Incidents and Accidents...! # 4
Incidents and Accidents...! # 4
"What the fuck!"
Did we just fall into a dungeon?!
For a second I suspected Kitty, but this isn't her style. She only goes off the rails like that when it's just the two of us. So it's not Kitty.
Then what?
And it's been a long time since I've seen the main quest window. Escape the Otherworld, it says. That confirms this isn't Earth. Something like a dungeon.
—thud.
Anxiety closed in, and my heart started pounding.
A quest. It's a quest. I still don't know the exact details, but the fact that this quest appeared at all means there's probably a way out.
"Hrk...! Nandeska? Kono flashbang wa... NANIIIII?!"
"Wh-What! What is this place!"
The friends who'd been lying on the ground came to and got up one by one, and naturally they freaked out the moment they opened their eyes and grabbed their heads.
"Uh, uhhhhhhh?! Y-Yo, yo! What the hell! Where is this! Just now that light was—!"
Mun Min was the last to get up and immediately started screaming at the top of his lungs, almost in full panic.
This bastard.
I quickly assessed the situation. The scenery around us was a jungle. An Otherworldly jungle. Getting dumped in a crazy place like this with these idiots. I have to keep my head together. Screw this up and we could die.
Still, while these guys are idiots, that doesn't mean they're total pushovers. They're all physically monstrous superhumans, cadets who've been through specialized training.
"Th-That! That thing from before! That was a d-dungeon! A dungeon! A dungeon gate!"
If they can just get a grip, we can survive.
"Yo, Mun Min. Lower your voice. You guys too."
"We got sucked into a dungeon! We have to find the entrance fast—!"
"Shut up!"
—whoosh!
I shoved my hands under Mun Min's armpits and lifted him up like a cat. He's lighter than I thought. Then I shook the hell out of him.
—shake shake!
"Uwaahk!"
"I said calm down!"
"I am! I am...!"
"Good."
Okay, I'll put Mun Min down for now.
"No, noooooo! This is a dungeon! It's a dungeon! We came into a dungeon with zero preparation? Equal-opportunity death is now being served! I don't want that!"
"Damn it...! Something like this actually happening! This is bad! The unprepared don't make it out alive! That's what a dungeon is!"
These two have also lost their minds, I see. I need to snap Brian and Ken out of it too. They're past panicking and straight into despair.
"Hey. Brian. Ken. Get it together."
"Nanit?"
I put a hand on each of their heads as I spoke.
"I don't know what's going on either, but let's sort out the situation first. If this really is a dungeon... we figure out a way to leave. Right? Keep freaking out and flailing around and we're finished, dumbass. Got it?"
"Oh... oh. That's correct. I'll pull myself together."
"Ken. You too, asshole. You finally escaped Japan, you've gotta survive, yeah? Snap out of it."
"I—I got it."
Good. That should do it. Once I said it calmly, everyone stopped screaming and started checking out our surroundings.
"Phew, I've regained my senses, Scream Man. The sheer confusion of the moment made me show you an unsightly side."
"It happens."
"You're so cold-blooded... I was that startled, you know. Anyway, we must escape. Per academy doctrine, you establish a clear chain of command upon entering a dungeon. Without a proper command structure, we'll be wiped out."
That's correct.
A commander is non-negotiable.
"Scream Man. I think you should be the temporary squad leader. You seem to have the strongest mental fortitude among us."
"Me?"
I immediately looked at Brian and Mun Min.
"I concur. Scream Man should be squad leader. I definitely want that. No problem."
"Uh, uh... Kim Geun-cheol. You do it. Better you than us."
Guess I'm doing it.
"Fine. From here on out, I'm the temporary squad leader. Just know that."
Good. Everyone's shaken off the panic. At this point, that's half the battle won. And now that we've established a command structure, our odds of getting back alive just shot up dramatically.
We'll be fine.
I'm pretty damn anxious myself, but I've racked up seniority at the academy. Plus real combat experience, multiple times over. I will get us out of here in one piece.
"Alright, looks like everyone's gotten a grip. Brian? Try making a call."
"Yes."
Brian pulled out his phone right away.
"Out of service. Location won't lock either."
"So that means we didn't just get teleported somewhere on Earth. We really did end up in some kind of dungeon-like place."
But the quest window said this was the Otherworld, not a dungeon.
This isn't a dungeon.
"W-Wait. I don't think this is a dungeon."
Mun Min spoke up.
"If this were a dungeon... there should be an access gate where we came in. A dungeon is literally a space connected to a part of another world. But... there's no access gate nearby. And we didn't enter through a gate. Everything just flashed, like a bomb went off, and we were suddenly here."
Very good analysis. He just snapped out of it, but his reasoning seems intact.
"Yeah. Mun Min's right. This guy actually sized up the situation properly."
"Th-That part's important."
"Then let's start there. If this isn't a dungeon, what is it?"
At my question, Brian, who'd been stroking his chin, answered.
"Kore wa... I hypothesize a form of spatial translocation."
"Spatial translocation?"
"Look. The vicinity. Only the soil and plants right around here are normal."
Centered on us, a radius of about five meters. The ground there was ordinary. Beyond that, it was nothing but Otherworldly plants.
This is the ground we were standing on when we entered the Korean Mountain earlier. But out there... unmistakably Otherworld. What does that mean? We... were transported here wholesale, together with the ground beneath our feet. This does not happen when entering a dungeon.
Ooh, highly persuasive. A cool-headed analysis, Brian. Scream Man. Personally, I agree with Brian.
