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"My name... is Silence Suzuka."
"..."
I knew it!
Dan's mouth twitched.
Are you seriously messing with me right now?
A divine blessing spot… and this is what I get?!
A brutal battlefield where countless strong fighters compete... Sure, even if the horse girls love each other, there can still only be one winner in the end. That is pretty cruel.
And yeah, The described wasn't wrong.
But damn it, this draw result is totally different from what I imagined!
What kind of gacha pool did you even give me?!
Welp, goodbye to my dreams of instant god-mode carnage.
...Whatever.
Right now, what matters is getting help. Even if I can't have a magic nuke, a runaway horse girl ain't too bad either.
Dan looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and smiled like he'd come to terms with it all.
"In that case, Suzuka , do what you do best. I'm too weak to fight now—so I'm leaving it to you."
"What I do best...?"
Inside Dan's mind, Silence Suzuka hesitated. She seemed to be recalling the information Dan had shared with her.
"But adventurers in this world… they seem really strong. Can I really handle this...?"
Dan cut her off with a smile and asked gently:
"Who are you?"
"Eh? I-I'm Suzuka."
Dan shook his head at her nervous reply, then smiled with absolute confidence.
"And... You are the Runaway Phantom of Another World!"
"!!!"
"Just a bunch of weak-ass level 1 nobodies—no way they can catch the undefeated escape horse!"
"Master..."
"Run, all the way to the ends of this world. In this other world too, let's go witness the scenery no one's ever seen."
In Dan's mind, the once-timid Silence Suzuka lowered her head and paused in silence, then slowly looked up, showing that same fearless smile she used to wear when stepping onto the racetrack.
"...Got it!"
"I won't let you down! I'll see that view with you!"
Though it felt like a long, heartfelt exchange, in reality, only a second had passed.
The man clutching his gut screamed in rage, eyes bloodshot.
"Damn it! A worthless nobody who's not even an adventurer dares sneak attack me?! …What are you all standing around for?! Get him!"
He still hadn't realized what had changed in Dan.
From the alley up ahead, two more grinning adventurers appeared, nearly blocking off the only exit.
—Think of that spot as the starting gate.
"Dan" took a deep breath, raised his right hand high, eyes filled with fiery determination.
Behind him, two black-clad pursuers howled as they closed in.
—Think of them as the chasing pack.
Before, she ran for victory. Now, she runs to save her partner's life!
This battle is all or nothing—I can't lose!
"Dan" suddenly dropped his raised hand and slammed his right foot into the ground.
BOOM!!
The adventurers in front blinked—and in the next instant, a flash of light tore between them like lightning.
The sheer speed of her burst created a windstorm that blasted both of them away!
"What the hell just happened?!"
"My ribs! I think they're broken… it hurts so bad!!"
Sorry, I thought that was a starting gate. Talk to my insurance agent if you've got a problem.
Dan's hair whipped in the wind. His pupils shrank to pinpoints, the world around him slowing to a crawl.
The buildings on both sides blurred into streaks of color from the speed. His heart pounded like an engine in his chest.
Sharing all her senses, Dan saw a whole new world!
His body… felt light. His strides… so fast.
He left the stunned thugs in the dust like it was nothing.
Silence Suzuka was completely in her element—relaxed, joyful, like she was leading a race. No fatigue, just the thrill of running.
Their minds synced perfectly in that moment. They truly understood each other.
"Take this way."
After being turned away by the Loki familia, Dan hadn't just wasted time.
The elven noblewoman Riveria, whom he'd met outside the guild, had introduced him to a job to help him survive.
—Delivery work.
She probably just wanted to show him how tough life in Orario was, hoping he'd give up his silly dreams and accept a normal life.
But thanks to that, Dan memorized nearly all of Orario's complicated routes in a short time!
The Evilus's hideout was in Sector 7 of the northwest main street. His destination? The far north of Orario.
He quickly made a decision.
On the way to the Stardust Garden, he'd swing by the gates of the city.
Why? Because that's where one of the two strongest familias in Orario—the Twilight Manor of the Loki familia—was located!
Calling for help from just the Astraea familia wouldn't be enough.
If he wasn't a stranger to the Freya familia, he might've gone there despite the risks. But odds were they'd ignore him—or worse, notice him.
Timeline-wise, the two dominant forces at the heart of the Great War weren't supposed to show up yet.
But still, getting another backup wouldn't hurt.
"Move... Out of the way… Watch it!!!"
