Chapter 6

“Belva. Belva. Give me a title next to my name, like in a game.”

[…What kind of title?]

<(Great Adventurer) Yuyeona Lv.7>

Hmm.

I smiled as I looked at the shiny, flashy title next to my name.

It feels like I might get some extra stats or something.

[That’s not a thing… By the way, why “adventurer”? Are you going somewhere?]

“Yeah. This time, I’m planning to cross over to a completely different region.”

[Finally!]

Belva, who used to always warn me about the dangers and try to stop me, is now cheering me on.

I’ve prepared enough for this.

I stayed for about two more months, honing my stats and combat senses.

Since I evenly raised my stats, leveling up took a bit longer, but I still managed to go up two whole levels.

And the most important thing—this right here!

[Warehouse is empty (1.8/150)]

The fact that I bought a premium void warehouse has me excited.

As expected, it doesn’t have features like preventing food from spoiling, but the fact that the weight of items doesn’t affect me is a huge win.

It seems to work by sending physical items into a void dimension…

It’s fascinating. I saw some magic books in the shop too. Maybe someday I’ll be able to use dimensional magic like that.

Anyway, after storing some food, I’m ready to set off on my journey.

My enhanced senses, especially my vision, have shown me a world far beyond.

From the top of a high mountain, this endless, vast land stretches out.

Snow-covered tundras, volcanoes bubbling with fire and lava, deep and dark oceans, and steep canyons—all places untouched by human hands, quietly existing in their natural state.

As the only human in this land, I can’t help but explore.

Wait for me, world! I’m coming!

[Still, you need to be careful. You haven’t faced monsters from other terrains yet, so there could be unexpected variables.]

That’s exactly why I’ve been preparing all this time.

In this jungle, I’ve already taken down most of the small to medium-sized monsters, excluding the giant dinosaurs.

I’ve mastered weapon skills, learned how to wield magic, and even trained for the worst-case scenarios.

Like when nature calls, or dirt gets in your eyes, or you hit your head and your vision goes blurry—I’ve tried almost every worst-case scenario I could think of and prepared countermeasures.

Belva even begged me to stop, crying, because I was so thorough.

Honestly, there’s still more I could prepare, but it’s too much now.

Let’s just go.

I’ve reached the limit of my patience.

If I keep preparing, I’ll just stress myself to death.

[Shall we set off, adventurer?]

“Alright! Let’s go!”

The cool breeze brushes through my hair.

Sunlight filters through the green canopy above.

I feel good.

It’s like going on a picnic.

The once vague anxiety about traveling to a foreign land now feels like a sweet reward.

*

[You’ve discovered a new region. Bonus Strength +1]

“Huh? You have that kind of feature?”

[Nope. But doesn’t it feel good? You haven’t been checking your status screen much lately, so I thought I’d spice things up.]

Ah, for a second, I got excited.

The moment I set foot in this snowy field, I get hit with a lame joke like that. What bad luck.

Belva doesn’t have the ability to boost my physical stats.

She just quantifies my improved body, like a mirror.

Leveling up is just a phenomenon created by my body, which I still don’t fully understand.

Speaking of which, it’s getting hotter here.

I tossed off one of the thick layers I was wearing.

Just five minutes ago, my lips were trembling from the cold, but now I’m sweating.

The temperature change is too fast.

Could it be…?

“Is my body adapting?”

I crouched down and poked the thick snow with my hand.

It was cold, but not unbearably so.

I didn’t feel like I’d get frostbite.

It’s hard to believe, considering how my fingers used to freeze solid when I had snowball fights as a kid.

[That’s right. Your body has developed a resistance to the cold, pushing it away. It’s probably a form of resistance… If you go somewhere even colder, that ability will strengthen.]

Resistance?

[Adaptation comes in many forms. You can either accept and adapt or resist and push back. Both are essentially the same. Your body tends to choose the more efficient method. Right now, it’s decided that pushing the cold away is better than accepting it.]

“Thanks for the explanation.”

Belva always enriches me with knowledge from another dimension.

Seeing Belva get smarter and smarter, I feel like by the time the main story starts, there’ll be nothing she doesn’t know.

I closed my eyes and consciously gathered the cold energy bouncing off my skin, storing it inside my body.

