ch261-ch280 · 277-ch277

Chapter 277: Power-Up Event

"Hm?"

I woke up......?

No—if I'm HERE, it's the opposite......

A pure-white room I know all too well.

The familiar-ceiling thing, isn't it.

After the dance lesson going by the name of treatment, we all had lunch.

Then I came back to my room and lay down, was it?

I was up studying until near dawn last night, so I hadn't slept properly.

I was dozing off, and before I knew it, I was here.

"Where is this?"

The person beside me speaks.

Umemoto.

......Why are you here?

This IS my dream, right?

We were eating together just now—does that earn you a spot in my dream?

Well, Umemoto I can leave to his own devices, but the other side needs dealing with.

"Ask that one."

"That one?"

"A goddess...... I suppose?"

First time here in months.

Last time was when I first went to Floor 30, was it......

I dreamed it while lying dead asleep on Floor 14, half-dead myself.

An afterlife inside a dream, the space between dimensions......

It IS a dream, right?

"That's no ordinary presence, all right. And she's a real beauty......"

Whether he's startled by the beauty or spooked by the presence, Umemoto swallows hard.

Now that he mentions it, I want to check......

(【Presence Detection】)

In that instant, a wave of light swallows me.

The light of presence?

It's not one color—this is...... rainbow?

So this is what the foot of a rainbow looks like......

Perhaps because of that thought, I regain my composure and cancel the skill.

It's fine. Calm down. Deep breaths.

"Isn't she kind of angry?"

Sure enough—arms crossed, planted like a guardian statue, and looking a bit cross.

I do have,...... some idea why.

Best to just try talking to her.

"Long time no see."

Yep, she's angry.

"Wha—straight into my head?"

Right—this girl isn't speaking, is she.

The words come straight into my head.

Still the spitting image of Mizuki, though—what a well-made face.

Maybe a touch more grown-up than the real one?

And for some reason, she's in my school's uniform again today.

"Uh-huh. The wall, you say. Eh? This time it's the ceiling?"

That's rough.

"What do you mean? A hole opened in the dungeon ceiling and we fell through it—is that it? ......Just the two of us?"

"Looks like it."

Umemoto looks around.

When I used 【Presence Detection】 earlier, there was no reaction besides the goddess and Umemoto.

I turn around all the same—nothing behind me but a door.

The exit, then.

That's where we leave from.

Might as well head back quickly......

"Eh? The place you come when you die? ......I see. So I died."

No, this is a mix-up.

"Why is this person here in the first place?"

I ask why Umemoto of all people is here.

The culprit who broke the ceiling wouldn't fall asleep, so with the entrance left open, the guy dozing off nearby fell in first, apparently.

Aww—so he fell asleep before me.

Napping right after a meal is bad for you, you know?

"A mix-up? So we die because of that culprit? ......Lately I've had such a nice, easy time of it. That was more than the likes of me deserved. Jun—sorry. The treatment money went to waste......"

Honestly, WHO is this culprit anyway~

Umemoto has already given up, it seems.

I made it back last time, so this time should be fine too?

Either way, it's a dream.

Though before leaving, I'd like to ask for that.

I did come all the way here—I can get it, right?

I unwrap the bandages from my head.

Then remove the eyepatch over my right eye.

The whole room is white, so it's dazzling.

But I can see properly.

"......"

The goddess stares fixedly at my right eye.

And the hand she extends...... is toward Umemoto.

She takes the hand of Umemoto, kneeling with his head hung......

She seemed to say something, but I couldn't hear it.

"Him?"

Umemoto looks at the goddess, at me, then at the goddess again.

What is it?

The goddess points behind us.

"Umemoto-san, that looks like the door out. Let's go."

The two of us walk to the door and turn back.

The goddess is waving.

So this time we get to leave the normal way.

But no power-up event, huh......

A shame.

"We can go back? Wait—it won't open?"

Eh?

Umemoto pushes and pulls, but the door doesn't budge.

Last time I think I pushed it open, so I try ramming it—not a chance.

Both of us are in hospital wear, no weapons.

"Heeey. It won't open—"

I shout at the goddess, but she keeps waving, all smiles.

Then, the next instant, the door on the other side, behind the goddess, opens.

"Hh! Hey! That thing is bad news! Nguh—it's pulling me in!"

An unseen force drags us—no, sucks us in.

Nothing visible beyond that door.

I dig in and hold out, but my spine crawls.

Umemoto feels it too, I'd say—that side is BAD.

Go through that one and it's death and a one-way trip to another world......

No wait, this is a dream, right?

"Heeey, do something—!"

My shout gets no reaction from the goddess.

Maybe the door's pull doesn't affect her—even her hair doesn't move.

She just watches us, smiling.

Not helping, apparently.

Could she actually be furious about the dungeon ceiling we broke?

"Can't—my footing's giving out......"

Tch, no choice.

(【Gate】!)

I summon the 'Left Hand Gate', grab Umemoto's hand, and dive through.

【Presence Detection】 worked, so I knew this would too.

Destination...... the warehouse, probably?

Next time I come here, I'm bringing a spear and blasting this-side door open with 【Charge・Spear】 to get home......

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"Noooowaaay. ......Hah!"

This time I really wake up.

......Not the warehouse.

On my hospital bed.

A dream after all.

Man, I broke out in the worst sweat, though.

'Again! Three, two......'

'Doctor! Vitals are back!'

'Good! Ai-kun, 【Heal】 again! Ai-kun! Stay with me!'

Sounds of shouting, coming through.

Did something happen?

"Awake, I see."

Kasumi-san enters the room.

"Did something happen?"

"Umemoto-san's condition seems to have taken a sudden turn. It looked like I would be in the way, so I evacuated here—but from the voices, it seems things have settled down......"

'Well now—did I get the dosage wrong? Though nothing I used should stop a heart. Nishino-kun and Higashi-kun seem fine, so it may have been a bad reaction to the drug. Shall we redo the allergy and aptitude tests, just in case?'

What is with this hospital, it's SCARY.

I need to get discharged fast......

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"Um, Kasugano-san. Umemoto-san has something he'd like to say to you."

The former Akiyama-san comes to fetch me.

Apparently Umemoto's heart did stop, but the test results show nothing abnormal.

He seems back to normal, at least.

The unknown cause is scary, but Dr. Amamiya said 【Heal・Extreme】 probably cured the cause along with everything else.

"You came. Have a seat there."

As Umemoto urges, I take the chair beside the bed.

"Then let's do this right away."

Dr. Amamiya unwraps the bandages from my head.

What is going on?

"Here we go? 【Poison Resistance】!"

Umemoto puts his hand to my forehead and activates the skill.