30. The Korokoro Tribe's Settlement (2)
It had been more than a thousand years since the Age of Magic began.
And yet the territories still unconquered by mages remained astonishingly vast and numerous.
'What lies above that sky?'
'Is magic that turns back time theoretically possible?'
'Is it truly possible to observe mana particles?'
…And so on.
Even now, magic scholars dug into countless unknown fields, but true to their name as 'unknown domains,' they seemed to offer no answers.
And even within such a magical society, there was one existence that remained especially unknown.
It was none other than the 'dungeon.'
What is a dungeon?
Unlike a Persona Gate, it is a peculiar phenomenon that occurs 'naturally,' without borrowing power from the Reverse Side.
Some dungeons were created by ancient mages,
while others came into being when space itself twisted and turned into a dungeon.
All of those dungeons had one single purpose in common.
'Once you enter, you cannot escape until you destroy the core that maintains the dungeon's form.'
Unlike Persona Gates, which required the completion of some particular objective, this was an extremely simple and straightforward purpose.
Clearing a dungeon could grant rare rewards that money could never buy—permanent increases to abilities, enlarged maximum mana capacity, and things of that nature—so every mage in this world was bound to dungeons one way or another.
I was no exception.
Even if I had no mana, I could still aim for increases in other supplementary stats.
And on top of that, there was always the chance of getting lucky and obtaining an 'artifact,' a relic from the distant ancient age, different from the 'Items' developed in the modern era, so if it was possible to go to a dungeon, then it was always better to go.
Of course…
dungeons were not found just whenever you wanted.
One day a place might be an ordinary empty field, and then at dawn the next day, a dungeon entrance would suddenly open there, or it would open only after certain special conditions were fulfilled.
Dungeons truly did whatever they pleased.
And given that even professional 'treasure hunters' who specifically chased dungeons often failed to find them, it was not particularly strange that students from a prestigious place like Stella were the ones to discover one.
"A dungeon, hm. So the party is just the three of you?"
Instructor Lee Hanwol asked as he carefully read the 'Dungeon Conquest Application' I had submitted.
Ma Yuseong, Hae Wonryang, and I nodded.
"Yes."
"The three most high-profile students are heading out together, then. Be careful. Paparazzi may follow."
I'd never experienced anything like that in the game, so I didn't know much about it, but apparently in reality, famous mages enjoyed popularity comparable to celebrities back on Earth, and paparazzi would sometimes follow them around.
Ma Yuseong and Hae Wonryang, in particular, seemed to receive enormous attention even as first-years because of their genius and their almost absurdly sculpted looks that went beyond the normal standard for human beings.
"Especially you, Baek Yuseol."
"…Yes?"
"You need to be the most careful."
"About what?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? Don't let paparazzi catch you up in some pointless scandal. Just quietly clear the dungeon and come back."
"…Don't teachers usually give maxims at times like this?"
"What maxim? Figure it out yourself."
Still, back in the old days, even if he was cold, I feel like he used to worry about us at least a little…
"Anyway, return within the weekend if you can. If three days pass, I'll send a rescue team."
"Understood."
Starting in second year, students could receive special assignments and miss classes for an entire week.
But first-years weren't allowed that much.
It was because we were still just chicks in the nest.
Anyway.
That was how the three of us received permission to head out under the name of dungeon exploration.
On weekends, both faculty and students flooded the exits whenever they went out, so we set off early in the morning and quickly slipped through by taking the Warp Hole Gate.
Warp Holes were an incredibly convenient means of travel, but unlike Earth's KTX, they didn't exist everywhere, so the main means of travel in Aether World were still airships and trains.
In particular, our destination was in a fairly remote area, so we had to change trains quite a few times, and Hae Wonryang proved to be a huge help here.
"If we use a Black Members ticket, we can go directly to the Adel Company platform without transferring to the Red Line No. 17."
"Oh, really? Then let's do that."
"This train doesn't go all the way to the final stop, so it's better not to take it. It'd be better to get separate seats instead. The ride quality is much better on the other company's trains."
"Uh… okay, let's do that."
One thing I felt while riding trains in Aether World was, once again, just how convenient and simple South Korea's subway system had really been.
Aether World's train system was basically a spiderweb.
And compared to modern times—when there were apps telling you which train would arrive in how many minutes and exactly which line to transfer to for the shortest route—if you didn't have a fair amount of knowledge here, you couldn't even dream of finding the shortest path.
Yet for some reason, Hae Wonryang had an astonishingly complete grasp of the train system.
Feeling suspicious, I quietly checked his information through the Bulbul Glasses.
And among it, one trait stood out especially strongly.
[Secretly a train nerd.]
…He was kind of amazing in a weird way.
Pretending outwardly that he wasn't like that at all, while secretly indulging in an unusual obsession.
If I showed him Thomas the Tank Engine, I feel like he'd absolutely lose his mind.
The information recorded in the Bulbul Glasses differed according to gender.
No matter how much the game had degenerated into a normal RPG where veteran players just fought wars in the field and hunted monsters, at its core it had still been a 'female-oriented dating sim,' so the information on male characters was filled disproportionately with records of the things they liked.
'Hmm…'
While changing trains, we had to wait for a while on the platform, and an awkward silence descended over us.
Well, of course it did.
The three of us weren't close at all.
Ma Yuseong and Hae Wonryang were rivals, but they hardly ever spoke privately, and I myself was quite awkward with Ma Yuseong whenever Eizel wasn't around.
