#042
I checked my stamina bar. The stamina I had worked so hard to build up was reduced by a third. Same with my health. I hadn’t just fainted from shock. There had been substantial actual damage.
‘A warp that passes through by ramming into a rock wall. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Of course, there was that fantasy novel about passing through a train station pillar, but the protagonist didn’t take damage from it, right?’
“If we’re going to warp like this, give me a heads-up next time.”
I grumbled. But it didn’t work on Carlisle at all. He replied indifferently without even looking at me.
“I did warn you.”
I gritted my teeth.
“Not right before impact.”
“I thought you knew and were acting relaxed. Well, fine. Honestly, I’m surprised that’s enough to make you lose consciousness… Your body is more fragile than I thought. Warping isn’t something to take lightly. It’s natural for your body to suffer shock when you go against nature. You should be prepared for at least that much.”
‘……’
This was the first time I learned that warping was hard on the body. In the game, there was no damage at all. I wondered if this was a phenomenon that arose from becoming reality, but then Carlisle wouldn’t have said things like thinking I knew and was acting relaxed. To them, warp damage was a given.
Even so, there seemed to be differences in intensity. Those two looked way too fine. I was curious whether my shock was so severe simply because my level was low, or because I was a player. Usually in games, trials are the players’ burden.
‘Will there still be warp damage even after leveling up?’
Anyway, I wanted to level up as soon as possible. Then I’d be able to breathe a little easier in various ways. I’d gain the strength to travel alone without having to cling on while being mistreated like this… Though of course it wouldn’t be easy given how extremely harsh the environment had become. Swallowing a sigh internally, I turned my gaze to the car window.
“Ah…”
And for a brief moment, I forgot everything. My mind went completely blank at the vast scenery. The landscape outside had completely changed from before the warp.
It was desert. Red sand stretched endlessly. Not a single insect was visible. Sun, sky, and sand. It seemed as if the world consisted of only those three things. Moreover.
‘Was the sun always that big?’
I stared dumbfoundedly with my mouth open at the gigantic sun sizzling and boiling. Even in the game, the sun in desert regions was particularly large and red, but seeing it in person was more tremendous than I’d thought. The blazing temperature seemed to be conveyed visually as well.
“You shouldn’t stick so close to the window like that.”
Carlisle warned. When I turned around wondering what he meant, he had already taken out a silver hunting rifle in his hands. My eyes widened automatically.
‘Why? There’s not even an ant visible outside. Don’t tell me…’
The words about killing me if I got in the way came to mind. (Actually, he’d said he’d abandon me, but… seeing him with a weapon, my memory distorted it to him saying he’d kill me.)
‘He’s not planning to hunt me, is he?’
Warning bells started ringing in my head. Contrary to the warning to get away from the window, I pressed even closer to the car window while keeping distance from Carlisle. Seeing me like this, Carlisle let out a snort as if finding it absurd.
“I warned you, didn’t I? Get ready to hunt. You need to pull your weight.”
Hunt…? I hurriedly opened my inventory while looking around. All I could still see was sand, sky, and the sun boasting its terrifying presence.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t see any monsters…’
It was strange. Originally, the desert region was a monster spawn area. After becoming reality, it should have gotten worse with more mobs appearing, but not seeing even a single one was really odd. Was it because it was still daytime? Or because we hadn’t gone deep enough into the desert yet?
“Entering!”
When Taro’s cheerful voice rang out, I flinched involuntarily. After the warp, even that bastard’s voice was starting to become traumatic. Every time that bastard shouted something, wasn’t my life in danger?
I gripped the handle above the car window and glared ahead. The air in front was shimmering like a mirage. The moment we passed through it, the surrounding scenery changed again.
‘Holy shit!’
It was a dungeon. The sky and sun remained the same, but red rocky mountains jutted up here and there on the horizon that had contained only sand. What shocked me were the monsters filling the vast spaces between them. No matter how much this was originally a monster zone, I’d never seen so many monsters swarming like this. There were even so many monsters I’d never seen before.
“Let’s try running for now! Raon! Hold tight!”
By the time Taro gave his pretend-kind belated warning, my body had already been roughly thrown backward. The car began racing forward at tremendous speed. It was the same as when we warped by ramming into the rock wall. It was such speed that if we hit even a small rock, we’d flip over.
