I couldn’t be sure if my life had been unhappy up to this point.

But I was certain that this moment was happy.

A few days had passed since I woke up. During that time, I could count on one hand the times I had left the healing room.

That’s how severe my condition was.

While nestled in Professor Atra’s arms, I had listened to the healers explain my situation.

What did they say… Multiple fractures throughout my body, damaged circuits…

In summary, my bones were shattered, my muscles torn, my circuits destroyed, my core damaged, my internal organs ruptured…

And my left arm was severed…

In any case, I was in a condition worse than a corpse.

Hearing that diagnosis, I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Why am I alive?’

I couldn’t speak for others, but I definitely wanted to live.

Regardless of hope, I thought it was unlikely I would survive.

Even considering my body’s state, it seemed logical that I should have died. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to describe my condition as a pile of meat rather than a corpse?

Driven by my own stubbornness, I had charged at the monster and killed Aerulus in a desperate move.

Just before losing consciousness, I had thought I would die too.

I had a similar experience before.

Showing a similar stubbornness, I had once been hit by a truck while trying to save a person.

At that time, I thought I would die too.

But I had opened my eyes. As I blinked my blurry eyes in confusion, the doctor had made a fuss, talking about miracles and divine luck…

In summary, I should have died back then too, but I had survived.

It’s a similar experience.

While pondering, someone’s hand rested on my head.

‘Ah…’

Soon, hands gently stroked my head as if handling something precious, and my body melted into a puddle.

As I went limp, another hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. Naturally, I nestled snugly into Professor Atra’s arms.

It was warm and cozy. The sensation of my worries being pushed away made my barely steady mind relax again.

My head was patted, and my back was gently tapped. My body, enveloped in warmth and softness, relaxed completely…

A smile crept up on my lips. Instinctively, my body squirmed closer. I wrapped my slightly freer right arm, now less hindered, around Professor Atra’s waist.

Our bodies clung tightly together, sharing each other’s warmth, making it very warm.

I could also hear her heartbeat.

Turning my head, I pressed my ear to Professor Atra’s chest, hearing her heartbeat more clearly than before.

‘Hehe…’

At our first meeting, Professor Atra was scary.

She was so tall that I had to crane my neck to meet her eyes, and the sheer physical presence and magical intensity I perceived through spatial awareness were overwhelming.

I thought that a flick of her finger would crush me into pieces, leaving nothing behind.

Her demeanor was always stern and cold. The impression was that if I made even the slightest mistake, I would face a harsh scolding or a chilling glare.

She embodied the image of an adult I had in my mind.

But now, this same person was holding me like this, patting and stroking me.

– Chuckle

Sometimes, she would chuckle and ask if I felt good.

A sense of security filled my body. I had an unfounded certainty that everything would be okay as long as I was in her arms.

‘Hehe…’

My thoughts stretched out. I felt happy. Such thoughts floated into my mind.

The rationality I had forced myself to maintain was subdued once again.

People often say that living too complicated a life leads to unhappiness.

That thought suddenly came to mind.

…

…

The world had apparently been in an uproar for the past few days. The turmoil was still blazing.

Shipnaha… The chain of dungeon rampages in Scotland.

Commonly referred to as the “Shipnaha Dungeon Rampage” incident.

Hundreds of people died, and thousands were injured in this catastrophe.

It was a dungeon rampage that occurred amidst an otherwise peaceful atmosphere, resulting in significant casualties.

Naturally, investigations followed.

While the boundaries were now blurred, there were still national investigations as well as investigation teams dispatched by the association.

The results were quite shocking.

The disaster in Shipnaha was, strictly speaking, a man-made disaster.

The “Guardians of the Northern Mountains” clan was involved in this disaster.

The Guardians of the Northern Mountains was a clan representing Shipnaha, consisting mainly of mid-to-high-level heroes.

Heroes or hunters of mid-to-high rank wouldn’t be disregarded anywhere.

However, they were widely regarded as lacking the power to enter upper-level dungeons due to the absence of top-level heroes.

In short, they were the head of a snake.

They earned upper-tier profits for a snake, but the sight of a dragon’s tail in front of them had stirred their greed.