Instantly, the cold enveloped me, and the freezing temperatures I hadn’t felt before rushed to my skin.

My teeth are chattering. My whole body is—

It feels like an earthquake is happening, the ground is shaking.

What the hell is the temperature here?

I could tell by the slight freezing of my breath, but it seems to be at least several tens of degrees below zero.

[What are you doing! Why are you messing with what I just got used to…!]

Calm down.

I just tried it once.

To see how dangerous it is.

I pushed away the cold again and crossed the snowy field in slightly thinner clothing.

No matter how I think about it, there’s something wrong with this body.

It must have been made by whoever sent me here, but if that’s the case, I don’t understand why they gave me such an absurd body.

Is it not to torment me?

Is there another reason I don’t know about?

As I continued walking and thinking, I found a huge block of ice rising like the top of an iceberg.

The surface is smooth and hard.

Even if I stab it with all my might, it doesn’t even leave a scratch.

“This is a bit strange.”

It’s impossible for such a result just from its hardness. It’s just a block of ice.

My guess is that it might be protected by some special power.

“Right?”

[Exactly. I was unsure, but it really is a Dimensional Stone…]

Dimensional Stone.

Another unfamiliar term has appeared.

At first, I thought it was just about surviving in the dinosaur age, but it’s gradually becoming more fantastical.

Hmm… judging by the nuance of the name, it seems very important, right?

[Yes. The Dimensional Stone is like a passage that connects this world with other dimensions. It spreads Dimension Power throughout the world, fostering adaptability to other dimensions. However, if there are too many, monsters from other dimensions can invade, and if there are too few, the dimension can close entirely, so careful attention is needed.]

Upon hearing that explanation, I reached out to the iceberg.

It wasn’t cold at all.

Rather than not being cold, it’s more like I didn’t feel any peculiarity.

How long was I like that?

At some point, it was like pressing my ear against someone’s belly, strange sounds started echoing in my head.

It was like whispers of something, or perhaps eerie wind sounds.

And then, a little later, the energy inside the iceberg began to slowly, very slowly, flow into me.

Belva screamed.

[What are you doing, seriouslyyyy!!!]

“Why?”

[If the Dimensional Stone disappears, the world will close entirely! It’s amazing that you can absorb Dimension Power… but without the Dimensional Stone, I’ll be kicked out of here too. I won’t be able to interfere anymore.]

According to Belva, the Dimensional Stone is an extremely rare tool capable of spreading Dimension Power throughout the world,

and if you absorb the Dimension Power from it, the world will close entirely, becoming a dead world.

I became curious.

Roughly, how many Dimensional Stones should there be to be appropriate? You said too many would be dangerous?

[Considering the Dimensional Stone you’re looking at now… about five would be appropriate. More than ten would be a bit dangerous.]

“So that’s it.”

I concentrated magic power in my legs and jumped high up.

In an instant, the clouds were close.

Recently, Belva has been sticking only by my side, unaware of things happening far away.

When I asked why, she said she’d rather be with a sure friend than take care of small possibilities.

She said it’s better to stick around like this to prepare for any unforeseen variables.

So, it seems she doesn’t know the characteristics of this area yet.

When that Dimension Power entered my body, I instinctively knew.

Like magnets attracting and repelling,

I and the Dimensional Stone shared a strange sensation,

and through it, I could roughly grasp the location and number of nearby Dimensional Stones.

It’s creepy.

How many are there?

[…It’s unbelievable.]

Icebergs spaced a few hundred meters apart.

Each one of those is a Dimensional Stone.

Some are as small as toys, and some are as huge as real mountains.

And the total amount of Dimension Power contained in them is insufficient even if there were tens of thousands of the Dimensional Stones I just saw.

“With that much, something should have happened by now, why is there no reaction yet?”

At my words, Belva thought for a moment, then shouted as if she had just remembered.

[The incubation period! It’s the incubation period! I forgot this is the Primitive Dimension. Those Dimensional Stones are not functioning yet, but when the time comes, they will explode and scatter Dimension Power all at once. That’s when the great cataclysm begins.]

The great cataclysm…

The ominous feeling from that word was unusual.

It feels like a meteor might fall or something.

[It will fall.]

“Huh?”

[Another world itself will crash into this world!]