Chapter 4.2

"Uh, we were on our way home too... So, when we were crossing the crosswalk at a crossroads, all of a sudden a bright light flashed in front of me, and I felt dizzy and then I opened my eyes and I was in a forest..."

"It's just like us."

Against the backdrop of the crackling sound of the makeshift bonfire, sparks fly here and there.

The shape of our elongated shadows in the blazing fire is irregular.

Everyone salivated at the simmering aroma of the rabbit meat.

The meat was about to burn black.

While I am slightly anxious because it's a different world's game, at this level of cooking, even if there are parasites, every last one of them should have been burned to death by now.

"Is it okay if I eat soon?"

"Let's eat quickly. I'm hungry!"

"······."

"Oh, it's delicious."

Since I fell into this unknown place, I have been eating glucose candies for my meals.

While it was a great way to appease my hunger, from a nutritional point of view, it was lacking much.

I don't know how much longer I'll be required to stick around here, but I need to eat protein when I can.

And so I am glad I am able to get meat like this.

In one corner of the goblin colony, as if freshly killed, rabbit corpses that had yet to rot were piled up.

We took the meat and moved to a clearing some distance away from the village and lit a fire with some lighters.

"It would have been much better with salt or soybean paste. There is no seasoning."

"Still, this is harmonious with the atmosphere and delicious as it is."

"·······."

I let the two of them continue talking while chewing the meat without saying anything.

It's annoying to keep receiving their stares since a while ago.

When our eyes meet, they become surprised.

Was I that scary?

To the point of them fainting until exhaustion…?

No matter how bloody my whole body is, holding a club covered in blood and flesh, allows me to feel the lingering excitement from the earlier battle.

I wonder if this reaction will be a useful tool in the future...

Fire is a not-so-small risk in that it would inform potential enemies of our location with its light and smoke.

However, it would hurt my stomach to have to eat the meat raw, and the winter nights are very cold.

Besides, I don't know if it's just Jihye, but I don't want to sleep with the boys on watch.

Wisdom lay down on my thigh, taking it as a pillow.

I guess she is thinking of going to sleep like this.

As the first on guard duty, I stared into the dark forest where nothing could be seen.

Tomorrow, I'll find another goblin village and rob it of all the meat, or try rabbit hunting.

Goblin cubs can also hunt, so why can't we?

What kind of traps do the rabbits fall into...?

The quiet night helped to deepen my thoughts.

***

At first, I thought this was a lucid dream-like state that I had only ever heard about that I had found myself in.

I was surprised by the real-life-like visuals and my body that moved as I wanted and that was no different from reality, but I felt dirty because my first lucid dream in my life was taking place in such a nightmarish setting.

I was definitely going home...?

Have I been dreaming since I went to school...?

No matter how much time passed, there was no sign of awakening from the dream, and I began to feel something strange.

That's how I, Lee Hyun-woo, wandered in the forest for three hours.

When fear grew out of irritation eroded my mind, I suddenly encountered monsters.

There was no time for me to resist their aggro.

When I finally came to my senses, I found myself tied up and surrounded by monsters.

"Eup! Eup!!"

The thought that this was a dream had been abandoned long ago.

The grotesque faces and creepy cries were fear-inducing in and of itself.

I thought I was going to get eaten and die.

I became hopeful when I saw Nam-gyu being dragged back a few minutes later, but he was in worse condition than even I was.

Even if I get bitten by a tiger, I'll live as long as I keep myself awake...!

When I strengthened my will to survive and attempted to not let go of my consciousness until the very end, an incident suddenly occurred.

Some faces I could remember came to my rescue!

Although I am not close to them, I looked into their eyes as I tried to reassure myself of the reliable sight that they should have been.

But then I froze.

After he stopped, I saw the cold, lifeless eyes like that of an ice sculpture staring back at me.

And as if to bolster the effect, the blood and flesh of the monsters splattered everywhere as his arm moved mechanically and mercilessly.

Jeon Ji-hye's eyes formed crescents as if she was enjoying the current situation.

If this was the school, I would not have been able to hold my gasp at the pure and bright smile.

