***
"People must be going crazy trying to snatch you up right now. They'll all be licking their lips, trying to stake a claim on you."
"You think so?"
It wasn't until I saw Cha So-hee make such a fuss over my time of one hour and twenty-one minutes that I realized what that record meant.
"If you finish in under three hours, you're exempt from the additional tests. That means they trust someone who can clear it in three hours so much that they don't even need to test their other qualifications, right?"
"Right?"
"But you did it in an hour and twenty minutes. That's probably a record! Of course people are going to be drooling over you."
"Hmm······."
Apparently dissatisfied with my lackluster reaction, Cha So-hee gave me a sullen look before continuing.
"By the way, the company that administers that test isn't a government agency."
"Really?"
"OWIC. I told you about them last time, remember? They're a government-funded organization. Practically a public corporation."
"OWIC?"
That was a name I heard quite often. To exaggerate a little, OWIC seemed to occupy the same position in the dimensional gate industry that Samsung Electronics did elsewhere. It was unquestionably number one in the country, receiving government support and, in return, supporting government projects.
And even though I was still fairly ignorant of how the world worked these days, I already had something of a connection to OWIC.
"The person who looked after me on the day I returned was an OWIC researcher."
"That figures. They're kind of like a government contractor. I bet they already know a fair bit about you. What would you do if OWIC tried to recruit you?"
I'd already told Jin Seo-yeon, the researcher who'd taken care of me back then, what I thought. And my mind hadn't changed.
"I'm not joining."
"Huh? But they're still a major corporation··· sort of. It's a little hard to classify them."
"I might change my mind later. But I've got no interest right now."
I didn't need to explain myself. Cha So-hee had known what I was like since we were little.
"You never liked being tied down to anything."
I'd always been that way. And all those years I'd spent living solely to survive had only planted an even stronger desire in me.
"I'm going to rest. Do whatever I feel like, and keep resting until I get sick of it."
"You know you'll never get sick of that, right?"
"Then I'll rest for the rest of my life."
Cha So-hee and I snickered.
"And there's something I want to do."
"Something you want to do? What is it?"
"I'll tell you when I get the chance. It's complicated to explain."
I'd been lying there staring at the ceiling, but now I slowly got up and fetched the branch I'd tossed aside. Cha So-hee watched with interest.
"What's that?"
"Something I brought back from the test."
"A tree from the Otherworld? Didn't the examiner say anything when you took it?"
"Not a word."
They were supposed to collect it, but apparently it hadn't even occurred to them. They had seemed pretty overwhelmed.
Or perhaps they simply hadn't thought a single branch was worth bothering about.
"Why'd you bring it?"
"What did you say your exploration objective was?"
"Bring back three samples from the Bermuda Forest in the Otherworld."
"Then you can use this as one of them."
"···?"
Cha So-hee's eyes widened as she came closer.
"The testing ground this time was the Bermuda Forest? That can't be right."
"This tree grows in the Bermuda Forest too. I've never seen a place anywhere in the Otherworld where it doesn't grow."
"Hmm···."
Cha So-hee fell into thought. I knew exactly why.
"I guess there'd be no problem claiming you got that branch from the Bermuda Forest, but a sample has to be worth something, doesn't it? You can't just pick up a pebble or some sand and dust off the roadside and call it a sample."
As if I hadn't thought of that.
I took out a lighter I'd bought on the way and briefly scorched the tip of the branch. Then—
"Oh···?"
It spun around like a sprinkler, spraying water. There wasn't much of it, but it was a remarkably violent reaction for a plant.
"This tree is one of the forest's defense mechanisms against fire. A single branch doesn't look like much, but these trees can grow almost as tall as apartment buildings."
"I had no idea······. Something like this exists?"
"Put simply, they're natural sprinklers installed throughout the forest."
A forest in the Otherworld wasn't merely a collection of unrelated living things gathered in one place.
The forest itself was a single living organism with a personality of its own. It had meticulously prepared various systems to protect itself.
That was precisely why a forest had a 'heart' in the first place.
"Will this do?"
"Yeah. I think so. No, it's more than enough."
"That's one sample taken care of."
"And the company probably won't scrutinize it all that closely anyway······."
That left just two more to find. And now that I had a temporary permit in hand, there was no reason to sit around waiting.
"I'll head out today. Get the other two."
"Huh? Already?"
"Why waste time? Better to get it over with quickly."
Whenever I had something to do, I focused on it, got it done, and went straight back to resting. That was how I approached everything.
I decided to pack immediately. First, my crystal stone axe. It was a treasure that had stayed by my side for years, back when I'd been playing a survival game in the Otherworld.
It had proved useful in all sorts of ways. In certain respects, it performed far better than modern equipment.
And then there was the Farming Worm's sensory organ. I hadn't brought that back from the Otherworld. I'd obtained it on the day I first met Cha So-hee.
It caught her attention.
"What's that?"
"An axe."
"Do I look stupid to you? The thing you're holding right now."
"A Farming Worm's sensory organ."
"Huh?"
Cha So-hee got up and came over.
"From that time the truck overturned? Why'd you keep it?"
"It keeps working for several months even after it's removed. When it detects living creatures nearby, it emits electrical signals according to how strongly it detects them. Back when I lived in the Otherworld, just holding it in my hand saved my life more than once."
"Electrical signals? It shocks you?"
"It feels awful, but staying alive comes first."
Why was she reacting like that? She didn't ponder it for long.
"Do you have an old phone you don't use?"
"No?"
"Then what about a game controller?"
"In that drawer over there."
"You don't use it?"
"The buttons are shot. Why?"
"Just wait."
She rummaged through the drawer, then took the sensory organ and the game controller over to the workbench. Using the tools there, she began tinkering with them. My curiosity piqued, I stood and watched.
