NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
"Alright, you know to come back here next week, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, head back safely."
Eve Meitner waved her hand, bidding farewell.
"Phew... My limbs really don't move the way I want them to."
Still, thanks to her, I was able to gain quite a bit of valuable experience.
'I thought I'd be somewhat used to combat because of Full Dive Machine games, but I was really surprised that wasn't the case.'
In the games, attacks flew in familiar patterns, so I could dodge them by timing it right.
Unfortunately, it seemed this world I possessed was completely different.
'Who knew she'd fire an unavoidable skill twice in a row.'
One of Eve Meitner's attack skills, Electro Field, emits powerful electromagnetic waves over a wide area, inflicting a brief 1-2 second stun broadly.
It was essentially an unavoidable skill.
It wasn't like launching thunder; it was a skill activated by emitting weak electromagnetic waves.
If I deployed a shield to block it, I wouldn't be able to block the subsequent lightning magic that followed by a hair's breadth.
'Still, it was a match where I had a chance if I could just get close, so I tried my best to approach... but who knew she'd fire the electromagnetic waves twice consecutively.'
The lesson learned from the practice session, carried out under the name of a one-sided beating... was simply that this world was not a game world.
Even when I traveled to retrieve hidden pieces dormant near Seoul, the places were empty, filled only with traces suggesting someone had already taken them.
Only the hidden pieces meant to be given to the protagonist later were untouched.
["Please enter your destination."]
"Home."
["Estimated time is 30 minutes. Would you like manual driving mode or automatic driving mode..."]
"Automatic mode, please."
After setting it to automatic driving mode, I entrusted my body, exhausted from being zapped by lightning magic, to the plush car seat.
'Maybe because it's a car costing over 600 million won, it's nice that you can add all sorts of options.'
I couldn't forgive Yun Seong-ho, but I should at least be grateful for this car, various other luxury vehicles, the underground laboratory, and inheriting the Yuseong Group.
'Mr. Deokbae must be rolling around frantically by now.'
I told him not to contact me unless it was urgent and to use his discretion.
The Yuseong Group's stock price kept rising, and since no messages were coming, it seems implanting the knowledge of a professional manager into Mr. Deokbae via suggestion beforehand paid off.
'Thanks to Ms. Eve relaying my words to the domestic guilds, there's no need to even resort to a public opinion war. How great is that.'
How wonderful it would be if the protagonist enrolls in Raon Academy without any issues, grows steadily, and then takes the Final Boss's head.
'If the Final Boss is defeated, a clue to returning home will emerge.'
This was the only quest I received after possessing this world, and the one I strongly suspected would be the last.
Could the 'God' I could meet upon clearing this quest truly be the one who sent me to this world?
'If I just stay put, I'll never be able to leave this world.'
As I thought this, about to close my eyes and entrust my body to the vehicle heading home...
["A strong Gate reaction has been detected nearby. Rerouting..."]
"...There's only a mountain path beyond this point. A Gate appearing on the mountain? Traffic will probably be impossible until the Heroes arrive..."
KUUUNG...!
With that notification, the vehicle suddenly began to shake violently...
"W-Wait a minute...?!"
As if being pulled into a giant black hole, feeling a sense of floating through my skin, I gripped the car's safety bar and could only watch slowly as the vehicle was sucked into the massive Gate.
And, when I came to my senses, what I saw was...
"...Where am I?"
Inside a dark cave, countless monsters lay crushed and fallen.
...
...
...
"Ugh, what's that stench...!"
Looking around, the only thing I could tell was that I had no idea where this place was.
"I thought it might work to some extent inside a dungeon, maybe even make calls... but I guess calls are too much..."
My mobile phone had long since become unresponsive.
My only hope was that the Gate I glimpsed while being sucked in was quite large... so perhaps someone saw it and reported it to the Heroes. I had to endure here with that small hope.
Click, Clack...!
Inside the already defunct car, after killing Yun Seong-ho, I decided I needed armament and picked up the pistol I had crafted in the laboratory.
Clack!
"I didn't expect to test this in a place like this."
TAAANG!
As I pulled the trigger, the harpoon mounted on the barrel shot forward at high speed.
KWANG!
Confirming it was firmly embedded in the cave wall, I moved my feet several times, starting to warm up.
'Now, shall we move?'
Chwa-rararak!
Operating a button near the trigger, the rope connected to the harpoon quickly wound up, and I felt the sensation of my body floating.
