Surviving These Unfair Scenarios [LITRPG - DIMENSION HOPPING]

A profound and lingering silence descended upon the cave after alter Drake's final words, leaving the two groups of users frozen in place. The sheer strangeness of standing before another version of Drake, combined with the chilling revelation about Adam, left them all completely speechless. The crackling of the campfire became the only sound, the air thick with the unspoken questions hanging between them.

Alter Drake walked slowly and deliberately into the center of the camp, his serious gaze fixed ahead, a presence that seemed to command the space without effort. Without breaking his stride, he turned his head just enough to meet the eyes of his counterpart. Drake's expression was one of clear nerves and astonishment, but alter Drake remained utterly impassive, his eyes betraying no emotion.

The two blonds simply looked at each other, their silent exchange lasting only a moment before alter Drake turned away and continued his unhurried journey to sit by the campfire with his own team. The brief, unspoken interaction was more unsettling than any confrontation.

Once the boy sat down, Samantha wasted no time, rushing to serve her leader a fresh bowl of soup. He accepted it silently, holding it in his hands but not eating as he began to speak.

"In my experience, anything is possible in the System, to a certain degree. And given the appreciation my team has of yours, I believe your theory that you are users from another universe is quite feasible."

He said, his voice a low, steady rumble,

"I'll tell you everything we know about Adam Scholar."

He continued, his eyes scanning their faces.

"But first, you have to answer me: how did you get to know him? How did he become your leader? And why isn't he here with you?"

Kazue opened her mouth to answer, about to reveal that Adam was indeed with them and point to the Empress who was possessing his body, but Drake immediately pulled her back and subtly interrupted her, taking it upon himself to speak instead.

Realizing that, for some reason, none of the others had noticed that the body the Empress possessed was literally Adam's, just a bit thinner with longer hair and red eyes, Drake spoke up before Kazue could say anything more.

"Adam's not with us… We used the Plot Device 'What you want vs What you need' for us to get something important he needed, and it didn't transport him with us."

Drake said, his voice firm and steady. Charles intervened calmly, his gaze fixed on alter Drake.

"That makes perfect sense."

He said with a placid voice.

"We used that very same Plot Device two scenarios ago. It only transported a few of our team members. It's a credible explanation."

Alter Drake and the rest of his team exchanged thoughtful glances, accepting the point.

"It gives your story a certain level of credibility, but I still want to know the rest of the things I asked."

Drake took a deep breath before he continued, his voice now filled with the weight of memory.

"Adam, Kazue, and I arrived in the System together. Our first scenario was a Punishment class, and Li and Teo were there too as the leaders. But the situation went completely wrong, and Teo… Teo didn't make it."

As he said this, he saw Teo's expression flicker with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"After that, Adam became a part of our team. We've been through four scenarios together, and he became our leader at the request of the rest of us. Now he needs our help, and that's why we're supporting him."

Alter Drake thought for a moment, and the rest of his team looked on with expressions of surprise, while Teo couldn't help but touch his own neck upon hearing that in that universe, he had died. Drake looked at his counterpart with conviction, his voice filled with an earnestness that came from the depths of his belief.

"Listen, if we've survived this far, it's because of Adam. He's saved us more than once. We've grown stronger together, and he has never, not once, given us a reason to distrust him."

He said, addressing not just his alternate universe self but his own team. Alter Kazue clicked her tongue in disgust, but it was Alter Drake who spoke, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"Things were different for us. We share the same exact origin as you. Adam Scholar was a rookie who was with us in the first scenario. But in our experience, Teo never died, and we completed the scenario without many problems."

He paused, his expression growing grim as he continued.

"But when we returned to the lobby, Adam Scholar went completely insane. We never knew why, but he started shouting and became violent for no reason. When Li and Teo were finally able to restrain him, we decided for him to choose the option to 'leave' the System along with another woman who was also with us… And whose name I can't remember anymore."

Alter Drake rubbed his forehead, as if recalling the worst mistake they had ever made.

"If only we had known that the option was not to leave the System, but for the user to be transported directly to Team Abyss…"

The entire 'No Name' team looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief. They knew about that option, but they couldn't believe that in this other world, it was Adam who had been transported and had left them. How much could things have changed if he had not been there? They couldn't even begin to imagine it. Alter Drake continued speaking.

