episode_0029

We rushed out of the building.

“What the hell is this! No one should know about this place!”

“Someone got here before us!”

All the Violets were startled by the unexpected situation. Violet 7, who was waiting in the dormitory, burrowed under the blankets, and Violet 8, who was in the library, fled to a corner of the bathroom.

“It’s an emergency…!”

Leaning against the cold wall, I tried to gather my tangled thoughts.

The attempt failed. Our mutual fears intertwined, only adding to the confusion. The collective monologues of the panicked Violets erupted.

“Who is it? Who took it?”

“Someone else knew about this place? No way!”

Everyone noisily opened their mouths, spewing out their surprised thoughts one by one. After a long while of such commotion, one by one, they started losing energy.

Violet 2 barely stood up and calmed us down.

“…Everyone, calm down. First, we need to confirm if what we took is indeed that inventory.”

I tried to check the bag I had brought out earlier. But the bag was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did it go?”

“I didn’t drop it! I held it tightly in my arms…”

“Let’s go down to the basement again and check!”

Everyone quietly nodded at Violet 1’s words.

We slowly picked up our weapons and re-entered the abandoned building. Passing through the basement passage with its broken doorknob, we saw the spot where we had torn up the floor tiles.

The bag from a moment ago was in the space beneath the floor we had just torn up.

“It’s back here.”

“Try bringing it out.”

Violet 6 picked up the bag and ran outside. A moment later, the bag dropped back to its original spot with a thud.

“It comes back again. How are we supposed to use it like this?”

I checked the status window again. I confirmed the name: [Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag]. Outwardly, it looked like an ordinary bag you could see anywhere, except for the complex patterns and magic circles engraved on it.

I opened the bag and tried putting in and taking out a few pebbles. It was just a normal bag. I could clearly see the contents I put inside rolling around.

It didn’t work like this in the game.

“How do we use it?”

“Should we try flowing Aether into it?”

As Violet 5 placed her palm on it and flowed Aether, the magic circle suddenly glowed, and the bag vibrated on its own.

“Aah! What’s wrong with this?”

“Looks like we touched something wrong!”

We jumped back from the bag in surprise.

The bag trembled and emitted light, illuminating the basement. Then, it suddenly floated into the air, transformed into a glowing sphere, and burst with a pop. Fragments of scattered light fell like snow over our heads.

“It disappeared…”

“Violet 5! You idiot! What do you mean you blew away a super-powerful rare item!”

“I didn’t know it would turn out like this!”

As everyone stared blankly at the empty space where the bag had disappeared, a translucent status window appeared before their eyes.

*Ding!*

[* The Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag has been bound to User: Violet Dunhind Ruzilin.]

“See! I told you!”

Violet 5 shrugged. For now, the status window declared that we had become the owners of the bag.

“Item, go in!”

I picked up a nearby can and shouted, and the pebbles disappeared. Out of curiosity, the Violets picked up various things, shouted, or thought about putting items in. Everyone’s hands were empty.

It was a different sensation from the transfer ability of the clones.

“It seems we can put things into and take things out of the bag at will.”

“It doesn’t seem to be bound to just one clone. It seems to recognize ‘all of us’ as the bag’s owners.”

I wanted to check the contents of the bag. Immediately, I could perceive the bag’s contents along with a list.

[Items in Storage: Chocolate bar wrapper x1, pebbles x3, Polaris training one-handed sword (arming sword) x1, brick fragments x3…]

“Let’s take out some trash.”

Trash poured out of thin air.

“It seems this is what we were looking for.”

“Where’s the other one?”

Now it was time to find one more remaining bag.

We tapped the surrounding floor with our spear shafts. At one point, there was a thud, and the interior echoed.

Carefully, we inserted a spearhead and a blade into the tile gap, and there was a black duffel bag, identical to the one we had found earlier.

“Should we take this?”

One of the clones lifted the bag. As I decided to put it in, the bag blurred and disappeared, then reappeared as if bounced back. Along with a warning message.

[* Warning: You cannot place another Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag inside a Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag.]

When I tried to bind it by flowing magic into it, a warning message appeared again.

[* Warning: You cannot use this as there is already a bound bag.]

We pondered what to do with this spare bag.

“Even if we take it, it’ll just return to its original spot like before. What should we do?”

“Let’s rip it up so no one else can use it!”

We tried stabbing it with sword energy and setting it on fire with a lighter. The bag was damaged, disappeared, and then reappeared perfectly fine.

“I think I understand why whoever came only took one.”

“This is crazy. Let’s just bury it again for now.”

“Cover those up too!”

We decided to postpone dealing with the last remaining bag and just make it seem like nothing had happened. After all, destroying it and taking it were both impossible.

After putting the bag back, we put the opened floor tiles back in their original places and tidied everything up.

On top of the tiles, we spread out some rags and plastic trash picked up nearby. This way, it would just look like a dirty spot, and no one would pay attention to it.

“Isn’t this hoping for too much luck?”

“Anyway, this place is the deepest corner of the dungeon. No one else will come here besides us.”

After tidying up, we prepared to leave. We climbed back up through the canyon alley we had come from.

