Struck by the counterattack, the giant flew off high into the sky. Ishida then continued forward as if nothing had happened. With each step, his wounds vanished, and after crudely wiping away the blood, there were no traces that any damage had been dealt. It was a bizarre sight. This was the Indomitable Will’s power. It gave him durability in a completely different way from Kubota’s Multiplex.
Ishida’s body was sturdy while also possessing regenerative abilities that surpassed those of monsters. I’d heard he could even regrow a limb if one was torn off. That didn’t mean he felt no pain, though. The willpower and nerve to maintain his composure after taking an attack head-on was natural to him.
“Ha ha! This is nowhere near enough to stop me!”
Nakajima was also terrifying. Carrying his namesake Sword of Light in one hand in the form of a shortsword, he cut down the giants standing in his path one after the other. Even without the tremendous destructive power of unleashing his swords, he was among the best of the best in hand-to-hand combat too. Unlike the warriors, this was because he’d acquired the proper skills for this. I’d heard he’d served as the president of the kendo club back in our world, but as a spectator, it looked entirely different. Even when faced with the particularly difficult-to-handle heat rays the guardian giants used, Nakajima had a practically perfect read on them.
“They’re overwhelming, aren’t they?” I commented.
“Ha ha, sure are,” Kubota happily agreed as if he was being praised too. “Ishida’s pretty crazy in his own way, but our leader’s on a totally different level. He’s just, like, different from us.”
“Different how?” I asked.
“Like he lived in a different world,” he answered without hesitation.
“Even the exploration team sees him that way?” I asked, finding myself staring at Kubota.
Kubota was a nicknamed cheater, much like Nakajima. It felt like this shouldn’t have applied to him, but he still spoke without hesitation.
“Oh yeah, totally different. There ain’t no point comparing us. I mean, that guy was different before we even came to this world. Grades, sports, whatever, he could do anything. I mean, school stuff is way too small to measure the full extent of what he can do. It’s like he lives in an entirely different world. You get me?”
As a fellow third year, this was something he could say having observed Nakajima from nearby.
“Ever since coming here,” Kubota continued, “after getting that crazy power that’s way stronger than anyone else’s, nobody questioned it for a second. If that guy doesn’t get power, then who the hell else will? That’s what we all thought. He was pretty amazing back then too.”
“Back then?”
“Right after teleporting to this world, I mean. Those fucking monsters surged out of the woodwork to kill us. The home team never saw it, so I guess you don’t got a feel for what it was like. It was seriously scary. Having the strength to fight and actually fighting are different, yeah? Like hell did anyone actually have fighting experience, so when we were faced with an army of monsters where fighting was a matter of life and death, everyone was shitting their pants. Aah, well, Iino and Todoroki managed just fine, but they’re weird exceptions in their own way.”
I didn’t know about Todoroki Miya, but in Iino’s case, this somewhat made sense. That girl would’ve suppressed her fear in her first battle, using her sense of justice to stand her ground and fight.
“Seeing the two of them steel themselves like that, I managed to fight too,” Kubota continued. “Some other guys did too. I won’t deny that I had cold feet, though. It’s pathetic, but I was seriously scared. I thought it was the end. And right before I gave up...our leader appeared.”
Kubota made a face like he was remembering something very important.
“The situation flipped on its head in a flash,” he said. “It really was like something out of a dream. I thought to myself: that’s a hero.”
“A hero...?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. It sounds corny. But it’s true, so whatever. Anyone who saw him would think the same. I’m sure we all felt that way. At the very least, all of the initial exploration team members who were there did. That’s why the ones still following him are mostly the guys who were there for it.”
It was very clear from Kubota’s tone that he was being serious. Despite being embarrassed, he felt no shame admitting it. That was how important those events were to him. And that same event had also had a great influence on the formation of the exploration team. Thinking back on it, the fact that the exploration team had come together at all was pretty much a miracle.
After all, many of the exploration team members were very egoistic. Pretty much all of them had acquired power based on the conviction that they had to be special because they’d been sent to another world. Simply gathering a bunch of them together using charisma would have things falling apart in no time. The fact that they’d stayed together somehow or other was because, despite considering themselves the main character, they’d found more value in being beneath someone else. Nakajima proving that he had the qualities to fulfill that role in that initial ordeal had worked wonders in that regard.
“No matter what happens, I’m gonna follow that guy. I’ve already decided,” Kubota muttered as he stared at Nakajima opening a path for the group at the front. He then turned to me. “That’s why, seeing as he’s recognized you, I’m sure you’ve gotta be an impressive guy yourself.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I mean, you have in fact pretty much cleared this world solo,” Kubota added. Seeing that I was too embarrassed to say anything back, he smiled. “Relax. It’s our leader’s command. I guarantee I’ll keep you safe. Seriously.” He then looked a little embarrassed but proud as he added, “By the name our leader gave me, the Multiplex, I swear it.”
Around this time, a cave on the other side of the mountains came into sight. This was the door that continued to the next world.
✦ ✦ ✦
Charging into the cave that served as a door, we found ourselves deep inside a forest. Judging by the mana in here, this was the Woodlands.
“No way, you’re kidding me,” Kubota said, repeating what he’d said when we entered the last world. He seemed awfully gloomy this time, though. “I got sick of this place after the Colony and the expedition.”
The same seemed to go for the other exploration team members. Many were grimacing. I understood how they felt. Actually, I’d spent the longest time in the Woodlands among us. I’d lived there after escaping the Colony, and Aker’s reclamation villages were also inside the Woodlands. The reason I didn’t feel dispirited by the sight was because I’d gotten past being fed up with it. It actually felt more like a part of my everyday life.
“Majima,” Nakajima said, coming back from the vanguard. He looked up at me, seeing how I was still seated atop Berta. “Think we’ll catch up with Tomoya’s group soon? If you can tell, then please let me know.”
“Jinguuji’s current location, you mean,” I replied. “Please wait a moment. We passed through the door, so I should be able to grasp the layout of this world too. I’ll take a look and find a path while I’m at it.”
“Got it. We’ll take a short breather, then.”
Given the time to act, I shifted my focus to connecting to this world. The resistance here was stronger than that of the last world. It took a bit to accomplish, but I succeeded in getting the information I needed. There were no paths through this forest. This wasn’t much of a problem considering the exploration team’s physical capabilities. I confirmed the optimal route to use and located all the traps on the way, neutralizing every last one. And as my consciousness approached the faraway door to the third world...
“Found him.”
For the first time on our chase, I found another human ahead of us. It was Jinguuji and his friends. I didn’t know what they looked like, but there was nobody else it could be. Above all else, they were with a dragon. That had to be the Dragon Jinguuji Tomoya.
They were pretty close to the door to the next world, so we couldn’t slow down. Still, we’d finally caught up to the point that our targets could be confirmed. Conveniently for us, Jinguuji and his friends had gotten torn apart by the traps and giants in here. They were scattered in small groups. At this rate, it’d be possible for us to catch up before they got to the next world.
“Huh...?”
After figuring all that out, I made a slight noise. I’d found someone else on the move aside from them.
“Kudou?”
Hearing me mutter, the wolf beneath me stiffened.