NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
In subculture gacha games, the protagonists often have ambiguous genders and even their appearances are left to the players’ imagination. Characters like “Admiral” or “Producer” are examples of this.
However, some recently released games have presented users with male and female protagonists with distinct appearances, offering the chance to choose their gender.
‘Crimson Scholar’ was one such game.
But this approach was so shocking that it became quite the topic of discussion.
When you start the game, you see a black-haired man and woman precariously hanging from a cliff. Users must click to choose one of them within a limited time.
Once the selection is made, the cliff collapses. The chosen character takes a few tumbles and lands on a gentle slope, fainting, while the unchosen character falls into the deep abyss below.
Users eagerly anticipated the appearance of the unselected character, but later confirmed through dialogues that they had even held a funeral for them.
After a brief blackout on the screen, a few seconds of silence follow…
“Scholar? Wake up, Scholar. The Academy City needs you.”
After hearing a voice calling the protagonist, the screen brightens, and a brown-haired girl, the game’s face character, greets us as the tutorial begins.
“…This place we’re walking in is the tutorial area!”
Unit 5 excitedly chimed in.
“Now we just need to find the path Scholar took and head down!”
As we passed the entrance of the dungeon where hunters had gathered, a graveyard of buildings, jutting out like tombstones, appeared before us.
Bored by the endless dull scenery, we chatted to relieve our boredom.
“By the way, is it really okay for us to just take the protagonist’s stuff?“
“It’s fine. The [Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag] has a total of three. What the Scholar takes is one of them. The rest are stored at their workplace, so it’s no big deal. Besides, it’s a story set five years later.”
After hearing Unit 2’s explanation, Unit 5 nodded in understanding.
Unit 1, who had been examining a hammer on the left, asked another question.
“By the way, I’m curious.”
“What is it?”
“What’s the Scholar doing right now?”
“I don’t know. They were siblings, right? A sister and a younger brother. They’re probably working somewhere in Central Academy City.”
We shrugged our shoulders together.
Wasn’t everything already twisted from the moment the myriad witches became roommates with the saint of salvation?
The events five years later were no longer my concern!
Thirty minutes had passed since the exploration began.
“Are we really going the right way? I don’t know what’s what.”
We were moving toward the bottom of the canyon, feeling our way through the bizarre terrain created by the fusion of buildings, roads, and concrete.
[Novaastia Canyon of Forgetfulness] was a typical canyon with giant cliffs and slopes, and the terrain was deeply carved in between them.
However, instead of rock and soil, there were large and small buildings and cracked roads jutting out all over the place.
The entwined skyscrapers, utility poles, and signs created a desolate gray landscape reminiscent of Beksiński’s surreal paintings.
Marching in two lines through this forgotten ruin, distorted city, were the Violets.
“The shield is too heavy! Do we really have to carry this around? We could just clone it out when needed, right? So far, we haven’t seen a single monster besides other hunters.”
Unit 6 grumbled.
Only the peculiar mineral crystals growing like mushrooms on the floor and walls were visible; no other moving beings could be seen. Perhaps it was still the entrance.
“It’s the first dungeon, right? Safety comes first. It’s a place with low-level monsters, but we need to be cautious; you never know when and where they might pop up. Plus, we should keep in mind that the weapon cloning time isn’t short.”
Unit 1 chided.
“Up until now, our fights have been at a primitive level, right? With proper equipment, we need to utilize our numerical superiority strategically. That means we should always be armed.”
Unit 2 continued calmly.
“Like an army from medieval or ancient times?”
“Roman Legion!”
“Sparta!”
Each of us raised our weapons and made a comment. As we kept going down the sloping path, a sound resembling tape being pulled off a wall rang out.
“Did you hear that?”
“Is it another hunter team?”
“That seems odd. It doesn’t sound like footsteps!”
We stopped and scanned our surroundings.
The repetitive sound grew closer. With tense eyes, we examined the walls, buildings, and even a single window, and suddenly a round gray head popped out from a corner of the wall.
“Guoooh?”
“What’s that?”
“Look over there, it’s a Scrag!”
A small monster with rough, gray skin peered at us with just its head poking out, looking down as we stared back.
As our gazes focused on it, the creature let out a rough scream and started to flee.
“Kwok! Kwoook!”
“That thing is running away!”
“It drew aggro! Get it!”
Immediately, Unit 10 and Unit 11 pursued the creature. Unit 10 threw a sword at its retreating back.
The flying sword scattered into sparkling dust before it could even touch its back after traveling a certain distance. The Scrag skillfully darted away through the gaps between the buildings.
“I missed!”
“I could have hit it…”
The Violets, who had just caught up, looked around with dismay.
“This is bad. Wasn’t that thing a scout?”
“Right! Since we didn’t eliminate the scout, a whole group of Scrags will come soon!”
“Should we fall back?”
Amid the commotion, a rough beastly roar echoed from a distance. Unit 2 pointed their sword and shouted.
“It’s too late to retreat! Combat readiness! Combat readiness!”
Immediately, rough and harsh growls responded from an alley, echoing the earlier roars. The sound of more footsteps, resembling tape being ripped, approached from beyond the wall.
