Chapter 36

The gaze of the seven, including the uninvited guest, is directed at me.

They look as if they are expecting an answer.

I point to the lake where bubbles are rising.

“We have to go in there.”

The cherry blossom festival is now over.

The main game begins.

Bang!

The sound of Ishihara's gun breaks the awkward silence.

The alligator men float to the surface, their bellies exposed, like dead fish.

But far more alligator men are pushing up to the surface.

If we don't do something, we'll be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

I put on the Hunter Watch I prepared in advance on my wrist.

“Underwater too?”

Ishihara Daiki is the first to react.

His question seems genuinely curious, fitting his character as a foolish delinquent.

But even if it's just a character setting, it's still too much.

I sigh.

The gazes of the other members turn to me.

Nishizawa Eri avoids eye contact, looking away as if she doesn't even want to speak to me.

I look around the lake.

The tourists who were enjoying boat rides have long since disappeared.

I point to the alligator men still crawling out of the water.

“The stampede is happening on the lake's surface. Naturally, the gate, the source of the stampede, must be at the bottom of the lake.”

Stampede.

A term from the original setting, it refers to the phenomenon where creatures from another world burst out of a gate that is in a saturated state.

If we were to localize it in the style of a Korean web novel, it would be called a "monster wave" or "dungeon break."

This is the name of the phenomenon occurring in the lake now.

“...So you mean we have to dive to attack the gate?”

Olivia responds to my words.

She nods seriously, a stark contrast to her usual tsundere attitude.

It's a fitting response from someone who values the responsibility of a hero.

If only she acted like this every day.

While having such thoughts, I agree with Olivia.

“Yeah. Olivia is right. The only way to end this situation is to dive in.”

“I have no choice, then.”

The protagonist, Kurosawa Yuzi, grips the hilt of the katana at his waist with a determined look.

“Black head, I don’t like it... But it’s an emergency, so I’ll cooperate.”

Nishizawa Eri glances at me and says in a low voice.

Her eyes are still full of disdain and dissatisfaction, but she is a student at Shuou Hero Academy.

I already know from the third volume of the original that she isn't the type to cause trouble even in an emergency.

In the third volume, Nishizawa Eri, isolated with the protagonist in a ruin, said something similar.

That she would cooperate, even if she didn't want to.

“I don’t like you either. Just don’t try to take credit for following orders. Nishizawa Eri.”

But that’s beside the point.

I don’t need to consider her feelings.

She’s as rude as Shinohara Rin, if not more so.

“Tch...”

Nishizawa Eri clicks her tongue and turns her head away.

We’ll see, slave bread.

“Does everyone understand now?”

The group, excluding Ishihara, nods.

Bang.

The sound of a gun rings in my ears.

“Those guys are increasing in number! I can’t handle them alone!”

Ishihara, speaking in his delinquent tone, fires his gun and sweats.

Indeed, the number of alligator men is increasing.

This was a situation I had anticipated.

“Han Sejin.”

“Yes, Kim Deok-sung.”

Han Sejin, who heard the order, kneels on one knee while maintaining his balance on the shaking boat.

“Clean up all those alligator heads.”

Alligator men are B-rank interdimensional beings.

They are usually handled by hunters at the scene, often referred to as "mobs."

Since the plan is set, it’s right for Han Sejin to handle the mobs.

S-rank and below interdimensional beings are handled by auxiliary forces, the hunters, while Zeta-rank and above are handled by the main forces, the heroes.

This is the basic rule of this world, as stated in the setting book.

“I will follow your order.”

Han Sejin bows and presses the button on his Hunter Watch.

Click, clack.

Blue light particles from the Hunter Watch attach to Han Sejin’s body and transform into a bodysuit.

The basic equipment of hunters in this world, a magical field-free advanced version of the bodysuit. The Hunter Suit.

Han Sejin’s figure disappears from the duck boat in an instant.

Flash.

A gray light streaks across the water.

Han Sejin, using his Gift, Speedster, which grants him ultra-high speed, moves through the water.

[Kick!]

[Screech!]

[Crack!]

Flash, flash!

With each flash of gray light, the number of interdimensional beings decreases exponentially.

“What is this...”

Ishihara’s eyes widen.

No matter what, Han Sejin is an SSS-rank hunter, the top tier among hunters.

Handling B-rank interdimensional beings is a piece of cake for him.

That’s why I brought him along.

In the original, Yuzi and Olivia’s stamina and mana were severely drained from dealing with the numerous alligator men one by one underwater before reaching the lake bottom.

The first volume also spent a lot of pages describing the process of dealing with the mobs.

‘This was the peak of padding the word count.’

It’s a luxury only possible in a paper book, not a web novel.

We can’t leave, and there’s no way to quit chapter by chapter.

“Alright, switch to combat mode and dive in. Dive in.”

I clap my hands to get the group’s attention, which is captivated by Han Sejin’s performance.

According to the setting, the combat mode of the bodysuit grants the user the survival ability to withstand any extreme conditions beyond the gate.

Diving is nothing.

“Understood, Kim.”

Plop.

The protagonist, Kurosawa Yuzi, who has completed the combat mode switch, dives into the water without hesitation.

Vella, Ishihara, Olivia, Rin, and Nishizawa follow in that order.

“To make women dive... Worst, trash...”

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll report you to the disciplinary committee for bad attitude.”

“...”

Indeed, the whip is the answer.

Finally, even Nishizawa Eri completes her dive.

[Duranadal Online]

Switching to combat mode.

A black bodysuit covers my entire body, and a magical field envelops it.

