3. Stairway to the Surface

"I can't take it anymore, Aya-chaaaan!"

The suffocating stench of death made it hard for me to breathe.

Before my eyes, a female student in a white sailor uniform, stained all over with red blood, had collapsed in tears.

Blood splatters covered her face, and her broken glasses were tragically cracked.

The bloodied girl hugged the body of her friend, who had been alive just moments ago, and kept calling her name over and over.

Soon, it devolved into a meaningless scream.

It was like the end of the world. I couldn't help but look away, but the girl's desperate shriek was enough to depress anyone who heard it.

The energetic brunette girl from before, her name was Matou Aya, I think.

She might have stepped forward to protect her friend.

And then, she was struck directly by a stray arrow. I, who was nearby, heard the sickening crunch of her skull shattering.

The brunette girl with a thick arrow sticking out of her forehead was still making a whistling sound with her breath, but she soon passed away.

In this kind of situation, it might be the good people who try to help others who die first.

The sharply pointed arrowhead had pierced halfway through her head. It was probably lucky that she didn't die instantly, but it was the same as not being saved if she couldn't be helped.

Either way, we had no doctor and no means of treatment, so there was nothing we could do for the seriously injured.

I was thinking something inappropriate, like, "Was this how Sakamoto Ryoma felt when he was beheaded?"

They say that if blood-mixed pink brain matter oozes out from a head wound, you're almost certainly not going to survive.

I never imagined I would actually witness such a tragic scene in reality.

Even though someone had died right in front of me, it somehow didn't feel real at all. Including myself, who was standing there dumbfounded, I felt like I was watching from somewhere far away.

It was all like someone else's problem... no, I shook my head, telling myself this kind of thinking was bad.

Get a grip, I was starting to dissociate.

Even I, an observer, wanted to escape from reality.

The female student who had lost her friend was beyond help, shaking her hair wildly and half-crazed, screaming, "Gyaaaaah!"

No, the heartless me hadn't intended to help them from the start.

I had decided from the beginning not to form any emotional bonds with these people. I somehow knew there would be sacrifices.

I was desperate to survive myself.

Right now, I didn't have the余裕 to worry about others.

Even in the face of such a tragedy, Nanami Shuichi, the leader of the group, displayed tremendous charisma.

Just as I thought he was walking briskly towards us who were standing still, he took off his uniform jacket and gently draped it over Aya's corpse.

Then, he pulled the bloodied girl who was clinging to her friend's body away from it and suddenly hugged her.

While holding the despairing girl, Nanami himself shed copious tears and encouraged her in a strained voice.

"Sashiki Ena-san, everyone is suffering. You have to live for Matou Aya-san, who died protecting you. Stand up and let's go. We'll definitely reach a safe place soon. Don't give up!"

Nanami could speak of hope without any hesitation to the female student who had lost her friend right before her eyes and order her to move forward.

Watching Nanami Shuichi's tearful voice as he squeezed Ena's hand and strongly encouraged her once more, "You have to live!", I felt like I was being drawn in.

Sashiki Ena, who had been in despair just moments ago, staggered to her feet at his words.

Then, she tried to walk forward as Nanami told her to.

What kind of mental manipulation magic was this? Listening to Nanami made me think it would be easy.

This thought was also dangerous. I mentally retorted, "What a load of crap."

Even I, who was careful not to be swayed by the surroundings, felt that way, so in this extreme situation, adolescent girls who were easily influenced by emotions stood no chance.

Everyone moved as Nanami commanded.

Sixty out of the hundred and eighty students had voluntarily joined Nanami Shuichi's dangerous combat group at his call.

I thought this was a considerably high rate. Moreover, many female students who should have disliked violence were mixed in.

They say that a person's true worth is revealed in extreme situations, but Nanami's power to gather people went beyond the word "charisma."

It was empathy, a kind of extraordinary ability.