“In advance! Say something in advance!”
I grabbed the handle I’d lost and barely managed to pull and fasten my seatbelt while growling. But I was the only one pathetically flailing about. Taro was excited like a child on a roller coaster, and though Carlisle was holding a handle with one hand, his expression was as calm as if driving on well-paved asphalt.
The car rattled as if driving over gravel. Just as crackling, splattering sounds filled the air from all directions, body fluids and flesh chunks came smacking against the car windows, making me sick. Small mobs had been scattered on the ground like gravel and were being crushed by the car wheels, splattering up.
‘I think I’m going to throw up…’
I was afraid to look out the car window, but I couldn’t keep avoiding it. The large monsters that had been watching from a distance began chasing the car one by one. Before long, the car was being pursued by clouds of dust that had risen. Some couldn’t keep up with the car’s speed, but most could. Moreover, even the monsters that had been in front crowded together as if blocking the path.
Clatter clatter clatter clatter.
While I was looking ahead, something hit the car window again. The sound was different from before—like thick stones continuously hitting—so I unconsciously turned my gaze and nearly had my heart drop.
“Huh.”
I reflexively pulled away from the window and shrank back. If I hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, I would have almost tumbled backward. Carlisle’s body touched my back, but I had no time to worry about such things.
‘Shibal, what the hell is that?’
What was touching the window was a dinosaur-type monster that looked similar to an ostrich. It was tapping the car window with its beak-like protruding snout. Its reptilian yellow eyes rolled sideways to stare directly at me. Chills ran down my spine. My heart pounded as if it would burst.
‘Tranquility Potion!’
I hadn’t planned to use it until the very last moment since my reserves weren’t sufficient and it was hard to obtain, but this wasn’t the situation for that. Apart from being exposed to actual danger, my realistic fear was also a problem. If I had a panic attack like this, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
I grabbed the front seat with one hand and frantically felt around my chest with the other. A small medicine bottle came into my hand. Just as I was about to take it out with one hand—
CRASH!
The creature that had been following finally rammed into the side of the car body. The car tilted to one side as if about to flip over, then barely regained its balance. Having been holding the front seat with only one hand while trying to get the medicine bottle out, I was roughly pushed sideways then pulled back as if bouncing off the tightened seatbelt.
What a frail body! If Carlisle hadn’t caught me, I definitely would have violently smashed my head against the car window where the monster was.
“Calling yourself an exploration team member when you can’t even control your own body…”
A sigh-mixed comment flowed from Carlisle. My face burned with heat.
“By the way, it’s nice that you’re so popular. I thought this before too, but you’re popular even with monsters. I thought you only charmed people, but apparently you charm monsters too.”
I wondered what nonsense he was spouting, but when I followed his gaze to look out the car window, I was startled. The dinosaur-type monster had approached close to the window again. This time it wasn’t just one, but three. Even while fighting to push their heads forward, their gleaming eyeballs rolled sideways and remained fixed on me. It was creepy.
What the hell are those things? Why are they only clinging to this window?
“I guess we’ll have to deal with them before moving on?”
While barely getting the car back on course after being pushed off the path, Taro asked in a tone that was beyond cheerful—he was excited.
“Open it.”
At Carlisle’s single word, the jeep’s roof began to open. The outside air came rushing in. At that moment—
‘Cough, gasp.’
I unconsciously covered my mouth with my hand. Just a space less than a span wide had opened, but the insane heat made me unable to breathe.
‘I knew it would be hot, but this much?’
It wasn’t just insanely hot. Every time I tried to breathe in, it felt like swallowing fire, so I couldn’t breathe. Not just my skin, but my mouth, throat—no, even my lungs felt like they were drying up. My eyes were no different. The moisture in my entire body was evaporating by the second. Since the air inside the car had been no different from before the warp, I hadn’t known the outside environment would be this extremely harsh.
‘This is bad. My health…’
My stamina bar and health bar were being shaved away moment by moment. At this rate, I’d die as a mummy before even engaging in combat with mobs. My heart raced like crazy and my vision began to shake. Nausea and dizziness washed over me. These were the precursors to panic.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
