Chapter 12
Chapter 12 - Realm of Infinite Hell (無間地獄) (2)
"Ugh!"
Just after passing through the gate in a white space, I opened my eyes as if having a seizure.
I felt like my breath was rising to my throat. Desperately following my instincts, I rolled my eyes to assess the situation. The scenery of a damp sewer entered my vision. A foul stench ruthlessly pierced my nose.
"Whew... This, this is strange. Was it always this difficult when I passed through the gate before?"
I was disoriented for a while, trying to shake off the inexplicable suffocation that was pressing down on my entire body. I roughly wiped away the cold sweat that soaked my body and caught my ragged breath. Then I put all my effort into organizing my murky thoughts.
"Whew. I'm a bit better now."
After pulling myself together, I used the skill 'Mimir's Eye' to check my condition and examine my items. Everything seemed generally fine. The special items were exactly as described.
The only strange thing was that my level was already 3?
Well, maybe Minerva added two bonus levels. I decided to let it go. Living roughly is my specialty.
"... Good."
With the situation assessed, I turned my gaze around the surroundings.
In the endlessly extending dark sewer, the sound of water and mice squeaking echoed unusually loudly.
I unconsciously swallowed a lump of saliva. And I put more strength into the hand holding my sword.
"Shall I start an exciting adventure?"
Thus, my first adventure began in an unnamed sewer, accompanied by a filthy smell.
The goal for now is to escape from here. Enjoying the joy of being reborn in another world will be postponed for later.
With such light thoughts, I slowly moved my steps.
"Eek! What a surprise!"
While wandering aimlessly through the sewers, I was startled by dozens of mice rushing out from the darkness. What surprised me even more was their large body size.
Focusing my gaze on them, I realized they were a type of monster. Their name was Hunting Rat. Unconsciously, I placed my hand on the sword at my waist.
'Should I try catching them?'
After standing there for a while and pondering, I eventually relaxed with a sigh. I had given up.
There's no need to create unnecessary trouble. I don't even know my current capabilities. What would I do if they rush at me in a group when I'm only level 3?
If I were level 5, maybe I would have tried to attack.
"Hmm... carefully..."
The Hunting Rats were busy eating something with their faces buried in the ground. I moved stealthily, trying to avoid their attention as much as possible. Fortunately, the Hunting Rats seemed uninterested in anything else while eating, and I managed to safely pass through the area where they were positioned.
After passing, I let out a sigh and grumbled while looking back.
"What kind of hero am I, avoiding baby rats... Should I have just charged in directly?"
Though I said that, I had no intention of going back. Life is precious and there's only one.
No, wait. I don't have just one life now, right? I can be reborn? But then, I've never actually been reborn before. Is this resurrection thing even true?
"Ugh!"
While laughing at these meaningless thoughts, I suddenly furrowed my brow. And quickly covered my nose.
A strong metallic smell was breaking through the sewer's familiar stench.
"... Blood?"
Smelling the blood, my entire body sent out an alert signal.
Tension filled me and my senses expanded. I drew my sword. I killed the sound of my footsteps and focused my vision forward. And slowly moved ahead.
The bloody scent was getting thicker with each moment.
Finally, a right-angled corner appeared. Preparing for any possible situation, I quickly turned the corner.
"Aaack!"
And immediately tripped over something and fell.
I let out an embarrassing scream and fell flat.
"Oh, damn... What is this?"
Rubbing my stinging knee, I turned my head. Something heavy was lying near my feet. The size was exactly human-sized.
No. Looking closely, it was just a person. Judging by the lack of movement, it was a corpse.
"... Huh?"
To be more precise.
The corpse's identity was none other than me.
A blackened dead skin. And my body, splattered with blood, was lying there. One side of my back was completely crushed. It looked like I'd been hit by something heavy.
But the blood soaking my body wasn't from there. It was pouring from my precisely cut left arm and the empty space above my neck.
That's right.
My head was rolling separately in the distance. Facing my bloodshot face, I immediately held my breath.
"Uh... Uaaack!"
I sat down right there. I desperately struggled to move away from my corpse. An overwhelming fear of confusion washed over me.
Perhaps because of this state, I only noticed the ominous magical circle emitting a dark light beneath the corpse after quite some time.
"That's... a, a, sentiment.
As I quietly speculated its identity, I soon reached that conclusion. It would be more accurate to say that the unique sticky whisper I felt there gave me that conviction.
I hurriedly reached for my waist. And grabbing the lantern that hung there, I slowly brought it close to the magical circle.
Woong. The magical circle resonated with the lantern and emitted a strong light. As expected, it was the residual sentiment from my previous life.
