“Alright, make sure to come here next week, got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good, go on home then.”
Eve Meitner waves her hand in a circle as she says her farewells.
“Huff… I really can’t get my limbs to move as I want.”
Still, thanks to this, I was able to have quite a few enlightening experiences.
‘I thought I was accustomed to combat with the full-dive machine game, but I was really surprised when I found out I wasn’t.’
In the game, attacks come in familiar patterns, so one can dodge them appropriately by timing them. However, the world I’m in now appears to be nothing like that.
‘Who would have thought she could unleash Perfect Shots twice in succession.’
One of Eve Meitner’s attack skills is Electro Field, a skill that sends out a strong electromagnetic wave to apply a brief stun effect over a wide area, essentially making it an almost-perfect attack skill.
It’s not like it’s hurling lightning but instead releases weak electromagnetic waves, so setting up a defensive barrier to stop it would make it almost impossible to defend against the lightning magic that follows.
‘Anyway, I was trying to close in as much as possible since I thought that would give me a chance… but who would have thought she could unleash electromagnetic waves twice in succession.’
The practice that became one-sided beating has taught me one thing… that this world is not like the world in a game.
Even when moving to rescue the hidden pieces near Seoul, it seems like they’ve been taken already, leaving only empty traces. The hidden pieces that are supposed to be given to the protagonist later are the only ones left intact.
[“Please enter your destination.”]
“Home.”
[“The estimated time is 30 minutes. Would you like manual driving mode or automatic driving mode…”]
“Please, automatic mode.”
After instructing for the automatic driving mode, I leave my exhausted body, tired from the electric magic, to the soft car seat.
‘This car costs at least 600 million won, so it’s understandable why it comes with various options.’
I cannot forgive Yoon Seong-ho, but at least the fact that he left me this car, along with various luxury cars, the underground laboratory, and the Yuseong Group, is something to be grateful for.
‘Deokbae must be rolling around plenty by now.’
I told him not to contact me unless it’s an emergency of utmost importance and to decide as he sees fit, but since the Yuseong Group’s stock prices continue to rise and no texts are coming in, it seems the implicit knowledge I planted in him as a professional manager has been worthwhile.
‘Thanks to Ms. Eve informing the domestic guilds about my message, there’s no need to go as far as public opinion warfare, which is great.’
If the protagonist can enter Raon Academy without issues, grow steadily, and successfully defeat the final boss, how wonderful would that be?
‘If I can defeat the final boss, it might lead to a way back home.’
<Main Quest>
<Help the protagonist defeat [Demon King Mephisto] and save the world>
<Reward: Divine Audience, 1 Wish Ticket>
This is the only quest I received after coming into this world, and it’s strongly suspected to be the last one as well.
Could the ‘god’ I meet upon completing this quest be the one who brought me to this world?
‘Simply standing still will leave me trapped in this world forever.’
With that thought, just as I was closing my eyes in the car heading home…
[“A strong gate reaction nearby has occurred. Recalculating route…”]
“…There’s no more road from here on out, but the fact that a gate opened in the middle of the mountain means that passage will be impossible until the heroes arrive…”
-KOONG…
With that warning, the vehicle started shaking violently…
“Just… Wait a moment?!”
As if being pulled into a massive black hole, I could only watch helplessly as the car got sucked into the large gate while holding onto the safety bar, feeling a floating sensation through my skin.
And when I regained consciousness, what I could see was…
“…Where am I?”
Inside a dark cave, with countless monsters scattered around, dead.
…
…
…
“Ugh, what a terrible smell..!”
Looking around, I realized the basic fact that I have no idea where I am.
“I thought since the phone was working somewhat inside the dungeon, that calls might also work… seems like that was impossible after all.”
My phone had been out of service for quite some time.
Still, with the hope that someone saw the fairly large gate I was sucked into and reported it to the heroes, I must hold out here.
-Tuck, Tuuuk…!
Inside the now non-functional car, I picked up a pistol that I made in the lab after killing Yoon Seong-ho, deciding that I might need some kind of weapon.
-Click!
“I didn’t expect to be testing it in a place like this.”
-Twang!
When the trigger was pulled, a harpoon attached to the gun barrel shot out at a rapid speed.
-Bang!
After confirming it was firmly lodged into the cave wall, I started stretching my legs, warming up my body.
‘Now, I should start moving.’
-SLURRRK!
Adjusting the button near the trigger caused the rope connected to the harpoon to retract quickly, lifting my body slightly into the air.
‘Let me explain the structure of a dungeon for now… the safest entrance, the monster area with small fry monsters, the hidden room with hidden monsters or items, and the boss room with the boss monster.’