However, most of the female students who participated were originally the Nanami Girls, his groupies.

There were many girls in school who couldn't confess to Vice-President Nanami, who was overwhelmingly superior, but formed a fan club-like group, saying he didn't belong to anyone.

Even so, to be so infatuated with a guy that they would willingly join a death march was awe-inspiring.

Excluding the sixty of us in the combat group, about half of the remaining hundred and twenty stayed in the classrooms with the teachers, and the other sixty were moving around haphazardly without any organization.

Currently, the group was roughly divided into three: Nanami's combat group, the teachers' stay-behind group, and the disorganized individuals.

And the casualties of the combat group had reached six, including Matou Aya, who had just died. Four were so seriously injured they couldn't walk, and countless others had minor injuries.

Incidentally, all those who had stepped on traps and been hit by flying arrows or burned to death by fireballs were female students.

Among the members of the combat group, many of the female students who seemed to have low combat ability were being made to walk in the dangerous front lines.

If Nanami Shuichi, who was leading the combat group, was doing this intentionally, he was an amazing politician, but he wasn't.

The one scheming to make it so was Jinguuji Tsukasa, who was Vice-President Nanami's aide and whose glasses glinted ominously.

I had given him the nickname "Sneaky Glasses" in my mind from before, but here he was revealing his true colors.

Neatly parted black hair in a seven-three style. Strong prescription silver-rimmed glasses. He was wearing white gloves that I didn't know where he got from. Even in this situation, the fact that his white gloves were spotless was proof that he was making others do the dirty work.

He was an intellectual who ranked third in the overall grade and belonged to the student council's executive committee. Just like at school, even in this emergency, he was sticking close to Nanami Shuichi.

He was short with a baby face, and while not as handsome as Nanami, his features were well-defined. His expression was gentle, and he always had a calm smile. His refined demeanor probably made him look like a harmless honor student.

But in reality, he was cunning and untrustworthy. The bad look in his eyes wasn't because of poor eyesight and squinting, but came from his very nature.

"Schemer," "brains," "strategist"—those were nice-sounding words.

Jinguuji was a remora, using Vice-President Nanami's charisma to pull strings from behind and get the best parts for himself.

The fact that he didn't even flinch when someone died in front of him made me think he was beyond cold-blooded, maybe even a psychopath.

Truly, they said a person's true worth was revealed in extreme situations.

There were many bad rumors about the sneaky Jinguuji, though I didn't know how much was true.

There were stories about him trapping opposing students and driving them to expulsion, and even rumors about him making moves on Nanami's female followers.

There was no proof, but where there's smoke, there's fire. He was the kind of sneaky guy who would calmly do such things.

Jinguuji looked around at the overall situation and licked his red, glossy lips with his tongue.

In the vision of his glasses, which held a quiet sneer, there were only two types of people: those he could use and those he couldn't.

I didn't miss the fact that he was putting the weak students at the front, in order of uselessness, and trying to use them up as trap detectors.

However, I couldn't say that it was wrong, so I overlooked it. In this emergency, it could be said to be an unavoidable judgment.

For now, it was working out, so there was nothing to be done. To put a good spin on it, he could be called capable, or he could be called ruthless.

A passionate leader and sneaky glasses. They were probably a good combination for leading a group.

Either way, I didn't want to get too involved.

"Hey, that's definitely a trap! Properly light your feet, check, and avoid it as you go!"

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry."

There was a female student whose footing was unsteady and dangerous. I thought it was too cruel to just watch her die, so I called out a warning.

Then Jinguuji, who was monitoring the whole group from the center, sent a warning back to me in a small but well-resonating voice.

"Shinjo-kun, don't come too far forward. Your role is to be prepared for monsters."

"But, you know..."

"I'm in charge of the assignments. Or would you rather go to the front instead of her?"

"Tch..."

"Don't make such a face, it's a joke. Things will go well if everyone fulfills their roles. If you say you can give better instructions than me, I don't mind switching with you."

