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We, the Violets, surveyed our surroundings.

It was our first time experiencing something like this, and I didn’t know what was what.

It felt as if we had been abducted by aliens.

“Where on earth are we?”

“I have no idea!”

The exhibition hall was completely dark, as if the electricity had gone out.

Around us, shocked people who had fallen were looking around in amazement.

Lucian was sound asleep. Did he faint?

At least the one we knew was okay.

The problem was with the others; they weren’t anywhere to be seen. It didn’t seem like they had moved to another place.

In the meantime, the Violets sensed something strange.

“They’re gone!”

“What’s gone?”

“The Obsidian Legion!”

I was shocked and scanned the area where they had been subdued.

As if they had never been there, the Legion had vanished without a sound.

“Gah! They escaped!”

The startled Violets were searching the surroundings. It seemed they had fled into the darkness.

Looking around, I noticed the Believers had also disappeared.

“Did they run away?”

We examined the situation calmly.

It was important to recognize the problem and solve it calmly, especially in times like these.

“By the way, where did everyone go?”

“I don’t know.”

The Violets looked around the exhibition hall.

Students and hunters who had regained their senses were each carrying a light toward the entrance of the hall.

Thankfully, light from outside was seeping into the entrance.

Daylight is better than the night.

“It’s dangerous. We’ll take care of it!”

A guard hunter stopped those trying to exit and, gripping his crossbow tightly, stepped outside.

Outside the convention center, a thin layer of fog lingered.

And shortly after, a horrified scream echoed.

“Wh-what is this!”

Thinking we might have been attacked, the Violets followed behind with weapons drawn, keeping wary eyes on our surroundings.

Was something terrible about to happen? As we glanced around, an astonishing scene unfolded before us.

“Ah! It’s a dungeon!”

Outside the exhibition hall had transformed into a strange landscape.

Gone was the view of the downtown area; instead, we stood before the vast ruins of a city that resembled the old Vittorio City.

Our confusion lasted only a moment as we received communications from Room 325. Room 325 was near a large cathedral that was visible from here.

“Thank goodness! Room 325 is close!”

“But what about the others?”

The Violets felt fear. Where could the others be in this chaos?

It seemed we weren’t the only ones missing.

“Huh? Gerard? Where are you?”

“Sardine is gone! Teacher? Did you see where he went?”

“Where did Team Leader Laura go? Did you see her?”

The aftermath of those Believers doing something to the Miracle Box earlier had been severe. Who could have ever thought we would fall into such a bizarre world?

Watching people search for acquaintances, colleagues, friends, and family, it seemed like not just those I knew had vanished.

“Hello? Where are you?”

Soon, those who had been inside the convention center began to feel the strange atmosphere and started to step outside one by one.

And just like us, they were shocked or in disbelief.

“This is insane! A dungeon? That’s impossible! There wasn’t even a gate…?!”

As a student screamed, a middle-aged man nearby calmly disagreed.

“Student, this isn’t a dungeon. Strictly speaking… it’s a first-time occurrence, but we should classify it as an Erosion Zone.”

“What’s the difference?”

When the student inquired, the man pointed past the expansive landscape.

“Look over there. It’s blurry, but you can see a city.”

People’s attention shifted toward the point he indicated, and soon they were able to make out the hazy outline of the outside world.

“Is that really true?”

An Erosion Zone is similar to a dungeon, but it refers to an area where the physical laws are twisted by Ether instead of being generated within a separate dimensional space.

It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a dungeon.

However, in this case, it’s somewhat ambiguous.

It might be correct to see it as a dungeon, but for us right now, it’s a reality that’s hard to clearly define.

People began to whisper about the situation beyond the barrier.

“Thank goodness; it’s not a completely isolated space, is it?”

“If we wait, the rescue team will come.”

For a moment they felt relieved, but the groups of students, looking uneasy, scanned the sky.

“Hey, do you see that? It’s a Flying-Type Monster! Isn’t that a Centinox?”

From their school uniforms and magic staffs, they seemed to be students from Aegis Academy.

As the students flailed about in excitement, people’s gazes turned toward the swirling sky, where a stingray-shaped creature hovered through the air.

It looked obviously dangerous.

“If we stay here too long, we’ll definitely be attacked, so it’s better to evacuate quickly.”

“Run away!”

Those who recognized the external monster froze for a moment before rushing back inside the convention center, as if it had never happened.

I followed them in and encountered a blue-haired boy who had just come out.

“Lucian, you’ve woken up!”

“Yeah… I got swept away by that weird wave and fainted…”

His gaze surveyed the outside scene, and soon his face froze stiff, like a statue.

“…What the hell did I do to end up in a place like this…”

Lucian seemed to be feeling quite perplexed. I decided to reassure him with the truth.

“Don’t worry. You see the barrier? We’re right downtown. People will come to rescue us. We have the Violet Network!”

“Oh, right. That’s true…”

His moment of reassurance was brief; he glanced over me and let out a hefty sigh.