The place I’m looking for is the entrance that people normally transfer to when the gate operates correctly. Since the gate seemed to be forming when I was sucked into it earlier… this place is probably not the entrance.
‘To begin with, the entrance isn’t that small; it should be wide open.’
Moving inside the vast cave, feeling a bit like a red-clothed superhero in a Spider-Man movie, it’s evident that the level of monsters spawning inside the gate isn’t ordinary.
‘I thought the level of the monsters lying dead where I landed was high…’
The monsters that fell were classified as B-rank upper class. I initially thought they had mutually destroyed each other during a territorial battle…
‘There are a large number of A-rank monsters. At least, there aren’t any flying ones, which is fortunate.’
If there were flying monsters, I wouldn’t be able to move this comfortably. I would have probably been caught and turned into monster food in 2-3 seconds.
‘Giant Crocodiles, High Goblins… seems like I’m in a cave dungeon.’
In a cave dungeon, C-rank lower class monsters like ‘Giant Bats’ usually control the air, but judging by the fallen bat wings around, they seem to ‘have been there’.
‘Psychokinesis, good.’
If I hadn’t used psychokinesis to create a semi-transparent barrier and distort the field of vision while moving, there would have been a high chance of getting intercepted by the ground monsters.
And so, after a while, I finally found what looked like a massive entrance.
And I could also sense that someone was coming through on the inside of the gate.
‘Alright, I’ll quickly send for assistance…’
Just as I was planning to quickly ask for assistance from whoever walked through the gate,
-BEEEEEEEEEEEP
‘………!!!’
-KWANG!
Just before reaching the entrance, I changed direction and hid behind a nearby boulder to mask my presence.
‘Why is that guy showing up here?’
Right now, at this moment, an entity that absolutely, under any circumstances, should not be in South Korea has appeared.
A skin so black it looked dead, with blood-red eyes so much like human blood it gives an ominous feeling.
Moreover, the overwhelming aura and killing intent distinctly belonging to demons.
“<'Hmph... I came looking for something fun, assuming there’d be nothing... but to find 'this,' my apprentice would love this.'"
'Why is Sheena showing up at this point?!'
The final boss serves seven demons.
Among them, while Sheena ranks the lowest in combat power, she has a mental breakdown ability similar in level to Yoon Se-ah, placing her fourth among the seven demons.
Jealousy - Sheena.
At least, why is this powerful boss monster here before Yoon Se-ah's eradication battle?
'What the hell is going on? Could the anomaly of killing Yoon Seong-ho already be having repercussions?!'
Maybe, was Yoon Seong-ho involved with something associated with the demons?
'The way it was in the original story, I assumed the demonic episode unfolded right after I killed Yoon Seong-ho, so it didn’t seem out of place... could the experimental facility in Korea mentioned during the demon episodes been... Yoon Seong-ho’s lab?!'
"<'Hmm... This demon aura inside... it's definitely 'that' of Lord Demon King... but why does it smell of something else too...?'>”
‘If ‘that’ refers to the Demon King… the shards of the seal… which I heard are in Korea, but that there are inside this abruptly appearing gate?!’
-Clack
Footsteps are getting closer.
“<'Hmm, is it due to hunger from the way here? Or the 'restriction' messing with my mood...'>”
‘Restriction?’
So, it seems he’s not in top condition?
‘If I attack now, can I capture him?’
If I capture Sheena right now, I can prevent the massacre that will happen later.
Sheena’s mental domination, unlike other demons, leaves a profound aftereffect once it’s caught, making it almost impossible to break the brainwashing. Most importantly, as Sheena is the most disciplined among the seven demons, capturing her here could significantly delay Mephisto’s revival.
‘And, being in the same mental domination category…’
There’s also a possibility that I might get something from Sheena’s remains that could strengthen this [Eye of Hypnosis].
Just as I’m thinking of moving to a different position…
-Skurrr
‘………!’
“<'Found you, sneaky cat.'>”
“Shit…!”
-Poomk!
“…!!”
I tried to resist, but the blade piercing my abdomen in an instant caused me to drop my only means of resistance: the pistol.
‘Damn, this situation wasn’t in the game……!’
If I just recklessly use the [Eye of Hypnosis] and get caught by Sheena…
No resistance will be possible, and I will be forcibly teleported to her lair to become an experimental subject or die.
“<'Come along, your blood looks delicious.'>”
There’s no time to have complex thoughts, it seems. As soon as I look into Sheena’s eyes, in a flash, the sensation of my body floating and I lose consciousness immediately.