"I can't do that either, sorry."

He saw right through me—that I wasn't a virtuous man who would volunteer to be a trap treader, nor would I presume to take over command from Jinguuji.

Urged by Jinguuji's cold gaze, I just called out once more to the girls at the front who were being made to hold torches and act as trap detectors, "Look carefully for anything strange at your feet, your lives depend on it!" and then retreated to the back.

There was nothing more I could do.

Jinguuji was right, I couldn't risk my life for some random girl.

Seki and I, who were staying behind the group with Kujo Kumiko, were apparently being counted as combat strength to fight monsters, so it wasn't our turn to be sent to the front and used up yet.

Or maybe people from Class F weren't even in his field of vision from the start, but either way, if I got marked by that sneaky guy, it would be troublesome, so I had to stay inconspicuous.

Ah, damn it!

Even though I told her it was dangerous, the careless female student had her abdomen pierced by a sharp blade that sprang out from the ground, and she was writhing in agony. It wasn't instant death, but she wasn't alive for long either.

Even as the trapped female student screamed in excruciating pain and vomited the contents of her stomach along with blood, the people around her only slowly moved aside and didn't try to help.

They were probably afraid to put their hands into the trap's blade, and they were already tired and reluctant. Even if they tried to help, they knew it would be too late.

If you got seriously injured, you wouldn't survive. If they thought they might be the next to die, they couldn't think about others.

The humanity of this group was already starting to erode. Everyone was just dragging their tired feet, looking for a safe route without traps, and moving forward.

I told myself repeatedly, but Nanami and Jinguuji's combination wasn't making a wrong decision. Even with the sacrifices, the reality was that we had to move forward or nothing would change.

If they had let me command the group, we could have advanced with fewer casualties... I couldn't say such a thing even if my mouth was torn apart.

In a situation where one wrong step could lead to being killed by a trap or a monster, the fact that this many people were able to act in an organized manner was probably thanks to the charismatic Nanami leading them.

Every time a female student with low combat value or a male student deemed useless was sent to the front and got caught in a booby trap and was injured or killed, I clicked my tongue at the unpleasant method, but I had to endure it because I didn't want to become someone who just complained.

Nanami, who was leading the group, and Jinguuji, who was commanding from the center, were taking the correct actions as a group facing a crisis.

Advance, advance, everyone advance. If we stopped, the situation would only worsen, and the number of victims would increase.

Even if it was dangerous, the only way was to move forward.

And if they were going to use people up anyway, putting the weak ones who couldn't fight at the front wasn't wrong, but...

Even so, what was strange was that timid students who lacked even a shred of courage were standing at the front and dying, just as Nanami and Jinguuji told them to.

If I were told to go to the front and be a trap treader, I would definitely run away.

Did these guys really understand the dangerous situation they were in?

I shuddered at the thought that they might not even have realized it.

My assessment that they were using up the useless might be wrong. Maybe Jinguuji was choosing those who didn't understand the situation at all, people with weak vitality, and putting them at the front.

Students with weak hearts might find it less stressful in this extreme stress to simply obey someone's orders and move submissively, rather than resisting the group.

The way they manipulated group psychology and drove people to their deaths was, to use a bad analogy, like the cunning of Mao Zedong or Pol Pot leading guerrillas in battle.

I felt a chilling fear wondering if Nanami and the others leading the group were really just high school students.

Even considering that, it was a better, though not the best, correct choice. Still, the way they did it was too much like politicians, and I loathed them from the bottom of my heart.

Even if it was right, the unpleasantness was unavoidable.

I was probably not the only one who thought so. But everyone probably kept quiet because they knew it couldn't be helped right now.

Even if someone told me to do it better or offer an alternative plan, I wouldn't be able to.

"Seki, do you remember the route and the locations of the traps?"

"Yeah, I remember them properly."

