episode_0101

It was right after waking up that I realized the gate had disappeared.

“Ahhh! The gate!” “What’s going on?” The group of students, including myself, had pitched tents in the entrance clearing and spent the night. When morning came, the screams from outside the tent served as an alarm, waking me up. I slowly walked out of the tent. I saw other students, also awakened, rubbing their eyes and peeking their heads out one by one, just like me.

“What’s going on?” When I asked, I saw the student who had been on the last night watch trembling and pointing towards the entrance. “There! Look at that!”

I was startled. What in the world was happening? The gate before my eyes slowly vanished, as if water was being sucked down a drain. The gate, which had contracted into a single point, disappeared with small sparks flying. Only a few blades of grass remained where the gate had been.

The students, who had been blankly watching the situation, belatedly understood what was happening and screamed. “Uh…uh! The gate is gone! What the hell. Where did it go?” “Kyaaaah!” “Hey! Wake up! We’re screwed!”

Everyone was shocked by the unexpected situation. Meanwhile, beyond the fog outside the entrance clearing, monstrous roars echoed one after another. “It’s monsters!” “Get up! Grab your weapons!” Before we could even process the situation, we had to fight a fierce battle early in the morning.

**

After a fierce battle, the fog was gradually disappearing. “The gate disappeared, I really can’t believe it.” Irene said so, tearing open the packaging of instant food. She maintained a calm demeanor outwardly, but even while eating, she kept glancing at the spot where the gate had vanished. Irene, who usually showed a calm composure, seemed inwardly shaken by the unexpected situation.

I also tore open a package. It was surprising, but first, I needed to eat and regain my strength. Today’s breakfast was instant risotto. Chicken flavor. While eating breakfast, we talked a little.

“The gate completely vanished, is that even possible?” “I’ve heard stories of such things happening rarely, but I never thought we’d experience it.” “So, we’re stuck here indefinitely? That’s terrible.” “To be precise, it’s all of us except Violet. What’s the situation outside?”

When Irene asked, I mentally organized the conversation I’d just had with Instructor Frederick. “The outside gate hasn’t disappeared. They say stabilization work is still ongoing.” “Really? If the outside gate hasn’t disappeared, then the connection itself hasn’t been severed. In that case, a new one must have appeared somewhere in this dungeon.” “…That’s obvious. It’s common sense that once a connection to an interdimensional space is established, it can’t be completely severed.”

“Huh?” A familiar voice interrupted our conversation. I turned my head to see Lucian standing there, holding an unopened packet of instant risotto. “Why are you here?” “Oh, Violet. I came to exchange this for chicken flavor. I hate mushroom flavor.” “Chicken? It’s all gone.” “Ah, darn it…”

Hearing my words, Lucian grumbled softly. Currently, I am supplying all the students’ meals. I’m providing canned and retort foods that are easy to prepare and come in various flavors. These were items I had stockpiled in the kitchen to feed dozens of Violets. To the other students, I just pretended I’d accidentally found emergency rations left by the instructors. 「It’s instant food anyway, so there’s plenty to spare!」 「And it’s easy to eat.」

“By the way, didn’t you just say something about the connection of space?” I asked Lucian, who was returning to his spot. He replied, “Are you asking because you don’t know? For someone who got a perfect score on the exam.” “You just said another gate might have appeared! Explain it to me.” “Such easy content?”

Looking at him now, his attitude truly conveyed ‘why are you even asking that?’. Seizing the moment when other students weren’t looking, I pulled out a chocolate bar from my pocket and handed it to him. Lucian quietly took it. “Well, it’s simple. A dungeon is a space where a part of the real world is isolated and dropped into a different dimension, and a gate is a passage created between the real world and that other dimension. Think of it as a wound that won’t heal and keeps bleeding.” “Keep explaining.” “Once it opens, a gate cannot fully close. The interdimensional pressure between the two worlds keeps the wound between them open. However, the size of a dungeon space isn’t immutable. There are cases where a dungeon’s boundary expands or contracts. This often shifts the positions of gates. Gates that occasionally appear in the city, spew out monsters, and then disappear are examples of this. That’s when the entrance location in the real world changes.”

