I Became the Academy's Disabled Student-Chapter 320: The back side (2)

The "Otherworld" (이면, Imyeon)—why it was given that name is unclear.

In the original story, the system simply named it "Otherworld." I was curious about it but didn't delve too deeply. It's common for the system to name dungeons, so I assumed it was just part of that pattern.

‘Otherworld...’

Now that I’ve entered, I’m starting to understand why it was named that.

My head throbbed slightly as I gently tapped on the wall beside me. It wasn't made of rock or wood.

When I opened my perception just a little, a dull gray wall greeted me.

It looked like a typical multi-family residence you'd see in a city’s residential area.

‘Hmm.’

Everything around me was in a similar state.

Roads that were too worn to use, streetlights bent and broken, and abandoned buildings covered in dust.

It looked like a city that had been neglected for at least several decades.

I entered a nearby building.

It was a convenience store on the first floor. The spot where a glass window should be was completely empty, and all that sat on the shelves was dust and trash.

I observed one piece of trash.

‘1999.’

The faded expiration date on the packaging read November 13, 1999.

It didn't match the current year, which was the 200th year of the New Era.

The rest of the cityscape seemed odd too. Even considering that this was a ruined city, many of the facilities felt old-fashioned.

Especially the remains of the streetlights that were scattered on the ground.

By modern standards, most facilities now run on mana, so things like streetlights and electrical wires aren’t found in modern cities anymore.

‘The Great Cataclysm happened in 2000, right?’

In other words, this city was built before the Cataclysm. That explained both the expiration date and the oddity of the city.

‘Did they just suck up the entire city?’

The first thought that crossed my mind. But that was quickly debunked by the analyzed data.

I lightly tapped the package on the shelf, and it instantly lost its shape, crumbling like dust.

‘They only copied the exterior. The inside is completely different.’

Even this building I’m in now is like that.

On the outside, it looks like concrete with some steel rods poking through, but when you analyze its components, it’s made of completely different materials.

It looks convincing on the outside, but when you inspect it closely, it's entirely different.

The "Otherworld."

The backside of an object, the parts that aren’t visible on the surface.

‘Is this space a copy of part of the world?’

That’s the most plausible guess I could come up with.

It seems more likely that the structure of the city was copied from the start, rather than a coincidence that a similar environment was formed here by chance.

I nodded to myself and reached out. Crack!

As soon as my hand gripped the air, it wobbled, as if disturbed by an unseen force.

The air peeled away, and something black that had been writhing in my grasp was revealed.

Grrrraaa!

It was a monster whose body seemed to ripple like water or shadow.

The struggling creature suddenly melted like ice cream and stuck itself to the ground.

A pair of arms and legs. Eye sockets, ear holes, and nostrils. A gaping mouth with neatly arranged blunt teeth. Hair sprouting from its scalp...

A pair of glasses perched on the bridge of its nose.

‘A person?’

It looked like a man in his 30s, someone you’d see walking down the street.

Its clothes were realistically replicated but still in black or gray tones.

Its internal organs weren’t properly replicated. Just like the rest of this space, the exterior looked plausible, but the inside was a chaotic mess.

Agraaaargh?!

The creature writhed, twisting, its form distorting unpleasantly.

Ugraaargh!

The monster twisted its neck violently, and with a swing of its arms, a gust of wind rushed by, tearing through the air. It was stronger than I expected, and my eyebrows furrowed.

Crunch! The monster’s neck snapped, and its body shuddered and collapsed in my grip.

‘...’

I dangled the limp creature from my hand.

Then, its body melted into blackness and swiftly coiled around my arm like a snake.

It was shapeshifting.

Ping!

Long, sharp spines shot out but failed to pierce through the blood aura I had wrapped around myself. The blood aura reversed and ensnared the creature.

Crunch! The compressed blood aura swirled inside and efficiently neutralized the creature.

Thud- The creature’s life signal vanished.

A quick, simple hunt. But my narrowed eyes didn’t loosen.

‘This is a dangerous place.’

The physical level of the monster I briefly observed was in the 5th tier. It also had the ability to shapeshift and mimic its target’s form quite accurately.

With just this, it was a dangerous creature. And there were more like it, moving around in the area.

There were all kinds of monsters here. Had I not suppressed my presence, I would’ve been swarmed by monsters from all directions.

The danger didn’t stop there.

‘It’s definitely functioning like a dungeon.’

The Otherworld is functioning like a dungeon.

Spaces are partitioned, it has its own laws, it generates monsters, and it even buffs them.

‘Perception and spatial manifestation are both difficult here.’

I’m being heavily counteracted by this space.

Every time I try to extend my perception, it gets squashed, and my head starts to hurt from the strain.

