Episode 47: Where the Stars Finally Reach
“…eww.”
A faint groan escaped through my teeth. The sunlight pouring down without mercy was so dazzling that it stung my eyes.
I rubbed my eyelids repeatedly with my hands that were lightly clenched. However, my eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the merciless direct sunlight.
Soon I put my arms down and stopped my actions. I knew that I would get used to it after some time anyway. I was acting hastily because I was feeling impatient for no reason.
I took a deep breath and let it out loud. Then, some of the tension that had built up was relieved. Then, I expanded my senses, except for sight.
The silence that seeps into your ears. In reality, no matter how low the silence is, you can still hear the sound of insects.
I can’t hear anything. There was no sound in my ears that could cause tinnitus. It was as if someone had forcefully plugged my ears.
Then I spread my fingers wide and waved them in the air. I couldn’t even feel the resistance of the cool air.
What can I say, it felt like a scene from a movie where you float aimlessly in the deep sea. The overwhelming sense of helplessness weighing down my body. I got goosebumps at the feeling of even my sense of being alive being paralyzed.
Even though I opened my eyes slightly, a tingling pain swept through my eyeballs. I swore once and closed my eyes tightly again.
I closed my eyes and calmly looked at the situation.
‘Where is this?’
Even after thinking about it carefully, I couldn’t remember how I arrived at this strange place(?). I couldn’t help but tilt my head at the strange yet paradoxically familiar feeling.
After much thought, I began to understand the situation to some extent. Lost sense, causal circumstances. There is only one circumstance that can be inferred.
It’s a dream.
As soon as I realized that I was dreaming, my eyes opened slightly involuntarily. Soon, my blurry focus began to come back into focus.
“Is this a lucid dream or something?”
My muttering lingered in my vocal cords and was swallowed. But my voice was definitely ringing in my ears. I swallowed at the unfamiliar sensation.
Soon, my half-closed eyelids opened, and I opened my lips a few times at the sight before me.
The stars and the sun burning brightly, embroidered like grains of sand on a white beach, on a dark canvas that cannot even be measured.
The Milky Way glides across the vast landscape as I turn my gaze slightly. It looks like a sword cutting through the universe itself.
“universe?”
Yes. In my dream, I was suddenly floating in space, in the vast ocean. I hurriedly checked my breathing and exhalation. Fortunately, I was able to rest well.
It was so realistic that I momentarily forgot that it was a dream. I awkwardly chuckled and turned my head to look around.
If there were sunsets in space, wouldn’t it be like this? The hazy traces of the stars emitted a rainbow of light from the cracks in the silent universe.
It was a surreal landscape, but it was also nature. I was amazed again and surrendered to the weightlessness of space. This floating feeling was quite addictive.
Come to think of it, have you had a dream recently? At least half a year? A year? I don’t think I’ve had one in more than that.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a dream so lucid and realistic.
At that time, I was muttering to myself.
Ss …
“⎯⎯!”
The stars scattered across the universe began to move simultaneously around me. I was confident about the speed, but it was so fast that it was difficult to follow with my eyes.
The stars that had been shining brightly soon stopped moving and aligned themselves, as if they had found their places.
My eyes widened. I checked again with a trembling face.
What appeared on my retina was a combination of words written in stars. I opened my eyes wide in surprise and stared straight ahead.
[‘GM’ requests a conversation with you. Do you accept? ☞(Y/N)]
An exclamation mark appeared on my face at that sentence. It was similar to the status window I had. As I became accustomed to the world of ‘Miracle Protection M’, I now sometimes dream like this.
I stared blankly at it and nodded. Then the fixed stars began to move and rearrange themselves again.
(Y/N)
▲
Ss …
[You have accepted GM’s request to speak with you.]
[‘GM’ interferes with the world line-Code.◎●○●○●●○○●●○○●.]
“What is the world line again?”
A bunch of confusing words. What is ‘GM’ and what are the world lines and the symbols(?) following them?
One, it was so vivid that it felt strangely eerie, even though it was a dream. Goosebumps quickly ran through my entire body.
Booooooooooooooooooooo⎯
The stars twinkling in my field of vision shook with a loud roar. I could tell right away. The universe was vibrating.
My body felt as if it was bound by invisible chains, and my movements were halted. Starting from my toes, my body began to stiffen, and even my vocal cords became blocked.
[The opponent’s level is too high.]
[Your level is too low.]
[You have not yet met the criteria for 【? ? ?】.]
At the same time, the echo in my ears is enough to make me dizzy.
[Do you still want to proceed? ☞(Y/N)]
A sentence made up of a cluster of rising stars, as if engraved on the retina. I looked at it clearly.
At that moment, I realized that this wasn’t just a dream. Maybe that’s why I fell into this world.
Even if I can’t do it, it might be a clue to the ‘protection of the swordsman’ that I have been granted.
That was the only possibility that came to mind. Meanwhile, the resonance of the universe grew even stronger. I barely managed to strengthen my stiff neck and nodded.
(Y/N)
▲
Right after.
[GM has confirmed your intention.]
[GM uses restraint to contact.]