Aha, so that’s how it is. I remembered what I’d explained to Daphne the day before yesterday about the dungeon’s fog and boundaries. “And the entrance location within the dungeon can also change, then.” “Correct. But for you to need such a long explanation for something so obvious, are you really number one? How on earth did you do so well on the exam…” Well, that’s because I used collective intelligence.

While Lucian returned to his spot with the mushroom risotto, I looked at the jungle outside the clearing. The dense fog that had been there until yesterday was gradually clearing and disappearing. After the meal, Irene called the students together. She summarized and explained what Lucian had said earlier.

“The gate hasn’t disappeared. Its location has merely changed. From now on, let’s search the interior of the dungeon to find the new gate.” A male student asked, “Can’t we just stay here? It’s dangerous outside with all those monsters.” “Being near a gate increases the likelihood of a quick rescue. I won’t force anyone. If you think it’s too dangerous, you can stay here. I’ll be taking volunteers. Understand?”

Another female student asked skeptically, “How can we trust that? Do you have proof?” “There’s no direct proof, but according to academic statistics, magical knowledge, and physics theories, the possibility of that happening is very high.” “It’s not one hundred percent! What if there isn’t one? And what do you even know about magic?” The female student, holding a staff, challenged Irene in an aggressive tone. Seeing that made me feel stifled. Just as I was about to get angry, Lucian suddenly stepped forward.

“Hey, you shut up.” “What? What did you just say to me?” “Yeah! Why are you talking to my friend like that?” As the female student argued with her friends, Lucian raised a gloved hand and snapped his fingers. Several colorful magic circles appeared behind him. “And what about magic? Why don’t those who are worse at magic than me just shut their mouths?” “EEK!” As the female student flinched, Lucian, puffing up with pride, gestured to Irene with his chin. “Hey, first-year representative. Hurry up and continue.” Irene gave a small, thankful nod, lightly inclining her head.

“So, as I said before, we’re going to search for the location of the newly appearing gate. I’m not forcing anyone. I’ll only take volunteers. If anyone wants to participate in the gate search with me, please raise your hand.” When she asked, the students hesitated, looking at each other. I whispered into Irene’s ear, ‘Irene, just leave them. It’ll be faster if we look for it ourselves.’ ‘Should I… Okay, if no one volunteers, I’ll ask you.’

It was the moment Irene and I were about to conclude that the policy would be a solo search — to fully deploy the Violet reconnaissance squad. A male student, seemingly having made up his mind, raised his hand and shouted loudly. “We’ll go!” It was the team I called the ‘Hero Party’. Having seemingly finished talking with his teammates, five individuals proudly looked towards us.

Lucian, who had been standing with his arms crossed, also raised his hand. “Then I’ll go too.” “Uh… then me too!” “If the team leader is going, I can’t not follow.” After that, several students, individually or in teams, volunteered to participate in the search. A total of about 12 students stepped forward to join the search. The rest decided to remain in the clearing for now. Couldn’t be helped.

After preparing, we dispersed into various areas and began the search. “Violet, I’m counting on you!” “Yes, I’ll look for it!” 「Alright, the search operation begins. Everyone move!」 「Everyone run fast!」

I headed to a place far from the clearing. A moment later, a total of 120 Violets began to spread out in all directions and move. 「It’s my first time operating in a dungeon since being created!」 「Unit 398! Stop daydreaming and stay alert. Don’t die quickly!」

***

After searching all day, we returned to the clearing. In conclusion, there were no results. “To think the dungeon’s boundary expanded…” “There were no results at all.”

