Chapter 40

[Through the wormhole, we entered the Black Fox Lord in another dimension.]

[The evil energy of the cosmos grows much denser.]

"Everyone, keep drinking your peach juice. Even that 20 percent reduction makes a huge difference."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Just as the duration was about to run out, I cracked open another one and drank it. Even then, I still had ten left. The sense of security was beyond words.

"Is Imda seriously...? Did he even foresee us going into another dimension through a wormhole and prepare this many?"

Not likely.

- So it's Da Imda

- Kyaa~

- How far ahead was he looking?

- Ahem.

- Ahem.

- Can’t exactly say that’s wrong...?

"Go!"

- Go lol

- Cute

Da Imda. He wasn't in the party now, but he was easily our honorary fifth member. With the difficulty rising thanks to the wormhole, the rewards rose with it, too. If something good dropped, I’d have to be generous again.

Meanwhile, just as the message had warned that the cosmic evil was thickening, everything around us was swallowed in pitch-black darkness. Now and then a star would shine like a lantern, but only for a moment before going out again. It was almost like a horror game.

"I'm not scared of ghosts. People are scarier..."

I said that, but my body startled at pigeons, so who knew. Stay sharp.

- lol, for real

- What kind of life has Haruru lived T_T

"That's the most terrifying thing in the world..."

- Don’t say that so frighteningly.

- We’re doomed

- Ruba T_T

- Can't even beat Hard Fox, graduating like this T_T

The darkened field of view made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything feel scarier, but the biggest issue was flying. I asked Clear Sky if he was all right.

"It's dark, but this much is nothing."

He wasn't just being polite; this was probably the first time he'd had to deal with a wormhole making the difficulty this brutal, and he was handling it incredibly well. As expected of the pilot...

"You'd still prefer it if it were brighter, right?"

"Of course. But can that even happen? Huh. Wait, don't tell me...?"

"Yes. That 'don't tell me.' SSS-grade Mika full transcendence skill activation!"

"Oh... maybe this is how Sim Bongsa felt when he opened his eyes? Haruru, thank you."

- Kyaa~

- Da Mika

"I already told you when I pulled SSS-grade Mika. Light-element versatility is broken."

- Still, I didn't expect this much lol

- So that's why people keep talking about light-element light-element...

- Light-element is a busted game lol

- It feels like the spaceship is shining on its own

"Uh... well. A star is always... Sorry. Let me focus on the game."

- lol

- She doesn't know

- Haruru's IQ...

- A self-luminous planet is a star, right? Or not, whatever

"I didn't say I was focusing because I don't know. Brightening the area helps us see better, sure, but it also means the monsters are more likely to spot us. So I need to stay fully locked in."

- Well, naturally

- Agreed, agreed

- That's a lot of words

- Yes~

- Haruru-chan doesn't know what a star is

"H-hey, I might not know that! Jeong-yong, do you know?"

"Yes. I learned it in Earth science class a while back."

"Earth science, and you learn about space?"

"?"

"...?"

- ?

- ?

- ???

- Haruru didn't study Earth science?

"I'll focus on the game."

"Hey! That's way too harsh."

- Foxes are canines, so maybe that's true...

- lololol

- Get out

- Wouldn't that make you a genius then?

- Please soften it to "Haruru, I love you"

[HaruruIsNotStupid subscribed for 1 month!]

[So Haruru wasn't just pretending to be dumb. I'm relieved, so I'm subscribing.]

- Oh

- Kyaa

- Seeing the subscription bait, I think she really is a genius

"HaruruIsNotStupid, one-month subscription flec! No, wait, why is that a relief? I'm smart, you know."

- Haruru, I love you

- A survival-type genius whose brain only works when money or danger is involved lol

- Haruru, I love you

That was when it happened. Just as I’d predicted, the moment the surroundings brightened, the trash mobs began appearing all over the place like moths drawn to flame.

Clack!

I aimed the laser cannon at them.

"I don't care, I don't care! Even if I don't know Earth science, so what, as long as I can overkill some B-grade trash mobs."

- Agreed agreed agreed

- Let's gooo laser cannon~

- For real, you don't need Earth science to be top-tier in Unknown Universe ㅇㅇ

As if venting my embarrassment, I wiped out every single B-grade trash mob that appeared. But then, out of nowhere, a B+ monster was mixed in among them.

"What the hell? There were B+ grade ones in there too? Compendium farming is an absolute win."

- Kyaa lol

- Even B+ gets overkilled, what the hell lol

- Da Ru Ru

And, completely unintentionally, since I’d wiped out all the trash mobs, the Black Fox appeared much earlier than planned.

Its size was so absurdly huge that it was hard to compare with those followers from earlier. On top of that, it looked like a black cloud in the shape of a fox, the kind of thing that instantly brings to mind cosmic horror.

- Oh

- Oh... that actually looks kind of scary

- Kyaa, nice direction

- Why does the graphics look good?

"Hard Black Fox is Unknown Universe's first space-combat boss."

- Oh?

- Kyaa

- Here comes the big one

"So that was why you were asking about aim earlier? That's bad. I should've practiced aiming more."

"No. You don't beat bosses by shooting bullets like trash mobs. It's more fun than that, but it also demands more teamwork."

You put on a spacesuit connected to the ship, then jump straight out into space and attack it directly. You can still use your basic attacks and skills, but your movement becomes restricted.

"In other words, this fight means all movement is up to Clear Sky."

