Chapter 5, Scene 1: Parasite

At the entrance of the classroom, Arthur and his companions, who hadn't eaten all day, finally had the chance to have a meal. But eating comes at a cost!

This "cost" isn't the paper money circulating in the market, but rather their own life points!

A regular bowl of ramen reduces one day of life!

The most expensive bowl of ramen reduces five days of life!

Arthur gently waved his hand in the air, and a panel displaying his information popped up—

Student Number at Changdian Academy: 15,007

ID: Arthur

Age: 15

Kingdom: Elf

Basic Attributes: Not Generated

Remaining Time: [99:364:23:27:59]

...

The remaining time is the remaining life value, with the units from left to right being years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. After entering this hyper-accelerated space, their life values were converted into "remaining time," a currency based on life. As long as they had enough time, they could live indefinitely. However—

When the remaining time reaches zero, everything ends.

They will die!

Earlier in the classroom, the numbers hadn't moved, but now they were starting to tick down, indicating that their life was continuously decreasing. The rule of converting life into time was simply—

Terrifying.

No wonder some students dropped out midway.

Arthur looked at the ramen in his hand and said to the owner of the ramen shop, "Um... please give me..."

"You guy!!!"

The moment Touma saw Arthur, he was shocked. He... finally woke up?

"Slap!!"

Tsutsugami quickly grabbed Touma's collar. Under his messy bangs, his half-open eyes glinted with murderous intent as he said, "You guy, don't you dare touch my students. Although I don't expect them to survive, I don't want...!!"

"Scary woman, what are you going to do to my Touma!"

The silver-haired nun gnawing on the table glared at Tsutsugami, her small body blocking the space between Touma and Tsutsugami.

"Well... Index, Tsutsugami-senpai didn't mean it. I mistook you for someone else... hehe... ahaha..."

Touma scratched his head and sighed. Indeed, he couldn't possibly be here.

"This person... Touma... isn't?"

Index looked at Touma's strange actions with confusion, then turned to look at Arthur, suddenly surprised.

"It's not impossible for two people to look alike. Come on, Index, let's go eat..."

Touma led Index to the back kitchen of the ramen shop.

At this moment, Arthur felt a glimmer of possibility. The owner of this ramen shop must know his background. Could he know his parents?

With this doubt, Arthur finished the ramen he had traded for a day of his life. The owner said it was the first time they were taking care of them, so the ramen was extra large.

*

After eating, Arthur and his companions arrived at the Dimensional Tower. This tower, more like a tower city, soared into the clouds, standing out among the city's buildings. Even in broad daylight, it shone brightly. The architectural style inside was a mix of Babylonian, Gothic, and Rococo, with various patterns at the top, depicting battles between angels, demons, and other races. The floor was made of marble that resembled the sky, making it feel as if one was walking on clouds.

There were also restaurants, reception halls, guest rooms, and more, with various ability users constantly moving through. Despite the tower's grandeur, no one lingered for even a second, as if everyone was in a race against time.

Tsutsugami didn't speak but led Arthur and the others straight to an elevator door and pressed a button—

As the elevator door opened, a golden light curtain appeared before them.

"The Dimensional World isn't something you can just enter. Only the teachers of the Dimensional Academy have the right to open it. For ordinary people, it's just a regular elevator that can reach any city in the tower. This Dimensional Tower has suites, restaurants, amusement parks, bathhouses, casinos, pleasure grounds, auction houses, and more, but all require time to use.

Teachers can open the door to the dimensional space, and this golden light curtain is the sign. However, it's not without a cost. When you enter the light curtain, it will automatically deduct one year of your time! This is the maximum time you can stay in the Dimensional World. If you exceed one day, the deduction doubles. For example, if you stay for two years, you will lose three years in total.

One year is deducted when you enter, and the excess is deducted when you leave."

Tsutsugami explained.

!!

Arthur and the others looked at each other, truly a strict time rule.

But no one questioned it. They had already been surprised enough today, so they could handle any more bizarre and shocking things.

After entering the golden light curtain, Tsutsugami took a key from his pocket and inserted a black key into the golden light. The light curtain instantly turned into a black door, with terrifying creatures carved into it, similar to the alien species in sci-fi movies.

"The first Dimensional World I've chosen for you is 'Parasite.' The survival difficulty is one of the highest among all the initial worlds. The difficulty isn't due to the environment of the world but because of the initial death rate of the mission!

Experience the terror of the Dimensional World. You can choose to return after completing one mission by opening your information panel and selecting 'Complete Mission.' Of course, you can also choose to stay and continue completing missions. As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of the missions will continuously increase, and you must complete the accepted mission to choose to return. Understand? Then go in!"

Tsutsugami pressed the handle, and the door opened, revealing a vortex like the mouth of a black monster before Arthur and the others.

"I'll go first!"

Kiryu Yui pushed past Arthur and the others and entered the dark vortex without hesitation.

At this point, what was there to hesitate?

Arthur bit his lip and stepped in. If a girl of the same age as him wasn't afraid, why should he be?

"..."

The moment he entered the dark vortex, Arthur felt his entire consciousness disappear, sinking into an incredibly empty world. As he struggled to regain control, he found himself in a crowded street. The pedestrian traffic was heavy, and no one paid attention to him, a regular person, or wondered why he suddenly appeared...

The curtain has risen. The light that pierces the darkness lies in wait, ready to consume or...?

---

*End of Page AD*

*Start of Page AD*