"Did it... work...?"
Even against low-level monsters, it barely has any effect.
That is what the goddess said about status abnormality bestowal.
Is the Minotaur a low-level monster?
No way.
Low-level monsters would not be placed in the destination where strong heroes and warriors are sent.
The conclusion that follows from this is simple.
It succeeded due to a miraculous probability.
It happened.
A miracle occurred.
I recall the goddess's words.
The effect duration of status abnormality bestowal is short.
It is short.
I have to hurry and escape!
I stand up in a panic.
I start running.
"Haa, aa—haa...!"
Perhaps because I had been sitting down.
I recovered a little stamina.
I cannot let this miracle slip away.
"Haa haa! Ha, aa—!"
Damn it.
I am already getting out of breath.
Stamina correction?
Speed correction?
If I were a high-class hero, I would probably have much more stamina.
Damn it all.
"Zee... zee...! —!"
I cover my mouth with my hand.
I have to suppress my breathing sounds.
More importantly...
Where am I right now?
I cautiously turn my head.
I check behind me.
It is not chasing me.
Did I shake it off?
"..."
Pain shoots through my legs.
It is probably due to fatigue.
I bend forward.
I touch my knees and ankles.
It does not feel like a sprain—or so I think.
I should rest just a little...
Then after that, I will aim for the surface.
Somehow, I will make it to the surface—
"Ugh."
I lift my face.
I freeze in place.
Right.
Of course.
There is no way there would be just one.
In short,
That transfer point was simply that thing's territory.
Once I move away from it, others appear.
Naturally, other monsters exist.
"Giiru bu, biri, bipapi koko, bipapi ko, pikopiko, koke eee! Koe ee!"
What the hell is this thing...
Its neck is—clattering and shaking.
I feel like I have seen a doll like that somewhere before.
What is it?
A bird-type monster?
A cockatrice or something?
Is it that kind?
The head is definitely a bird.
An abnormally large, deformed crest.
No... are those horns?
However, only the head looks bird-like.
From the neck down, it has a humanoid body with four arms.
It is disgusting.
This is not the cockatrice I know...
Its skin is the same as the Minotaur's.
Black skin with vein-like orange lines.
"Oko nya, papiko."
The thing lets out a strange chirp like a small bird, and then
It releases viscous acid from the holes all over its body.
Splash,
Splat,
Sizzle sizzle sizzle...
The bird head's round eyes look down at me.
Gyorori.
"Piko, pari, kopi. Kokkokkokkokkokko, koe eee!"
Drool starts dripping.
It drips steadily from the bird head's mouth.
Is it planning to eat me?
"O kori, poro, kororororororororo, papip kopi, papip ko, koroke—! Kokkee ee! Koe ee! Kororororororororororororororororororo——!"
A creepy, thin, high-pitched cry.
Its four arms move busily.
The claws are ridiculously large.
If those scratch me—heavy injury is guaranteed.
Can I escape?
No... impossible.
I can tell.
I did not even sense its presence to begin with.
The Minotaur's speed.
Its reflexes.
And everything else.
They were on a completely different level.
Now I even feel a sense of relief toward Kirihara and the others who were there at that moment.
If I had to choose one as an enemy, right now I would pick the [Golden Dragon Roar Wave] without hesitation.
This is beyond mere malice.
What these monsters possess is—
Killing intent.
Pure,
Unadulterated,
Utterly genuine killing intent.
Perhaps these creatures do not attach any special meaning to killing.
Killing to eat?
Killing to survive?
Either way—it is killing intent.
I do not think this bird head is overwhelmingly weaker than the Minotaur.
It is definitely strong.
Probably every monster on this level is—
Ferocious enough to completely slaughter the strong ones who were discarded here.
I thought I had escaped danger.
But
Danger has returned once again.
Everyone must have died.
The heroes and warriors who were sent here.
They were killed.
By the monsters in these ruins.
In the end, they lose.
No matter how strong they are to some degree.
Even if they manage to kill one somehow.
The next one comes.
There are so many.
In the end, they become exhausted and run out of strength.
Both physical stamina.
And mental willpower.
No.
I do not want to die,
I do not want to die,
I do not want to die.
Once again, without realizing it, I raise my arm.
So this is what praying feels like.
"—[Para, lyze]—"
A miracle is
A miracle precisely because
It is a miracle.
It does not happen conveniently twice in a row—
"Go—pi—gi...?"
My eyes widen.
"Huh?"
My mouth falls open in shock.
"It... happened...?"
Is this thing unable to move now?
The bird head somehow looks like it is sweating.
It is desperately trying to move.
But for some reason, it cannot.
That is the impression.
It happened?
A second miracle?
Was the abnormality bestowed?
While praying that the four stopped arms do not suddenly extend toward me,
I pass by the side of the bird head.
And the moment the bird head is completely behind me,
I run.
At full speed.
At that instant, one hypothesis descends into my mind.
Like divine revelation.
No way, I think.
But still, I think.
A miracle is called a miracle precisely because it rarely happens.
If it happened twice in a row, people would probably not call it a miracle anymore.
For example.
What if those two successful skill activations were not miracles—
But inevitabilities?
Mimori Touka's unique skill.
Status abnormality bestowal.
It succeeded twice.
Against the monsters in the discard ruins.
The Minotaur is not chasing.
The bird head has not started chasing yet either.
Suppose.
If,
If, just suppose—
The magic systems of this other world and my status abnormality skill, as someone from another world, were completely different things.
Then, regardless of the monster's rank.
If the success probability were extraordinarily high.
If the duration were extraordinarily long.
"If that is the case—"
I turn back toward where the bird head is.
"In these discard ruins, I might be able to survive."