I confirmed with Seki, who was walking beside me.

Smartphones would eventually become unusable without power, and I hadn't brought a notebook, so I had to memorize everything in my head.

"Look, more monsters are coming."

"I don't want to anymore..."

Seki, while whining in a tearful voice, still held his knife ready to fight. He was surprisingly strong-willed, I thought. Don't worry, I'll handle your share.

I had received a useful weapon like the battle axe. I roused myself and swung it, tearing apart the pig-human monster.

When I slashed the pig from the shoulder, blood spurted out as if a thick blood vessel had been severed. Groaning, the orc stood there like a wooden doll, so I continued by diagonally tearing open its abdomen.

Warm, slimy internal organs dropped to the floor, and the screaming orc sank into its own pool of blood and died.

The pig's blood was red, which I found unbearable, but just in case, I slammed a finishing blow into the pig's head. Pink liquid, a mixture of fat, blood, and brain matter, splattered from its head.

But pig's blood was much better than the goblin's green, sticky body fluid.

I had gotten used to slashing and killing creatures that looked like humans. The feeling of crushing a life with my own hands, and the agonizing death cries of the monsters I killed, no longer affected me.

This was just slaughter. Even the death of a person right in front of me had become something I was numb to, so I had no hesitation in killing a pig.

Kumiko had tied the short sword to the end of the mop handle and was using it as a spear.

She was only thrusting and killing the goblins and orcs that came towards us. Her fighting style, where she didn't care about anyone but herself, was the same as mine.

In this situation, it was normal not to be able to worry about others.

If I fought properly, I probably wouldn't catch Jinguuji's eye and be sent to the front as a trap treader. Only I would survive; that was all that mattered right now.

"I wish this would end already."

"Kumiko, you're starting to lose your余裕 for jokes, huh?"

"I'm fine, but the spear won't last."

"Why don't you change the short sword at the tip?"

There were plenty of the ones that goblins carried lying around, so we could pick one up.

"Not that, the way I'm tying it is getting worn out."

"Ah, I see."

Kumiko was using many rubber bands and ribbons that girls always carried for their hair to tie the short sword to the mop handle, making a spear.

The strength was weak. She seemed to be using it carefully, but if it broke, she probably wouldn't have a replacement.

"Can't you use any other weapons besides the spear?"

"It's not that I can't, but heavy ones are no good."

The weapons were the kind that the humanoid monsters carried, but the half-rusted blades were dull, mostly weapons for thrusting or forcefully chopping.

Many of the weapons were too heavy for the petite Kumiko to use.

"I wish a usable weapon would just come out of a treasure chest. If you ask Vice-President Nanami, who you're close to, he'd probably give you one."

"Stop it, and besides, treasure chests are too dangerous."

While advancing through the dungeon, treasure chests would sometimes appear out of nowhere.

When we opened them, sometimes there were weapons inside, but often there were gold coins and jewels.

Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topazes, peridots, lapis lazuli...

The female students who were attracted to shiny objects rushed to the treasure chests as if competing, but there were traps set there too.

A female student who carelessly opened a treasure chest cried out, "Ouch!" and fell on her rear, unable to get up. Then, she fainted, lost consciousness, and developed a high fever, retiring from the group.

It seemed that a poison needle or something similar had flown out when she opened the treasure chest and pierced her.

Seriously injured or poisoned people were troublesome because they required manpower for care.

I didn't want to say that it would be better if they just died, but that was the reality we were in.

After that, we left the treasure chests unopened and continued on.

No matter how much we wanted gold coins and precious stones, they weren't worth the risk to our safety.

"Kumiko, don't get too close to that rat."

"Huh? It's not just a rat. I'm not scared of rats, kyaa!"

The rat leaped at Kumiko, and at the same time, its body swelled up with a *boom*, exploding with a loud noise.

Rats lived in the underground labyrinth. They looked like fat rats, but I knew they couldn't be ordinary rats.

