Chapter 12: Reunion with the Teacher was the Worst – 3

“Wow!”

Dragged out by Perizet, Wald and I was thrown through the gate.

The image of that bizarre and overwhelming status window I saw a moment ago wouldn’t leave my mind, but for now, I set aside those thoughts, focusing instead on her hand pulling me along.

‘I’ll have to look into what kind of person he is once this is over…’

Since I have the authority to monitor the status of everyone connected to Rudera, I could always check it later.

While it wasn’t a big deal given that even demon king and dragon lord enjoyed this game, it wouldn’t be right as a GM to ignore such a monster roaming around.

Ceasing to dwell on him, I entrusted my body to the gate that enveloped me.

Pa-at

“We are… here…”

“A desert…?”

Beyond the gate, we found ourselves in the middle of a vast desert.

I squinted against the harsh sunlight piercing my eyes.

‘I didn’t realize it when I created this place with my GM account, but it’s brutal to endure with a low-level character based on my real body.’

Though I had intentionally created an extreme environment, I didn’t expect it to be this hard to bear.

‘Did the Demihuman King Brigand really cross this desert alone?’

In Spriggans’ Great Desert, adventurers who first enter the second floor of the Tower of Labyrinth are teleported to one of the edges of the desert.

The idea was to have players traverse the desert, and the first party to reach the central great pyramid would get the priority to challenge the main quest, ‘The Threat of Apophis.’

In other words, the Demihuman crossed this entire desert in a single night and defeated Apophis.

‘What kind of monster is he, really, that Demihuman king…?’

Even though I made the game, I couldn’t help but be impressed by that player.

Thud

“It’s right there.”

Perizet pointed in one direction of the desert.

“Over there?”

Following her finger, I saw the faint outline of a pyramid in the distance.

The Great Pyramid of Duamutef?

The central and largest pyramid in this desert, where Apophis and Duamutef were sealed.

Since the Demihumans served me as Duamutef’s successor, it made sense they would build a sanctuary at Duamutef’s pyramid.

Though I could understand why my sanctuary was built in this labyrinth, it was still daunting.

“…It’s too far.”

Wald said with a look of disbelief.

I nodded in agreement.

Endure this harsh desert environment and walk all the way there?

Are they out of their minds?

“Hmph. There’s no choice. Without the permission of Father… no, Great King Brigand, it’s forbidden by law to warp near the sanctuary. Therefore, we have to walk this distance.”

Did they make such a law already?

Your religion hasn’t even existed for a week yet!

It’s only been a week, and what on earth happened to the Demihumans in that short time?

“Isn’t there any ride? Not a horse… but at least a camel…?”

“This is the holy land where the GM’s miracle occurred. Who would dare profane it by bringing a camel here?”

I, the GM, don’t really care, though.

Can’t we just bring a camel?

“So you really want us to walk all the way there? Are you insane?”

Thud

“Ugh!”

Wald fell to his knees as Perizet’s kick landed on his legs.

“Do not question the hardships, sinner! It’s all to pay for the sins committed! Embrace the hardships with a joyful heart!”

Perizet shouted with a stern expression, but it seemed like it was just to escape the awkward situation.

“Grrr… I’m not even guilty, so why am I the only one getting hit since earlier…”

Wald muttered in frustration, clutching his leg.

Come to think of it, Perizet had only been hitting Wald since earlier, not me.

From her perspective, I should be the one guilty, so why wasn’t she hitting me and only targeting this guy?

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s just keep walking.”

Wald, who had stood up again, shrugged his shoulders and looked at me.

“And maybe it’s for the best. Even though the second floor of this Tower of Labyrinth has been opened, the central area is off-limits due to the Demihuman King. Thanks to Perizet, we get to see it, right? It’s an experience others can’t have.”

Whether to call him optimistic or just a big fan of Rudera.

I had no choice.

I couldn’t reveal the fact that I was the GM.

We had to give it a try.

Isn’t this what an adventure is all about?

I created Rudera to survive in this boring and maddening other world.

I had to hide the fact that I was the GM at all costs.

Resolving myself anew, I began walking towards the pyramid with Bald and Perizet.

After walking for about 10 minutes, the pyramid showed no signs of getting closer, and my legs were shaking.

“Aargh! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Whoa! No, friend! Let’s endure a little more!”

I couldn’t hold back any longer and exploded.