"Done!"
"Since when could you do stuff like that?"
"I studied mechanical engineering, remember? Give me your arm."
She strapped a rubber band with a Velcro fastener around my arm.
"Your arm's gotten really solid, hasn't it? Anyway, how's that?"
Bzzzz—
The Farming Worm's sensory organ sat inside a plastic case. Instead of an electric shock, I felt a faint vibration. It must have been responding to the two living people in the room—Cha So-hee and me.
"Doesn't feel awful anymore, does it?"
"How'd you do that?"
"I stripped out all the unnecessary circuits from the game controller's vibration module and made it vibrate in proportion to the current. There's an on-off switch here, and I put in two batteries for amplification··· It should last a month."
"···Wait, haven't you been unemployed this whole time?"
"Fuck you."
"And here I thought we were kindred spirits."
Cha So-hee burst out laughing, then checked the detector once more.
"I'll make you a proper one when I've got some time. I never thought you could use something like this that way."
It was just a difference in how we thought.
I'd used every scrap of knowledge I had to stay alive, but people who'd lived on Earth probably hadn't been quite so desperate.
In any case, it looked pretty good. Both my hands were free now, and I no longer had to worry about the tingling sensation distracting me. It was even inexpensive··· Or was it? How much did a Farming Worm's sensory organ cost?
It didn't matter. I could get one whenever I wanted.
"I'm leaving right away. Are you staying here? I need to lock up."
"What's there to lock? You've got an electronic door lock. Still··· I'll come with you. I'll see you off at the dimensional gate. The least I can do is cover your taxi fare."
We immediately hailed a taxi and set off.
"A dimensional gate···."
I was a little curious myself.
***
"······."
I could only stand there, staring up at the sight before me.
When people heard the words 'dimensional gate,' there was a certain kind of scene they usually imagined.
Whether they pictured an ominous aura or a beautiful shimmer, the descriptions varied, but they generally agreed on one thing: the area around it would be bleak or dangerous.
But what the hell was this?
"No, I mean···."
"It's your first time seeing a dimensional gate, isn't it?"
"It is. But that's not why I'm surprised···."
There were neatly constructed buildings and a spacious plaza that seemed to double as a meeting spot. I even spotted people taking commemorative photographs. Off to one side was a bustling, large-scale logistics center.
The whole place looked more like a train station or an airport.
··I'd felt this before, but humans were sometimes stronger than we imagined. They weren't living in a constant struggle to keep from being swallowed up by dimensional gates or to stop dungeons. Instead, they conquered them, controlled them, and put them to use.
「Attention from the Transit Supervisor. Entry procedures will begin shortly. Anyone wishing to pass through the dimensional gate, please wait in front of Gate 2.」
"···I really can't get used to this."
I might have been more of a veteran than anyone in the Otherworld, but here in the real world, I was a complete country bumpkin.
"If you fill out your paperwork before your turn comes, we can process you more quickly!"
"Come on. I'll help you."
That was what Cha So-hee said, but there wasn't much I needed help with. It was a bit like traveling abroad. Present your permit, verify your identity, sign a few pledges, and you were done.
<Pledge>
It was a document listing all the things you weren't allowed to do over there. Most of it was predictable, but one clause caught my eye.
[⊙ Under no circumstances may information about Earth be disclosed to any intelligent life-form in the Otherworld.]
In other words, we were allowed to know about the beings of the Otherworld, but the beings of the Otherworld weren't allowed to know about us.
"···That's ruthless."
I signed the paperwork and moved on.
"Everyone finished with the procedures? We're going in! Gather around!"
That was when I finally got a good look at the dimensional gate. It was much, much bigger than I'd imagined—almost the height of a ten-story building.
"Hey, mister."
I turned my head to find a thin-faced man with sharp eyes looking at me. Frankly, he looked a little like a delinquent.
"First time?"
I was more interested in the equipment he was carrying.
Isn't that filming equipment? But he doesn't look like he's with a television crew.
Oh, a YouTuber?
And why's he grinning at me like that? It's irritating.
"Are you sure you'll be all right with that equipment? You're going to have a rough time."
All I had was a single backpack. Looking around, I saw that everyone else had packed as though they were moving house. Suitcases were practically a given.
"Well··· I packed light, like I was going out for a walk."
The YouTuber laughed at my answer.
"You've got a sense of humor. They sell equipment on the other side too. There's even a shop. But it'll probably cost five times as much··· Well, I suppose it's your first time."
"Excuse me. Could you mind your own business?"
Unable to listen any longer, Cha So-hee shot him a fierce glare and spoke up.
"Yes, yes. I'm sorry."
The guy chuckled as he walked away. Before an even more irritated Cha So-hee could open her mouth again—
"Stand by for entry!"
With a tremendous racket, the metal doors installed in front of the dimensional gate slid apart to either side, revealing a shimmering gate that glowed in five colors.
"You've got all your things, right? Let's check once before you go."
"······."
"Huh? Are you nervous? Hmm··· Want to go another time?"
"Ah."
For some reason, Cha So-hee seemed worried about me. She was probably concerned that I might have some trauma from my time in the Otherworld.
"No, not at all."
"Then why are you spacing out?"
"I dozed off for a second."
"Oh, for goodness' sake··· Stop talking nonsense and check your things. It'll be a pain if you cross over and realize you've left something behind."
But there was another reason.
That red fruit the YouTuber had been carrying. The one he'd glanced at before hurriedly hiding it inside his clothes.
"······."
That was definitely something you could find in the forests of the Otherworld.
And it was used to lure the vicious creatures that lived there.
Why was he carrying something like that?
··What sort of content was he planning to film?
"We're entering!"
Just then, the guide's booming voice rang out.
"Be careful."
I nodded, my eyes still fixed on the YouTuber.