‘First, I need to find the core.’

The priority is, as always, the core.

I need to find it, intentionally trigger the rampage, and then reduce its impact from the inside.

‘The problem is...’

While searching for the core, there’s a high chance of running into Spada’s group.

As soon as I entered the Otherworld, I considered the possibility of triggering traps and being bombarded with concentrated fire.

Thankfully, I didn’t step into any traps, but I could still end up fighting them at any moment.

I shook my dizzying head and rubbed the floor.

I sensed faint footsteps through my observation.

‘A woman?’

The tracks appeared to belong to a female.

She was wearing something, not shoes, but monster leather. The weight seemed uneven on one side.

‘Should I follow?’

The footprints were heading deeper into the heart of the Otherworld.

I decided to follow them for now, to help locate the core.

‘Whatever it is, I’ll destroy it if I encounter it.’

Any living thing with a human shape here should be considered an enemy.

Just like the unknown entity that helped Spada into the Otherworld, most humans can’t enter it on their own.

And this place is filled with shapeshifting monsters.

I loosened my body and suppressed my presence.

Avoiding unnecessary battles with monsters, I followed the trail.

Hiss...!

“Ugh...!”

Spada poured the highest quality healing potion over his wounds. The pain surged as his injury bubbled, and he bit down hard on his teeth.

“Hey... you didn’t do this on purpose to screw with me, did you?”

“Wouldn’t do that if I were scared of what happens next,” replied Est, casually responding as he placed his hand over the wound.

Whoooom! A radiant light spread from Est’s hand, settling over the wound. It was his unique recovery ability.

Crack!

“Damn.”

Red smoke erupted from the wound, quickly consuming the light like a wolf devouring prey.

Est, watching the light get eaten away, couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Poisonous bite, huh? Your wounds are worsening, with suppression on top of it. The ability itself is just full of malice.”

“I told you, damn it. She acted all sweet and nice, but once the fight started, she came at me like a madwoman.”

Spada grimaced as he checked his wound and looked up at Est.

“So how long before it’s healed?”

“It’ll take some time to fully heal. But it’ll be shortened to a point where you can keep fighting.”

“Haha! For someone so confident, not much of a result, huh?”

A large, sturdy man sitting nearby, leaning on a boulder, chuckled as he held his spear close.

“I heard you got beat by a woman. That’s pretty pathetic.”

“Shut up, Chang.”

“Yeah, right. If it was me, I would’ve beaten her and then moved on.”

“Bullshit. You’d have been beaten like a dog and running for your life.”

Spada, grimacing at the comment, responded with a firm tone.

“You have no idea. She was a freak...”

The best in the world? Spada wasn’t delusional. He knew there were stronger ones.

But his sword could reach them too.

Or at least he believed so. He was confident that he could at least leave a scratch on them.

...But he didn’t. Not even a single scratch, just overwhelmingly beaten down.

Physical strength, mana quality and quantity, and the power of the unique abilities.

Before considering any of that, Spada had been completely overpowered in terms of skill.

No excuses.

He was outclassed, from beginning to end. He was played with like a puppet, and only managed to escape by cowardly using civilians as hostages.

“Damn...”

Spada clenched his fists tightly without realizing it. His nails dug into the wound, but the overwhelming sense of self-loathing was worse.

He wanted to master his sword.

Not just wield it.

More than those who relied on talent and pretended to be great.

More than those who didn’t care about anything except swordsmanship.

He wanted to be better than them all.

So he worked hard, bled, and sweated. He even nearly broke his unique ability from overuse.

And yet, here he was, utterly defeated.

Weapons are essential in a struggle. Blades? You must understand how many injuries have been inflicted with them throughout the history of slaughter, right?

“...”

Clenching his teeth, Spada raised his head.

The red-haired man, Hong Yeon-jun, who had been silently listening to their conversation, opened his eyes.

“Hong Yeon-jun...”

“Right. That guy... probably the one who knocked Spada down.”

“No way, how...”

“It’s not surprising. Looks like there were other guests who arrived before us.”

“We’ll put off finding those guests for now.”

Hong Yeon-jun nodded at Spada’s response.

“Spada, was that guy strong?”

“Didn’t I say he was ridiculously strong?”

“Yeah? What if we all attacked together?”

“...I’m not sure. We might win, but...”

“Really? You’re too ashamed to be sure after all that?”

“Shut up.”

Hong Yeon-jun nodded at Spada’s defeated expression.

“If we come across him, we’ll attack together. Don’t know why he came here, but I’m sure it wasn’t for good reasons...”

Boom!Everyone felt a heavy, rhythmic thud vibrating in the air.

Upon hearing the heartbeat from afar, Hong Yeon-jun blinked and then chuckled incredulously.

