Chapter 45: Bottom of the Hole
ㅤ”Ahahahaha!”
ㅤ
ㅤI was laughing.
ㅤWhile falling.
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ㅤ”S-Something’s gotta be done! I need to manipulate the dense Ether…… and make it soft like a cushion!”
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ㅤI imagine a net designed to catch suicide jumpers and project it outwards.
ㅤ
ㅤThe next moment, bofubofubofu! A series of impacts run through me.
ㅤ
ㅤI’m spinning as I pass through the invisible Ether that has become a cushion.
ㅤ
ㅤThanks to that, my falling speed is gradually decreasing, but……
ㅤ
ㅤ”–No way! Already the bottom!?”
ㅤ
ㅤIt’s ironic, but although I was just wondering when I would reach the bottom, now I can see it.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Ahahaha! This is bad! I’m gonna die!”
ㅤ
ㅤLevitation magic, Ether cushion, updraft…… I try every image that comes to mind, one after another.
ㅤ
ㅤBy the time I realize that my speed isn’t decreasing because I’m not focusing on one thing, the ground is already right in front of me.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Awawawawa!”
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ㅤI flail in the air and land on the ground, feet first.
ㅤ
ㅤThud! A heavy impact runs through my entire body–
ㅤ
ㅤ”……Huh? It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought……?”
ㅤ
ㅤSure, my legs are numb, but I don’t feel any pain.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Maybe it’s because I’m too excited right after the accident and can’t feel the pain……”
ㅤ
ㅤWhen I was in elementary school, I broke my arm after colliding with another bicycle.
ㅤThat time too, it took a while for the pain to hit me.
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ㅤI cautiously check my body.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Hmm…… I think I’m okay.”
ㅤ
ㅤThere’s no discomfort anywhere, and I can move properly.
ㅤ
ㅤ”But, I was falling pretty fast, right?”
ㅤ
ㅤThere’s no doubt that, normally, it was a speed that would result in instant death from fall damage.
ㅤ
ㅤ”……Wait a minute. Fall damage?
ㅤCould this be because of the difficulty setting?”
ㅤ
ㅤIn recent games, you often take damage if you fall from a high place.
ㅤHowever, even if you fall from a height that would clearly result in instant death, your HP remains with a simple “Guah!” It’s a setting that wouldn’t be possible in reality.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Right now, I’m in Beginner Mode to prepare for unforeseen circumstances……”
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ㅤMaybe there’s no fall damage at all.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Hmm…… I don’t feel like testing it out though.”
ㅤ
ㅤIf that’s the case, even if I jumped into the hole without levitation magic, I might have been able to reach the bottom without taking damage.
ㅤ
ㅤAfter waiting for my still-pounding heart to calm down, I look around.
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ㅤ”As I thought, it’s buried……”
ㅤ
ㅤThe opening at the bottom of the hole seems to be filled with dungeon blocks.
ㅤIn other words, there’s no side passage.
ㅤ
ㅤI walk around the bottom of the hole, looking for any gaps.
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ㅤThe bottom of the hole is about the size of a 200-meter track at school, but piles of collapsed blocks and earth and sand are scattered everywhere.
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ㅤI go around the piles of blocks and earth and sand, examining the walls.
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ㅤ”There’s no side passage. I guess that shadow is the last one……”
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ㅤIt would be too sad if I went through the ordeal of a no-rope bungee jump only to find out I can’t get through.
ㅤ
ㅤ”But, I was born under that kind of fate……”
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ㅤTrying my best not to get my hopes up, I go around the shadow of the pile of earth and sand.
ㅤ
ㅤAnd there–
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ”……Human? Rare!”
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ㅤ
ㅤThere was a strange creature, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.