Leia took Jeong-min to the campsite where she was staying.
Leia's campsite, with only a shabby tent standing alone, felt quite desolate.
Leia had Jeong-min sit on a crude chair in front of the tent, and she sat on a small rock and began to speak.
"Let's talk properly. The place we are in now is somewhere on the Caesar Continent, which belongs to a world called 'Elan'. I'm not from this continent either, so I don't know the exact location. Anyway, the world you lived in has the name 'Earth', right?"
Jeong-min nodded and said.
"Yes... this doesn't seem like the world I lived in..."
"Then how did you get here?"
Jeong-min briefly told her how he came to this place.
Leia was very surprised to hear Jeong-min's story and said.
"You came out using skills through the inventory?"
"Ah... I'm really sorry for using your personal space without permission..."
"No, it's okay. I'm surprised because... I'm surprised that you have an inventory and skills..."
"Ah..."
"Having an inventory and skills... that means you are an Awakened, right?
That means..."
Leia continued with a stiff expression.
"Is the [Trial of God]... also in progress in your world...?"
Jeong-min nodded at Leia's question and said.
"Yes... the [Trial of God] has started in my world... I guess it's the same here too?"
Leia seemed very surprised.
"The [Trial of God] wasn't just happening in my world... No, if it wasn't for Jeong-min, I wouldn't have known that other worlds really exist..."
"...It's the same for me. I never dreamed that there would be other worlds besides the one I live in..."
Leia was silent for a moment, as if thinking about something.
Soon, Leia asked Jeong-min again.
"As far as I know, the inventory... exists in a different dimension from this place. In other words, you came here by moving through dimensions."
"Dimensional travel..."
"Yes... you said you felt very dizzy right after the move, right? I think that's probably a side effect of moving through dimensions."
"Ah..."
Only then did Jeong-min understand the unidentified dizziness.
'No wonder... I only felt so dizzy when I went back and forth from the inventory... that was a side effect of dimensional travel.'
Leia continued in a voice full of surprise.
"Dimensional travel... even though God allowed all kinds of skills, he strictly forbade skills related to dimensional travel, so no one has ever mastered that power... to make dimensional travel possible by linking ordinary skills..." "...God... forbade it?"
Leia nodded.
"Yes, don't you remember the explanation when the Store first opened? All skills are allowed, but skills related to dimensional travel are forbidden..." "....Store? What is the Store?"
"...?"
Leia, realizing that the conversation was going astray again, asked Jeongmin.
"How long has the [Trial of God] been going on in your world...?"
"...About... a dozen hours... it hasn't been a day yet."
Leia exclaimed in great surprise.
"Not even a day has passed?"
"Yes... it started at midnight today..."
"Haa...."
Leia sighed softly and continued in a weak voice.
"....If it started today... it's natural that you don't know about the Store or dimensional travel... Anyway, even though you were lucky, it's amazing that you came here by dimensional travel with your skill combination. It's something God forbade, but it's possible... I'm starting to doubt God... it feels kind of sloppy."
"...."
Looking at Jeong-min, who was listening silently, Leia's eyes were filled with pity.
"The [Trial of God] has been going on here for 9 years already. It's almost over. All the gates have been destroyed, and only one last S-class gate remains."
"....!"
Jeong-min was so surprised that he couldn't speak.
Barely calming himself down, Jeong-min asked Leia.
"Leia, have you been fighting monsters for 9 years? What about... other people...?"
Leia's eyes filled with sadness.
Leia said with sad eyes.
"I haven't seen a living person since my last companion died 3 years ago... Even when I wandered around the destroyed continent and used wide-area detection skills, I couldn't find any survivors... So I thought I was the last survivor in this world... That's why I was so happy to see you..."
Jeong-min recalled the fact that Leia cried when they first met.
"Alone for 3 years... it must have been really hard..."
"....I saw the deaths of countless companions... and even after being alone, I killed countless monsters and destroyed gates... It was hard, but... it's okay. The end is in sight now."
Leia smiled at Jeong-min.
"If I destroy the last remaining S-class gate, the [Trial of God] will end.
Then I can tell God one wish... I will wish for this world to be returned to the state before the [Trial of God]. Then I can meet my dead companions and family again... So no matter how hard it is... it's okay."
Jeong-min stared at Leia without saying a word.
'How many deaths of people have you witnessed during the 9 years... How much pain have you suffered... How... hard must it have been...'
Jeong-min looked at Leia with pity and said.
"As someone who is just experiencing the Trial of God for the first time... I can't imagine 9 years. Uh... then Leia's age is...?"
