episode_0011

[A corrosion has occurred. Be cautious of your surroundings.]

“What on earth is this ‘corrosion’? What do I need to know to be cautious?”

Just in case, I looked around.

…It was very quiet.

Most students majoring in [Modern Art] usually attend mentoring sessions or engage in artistic activities at this time, so I was the only one in the exhibition hall.

“Did the concept of corrosion exist in romance games from the start?”

My mind was filled with nothing but questions about a concept I had never heard of before.

Ignoring the unanswered questions, I tried to continue looking at the paintings, but a new message popped up.

-[#Corr@%osion..]

– …Ding. You have received a new quest.

[First Step of a Novice Adventurer #2]

Embark on a new adventure!

Hunt monsters to prove yourself!

Goal: Hunt 5 goblins

Reward: Boots of Vitality (1 star)

“Huh?”

I blinked my eyes.

I wasn’t mistaken.

“…Huh?”

It’s not that I don’t understand the content.

Beyond understanding, it’s the unfamiliarity that’s the problem.

This. It’s a scene familiar from RPG game screens.

‘But this isn’t an RPG game; it’s a school romance game!’

The creators of Queen Bartz Academy must have lost their minds. Implementing something absurd as a quest.

Out of the blue, saying ‘Go on an adventure!’ isn’t a fun Easter egg; it’s a stupid move that destroys the genre.

“Goblin-like stuff, really.”

Did they sneak in an April Fools’ update without me knowing?

Ignoring the developers’ unfunny prank, I continued to admire the artwork.

[Record of That Day]

A simple drawing of a melted combat boot. Mud and bloodstains clung thickly to the boot. It seemed to have melted in places, grotesquely clumped together.

“It oddly reminds me of the marching days.”

Of course, being in a deep mountain base, every time we marched, several people would make dying sounds.

“If you want to possess someone, do it before joining the military!”

Suddenly feeling unjust.

While looking at ‘Record of That Day’ and reminiscing about my military days, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.

“Pweee”

“Pweeee ohh”

Incomprehensible high-pitched voices that humans can hardly produce.

“What? It’s too loud.”

I grabbed my ears and went to see beyond the wall where the sound was coming from.

“Alooo pihii”

Green-skinned creatures with elongated noses and ears were smashing exhibits with clubs.

“…Damn, they’re goblins!”

“Pweehee?”

Startled, I shouted.

“Buppi-bahh”

The goblins, finding the source of the noise, approached me.

‘What’s going on!’

I quickly ran in the opposite direction.

No, I tried to run away.

“Pweaaah-pii”

…If goblins didn’t come out from the other side, that is.

‘…Luckily, they haven’t noticed me yet.’

It’s only a matter of time before the goblins close in on me. Getting caught is just a matter of time.

‘Can I escape? …Wait, didn’t I have an item that could attack!’

I rummaged through the slime bag and took out the item I obtained from the bushes.

[Hunting Bush Gloves]

– When flicked, shoots concentrated poisonous thorns.

– Consumable item. Once all thorns are fired, it reverts to ordinary gloves.

Number of projectiles available: 4/5

As I took out the item, the goblins revealed themselves. Without hesitation, I equipped the bush gloves.

“Pwaaah!!”

“Pwurhii!”

The goblins who saw me yelled.

“Eeeh”

It was creepy. They looked like those Golrum creatures from the Ring Empire.

“…Pwi?”

“Pwihiihi”

Something was off about the goblins’ reaction upon seeing me.

Blushing, they put down their clubs and laughed heartily.

“Pwurr!”

“…This is messed up.”

The goblins opened their leather coverings and pulled out split spikes. Then, they shook the spikes while looking at me.

“Don’t wave those at me, you bastards!”

“Pwulululul!”

“Pwralalala!”

The goblin, perhaps a naturally premature ejaculating species, ejaculated shortly after shaking its protrusion. Trembling like a rabbit, they sprayed yellow semen towards me.

“Ew! Disgusting!!”

The goblin’s semen seemed to have some acidity as smoke rose from the fallen ground.

I gritted my teeth in disgust.

“…I’m going to kill you.”

A clear target emerged. I aimed at the goblin with bush gloves on my hands.

Bang!