‘Here we go.’

I didn’t dive during the training, but I have to now.

I take a deep breath and throw myself into the lake.

Plop.

The clear lake water envelops my body.

There is no cold sensation.

I open my eyes.

The underwater environment comes into view.

Rippling aquatic plants, fish, and various sunken household waste are visible.

[Entering underwater environment.]

[Oxygen supply initiated.]

The magical field and bodysuit protect my body and supply oxygen.

“Find the gate. It’s at the bottom of the lake.”

I communicate through the combat wireless network connected by the bodysuit.

Flash! Flash!

Han Sejin, who has already descended to the bottom, flashes a gray light, moving at ultra-high speed.

The blue blood of the alligator men, who are dying as they try to surface, stains the clear water.

[I will. Kim.]

[I don’t like being underwater, but since you’re the commander, I’ll follow your orders!]

[Understood, Kim Deok-sung.]

[I will follow your orders, master’s master.]

[Understood.]

Various voices echo in my ears.

Nishizawa Eri, as expected, doesn’t respond.

Good. It’s better this way. Quiet is better.

Whatever.

So far, everything is going smoothly.

Swish.

We continue to cut through the cold water, heading for the bottom of the lake.

[Gate detected. Coordinates will be shared with everyone.]

The protagonist’s voice echoes in my ears.

He has finally found the gate.

[Coordinates received. Displaying on your field of vision.]

Duranadal automatically displays the gate’s location in my field of vision.

My gaze turns downward.

The bottom of the lake.

A black vortex hole, its mouth gaping open, is visible.

[Measuring gate level.]

[Measurement complete.]

[Absyssion-level gate.]

[Recommended for at least five heroes to tackle.]

Duranadal’s monotone announcements match the content I saw in the original.

Recommended for at least five heroes.

The difficulty of an Absyssion-level gate, one rank higher than Zeta.

This is why I brought all available forces to the cherry blossom festival.

‘I can’t handle it alone like the naive protagonist.’

I am a selfish person.

[Olivia, Kurosawa, Ishihara, Rin, and Nishizawa, we will enter the gate.]

[And Vella and Han Sejin...]

After giving the final order, I enter the gate.

Now the main game begins.

*

Inokashira Park.

The deepest part of the lake bottom gate, the hidden room.

Inside the room, filled with advanced equipment that doesn’t match the dull underwater cave terrain, a man with a fierce appearance sits, looking at the monitors.

His sharp red hair and black sunglasses are striking.

The A-rank villain, Vetcher.

“Kick, kick, kick. What a beautiful sight.”

The multiple monitors show the alligator men pouring out of the gate and the sleeping boss interdimensional being, the giant toad King Toad, at the deepest part.

“Gate creation device, huh? The boss really has created the best toy. Haha, kick, kick, kick!!”

Vetcher laughs.

His gold-plated fangs gleam in the monitor light.

“Oh, the New World League. What a great organization! Kick!”

Vetcher’s eyes are filled with ecstasy.

He kills people.

The world doesn’t understand the pleasure of killing.

What’s wrong with the strong playing with the weak like toys?

Isn’t it the natural right of the strong and the law of the jungle?

The world doesn’t recognize his aesthetics.

Only one person.

The leader of the New World League, the boss, understood and embraced him.

“Ah...”

Vetcher’s hand trembles.

The boss.

The only savior in this world, enveloped in a sacred light.

Just thinking of his great figure makes Vetcher’s body tingle with pleasure.

Then.

[Intruders detected.]

The alarm sounds in Vetcher’s ears.

“Who are they! Damn it!”

Vetcher growls, his reverie interrupted.

Who dares to interrupt his happy time, even in imagination, of welcoming the great boss?

The blood-red eyes behind the sunglasses roll menacingly.

The monitors show the intruders.

The six students who have switched to combat mode.

“Wait, wait, wait! Zoom in on them!”

[Zooming in.]

The intruder’s screen is magnified.

Vetcher’s gaze locks onto the black-haired boy.

“The son of the Sword Saint, Kurosawa Yuzi, the French knight princess Olivia, the samurai of the cutting wind, Shinohara Rin, and the beauty of the nation, the kunoichi Nishizawa Eri...”

The secondary targets the boss mentioned as desirable to eliminate are etched into his blood-red eyes.

Vetcher’s hand trembles with pleasure.

“You’ve crawled into your own grave. Kick!”

Vetcher draws the bodysuit weapon, the Exscurioner, from his waist.

Swish.

The blunt blade of the Exscurioner gleams in the monitor light.

“Chomp.”

He licks the blade of the Exscurioner.

“I wonder what your blood tastes like. Ki, kick, kick! Kihi!”

Vetcher’s sinister laughter echoes in the hidden room.

Kill, kill, kill.

We pass through the gate.

A sense of disorientation accompanies the change in our field of vision.

A cave dripping with water is revealed.

Just as it appeared in the animation.

“Cough! Hack! Hack!”

Ishihara, who follows through the gate, spits out water.

Dramatics.

I look around.

Nishizawa Eri, still avoiding eye contact, scowls.

Olivia, with her arms crossed, and the protagonist patting Ishihara’s back.

And Shinohara Rin is visible.

“What’s the plan, leader?”

Rin asks.

Actually, we don’t need to move.

By now, Vetcher in the control room must have detected our intrusion and will soon use the interdimensional being signaler to send the boss, King Toad, and a group of alligator men toward the entrance.

But in the current situation, where all our conversations are transmitted in real-time to Vetcher, there’s no need to act as if we’ve detected his presence and raise suspicion.