Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Disasters Happen More Often Than You Think
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Disasters happen more often than you might think, and there's absolutely nothing you can declare will never occur.
But most people unconsciously assume, Surely something like that won't happen to me, right?
Kang Min-ji was no different.
Even when the news suddenly reported a gate bursting open on some random road.
Even when they talked about missing people who never came back alive—she never imagined it could happen to her.
Of all places, a gate in R District...!
It was an area she rarely ever visited. She'd only come after months of searching for a part-time gig, so why did a gate have to spawn today of all days?
Honestly, it felt so unfair. If the gate had opened just a little later, Kang Min-ji would've already been out of the station by then. She might've dodged the whole mess.
But that's what makes a disaster a disaster—it's always unexpected.
A sudden gate was like a freak act of nature, and there was no way for an ordinary human, not even an Awakener, to stop something like that.
Kang Min-ji bolted desperately, trying to outrun the monster with the reptile-like face.
The one small mercy was that one of its legs must've been injured somehow—it had been missing from the start—so it wasn't gaining on her too quickly.
Center! Guild! Anyone... please...!
Anyone would do. She just prayed for someone, anyone, to save her.
After sprinting for what felt like forever, Kang Min-ji spotted someone in the distance.
A black-haired woman stood perfectly still, gazing right at her. That utterly calm demeanor made Kang Min-ji cheer inwardly.
An Esper!
Kang Min-ji shouted at the top of her lungs for help.
"Monster!! It's a monster! Somebody help!!"
Then the black-haired woman far ahead smiled faintly.
It might've been a trick of the mind, but a brilliant light seemed to erupt behind her like a saving grace.
When your life hangs by a thread, people somehow find strength they never knew they had.
Kang Min-ji sprinted faster than she ever had in her life, stretching out her hand desperately toward the woman as if begging for salvation.
And the instant she did, the black-haired woman started running straight toward her.
"...?!"
The Esper... wasn't an Esper...?
Now there were just two regular people running for their lives.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ How long had they been running? It had to have been at least several dozen minutes.
"Huff... huff..."
Kang Min-ji gasped for breath.
Oxygen deprivation had turned her mind blank. She tried dragging her leaden legs from the marathon run, but her pace only slowed more and more.
Thud—her ankle twisted as her foot hit the ground, finally bringing her to a halt. Her legs, eaten away by exhaustion, refused to obey no matter how badly she wanted to live.
The moment she instinctively glanced back at the pursuing monster, something whipped past her in a blur. Thick liquid splattered across her face.
Splurch!
"Ah..."
It was the monster's blood—the thing that had been hot on her heels just moments ago. When she touched her face on reflex, dark green goo smeared her hand.
The black-haired woman, who must've scavenged a weapon somewhere, cleaved off the monster's remaining leg with a longsword whose edge gleamed viciously.
The monster, which had been eyeing its prey, collapsed instantly when its support gave out. Without a second's hesitation, the woman stabbed its neck once, twice in rapid succession.
Splurch! Stab! Stab!
The wet sounds finally stopped once the monster's body went completely still.
She could see the stab wounds everywhere.
As the tension drained away, so did the last of Kang Min-ji's strength. She crumpled to the ground, and the woman yanked her up with her free hand—the one not holding the sword.
Ugh... The groans coming from her rescuer as she pulled didn't match the ice-cold composure she'd shown slaughtering the monster. She didn't even look that strong.
Noticing the confusion on Kang Min-ji's face, the woman jerked her chin toward the rear.
"Picked up the sword back there. Saw a weapon lying around. Looks like it belonged to an Esper..."
Behind the tree, something that looked like a human hand peeked out.
"Es, Esper...!"
"Hold on—"
Kang Min-ji practically crawled on her knees toward the tree.
The woman seemed to say something, but Kang Min-ji's head was too foggy with the hope of rescue.
"Ah... aaah..."
But what she found behind the tree wasn't a lifesaving Esper—it was a corpse, cold and stiff. Its neck half-severed, dangling grotesquely.
She couldn't even scream. She scrambled backward on her butt, and the woman hauled her to her feet.
"Mmph—!"
Kang Min-ji clapped a hand over her mouth.
Nausea surged up. She glimpsed the half-exposed vertebrae poking through the mangled muscle.