(Available ammunition rounds: 3/5)

I fired a dart into the air.

Swoosh!

“Krra? …Krrarararara!!”

The goblin hit by the toxic dart screamed and fell. Within seconds, a white powdery fungus-like substance appeared all over the goblin’s body, with purple fluid oozing from its mouth.

“Kriii…”

“Kratt…”

Seemingly caught off guard, it looked at its companion with surprised eyes.

‘An unexpectedly powerful performance.’

With one successful shot, I gained confidence. I flicked my finger towards the goblin attempting to grab a club now.

Bang!

(Available ammunition rounds: 2/5)

Aiming somewhat, I hit the goblin accurately in the chest.

“Hahaha!”

Was it due to overconfidence?

I failed to notice the goblin behind me.

The goblin struck my waist with the club.

“Oof!”

I fell with a thud.

“Krrrhihi!”

The goblin, emboldened, raised the club to strike my head.

Bang!

(Available ammunition rounds: 1/5)

“Krrarok..”

“Cba..”

Thanks to a quick flick of my finger, I barely managed to grab hold of it.

Sensing danger, one remaining goblin rushed towards me.

…In its haste, it stepped on its own ejaculate.

“Krra?”

Slipping on the semen, the goblin tumbled towards me.

“Die.”

Bang!

(All ammunition spent; reverts to regular gloves.)

‘…There’s still one goblin left, seems quite reckless.’

The last goblin, noticing the glove’s change, charged towards me with expectant eyes.

“Krraaaa!”

The goblin swung the club sideways.

I tried to grab the club with the glove.

Crack!

The glove shattered.

“Ah, why is this so strong?”

Until now, I had thought killing goblins was easy. The power within the club surpassed human strength.

“A weapon to wield, a weapon to wield!”

I scanned my surroundings frantically.

“…Athena statue!”

Hastily, I pulled out the spear displayed on the Athena statue.

‘I apologize.’

The spear brought about significant changes for humans.

During the hunting days of early humans, it allowed them to defeat carnivores in territorial fights with their frail bodies and hunt herbivores swiftly and effectively.

Utilizing the long reach, it granted absolute advantage in attacks, piercing through skin with its sharp tip, inflicting fatal wounds. Even against formidable animals, charging with the spear turned them into beehives.

To humans, the spear was akin to:

– Tiger’s fangs,

– Elephant’s bulk,

– Rabbit’s reproductive capacity,

– Falcon’s flight capabilities.

Modern humans often mistakenly believed they were weaker than wild animals. In truth, they maximized their strengths to compete with all terrestrial animals, ranking among the top tier.

…Perhaps goblins, with similar physical structures, could also be considered animals akin to humans. However, a crucial difference existed: the reach of their arms.

The goblin attempted to swing the club again.

Facing such a goblin, I seized the spear and used the distance advantage to thrust it into the goblin’s chest first.

“Krra. Ack. Ack. Ack!”

Struggling to breathe as the spear pierced its lung, it writhed, coughing up blood.

“It’s too late, creature.”

The more it struggled, the deeper the spear went in.

I pushed the writhing goblin against the wall until the green foam of death spread in all directions.

Pretending not to, I have experienced the power of goblins and felt fear. Therefore, I had no intention of adventuring. I just planned to wait until the goblin dies while holding my spear grandly like this.

Clang.

At least until the spear breaks.

Come to think of it, this spear was not made for battle but for display. It’s been durable so far because of that.

“Pweeaaaah!”

The goblin let out an angry voice.

With the spear broken, the advantage over the goblin in combat was lost. Fortunately, the goblin’s condition was quite serious. The spear was still stuck in its chest, blood oozing out significantly, causing it to stagger with even slight movements.

“Take this!”

I was prepared to take a hit. The goblin and I charged almost simultaneously. I thrust the broken spear into the goblin’s mouth as it screamed. At the same time, the goblin’s club struck my shoulder.

“Aaargh!”

“Pweraralak!”

I exerted strength in my arms.

The goblin continued to swing the club.

…As the clubbing continued, I felt the strength draining away.

In the end, the goblin, with its throat pierced, stopped moving.

The sensation on my hands was grimy.