"Isn't that a Hazikenezumi monster? I've seen it in some game. The damage doesn't seem to be that much, but it probably explodes to surprise you and make you stumble into a trap."

"What a nasty creature."

Kumiko, who had been thoroughly showered with the rat's scattered internal organs and flesh, disgustedly wiped the pink intestines of the rat from her face.

It didn't seem dangerous other than exploding right in front of you, but even small animals constantly launched disgusting attacks, steadily eroding our mental state.

However, the placement of these traps and the appearance pattern of the monsters... it felt familiar somehow.

While I was wondering where I had seen it before, a male student at the front shouted loudly.

I thought another crazy person had appeared, but it seemed different.

"That's right, it's definitely it! This is the world of 'Genoria'!"

A chubby student with frizzy hair and a potato-like face shrieked in delight with a high-pitched voice.

At the words of that male student, who had been deemed useless and used as a trap treader along with the weak female students, I was struck with realization.

So that's it, Genoria...

This was the dungeon of Genocide Reality.

That frizzy-haired student had been shouting "Status Open!" and other things repeatedly from before, and I had thought he was suspicious... he was probably a gamer of the same type as me.

He had considered the possibility that this was a game world and was trying to display his status.

Even if that was the case, to realize the similarity to Genoria before me in this extreme situation...

He was much sharper than his ordinary appearance suggested. He was someone to watch out for.

"Hey everyone, look! There's a pit to the abyss. This is the world of the game 'Genocide Reality'!"

The frizzy-haired guy was explaining to those around him, but he seemed to be thought of as crazy and was being ignored.

Well, that was to be expected. Genocide Reality was an old game; the high school students of today wouldn't know it.

Besides, it was rather natural that no one was paying attention to him even if he was making noise.

There were even female students who suddenly started laughing, then ran and jumped into a pitfall to commit suicide, so he was probably thought of as crazy.

I also quietly moved forward and gently looked at the pit to the abyss that the frizzy-haired guy had pointed to.

When I held the torch up to the large crack in the ground, which looked like a fissure, I saw that an iron plate had been affixed, and "Entrance to Tartarus" was written on it.

*(It seems to be true, though I still can't completely believe it...)*

I heaved a deep sigh, putting on a nonchalant face so that no one would notice.

The Entrance to Tartarus, commonly known as "the Abyss," was the very first trap in Genocide Reality.

Or rather, it was just a large hole in a crack in the ground, but if you fell from here, you would fall straight down to the tenth underground level.

It was probably based on the legend that you would keep falling for ten days and reach the hellish Tartarus, but expecting anyone to fall for that was unreasonable.

The bottom of the Abyss was designed to absorb the impact of a fall, so you wouldn't die from the fall damage.

For experienced players, it was a convenient means of transportation to reach the tenth underground level in one go, but if a beginner fell, they would be attacked by powerful monsters and would one hundred percent die.

Since it was a game, quite a few people died from this right away.

It could be called a first-time killer trap to eliminate idiots who would want to jump into any hole they saw.

"Everyone, believe me! There's a stairway to the surface just ahead from here. It's a safe zone, I know it!"

While the frizzy-haired guy was making such a fuss, I looked down at the hole leading to the Abyss and sighed deeply once more.

Indeed, I had thought that the placement of the traps felt somehow familiar. It was careless of me not to have noticed.

However, who would seriously think they were in a game world? Game world, game world... I rolled the words around in my mouth, but it was a bit too unreal.

However, given the consistency so far, it was reasonable to make that judgment. The frizzy-haired guy was probably right.

I also muttered in a low voice, "Status Open."

Nothing happened... well, of course not. Genoria was a game where quantified stats didn't exist.

Released in 1987 in the United States, Genocide Reality was a real-time 3D dungeon RPG that shattered the conventions of traditional RPGs.