“That’s strange. In the tutorial, we took all three…”

“I don’t know. After they just showed an event scene in front of the building, an inventory appeared, saying ‘the bag is like this and that~’.”

“Who could have taken it? The male students? Female students? Or other playable characters? Or a possessed person?”

Everyone spoke up briefly, one by one, but no clear answer emerged.

“Sigh… Let’s go back and discuss who took the bag tomorrow.”

There was so much we didn’t know. It was partly because this damned game had been prematurely terminated for an absurd reason. Before the individual character stories were even updated.

If Director Yeom had catered better to the Communist Party, I wonder if I would have been possessed with more information than I have now.

We wanted to discuss at length, but this was a dungeon. We kept our mouths shut and climbed the inclined alley.

The way back was arduous.

I didn’t realize it on the way down, but climbing back up was incredibly difficult. With similar-looking gray buildings scattered haphazardly, we sometimes ended up circling the same spot.

“Gwoooorgh!”

“It’s a Scrags! Charge!”

On the way up, we clashed with Scrags several more times. These two-dimensional demonic beasts, like goblins or orcs, reproduced asexually, so no matter how many we killed, they kept reappearing.

In the game, palette-swapped Scrags would appear in almost every dungeon, and they were set to have high environmental adaptability.

However, adaptability wasn’t exclusive to them.

“Formation! Form a defensive line!”

After several bloody battles, we became accustomed to fighting. We mechanically repeated deflecting spearheads in front of us with our shields and thrusting swords flashing with sword energy into vital points.

When they grabbed our shields and tried to pull us down, we abandoned our shields, charged back, and swung our hammers.

“Kwoooorgh!”

“Aargh!”

Each time a clone fell, four to five Scrags were brought down to the ground. Once their momentum broke, they would scatter in confusion and flee, only to be slaughtered one by one.

[Level up!]

[Through prolonged use, the proficiency of Unique Ability: Fluid – Consciousness/Self-Linked Clone Arts has increased. The level of your unique ability has increased!]

“Wow! Level up!”

Each victory brought small gains like this.

“We’re adapting as we fight. Dying doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore.”

“I know. Let’s hurry up.”

After the battle, we dragged the Scrags’ corpses and piled them in one spot. Their crude weapons, made from urban debris, had little value, but their bodies themselves were valuable.

I tried putting a Scrags’ corpse into the inventory as a test, and it vanished without a trace.

“It worked!”

“It would’ve been great if we could’ve collected all the ones we killed on the way down earlier.”

“That’s because we took the wrong path. What a waste.”

After collecting about twenty of their corpses, we continued up the path.

As we walked for a long time on the hill of buildings, we saw a truck nearby. Around ten hunters were doing something near it.

One person sat on the truck, gesturing instructions to the people below, while others kept watch. Someone had caught a Scrags and was in the process of tying its limbs.

“What’s that?”

“Let’s watch.”

We huddled together and looked down through a gap in the wall. After the hunters had tied up all of the Scrags’ limbs, they placed a megaphone to its mouth. Then they repeatedly stabbed it with daggers. The creature screamed in pain.

“Kwoooorgh! Kwoooorgh!”

A raucous scream echoed through the megaphone. Immediately, loud cracking footsteps were heard from all directions.

“Is it a mass hunt?”

“That would be dangerous…”

Violet 3 raised a question. Our worries became reality. What looked like a hundred Scrags swarmed from all corners of the alley. The hunters were instantly surrounded.

“There are so many… that’s a scale we can’t handle yet.”

“Why are they doing such a foolish thing?”

We anticipated their tragic end. With such numbers, wouldn’t they be annihilated?

But then a twist occurred.

“What? Did they use some cheat?”

“That’s insane!”

We marveled at the unexpected sight. The nine hunters, instead, began slaughtering the Scrags horde!

Each time swords imbued with sword energy and axes swept past, the Scrags horde fell as if rice was being harvested with a sickle. It was a one-sided slaughter! In an instant, the street was filled with the blood and corpses of dismembered demonic beasts.

“Gwoooorgh! Gwoooorgh!”

Of course, the Scrags also attempted to counterattack. Iron pipe spears flew consecutively towards the flank of one hunter who showed an opening.

*Thud!*

For a brief moment, sparks flew from the hunter’s side. The spearhead failed to pierce his body and bounced off.

“That’s Aether defense…”

The hunter, wincing in pain, furiously struck the Scrags that had stabbed him with his sword. The creature turned into something like a mashed tomato.

Another counterattack followed. Scrags casters mixed within the horde raised their right arms and fired light projectiles.

“They can’t dodge that…?”

*Boom!*

“No! They blocked it!”

The hunters deflected the incoming light projectiles with their swords. As we admired their skill, one person must have mis-deflected a light projectile, dropping their sword and falling over from the impact.

Just then, the person who had only been watching from the truck took out a crossbow the size of a rifle and fired.

Beams of light from the crossbow bolts accurately embedded themselves in the foreheads of the charging Scrags horde. About a second after hitting their targets, the bolts exploded, emitting flashes of light.

“Did you see that? It exploded! Bang!”

