Novel Full Chapter 1225: Are We Tripping?
Chapter 1225: Are We Tripping?
Black smoke… Empty clearing… Now I’m completely alone…
Right, right… Let’s just backtrack a bit and figure some things out…
First, we knew there was someone watching us while we were travelling through the forest… That person never left and was still there when we set up camp…
Then smoke suddenly appeared around our camp out of nowhere and covered all of us before I found myself here…
Is this a kidnapping? Or was there something in the smoke that is causing me to hallucinate?
Well, first things first…
I activated the ring on my finger and tried to connect to my lovers telepathically.
’Everyone?’
’Mistress! Are you safe?!’
’Sister Aster! Where are you?!’
’Aster! Where did you go?’
’Aster? Are you alright? Where are you?’
’Boss!! Everyone disappeared!’
’Aster! You’re alright!’
All of their voices overlapped one another and I had trouble understanding what they were saying all at once.
But the fact that this worked was a huge relief for me. Now I’m really glad that I handed them out when I did.
’Girls, calm down,’ I chided them mentally. ’I’m alright, but it seems like all of us have been sent somewhere else? Did all of you get teleported elsewhere?’
A chorus of affirmatives came through the telepathy connection.
So everyone got sent somewhere else and not just me huh…
’What do all of you see around you?’
All of them started speaking, or more accurately, thinking at the same time which made it impossible for me to understand what they were trying to tell me.
’Wait, wait, wait. One at a time girls. Katsuki, what do you see?’
’I’m standing in a clearing, Mistress. It looks like the clearing that we had set up camp in but just without our camp. The forest around me also seems darker than normal…’
’Is everyone’s situation the same? Is there anyone who is in a different place?’
All my girls affirmed that they were also stuck in a clearing as well.
I tried to grope around the clearing, checking if my girls were still there but just merely invisible.
But seeing that I grabbed nothing but air, I can safely say that they were definitely not around me right now.
’So… I guess this is something like an alternate dimension or something?’ I thought aloud.
’It could be… But for this to trap all of us like this… The person who set this up must be especially powerful, Aster… And with all of us separated, that’s not good,’ Lisa sighed.
Minnera’s thoughts came through the link, ’A trap huh… Why would they even want to trap us? What are they after?’
’We can figure out the purpose later. First, I think we should figure out how to break out of here,’ I decided.
Odeta’s frustrated thoughts came through next, ’Ngghhh… I’ve been trying to punch the ground to see if I can break it, Sister Aster! But all it did was make a big hole!’
’Guess that means we won’t be able to overpower the trap through physical force… I suppose we might as well start exploring the area around us to see if we can find anything?’ I suggested.
A chorus of affirmatives came over our telepathic link again.
I looked around and it didn’t look like there was any difference with how the trees around me looked so I just picked a random direction and started walking.
We maintained our telepathic connection and I could hear the girls’ thoughts quite clearly, most of them simply continuously checking on me to see if I was alright and me assuring them I was while also asking if they were safe themselves.
Pushing through the thick underbrush of the forest, I finally saw a break in the trees and tried to walk towards it.
Pushing the bushes aside, I found myself looking at… A clearing.
’Sister Aster? Did you find a clearing?’ Odeta asked through her thoughts.
’Yeah… I’m looking at it now… Did you also find a clearing as well?’
’Yep… And it’s the same clearing as well… The crater I made is still there.’
The other girls also started confirming with me that they had also found a clearing on their side as well.
’Ok… Just one of us somehow getting turned around and walking in a circle might be possible… Two might even be a coincidence… But all of us somehow also returning back to the same position we started out in? That’s definitely a sign that there’s something weird going on…’ I thought.
The others also thought out their agreement while I stepped out into the clearing once more, trying to see if there was any sign or clue that might help us with our current situation.
Right then, I heard a groan coming from behind me and I immediately leapt back while spinning around, my hand raised in preparation to fire a spell at whatever was behind me.
Hmm? Is that… A zombie?
At the edge of the clearing, shuffling over towards me, was what looked like a walking corpse.
Its skin was grey and its eye sockets were hollow. Bits of hair were sticking out of the top of its head and it’s slowly shambling over towards me with one of its hands reaching out to me.
I wasn’t sure what kind of zombie the body was filled with various cuts and really thin so it could just be the corpse of an anorexic man or something.
’Err… Girls? Did a zombie just show up on your sides too?’
’It’s some kind of zombie wolf, Mistress.’
’Oh, I got a zombie goblin I think?’
’It’s a female Mahun zombie I believe.’
’I umm… I think I’m looking at a Wrunch zombie, Aster…’
’I think so, Boss? It has some weird tentacles sticking out of its back though.’
’I wouldn’t call mine a zombie but a mummy I guess?’
Huh… So everyone’s different?
’What is it doing?’
Odeta was the first to answer, ’Wahahaha! Nothing! I just punched it into the ground and killed it! It disappeared into light stuff though!’
Guess I should have expected Odeta to punch first and ask questions later.
Is this really a trap? Was this just a test to see what we would do when we’re faced with something like this?
The zombie shambled a little closer and I walked right up to it, trying to see what it would do.
Who knows, maybe it was here to guide me out?
When I reached just a meter away from the zombie, it suddenly let out a cry and raised both its arms to charge towards me.
Despite that, I stood my ground and waited for it to get even closer.
It then grabbed my shoulders and reared its head before it leaned forward with its mouth wide open, aiming for my neck.
Ok, there’s no doubt now, it clearly wants to attack me…
I punched it in the abdomen, sending the entire zombie flying towards the tree and crashing into it with such force that its body split into two and exploded into red mist.
I watched the corpse to see if anything would change and it soon turned into particles of light and floated away.
’Seems like it’s fine to kill it…’ I mused.
The moment I thought that, the girls all reported that they’ve killed the zombies on their side as well.
Just as I was about to wonder whether more of these zombies will show up, the ground underneath my feet started to rumble and shake.
I thought something might burst out from the ground and prepared myself, only to see one part of the trees part themselves to reveal a path forward.
’Did that happen when you beat your zombie, Odeta?’ I asked.
’Hmm? Only just now, Sister Aster.’
’So… Seems like all of us have to beat our opponent before we can move on then?’
’Is this some sort of trial then? Wahahaha! Maybe it’s some kind of test to see how strong each of us is and we get some kind of reward at the end!’
Lisa clucked her tongue mentally, ’Or it might just be a trap that was designed to kill each of us individually.’
I sighed, ’It doesn’t matter which one it is right now. Just make sure all of you keep yourselves safe and proceed carefully. Let’s just assume that this is a trap for now.’
The girls agreed with me and I started walking down the path that had appeared in front of me.
The forest continued to part as I walked along the path before another clearing came into view, this time it was definitely a different clearing since there was something different in the middle of the clearing.
Something that shouldn’t even be in this World, much less in this clearing alone.
Why the heck am I looking at an apartment complex sitting in the middle of a forest clearing?
It’s those modern apartments that you might see in the suburbs with two floors and individual apartment units too…
What the heck is this place?!