Gray dwarf monsters, seemingly equal in number to us, began to swarm through the gap.
“Guwaah! Guwaoooh!”
“They’re coming!”
“Shield team, advance! Spear team, hold the rear!”
“Shock team, wait! Not yet!”
Five clones wielding riot shields moved in unison, stepping forward.
We slammed our shields down on the ground to create a blockade. With this, some of my earlier fears faded.
The Scrawls grew closer with a scraping sound. They rushed us without hesitation, their drooling mouths and cloudy yellow eyes coming into clear view.
Though they saw our formation, the monsters charged on without hesitation.
“Prepare for shock!”
The five individuals armed with spears held onto the shoulders and backs of the shield team. The bodies of the monsters collided with the shields.
– Kwahng!
“Guoooh!”
“Guuaah!”
“Damn it! How come they’re so strong for such small bodies!”
“Hold on tight!”
The Scrags mindlessly rammed their bodies into the shields. The shield team nearly toppled from the impact.
After we endured the first clash, the Scrags began to swing their weapons and hit the shields.
– Ka-kang! KANG! KANG!
“Aah! The shield is cracking!”
They swung thick metal pipes at the shields without restraint. They also stabbed with spears woven from rebar, denting the hit areas. The strength coming from their small bodies was incredible.
While the shield team held their ground, the spear team launched a counterattack.
“Stab!”
“Die already!”
“Guoooh!”
Unit 12 lunged forward with all their might, the spear embedding the sparkling blade into the forehead of one Scrag who was shouting while holding onto the shield. The creature fell, rolling its yellow eyes.
“It hits! Keep stabbing!”
“Shield team, begin the attack!”
In quick succession, spears stabbed from behind the shields, and as the shield team pulled out their swords, more than seven Scrags fell, writhing on the floor.
“Gu… Guoh!”
The Scrags, spooked by our terrifying momentum, hesitated and began to retreat. But it was too late.
“Now’s our chance! Shock team, commence attack!”
– KANG!
– SHWACK!
[Critical Hit!
[Attacking from behind triggered the Resonance Trait: Back Injury effect. Damage increased!]
A hammer slammed into the back of the retreating Scrag and a sword plunged into its back.
While the Violets were locked in a front-line standoff, three of the remaining members had stealthily approached behind the Scrags!
“Guoooh! Guoh!”
“Guoooh…”
Realizing they were surrounded, the Scrags wailed in despair and attempted to flee in all directions, but there was nowhere to run. The Violets, breaking formation, pierced with their spears and slashed with their swords, finishing off the remaining monsters.
“We won!”
“We are victorious!”
As the last Scrag fell, pierced by multiple spear tips, we shouted with excitement. It was our first battle and victory since entering the dungeon.
We bounced on top of the monsters’ corpses.
“Is everyone okay?”
“I got my cheek scraped earlier, but I’m fine!”
“My shield is dented.”
“Dented shields can be discarded. We can just clone them again.”
Once the battle ended, we immediately took a moment to regroup and then moved forward.
From then on, we kept encountering Scrag groups similar to or larger than before.
The pattern was the same. A lone creature wandering or hiding would scream and flee, only to be swarmed shortly after.
However, we realized that our initial fight was just beginner’s luck.
We had forgotten that Scrags were monsters with high intelligence. The battles gradually became tougher.
“A rock is coming! Hold your shields down!”
Then the first casualty occurred.
“Kyaaak! I’m being dragged!”
While trying to block the falling rocks, Unit 4, part of the shield team, was pulled off from the formation by a Scrag.
The Scrags savagely attacked Unit 4 with their claws and clubs, inflicting an anguish that swept over all of us.
“Ugh!!!”
While striving and tumbling, we finally managed to fend them off, but Unit 4 crumbled into dust upon death.
“Ughhh… I feel dizzy…”
“This won’t do. Let’s swap places.”
I replaced Unit 4 with the spear team member.
Even in the continuing battle, we repeatedly found ourselves in crisis. Forming a defensive line with shields, we were smoothly stabbing the monsters when enemies appeared behind us.
“Ah! They showed up behind us!”
Those Scrags, too, were capable of using their brains, albeit clumsily.
We fought in a chaotic melee with Scrags popping up all around; I spotted one with a long, translucent tube attached instead of its hand, just below the right elbow.
“Look over there! A ranged attacker! Be careful!”
“It’s a Scrag caster!”
As it raised its arm, a sound like a vacuum cleaner echoed, and a yellow orb began to gather inside the translucent tube.
– Pheooooo!
“Die!… Eek!”
The blast from the Scrag caster’s arm knocked Unit 2’s head clean off while they were swinging their sword.
“Unit 2 got hit..! Gyaaah!”
While Unit 3 stood shocked by the sight, the lack of Unit 2 on the formation allowed the Scrags to strike Unit 3 down.
We were shaken by the onslaught of attacks pouring from all directions.
Is this how it ends? Is my fate to fall to these lowly monsters?
“I refuse to lose to these kinds of trash mobs!”
Suddenly, anger surged within me. We fought, filled with rage.