"That was the beginning of the end. We continued our journey, but unlike you, we've already completed twelve scenarios, and over a year has passed since then."

Drake and the other members of his team were shocked by this revelation. Twelve scenarios? Alter Kazue crossed her arms and looked at them with disdain.

"If you've only been through four scenarios, you're nothing but rookies."

She paused, then her gaze grew more accusatory.

"But it's incredibly strange that some of you are so powerful with so little experience, well… Not all of you."

Her eyes landed on the other Kazue, who looked down, feeling a wave of discomfort. Alter Drake proceeded, his voice a low, chilling rumble.

"About four or five months of perceived time ago, Adam Scholar reappeared, but more aggressively than the typical Team Abyss incursions. He's dedicated himself to a massive hunt of teams and even found a way to invade other teams' lobbies… Lobbies, can you imagine it? Spaces that are supposed to be safe, invaded, and all the members of other teams killed in cold blood."

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He paused for a moment, and Drake, his eyes wide, looked at him, knowing full well what was to come.

"But that's not all, is it?"

Alter Drake let out a quiet, sarcastic laugh.

"No, it certainly isn't. If that were all, he would just be another simple villain among the many that we've seen in the System… No, what Adam Scholar has been doing goes far beyond that. He's been recruiting. A killer like him has extended his hand to users just as vile and twisted, and he's formed unholy alliances with incredibly powerful groups by promising them empty illusions. Thanks to that, just three weeks ago, a war broke out. Team Abyss and their allies managed to invade Eden."

The eyes of everyone in the 'No Name' team widened, filled with a mixture of recognition and dread. They remembered Beowulf and Brunhilde, two members of Team Eden who had helped them in the previous scenario. Those two had been so powerful that it had seemed unfair. And now, they were being told that an entire team of such individuals had been attacked by the Adam of that universe?

Alter Drake continued to speak, his voice grim.

"The war lasted two weeks, and the result was announced through the System itself. Team Abyss and their allies won and completely wiped out Team Eden, the protectors of the System and the only ones capable of mobilizing through the scenarios like Team Abyss."

Li couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up, his voice grave and low.

"But if this war was so important and your Adam is so dangerous, why didn't you go to help?"

The members of 'Black Phoenix' all turned to look at him, some with more annoyance in their eyes than others. Alter Li spoke, his voice filled with a raw, bitter frustration.

"Do you honestly think we didn't try!? Part of that bastard's plan was to send allied teams to literally stop every single team that wanted to help Team Eden. We don't know how the hell they got that information, but many of our allies and friends were wiped out before they could even enter the war—'Dragon Utopia', 'Cryptic Covenant', 'Top Rankers', 'Automaton Ordinance', 'The Knights of the Queen'—all of them our allies, good people, users who had helped us many times and with whom we had even gone through scenarios together. All of them were completely slaughtered."

Faced with the sheer frustration in alter Li's words, the other Li closed his mouth without knowing what to say. Alter Drake, meanwhile, continued his account, his gaze fixed on the fire.

"We ourselves were attacked by the damned team 'WNATN' and their cursed leader, one of Adam Scholar's Commanders, Jeongu Kim the 'Demon of Wrath'."

At the mention of 'WNATN', Kazue couldn't help but be startled.

"What happened to that team?"

She asked, her voice sharp with concern. Alter Drake looked at her, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to the profound hatred in his eyes.

"We were able to take down some of their members, but in the end, Jeongu Kim was too powerful for us. I almost died fighting him, and we had to use an L-rank Plot Device to escape."

Kazue then asked another question, her voice trembling slightly.

"What about Angela? Angela Rose. In our universe, she's the leader of 'WNATN' and is one of our allies."

Alter Drake looked at her for a moment, a flicker of genuine surprise on his face.

"We don't know anyone named Angela Rose."

He said, slowly shaking his head.

"'WNATN' has always been commanded by Jeongu Kim, ever since we first encountered them as subordinates of Adam Scholar."