I might as well reveal that I’m the GM rather than walk any further!

The extreme desert environment we faced in those 10 minutes shattered my firm resolution from a while ago.

I adjusted the privileges of this sub-account.
“Set territory.”

Having gained the necessary privileges, I set a hemisphere with a radius of about 10 meters centred on me.

“Change environment.”

Then, I altered the basic environmental factors within that hemisphere, such as temperature and light.

Whirr

Immediately, the scorching heat that seemed like it would melt my entire body disappeared, replaced by a refreshing coolness.

The intense sunlight also diminished, becoming a gentle, pleasant light.

“Ah, now I can finally breathe.”

I collapsed onto the ground.

My whole body was drenched in sweat, and I had no strength left to stand.

However, being freed from that hellish heat, I felt an immense sense of refreshment and relief.

“…Cool. How can a mere human do such a thing…?”

“Friend… How did you…?”

Oops…

Of course, I had to face the consequences of my rash actions.

“Ah, well, you see…”

When I was in that scorching heat, my mind wasn’t working properly, so I did this without thinking.

But I couldn’t tell them I was the GM.

How would the Demihumans react if they found out that the being they worshipped as a god was actually just an incompetent human?

The response wouldn’t be positive for me.

Therefore, I had to hide the truth no matter what.

“Oh! I get it! Friend, now that I think about it, you’re a magician, right!”

“…Huh?”

“Even though I’m a magic swordsman, I don’t know much beyond combat magic, so I’m not sure, but it must be a cold-related spell, right? But still, to drive away the desert heat in an instant, that’s amazing.”

“Y-Yes!”

I clapped my hands at Wald’s guess.

“I can use a little magic that controls this kind of energy. Haha.”

“Magic? Is there such a spell that works like this?”

Perizet, beside me, tilted her head in doubt.

“Hmm… The field of magic is vast, and there are more spells I don’t know about, so it’s certainly possible.”

She soon nodded in understanding.

Fortunately, I managed to get through it somehow.

“But friend, can you keep this up? If possible, I’d like to stay in this state until we get there.”

“Ah, that’s no problem. Since I can make this cool space follow me, all you have to do is stay close to me.”

In fact, with the authority I just granted to the alternate account, I could change the climate of the entire desert… but if I did that, I’d definitely get caught.

“Really?!”

Perizet exclaimed with a face glowing with excitement.

“Right?”

Her round tiger ears perked up atop her otherwise stern face.

Is she excited?

Even Demihumans struggle with the heat.

“Haha. You were just talking about hardship and all that, but it seems like you can’t handle it yourself!”

Seeing Perizet like this, Wald laughed heartily.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

The next moment, he clutched his stomach and collapsed.

“……”

Perizet crossed her arms and snorted.

Her movement had been so swift that it was invisible.

Whirring.

***

“No way.”

Emperor Ahenobarbus, who had crossed through the gate in pursuit of the boy who seemed to have recognized his true identity, let out a low groan as he looked at the vast desert before him.

“This isn’t just a different environment.”

Having wandered through numerous dimensions in search of his master, he could tell.

This desert he was now standing in was a completely different dimension from the first floor of the Labyrinth Tower where he had just been.

The composition of the air was entirely different, indicating it wasn’t just a different climate within the same dimension.

He had passed through a gate into another dimension.

“Does this mean there are many such dimensions within this labyrinth?”

He had approached it out of mere curiosity, but this world called Rudera was far more vast and mysterious than he had imagined.

“I’ve never seen a place like this.”

He had encountered many dimensions: battlefields where humans fought on giant, cannon-mounted iron horses; dimensions of martial artists using special energies called Qi; and dimensions filled with moving corpses, yet Rudera stood out among them all.

This only piqued his interest further.

“But first, that boy.”

Despite his very young appearance, he seemed to have some grasp of his (Ahenobarbus’s) level.

He might be a raw talent who could become a great asset.

Boom.

“Let’s see.”

Leaping high into the sky, he scanned the surroundings for the boy.

“There he is.”

Spotting Albus, he prepared to leap towards him again from mid-air.

-Domain Setting

-Environmental Change

!!!!!

He froze, shocked by the sight before him, even more startling than anything in Rudera.

“This is… impossible.”

Having wandered through countless dimensions, he understood the magnitude of what the boy had just done.

“The power… of a God.”

The power the boy wielded was clearly the authority of a God itself.