Chapter 197: |
Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Gloomy Skies
When we heard from Serai-san and the others, we learned that at Shark Girls' High School, there were only dungeon users: Shark and Aikido girls. This means that even with all the students and teachers combined, the school only had two dungeon users.
Well, it is an all-girls school.
If there were male students, it wouldn’t be surprising if some sneaked into the dungeon. But surely, delicate girls wouldn’t willingly enter a dungeon full of scary monsters.
Anyway, during the first Dungeon Stampede, Shark Girls' High faced a crisis with goblins invading the school. Luckily, there were only injuries, but if I had arrived any later, it could have been disastrous. Really, I was glad I made it in time.
Due to that, their sense of danger was extremely high, and for this Dungeon Stampede, the students united to fortify the school.
At the core of this effort were, of course, the Shark and the Aikido girl.
Shark, being a military enthusiast, was taught the basics of military strategy by the Trident guys. Under her leadership, the school’s fortification progressed, and she even made a ‘cooperation pact in times of emergency' with the Aikido girl, despite not being close friends.
Incidentally, the Aikido girl guarded the main gate because she practiced Aikido.
So, when non-human monsters come, she is almost helpless.
Thus, she was assigned to guard the heavily fortified main gate, while the less fortified back gate, intended as an escape route, was guarded by Shark.
Hmm, typical military enthusiast. Very well thought out.
The Shark herself has accumulated combat experience with various monsters, so unless it’s an insect monster, she can fight most of them. Yes, that's thanks to my guidance.
…..
And as for us, who stand out too much inside the school, we’re currently resting on the gymnasium roof. Here, we’re away from prying eyes and can talk calmly.
Well… we were initially inside the school.
But inside, people kept peeking at us constantly, and female students, admiring the three beautiful warrior college students, came with requests like ‘Please shake hands with me…' or ‘Please read this…' with letters. We couldn’t rest peacefully.
I understand their feelings, but with today’s exhausting forced march, it was honestly tough.
When Serai-san was about to explode with ‘This is too much! I can’t relax at all!' we moved to find a deserted spot.
After a simple dinner, the three of them quickly fell asleep from exhaustion.
Yes, today must have been really tiring. I never thought it would be such a hard day. I’m utterly exhausted, and I’ve seen many people die. Yes… a lot of people died. So, physically and mentally… the three of them need ample rest.
The sight of death… during battle, you try not to think about it, but once you calm down, you remember.
Beast-type monsters take people away. Like hyenas, they bite into people and drag them away from the group.
If the person is still alive, they scream in agony. ‘Noooo!' or ‘Help meee!' with genuine, heart-wrenching cries. It’s unbearable to hear.
People around try to save them, but usually, they can’t.
Monsters that hunt in groups have lookouts. So, it’s almost impossible for an average person to approach.
But worse than beasts are insect monsters.
Because insect monsters devour people on the spot. A giant locust leaps and bites the neck or shoulder! Watching this, the surrounding people scream in terror. It creates a hellish panic. It’s a living nightmare.
We finally reached this school with just over 100 people.
We had swelled to about 300 at one point. But along the way, some left for the police station or hospitals due to injuries.
The runaway boys went to the hospital with other injured adults.
When we parted, I told them, ‘Good thing you didn’t become a myth,' and they gave a shy smile. They must have realized something. So I advised, ‘Next time, do it when a robot drops and says, "Please get on!"‘
Well, that opportunity probably won’t come, so they won’t do anything reckless again.
A man with a high fever also went, having been severely injured by a monster. But I admire his spirit for facing the monster bare-handed. Let’s pray for his recovery.
So, about a quarter went to the police… another quarter to the hospital… and a quarter to this girls' school. The rest either disappeared near their destinations or were taken out by monsters.
But that’s unavoidable, it’s all personal responsibility.
The government repeatedly announced through TV and other media, ‘In case of a Dungeon Stampede, evacuate to a safe place and do not go outside.' Ignoring that and wandering outside in a highly dangerous situation like a Dungeon Stampede, thinking ‘I’ll be fine,' is just reckless.
People like that probably don’t read ‘No Entry' signs in their daily lives. They enter restricted areas and think it’s normal to fish or take train photos there.
Yeah…
Honestly, if I don’t think like that, I can’t bear the endless deaths I’ve witnessed. We confirmed our intentions, prepared ourselves, and fully armed ourselves for this…
…..
2 AM.
The night sky is overcast, and the wind is damp and a bit warm. This is a problem. Could it be raining tomorrow?
We're on the roof of the gym. It's outside, but I've made a tent with a mucus dome, so the three of them are sleeping safely. Meanwhile, I'm keeping watch beside the tent. It's too dangerous to be unguarded.
I've been active all day, so I'm definitely feeling tired, but I have about 30 times the stamina and mental strength of an average person. I can go 2-3 days without sleep and still be fine.
…..
As I gaze at the smoke rising in the distance and stay alert to any noises, dawn gradually breaks. Thankfully, we weren't attacked by monsters during the night, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I notice a few people starting to appear in the schoolyard, still shadowy figures in the early light. They seem like they had a sleepless night too.
