Surviving These Unfair Scenarios [LITRPG - DIMENSION HOPPING]

"Why…? How are you even here?!"

Adam's question echoed through the vast chamber, a stunned cry that broke the oppressive silence.

Chloe, with a mixed face of profound embarrassment and utter confusion, had finally managed to scramble off the Undead Empress, who lay motionless on the floor. She wrung her hands nervously, her pink hair slightly disheveled from the fall, her eyes darting between Adam and the prone figure of the elegant, white-haired woman. She didn't know who this woman was, only that she was beautiful and that Chloe had just landed on her with the force of a tackle.

"I-I don't know!"

Chloe stammered, her voice a flustered squeak.

"I was in the lobby, I bought a new skill, and I tried to use it on you and then… then I was here! It was like… a pop!"

She made a strange popping motion with her hands, as if to illustrate the inexplicable event.

Adam, still reeling from the shock, felt his mind slowly begin to piece together the fragments of a new and utterly bizarre puzzle. He extended his hand, beckoning her closer.

"What skill? Tell me exactly what it was."

Chloe, still trembling, hesitantly approached him. He reached out and, with a quick motion, gently touched her forehead with his finger, his own eyes taking on a faint, ethereal glow as his [Cursed Vision] activated.

"Oh, good, I guess this one is more of a trait than a skill."

The information from her system panel, which was somehow available to him even in this place devoid of the system's influence, flooded his senses, painting a clear and concise picture of the events. A system window, visible only to Adam, appeared in the air before him, displaying the skill's complete information:

Adam's eyes widened, a profound, almost comical realization dawning on him. He felt his jaw slacken.

"Oh, my god."

He breathed, the words escaping him in a disbelieving whisper.

"That's it… It tried to force communication."

He looked at the Empress, then at Chloe, and the entire situation, while still utterly absurd, suddenly made a terrifying and logical sense. Chloe had tried to use her skill on his unconscious body, which was unable to give a verbal response. The system, in its cold and literal logic, had bypassed the verbal communication requirement by simply bringing her to him, to his soul world, where he was conscious and capable of answering.

Just then, Evelyn, who had been lying motionless on the floor, let out a low, guttural growl. Her eyes, filled with terrifying rage, focused on the small, pink-haired girl who had dared to land on her. She rose to her feet in a flash of motion, her elegant form wreathed in a fresh burst of cursed energy, her long white hair whipping around her like a storm of ice. The air immediately became heavy again, the suffocating pressure returning with a vengeance.

"You!"

She shrieked, her voice a piercing, inhuman cry that rattled the very foundations of the ruined chamber. She raised a hand toward Chloe, extending her nails into long, sharp talons of pure darkness.

Suddenly, Nikolai, who had been watching the scene unfold with a mix of shock and morbid fascination, suddenly found his voice.

"Adam, what the hell are you doing?! Calm her down, now! Before she kills the kid and us with her!"

He yelled, his face a mask of terror.

"The other ghosts… they're already coming! We don't have much time!"

Adam, seeing the sheer, unfiltered fury in Evelyn's eyes, knew that brute force was not an option even if he had access to his skills, not with a being whose power was tied directly to her emotions. He stepped forward, placing himself instinctively between Chloe and the enraged Empress.

"Wait! Evelyn, stop!"

He commanded, his voice a steady, firm counterpoint to her shriek.

"I know what you are feeling, but this… this is not the way to find out the truth."

Evelyn's talons hovered just inches from Adam's face, her rage momentarily halted by his sudden, uncharacteristic calm.

"The truth!? What truth could you possibly know, you imbecile and imperfect little doll?! All I know is that this… this useless creature just dared to… to desecrate my form!"

Adam continued, ignoring her insults.

"The truth about you..."

He slowly raised his hand, the intricately carved pendant clutched tightly in his fingers.

"About this… About the person in here."

He opened the pendant with a soft click, revealing the image of a little girl, her face smiling and innocent.

"This little girl… She's someone very important, isn't she? This whole world, this ruined city… It's a reflection of your grief, a mental landscape of your despair. This laboratory… it was your home, wasn't it? The place where you worked, maybe? … But certainly, the place where you were human."

He could see the effect his words were having on her; her fury was slowly being replaced by a profound, agonizing confusion, and the miasma around her began to recede, trembling with her emotional turmoil.