“It’s oddly creepy that the blood is green…”

Rather than feeling disgusted at bursting a huge caterpillar, I preferred the familiar red blood despite its brutality.

– @#?!. Mission& accomplished#.

Objective: Hunt 5 goblins

Reward: Boots of Vitality (1 star)

With the notification, boots sprung into the air.

[Boots of Vitality (1 star)]

– (When equipped) Health gradually regenerates.

– (When equipped) Skin gains vitality.

“…Quite decent, isn’t it? The design is pretty, and the usage is simple.”

I placed the item in my bag.

As I organized the items, I noticed the chaos around me with the exhibition pieces scattered everywhere.

“…What should I do?”

I couldn’t see any way out.

“Lee Ji-yoon, was it?”

As I pondered, a person approached without a sound.

“…Im Yuna?”

The person who addressed me was Im Yuna, dressed in Gothic fashion, a serious sufferer of second-year syndrome.

“Why now of all times… What should I say to her?”

Goblin corpses and ruined exhibition pieces.

Of all times, I met the heroine in the worst possible situation with nothing salvaged.

“Yuna, what’s going on here…”

“I’ll ask you directly. Are you also an outsider who fell into this unfamiliar world?”

“…Pardon?”

An entirely unexpected response.

“…Wait a minute. Transmigration to another world? Could it be that Im Yuna, like me, is someone transmigrated into a game world?”

Considering that I wasn’t the only one who played Queen Bartz Academy, it wasn’t entirely surprising that there were others who transmigrated.

I looked at Im Yuna with a mixture of bewilderment, confusion, and a sense of camaraderie due to our shared circumstances.

“…Upon waking up, I found myself in a completely different world. I have no idea how to return to my original world.”

“Hmm.”

Im Yuna seemed to anticipate my words as she hummed.

Her reaction filled me with overwhelming emotion.

In truth, my life in the game world so far had been satisfying, but apart from that, I had felt subtly lonely due to the lack of someone to share my feelings with.

Im Yuna waved her hand, and thick smoke appeared in the air, passable by a person.

“…What’s this, using an item?”

“Follow me.”

Im Yuna left a message and entered the smoke.

“Is this some kind of teleportation?”

Since the user demonstrated it first, I entered the black smoke without hesitation.

With a floating sensation in the void, my vision disappeared.

It wasn’t that my vision darkened.

The concept of sight itself vanished.

(無).

Thankfully, after a short while, my vision gradually began to return.

Inside a dark-themed building.

Although the elegant chandelier illuminated the surroundings, the irregular and deep interior evoked a subtle unease, resembling a cave.

“…Where are we?”

I asked, but there was no answer.

Im Yuna pointed at the bag I was carrying with her finger.

“At first, I doubted my eyes. It seemed unbelievable.”

When I turned my head, a curved-shaped cold bottle appeared.

– Ding. An item has been discovered.

[Victor’s Curved Sword]

The blacksmith Valium gifted to the hero’s daughter…

“To confirm for sure, I released the monster… Indeed, it seems to be an outsider.”

Im Yuna summoned a strange dark substance and sat down.

…Every time she looked around. A notification rang in her ear.

– Ding. An item has been discovered.

[Melody of Domination]

– Ding. An item has been discovered.

[Pyromancer’s Tome]

– Ding. An item has been discovered.

[Crusher’s Spare Knuckles]

“…What is this?”

As Im Yuna raised her glass, red wine fell from the ceiling.

One sip. Two sips.

Im Yuna leisurely enjoyed the wine and spoke up.

“My name is ‘Yuna Sertetie.’ I am the noble heiress of a prestigious aristocratic family.”

– Ding. Witnessed a world-class boss monster.

[Yuna Sertetie/Witch of Darkness]

– Information unavailable –

(Warning!) Overwhelming/despairing gap. It is recommended to flee.

“Normally, I wouldn’t bother with peasants like you. But given the exceptional circumstances… Why are your eyes like that? Peasant.”

She smirked.

Just as she said. My eyeballs shook mercilessly, as if a Richter scale 8 earthquake had struck.

When she referred to this place as a ‘different world,’ I mistakenly thought she was just another Earthling who had been possessed.

Belatedly, a creepy chill ran down my spine.

‘…Damn.’