(Hmm, more eyes around. If anything happens, it'll get noisy quickly. I'll take a short nap until Lu and the others wake up or until the sunlight becomes too bright.)
As I face east and close my eyes, a soft drowsiness envelops me. It seems my body was more exhausted than I thought.
(Try not to fall into a deep sleep.)
With that thought, my consciousness drifts into the ambiguous boundary between dreams and reality…
And then, I dream.
My past self. A lanky, awkward me, on a trip.
I've arrived and am already inside a hotel with other guests. Through the window, I see a mountain landscape and a large lake below. But it's immediately clear this is a cheap package tour. The futons are lined up in a big room, and it looks like we'll all be sleeping together.
As soon as we arrive, it's straight to bed. For some reason, snow is falling from the wooden ceiling of the room.
But on closer inspection, it's frost. The condensation on the ceiling has frozen and is falling off, looking like snow. As I watch this indoor snow, thinking "Wow, this room is freezing!" a mother and daughter, also guests, say, "Our futons are wet, can we join you?" and climb into my futon without waiting for a reply.
Their clothes are wet too, and the cold, unpleasant sensation of damp cloth touches my arm. But I can't tell a shivering mother and daughter to get out because they're cold, so I end up sharing the futon.
And we are forced awake at 6 AM.
A hotel employee brusquely announces, "Breakfast is at 8, and checkout is by 10, don't be late!" Truly a cheap package tour experience. There's no courtesy to the guests.
At this point, I suddenly remembered that I was the only one who came on this trip by motorcycle.
What am I doing? I've been quite reckless. But there's no place to park my bike at this mountain hotel, so they kindly let me park it at an apartment at the foot of the mountain.
(I need to get my bike before breakfast…)
Skipping breakfast, I take the bus down to the foot of the mountain and rush to the apartment where my bike is parked. But as soon as I arrived, I realized I'd forgotten the room key.
(What am I doing?! I left my helmet and gloves in the room…)
I have to go back to the hotel. As I head back to the bus stop, I see locals on their way to work, carrying umbrellas and moving slowly, making it hard to hurry. It had started to drizzle.
(Hurry… Oh?!)
As I impatiently reach into my pocket, I find the apartment key. I had put it in my pocket in advance so I wouldn't forget it.
Phew, now I don't need to go back to the hotel. But in my haste, I've gotten lost.
(Where is this…?)
An intricate maze of old houses and low seawalls by the sea. Suddenly, I'm struck by intense hunger.
"I… I'm so hungry…"
I try to open a map app on my device to check my location, but the severe hunger makes it impossible to focus.
Through the device, I see the clear sea water below the low seawall. The sight of the beautiful sea only makes my hunger worse.
Just then, a woman with a broom and dustpan steps out of a nearby house.
(I'll ask her for directions.)
"Excuse me, can I have some curry?!"
"Huh?!"
Though I intended to ask for directions, I ended up blurting out something completely different…
The smell of curry drifting from somewhere had confused me. Understandably, the woman looks at me suspiciously. But then, a young woman from the house next door rushes out.
"Did someone mention curry?!"
She seems oddly interested in the curry.
"Yes! I smelled it, and now I desperately want to eat curry!"
Without thinking, I pull out my wallet and offer a 10,000 yen bill.
"I'm studying delicious curry! I'm hoping to turn it into a job!"
"Oh, then please let me have some curry!"
The curry scent was coming from the young woman's house, and she says she's a curry researcher. She's happy to let me try her curry.
"My, my! What a nice snakeskin wallet.!"
Meanwhile, the older woman eyes my wallet, licking her lips.
(What's going on.? But wait, did I have a wallet like this?)
But I'm relieved I can eat curry. As I relax, my keen sense of smell picks up another scent.
(The sweet, savory smell of sauce… Oh, that's yakisoba!)
Having secured the curry, I'm relieved but still hungry.
(I need yakisoba too!)
Following the scent, I find an old apartment emitting the smell.
"Excuse me! Can I have some yakisoba?!"
Knocking on the door without a second thought, an old man appears and says, "I'll make it after this. Go around front." He agrees to my sudden request. Grateful, I go around to the front, which is a small eatery.
(No wonder it smelled so good.)
It makes sense for a place that serves food to have such enticing smells. ‘My nose is pretty good,' I think as I enter and take a seat.
The interior is old, and nostalgic, like something from the Showa era. The ticking of a clock, and the objects around, give the impression of a different time flow.
Feeling this, I start to care less about the hotel or the trip.
"Ah, curry and yakisoba! I can't wait!!"
"Lucky, getsu-san! Egetsu-san, wake up!"
"Mm!?"
"Hey, wake up, you'll catch a cold sleeping in the rain!"
"Hmm!?"
Serai-san's voice calls me. What's this? Did I fall asleep?
Blinking my eyes open, I see the dark sky and the drizzle of rain.