The Empress stared at the pendant, her cold blue eyes fixed on the image of the child she had once been, a child she had long forgotten. A low, pained moan escaped her lips, her body shaking as if an earthquake was tearing through her very essence.

"No… no, that's not… I don't know her…"

She whispered, her voice cracking with a raw vulnerability he hadn't heard before.

"I am the Empress… I am the end of everything…"

She clenched her fists, her long nails digging into her palms.

"I am the Queen of the damned… I am not… not human…"

Adam responded softly, his voice full of a rare empathy

"Yes, you were… This world, this ghost world, it's not a random hellscape, isn't it? It's the world of the first scenario, the world where you lived. You were a human, I assume you worked in this very lab, and something terrible happened. Something that took your life and turned you into what you are now. You probably had a family, and people who loved you… I want to understand what happened. I want to know why you are like this."

Evelyn's head snapped back, a silent scream of agony contorting her face. Fragmented images, like a shattered mirror, flashed through her mind: a woman's warm, loving smile looking at her; the sound of that woman's laughter; then, those same eyes, filled with a profound, soul-crushing terror; the wet, salty feel of that woman's tears… She clawed at her own head, as if trying to tear the memories from her mind, her body writhing in a storm of raw, emotional pain. A torrent of cursed energy, unfiltered by her will, erupted from her, tearing through the chamber like a hurricane.

"I… I don't… I don't remember…!"

She shrieked, her voice a fractured, broken sound. Her body began to convulse, a wave of dark miasma pouring from her, filling the entire chamber with a suffocating, terrifying pressure. The distant roars of the ghosts from outside became a single, unified sound, the cacophony of a thousand predators rushing toward their prey.

Adam, seeing the Empress's mental collapse, knew that the conversation, for now, was over. He turned, grabbing Chloe's arm.

"We have to go! Now!"

He yelled.

"But what about her?!"

Chloe asked, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and concern for the now-suffering Empress.

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"She's lost herself!"

Adam yelled, his voice strained.

"We can't help her right now! Let's go!"

Nikolai, who had been frozen in terror, snapped back to reality.

"Right! I know a few routes! Follow me!"

He yelled, his survival instincts finally kicking in as he bolted toward a side corridor, his feet pounding on the cracked floor.

The group, with Nikolai leading, fled into the labyrinthine corridors of the ruined laboratory, a tide of spectral fury roaring in their wake. Adam pushed Chloe forward, his hand still holding her arm, his body acting as a human shield against the growing horde of Ghoul-types and Feral-types that poured into the building. He could hear their guttural snarls, feel their icy, spectral breath on his neck, but since he couldn't use his skills, he couldn't fight them. He was a simple human in a world of monsters, a terrifying reality that made his heart pound in his chest.

"Adam, watch out!"

Chloe screamed, her eyes widening in horror. A skeletal Ghoul-type, its empty eye sockets glowing with cold blue light, lunged at Adam from a collapsed doorway. The boy, with a superhuman speed born of desperation, shoved his pink-haired friend aside, his own body taking the brunt of the attack. The ghostly claws passed through him, a freezing, agonizing cold seeping into his very soul, but he managed to duck and roll away.

Behind them, Abbess and the Guardian of Envy moved the fastest they could. Abbess's movements were fluid and graceful, a blur of motion as her long black nails tore through the encroaching ghosts, scattering them into mist. The Guardian, on his part, acted like an immovable bulwark every time there was an enemy charge, its blue inner flame flickering with resolve as it swept its weapon in wide, devastating arcs, clearing a path for the rest of the group. Adam's heart clenched with a silent, profound gratitude for his two silent, loyal companions, whose presence had saved them more times than he could count. However, he saw a brief flash of something in Abbess's red eyes as she watched him protect Chloe, a flicker of something cold, but it vanished as quickly as it came, and her focus returned to the relentless ghost horde. Was she mad about something?

"Left here!"

Nikolai yelled, gesturing wildly down a narrow corridor that was choked with overturned lab equipment. He was moving with a frantic energy, his body language a mess of panicked gestures, but his mind, honed by all the time surviving in this spectral city, was clear. He knew the best routes, the quiet paths, the places where the ghosts were less likely to congregate. Adam, however, felt a wave of profound frustration.

"How do we get out of here, Nikolai? I don't know how to wake up!"

Adam yelled, his voice a strained, desperate cry. Nikolai, his eyes wide with a mix of panic and incredulity, skidded to a halt.

"Wait, what?! You don't know?! Are you serious?! What kind of idiot enters a place without a way to get out?! I thought we were just stalling for something! You were supposed to be the smart one!"

Adam, dodging another spectral claw, felt a surge of raw, unadulterated anger.

"I didn't have a plan for this! I just… I just came here! I thought I was going to enter it slowly, but I came in a flash, out of nowhere! I don't know why, and I certainly don't know how to leave!"

The truth was, Adam had no memory of Emir's actions. His last conscious memory was of trying to enter the trance, of pushing his mind into a void, not of a small boy's hands on his head. The realization was both terrifying and infuriating. He was a pawn in a game he didn't fully understand, and now he was trapped in his own head, with a ghost horde at his heels.

Just then, a massive roar, a sound that seemed to shake the very fabric of the inner world, echoed through the corridor. The Demon-type ghost, a towering, monstrous form of pure malice, had found them. Its form filled the entire street, extending its massive claws. The group was cornered, with no way to move forward and no way to fight back.

"Oh, man, this is not good."

Nikolai whimpered, his face going pale. But in that moment of pure, unadulterated panic, Chloe, with her heart pounding, felt a faint, almost imperceptible warmth spreading through her body. It was her own Ki, a soft, regenerative energy that flowed through her veins. Instinctively, she extended her hand, a small burst of pure Ki erupting from her palm. It did nothing to the Demon-type, but it did manage to graze a nearby Ghoul-type, which shrieked and recoiled, its form briefly disrupted.

Adam's eyes widened. He saw the faint, almost-visible burst of energy, and a new hypothesis, a desperate, final gamble, formed in his mind.

"You can use your skills!"

He yelled, his voice filled with a sudden, desperate hope.

"That's it! … Your physical body is here, and you are still capable of generating Ki, so that means your new skill… it must still be active! You still have to choose what to borrow! Chloe, listen to me! I can't use my skills here, but you can! Ask for one of my skills, now! A good one!"

Chloe, her mind reeling, nodded frantically. The Demon-type was getting closer, its massive claws ready to strike.

"Okay! Okay! I'll borrow… a skill! A good one!"

She screamed, her voice a desperate, terrified plea. Adam's blood ran cold... She hadn't specified. He had meant a good combat skill, a powerful one that could fend off the Demon, but she had simply said "a skill". He saw the system window appear above his head.

Adam felt a profound sense of despair. The system, interpreting "a skill" as a random selection, had given her the ability to command one of his summons, who was already fighting for her life. The irony was so profound it was almost comical.

"No! Not that one!"

He yelled, but it was too late. Chloe's system window confirmed the skill acquisition, and she looked from Adam to Abbess, her face a mask of profound confusion.

"But… this doesn't do anything! She's already fighting for us!"

She cried, a fresh wave of tears forming in her eyes. The Demon-type let out a deafening roar, its massive claw sweeping down toward the group, marking the end of their desperate flight.

In that instant, a single thought, a desperate, irrational idea, flashed through Chloe's mind. She pulled out her needles, her hands trembling, and in a single, fluid motion, she threw one toward Abbess, who was fighting a dozen Ghoul-types at once. The needle, a small, silver projectile, struck the female Jiang Shi's left arm... A small burst of pure Ki, a tiny fraction of the energy she had just generated, flowed from the needle into Abbess's arm, and something extraordinary happened.

Abbess's left arm, the one the needle had struck, began to swell, growing in size and muscle mass to an inhuman degree. The sound of her uniform ripping from the strain was audible even over the din of the ghosts. The undead warrior, now a beautiful but terrifying creature with one monstrous arm, pivoted, and with a raw, explosive force, delivered a devastating uppercut to the Demon-type ghost, sending its massive form hurtling backward with a thunderous crash.

Everyone stared, their mouths agape in stunned disbelief. Chloe, in a moment of sheer desperation, had instinctively used her [Pin and Needle Manipulation Style] on Abbess, who was now bound to her by a temporary pact. The skill, which allowed her to manipulate the body of whatever her needles struck, had worked, albeit in a completely unexpected way. She had no idea how to do it properly, having only learned the basics in the Murim scenario, but in this moment of crisis, it was the only solution she had.

With their new, unexpected power, the group managed to hold the line, fighting a desperate, impossible battle against the endless ghost horde. Abbess and Chloe, now working in tandem, were an unexpectedly terrifying duo. The girl's fingers, moving with a speed she didn't know she possessed, were a blur as she launched needles, each one a tiny conduit of pure Ki, into the undead woman's form. Each needle she landed caused Abbess's body to surge with raw, explosive power, her muscles rippling and her form growing to a terrifying, inhuman size.

Abbess, her red eyes burning with a fierce, protective light, became a whirlwind of destruction, her monstrously large limbs tearing through the ghost horde with a raw, brutal efficiency that sent a shockwave of terror through the spectral ranks.

Adam, despite being utterly powerless in this internal world, fought with a desperate ferocity, or at least the best he could. He wasn't a fighter, but he was smart, and with Nikolai's guidance, he used his environment. He saw a pack of Feral-type preparing to pounce on a distracted Abbess and, without a second's hesitation, pushed a loose piece of crumbling ceiling with his foot, causing a cascade of debris to fall, crushing the ghost beneath it and saving the woman from a surprise blow.

A moment later, he saw a Ghoul-type, its skeletal claws outstretched, ready to attack Chloe from behind. He didn't have a weapon, so he did the only thing he could. With a loud yell, he threw himself in the ghost's path, his body a simple, fragile shield. The ghost's claws passed through him, a freezing, agonizing cold seeping into his very soul, but he had bought Chloe enough time to turn and throw a needle, a small, silver flash that struck the ghost and disrupted its form, causing it to shriek and recoil.

The pink-haired girl watched, her heart pounding in her chest, a profound sense of awe and gratitude washing over her. She saw Adam, with no powers, no skills, and no weapons, throw himself into danger to protect her… Why? How can he be so different from her? Even without any skills, he managed to be useful and brave, unlike her.

A warm feeling she couldn't name was starting to bloom in her chest, pushing back against the fear and the self-doubt. It wasn't the kind of heroic, grand gesture that someone like Drake would make. It was a simple, desperate act of selflessness, a raw, undeniable proof of his worth, and in that moment, she realized that she didn't just admire Adam, maybe, just maybe… She felt something far deeper. He was a friend and more than just a leader. He was someone she would like to protect, just as he was protecting her.

Abbess, her senses finely tuned to Adam's every movement, saw it all. She saw the look of selfless determination on his face as he pushed Chloe out of the way. She saw the cold, invisible pain of the ghost's claws passing through him, and most importantly, she saw the sparks in the girl's eyes... A cold and inevitable jealousy, a feeling she had never experienced before, flickered in the depths of her red eyes. She loved him, and she was fiercely loyal to him, but she was also a creature of instinct and emotion, and seeing him protect someone else with such a profound, undeniable devotion, a devotion she craved for herself, was a sharp, painful sting.

But her loyalty was stronger than her jealousy. She fought on, her strikes becoming even more brutal, even more precise, her only thought to protect Adam and the entire group, even if it meant protecting the girl who had just stolen a piece of his attention.

The situation, however, remained impossible. The endless stream of ghosts was a problem, but the Empress's enraged, inhuman scream, which echoed from the distance, was an even bigger one. They knew that if she were to stop and come after them, their temporary victory would mean nothing. The air still vibrated with her fury, a profound, malicious presence that was only growing stronger, and they knew, with a chilling certainty, that their time was running out.

–––––––––––

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Emir sat quietly, his book on cursed energy lying open on his lap, a look of profound, heart-wrenching worry on his face. Li, Gregor, and Sebastian stood silently, their faces grave, watching the corner where Chloe had vanished. The sudden, violent bulge that had erupted from Adam's forehead and the disappearance of Chloe had left them all in a state of utter shock. They had no idea what was happening or what to do.

"We… we have to do something. We can't just leave them there!"

Gregor rumbled, his voice low and strained.

"And do exactly what?"

Li replied, his voice cold and filled with a rare, honest concern.

"You saw what happened. She touched the boy and instantly disappeared. Do you even know why?"

Everyone was clearly concerned about the situation, but they had little to no information about what had just happened.

Just then, the hum of the lobby changed, and a new presence filled the air. A portal of light shimmered into existence, and from it emerged Drake, his face grim, his posture a mixture of exhaustion and unessines. Katya, with a cold, blank expression on her face, was carrying an unconscious Kazue in her arms, while Falk sat on the blond's shoulder. They had all returned from the Trade Nexus after all the violent fights they had had, and the final prize they got. They took in the scene in the corner—the grim faces and the unconscious Adam—and a look of profound confusion and shock washed over Drake's features.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

He yelled with a really tired voice.