056 – When Three Nymphs Gather, Nothing is Impossible! #4
“So, you just need to escape as I told you. Then you win.”
Back in the dormitory─.
I informed the nymphs about the bet that would take place tomorrow.
It was a bet I had unilaterally proposed.
I was worried about what would happen if the nymphs declined, but fortunately, my nymph friends were full of enthusiasm.
“This is an opportunity to show the greatness of the native fairy nymph sisters to everyone…!”
“When our nymph sisters hold hands, there is nothing that cannot be done…!”
“Muhuhuh, this Illinois is really interested in that SNS thing…! The drawings drawn by this Illinois… if sold, it will surely become money…!”
With all this overflowing confidence, I felt a bit uneasy instead.
However, fortunately, the rift tomorrow was a fixed rift where no demons appeared.
As long as we overcame the natural environment and found a way out, it would be over.
I suppose it could be described as an extreme version of an escape room café?
“Then, I will share the survival tips with you.”
Swish-.
I unfolded the notebook I had diligently organized.
It was a note I had been compiling since I began my life as an Awakened, filled with various tips on what we could encounter in the rift.
“When entering the rift, the first thing to do is find a safe area. Securing your body’s safety comes first. Then, once you have some leeway, secure an open field of vision.”
How would the nymphs react to my legendary lecture?
“Tomorrow morning, the menu will be sausage stir-fry…!”
“Muhuhuh, it sounds like it will be absolutely delicious…. If a different menu appears this time, I, Illinois, won’t be able to hold back anymore…! My inner voice… will be written down recklessly…!”
“This Inoi is very sleepy…!”
Is this okay?
Am I going to gain unnecessary shame?
# # #
“Instructor, is it alright if I conduct the rift escape with the F-level recruits?”
I proposed a revision to the training schedule to Instructor Jo Gyu-hee.
Fortunately, Instructor Jo Gyu-hee was more flexible than I expected.
“Are you saying that you will take charge of the training, senior? Then I will take a short break. Could you possibly call Kkungkkungi for me?”
—Kkungkkungi…!
Instructor Jo Gyu-hee decided to take care of Kkungkkungi.
Kkungkkungi is indeed popular everywhere.
I envy that.
Is it because of the stripes?
Will I gain a bit more popularity if I also get stripes?
While I was having such thoughts, Ari arrived leading the F-level recruits.
There were five of them.
They were greatly astonished when they saw the nymph sisters.
“Are those nymphs?”
“They’re small!”
“They’re smaller than me. Are they elementary school students?”
“Are those little ones going to compete with us?”
The nymphs’ appearance seemed harmless at first glance.
It seemed like they were easily underestimated because of it.
I told the F-level recruits.
“Hey! Don’t judge danger based on appearances!”
This is important.
In reality, the nymphs’ motivation was at a buffered state today.
“This Inoi…! I don’t quite know what it is, but it seems like it will be fun…!”
“This Coris has drank plenty of water from the cooler and is overflowing with energy…!”
“That Illinois is very angry…! All the sausage side dishes are gone in front of Illinois…! This angry one… can no longer hold back…!”
Is this okay?
It will be fine.
Since I bombarded the nymphs with lectures on attributes while they were dozing off last night.
Swish-.
The nymphs each wore cameras on their heads.
Their perspectives would appear on the control room monitors installed inside the rift.
If any problems arise, Yua, who is a doctor, would immediately respond.
“Alright, let’s go-.”
Bang-!
Pababam-!
With the signal from Yua, who fired a blank shot with a pistol, the F-level cadets rushed into the rift all at once.
Meanwhile, the nymphs were quite relaxed.
“Then, let’s start our warm-up exercises as the housemaster said…!”
“This Coris is already saying it’s fun…!”
“Muhuhuh, this Illinois is like a cheetah…. No matter how fast the puppies run, they cannot outrun a cheetah that takes off later…!”
Swish swish-.
The nymphs were doing warm-up exercises, tugging each other’s arms.
It seemed they were following the lesson I learned that it was good to warm up before entering the rift.
Pat-.
Soon the Inoi, Coris, and Illinois entered the rift.
I followed right behind them.
The rift was a wide hill.
The scenery of spring with flowers and grass blooming was quite warm and beautiful.
What a magnificent rift.
When I thought that, Inoi raised both hands suddenly.
“It reminds me of the hill where I, Inoi, once lived…! It’s such a nymph-friendly environment…! The flowers are blooming everywhere…!”
“Illinois, let’s smell the flowers together…!”
“Muhuhuh, this nymph-friendly smell─ is so exciting…!”
The nymphs began to pick flowers, not focusing on the escape!
They were weaving crowns and necklaces from the flowers and having fun, and I grew anxious watching this scene on the monitor.
According to the GPS, the F-level recruit team had already advanced 1km.
“Why are they so fast? Are they running at full speed?”
“I told you, senior. Those kids are in Class A.”
Ari laughed as if she found the situation amusing.
Just then.
“Ah! This isn’t the time to be doing this…! We need to escape this place quickly…!”
“Yikes…! This Coris feels so sad about having to leave this wonderful place…!”
“Something special has come to mind for Illinois─. According to the housemaster, we were told to find high ground to secure a view…!”
Good-.
The nymphs began to climb up to a high hill.
Looking down from a high place, I saw that this fixed rift at Nonsan Training Center consisted of blooming flower hills, flowing streams, and forests.