Jeong-min immediately thought it was rude to say that, but Leia answered as if she didn't care at all.
"The Trial of God started when I was 15... so I'm already 24."
'...She's one year older than me?'
Jeong-min tried to hide his surprise and said.
"You're one year older than me... I'm 23."
Leia's eyes widened slightly as if surprised at Jeong-min's words.
'Is she surprised because I look older than my age? Or is it the opposite? I hope it's the opposite...'
Jeong-min said, having silly thoughts.
"The [Trial of God] has just started in our world, so I think there are many things I don't know.
The Store too... and the S-class gate that Leia mentioned earlier is also unfamiliar."
Leia smiled at Jeong-min's words.
'It seems like a lonely smile,' Jeong-min thought.
"If it started today, it's natural that you don't know about the gate's grades. I'll tell you.
The grade of the many gates that appear in the beginning is D.
In D-grade gates, monsters such as goblins or goblin champions will appear. As time goes by and the Awakened become stronger, higher-grade gates appear. From C-grade to A-grade... the level of monsters that come out of them... increases greatly for each grade. And when all those gates are destroyed, one final S-grade gate appears. It is said that the S-grade gate has its own will. It judges the strength of the remaining Awakened and reveals or hides its appearance. I've never seen it myself, so it's hard to tell you more about the S-grade gate. I'm still tracking it down to find it..."
"Ah..."
Jeong-min's mind went blank as he listened to the story about the gate.
"So... I didn't know that there were so many different grades of gates..."
"Since it's a world where the [Trial of God] has just started, it's natural that you don't know. Anyway, it was something you would have known as time went by."
"Um... but..."
"..?"
Jeong-min carefully asked Leia.
"You said that there is now an S-class gate left and that the [Trial of God] will end when it is destroyed... Is it possible to destroy it alone...? The final gate must be guarded by monsters of an enormous level..."
Dudududu
As soon as Jeong-min finished speaking, the ground where the two were sitting began to shake violently.
Jeong-min was surprised and stood up, looking at Leia, but Leia was looking elsewhere.
Leia stared intently into the distance and said.
"...Monsters... It came out of the S-class gate..."
Jeong-min was surprised and looked in the direction Leia was looking.
In the distance, a large cloud of dust was rising.
Leia said to Jeong-min.
"I told you earlier? The S-class gate has its own will."
Sreureung.
Leia took out her sword from its scabbard.
Jeong-min shuddered, recalling the sensation of the sword blade pointed at his neck.
Leia, who had drawn her sword, said.
"The S-class gate calculates the strength of the remaining Awakened and reveals or hides its appearance. I have never seen the S-class gate before. It completely hides itself and only sends monster groups like now to keep me in check."
A dazzling light emanated from Leia's sword.
After a while, when the light subsided, Leia, clad in pure white armor from head to toe, was standing there.
"....!"
Jeong-min stared at Leia with surprised eyes.
And... he discovered an enormous number of monsters running from the direction Leia was looking.
'What... are all those...'
Various types of monsters running while raising a large cloud of sand dust.
From small ones the size of a person to large ones the size of a large truck.
Hundreds of such monsters are forming a group and running towards Jeongmin and Leia.
Leia patted Jeong-min's shoulder, who was stepping back, a couple of times as if to tell him not to worry.
"You asked if I can destroy the S-class gate alone?" Leia lowered the visor of her pure white helmet.
"This battle may be the answer to your question."
Leia said as she slowly walked towards the monsters.
"The S-class gate... is afraid of me... That's why it has been hiding so thoroughly until now."
After speaking, Leia started running lightly.
Soon, Leia, who had quickly moved away from Jeong-min, leaped greatly towards the monster group.
As Leia jumped into the sky, various skills were fired at Leia from the monster group.
ㅡㅡㅡ!!
With a huge explosion, a large explosion occurred in the sky where Leia was.
The aftermath of the explosion swept over Jeong-min, and Jeong-min rolled out and fell due to the recoil.
"Keuheok!"
Pain surged as if his whole body had been beaten, but Jeong-min raised his head again and looked at the sky.
"Leia...?"
As the dust from the explosion cleared, Leia was seen floating in the middle, emitting light from her whole body.
Leia raised her sword above her head and then swung it down greatly towards the monster group.
Something of a huge energy was fired from Leia's sword and plunged into the middle of the monster group, and an even larger explosion than the previous explosion occurred, tearing dozens of monsters to pieces.
Jeong-min rolled back again due to the aftermath of the larger explosion.
"Eueoeoeok!"
Jeong-min writhed on the floor in pain.
But he managed not to lose consciousness and watched Leia's battle again.