[Starting the overall adjustment and conversion of the world line-Code.◎●○●○●●○○●●○○●.]
Jiiing⎯
Soon, a cracking noise was heard in the pitch-black space that filled my retina. Soon, the fragments of space that had been torn apart into small pieces began to fall down.
A bunch of red lines start to appear in a bleak manner. It is clearly something that happens when I manifest a blessing.
Along those lines, countless stigmata, clusters, and spaces were cleanly cut out. I watched the scene with a blank look.
‘…What is this?’
A cluster of stars scattering like dust. The line between true and ecstatic scenery becomes blurred.
It wasn’t a metaphor, but literally the heavens and the earth were being opened up. I felt a sense of foreboding. It was similar to when I manifested the ‘Protection of the Sword God’ on my first day at the academy.
Soon, an indescribable light began to shine through the gaps in the debris that were swept away in disorder. I fixed my gaze on it.
I must see what it is at all costs. A sourceless conviction came over me. Then the vibrations of the universe became uncontrollably violent, and all of a sudden, my mind began to come back to me.
“Hey! Get up!”
Someone’s voice immediately struck my ear. Who was it? I don’t know. But it was definitely familiar. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
[Due to external interference, ‘GM’ will wait for a later date.]
[‘GM’ wants to speak to you.]
Then, the scenery before my eyes slowly began to darken.
I stretched my arms forward, sculpting letters of stars between my fingers.
[Cut it.]
But the force working behind my back involuntarily sucked me in.
[Whatever it is.]
That’s the end of that sentence.
The darkness that had suddenly rushed in swallowed me up roughly.
Paat!
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《May God bless you.》
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“Hey! Ganggeomma! Wake up!”
When I opened my eyes, Ryozo grabbed my shoulder and shook me. He shook me so hard that I felt motion sickness like I had never felt before in my life. I slowly straightened my back, holding my dizzy head. The faint sunset was rippling beyond the scenery.
“Whenever you tell me I sleep too much, you sleep like a log.”
Ryozo was saying something with a sour expression. However, I couldn’t hear it clearly because of the tinnitus in my ears.
“If I hadn’t woken you up, you would have gone to school in the classroom tomorrow?”
“… … .”
“ruler.”
Saki said that and handed me a few tissues she had taken out from her bosom. I shook my head to come to my senses, then took them.
“Don’t most people drool when they sleep? Why are you shedding tears, Geomma?”
As she said, something was dripping down her cheek. I wiped it away with a tissue. Ryozo stared at me intently and spoke with concern.
“What, did you have a sad dream?”
“…hmm.”
I couldn’t understand why Saki, who always slept, was caught sleeping, let alone why she was crying.
I scratched my chin absentmindedly and thought, I must have had a dream.
They say that dreams tend to fade the more you try to recall them, but this dream faded away particularly quickly. And then, like a mirage, it disappeared without a trace.
“I think I had a dream… but I don’t remember it. Anyway, thanks for waking me up.”
“Well, yeah. Originally, dreams were about preventing hormones secreted in the brain from being stored in the hippocampus.”
Ryozo rattled off a string of unfamiliar scientific terms. I let it go in one ear and out the other. At my indifference, she pouted and took it out of her pocket. It was a yokan.
“Get up quickly. The professor’s building will close in 30 minutes.”
“It’s already that much time?”
“You slept for twenty minutes after class.”
“… … .”
He was sleeping during class, but he was brazenly nagging me. I shook my head in disbelief.
“Anyway, get up quickly. Let’s go.”
“Oh, okay.”
Ryojo tried to get me up without even listening to my advice, as if he was whining. As I was about to pack a few introductory books scattered on the desk into my bag and get up from my chair, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“But, Saki, why haven’t you come back yet?”
“… … .”
Saki rolled her eyes dynamically as if she had not expected it. Soon, she started to move her lips stammeringly.
“Oh, of course I stayed until the end to wake you up.”
It was a contrast to his usual cold attitude. Feeling uncomfortable, I put down my bag and sat back down on the chair.
Then, Ryozo, with his head stiff and a look of bewilderment, quivered his lips. Then, after looking around carefully, he began to reveal his thoughts in a fluent manner.
“Ahem, that’s right, I heard from Rachel, men, you know, when they wake up, they get immediate physiological feedback? No, I was just curious about that from an academic standpoint. But you happen to be taking a nap at that time, right?”
What kind of academy is this where there are more women than men… … . I sighed deeply and cut her off midway through her string of excuses.
“hey.”
“Huh, huh? ⏤Hiccup!”
She hiccuped as if she had swallowed something because of the rice cake. When I looked at her pitifully, her face turned red.
⏤Hiccup!
A hiccup echoed through the empty classroom. Saki covered her mouth and groaned to stop it.
“You go first.”
Saki quickly backed away with her face reddened with embarrassment. She really was a difficult character to conceptualize.
I made sure she was completely gone. Then I slowly looked down at her groin.
‘… … .’
I stuffed my hands into my pockets and tilted my head toward the window frame. The sunset was particularly dazzling today, so I decided to take a quick look.
