The Battle with the Gug
The fight against the giant was taking place in a clearing with few trees. It was a place overgrown with fruit-laden vines, much like the spot where Luke and I had stayed. The only difference was the blood staining the clearing red.
“Die, you monster!”
“It’s coming! Dodge!”
Three students were already down, bleeding out, while the remaining ten darted around the giant’s fists, hurling spells.
—Kwooooorrr!!
The creature they faced wasn’t simply a large human. Pink skin showed through its shaggy fur, and its thick arms looked capable of smashing a human head with ease. But the most grotesque part was its face. The eyes sat on the sides of its head like a fish, and its mouth stretched vertically from forehead to chin. Rows of long, razor-sharp teeth lined the gaping maw.
—That’s a Gug. They fear sunlight and live underground in Dreamland. Their favorite food is human flesh.
It was broad daylight, the sun blazing overhead. Even with the dense forest canopy, the area remained bright.
—If they live underground, why is it here?
—Probably hungry. A meal just happened to pass overhead.
Could something over five meters tall really sustain itself on humans? It seemed the height of inefficiency. The students’ spells washed over it without so much as a flinch, a testament to its incredible durability. Still…
“Uwooooooooorrr!!”
Luke charged into the clearing, flames roaring around him.
“Everyone, get away from me!”
Normally, such a declaration would be dismissed as madness, but coming from Luke, it carried weight. The students scrambled back, and Luke stood alone before the Gug.
“You dare lay hands on my friends? I won’t let this slide. Because that’s…”
—Fwoosh!
Flames erupted across his entire body. Wrapped in crimson fire, Luke roared.
“Loyalty!!”
The fire spilling from him swelled until it formed a blazing sphere the size of the Gug itself.
…That’s a student’s magic?
The heat alone could reduce a small village to ash.
“Uwooooooooorrr!!”
With Luke’s battle cry, the fireball hurtled toward the Gug. The monster met it head-on.
“Kwooooorrr!!”
“Uwooooooooorrr!!”
“Kwooooorrr!!”
The clash ended in an instant.
“Kwooooorrrgh!”
Luke’s fireball burned through the Gug’s hands and slammed into its torso.
“!!!!!!”
An indescribable shriek shook the forest. Then—
“Ku… kwooo…”
—Thud!
The ground trembled as the Gug collapsed, its fur scorched away, its body cooked red.
—…I’ve never seen anyone hunt a Gug like that.
—…Which one of them should we call the monster?
—Either way, there’s no human here.
—But… is he okay?
“Uwooooooooorrr!!”
Even after slaying the Gug, Luke’s flames refused to die. I recognized the state immediately.
“Overheat…”
The Blaze family’s greatest weakness wasn’t their brains—it was their heat generation. They were treated as living siege weapons on the battlefield, yet they posed an equal danger to their own allies. A little excess was manageable, but when they unleashed everything at once, the magic ran wild. The heat became uncontrollable, ignoring friend and foe alike—including the caster.
“Nngh!”
Fortunately, he hadn’t crossed the line. The flames slowly receded under Luke’s control until they vanished with a soft hiss, leaving only a wisp of smoke.
“Whew~ That was close. You weren’t hurt, Arthur?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“This is nothing. I kept it under control!”
…That was controlled?
—That was some serious heat. For a second, I thought of Cthugha.
“Luke! And… Arthur?”
The students who had kept their distance returned. Their eyes, sparkling when they looked at Luke, turned wary when they landed on me.
“Is anyone injured?”
At Luke’s question, a timid-looking girl stepped forward as spokesperson.
“W-we’re okay, but…”
Following her gaze, I saw the fallen students. One had their upper body torn away, unrecognizable. Another’s stomach had burst, entrails spilling out. The last one…
“Hm? That one has no external wounds. What happened?”
“We were wandering the forest and ended up here. He ate one of those fruits and collapsed, vomiting blood.”
A quiet sob rose from the group.
“Hic… I told everyone not to eat random things…”
“…When he started vomiting blood, the ground shook and that giant burst out. Two more got caught by its attacks during the fight.”
—The smell of blood must have excited the Gug. Bad luck.