"Ah..."
An exclamation flowed from Jeong-min's mouth.
Leia landed in the middle of the monsters where the explosion had occurred and began to swing her sword.
Every time Leia swung her sword, the surrounding monsters were cut down all at once.
The monsters fired skills at Leia and flew their bodies to attack, but Leia avoided all attacks, deflected some with her body, and continued the battle with ease.
'...Beautiful...'
Jeong-min watched Leia's battle as if possessed, unaware that saliva was flowing from his mouth.
The time it took for all the monsters to fall due to Leia's attack was about ten minutes.
Leia walked slowly towards Jeong-min without even a single breath out of place, and then ran in surprise when she saw Jeong-min's appearance, which was a mess from rolling around.
"Jeong-min! Are you okay?""Ah... I'm alright... Leia is the one who was fighting..."
"Look at this wound...! Please wait a moment."
The white armor surrounding Leia vanished in an instant.
After Leia returned her sword to its scabbard, she murmured something quietly, and her hand became bathed in white light.
As she slowly stroked Jeong-min's wound with her white hand, the wound visibly began to heal.
Jeong-min said in amazement.
"This is...!"
"It's a simple healing magic. It doesn't seem like a deep wound, so I don't think we need to use a potion."
Jeong-min thought, his face reddening.
'The person who fought is perfectly fine, but the person who was just watching gets hurt like this...'
While Jeong-min was feeling embarrassed, Leia, who had already healed all the wounds, withdrew the white light from her hand and said.
"All done. Are there any other sore spots?"
"No... I'm fine. Are you... alright, Leia?"
Leia sat back down on the rock and said.
"As you can see... I'm perfectly fine. I'm not hurt anywhere. Where were we... Ah, we were talking about the S-rank gate. Anyway, the S-rank gate is afraid of my power and is thoroughly hidden. But judging from the recent increase in monster attacks, it must be somewhere around here. Now, we just have to wait here for the S-rank gate to reveal its location on its own. The gate can't release monsters infinitely, so when there are no more monsters to release, the S-rank gate will have no choice but to show itself."
"....."
Leia, feeling thirsty from talking, summoned her inventory and took out a leather canteen from inside.
As Leia was about to drink, she looked at Jeong-min and said.
"Ah... Aren't you thirsty, Jeong-min? Would you like a sip of water?" Jeong-min, who had been staring blankly at Leia, startled and said.
"Ah... I'll get mine and drink it... Ah, Leia, could you wait a moment?" "...?"
Leia, who was about to drink, looked at Jeong-min with questioning eyes.
Jeong-min hesitated to open his inventory.
'What will happen if I open the inventory gate here...? The inventory gate I open inside my inventory will open in the last place I opened it, so even if I go into my inventory later and open the gate, it will open here, right? Then what happens...? I won't be able to go back to Earth, will I?'
Jeong-min felt goosebumps on his back.
'That was close... I need to think carefully before I act. I should never open my inventory in another world...'
Jeong-min said to Leia.
"Um... I'll go to my inventory for a bit. There's something I need to get. Please wait a moment. Ah, please open the inventory gate. I need to come out through there..."
Jeong-min opened the base gate.
Leia looked at the gate that appeared in front of Jeong-min with a curious expression.
Jeong-min went into his inventory through the base gate.
"Ugh... I'm dizzy..."
Jeong-min sat down for a moment to endure the dizziness, then looked for a large bag.
'We'll be eating dinner soon, so I should pack this too... Should I pack some snacks too?'
Jeong-min packed various things into the bag and then went back to Leia's inventory.
The gate was open in Leia's inventory as Jeong-min had requested, and Jeong-min came out next to Leia through the gate.
Leia looked at Jeong-min's large bag and asked.
"What did you go to get?"
Jeong-min sat down for a moment to endure the rising dizziness, then took out a can of cola from his backpack.
'Hmm... It's lukewarm... It would be a luxury to want a cold cola...'
Jeong-min opened the can of cola with great regret.
Fsssh
Leia's eyes widened slightly at the sound of the carbonation.
Jeong-min handed the cola to Leia and said.
"This is... a common drink in our world. It's refreshing and invigorating."
Leia looked at the sparkling cola, hesitated, and then took a sip.
"Cough...!"
Leia grabbed her throat and looked at Jeong-min with questioning eyes.
When the tingling subsided, she tilted her head once and took another sip of cola.
"Cough..."
Leia, who was holding her throat again with one hand and looking at the cola can, said to Jeong-min.
"What... is this...?"
"It's a drink called cola. Is the taste okay?"
Leia's eyes widened in surprise.