“I’ll clear the way!”
Unit 1 drew a one-handed sword and forcefully cleaved through the monsters blocking our path.
Remembering the methods we learned from that old instructor, I swung my sword, imbued with blade energy, fiercely.
“Split in half and die!”
“Guoooh!!”
The red blade energy cleaved through the scrag, splitting it apart from the crown down.
Just ahead, the Scrag caster raised its right arm, about to fire.
It was too late to rush forward! So what if…?
I sent the real spear from the dormitory.
“If a replica won’t do! Then I’ll use the real one!”
The spear imbued with blade energy flew through the air, narrowly missing the Scrag caster’s huge side. The monster’s arm pointed at the wrong place as the attack flew over my head.
A look of confusion crossed its face.
“Wha—?!”
– SWISH!
The Scrag caster’s head fell below the shoulders. In that instant, the remaining monsters began to stir. It seemed this one was their leader.
We managed to drive off the entire swarm of monsters.
“We won…!”
Our appearance was a mess.
“If it hurts too much to wait for regeneration, I’ll euthanize you right away. Is that alright?”
“It’s not that bad…! I’ll just regenerate instead!”
This was their fifth assault. Exhausted after fighting for hours, we were wiped out.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s take a break. We’re not far from the inventory area!”
Still, they say hardship brings joy, and we were close to our goal.
To rest, we entered a seemingly safe abandoned building. We each took out bread, chocolate bars, and water to eat.
Checking over the losses so far: I had sustained some serious wounds, regenerated my clone over ten times, and been defeated six times.
“I’m so tired. Do you think we’ll reach there before today?”
“Well, maybe we got lucky.”
We reminisced about our battles so far.
“Our goal is to secure the [Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag], not hunting! If we had taken out that wandering scout first, we could have passed without fighting.”
“Yeah, but its skin color blended with the surroundings, and it was small, making it hard to see.”
“We don’t have any ranged weapons either. Against that caster, we’d have to take the first strike.”
Unit 10 picked up a stone, cloned it, and threw it. Everyone’s gazes followed the path of the stone. The cloned stone soared about 5-6 meters before disappearing in a burst of light.
“With that, we have no means of ranged attack except throwing spears or swords up close.”
“Would cloned bullets or crossbow bolts have similar effects?”
“Maybe. Since they’re consumables, we should buy them separately.”
Unit 5 suddenly cleared their throat loudly, and we all turned to look. Unit 5 coughed out a bright, glimmering dust and lifted a chocolate bar.
“Look! I cloned food! Watch this, breath!”
After cloning the chocolate bar and putting it in their mouth, Unit 5 began to emit sparkly particles.
Curiosity piqued, we tried to imitate it. Indeed, sparkles poured from our mouths. It didn’t taste like anything.
“Ugh, what’s this? Tastes like nothing, and I doubt it has nutritional value either. There are limits to item cloning after all.”
“But it’s so shiny coming from your mouth!”
Unit 4 sneezed, and glitter spilled out of their nose. We couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.
“Puh-chew!”
“Hahaha! Look at that! It’s shining coming from their nose!”
“Wahahaha!”
We forgot about the meeting and spent some time happily playing with the fake chocolate bars.
***
After resting, we continued to descend further into the canyon’s depths. Soon after, a familiar dilapidated building came into view. The building was three stories tall.
“If it weren’t for the fighting, I would have thought we were on a more enjoyable sightseeing tour.”
Experiencing the scenery from the game firsthand brought various feelings. If only it weren’t so bloody.
Upon reaching our destination, we positioned two clones at the entrance and began searching indoors in groups of three.
“Is it here? From the description, it seems like this is where we went to get the items.”
“Shut up and look! The floor, the ceiling, everything!”
We searched high and low. We checked every floor but found nothing at all.
“There’s a door leading to the basement here!”
“Break it down!”
Focusing the blade energy on the hammer’s end, I blasted the door handle and stepped into the basement. The Violets wielding riot shields led the way.
“Be careful; it’s been five years, so there might be some strange traps.”
“Everyone come in!”
Using the smartphone light, flimsy flashlight, and Ether glow, we rummaged through the dusty basement, revealing a floor with complex engravings and large gaps that seemed perfect for inserting something.
“Is it here, by any chance?”
“It looks suspicious at first glance! Let’s pry it open.”
I wedged the spear tip in and pushed hard to open it. As I lifted the heavy tile with a creaking noise, I found a black duffel bag with intricate patterns engraved beneath it.
I checked it immediately with the status window.
[Multi-Dimensional Storage Bag ?????]
[* Grade cannot be measured.]
“I found it!”
We rejoiced at our success. As we were about to rush out of the basement with the bag, suddenly Unit 2 looked at the floor with suspicion.
“Wait, look over there…”
As we illuminated the direction Unit 2 pointed, we saw another section of the floor left open.
Another tile had been lifted and was left unattended. Beneath it lay an empty space.
“Wait a second, weren’t there three bags in total?”
“What’s with that…?”
A sense of foreboding crept down our spines at this unexpected turn. We rushed out of the basement in fright.
“Let’s get out first!”