episode_0663
by fnovelpia
“… … .”
I opened my eyes suddenly in an unfamiliar space and was momentarily confused.
I pulled myself together and observed my surroundings.
In fact, even opening one’s eyes was not an accurate description.
It’s not like I lost consciousness, I just saw the space around me breaking apart, and when I blinked, I saw that the surrounding scenery had changed from the clan house to this space.
First, I looked again at the notification about the strange tower floating in my field of vision.
“I would like to thank you for entering ██ of ██.”
Unlike before, the notifications on the tower were distorted and noisy here and there, making it difficult to read them properly.
And the previous system that would normally tell you the objectives of the test when you entered the next floor of the tower also didn’t seem to work properly.
There is no objective given as to what one must do to escape from this world, which is presumed to exist inside the [Mirage Mirror], and return to the clan house.
‘You weren’t transported to a different space with Scarlett, were you?’
I had a slightly ominous feeling, but I put that negative assumption aside for the time being.
If he had thought that way, he would not have put his arm into the mirror and induced the abnormality in the first place to save Scarlett.
But there were no clues around that could help us guess the current situation.
Except for the mirror floating in the air, held in place by shards of broken glass and metal wire.
‘That’s… [a mirage mirror], right?’
There was no way I could have forgotten the shape of the object I was holding in my hand just a moment ago.
The mirror floating in the center of the space I was in was clearly a [mirage mirror].
But why on earth is it there like that?
I started to reason, using every part of my brain.
The broken glass fragments that fell to the floor were presumed to be the glass box that contained the [Mirage Mirror], based on the shape of some of them remaining.
However, I couldn’t figure out why the [Mirage Mirror] I was holding in my hand was hanging in the air like that.
Then suddenly, a family that had been passing through my mind came to mind.
‘Could it be… that this is not the world inside [Mirage Mirror], but the world where the original exists?’
It was an idea that I could come up with because I had experience traveling to many different places with the power of a ticket.
[Mirage Mirror] was one of the items I purchased from the mileage shop on the ticket.
Basically, the items sold at the mileage shop were not only real but also many from another world.
‘The [Heart of Alephward] that I bought before was one of them.’
The original world in which [Heart of Alephward] existed was presumed to be a fantasy world based on Norse mythology, based on the description of the item.
And the original world where [Mirage Mirror] existed, according to the written description…
‘It was a world where all kinds of anomalies existed. And [the Mirage Mirror] was a mirror that was created by itself according to the laws of the world.’
A world where all kinds of abnormalities exist. It was a world that was hard to imagine.
Is this a world overflowing with things like [mirage mirrors]?
I couldn’t even imagine what kind of mess would unfold if I left this space, which was blocked on all sides.
‘So the items purchased from the mileage store are replicas of the originals?’
If that’s the case, then it makes sense that the [Mirage Mirror] I was holding would look like that now.
Since it is an object that has never disappeared in this world, it probably exists in the same form it was stored in.
If we assume that the tower’s notifications were distorted because the tower’s power was not reaching this place properly, it seemed to make sense.
Even if the items sold at the mileage store are counterfeit, the value of the items you have purchased so far has not disappeared.
Anyway, it’s something that doesn’t exist in our world, so in our world it’s no different from the original. There’s no problem with its function.
However, I have a new wish that they would lower the selling price a little. If the price was already set with that in mind, then there is nothing I can say.
‘I think I’ve gotten a rough idea of the situation… I guess I should go outside. From the way I can’t see Scarlett, I think she must’ve gotten out of here too.’
With that in mind, I approached the object that was presumed to be the original [mirage mirror].
I thought I’d take care of this just in case.
When you meet Scarlett, you might end up putting your arm in here and causing trouble, which could lead to you going back to the clan house.
The moment you reach out to the mirror.
Chijijikㅡ
-Ah, ah. Test. Test.
Suddenly a woman’s voice was heard from the empty wall.
Judging from the poor sound quality, it seemed like the voice was coming from a speaker installed on the other side of the wall.
The woman, who had been testing the microphone for a while, confirmed that the sound was coming out normally and continued speaking.
-Please stop for a moment. You have now entered ECHO’s containment facility without permission. I would appreciate your cooperation.
There was no device that could be considered a camera in this space, but those who seemed to be managing the facility seemed to have noticed that I was already in here.
‘Well… I don’t know who on earth keeps these things, but I don’t think they’re just storing them without any surveillance equipment.’
“… I don’t know what the quarantine facility is talking about. I just came here to find people. If you help me with that, I’ll just follow your orders. ”
I just came to rescue Scarlett, but from their perspective, it looks like I suddenly intruded into their facility.
I didn’t even know how the world worked yet, so I didn’t want to start a fight out of nowhere.
But they seemed to have different ideas than me.
Cheeek…
A small hole opened in the corner of the wall, and an unidentified gas was injected through it.
I quickly raised my hand and blocked the airway.
‘I guess my first impression wasn’t that good.’
Injecting gas without even having a proper conversation. I don’t know what kind of world this is, but the woman who was the owner of the voice seemed to be a pretty rough type.
‘It’s not poison gas, is it?’
-Fortunately, it’s not poison gas. It’s just regular sleeping gas.
Maria quickly analyzed the composition of the gas.
‘I don’t think you have any intention of killing me. But you also don’t seem to have any intention of helping me the way I want.’
If this happens, I will have to reconsider how I will respond.
At first, I planned to seek local cooperation as much as possible, but if things go wrong, I may just destroy everything.
Originally, humans were cautious when they first met a stranger.
First of all, you have to instinctively figure out how strong this person is. From simple physical strength to money or power.
In order to have a stable relationship, there had to be a process of implicitly understanding who had more power and accepting it.
Otherwise, they may react unexpectedly to each other or cause conflict.
Like these guys who injected me with sleeping gas without even knowing what kind of power I had.
‘I guess I’ll have to let his guard down first and then decide how to scold him.’
I finished my thought and dropped the hand that was covering the respirator. It was as if I had reached the limit of holding my breath.
And then he slowly fell to the floor as if he had lost consciousness. As a bonus, he used his internal energy to slow down his life activities as if he had really fallen asleep.
“… … .”
After waiting for a long time, the wall that had been blocking the entrance finally opened, and people who seemed to be working at this facility came in and carried me somewhere.
In the process, I was able to meet the owner of the voice I had just heard through the speaker on the other side of the wall.
“… Is this the person?”
“Yes.”
It was a clear female voice, not the muddy sound of the speaker. She seemed to be quite high up in the organization, naturally giving directions to those who were moving me.
At that moment, a story came out of their mouths that caught my attention.
“It looks like a normal human being on the outside. However, we don’t know what kind of abnormality it will cause. Let’s isolate this entity in the same way as M3772-U1. We don’t know what will happen if we isolate it in the same space, so as far away as possible.”
‘M3772-U1?’
I don’t know exactly what they’re referring to, but given the context of the conversation, it seems likely that the entity they’re referring to as M3772-U1 is Scarlett.
You want to isolate me far away from Scarlett?
‘You can’t leave it like that.’
I opened my eyes and sat up with a start.
0 Comments