Because the spacesuit is connected to the ship, he'd follow the ship's course.

"I can trust you, right?"

"Heh-heh. Of course. Go on, have a safe trip!"

Even if Mone and I were fine, Jeong-yong had no experience with space combat and might panic and die. I'd better go down first and buy some time.

The SSS-grade Ceres Ship.

The attached spacesuit was SSS-grade too, and wearing it, I leapt out into space.

- Kyaa, look at that background

- The BGM's pretty good too

- Still, Unknown ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Universe really does keep reinvesting in itself

The Black Fox was as big as a planet. Since I jumped in first, the aggro was on me. The thing immediately swung an arm at me.

- Gasp

- Gasp

- Emergency! Emergency!

Normally the tank would go down first, but the wormhole had pushed the difficulty up several notches, so I was taking the lead to give the inexperienced Jeong-yong time to adjust.

- Yep

- Dodge it fast

- Haruru is made of glass right now

- Right

- Super emergency aaaah!!!

"I know. I know one hit could kill me. But I also know very well that I won't get hit. I trust Clear Sky."

My faith paid off.

The spaceship shifted its trajectory and I dodged the attack by a hair's breadth.

"As expected."

- Kyaa

- Look at that control

- Is this the pilot's handling?

- Da Haneul

- I worship you, Clear Sky

It wasn't just a dodge. I slipped past it by the sort of millimeter-level control that let a melee class like Cosmic Blade actually deal damage. I wasn't going to let the chance he created go to waste.

Shrrk!

I drew my sword and cut off one of the Black Fox's legs. As you'd expect from something made of nebulae, it scattered like dust and vanished. And the creature's scream shook the otherwise silent void of space.

"Now. Jeong-yong, Mone, come down."

"Yes."

The three of us were down.

From here on, our lives depended entirely on the driver. With a moment to breathe, I praised the super play from earlier.

"That dodge was insane, Clear Sky. You slipped it and opened a damage window at the same time!"

"You're too kind. Still, I'm glad my flight training wasn't wasted. Haruru, this power is for you alone. It's an honor to repay the favor for helping me sue that scammer."

- Kuuu~

- You're really loyal

- What?!

- What?!

- Stop pouring cold water on it

"That's how serious he is about this game called Unknown Universe!"

- For real

- For real

- Agreed

- Guild master and guild member, same energy

"And even if you tease me for being an idiot, I'm not dull enough to miss when someone's being sincere."

- Kyaa

- Da Ru Ru

- GOAT

- Who's calling Haruru an idiot!

White light flared from my sword. That meant the Mika stacks had fully built up. And that wasn't all.

"Woo! Guild master, let's go."

Jeong-yong and Mone were already carrying out their roles perfectly without me even having to tell them.

"Clear Sky."

"Yes. I'll send you straight to its heart. You were planning to land a crit and one-shot it, right?"

Truly worthy of the best pilot.

He had understood my intent long ago and was steering the ship straight toward the Black Fox's heart.

"Space Slash, Chapter Four: Die."

Thud!

I drove the blade, blazing with brilliant light, straight into its heart.

- It died

- Die

- Kyaa

- Da Ru Ru

- The damage is honestly at a miraculous level lol

- Chapter Four of death, whoa

- Black Fox cut down!

"High-five! Even the other-dimension one got registered."

- Your compendium luck is insane lol

- She said high-five lol

- ㅎㅇㅅ

- ㅎㅇㅅ

Right. The ordinary trash mobs and Uni loot were fine and all.

They were useful enough, but that wasn't the main prize.

Nice.

Like I said before, avatars are guaranteed rewards. The real issue is rolling the options. I wondered if the desired option might come up the moment I opened it, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Guess I was trying to take the easy way."

- lol, for real

- Phew, thank goodness

- I seriously thought it was going to drop right away and got nervous

Instead, this dropped.

"Oh. So this can drop?"

Cosmic Energy Charge is a skill Cosmic Blade can learn at level 20. To get the skill book, you'd normally have to suffer somewhere else, and yet here it was dropping as a wormhole reward?

- Nice nice nice

- Use it right away

- Oh

- Haruru's luck is seriously insane

- Hold on, hold on, not so fast

"Right. I can just use it immediately, but..."

The reason I hesitated for a moment was this.

"This trash game even puts probabilities on skill books."

- Kyaa lol

- What a god-tier game ㄷㄷ

- Fifty percent is basically generous, yeah

- RNG even for skills lol

"Don't say that. You'll build karma!"

- lol

- That dono's going to ruin it

- Let's go~ let's go~

"Anyway, getting a drop is nice and all. You all know how it is, right? These half-and-half chances are the ones that make you the most nervous."

- Please fail

- This is getting deliciously tense

"Please fail is not something you should say!"

On top of that, Cosmic Energy Charge is a must-have skill for Cosmic Blade, which is probably why its drop rate is so low. Even though it came as a wormhole reward, I was still dazed that it had dropped without the Goddess's Grace.

"..."

Fifty-fifty...

Success? Failure? Success? Failure?

Should I click now? No, maybe a little later?

If it fails, I don't lose anything, but this wasn't the kind of item you come across every day, and it was non-tradable, so I had to learn it myself. Since it had dropped, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd really like it to succeed.

"Here I go..."

I stopped my mouse cursor just before clicking, moved it aside, and shouted. I definitely wasn't chickening out.

"Going in, but using the ChatMoney chance! ChatMoney, the boss fight's over! Let's do the collab quickly."