“Ah-! There’s a cool-looking stream over there…!”
“The housemaster said that usually, if you follow the stream in the rift, it leads to the exit…!”
“Let’s go check it out…!”
Yua explained.
“The Rift Core is a special tree. It’s in the forest. Next to it, the escape route is opened like this. Until then, there will be some basic traps or obstacles we’ve set up.”
Traps.
That word made ghastly scenes flash before my eyes.
Did Yua read my expression? She added.
“It’s not a real trap, though. It’s more like there are tons of balls in a pit or something.”
That’s a relief.
Soon the nymphs ran diligently to the stream.
And a problem arose.
“What a nymph-friendly stream…! I think we can splash water together at least once…!”
“I think so too…! It seems like it would feel really refreshing to dip our feet…!”
“Muhuhuh, as the housemaster said, keeping calm without panicking in the rift raises your survival probability above 50%─. For the health of our minds, let’s all jump into the water…!”
Splash-.
The nymphs jumped into the stream.
And they all started splashing water, looking like children who came to play in summer.
Indeed, maintaining a healthy mind is better for survival than panicking and being scared in the rift.
But isn’t that a bit too healthy and positive?
The distance to the F-level team shown on the GPS was now 2km.
I had heard that the average time to escape is 3 hours, but the recruits were moving quite fast.
Aren’t they just running without pace control?
If they keep this up, they might escape within an hour.
And at this rate, the nymphs─.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to escape in half a day at this rate?”
Splash, splash-.
On the monitor, the nymphs were having a great time playing in the water.
“This Inoi hasn’t had this much fun in a long time…! It feels like a dream to splash water with my nymph sisters again…!”
“This Coris has only been fighting with the alien fairies, trolls, every day, so this fun thing is refreshing…!”
“That Illinois is very funny…! Coming to this rabbit-shaped country from America was an excellent choice…!”
They seemed to be having far too much fun.
Well, after all, they were all creatures who wanted to meet other nymphs.
It would be a sad thing if there was a chance to have fun like this and they didn’t take it.
“Senior, at this rate, we’re going to lose the bet, aren’t we? Should I try talking to the nymphs through the speaker attached to the camera?”
“No. Let it be. If we lose like this, then it can’t be helped. It must be due to my lack of training skills.”
“You’re taking it quite coolly, aren’t you? Senior, didn’t you hate losing more than anyone else?”
That was true.
In the past, I hated losing to others.
However, having been trampled beneath others for so long, I must have changed.
About ten minutes passed like this-.
Inoi said.
“Oh no! We played too much…! If we stay like this, we’re going to lose…!”
“This icy water nymph Coris is going to try her best…! The housemaster said that to escape the rift, we must properly utilize the surrounding environment and objects…!”
Hoo-.
Coris blew air from her mouth.
“─Nymph technique, blow wind wildly…!”
The water touched by Coris’s breath began to freeze, forming an ice patch.
It was a patch of ice the size of a mat.
Coris removed it and sat down on top.
It was a peculiar raft.
“Everyone, get on…! If we go down this slope, we will surely reach the forest quickly…!”
“Indeed, this is an incredibly intelligent plan for a nymph…! What an excellent plan that alien species wouldn’t even think of…!”
The nymphs rode the raft made of ice and quickly descended the stream.
The speed was quicker than I expected, allowing them to catch up with the F-level recruits in no time.
“What the heck, what’s that? What are they riding on?”
“What is that?”
“Muhuhuh, it’s an Astroavista…! We’re on the boat…!”
“It seems there are no traps in the flowing water! Chase after them! What do we do? Should we go down the stream too? You’re the leader! Decide! At this rate, we might actually lose!”
“Ugh, ugh, the valley path is too rough and has too many traps, so we’re all exhausted.”
The nymphs were moving on the water with no traps.
The recruits, headed toward the valley with many traps.
I had worried that we would lose when the nymphs were playing around, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
More than anything, the recruits seemed worn out because they were running at full speed over the harsh rocks and pebbles without pacing themselves.
I figured they would act like that, especially since they weren’t even doing their warm-ups.
With this feeling, Inoi and the nymph team surpassed the F-level recruits.
Soon enough, they reached the 5-kilometer mark.
Having finished the stream, Inoi and the nymphs reached the forest.
“Muhuhuh, this Inoi is a forest nymph born in the woods…! I’m confident that I can move faster than anyone in the forest…! Let’s hurry…!”
Inoi took the lead.
Since Inoi was a forest nymph born in the woods, she must know the area well, right?
For reference, Coris was a mountain nymph, and Illinois was a field nymph.
Pababam-.
The nymphs ran through the forest.
In the forest, the nymphs were very fast and seemed to be nearing the exit smoothly.
Just then.
“Ah! This tree…!”
Inoi discovered a tree near the exit.
It had strange letters carved into it with a knife.
Yua explained what we could see on the monitor.
“That’s the Rift Core of this rift.”
“Really? Do you know what it says?”
“I don’t know. It’s an unfamiliar language so I can’t decipher it.”
Is that so?
There are still many unknowns about the rift─ while I was thinking that, Inoi said.
“The letters engraved on this tree are the language of the nymphs…! I thought this forest was nymph-friendly, but it turns out to be a forest that nymphs once lived in…! And these letters─.”
