episode_0158

It was me who took the lead.

It was a simple reason. Because I decided that no matter what happens, I am the easiest person to respond to.

In other words, it could be said to be the least risky appointment.

Rachel and Ira looked at me with some concern, but in the end they didn’t voice their concerns.

Anyway, that’s how I stepped beyond the curtain—

The next moment, I was standing in a different space.

“… … .”

It was quite a strange feeling.

I just took a step and was transported to a completely different space.

Usually, a sense of strangeness surrounds the body during the process, but this time, even that sense of strangeness was considerably less.

Perhaps, unless you are a person with excellent senses, you will not even notice.

Although I felt amazed by that fact, I did not let go of the tension.

No, on the contrary, the tension was maintained sharper than ever.

I thought there was a possibility that the enemy would attack me as soon as I entered.

But fortunately, no one attacked right away.

No, beyond that, there was no sign of anything around.

I expanded my senses and looked over a fairly wide area, but I couldn’t sense any sign of hostility at all.

“… … .”

Are there actually no enemies around?

Or is it a characteristic of this space itself?

With that in mind, I was still watching my surroundings without letting my guard down.

Tak─

I heard footsteps, and someone came inside after me.

When I turned my head, I saw Rachel looking around with her eyes wide open.

And, starting with Rachel, other people began to come in one by one.

Ira and Alexis, Cedric, Chris and Wilhelm.

And finally Ethan.

Just like that, the entire party entered the tent.

“This is… It’s bizarre.”

Alexis was the first to express her thoughts.

I nodded silently.

This scene could be described as bizarre.

“This… Should I describe it as a forest?”

forest.

Okay, maybe that expression isn’t wrong.

Just like other forests, the space where we are standing now is lined with trees that fill the entire field of view.

It was no different from a regular forest, except that all the trees were distorted to the point where it seemed like the forests depicted in surrealist works were like this.

“… … .”

It was a strange and grotesque sight that made the viewer feel visceral discomfort.

“… First of all, there is no sign of being detected around.”

I immediately opened my mouth and caught the mood of the crowd that was about to subside due to the bizarre sight.

“… okay. Well, I think it would be better to analyze this space first… … .”

Alexis took a step forward and carefully proposed an analysis of this space.

However.

“Where is the time for that?”

The suggestion was immediately dismissed by Ethan.

After stopping Ethan with a short word, Ethan passed the group with a face that did not show the slightest nervousness and began to walk forward at a brisk pace.

“… … .”

At that action, Alexis and the rest of the group looked at his back with a puzzled expression, but no one dared to grab Ethan.

There were several reasons.

First, the status of the Ten Swords.

It is the Ten Swords that all the rulers of the continent covet and are willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to recruit.

Although he does not currently belong to any faction, if he wanted to, he could immediately receive a title equivalent to that of a great nobleman.

There was no way their background would work for Ethan, who proudly listed his name among the Ten Swords.

And secondly, perhaps because of the reputation of Ethan Bertrand himself.

Soldiers who are confident in their power are basically confident and have a strong ego.

It is no exaggeration to say that most of the ten swords that stand at the peak have the same temperament.

However, the rumors about Duguwi and Ethan Bertrand are getting more serious.

Basically, I don’t pay attention to what other people think, and if there’s something I don’t like, I just turn it over and look at it.

His temperament is extremely violent, and his violent words and actions never discriminate against his opponents.

That was the reputation of the person named Tugui.

In fact, there is even a theory that he could fit twenty carriages worth of children from a noble family who were beaten to dust on a rainy day for making fun of him in front of him. Regardless of the status of the other person, Ethan did not take matters into his own hands.

Is it because of that?

Although it is hard to believe, there was even a rumor that children of some families were taught to never lose their manners in front of Tugui.

I don’t know if that’s true or not, but seeing as Wilhelm, who is not only cocky but boasts an arrogant personality, is keeping quiet, it doesn’t seem like it’s an entirely unreliable story.

… Well, I don’t really pay attention to Ethan, so I can stop him if I want to, but I didn’t have any intention of doing that this time.

Because I thought he was right.

It was clear that something was going on here, and if time continued like this, the chances of something good happening to us were significantly low.

… Also, in order to ensure the safety of people outside Merina and reduce damage, it is necessary to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

We didn’t have time to analyze each thing one by one.

Because I thought so, I didn’t stop Ethan.

“… … .”

Alexis looked a little worried at this, but soon changed her expression and started walking after Ethan.

So, the group began to advance through the strangely distorted forest.

I walked last in the group.

To prepare for any unexpected situation.

Although it seems calm at first glance, we don’t know when something will happen, and Ethan and I are probably the only ones who can easily respond to such an unexpected situation.

The intention was to leave the front line to Ethan, and I would manage the back line.

In that way, we were slowly walking through the distorted forest.

Suddenly, Ethan, who was leading, disappeared.

“… … !”

Alexis, who was walking behind Ethan, immediately stopped.

And the other party members also immediately stopped walking.

Then he began to look around with eyes full of alertness.

It was a calm decision.

The party members, especially the wizards, looked around with their eyes wide open, trying to figure out what had happened.

However.

“What is it?”

Their efforts were in vain as Ethan once again showed up unharmed.

“… Ah, I understand roughly.”

Ethan, who was looking around and at the group with a somewhat confused look, suddenly nodded to himself.

Then, I turned around again and took a step forward—

Once again, he disappeared from before us.

And, before we even had time to react to that fact, he appeared in front of us again, just fine.

***

Trusting Ethan’s words that it was safe, we boldly took a step forward.

Immediately after that, a slight sense of heterogeneity passed over us, and the next moment, we were faced with a slightly different landscape than before.

“It’s a different space.”

Chris, who carefully looked at the surroundings and boundaries, came to a conclusion.

“It’s a similar landscape, but it’s a space with completely different characteristics.”

“Definitely… … .”

“… I think that’s right.”

Alexis and Rachel agreed.

At those words, I made a rather heavy expression.

“That means… … .”

“This means that there will be as many spaces as possible in this format in the future.”

That was the problem.

Fortunately, this space doesn’t seem to have any problems right now, but there was no way that the spaces we would encounter in the future would be like that either.

Perhaps we might encounter an extraordinary space far beyond our imagination.

“Considering the characteristics of the dungeon, it might be natural.”

Alexis added.

I nodded silently.

Dungeon, a special structure that exists only inside this academy.

Although it is perceived by students at the academy as a place for training or taking exams, its essence is a ‘spatial phenomenon’.

A ‘spatial phenomenon’ created by the academy’s special environment.

“… … .”

I was lost in thought for a moment.

It is true that structures called dungeons exist only in the Academy, but that does not mean that there are no things similar to dungeons.

There is a place where a dungeon-like structure exists, and I knew that place well.

That is, the forest near Darbil.

If you think about it, the forest and the academy have many similarities.

Although it is not a dungeon, something similar exists, and above all, unlike other places on the continent, there is a special flow of magical power.

Is it simply a coincidence that the two spaces share similar characteristics, or is there a clear cause?

As for the answer, I had some guesses.

However, I couldn’t formulate the guess into a sentence and had to get out of my thoughts halfway through.

I raised my head.

And, not long after, Ethan’s eyes changed.

“You came.”

After hearing those words, the party members began to prepare for battle, each pulling out a weapon or raising their magic power with nervous expressions on their faces.

and.

Crrr─

Unpleasant cries were heard from all directions.