It was all too confusing. Could the world truly change so much because of a single person? Alter Drake looked at them, his eyes unwavering as he continued his harrowing story.

"After Team Eden was completely destroyed, Adam Scholar, Team Abyss, and their allies began a new phase of their plan. Now, they're not just hunting teams; they're conquering entire scenarios and worlds under their control. They're even forming alliances with A+ and even S-rank scenarios, having armies and characters as dangerous and powerful as the most veteran of users."

He then gestured around the cave.

"That's why I had to come out for a moment—to make sure this scenario wasn't one of those that had already fallen prey to that demon. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case. The 'Darkness Dragon God: Vharzun' appears to be a separate entity, though I'm sure it's a world that Team Abyss would be more than happy to recruit."

Alter Drake sighed, the sound heavy with resignation.

"My account falls short of everything that's happening in our world, but I hope you understand what I'm saying. Adam Scholar is a danger. People don't change so radically because of a single difficulty—they simply reveal who they truly are. Sooner or later, the Adam of your world will also reveal his true nature."

Kazue took another step forward, wanting to respond, but Drake stopped her a second time, his hand on her arm. He looked at alter Drake, his expression resolute.

"I understand."

He said, his voice firm.

"We'll think about it and take precautions."

Drake didn't believe a word of it, not truly. After everything they had been through, he couldn't believe Adam would become that kind of monster. He thought to himself.

"What the hell happened to you, Adam?"

But whatever the catalyst, neither he nor anyone on his team would let such a thing happen. Alter Drake interrupted then, pointing to the still-sleeping Emir.

"Now, explain to me… How is it possible that this boy has the same item and power as his supposed counterpart in our world?"

Kazue finally spoke, saying that it was a simple coincidence.

"Emir bought the item in the store before this scenario. And as your Kazue herself has said, he's new to using it and doesn't even know how to control it."

Alter Drake and alter Kazue looked at each other and shared a silent glance. It was a plausible explanation, and given that there seemed to be certain similarities between users from both universes, they would accept it for now. Once this explanation had ended, alter Drake looked at them before asking.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Drake responded immediately, his voice filled with determination.

"We're reconsidering our initial reason for coming to this place, but one of our members was captured by the dragon Zorvhael, and we are not leaving him behind."

Teo began to laugh and answered mockingly, his voice dripping with condescension.

"Forget about him. It's impossible that he's still alive."

Drake looked at him with a silent, simmering fury; however, alter Drake interrupted, his voice calm and firm.

"No. If they had wanted to kill him, they would have done it immediately. If your friend was really captured, then it is still possible that he was taken as an offering to Vharzun for some reason. If he is still alive, he would be there."

Drake nodded, his expression resolute.

"Then that will be our destination."

A slight smile touched alter Drake's lips.

"If that's the case, we can go together. The simplest way to end this scenario is to deal with the main threat, and you can look for your friend there."

He then paused, as if thinking of another important thing.

"In the meantime, we'll spend the night here and see what we'll do tomorrow."

Drake accepted, resigning himself and turning to his team. They all understood his expression. If they wanted to move forward, the best thing to do was to shut up and play along, at least for now.

It was decided that a member of each team would stand guard, and by coincidence, both Kazues took the first shift while the rest prepared to get some rest. However, before that, Drake approached his counterpart and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"I have a small question for you."

Drake said, making alter Drake turn to him, his expression serious.

"I'm listening."

"Do you know a user named Katya Nakamura?"

The blond asked. Alter Drake's eyes widened slightly.

"That's the name of another one of Adam Scholar's Commanders, but I have never seen her in person. Why do you ask?"

Drake simply shrugged.

"It's not important. We've run into her, but things were a little different. Don't worry about it."

Alter Drake turned and went to a corner to lie down, while Drake simply stood watching him, deep in thought. He thought that the memories he had had with Katya, thanks to his skill [The Red Thread of Fate], were from this place. But if not, then where were they from?

Unfortunately, Drake knew very little about what was really happening. They should have arrived in the original world, the history read by the entity known as 'Architect_Of_Fate'. However, many things had happened that should not have, and events from the original story had changed radically, and without knowing it, their presence was changing it even more.