Chapter 3

EP.3 Be Careful, Day and Night

Facilities for people with disabilities were commonly found around the area.

The most common facility for those with visual impairments would be the tactile paving blocks embedded in sidewalks.

Ramps were provided for those with mobility issues instead of stairs, and so on...

In society, people with disabilities are generally seen as those who need help.

It would be possible if they were ordinary, but because they lack something, they naturally cannot do what they should.

And, in a practical sense, I am currently a person with disabilities.

Not just any, but one who has lost three of the five senses and is also mute. Even as a superhuman awakened with mana, my body is frail due to the curse of a short lifespan...

For someone like me, finding my way to the Gate Terminal connected to Shizuram was a tremendous ordeal.

Because I can't see. How would I know where it is?

I know Shizuram is located on an artificial island in the North Pacific, but it's obviously impossible to swim there.

If I were to go abroad, I would think of an airplane first, but in this world where Gate Terminals exist, I would think of a Gate instead.

Gate (Gate). It doesn't refer to a door or entrance, but rather the kind of Gate that commonly appears in web novels.

A setting that connects spaces, which seems absurd in reality, but what can I do if it exists here?

My current destination is the Gate Terminal, a national key facility connected to Gates around the world.

The very facility that is frequently attacked by terrorists during the main storyline. It's a top target because blocking it can prevent rapid deployment of support troops.

Anyway, I know what kind of facility it is, but not knowing where the Gate Terminal is, I was in a very difficult situation.

How could I find it with my eyes closed? And I can't even ask for help because I can't speak.

To begin with, there's no one to ask for help. I can't even ask a passerby for directions.

Fortunately, there was a way.

A reliable signal that kept ringing, guiding me to my destination.

It's the smartwatch on my wrist.

A product of this world, where magic engineering and other technologies are integrated, it was sent along with the notification letter in a package from Shizuram.

While a downgraded version is available to the public, the superhuman smartwatch is in a different league.

It's incredibly durable to withstand battles with various monsters and equipped with hundreds of functions for activities in dungeons and other isolated areas.

It also has a hologram function, but unfortunately, with my current spatial perception, I can only see the outline of the hologram...

If it didn't have a bone conduction voice function, I might not have been able to operate it properly.

After struggling with the voice guidance for almost an hour, I finally left home about three to four hours ago, following the smartwatch's directions.

It's a game world, but the name 'Earth' is the same.

There's also the United States, South Korea, Japan, China... which have fallen. North Korea has also fallen.

Among the commonly known countries, some have continued, while others have disappeared into the annals of history.

What was the setting? Unique abilities and magic appeared about 200 years ago.

At that time, the world was almost identical to the Earth I knew.

But starting from a certain day 200 years ago, people began to manifest magic and unique abilities, and dungeons and towers that spawn monsters appeared in the world.

Roughly 200 years have passed since then.

A world where fantasy and modernity are mixed has been created.

South Korea is one of the countries that have maintained their existence.

Of course, it's just a shell of South Korea, and the inside is dominated by superhuman forces.

The political forces of the past were first cleaned out by monster hordes, and then by superhuman forces.

Most countries have gone through a similar process.

'Almost there.'

After transferring once on the subway and three times on the bus, and walking for about twenty minutes, I finally arrived near the Gate Terminal.

My home was in a rural area, so it took some time to get to the city where the Gate Terminal is located.

Fortunately, there was a small amount of cash at home.

It was absurd to have hundreds of thousands of won in cash when I don't even have a mobile phone.

The Gate Terminal I arrived at was indescribable.

'Can't see anything...'

I could restore my spatial perception to a radius of about 20 meters, but I couldn't change the type of vision.

As a result, the world is filled with black and green.

What's more stressful is the real-time gazes and whispers directed at me.

My heightened senses picked up subtle gazes.

I often felt like I was being watched, but now I can feel a variety of and precise gazes.

My hearing has also become incredibly sharp, so I can hear whispers.

Gazes of curiosity. Whispers about whether I'm blind. Looks of pity...

'Ugh...'

My introverted personality makes it extremely uncomfortable to have so many gazes on me.

If it were before, I might have just ignored it or felt uncomfortable, but now it makes me irritated.

To put it mildly, it's extremely frustrating.

'What should I do...'

I entered the large building, but I don't know what to do now.

The method used in the game? It's simplified, so I don't know the procedure.

I was at a loss, looking around, trying to figure out what to do.

"Hello? Do you need any help?"

"?"

Someone approached me and spoke. An automatic analysis revealed that the person was a superhuman, not an ordinary person, based on the amount of mana in their body.

The person who spoke... upon checking, turned out to be a woman with a curvaceous figure.

After a moment's thought, I tapped my smartwatch to display subtitles in a hologram.

The second essential function of the smartwatch.

I can't see the hologram, but others can.

I can communicate partially using the smartwatch to display holograms.

Thanks to the bone conduction voice function, I can also hear what I write.

"No, no. I just thought you might need help because you look like a student. I'm a student too, waiting for the Gate."

Surprised by her words, I rechecked my spatial perception.

I realized she wasn't wearing a school uniform but casual clothes.

Superhumans generally have a large amount of mana in their bodies, which ordinary people don't have, though it's minimal.

Thanks to this, I can easily distinguish between superhumans and ordinary people.