Instead of the fog clearing, the dungeon’s size had grown incomparably larger than when we first entered. If the dungeon’s initial size was comparable to a single floor of an apartment building, its current perceived size felt like an entire apartment building. It was endless. Moreover, as the dungeon grew, so did the number of monsters. While other search teams of students seemed to have adequately avoided danger and returned safely, some Violets who had moved too far outside were devoured by monsters.

“Ow…” “Don’t push yourself too hard, Violet. No one will say anything if you move slowly.” “Ow… Thank you.” Being stroked by Daphne somewhat alleviated the shock. Being chewed alive wasn’t a pleasant experience at all. While I was stabilizing with Daphne’s healing, Irene cautiously walked over to us. “There’s something you need to see,” Daphne and I followed Irene. There were corpses of various monster groups.

“These are the ones we killed earlier, aren’t they?” “Right, but look here. Isn’t it strange?” I examined the monsters one by one. I could find something out of place. “What, they’re king crabs and polar bears?” “More precisely, they are monsters derived from those creatures. They aren’t native to the Chloris Great Forest.” “Could they have migrated from an outside dungeon?” “That’s impossible. Unless someone deliberately brought them here…” I tilted my head. The more I dug, the more questions arose.

“I guess we’ll have to continue the search tomorrow.” “Yeah, let’s get some sleep first and then think about it.” And so, we welcomed the third morning in the dungeon.

During that time, I witnessed something strange. Violet 406 was one of the members of the Violet search party. According to the instructions from the temporary command center, the search party tirelessly rotated throughout the night or created new clones to find the location of a new gate that had appeared within the Chloris Great Forest.

In the muggy weather, Unit 406 grumbled inwardly while clearing away the obstructing bushes. And then, a strange passage appeared in Unit 406’s sight. 「What is that?」 「Is it a gate? But it looks a bit small.」

It was a gate. However, its size was smaller than the previous one. Its color was also strange. The surroundings looked as if a storm had raged through, utterly chaotic. Trees were broken. As Violet surveyed the area, something caught her eye; something was buried in the dirt. Picking it up and brushing off the soil, a warning sign was revealed. Out of curiosity, Unit 406 transmitted it to the Violet at the temporary command center. 「Do you see this?」

If it’s written like this, it makes you want to go in. I instructed Unit 406. 「Go in for now. Are you wearing a mask?」 「Yes, confirmed!」 Violet 406 leaped through the small gate. The scene before her eyes changed. Violet’s eyes widened. “This place…”

Looking around, I saw a space composed of large and small structures. 「Who built a place like this?」 I cautiously walked inside. There were temporary structures divided into several levels. Artificial lights illuminated the surroundings.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps of several people. 「Unit 406! Hide!」 Violet 406 immediately hid in a corner. She saw several people talking. Among them, the entire Violet temporary command center was greatly surprised the moment she saw a familiar young man with ash-gray hair. 「It’s the Student Council President! And the person next to him, is that the General Secretary?」 「Why is he here?」

A strange gate existing inside the expanded dungeon, and a suspicious facility beyond it. Even the Student Council President was walking with his subordinate. Who on earth built this place, and why is the Student Council President here? The Violet temporary command center immediately ordered a search. Unit 406 began exploring the unknown facility, moving through the shadows to avoid detection. 「Be careful not to get caught!」

***

Around the time Violet was exploring the suspicious facility, a group of students arrived one after another at the location Violet had just passed. “Nathan, do we really need to come this far?” “You saw it too. More and more powerful monsters are appearing. We need to find an exit quickly.” The student team, whom Violet called the Hero Party, along with other students, discovered a small gate.

“Could this be the exit?” “It seems to be active. We can just go in for a moment and come right back. And then we’ll tell the kids back at the clearing!” The students cautiously stepped through the gate.

A moment later, a second group arrived. “Oh, Lucian. Look there. Is that an exit?” “B-but doesn’t it seem a bit strange?” “I don’t know what it is, but we should check it out. If it’s dangerous, we’ll get out immediately.” Lucian’s party also entered the gate, without even considering what kind of place it might be.