At that point, I decided to use the information from the Bulbul Glasses to ease the awkwardness, even if only a little.
"Hey, they're selling tteokbokki over there. I'm hungry—want to grab that at least?"
One of Hae Wonryang's traits was that he absolutely loved street-stall food.
Though because he thought of himself as an elite, he rarely allowed himself to eat it.
A pretty standard kind of character trait, all things considered.
"…I'll pass."
As expected, Hae Wonryang coldly refused with all the force of someone saying, I don't eat that kind of cheap food.
But Ma Yuseong smiled brightly and nodded.
"I'm in. I've always wanted to try something like that."
"Well? That's one vote."
At Ma Yuseong's answer, Hae Wonryang shook his head like we were pathetic and said,
"Well, the majority agrees, so it can't be helped."
Even though he said that, he was probably the one most excited about it.
And so the three of us ended up ordering tteokbokki, sundae sausage, and fish cakes and making a full meal of it.
It was not, however, an entirely peaceful meal.
Partway through, a minor conflict broke out over what sundae ought to be dipped in.
"You dip sundae in tteokbokki sauce. What, have you got no tongue? No mouth? The heir of the great Full Moon Tower Master being taste-blind—heaven must be sighing."
"You dip sundae in salt. That is what kind of food it was made to be."
"Uh, guys, sundae tastes good dipped in chojang—"
"Will you shut up for a second?"
"You be quiet."
"Ugh…"
Honestly, my personality just didn't mesh well with Hae Wonryang, who was always trying to act cool, talked little, and stubbornly insisted on doing everything in his own rigid way.
Anyway, after some twists and turns, we were finally able to board the last train.
[Mestel Cross-Country Train]
[Tozmic]
[Last Car]
At last, we had reached our destination.
Not in the sense that we had reached the place itself—
but that 'the last car of the Tozmic' was connected directly to the entrance of the dungeon.
As I said, no one knew the reason or cause behind the creation of dungeons.
No one knew why an entrance to [The Korokoro Tribe's Settlement] had formed in the last car of the Tozmic, either.
Back when I was just playing the game, I accepted it because it was a hidden piece.
Now that this had become reality, I accepted it as just another natural phenomenon.
'Now I can finally get some rest…'
There was still a little time left before the entrance to the dungeon opened, so I closed my eyes.
The Tozmic had a total of nine cars.
It wasn't a particularly large train to begin with, and there weren't many people crossing Mestel in the first place.
On top of that, the ride quality was terrible, so very few people boarded the Tozmic.
"Hmm~ hm hm♪"
Azmick Costalin hummed to herself as she painted black nail polish onto her fingernails.
The man sitting beside her, Kalraban, spoke with an irritated expression.
"Azmick. That reeks."
"Just bear with it a little. I had to use up seven nails hunting magic warriors the other day, so I didn't have a choice."
"You really do go out of your way to do the most irritating things…"
Azmick and Kalraban.
At a glance, one looked human and the other looked like a dwarf.
But in truth, both were dark mages who had offered their souls to the Reverse Side.
Azmick was in an unusually good mood.
Ever since they had become capable of hiding within human society, she had started to especially enjoy human culture, and 'traveling by train' was one of those hobbies.
As for her partner Kalraban, however, it was nothing but annoying.
"I'd really like to catch a magic warrior and tear into them."
"Are mages that tasty?"
"At least they taste better than beasts. When they're being hunted down, they twist their heads to survive and circulate their mana. Do you know how fresh that living, moving mana tastes?"
"Mmm~ No idea!"
As if she cared.
Azmick was a vegetarian, after all.
Bzzzz—!
A vibration came from Azmick's clothes while she was quietly painting her nails.
Since she couldn't put the polish down yet, she said to Kalraban,
"Can you get that for me?"
"I have no desire to touch your disgusting body."
"Hing~ You're so mean."
In the end, Azmick had no choice but to stop after painting only five nails, then reached into her clothes and took out a small square box.
The moment she clicked it open,
space twisted, and letters appeared in the air.
—Azmick, Kalraban.
"Yes, yes, confirmed!"
—Report your current location.
"Hmm~ Let's see~"
Azmick stared quietly out the window, then said,
"I can see trees and mountains outside!"
—…Don't joke around.
"I told you I was going on a trip to Mestel~"
—Then you must be aboard the Tozmic. What is the exact train number?
"1097."
This time Kalraban answered.
Several more messages appeared, as if satisfied, and were then revised.
—You're lucky. Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but this is an order passed down from the Moon Shadow Church. Bring down the last car of the train immediately.
—There are three Stella cadets aboard it.
"Really? But if it's only three Stella cadets, why would the Moon Shadow Church send an order down for that?"
—We don't know either. There may be a particularly special cadet among them.
—In any case, if you complete the mission successfully, I'll attach an extra week of vacation. See that it's done.
Thunk!
The connection cut off.
The moment it did, Azmick turned to Kalraban with an excited expression.
"Did you hear that? An extra week of vacation!"
"No additional pay, though."
"An extra week of vacation!"
"Tch. I hate doing jobs for free…. Young ones don't even taste good."
"Vacation! One week!"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, damn it. Let's deal with it quickly and get back."
Kalraban rose with his heavy frame and cracked his neck loose.
No matter how genius and talented Stella cadets might be…
cadets were still cadets.
They probably wouldn't even be worth a full bite,
but still, he thought he hoped they tasted decent enough as he headed toward the rear cars of the train together with Azmick.
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