That was probably close enough to the truth.
Yeah. I think so too. So rather than a dungeon, this is, well... probably some new phenomenon.
Oh, a new phenomenon?
Yeah. When gates appear on Earth, it's usually either a monster gate or a dungeon. But maybe this is like... new content getting added? Something like that might have brought us to a place resembling the Otherworld.
Just as monsters came to Earth.
We had gone to the monsters' world.
New content...!
An Otherworld transfer event, you could call it. We got caught in that weird phenomenon and ended up here.
First, we had to understand exactly what situation we were in. That was where we needed to start. This seemed like a pretty solid conclusion.
Yeah. If we did what we'd learned, we could survive. These bastards had all pulled themselves together, and they were calm enough to hold a discussion.
This is fucking insane! Why the hell did we get dragged into this?!
Hey, Mun Min. Keep your voice down when you talk.
But still! How is this fair?!
You bastard. Fair or not, it already happened, so our only option is to survive. And if you keep shouting, you'll draw every monster around here, so shut it.
Monsters...?
Yeah. This is a space we suspect is the Otherworld. Of course there'd be monsters or something like them.
Hurk!
At that,
Ah...!
Brian and Ken reacted gravely. Even as superhuman cadets, it was natural for them to be wary.
So draw your weapons. From now on, we keep watch and gather information about our surroundings. Got it?
Y-Yes... understood.
Brian nodded.
Hoo, right. So monsters may appear. Fine. Whatever they are, we simply kill them. Since we're already here, putting our skills to use in this place would not be a bad idea. What do you think?
Ken adjusted his glasses.
Heh heh heh, that's right. Yeah. That's the attitude, you bastard! You survive by acting bold! If you tremble in fear, all that's left is to die!
Then let's begin searching.
There had to be a way out.
* * *
With that, we began moving forward, maintaining a strict all-around watch and leaving marks on tree-like growths. All we could see around us were plants so bizarre they defied description.
Flowers that looked like a cross between a sea anemone and a crab... though I wasn't sure that was the right way to describe them. There were a shit-ton of things like that.
Hmm?
Brian crouched down.
Brian? Find something? Ken, watch ahead. Mun Min, keep an eye behind us.
Understood.
Uh... okay.
Brian was examining a small plant.
Brian?
Geun-cheol. Watashi. I have studied Otherworldly flora and fauna before.
Oh, have you? They don't teach that in first year.
Personal curiosity-desu. I purchased related books and studied as hobby. Here. Do you see this plant?
The plant was covered in curling, hair-like leaves. A cylindrical body sat at its center, packed with writhing, tentacle-like things.
What the hell is all this?
"Yeah. You recognize it?"
"Yes. The scientific name of this Otherworldly flora is Nambumas Morzora... a plant frequently carried over on the bodies of F-rank Antajora during dimensional crossings."
"Antajora?"
Antajora are very familiar monsters. The bipedal, sea-anemone-looking things, the friendly fellows you can even face as holograms in the academy training grounds.
We practiced a ton against Antajora holograms early in the semester.
"Then you're saying this place is...?"
"Yes."
"Some kind of home planet for monsters like the Antajora?"
"According to my estimation, it is...! Terrifyingly dangerous! Which means there's a high probability that Quoperelzora, a C-rank monster belonging to the same taxonomic group, is also present! Damn it all!"
"What...!"
A C-rank monster!
"Wh-What?! C-rank monster! We can't take one of those on our own!"
"For a Quoperelzora, you'd need naval artillery or a tank's main cannon at minimum...!"
Mun Min and Ken both lost it, terror spilling out. According to what we'd learned, yeah, you did need firepower like that to bring down a C-rank monster.
But.
"Hey! Get a grip! You can channel magic power into your swords! That'll cut right through a dimensional shield!"
We are superhuman Awakened.
Conventional weapons have their effectiveness halved against dimensional-shielded monsters. Because of the shield, the required firepower to overcome it skyrockets.
But we, the superhuman Awakened, can slice through the shields those monsters wear with extreme efficiency. Even an enemy that normally calls for naval-grade firepower can be carved up with a modest amount of mana—if you have the skill.
So all we have to do is keep our heads in the game!
Plus, I've got experience taking down new monster species in that special dimension.
"Be that as it may...!"
"And there's no guarantee we'll run into one, right? Hey, you bastards. The second you get scared is the second you die. Just focus. Think about getting home."
"Y-You're right... Geun-cheol..."
Fear cuts your combat strength in half. Whatever happens, I have to prevent the squad from falling into terror.
"H-Hey... Kim Geun-cheol. Can we really get home? There's no passage or entrance..."
"Then we look for one."
"But how."
"We got in, so there's got to be a way out. No, seriously, Mun Min, you little punk. Scared?"
"Wh-Who's scared..."
"Haha, bullshit. This guy's pissing himself. See? Mun Min's the weakest link, I'm telling you."
"Who's the weakest link!"
Looks like to keep this guy from getting scared, I need to gently poke at his pride. Feels a little similar to dealing with Ryu, actually.
"Ha, haha. Correct. Mun Min is weakest link. You are coward."
"Brian, you've got no room to talk...!"
After mocking Mun Min, Brian recovered his mental fortitude too.
Info 1: Administering pride-related stress to Mun Min restores mental fortitude for both Mun Min and Brian. What a deranged trait, seriously. Anyway, I stored that party member data in my mental notebook and got back up.
"Let's keep going like this!"