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“Ha, what a coincidence... Change of plans. Let’s head to the trap and wait.”

“Really? Can’t we just go and fight him one by one?”

“No, we’ll prepare properly. And Est, get the artifact ready.”

“Huh?”

Est, who had been obediently following orders, questioned in confusion.

There were countless artifacts out there, but the one they were talking about was the only one that mattered now.

The Enhanced Body. The artifact they barely managed to secure within this vast Otherworld.

The chain rampages in the Changhae family territory were slowly being subdued.

No surprise there—it was the Changhae family’s full force.

Without having to divert troops elsewhere, with their full force and even the family head directly leading the charge, it was impossible for it not to be suppressed.

By the time Baek Ah-rin joined, the immediate threat would have already been passed, and they would have entered the simple eradication phase.

“Hmmm...”

Having wiped out a few monster groups, Baek Ah-rin rode up a hill and reined in the horse.

Whoosh! The black snowmane carrying Baek Ah-rin snorted, and the black cape draped across her shoulders fluttered.

“So, this is what’s left?”

Baek Ah-rin gently stroked the horse’s mane, calming it as she looked down at the area below the hill.

The Changhae family’s territory was infamous for constant snowstorms.

Even now, snowflakes poured down, but in one area below the hill, the snowstorm couldn’t penetrate.

It was a special high-level dungeon that had appeared in Changhae’s domain.

By chance, she had ended up nearby and had come to observe the dungeon up close.

“Report.”

“Yes, miss.”

Her subordinate, also riding a black snowmane, began the report.

“The special dungeon appeared 23 days ago. Since then, around 500 prisoners and 3,200 undead have been deployed.”

Sending out advance teams before attempting to tackle the dungeon was a standard procedure.

They sometimes send skilled scouts first, but if there are resources available, death row prisoners and undead are used for the task.

“Survivors?”

“There are none. All signals were lost within about 10 minutes after entry.”

“Ugh...”

Baek Ah-rin muttered, shaking her hair back behind her ear.

Despite its grand title, special dungeons aren’t always just dangerous.

Sometimes, they’re much safer than expected and provide a lot of benefits.

“But it seems like a bust this time...”

It seemed like this special dungeon was a failure.

“But no signs of a rampage, right?”

“Yes, we’ve cross-verified with the association, and the disturbances are extremely minor.”

“If it blows up without any signs, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Right...”

“Just kidding, kidding.”

Baek Ah-rin shrugged off the tension as she brushed her hair from her face.

Her hometown was like this. Always snowing, cold, and windy.

It was familiar territory, as she had grown up here, and the cold felt almost comforting now.

“Cold, huh.”

But for some reason, she felt even colder than usual.

She was wearing the finest materials and enchanted clothing, yet it still felt unusually cold.

It hadn’t felt like this before...

Baek Ah-rin smiled wryly as she realized that it was probably because she had been staying warm for so long.

The warmth of fire had made her forget how cold it could get here.

“...Ah.”

As she absentmindedly rubbed her cold face, she reached up to touch the pendant around her neck.

It was a gift from Lee Ha-yul on the day of their school’s winter break.

As she touched the large red gemstone, it shimmered slightly, releasing a faint warmth.

She felt the coolness melt slowly from her fingers, and the warmth trickled up her arm, making her shiver with comfort.

“Hmm...”

“Miss?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

Clearing her throat, Baek Ah-rin gently cradled the pendant.

“Ah, found it.”

“Hmm?”

As she pondered what to do about the special dungeon, a familiar voice called out to her.

Turning her head, she saw Hong Yeon-hwa and Lee Ji-yeon approaching through the snowstorm.

“Did you finish the job?”

“Yep. Five buraks? Cleared them out cleanly.”

“Oooh... You didn’t burn the village down, did you?”

“You think I’d go that far with a place already in chaos?”

“Hahaha... We didn’t even approach the village. We just razed the burak dens on the nearby mountain slope.”

Hong Yeon-hwa raised her middle finger at Baek Ah-rin’s playful question, and Lee Ji-yeon awkwardly smiled, defending Hong Yeon-hwa.

The two had come to support the Changhae family a few days ago.

“Oh, is this it? Are we wrapping up the rampage suppression?”

“Yeah... We’re almost done, except for the special dungeon, right?”

“Do we need to rush the special one?”

“No? There’s no sign of a rampage, so we’ll take our time and clear it. We’ve got the luxury of time, no point rushing and causing a disaster.”

“Right?”

Baek Ah-rin tilted her head at the sudden question, wondering why Lee Ji-yeon was asking, but Hong Yeon-hwa casually asked another question.

“Do you have command of the troops?”