176

Vrooom─

As we stepped into the space transfer gate after bidding farewell to Shin Se-hee, the magic fluctuated, causing dizziness.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa─!!!"

"Wow, we're here!!!"

A sudden burst of high-pitched cheers.

Me and the party members could only look bewildered.

It was inevitable.

I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, countless people were bustling in front of the space transfer gate.

Some even held a large placard that read [I love Utopia!].

"What… what's going on…!?"

"...Hmm? How did all these people know and gather here? It hasn't even been an hour since we received the quest."

"Are we, Utopia, this famous even overseas?"

"Hmm, hmm! Hello~ You're already dead! Yeah, that's right~ that's right~ Narrow-eyed mastermind~"

LLim Ga-eul waved her hands awkwardly, revealing her clumsy side, but the people were cheering for someone else.

After all, not all of Utopia was popular in Japan.

Only one person had gained fame.

"Jin Yuha! It's him in person! It's him!!!"

"Flower on the Cliff─!!"

"Jin-sama!!!"

"Side Dish!!!"

"You're really good at using YouTube!"

It was Jin Yuha who had gained an algorithmic edge with his Blue Crab extermination video.

"..."

"..."

"..."

We could understand their words without any filtering, as we had all equipped translation artifacts in our ears before coming to Japan.

I ignored Lim Ga-eul, who was waving her hands awkwardly, and said with a helpless expression.

"...Hmm, I didn't expect so many people, maybe we should get a taxi or something…?"

In the game, when you chose a mission, you would usually just drop straight into the quest location, so I was a bit taken aback.

"Excuse me, coming through. Everyone, please step back."

Three women with a Japanese flag draped over their shoulders pushed through the crowd.

"Loyal greetings! We are hunters dispatched from the Japanese Hunter Management Headquarters. Thank you for coming to solve our country's problem."

They were hunters dispatched from the Japanese Hunter Management Headquarters.

"From now on, we will escort you to your quest location."

Vroom─

Behind them, a sturdy-looking large armored vehicle pulled in and picked us up.

On the way to the Jukai Forest, guided by the Japanese hunters.

"I never thought you'd choose Japan for your first quest."

It was indeed a sudden decision, and I didn't expect them to come to perform the quest as soon as we accepted it.

"But what about those people…?"

"Ah, we were in a hurry to find hunters to dispatch as guides, so… it seems the news spread to civilians as well. If you were uncomfortable, I apologize."

"No, it's fine. They're fans of ours, so how could we be uncomfortable?"

As I finished the conversation with the stiff-faced Japanese hunter driving the vehicle, the girl with pigtails in the passenger seat suddenly turned around with a swish.

Clear, sparkling eyes.

"Wowww─ In person…! I've always wanted to meet you. Um, would it be possible to get an autograph later?"

"Ah, yes. I'll sign it for you."

"Kyaaaaaa!! I'm so happy!!! So, so, so happy!! Thank you so much!!!"

The girl with pigtails had a very high tension.

She kept releasing TMI, from how she first came to know about me, to how she fell in love with my sword-wielding and made me her role model, and how she even learned Korean to join the fan cafe.

"...So, the Hunter Management Headquarters was in a hurry to find hunters to dispatch as guides, and almost 300 people applied, but I was the fastest!!"

In contrast to her high tension, the party members were starting to get tired of her.

'...Hmm, I guess it's time to clear things up.'

"Um, sorry, but do you happen to have any information about the insomnia solution quest we received?"

It was likely that the Japanese hunter didn't know much since it was a sudden quest, but I said this to stop her TMI.

However, her reaction was unexpected.

"Ah─. That's a famous quest here."

'...What? A famous quest?'

I was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

"This forest, Jukai Forest, used to be called Aokigahara Forest. It's a rather creepy place for us Japanese, known as a cursed forest."

"...A cursed forest!?"

Lim Ga-eul, who had been listening, exclaimed in surprise. The Japanese hunter nodded solemnly.

"Yes, it's been a notoriously infamous place since ancient times. A forest where missing persons cases occur unusually frequently."

"...!!"

Gul─p

The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy, a stark contrast to when she was releasing TMI earlier.

Someone swallowed audibly, filling the interior of the armored vehicle.

The Japanese hunter shook her head, chuckling─ a self-deprecating laugh.

"Well, it used to be just a legend, but now it's real too. Especially since the world has become so chaotic─"

"Is there really a curse or some kind of phenomenon here!?"

Lim Ga-eul, who had little tolerance for scary atmospheres, asked in a trembling voice. The other party members, having just heard from Shin Se-hee that the rating was incorrectly assigned, couldn't hide their nervousness.

But the Japanese hunter shook her head, brushing off the question.

"No, no. It's not really cursed or haunted, but… well, it's a social phenomenon."

"...A social phenomenon?"

"Yes, as monsters suddenly appeared in peaceful daily life, civilization collapsed, and signs of the end of the world began to appear… people like this emerged. Rather than dying to monsters or living a miserable life in hiding… they'd rather end their lives on their own."

"...Ah."

"And the Jukai Forest we're heading to is a place that comes to mind first when you think of such things. Even before the Gate Incident, it was famous as such a place, but since the world has become so chaotic, even more people have flocked here."

She said, a bitter smile on her lips.

"So, Japanese hunters didn't want to be involved with this forest, and that's how this trivial quest was neglected and ended up at the Velvet Hunter Academy… that's the story."

Her words left us silent.

We all knew how the 'Gate Incident' as a historical event had disrupted the world and how terrible it had been.

Even South Korea, which had relatively quickly settled the incident, still bore the scars of that time.

And as I listened to her, I felt a sense of freshness.

I hadn't expected such a behind-the-scenes story for the insomnia solution quest, which was just one of the mistake quests.

In Velvets, the game, it was just vaguely explained as a cursed forest filled with grudges.

'Well, in a game for all ages with a bright atmosphere, they couldn't go into detail about such dark aspects.'

As I was sorting through my thoughts, the car came to a stop.

"Our guidance ends here. We sincerely hope you will return with satisfying results."

Chak─

The three hunters gave a salute with the same precision as when we first met, but they didn't look very serious, as they all held Jin Yuha's autographs in their hands.

.

.

.

Whoosh─

A dreary wind blew past.

"It's no wonder they call it a cursed forest…"

"Ugh, I hope there aren't really ghosts or anything like that…"

The party members' anxious voices as they felt the gloomy atmosphere at the entrance of the forest.

'Hmm, I guess it's time to explain now.'

In the Academy, we had to accept the mistake quest before it disappeared, and on the way here, the Japanese hunters were with us, so I hadn't been able to properly explain things to the party members.

"Everyone, did you bring the things Se-hee gave you earlier?"

The party members nodded. They had all brought the necessary items in the a-space tattoos Se-hee had given them.

'Even though this is the Newbies' Wailing Forest, if you're well-prepared and know the strategy, it's a great hunting ground.'

"First of all, there's something I need to correct. Contrary to what the Japanese hunter said earlier, this forest is indeed cursed."

At that, Lim Ga-eul's face turned deathly pale.

"...Really?"

"Yes, well, so many people have been sacrificed here. It wouldn't be surprising if something happened."

I continued, adding to what I had heard from the Japanese hunter earlier.

"But if we're careful about the things we need to be cautious about, it won't be that dangerous."

The party members perked up their ears and listened intently to my words.

"First and foremost, the most important principle to keep in mind is to suspect everything here. Don't trust anyone or anything."

"...Suspicion?"

At Lee Yoo-ri's question, I nodded.

"Yeah, things that we know as common sense will be disrupted here. So, especially important is the 'sense of dissonance'. There will definitely be moments when you feel something is unnatural. At those times, you need to be cautious and make careful judgments. And the concept or feature of this forest, if you look at the supplies we brought─"

Then.

─ Wow, who's that guy? He's so handsome!

─ Wow, should we take him with us?

─ Let's take him! Let's take him!

─ Ehehehe, come with us!

Suddenly, creepy voices whispered in my ear.

Along with that, a shadow stretching from the entrance of the forest enveloped me.

Swoosh─

I was sucked into the forest.

'...Huh?'

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

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