I was startled by the fact that the lantern was reacting at all.
'So then... this corpse is really... me, right?'
It wasn't a misperception, nor someone who looked extremely similar to me.
It was truly me. The item had confirmed this.
Before I could fully realize it, the corpse crumbled like dust, scattering into the empty air.
"Ah... Keuak!"
As I silently stared at the disappearing head, suddenly, waves of countless information and memories began to surge. My vision went pitch black.
Ding, ding, ding, ding. The signal sounds continuously echoed in my ears.
[Item Activation - Izanami's Heart]
[Acquired the residual sentiment of a previous life]
[Recovered 1 point of Strength, 3 points of Agility, 0 points of Intelligence]
[No skills were recovered from the previous life, so no battle skills were restored]
[Recovered all memories from the previous life]
"Keuaaaak!"
I screamed while tearing at my hair on the spot. Unable to bear the pain, I frantically slammed my forehead against the wall. It felt like my head would burst. I slammed my forehead until it bled, but the pain only intensified from within.
And then, at one moment. The raging stream of memories and emotions that had been mercilessly rummaging through my mind came to an end. In that instantaneous silence, I breathed as if I had been waiting.
"Heok... Keoheo... Heok!"
18th time.
In my memories, I had repeated my death 18 times.
Since I only remember 18 deaths, there might have been more before that.
I looked at the place where my corpse had been with fresh eyes. It was almost identical to my 18th final moment. The sensation of the 19th me looking at the 18th me was quite novel.
'No... this is not the time for this!'
I immediately started moving my feet. I retraced the exact path I had come from. My fast walking turned into running, and running soon became a full sprint. There was no hesitation.
Tatatatata! The busy footsteps hit the sewer wall and flowed into my ears. I kept looking back while biting my lip tightly.
And while silently staring beyond the darkness, I suddenly raised my voice and shouted.
"I know you're hiding there! If you're planning to ambush, you've already failed!"
I don't actually know if anyone is there. But I assumed there was and shouted accordingly. It wasn't just for show. There are two practical effects to this outcry.
First, there's a slight possibility that the opponent might give up on the ambush and reveal themselves, out of curiosity about how their hiding place was discovered.
Second, well... how should I put it. It's hard to say this myself, but it's to pressure 'my future self'. In other words.
'If I was going to be caught, I would have been 100% caught at this point! If you're going to kill me, then try it, you bastard!'
Having experienced it 18 times, I know.
Surviving after being caught by that mysterious bastard is impossible for me. If I've already been spotted... it might be better to start over from the beginning.
Instead, the next me won't be as easy as the previous me’s. Sewer ambush bastard. Because...
"... I've arrived."
Because my current life has already reached the starting point.
I returned to the place where I first opened my eyes, where I had set off talking about an exciting adventure and such. At the intersection where four waterways spread out in different directions. I was standing right in the center.
Memories of my previous lives, repeated 18 times, lingered on all sides. As I quietly observed my surroundings, a sense of nostalgia drifted over me.
A nostalgia so disgusting it made me want to vomit.
"How did you notice? I was confident in my tailing."
Garak, garagak.
A sound scratching my peripheral nerves began to be heard. The sound of something sharp scraping against the stone floor. A sound that had been etched into my horror countless times in my previous life was approaching moment by moment.
He was coming.
Dragging his uniquely long blade on the floor. Approaching from beyond the darkness.
"Oh, damn...!"
There's no time to be lost in sentiment. I immediately began thoroughly 'preparing for murder'. I hastily rummaged through my backpack and pulled out an item.
What came out in my hand was a small, pitch-black box of an unidentifiable material.
[Item Information]
[Name: Box of the Dead]
[Correction: Items from a previous life can be carried over to the current life]
[Details: Contracted item of the God of Death Unterdreth. Cannot contain unique items, and cannot store items larger than the box's size. This item cannot be destroyed and is invisible to others]
[Possible Reinforcement Attempts: 0]
'Damn... there's no time!'
I roughly tore open the front of my shirt. And bit my own finger. Whether due to my desperate mood or not, my teeth immediately dug into the flesh of my finger. I pressed the torn fabric against the wall and began writing with my bleeding finger.
A time capsule to be sent to my past self who will be reborn here as a naked newborn. I wrung my brain to choose the most efficient words. And scribbled.
―Don't move rashly. First, j
At that moment.
"Seems you don't intend to answer. Very well."
With a low voice, a piercing sound approached at a terrifying speed. I instinctively threw myself down. I pressed my body as close to the floor as possible.
"Just die. Like the other trash."
A cold voice scratched my neckline.