Escape
Leap into youth! With courage, our first magic circle jump!
Like some prep school poster, we joined hands and jumped into the magic circle together.
But the sight of all three of us clad in bulky battlesuits—plus an ultra-macho kangaroo—made me wonder, "What kind of ad is this even supposed to be?" Well, even if a poster like this existed, the Bureau of Singular Labyrinth Countermeasures wouldn’t use it.
Anyway, the moment we stepped into the magic circle, our bodies were wrapped in a strange floating sensation.
But it wasn’t soft or gentle—more like the initial plunge of a roller coaster. At the same time, it felt like being on a train, quiet yet unmistakably moving at high speed.
And then—Wait, this might be bad…—before I could even finish the thought, my vision brightened and shifted.
"W-whoa, we did it!"
"We’re out!?"
But the place we emerged wasn’t the elite school we were aiming for—just the familiar mountains of Kusatsu."Looks like it—WHOA—?!"
The moment I landed, I lost my balance and toppled backward ungracefully.
"Heyyy, you okay, Egetsu-san?"
"...Yeah. There was a rock sticking out right under my foot. Almost twisted my ankle."
With an orange crystal stuck to my back by slime and a Parthenon-esque golem leg slung over my shoulder, I couldn’t break my fall properly. By the way, the Pixie Queen had already returned inside me before we jumped into the magic circle.
"Here, you hurt anywhere?"
"Up you go—be more careful, okay?"
Their kindness as they helped me up made me genuinely happy.
"Thanks. But we’re finally out. Now we can—Huh!?"
Just as they pulled me to my feet and we were about to celebrate, I sensed a rumble. Then, in an instant, it grew into a full-blown earthquake.
"Eek!"
"Crap! Was that mountain dungeon a spatial-influence type!?"
"Eh? Then if we stay here, we’ll get caught in the collapse?"
"Very likely. Let’s move—[Slime Rope]!"
...
The ground crumbled, swallowing even thick trees that must have had deep roots with terrifying ease. Darting through the chaos with ninja-like moves, we escaped to a safer distance.
(That was close… Glad I trained hard in mountain mobility.)
The low rumble still echoed through the mountains, but the collapse itself seemed to have settled.
Thanks to mastering three-dimensional mobility using the [Slime] skill, we all managed to escape unscathed.
"Aah, that was scaryyy! If the ground’s gonna give out, it could at least warn us first~"
"Well, dungeons don’t exactly cater to human convenience."
Catching our breath in the safety of the trees, we chatted like that.
"Yeah, true. But at least we’re all safe. Now we can—"
[[[BOOM!!!]]]
The moment we escaped the dungeon and finally relaxed enough to speak—another earth-shaking impact roared through the mountains.
(Wh-what the hell was that now?)
At this point, the only enemy I can imagine showing up is the giant leader of some evil secret society…!?