
Using only the strength in my fingers, I hauled my entire body upward.
And right at that moment—
Kwoooong!
The Record of the Outer Dimension flowing around me thickened abruptly.
"Khuk!?"
Griiind—
A chaotic surge of Record invaded my mind like a rabid beast.
'Fuck, how can the energy of this world be so damn filthy?'
"Uuugh—!"
I barely managed to pull myself onto solid ground and exhaled sharply.
"Goddamn—this shit's so messed up I can't even think of a proper insult...!"
But then, looking at Tirpe fast asleep on my back, I let out a dry laugh.
'Well, at least seeing a beauty like her in times like this lifts the mood...'
Gritting my teeth, I forced my weakened knees to straighten.
As I did, my strained eyes scanned the path ahead.
The endless horizon of the Outer Dimension.
I stared at it for a moment before pressing forward, cutting through the warped space.
Even if the end wasn't in sight, I kept walking without pause.
Whoooosh—
"Hahk, hahk..."
The unnatural wind coiled past my cheeks.
Just as my mind began to blur under the Outer Dimension's razor-sharp gales—
The space before me distorted.
『Spatial distortion detected.』
『「Optimal Progression」 is in effect.』
A cave of mist appeared.
#
The terrain of the Outer Dimension is composed of mist.
So, in this ever-shifting realm, fixed objects are rare.
Because they scatter whenever an Outer Dimension transition occurs—or whenever the winds blow.
Conversely, that means fixed terrain is that much safer.
Which also means there's a high chance something has already claimed it as its territory.
The moment I stepped into the cave, irregular footsteps clashed and echoed inside like a chaotic reverberation.
The sound of steps grew louder to the left, then inexplicably faded diagonally, only to swell again at random. The laws of the Outer Dimension were always steeped in this kind of unpredictability.
Despite being made of mist, the hollow had depth and shadow.
Though cut off from the outside, it wasn't oppressively dark—more like an overcast sky. Though even that flickered between dimness and brightness in cycles.
After scrutinizing the mist-formed walls, I took a step deeper inside.
That's when—
[...Who... goes there...?]
There was someone in the hollow.
The figure noticed me and slowly turned its head.
This early in the game, the only beings that should be in the Outer Dimension are... the Wanderers, of course.
[......]
Its form emerged hazily from the mist.
Where eyes should have been, there were only hollow sockets—faint glimmers of light hovering within.
It lacked human features like skin or distinct facial traits.
It had fingers and toes, but even those flickered in and out of existence like dry ice sublimating into vapor.
A figure roughly sculpted into human shape by the mist.
Such ambiguously half-formed beings were the Wanderers.
I extended my left hand toward it in a gesture of greeting.
That's right.
My left hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Si-hyun."
Because my right hand had other business to attend to.
Fsssh—
In my right hand, the Thorn Tip of Sin Absolution flared up like flames, solidifying into the form of a javelin.
After embedding enough force into the metal to make the creature feel at least a little threatened,
"Pleasure meeting you."
I hurled it straight into the Wanderer's luminous gaze.
***
KR-SHK-KRACK!!
A violent, grating sound erupted from the hand that snatched the spear mid-flight.
Hazy mist burst from its grip—unable to fully negate the javelin's momentum—yet despite that, the creature showed no strain whatsoever, stopping the spear dead in its tracks simply by clutching it in place.
[...]
The Wanderer's luminous eyes narrowed to slits, not yielding an inch as it caught the spear. I tensed up, waiting for its reaction.
'This thing's stats are at least E-rank.'
With all my stats stuck at G-, a direct fight would be suicide.
But there was a reason I'd launched a preemptive strike like this.
'Wanderers are randomly non-aggressive monsters.'
Among them, some types never retaliate.
The docile ones show no notable reaction to anything.
They were beings that simply existed, neither here nor there.
...But seeing a Wanderer in person sent an indescribable chill down my spine.
Unlike ghosts, vengeful spirits, or wraiths, they gave off a hollow feeling—as if something vital was missing.
The desire to sustain life, the sensation of being alive, even the sense of being dead—everything about them was faint, indistinct.
Even now, standing right before my eyes, I began to doubt whether it truly existed at all.
That was why, with creatures this unpredictable, it was best to test their nature from the very first move.
The tame ones wouldn't show hostility even in the face of such violent provocation.
And this one...
[...]
...Flicked the spear back toward me with a casual toss. Then, with the same vacant expression, it resumed staring blankly into empty space.
'A non-aggressive type that doesn't even retaliate. A good boy, huh. ...Thank god the game's mechanics still hold up.'
That meant I didn't have to attack and flee.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I spoke up in a bright voice.
"Hey. Buddy. I like you. What's your name?"
I might've looked like a lunatic, but this was the first rule of befriending a Wanderer.
'Ask for its name. Immediately.'
Wanderers, as a rule, lacked a clear sense of identity.
So if you gave them something to define themselves by, they'd grow favorably inclined.
That's why, even though Wanderers never asked each other for names, you had to ask first.
That was how you won them over.
'Will it really work like in the game?'
[...]
There was no immediate response.
But I had a strange certainty.
Holding my breath, I waited silently for the creature's answer.
Then, the Wanderer replied.
[My name is... Maltaira...]
...Just like in the game.
Whoosh—
The Wanderer's form, flickering faintly like a candle flame, abruptly sharpened into clarity.
As if evolving on the spot.
But... Maltaira? That's one hell of a unique name.
Or so I thought—before I had to strangle that naive version of myself to death.
"......?"
Maltaira... Huh...? That Maltaira?
I stroked my chin, unable to control the trembling in my pupils.
『The Entity That Never Drops Dawnlight, Maltaira』
Before my memories could fully resurface, my head was already spinning.
A transcendent Named-tier entity, infamous in the game.
Shivering, I stared at the Wanderer.
Midway up the Tower.
The one who tore out the throat of 『Dimension Destroyer, Antreanom』, one of the seated rulers of the Turbid Throne, and ascended as the Turbid Prince.
『Maltaira』
...A future calamity on par with Erkwi. A madwoman who would freeze and uproot anything with ruthless precision.
And why the hell was the seedling of that future monster right in front of me...?
While I stood frozen, Maltaira's gaze locked onto mine—completely by accident.
Her luminous eyes had darkened subtly, unlike before. Against my will, I forced a stiff smile, my eyes twitching uncontrollably. All the while, cold sweat poured down my back as I frantically patted Tirpe's butt.
'...Shit. We're fucked. Hey, hey, HEY!! Ti-Tirpe, wake the hell up...! Wake up!!'
But my desperate plea went unanswered.
"Zzz..."
Tirpe drooled in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent.