Surviving These Unfair Scenarios [LITRPG - DIMENSION HOPPING]

The ruined city had become a frantic battlefield, like a monument to shattered civilization and forgotten despair. A small wave of cursed energy was fighting a desperate, impossible battle in a sea of spectral fury. Adam and his companions were surrounded, a thin line holding against an endless ghost horde in the desolate streets. The air was thick with the scent of dust and the cold chill of death, and the only sounds were the scraping of spectral claws and guttural snarls.

Abbess and Chloe, an extremely unexpected duo, held the line. Chloe's fingers, a blur of motion, launched needles toward the Jiang Shi with a speed she didn't know she possessed. Each one was a tiny silver projectile, a pinprick of pure Ki that, upon impact, caused Abbess's body to surge with raw, explosive power. Thanks to that, the undead woman became a whirlwind of destruction, her monstrously large limbs tearing through the spectral ranks with a brutal, single-minded efficiency, moving with a terrifying grace, while Chloe, through her needles, was able to direct them in a brutal dance of destruction. She sent a needle into Abbess's shoulder, and the Jiang Shi's massive arm swung in a powerful arc, a bone-crushing uppercut that sent a towering Feral-type phantom flying backward. She sent another into the leg, and the Jiang Shi woman pivoted, her kick a blur of motion that scattered a half-dozen Ghoul-types like bowling pins.

And yet, despite the undeniable effectiveness of their new combination, Abbess was clearly not happy… Her red eyes would flicker toward Chloe every time she landed a needle. It was a silent, cold disapproval that was as sharp as a blade. Abbess was a loyal summon bound to Adam's will, and the pink-haired girl, by a cruel twist of fate, had become her temporary master. She obeyed, her monstrously powerful body responding to Chloe's command, but her movements carried a heavy, resentful grace, as if she were forced to follow an order she despised. However, her purpose was to protect Adam, and that was all that mattered to her.

The boy fought with a desperate ferocity even though he was utterly powerless in this internal world, for his mind was working in overdrive. He wasn't a fighter in the traditional sense, but he used the shattered remains of the city to his advantage. A spectral figure, a Ghoul-type, lunged toward him from the shadows, its bony claws extended. Adam instinctively dodged, the icy cold of its phantom touch passing through him, and in the next moment, he saw a rusted piece of rebar sticking out of the ground near his feet. With a grunt of effort, he grabbed it and swung it like a baseball bat, a jarring metallic clang echoing as it struck a second Ghoul-type, momentarily disrupting its form and buying them a precious few seconds.

Meanwhile, Nikolai was a frantic mess of panic, his street-smart instincts acting like a constant, high-pitched hum of frantic energy as he dodged and wove through the spectral attacks. He was a natural survivor, like a rat in a maze, and he was using every ounce of his ingrained cunning to stay alive. He would yelp in terror every time a ghost got too close, a stark and humorous contrast to Adam's grim determination, and his eyes darted from side to side, looking for any possible escape route.

"Adam, you have to think of something! We can't keep this up forever!"

Nikolai yelled, his face a mask of profound terror as he narrowly avoided a blow from a Feral-type ghost, its massive mouth snapping shut just inches from his head.

"I swear to god, if I die a second time in this place, I'm going to haunt you! I'll make sure you never find your glasses ever again!"

Adam, gritting his teeth as he dodged a skeletal claw, felt a surge of raw, unadulterated frustration.

"I'm trying, Nikolai! But nothing is working! There's not exactly a door out of here!"

A single thought, a desperate, final gamble, formed in his mind. It was a hypothesis born from his fleeting conversation with Chloe, a long shot in a game of impossible odds.

"Wait… what if… what if Chloe's skill is the key?"

He yelled over the din of the ghosts.

"The skill description said it was for a short time! If the skill expires, it might force her out! Maybe… maybe I can go with her if I hold on to her!"

Nikolai's eyes widened, a flicker of hope in their depths, like a desperate drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood.

"That's it! That has to be it! But how do we survive until then?! How long do we have?!"

Adam yelled, his mind racing.

"Ten minutes! … But we've already been fighting for three… That's seven more to go!"

Seven minutes. It was an eternity in their current situation. They were surrounded by an endless sea of predators, and from the distance, the enraged screams of the Undead Empress, a sound that made his soul tremble, were getting closer. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that they couldn't survive for that long.

Just then, a massive explosion of cursed energy, a terrifying tidal wave of raw power, erupted from the heart of the ruins. It was followed by an inhuman howl, a sound of pure, unadulterated fury that caused a profound, agonizing pain in Adam's head. He staggered, clutching his forehead, his knees threatening to buckle under the immense, unseen pressure. He saw the spectral tide of ghosts part, a path opening up for the Undead Empress, who was now a terrifying, living storm of miasma and rage. Her form was a blur of motion and chaotic energy, a singularity in that desolate landscape.

Adam, watching her approach in the distance, felt a profound, chilling despair. He had no skills and no way to fight back, and his intellect was useless here. He gritted his teeth, his jaw set in a grim line, a terrible idea forming in his mind. Perhaps… perhaps if he were to surrender himself, to offer himself as a sacrifice, the Empress would spare the others. It was an illogical, desperate thought, but he had to do something. He was the reason they were here, and he felt a responsibility to see them through this alive, even if it meant giving himself up.

But before he could act, he felt a strange, tingling sensation in his body. He looked down and saw, to his profound bewilderment, that his feet were beginning to dissolve into a fine, ethereal mist, a silvery dust that floated up into the air and vanished.

"What… what is this?"

He stammered, his eyes wide with shock. Nikolai, however, let out a profound sigh of relief, a sound filled with a tired, desperate gratitude.

"That's it!"

He yelled, his voice cracking with emotion.

"You're waking up! That's how it is when a ghost here is being called to the outside realm! You're getting out!"

A wave of relief, so powerful it almost brought him to his knees, washed over Adam. He was getting out at last. But the relief was short-lived when he looked up and saw Chloe, still fighting beside Abbess with fierce concentration. She was not fading like him; she was still solid as always. His heart sank in a profound, chilling dread that took hold of him.

He was the one who was getting out of there; it was his inner world, so the system was simply returning him to the lobby. Chloe, however, was a guest. There was no guarantee that her physical body's connection to him would be enough to pull her back without the timer of skill ending first. He realized, with a horrifying certainty, that if he were to disappear, there was a really big chance that she would be left behind, alone in a world of ghosts for a couple more minutes, at the mercy of the furious Undead Empress.

Adam, with what little body he had left, pushed himself to move. He began to run, his feet a blurry motion of ethereal mist, his body dissolving with every step. He ran toward Chloe, his voice a strained, desperate cry.

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"Chloe! Turn around! We have to go!"

But his voice was a distant whisper in the roar of the ghosts, and Chloe, engrossed in the fight, didn't hear him. She was about to be overwhelmed, and the Empress was now a few hundred meters away, moving toward them with a terrifying speed.

Just then, a sudden, violent explosion of cursed energy from the Empress's direction caused the ground to tremble, and Chloe, who had been standing on a precariously balanced piece of debris, lost her footing. She stumbled, her body falling backward into the dark chasm that had opened up beneath her.

But before she could fall, a blur of dissolving flesh and bone slammed into her, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist. Time seemed to freeze for Chloe, the roar of the ghosts and the scream of the Empress fading into a distant hum. She looked up and saw Adam, his body now a semi-translucent cloud of mist, his face a mask of desperate determination, and his eyes, so full of warmth and life, staring into hers.

She saw how he had jumped into the empty air, throwing himself into the void to save her. A flush of heat, a strange, profound warmth, spread through her cheeks. She felt a deep, undeniable connection to him, and her eyes, wide and filled with a raw, unspoken emotion, locked onto his, a silent confession of a bond she had not realized existed.

And then, with a final, blinding flash of light, both of their forms dissolved, and they vanished from the inner world, leaving behind only the echoing scream of the furious Empress.

—————

Adam opened his eyes, taking in a ragged, gasping breath. He lay on the polished wooden floor of the lobby, the soft, eternal hum of the system a welcome sound in his ears. He was back. He pushed himself up, his head throbbing with a dull ache, and looked around, seeing the familiar faces of his team—Li, Gregor, Emir, and Sebastian—all standing in a circle, their faces a mixture of relief and profound confusion.

But they weren't looking at him; instead, they were looking at something else. Adam turned his head, widening his eyes in shock... Beside him, in a crumpled heap, was Chloe, and under her was a girl with long, wavy brown hair, holding a strange, pink crystal rose in her hands. It was Kazue, and she was comically unconscious, her eyes rolled back into her head, and her body was shaking with the after-effects of whatever she had just done.

"Kazue?! Chloe?!"

Adam yelled, his mind a whirlwind of confusion.

Just then, a furious, angry shriek erupted from the corner. It was Katya, her face a mask of profound anger, running toward the group.

"Kazue! You idiot! I told you not to do that!"

She screamed, her voice filled with a desperate, protective rage. She pushed past everyone and knelt beside Kazue, carefully lifting the unconscious girl into her arms.

"She just barely woke up! And now she's back to sleep! You… you useless pink doll! What did you do to her?!"

She yelled at Chloe, her blue eyes burning with a cold fury. The girl, with her face still flushed from the strange experience, scrambled to her feet, her own mind reeling from the sight of Kazue.

"I-I didn't do anything! I just… appeared! And she was there!"

Adam, holding his head, felt a pair of hands gently touch his shoulders. It was Drake, his face a grim, serious mask.

"Adam, are you okay? What happened?"

Drake asked, his voice low and concerned. He had been gone for what felt like an eternity, but here he was, as solid and dependable as ever.

"I'm… I'm fine, I think."

Adam said, his voice strained.

"But what… what is going on? What happened here?"

The boy was still kinda dizzy, and Drake took his time to answer.

"Well, we just returned from the Trade Nexus and found you like that. Kazue used one of the items she got from there to wake you up, but…"

He wasn't finished, but Adam couldn't help but interrupt.

"Wait, what? Did you go to the Trade Nexus?!"

Drake sighed, a long, weary sound.

"We have a lot to tell you… Might as well do it with everyone around."

A few minutes later, after Katya had run to the console of the store and selected the "Heal Up" option, bringing a newly conscious and very weak Kazue back to the fold, Drake gathered everyone around. He began to explain everything, his voice a low, steady rumble that filled the tense silence of the lobby. He spoke of their trip to the Trade Nexus with Angela and Meera, their search for the specific plot device to help Adam, their discovery of the casino, their run-in with the 'Noob Reapers' and the brutal coliseum fights they had with them, alongside the strange, sudden appearance of the mysterious user Moyan who had helped them, and finally, their success in acquiring what they needed. He also spoke of the points, a staggering sum of over 350,000, that he and Kazue had acquired through the games and as a present from Moyan himself, a fortune to be used for the entire team.

The announcement left the entire group in stunned silence, their mouths agape in disbelief, especially Li, who simply stared at Drake as if he were a ghost. The questions came in a torrent, a cascade of disbelief and shock from all sides, but Drake simply shrugged.

"I don't have all the answers. All I know is what happened and what I just told you all… But, truth be told, I think that, in addition to that, we four became stronger from this. Which reminds me…"

He turned to Adam, his face grim, and extended his hand, asking him to do the same. The boy, still reeling from the events, hesitantly did the same. A system notice, a bright and blinding light, appeared in the air between them the moment they grabbed each other's hands.

Adam stared at the screen, and a profound, speechless gratitude filled him. He looked at Drake, then at Katya, and finally at Kazue, a small, triumphant smile on her face. He even saw Falk, who was now perched on Sebastian's shoulder, give him a small, cheerful chirp.

"Thank you."

He said, his voice thick with emotion, a simple, heartfelt gratitude for a sacrifice he knew he would repay someday.

"Don't mention it, that's what we're here for. It was a team effort."

Drake said, a warm, easy smile on his face.

"Hmph… I didn't do it for you. I just wanted to make sure Kazue was safe."

Katya scoffed, turning her head away, her cheeks a faint pink. She looked at the pink crystal rose that was still glowing faintly in Kazue's hands, then back at Adam.

"But… I'm glad it worked out."

Kazue, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, gave a big grin and a victory pose with both her hands towards her friend.

"Hey, hey, no worries! It was a fun adventure after all!"

Adam, in turn, explained what had happened in his inner world. He spoke of the Empress, of her true form, of his theory that she had been human and that the world they had inhabited was her original scenario. He didn't get a definitive answer, but he had a very important lead. He now knew what he had to look for, a solution not just for him, but for her as well.

"The Plot Device… if it sends us to where we 'need' to be, then there's a chance… there's a chance we can find a solution. A way to help her, and to free me, once and for all."

However, a cold, pragmatic murmur came from Li.

"That's all well and good. But what about the problem that the two folks from Team Eden warned us about? The Empress will try to possess you again in the next scenario, and we saw how powerful she is. We had no chance against her last time."

The words hung in the air, a chilling reminder of the very real danger that still loomed over them. But before Adam could reply, a low, steady rumble of authority came from Drake.

"We will stop her."

He said, his blue eyes filled with an unwavering resolve.

"That's what the points are for. We'll use them, all of them, to get stronger. We'll get new skills, new items, whatever we need to be able to stop her. If she takes over Adam again, then we will beat her. We will hold him down if we have to. The system will send us where we need to be, right? Then if we get strong enough to hold it, we could find a solution eventually."

A wave of quiet agreement passed through the group. They had been through so much, and now, with the stakes higher than ever, they were ready to face whatever came next. Adam, watching them, felt a rare, strange warmth fill his chest. He was a man who, until recently, had considered "friendship" to be a concept that was only to be found in books, but yet again, seeing the unwavering resolve in his companions' eyes, he felt a profound, undeniable sense of trust. He smiled, a genuine, relieved smile that lit up his face.

"In that case, let's not waste any more time. Let's get to work."

He said, his voice filled with a new resolve