Orario's roads weren't racetracks. Dodging pedestrians meant Silence Suzuka couldn't go all out.
But even so, the air felt like it was being ripped apart wherever she passed.
Her legs blurred like twin shadows. Her steps on the stone path sounded like thunder right before a storm—drawing astonished looks from everyone.
"She's so fast!"
"Whose adventurer is that?!"
"Whoa… what a handsome guy… never seen him before."
"I dunno why he's running so fast, but damn it's exciting! Go get 'em, bro!!!"
A catgirl at the side of the road clutched her lunchbox, lifting her head in surprise.
"Bro-Brother? No… He's fast and has a powerful presence, but nowhere near level 4."
"Anya, what are you looking at?"
A girl in a long dress and purple cloak asked. Her tied-back light gray hair swayed gently.
"No, I was wrong. Just a regular adventurer."
Syr supported her chin with a finger and squinted in the direction Dan vanished.
"Regular, huh…"
"Over here!"
"Your speed really surprised us, but this is as far as you go!"
Level 2 adventurers had jumped across rooftops, closing the distance.
Silence Suzuka turned and puffed her cheeks angrily.
"Eh?! You can do that? That's cheating! It's totally cheating!"
But inside… she was actually kind of excited.
"What now, Master?"
Dan calmly pointed out a direction in his mind.
"I figured this would happen. Go through here—it'll force them into a straight-up speed duel! These alleys are too narrow for rooftop jumps, and the paths twist too much to track you from above."
"As expected of Master! Leave it to me!"
"Dan" zipped into the alley and vanished in a blink. The pursuing adventurers cursed with frustrated expressions.
"Seriously, is that guy not an adventurer?! How the hell is he so fast?!"
"Damn it! You'd think he was riding a horse or something!"
"Shut up! If you don't wanna get torn apart by that psycho Vito when we get back, catch him already!"
Remembering Vito's sadistic dismemberments, a chill ran down their spines. They clenched their teeth and charged forward.
As he ran, "Dan" began tossing off items snagged by the wind earlier.
Loose vegetable leaves—gone. Hair accessories—gone. Flowers?! Gone too…
"Master?!"
Silence Suzuka yelped in panic as her pupils shrank.
Up ahead, in the narrow alley that could barely fit one person, a woman was walking slowly—with her eyes closed!
"Is she blind?! What do I do?! I can't stop!!"
Silence Suzuka had never dealt with this before. At this speed, a collision would pulp the poor woman into a pile of limbs.
"Damn it—let me take over!"
Thinking fast, Dan grabbed control, scanned his surroundings, spotted a ledge, and launched himself.
His knees almost touched his chest. His spine curved like a bow. Arms pulled back like a hawk folding its wings—he leapt.
As he soared over the woman's head, the wind pulled back her cloak and revealed her long gray hair.
"?!!"
The moment Dan saw her face, a name popped into his head—and his scalp went numb.
No way. Seriously?! Of all people to run into right now... Fate's screwing with me.
Gravity reclaimed him, and he hit the ground shoulder-first, rolling to absorb the impact.
Rocks tore through his clothes, stinging his skin, and he ended up kneeling five meters ahead.
The gray-haired woman slowly turned and frowned as if about to speak—
But Dan quickly cut her off.
"Sorry—lives are at stake. Take this as an apology!"
He tossed the flower bouquet he was carrying and didn't wait for her reaction. Wiping his sweat discreetly, he switched control back to the stunned Suzuka.
Hell no, she was the last person he wanted to deal with before leveling up.
The gray-haired woman looked down at the blue jacaranda in her hand. Her frown slowly eased.
"Jacaranda… Symbol of calm melancholy. A coincidence? Whatever. I'll let it go this time."
But the peace didn't last.
"Hey! You, dumb woman! Did you see which way that guy ran?!"
"Say something! Are you mute?!"
"What, you his accomplice?!"
The adventurers charged in, yelling, swinging their swords around and shouting threats.
The woman sighed, eyes still closed.
"One after another… so noisy. Can't even take a peaceful nap anymore…"
She crushed the jacaranda in her hand.
A terrifying silence engulfed the alley like a deathly fog.
Moments later, the woman walked out casually.
Behind her lay nothing but a heap of corpses with twisted faces and wide, unblinking eyes—frozen in terror, as if they'd seen a monster beyond comprehension before dying.
"Ah… how depressing. I really do hate this place…"
"....."