'Hmm'

It would be helpful if she could assist me. I was about to ask a nearby staff member about the procedure.

"It's no big deal."

After a moment's thought, I accepted, and the woman clapped her hands and smiled. She gently grabbed my sleeve and led me to the desk, helping me with the basic procedures.

"...Please allow us to verify your identity."

"...Identity verification. Please move to the Gate waiting area."

When I showed the staff member the Shizuram admission notice on my smartwatch, they quickly completed the procedure.

It's the time when new students are admitted to Shizuram, so I heard a few others were also using the Gate.

"Ah, I'm Elyra Slayde, a new student at Shizuram this year. Please call me Elyra."

After completing the procedures, we chatted while waiting for the Gate to activate.

'...Smaller than I thought.'

I noticed this when we stood side by side earlier and now, sitting across the table.

I rarely went out in my original world, so I didn't realize how short I was.

Standing next to her, our eye levels were almost the same.

Even though I'm a guy, shouldn't I be taller than a girl? I don't have that kind of pride, but it still felt awkward to be shorter.

"I grew up hearing from my parents that every cloud has a silver lining. I didn't think much of it when I was young, but now it's stuck in my mouth—"

Elyra's name suggests she's not Korean. Even if her name is just that, she could be Korean, but the language she's speaking now is not Korean.

But we can communicate. Not just simple translation, but even nuances and idioms are understood.

'The Tower of Harmony...'

One of the towers that support the world.

After the collapse of the old network due to magic waves, the Tower of Harmony established a new internet network using magic and unified the world's languages.

"...Mr. Slayde, Mr. Iha-yul. Please stand in front of the Gate."

While nodding along, I was thinking about the tower, and time flew by.

Elyra and I followed the staff's instructions and moved to the Gate.

'Will it look the same?'

In the game, it was described as a large architectural structure with a blue vortex between two arches.

Walking step by step, I reached the edge of my spatial perception, where the Gate was.

Reached?

'What is this?'

The space is cut off. Or is it?

I can sense a different landscape beyond the Gate.

'Can I sense beyond the Gate?'

I still couldn't see anything but green outlines, but it was definitely a different space from the terminal.

Is that Shizuram?

"Eha-yul?"

But what caught my attention wasn't beyond the Gate.

The space between Shizuram and the terminal. The moment I saw the gap, a sense of danger overwhelmed me.

I shouldn't look at that. It feels like I'll make eye contact with something.

I shouldn't go there. The moment I approach, I feel like I'll be crushed without a trace.

A mere ant overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe.

A cold sweat ran down my neck, a warning at an instinctual level.

My current spatial perception is a stripped-down version, with many functions removed.

If I had seen the gap with a complete spatial perception, it wouldn't have ended well.

After answering Elyra's worried question, I minimized my spatial perception and threw myself into the Gate.

It was hard to move my legs, which had stiffened like a statue.

'Why are there so many death flags? Damn it.'

On the first day, my brain almost fried, I almost starved to death after fainting, and now I almost had a brain explosion from seeing something.

In ten days, I've faced three near-death situations. If there is a god, they must hate me.

If there is a god, who else would throw me into this world?

As I threw myself into the Gate, a swirling sensation enveloped my body. Before I could catch my breath, I arrived at the Shizuram Gate Terminal.

Rushing out, a cool breeze refreshed me. My chest, which had felt suffocated, felt a bit more open.

"Are you okay? Your condition suddenly..."

"I'm sweating a lot."

'Sweating?'

Wiping my face, I realized my hands were wet with cold sweat.

"Maybe you should go to the infirmary..."

I shook my head, avoiding Elyra's hand as she tried to wipe my forehead with a handkerchief.

Despite my brief response, Elyra's worry didn't subside. After several reassurances that I was fine and thanking her for the guidance, she finally nodded.

Finally, Elyra showed me to the front of my dormitory building.

I was moved to see such a kind person in the world.

Surprisingly, the dormitory was a skyscraper.

I checked the surroundings.

Eight buildings, each over dozens of floors, were arranged in a 2x4 formation on the site.

Parks, walking paths, and lakes were also provided. Just looking at this, it was much better than my previous home.

Bowing my head, Elyra hesitated for a moment before extending her arm with the smartwatch.

"...Can we exchange contact information? It would be nice to stay in touch while we're here together."

Click— As the synchronized smartwatches touched, a clear notification sounded, and the contact information was saved.

After exchanging contact information and promising to ask for help if anything happens, I turned to leave.

I could feel her worried gaze until the end.

She seems too kind. I'm worried she might be taken advantage of somewhere.

After watching Elyra disappear from my spatial perception range with concern, I entered the dormitory.

The dormitory check-in was automated, so it was quick.

The door opened automatically when I brought my smartwatch near the doorknob. Inside, a click and the sound of a ventilation fan turning on could be heard.

'...Hot.'

After seeing the gap, I feel sticky from the cold sweat. I need to take a shower. I took off my shoes at the entrance, threw my luggage around, and went to the shower.

I'm exhausted even before I've properly started.

I was worried about tomorrow.

'Ah, hot, hot, hot, hot! Gulp, extreme! Ahhh!'

Due to a mishap with the faucet, I had to apply ice for a cold compress.

Thanks to this, I experienced the curse of silence again today.

Oh.