Episode 68 – Crack (2)
Since Scarlett is also going out of Star City, she went with her to the entrance of Star City and said hello.
“Then… I’ll go first.”
“Yes! See you on Monday!”
Scarlett greeted me brightly…….
“… ….”
“… ….”
There are various kinds of embarrassment in the world.
Among them, one of the easiest things to go through is when you say goodbye and don’t break up right away.
For example, there is something you left behind, so you go back and run into each other, or you say goodbye to a friend who is leaving on the subway first, but the subway doesn’t start, so you keep seeing each other.
When faced with such a situation, people feel embarrassed and do other things.
I look at my phone or pretend to answer a call as if something suddenly happened, and sometimes I just ignore it and leave.
I’m sure the situation I’m in now is quite similar to that kind of embarrassment.
Yeah, she and I have been walking down the same road for 20 minutes now.
I should have expected this much in advance.
What is the reason for an academy student to suddenly go out of Star City on the weekend?
Nine out of ten likely the goal is to go to a crack like me and make money.
Not all Astel Academy students are wealthy.
Of course, the place with the highest competition rate would be the one close to Star City, like the one I booked yesterday.
Although the probability is low, the possibility of entering the same crack as someone you know exists.
To be honest, that doesn’t matter at all.
If you know someone, you can trust them more than others, and you can trust them with confidence.
The problem is… It’s probably because it’s awkward because we said goodbye to each other lively earlier.
In order to resolve the awkwardness, both of them moved and tried to say something, but the embarrassment was greater than expected, so it was not easy to continue the conversation.
And finally… Arrived at the same place as expected.
“… ….”
“… ….”
Neither said anything, but both wanted to sigh.
Still, it is impossible not to stay silent during the subjugation mission because of embarrassment.
With that thought in mind, I said nothing at first.
“I like curry.”
“… ?”
Was this too mean? Anyway.
“I guess you came out to subdue the rift today too.”
It was an obvious fact that you didn’t have to ask, but I started with words that belonged to the good side.
“I didn’t expect to meet someone I knew, but these are all coincidences!”
Scarlett seemed to have the same idea that she had to quickly resolve this temporary awkwardness.
As I was continuing my awkward words, two people approached me from somewhere and started talking to me.
“Are you guys participating in this rift subjugation operation?”
A blond pomade man dressed in gleaming silver full plate armor and carrying a greatsword on his back, and a black haired man standing with a luxurious bow in relatively light black leather armor.
Both of them gave off the atmosphere of being a master.
“Yes… ….”
I feel intimidated by the difference in fancy equipment
After answering timidly, the man with the greatsword raised his hand on his chest and started introducing himself.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Park Jin-seong, and I am in charge of the party today. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Then the man with the bow said with a mischievous grin.
“My name is Lee Ki-hoon, and Park Jin-seong may be a bit unreliable, but take care of me today!”
While saying that, Park Jin-seong patted his back! Hit
It seemed like the two of them already knew each other.
The two of them were joking around and asking as if they had suddenly remembered.
“Come to think of it, you two seem to be on good terms. Are you dating?”
“Hey, ask something like that.”
Park Jin-seong scolded Lee Ki-hoon for a question, but Lee Ki-hoon didn’t listen properly and just smiled.
Scarlett answered before I could answer anything.
“No, we are classmates, but we came to the same place by chance.”
“Ah, actually, things like this sometimes happen around the academy.”
Lee Ki-hoon just nodded as if he understood.
Park Jin-seong sighed as she saw her.
“The time is coming soon, shall we go?”
Jinseong Park first turned her feet and walked in the direction of her crack, followed by Kihoon Lee, Scarlett, and me.
*
Cracks.
It may sound a little unfamiliar, but it’s comfortable to think of it as a gate that appears in hunter water.
There are two types. The first is the fissure caused by demonic energy and the fissure, which is naturally generated.
Cracks caused by demonic energy, created when the demon king descended into the world, unite in one place, temporarily creating a passage that connects to the dimension where the demon king originally lived.
From this rift, demonic beasts pour out in a heap, and it is impossible to enter the rift from this side, so the only solution is to hold on while killing the demonic beasts until the rift closes on its own.
