The battle with the giant was taking place in a clearing with few trees.
It was a place like where Luke and I had stayed, with lush fruit vines.
The difference was the blood that dyed the clearing red.
“Die, you monster!”
“Here it comes! Get out of the way!”
Already, three students had fallen, bleeding, and the remaining ten students were dodging the giant’s punches while launching spells.
-Kooaaaahh!!!
The giant they were fighting was not simply a large humanoid shape. Pink skin was visible between its shaggy fur, and its thick arms looked like they could easily crush a human head. Most disturbing of all was the giant’s face – its eyes were on the sides of its head like a fish’s, and its mouth stretched vertically from its forehead to its chin. Sharp, blade-like teeth could be faintly seen growing inside that mouth.
-That’s a ‘Gug’. They live underground in Dreamland and fear the sunlight. Their staple food is human flesh.
It was broad daylight now, despite the dense forest providing some shade – still too bright for creatures that dwell in the dark.
“Why are they here if they live underground?”
“Probably because they were hungry. They sensed prey above them while starving.”
Could a creature of that size, towering over 5 meters, seriously eat humans? Utterly inefficient.
No matter how sturdy its body might be, it didn’t flinch under the students’ magical bombardment. However…
“UUUUUURRRRRRRGH!!!!”
Luke leaped into the clearing with flames.
“Everyone, get away from me!”
Luke declared he would face the Gug alone.
Under normal circumstances, this would be dismissed as lunacy, but coming from Luke, it carried some credibility.
As the students quickly put distance between themselves and the scene, Luke faced the Gug.
“How dare you mess with my friends? I won’t let you be. That is… because of… RIIIIIIGHTEOUSNESS!!!”
Flames erupted from Luke’s entire body.
Luke, engulfed in crimson flames, roared.
“FOR FRIENDSHIP!!!!!”
The flames spreading from Luke’s body grew larger, eventually forming a fiery mass similar in size to the Gug.
‘…Is this magic cast by a student?’
It was already powerful enough to incinerate a small village on its own.
“UUUUUURRRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!”
With Luke’s shout, the fiery mass was launched toward the Gug, who…
“KOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!”
…blocked it bare-handed with a roar.
“UUUUUUURRRRRGH!!!”
“KOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!”
The battle between the two monsters was quickly decided.
“KOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWKKKKKKKK!!!”
An indescribable scream echoed through the forest, then…
“Cuuu… Kooouuuu…”
Thud!
With a rumbling sound, the Gug fell.
Its fur was completely burned off, its body reddened and charred from the flames.
-…I’ve never seen a human hunt a Gug like that before.
-…Which one should we call a monster?
There doesn’t seem to be any humans here.
-But is this… okay?
“UUUUUUURRRRRRRRDDGGGHHHHH!!!”
Even after defeating the Gug, the flames around Luke didn’t die down.
I immediately understood his condition with just a glance.
“Overheating…”
The biggest drawback of the Blaze family wasn’t their intelligence, but their heat output.
Though treated as strategic weapons on the battlefield, the Blaze family were also considerable headaches for their allies.
While small amounts were manageable, when their firepower increased, their magic would run rampant.
Forget friend-or-foe recognition – even controlling themselves became difficult, radiating immense heat.
“GRGRGRGR!!!”
Fortunately, it seemed Luke hadn’t crossed the line. The flames were gradually subsiding under his control.
As the diminishing flames finally disappeared with a hissing sound, leaving only a wisp of smoke…
“Hooouu~ That was dangerous. Are you hurt, Arthur?”
“I’m fine. What about you?”
“This is nothing. It was magic I somewhat controlled!”
…Was that controlled?
-That heat was incredible. It even reminded me of Chtuga for a moment.
“Luke! And… Arthur?”
The students who had stayed back returned.
While their eyes sparkled when they looked at Luke, they were filled with questions when they looked at me.
“Are any of you hurt?”
At Luke’s question, a seemingly timid girl stepped forward to speak on behalf of the group.
“We’re fine, but…”
Following the girl’s gaze, we saw fallen students.
One’s upper body was gone, making identification difficult. Another had their stomach torn open, spilling intestines.
The last one…
“Hmm? There’s no apparent external injury on this one. What happened?”
“We were lost in the forest when we arrived here. This guy picked and ate some fruit, then collapsed, spitting blood.”
Then, a small sob came from someone in the group.
“Sob… I told him not to eat anything he found so many times…”
“…After he spat blood, the ground shook suddenly and the giant appeared. During the fight, two of them couldn’t evade the giant’s attack in time.”