As its title suggested, Genoria, in its pursuit of "reality," albeit simulated, lacked information such as character levels or ability scores that were common in typical RPGs.

If you wanted to know your current situation, you had to check at the oracle in the "town" on the surface.

Even then, all you would find out was your class and your rank according to your proficiency in Fighter, Venture (Thief), Priest, and Magician.

Of course, since it was a game, quantified data must have existed, but much of the character information was masked to avoid compromising the realism.

Instead, there were gauges indicating Health, Stamina, and Mana, as well as gauges for Hunger, Thirst, and Sleep.

The simple logic was that if you didn't eat, drink water, or sleep, your stamina would run out, your health would decrease, and you would eventually die.

In such a simulated but realistic world, all systems continued to run without stopping. Players lived, adventured, and died there.

It was a groundbreaking system at the time and could be called the most realistic game.

Genocide Reality became a huge hit in the United States and a worldwide phenomenon, leading to numerous sequels and eventually becoming an MMO.

It was also a monumental work that greatly influenced subsequent games, but in contrast to its global boom, there was one country where it didn't sell at all.

Our country, Japan.

Of course, even in Japan, Genoria was highly praised by game enthusiasts, and versions with multiple Japanese translations were ported, but as its name, which included "genocide," suggested, the game was extraordinarily difficult. It belonged to the genre known as "dying games."

A large number of monsters attacked with a lack of consideration for the player's situation, and the dungeons were full of traps that killed you the first time you encountered them.

Of course, it wasn't that players outside Japan had particularly superior skills. The West had a culture of casually using cheats.

If you died, you could just reset before the auto-save kicked in and return to the previous save point, or even hack the system itself to weaken enemies and strengthen the player. Many Westerners were players who casually used such cheats.

Modified versions with pre-lowered difficulty even circulated, and many players overseas enjoyed Genoria.

Despite being a famous game, there probably weren't many masochistic gamers even overseas who played Genoria properly and cleared it to the end.

On the other hand, Japanese people were a race that took even playing games seriously.

A crazy game balance that couldn't be cleared normally was called a "kusoge" (shitty game) in Japan.

Even if Genoria was a global phenomenon, it was a game from the old century.

In other words, only super-duper game otaku and retro game lovers like that frizzy-haired guy and me would know about Genoria.

"Should I keep quiet...?"

"What's wrong?"

I had intended to appear nonchalant, but Seki, noticing that my gaze was fixed on the bottom of the Abyss and that my demeanor was strange, called out to me.

He was as sharp as ever.

For a moment, I thought about telling only my one and only friend, but I stopped myself.

There's a saying, "A mouth is a gateway to disaster." It wouldn't change anything if Seki knew, and it might even put him in a dangerous position.

It wasn't wise to boast about knowing about Genoria like that frizzy-haired guy (I'd check his name later).

Showing off knowledge could lead to getting caught up in trouble. This time, with many players, it wasn't an offline game.

The interpersonal relationships would probably follow the rules of the multi-player, MMO version.

If so, there would be rare items that only the first person could obtain.

If possible, I didn't want others to know about valuable攻略 information yet.

If concealing information led to more deaths, I would feel somewhat guilty, but that loudmouth frizzy-haired guy would probably act as a guide for the other students.

I would secretly proceed ahead on my own and gain the advantage of living in this world first. I would thoroughly enjoy the cheats.

What? This was starting to get fun.

"Shinjo-kun, are you smiling about something?"

"It's nothing, shall we go soon?"

I could hear cheers from the front of the combat group.

That frizzy-haired guy had probably led everyone and found the stairway to the surface.

Looking at the light from the surface shining down the stairs, my eyes were dazzled.

The "town" ahead was a safe zone where monsters didn't enter, and negative actions between players were prohibited.

Reaching into my pocket and checking the time on my phone, I sa

w that we had been trapped in the dungeon for only about three hours.

In just that short amount of time, we had suffered many casualties.