It depends on the size of the crack, but most of them do not take much time to close, so it can be said that it is fortunate.
The second is the natural-occurring rift we’re going through now.
The exact cause is unknown, but it is said that it was created when mana was condensed in the air and then twisted.
This is practically no different from the gate in the hunter story.
Various monsters live inside, and they drop by-products when disposed of.
By-products are highly valued as materials for weapons or resources necessary for living.
When a crack occurs, you must go inside and catch the boss monster at the end, and if you catch it, the crack will disappear after a few hours.
It’s the same as the fact that if you fail to subdue the boss within a certain period of time, monsters will burst out of the rift.
Considering that this rift existed before the advent of the demon king, it seems to have been an ordinary hunter water world before the advent of the demon king.
If you look at web novels, if you party with people you don’t know and enter the gate, you will always be stabbed in the back and put in danger.
But fortunately in this world, the chances of that happening are extremely low.
Because in the past, the crime rate within the rift was so high that one policy was put in place.
People who enter the cracks must install a small attachable cam that can be used even in the cracks.
It’s fortunate if they return without incident, and if someone’s life response is cut off, the video from the small cam attached to that person’s body is immediately transmitted to the government.
That’s why crack crimes don’t happen.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen at all.
There are cases of being attacked by villain organizations, and people who are confident in running away from the eyes of the state commit crimes openly.
Of course, such a thing is very rare.
Most people haven’t even experienced that.
Moreover, we are academy students.
In this country, tampering with academy students is tantamount to declaring war on Archmage Garlowin, and furthermore on the country.
So, after the labyrinth kidnapping incident, ‘Odin’s Eye’ and the nation must have started to properly confront each other.
Even the location is not far from Star City.
The chance of being attacked is close to zero.
“Let’s go in now!”
Park Jin-seong exclaimed excitedly.
When I turned on my phone and checked it, the number [09:00] Was displayed.
It looks like he wants to enter just in time.
Well, I like that side as well. Because the sooner you return, the better.
Park Jin-seong entered the crack first, followed by Ki-hoon Lee.
I was about to go in too, but I stopped and looked at the crack.
Appearance that looks like gold in the air.
I could see why it was called a crack.
Only blue mana flows beyond the gold that has formed in the air.
If you go over there, the world in the rift is probably waiting for you.
Scarlett, who was next to me, tilted her head while staring blankly at the crack.
“What are you doing without going in?”
“Oh, I have to go in.”
No matter how low the grade is, even if it is an easy crack, he must have been nervous since it was his first time.
Whoa… He took a deep breath and pushed himself into the crack.
Soon your body will be wrapped in blue mana, and you will feel as if your body is half-floating, as if you were drowning in deep water.
After a few seconds of walking, I got out of mana and saw a space I had never seen before.
A slightly reddish cave.
It looks like a dungeon that comes out at least once while playing the game.
“Ah~ this time it’s a cave.”
“Sure. I don’t really like caves…….”
Looking into the depths of the cave from a little distance away, you can hear Park Jin-sung and Lee Ki-hoon talking.
Looking back, there was a crack that was the complete opposite of the one before entering.
The form of the crack was also completely opposite, and the mana that looked blue looked like red mana here.
I already knew from reading [Oeyeongdoe] That the appearance of a crack can be seen in the opposite way within a crack, but seeing it in person gives me a new feeling.
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Inside, Scarlett, who started a little later than me, appeared with a smile.
“Ugh… this feels weird…….”
Scarlett frowned arrogantly and grumbled.
Park Jin-seong, who confirmed that everyone was gathered, raised his body.
“Okay, everyone has small cams attached, right? Let’s go now.”
In the party formation, Park Jin-seong with a great sword stands at the front, and Ki-Hoon Lee with a bow stands at the back.
And Scarlett and I decided to back and forth in the middle.
For reference, my small cam is attached to the logo that symbolizes Astell Academy on the chest of my school uniform.
Scarlett was also gently stroking her chest, as if it had been attached to her in the same place as mine.
Seeing the pretty glamorous Scarlett stroking his own breasts made me feel strange, and he swung her head away before meeting her eyes.
Lee Ki-hoon, who was watching him from behind, chuckled, and Scarlett tilted her head as if she was laughing.