But now, her expression was terrifying and overlapped with her appearance at school in my mind.

The smell of blood made my head dizzy.

While I understood that they were trying to save me, I couldn't stop my body from trembling as I had encountered serial killers.

I was ashamed of myself for struggling and even giving in to incontinence, and I felt deeply sorry for them.

After, Jung Ji-hoo commanded Baek Nam-gyu and I to clean up and quickly leave this place.

And now, as the second on night duty, I forced my tired and weary spirit to stay up with a slap on the cheek.

Surely, Jeong Ji-hoo and Jeon Ji-hye must be much more tired than me.

It was dark between the trees, far from the fire, and nothing could be seen.

Smoke mixed with soot drifted up into the sky.

I looked at Jung Ji-hoo and Jeon Ji-hye, who were lying close to each other.

I never thought the day would come when I would be so assured of the fact that they are not just a rumoured couple.

Tomorrow, I will be helpful to them, instead of a useless burden.

I turned my head again toward the unchanging forest, but-

"Anteol Ostroa!!"

My vision darkened at the sight of strange people glaring at me just before blacking out.

***

Should I have been hiding in a cave like yesterday?

Or should I feel fortunate to have met people I can communicate with like this?

I don't know which of these two options was better.

My night watch duty was finally over, but my consciousness remained clear.

We know very little about Baek Nam-gyu and Lee Hyun-woo, so there's no way we can trust them.

I will never go to sleep, at least not until it's Jihye's turn to stay up.

With the weapon in the palm of my right hand, so I could always defend myself, I was able to react faster than any of the others to the sudden course of events.

"Anteal Ostroa!!"

However, it is impossible to resist unknown magic with only a piece of wood.

It is a group of four like us.

Young and in their early 20s?

It's magic they're using, so this really is a different world.

Resistance is futile.

Their action was swift.

In the blink of an eye, we were bound by a rope of light and dragged somewhere, lifted by an unknown force.

When we reached a building, we scattered.

I was interrogated about my identity and how and why I hid in the 'Academy's Forest' in an airtight room without a single window.

Their language was intelligible and could be understood by me, but of course, I would not answer any of the questions to their satisfaction.

They seem to have tried various methods and magic on me.

To be honest, I was worried that I would be tortured painfully, but the interrogation was unexpectedly short.

After the last questioning, they dragged me down to the basement and shoved me through a set of iron bars.

And in the cell is an occupant I am all too familiar with.

Minhye-rin stared blankly at me with her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly parted.

From her sunken eyes with dark circles around them, I could see her heartache.

Her hair was oily and her lips were dry.

But nothing could tarnish her beauty.

Rather, the look of exhaustion, had me feeling strange for a moment there.

Is this sweet scent her scent?

Her two round eyes gleam with tears.

Was she overcome with sorrow or is she relieved to see me?

Both of her shoulders tremble slightly.

Even the way she cries sadly is attractive.

I went in front of her and hugged her tight.

"It's okay... It's okay now."

"...Boohoo..."

It may have been that my interrogation was short because there was a previous interrogatee in the form of Min Hye-rin.

She probably found herself in a place she saw for the first time, with weird people she saw for the first time.

And then there was a high-intensity interrogation that strained her mind.

She must have mustered up the strength to endure it.

So I stroked her long hair slowly.

Her head lay against my chest.

I love her sobbing softly in my arms.

I rolled my eyes and looked around me.

I could only see one cell-like room here.

Don't the other kids come here after interrogation?

What a shame.

She is currently in a confused and weary state of being.

It is a state of physical and mental isolation from the outside world.

The only person she can rely on is me.

All the conditions are in place to squeeze my way into her heart.

To make her look only at me; think only for me; and to act for only me.

To think that I had to let go of this golden opportunity with my own two hands.

I think it would have been possible to reach Jihye's level if I had enough time...

It's a shame indeed.

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T/N: Finally getting a glimpse of those tags, hehe. And I want some more activity in comments/power stones or this is dropping to 1/day. For the same level of effort, this is reaping me less than my other story, despite me preferring this one. I want this one advancing faster honestly, because I'd much rather translate this one too! Get some activity going y'all.

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