Even in death, its eyes stayed wide open. It was unmistakably human, with the same red blood as hers.
"Tsk... That's why I told you not to go."
The woman clicked her tongue casually and turned, pointing to a small cave not far off.
"I'm heading over there. You coming? Better than staying out in plain sight, don't you think?"
Kang Min-ji's trembling legs somehow carried her after the woman into the cave.
She stopped just inside the entrance and slumped against the wall.
"Oh, right."
The woman, eyeing her, propped the longsword against the wall and rummaged through the bag slung over her shoulder. She pulled out a small packet and tossed it over.
"Here. I've got snacks. Take one."
"...Cookies? Cookies, now?"
"You gotta eat well at times like this. Brought 'em in case I got parched. Lucky I did. Oh—you don't like cookies?"
"No...... I, uh, like them......"
"Good. Got drinks too...... Oh, wait—soda."
"......"
Kang Min-ji watched her gingerly pry open the can lid with her fingernail, careful not to let any spill, then glanced down at the cookie in her hand.
These were plump, appetizing cookies stuffed with deep sky-blue jam. The soda came in a green package, fizz bubbling from the half-peeled tab.
It looked for all the world like they'd come for a picnic in the woods—a surreal contrast to her terror-fried brain.
Kang Min-ji looked up at the woman causing that disconnect.
Meeting her eyes, the woman cocked her head while opening her own can, then nodded like she'd figured it out.
Kang Min-ji dropped her gaze again. Her other hand—the one not holding the cookie—now clutched something else.
"This one's yours."
Red package. Cola.
Kang Min-ji stared blankly at the soda in her grip, then flicked her eyes up.
"Th... thanks for saving me....... Are you an Esper? You're so calm even now. It's amazing."
The woman was way too chill for a civilian caught in this. Unlike Kang Min-ji's quaking hands and legs, those pale fingers opened the can without a tremor.
"Hmm, nah. Do I really look like one?"
"......"
Kang Min-ji's lips twitched.
Of course, she hadn't seen any powers that screamed Awakener.
The hand that'd pulled her wasn't weak, but it wasn't freakishly strong either. Her running speed had been about the same as Kang Min-ji's.
Still, she couldn't blurt out "no" right away, so she clamped her mouth shut.
What ordinary person grabs a weapon and swings it on sight? One slip-up, one moment's hesitation, and she would've been the one dying.
But this woman had sized it up in a heartbeat.
She'd clocked the monster's injured leg right away and calmly taken out the good one.
Then, before it could recover and lunge, she'd stabbed its vitals without flinching.
"What's your name?"
"Ah...... Kang Min-ji! I'm twenty-four."
"Got it. I'm Kim Yu-jeong. Min-ji, we just got lucky, that's all."
Kim Yu-jeong nodded easily.
"If it happens again, odds are we'll die. Nothing special about why I'm calm. If you're gonna die anyway, might as well stay cool and do something, right? Gives you a better shot at surviving."
"I mean, yeah, but......"
"First dungeon for me too. Don't overthink it—just roll with it, Min-ji. From experience, if you can't adapt to the new situation, your chances of dying just go up."
Maybe it was her companion's unflappable attitude. The situation hadn't changed or gotten any better, but the shaking in her hands had stopped.
They rested there until she'd recovered some stamina.
Kim Yu-jeong, who had been scouting the cave from a short distance away, picked up her bag from the floor.
"So, head back outside? Let's at least look for a way out."
"Yeah."
Kang Min-ji nodded. With her head somewhat clearer, she even had the spare mental bandwidth for a light joke to tamp down the lingering tension.
She let out a hollow laugh and opened her mouth.
"Aah—talk about rotten luck. I got fired out of nowhere not long ago, finally shook it off and went job hunting...... and boom, dungeon."
"Tell me about it. Same here—my luck was finally turning......"
Seeing Kim Yu-jeong's sharp gaze drop, her whole demeanor visibly sinking, Kang Min-ji patted her shoulder in sympathy.
"Chin up. We can make it out! Someone told me my lifeline's super long. Oh, and I've got mad skills from cafe gigs—can whip up pretty much any drink. Long as we get out, I'll make whatever you want, Yu-jeong."
"......What?"
Kim Yu-jeong's face went rigid in an instant.