…Luck, huh.
Just as I was about to sink into thought, Lilith’s voice returned.
—Arthur. Students are gathering from all directions. They must have seen the fire monkey’s magic.
I relayed the information to Luke at once.
“Mm. Everyone gathering is a good thing. No matter what happens, numbers bring safety!”
That was true, but it put me at a slight disadvantage. I needed to convince the students that we had to escape this place. With the situation as it was, I had to abandon any hope of automatically returning to our original world after four days. To explain that, I’d already spread the lie about bonus points for escaping early—and that lie only worked when the group was small.
‘After all, this is still an exam and a competition.’
If too many people gathered, the lie would lose its power and only breed conflict.
“Luke. Can we talk for a moment?”
“Mm. Sure!”
A short while later, away from the others, we faced each other.
“What is it?”
“Remember my theory? That escaping might give bonus points.”
“I remember!”
“Let’s keep it from the others.”
“Why?”
“It’s still just a guess, and if word gets out, everyone will rush to escape. That’ll lower our survival chances too.”
“……”
Luke stared blankly.
“…You understand?”
After a moment of silence, he answered.
“Got it!”
“Then—”
“I didn’t understand a single word!”
“……”
“But I got the point. You want to hide your theory from our friends, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Fine! If smart Arthur says so, it must be right!”
Luke agreed quickly—thankfully.
“Good. But I can’t give up on the theory.”
Escaping wasn’t optional; it was necessary. I had to reach Kadath quickly and get everyone out.
“Then?”
“I have an idea. Want to hear it?”
----
“Where did you go, Luke?”
“I was just talking with Arthur!”
“…With Arthur?”
The looks directed at me were far from friendly. Most of these students had ignored me before. Even though Lilith’s power had stopped the bullying, their perception of me hadn’t completely changed. To them, I was still the mana-less commoner.
“After our talk, we decided to set up camp here!”
“…Camp?”
“Yeah. Camp! We’ll all stay together for four days. It’s the safest way—we can protect each other!”
“But this place…”
The students’ gazes drifted to the fallen Gug. This time, I spoke up.
“Actually, this might be the safest spot. It’s unlikely there are multiple giants hiding around, right?”
Of course, I already had Lilith’s confirmation that no more Gugs were nearby.
“I know how to tell the poisonous fruits from the edible ones. Removing the bad ones should help with our food supply.”
The students exchanged suspicious glances and murmured among themselves before finally agreeing.
“Alright. If Luke’s protecting us, we’ll feel safe.”
“Mm! Arthur said more friends should arrive soon. We should invite them too!”
As time passed, Lilith’s prediction proved correct. More students cautiously entered the clearing, startled by the sight of the Gug and the corpses. No one touched the bodies.
“…What do we do with the corpses?”
—Don’t worry. They’ll disappear soon. When a dream self dies, the body vanishes with it.
Come to think of it, there was something I needed to ask Lilith.
—Lilith. What happens if you die in Dreamland? Do you die in reality too?
—No. Dying here doesn’t kill you in the real world. But if you experience Dream Death, your dream self disappears. Once that happens, you can never enter Dreamland again, and all memories of other dreams vanish too.
—…So dying here really means dying in the dream world.
—Exactly.
At least death here didn’t carry over to reality. That was a small mercy, but…
‘You lose your dream memories?’
Then I absolutely couldn’t die here. If my dream memories vanished, I’d forget my first meeting with Lilith.
‘That can’t happen.’
“Arthur. A lot of students have gathered. They’ve all agreed to stay at the camp. It really was a good plan!”
With no information available, camping together was the safest option.
“But Arthur, this rift seems extremely dangerous. Even if we’re all together, nighttime might still be risky!”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan for that too.”
“Ooh! As expected of Arthur! You always have a plan!”
Yes—a plan to ensure everyone’s safety. Lilith had given me the method.
My gaze turned to the cooked Gug corpse.
“Luke. Mind if I use that giant’s body?”
“Hm? I don’t mind, but what for?”
“Negotiation.”
“….Hm?”
I was going to hire some very powerful guards. And the Gug’s corpse would serve as payment.
‘I can’t wait for nightfall.’