“Another disaster happened…”

“What?”

“N-nothing…”

He turned away, murmuring with a melancholy expression.

***

Thirty minutes had passed since we were transferred to this dimension.

While Lucian grumbled about his situation, recalling the Polaris experiential learning disaster and the Vittorio Dungeon incident, the people in the exhibition hall awkwardly began to discuss.

This place was a gathering for the Awakener Academy. In other words, excluding regular visitors or non-combat personnel, there were many people who could afford to fight, albeit clumsily.

If there was even a slight will to fight, it wouldn’t take long to shake off the shock.

“First things first, it’s certain that we’ve fallen into an Erosion Zone. The question now is what to do.”

“Well, we can’t do much. We don’t know the internal information of this place. Acting rashly would be suicide.”

People’s opinions were generally aligned.

Jumping into an unknown dungeon without adequate information is a suicidal act. No one here was foolish enough to volunteer for such a risk.

“The rescue team will come, right? Isn’t this inside a dungeon… if we get exposed to Ether…”

A regular visitor cautiously asked, and a guard replied dismissively.

“It’s fine. Whether it’s a dungeon or an Erosion Zone, they have their own limits. Even if we get excessively exposed to Ether, we won’t die right away.”

There were certainly some who hadn’t come out, but rumors spread, tripping along like they were gossiping but ultimately racing ahead.

Before long, the reality of our situation began to seep into the people inside the convention center.

Reactions were varied.

“Ah! Why did this have to happen while I was here?!”

A student who had come to work at a promotional booth cried out in despair.

“What do we do? We aren’t Awakened Ones…”

Families of regular spectators, drawn into this chaotic situation, looked perplexed.

“Ugh… crap, we’re screwed.”

Salespeople who had come for product promotion were stressed because they all had much to lose and were hesitant about taking risks.

“Alright, everyone, please remain quiet inside until—”

“Who said that?!”

Someone raised an objection to the guard’s words.

A woman hunter wielding a glaive stood up.

“Hey, didn’t you see those stingray monsters above us? We can’t just wait for rescue and risk getting attacked! Didn’t you learn at the academy? Monsters can sense human presence well.”

“That’s the issue. It might be fine for people like us, but there are regular folks here as well. Moving without a plan is dangerous.”

In response to the guard’s query, the woman pointed at the barrier.

“So we need to act more proactively. We should at least check if we can pass through that barrier. Right? If we can get out on our own, we could call for the rescue team sooner, or we could start evacuating people in smaller groups.”

Hearing her words, the guard immediately retorted.

“The distance to the edge of the barrier is quite far. Who’s going to go?”

“Who told you to go? Anyone who wants to can go. Here, who wants to come with me?”

People of all ages grabbed their weapons and began rising from their seats one by one.

“Alright. I’ll also check it out. We might be able to escape, right?”

“I’ll go too! I’m a fourth year. I have enough experience!”

“This is our job, after all. Oh, if you touch the loot, you’ll die?”

Enthusiastic folks volunteered for the external exploration and headed outside.

Among that group was Violet as well.

“This is an adventure!”

Thinking about exploring a new realm made Violet’s heart race.

***

The path to the barrier was further than it appeared.

We had been walking for a long time already.

Perhaps because many had witnessed the battle earlier, Violet 1912 felt the gazes of those around her.

“Wow! I’m so popular!”

As we approached a spot close to the barrier, two students engaged her in conversation.

“Excuse me, which academy are you from?”

“I saw you fighting earlier. Was that your Clone ability?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’m from Aegis Academy.”

Violet nonchalantly replied.

The two students whispered among themselves as if they had seen something fascinating.

“By the way, do you want this? It’s nothing special, just some gum.”

As Violet received the piece of wood the girl handed over, her previously sullen face brightened a little.

“Wow, thank you!”

“You’re welcome. When you’re walking for a long time, chewing something sweet is the best.”

The girl’s kindness brightened Violet’s mood a bit.

“Oh, I’m Violet! I’m a first-year at Aegis Academy.”

After hearing her introduction, the two students responded one by one.

“Really? Nice to meet you. I’m Remy. I’m a second-year at Artur’s Comprehensive Academy.”

“Oh, I see. It’s my first time seeing an Aegis student! I’m a first-year at Vesperia Academy. My name is—”

-Poof!

The girl’s sentence was cut short.

A high-speed projectile, difficult for even an Awakened One to detect, shattered her head into pieces.

“Eh…?”

“What the hell! Get down!”

The people around shouted expletives and took cover.

In the meantime, Violet, drenched in the contents of the girl’s head in front of her, muttered.

“Whoa, her head exploded!”

“How unfortunate!”

A second projectile soon flew and smashed Violet 1912’s head.

“Whoa, my head exploded too!”

Witnessing the consecutive tragedies of the two girls, a nearby male student screamed and fled away.

“Ah, ahhh! Aaaaah!”