'Alright, let's break down the dungeon structure... There's the safest entrance, the monster area with mobs, the hidden room with hidden monsters or items, and the boss room with the boss monster.'
The place I needed to find was the entrance where people who passed through the Gate normally would arrive.
Since the Gate seemed to have formed suddenly when I was sucked in... this place was likely not the entrance.
'Besides, the entrance isn't usually this small. It should be wide open.'
As I moved through the massive cave like the web-slinging superhero in red tights from the movies, the level of monsters appearing inside the Gate was unusual.
'I thought the monsters lying where I was transported were high-level...'
The fallen monsters were B-rank upper tier monsters.
I assumed they had fought over territory and killed each other...
'There are many A-rank monsters. Is it fortunate that there are no flying ones?'
If there were flying monsters, I wouldn't have been able to move this freely.
I probably would have been caught and become monster food within 2-3 seconds.
'Giant Crocodile, High Goblin... it seems to be a cave-type dungeon.'
Normally, cave-type dungeons should have C-rank lower tier monsters like 'Giant Bats' dominating the air... but seeing chunks of flesh that looked like bat wings scattered around, it seemed they 'used to be' here.
'Psychokinesis, nice.'
If I hadn't created a translucent barrier with Psychokinesis, causing a sort of visual distortion while moving, the probability of being intercepted by the monsters on the ground would have been quite high.
And so, after some time passed, I finally found a space that looked like a large entrance.
I could also feel someone entering the Gate.
'Alright, quickly request backup...'
Just as I was about to quickly ask the person who came through the Gate for support.
Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
'..........!!!'
Kudangtang!
Right before reaching the entrance, I changed direction and hid my presence behind a nearby rock.
'Why is ‘that one’ showing up now?'
A being that absolutely should not appear in Korea at this point in time.
Skin so dark it could be mistaken for a corpse, and ominous blood-red eyes exactly the color of human blood.
And, the overwhelmingly palpable demonic energy and killing intent unique to a Demon.
"Haa... I came here thinking there'd be nothing, just for fun... but to think 'this kind of thing' would be here. The Rank 1 fellow will be pleased."
'Why is Shena appearing at this time?!'
One of the seven Demon serving the Final Boss.
Among them, she ranks lowest in combat power, but possesses mind-affecting abilities similar to Yun Sea, earning her the 4th seat among the seven Demon.
Shena of Jealousy.
Why was this powerful boss monster, who should appear after the Yun Sea subjugation, showing up here?
'What happened? Could it be, the anomaly from killing Yun Seong-ho has already started?!'
Perhaps, Yun Seong-ho had some connection to the Demon?
'According to the original story, the Demon episode unfolds right after Yun Seong-ho's death, so I thought it was just following that... Don't tell me, the Korean experimental site mentioned in the Demon arc... was Yun Seong-ho's laboratory?!'
"This demonic energy wafting from inside... It definitely feels like the Demon King's 'that thing'... but why do I smell something else too~?"
'The Demon King's thing... does she mean the fragments of the seal? I heard they were in Korea... but they were inside a Gate that appeared so suddenly?!'
‘Clack’
The footsteps drew closer.
"Hmm, was I mistaken? Well, I was hungry on the way here... and my mood's all over the place because of the 'restriction'."
'Restriction?'
If so, she wasn't in peak condition...
'If I strike now, can I take her down?'
If I defeat Shena now, I can prevent the massacre that happens later.
Unlike other Demon, Shena's mind control leaves severe aftereffects, making it nearly impossible to break the brainwashing once caught.
Crucially, among the seven Demon, Shena has the loosest rules, so defeating her here could significantly delay Mephisto's resurrection.
'And, since we both have mind-affecting abilities...'
There's a possibility I could obtain something from Shena's remains to strengthen this [Magic Eye of Suggestion].
As I thought this and started to move...
‘Rustle’
'..........!'
"Found you, little mouse."
A chillingly beautiful voice came from behind.
"Damn it...!"
‘Stab!’
"......!!"
I tried to resist, but the blade instantly pierced my abdomen, causing me to drop the pistol, my only means of resistance.
'Damn it, this kind of situation wasn't in the game...!'
If I recklessly used the [Eye of Suggestion] and got caught by Shena... I'd be instantly transported to her lair without any chance to resist, becoming either an experiment or dead.
"Now, now, your blood looks tasty, so come with me?"
As if there wasn't even time for complex thoughts, I looked into Shena's eyes, and with the sensation of my body instantly floating, I lost consciousness.