In the end, they had made various preparations to become the dragon’s tail, one of which was establishing a farm.

A farm.

Intentionally not collapsing a dungeon, maintaining it, and periodically harvesting its resources and monster by-products.

It wasn’t illegal. There were various types of dungeons, and some generated resources that could put gold mines to shame.

In such cases, limited farms were allowed through the association’s strict inspections and management.

The Guardians of the Northern Mountains had been operating illegal farms without the association’s approval.

Not just one, but several.

The results were disastrous.

Whether due to poor management of the farms or unusual characteristics of the dungeon that showed no signs of rampage.

The farms went on a massive rampage, causing terrible casualties.

And I got swept up in it.

‘Damn it.’

The explanation I received shocked me enough to jolt my dazed mind.

Damn it.

Getting caught up in a natural disaster is bad enough, but it was a man-made accident?

If Professor Atra hadn’t held and calmed me, I might have thrashed around in my current state, throwing a fit.

Even as I was subdued by the embrace, my teeth ground together.

Gritting my teeth was all I could do.

For some reason, I had new teeth.

I remembered that I had shattered my gums from clenching my teeth in frustration, but they were restored.

Restored.

My thoughts reached this point, and my excitement subsided.

I had similar memories.

When my leg had been shattered, it had gradually restored over time.

My leg had been severed, completely crushed, and they had amputated it. I remembered being out of my mind for days because my leg was missing.

After receiving compensation and holing up in a new house, how many months had passed?

At some point, I had seen a new leg where the empty space used to be and had tried to wake up, thinking it was a dream.

Realizing it was reality, I had been so scared that I didn’t tell anyone. I had hidden it, afraid of being treated like a lab rat.

Shortly after that, I had ended up in this world.

I still didn’t understand that part. Considering the existence of unique abilities, there might be special abilities I didn’t know about.

So, I could still nurture a faint hope. If I waited, maybe my arm would grow back like my leg? Such a hopeful thought.

In any case.

The reasons behind the disaster in Shipnaha and the terrible casualties left in its wake spread throughout the world.

The news constantly featured videos related to Shipnaha.

Experts from various places brought up records from past chaotic times, reminding people of the dangers of dungeons and monsters.

As a result, there were voices reminding people not to get too complacent with peace and to always prepare for dungeons and monsters.

The internet blazed for days.

There were also reports that the Guardians of the Northern Mountains clan and those who had benefited from them, directly or indirectly, were being investigated and arrested.

Seeing how things were unfolding, it seemed like just another human society.

There were crazy people driven by greed, moderately greedy people, ordinary people, and relatively good people.

It was a world where different people lived.

With such ambiguous thoughts, I browsed the internet.

Occasionally, seeing the death toll from Shipnaha filled me with self-reproach…

“Don’t make that face. You did something worthy of praise and respect, never something to be sullen about.”

– Grumble…

Every time, Professor Atra seemed to know how I felt and would pinch my cheek, telling me not to think like that.

Having my cheeks pinched, the gloom rapidly dissipated, and all I could think was that I wanted my cheeks to be touched more.

I felt like a fool.

Killing time, I was absentmindedly listening to news updates on the floating hologram.

[‘City of Hell, Shining ‘Cadet Hero’ in that Place’ Reading the related article.]

‘…?’

Did I hear that wrong?

* * *

[Player Adjustment System: Pioneer]

[Quest “Rescue 1 Person” achieved]

[Quest “Rescue 5 People” achieved]

…

[Quest “Rescue 100 People” achieved]

…

[Quest “Rescue 500 People” achieved]

…

[Quest “Rescue 10,000 People” achieved]

…

[Quest “Collapse of a Level 4 Dungeon” achieved]

[Quest “Subjugate Multiple Level 7 Monsters” achieved]

…

[Quest “Subjugate a Level 5 Alpha Entity” achieved]

…

[Quest “Beast of the Red Mist” achieved]

…

[Accumulating remaining points]

…

[Savior Adjustment System: Pioneer]

[Quest “First Trial” achieved]

[Quest “Qualification of the Savior” achieved]

[Accumulating a large amount of points]

End of Chapter