-It seems the smell of blood excited the Gug. Their luck was bad.
…Luck.
Just as I was lost in thought, Lily’s voice sounded again.
-Arthur. Students are gathering from all sides. They must have seen the magic of the fire monkey.
I immediately relayed this to Luke.
“Hmm. It’s a good thing everyone is gathering. After all, more people means more strength!”
While that was certainly true, it was slightly disadvantageous for me.
I needed to instill in the students the awareness that we needed to escape. Given the current situation, we had to abandon hope of automatically returning to our original world after four days.
However, to explain that, I had fabricated the lie that bonus points would be awarded for escaping quickly, and this lie worked best when there were fewer people around.
‘After all, this situation is ultimately a test and a competition.’
If too many people gather, the lie will lose its effectiveness. It might even cause disputes.
“Luke, can we talk privately for a moment?”
“Hmm. Alright!”
A short while later, in a location somewhat distant from the other students, we faced each other.
“What is it?”
“Do you remember my hypothesis? About possibly gaining bonus points for escaping?”
“I remember!”
“Let’s keep that secret from the others.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s just speculation, after all, and if word gets out, everyone will rush to escape recklessly. Naturally, it will lower our chances of survival.”
“…”
Luke wore a blank expression.
“…Did you understand?”
After a brief silence, Luke said…
“Alright!”
“Then-”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“…”
“But I got the gist. Whatever, you’re suggesting we shouldn’t tell our friends about your hypothesis, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Alright! If smart Arthur says so, then it must be!”
Fortunately, Luke quickly agreed.
“Alright. But I can’t give up on the hypothesis yet.”
Escaping wasn’t an option but a necessity. I had to quickly guide all the students toward Cardass.
“Then?”
“I have a good idea. Would you like to hear it?”
—
“Where’d you go, Luke?”
“I was talking with Arthur!”
“…With Arthur?”
The look they gave me wasn’t pleasant. After all, most of the group’s students were ones who usually looked down on me. After Lily showcased her power recently, the bullying stopped, but perceptions hadn’t completely changed. From their perspective, I was still a commoner with zero mana reserves.
“After discussing, we’ve decided to set up camp here!”
“…Camp?”
“Yes. Camp! We’ll all stay here for four days. It’s the safest way to protect each other!”
“But isn’t this-”
The students’ gazes turned toward the fallen Gug.
This was where I chimed in.
“Actually, this might be the safest place. That giant surely wouldn’t expect multiple people to be lying in wait, right?”
Of course, I’d already confirmed with Lily that no more Gugs were around.
“I know a way to differentiate between poisonous and edible fruits. Removing the poisonous ones should provide at least some food for us.”
The students, who were listening with skepticism, murmured among themselves, then…
“Alright. If Luke’s here, we can be at ease.”
“Right! Arthur said more friends would come soon! We should invite them too!”
As time passed, Lily was correct.
Other students cautiously entered the clearing and were shocked at the sight of the Gug and the fallen students.
The bodies of students remained untouched.
-Worry not. These bodies will disappear soon. After the dream self dies, the body vanishes.
And by the way, Lily, what happens if we die in Dreamland? Do we die in reality too?
-If you die here, you don’t die in reality. However, experiencing death in a dream (Dream Death) causes your dream self to disappear permanently. A person without a dream self can never enter Dreamland again and loses all memories from dreams.
-…So it is truly a death within this world of dreams.
-Exactly.
Fortunately, it seems death here doesn’t connect to reality.
Still, there was another concern…
‘Will I lose the memories of my dreams?’
Then I must never die here. If I lose my dream memories, I’ll forget my first encounter with Lily.
“Arthur, many students have gathered. Everyone agrees to stay in the camp. It truly is a good plan!”
Without any information now, the camp is the safest method.
“However, Arthur. This rift seems very dangerous. Even if we’re all here, it might be hazardous at night!”
“Don’t worry. I have that covered too.”
“Ooh! As expected from Arthur! You always have a plan!”
Yes, a plan to prepare for all our safety.
That plan was given to me by Lily.
My gaze turned toward the roasted Gug corpse.
“Luke, may I use the corpse of that giant?”
“Hmm? No problem, but what do you intend to use it for?”
“Negotiation.”
“….Hmm?”
I would hire extremely powerful guards.
And the Gug’s corpse would be used in negotiations with them.
‘I can’t wait for night to come.’