“Amazing…”

Bolts consecutively struck the heads of the Scrags casters who were preparing to fire light projectiles again. Their headless bodies tumbled to the ground.

The Scrags, having lost their leaders, ran wildly and fled. Only a few survived, having escaped to corners beyond the reach of the hunters’ swords and arrows.

Once the massacre ended, the hunters sheathed their swords and began collecting the Scrags’ corpses, loading them onto the truck.

The person who had been firing the crossbow from the truck earlier walked over, and a loud voice was heard.

“What are they saying?”

“Let’s listen!”

Listening in, it was just a superior scolding a subordinate.

“…Why are you all so slow? What’s taking you so long to catch just a pack of low-level demonic beasts?”

“We will rectify it!”

“And who was the one who fell earlier? Yes, you! Couldn’t even block one flimsy light projectile. Do I really have to step in for a B-rank with your experience?”

“I apologize!”

“This is why C-ranks are… Hey! Are you slacking off? What are you doing! Hurry up and load them! We need to fill our quota!”

We were shocked to hear the hunters’ conversation.

“Only 10 people unilaterally wiped out more than ten times their number of Scrags, and they’re not even A- or B-rank, but C-rank?”

“If the lowest-ranked hunters are at that level… what level are we at?”

“Probably D.”

D-rank is the absolute rookie among rookies who just became hunters. In military terms, it’s like a recruit.

I instinctively realized the reality and became depressed. It seemed our level was still insufficient.

“We need to train hard from now on.”

“Let’s not just rely on numbers, but aim for qualitative improvement!”

We stood up and walked back towards the dungeon exit.

***

By the time we exited the Novastia Mine, the sun was already setting. Even though it was evening, the area around the dungeon entrance was still full of people. Lights illuminated every corner brightly.

“I thought we’d be here for about two days, but it was faster than expected.”

“Let’s quickly de-spawn everyone except for two. Once we sell all the demonic beast corpses, Violet 10 goes to the Brotherhood, and Violet 11 goes to the motel under the dungeon!”

“Confirmed!”

The twelve Violets disappeared, leaving only two. We dumped all the Scrags corpses in a less frequented area. Then we went to the purchasing office operated by the clan.

“Are you a student? What brings you here?”

“I heard we could sell demonic beast corpses here!”

“Understood. Let’s go take a look.”

I had worried they would dismiss me for being young, but the staff treated me quite politely.

I went with the staff to where the corpses were piled up.

The staff’s faces turned awkward.

“Uh… student. How did you bring all these demonic beasts by yourself?… More importantly, why did you bring them *here*?”

“Ehehe…”

It turned out there was a separate place near the dungeon entrance to put demonic beast corpses before selling them. After hearing their explanation, I gave an awkward laugh.

A staff member, after roughly counting, stuck a numbered flag into the pile of corpses. The staff members took calls, then returned to the sales office, saying they would process the payment shortly. A moment later, laborers arrived and carried the demonic beast corpses away on A-frames.

In the direction the laborers were heading, a cylindrical machine resembling a concrete mixer was rotating. Scrags and other demonic beasts, large and small, went up a conveyor belt and dropped into the machine. The grinder rattled as it spun. Through another conveyor belt emerging from the opposite side of the machine, the finely pulverized remains of the demonic beasts moved. A gust of wind blew, carrying a terrible stench.

“Ugh…”

I barely suppressed a gag.

The demonic beast remains, traveling on the conveyor belt, entered a complex, large machine with multiple pipes hanging from it. Steam billowed from the top of the machine.

A moment later, a truck arrived and stopped on the opposite side of the machine. The machine’s door opened, and black, round masses, having undergone processing, poured into the truck.

“So that’s how Aetherium is made.”

I was able to observe the initial stages of demonic beast corpses becoming valuable resources. These masses would now go to factories or reprocessing facilities to become precious resources.

The monsters of this world don’t yield magical gems or the like, containing mysterious power, when their bellies are cut open, unlike monsters in a fantasy world.

This is because the Aether that gives power to demonic beasts is permeated throughout every organ and every drop of blood.

Therefore, to utilize this power, the help of modern engineering is essential.

Demonic beasts with unusual and rare substances or materials undergo separate processing, but low-level demonic beasts that aren’t particularly valuable are ground whole and then refined through various processes.

This is how Aetherium, a versatile resource that can utilize at least some of Aether’s mysterious properties, is created.

The staff, having finished the calculations, returned, and I could immediately confirm the money had been deposited into my account.

“Total of 350,000 Credits. So that’s 17,000 Credits per beast?”

“Since a cup noodle we eat costs about 300 Credits… I’m not sure if that’s good earnings.”

“It feels a bit low for all the effort we put in.”

How much is 1 Credit in Korean Won? According to official settings, 1 Credit in Crimson Academy was equivalent to 1 Yen. It’s strange that it’s Yen and not Yuan, given it’s a Chinese game.

“Anyway, let’s keep hunting steadily like today and gather money.”

The calculations were finished, so our business was done. We passed through the dungeon checkpoint and headed southwest.

*Classes start again tomorrow.*

Monday was approaching.