(To those who are new, I mainly release updates and refine draft chapters on Fri, Sat, and Sun since these are my free days.)
I wanted to give chase to those three; however, Midoriya Izuku can punch way above his weight class, and I'd rather not face that Mahoraga shikigami again. More than half of my contracts are effectively null because I don't have the prerequisites to use them.
I have all the time in the world anyway and they don't.
I should go back to that first dimension. The one with the infinite offices, this pool is gloomy and depressing. I need to take a bath or maybe a shower first, though.
Then fix my broken bones.
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I found something new, maybe a spot to rest. There was even a red slide, structurally long enough to pose a real human hazard, that led to another area entirely. A wide, circular fenced tiled barrier surrounded it, keeping the water at a safe distance.
The safety inspectors would have a field day with this.
I walked to the next room, and what I saw made me smile. Denji, Power, and even Aki would've loved to see this.
A room full of slides with varying colors. The ceiling was impossibly high, and it was full of interconnected and parallel slides. The whole room was as big as several football fields combined. There were several illuminated windows but they lead to nowhere and a few pillars to support the upper floors.
Whoever made or controlled this place must be more than powerful. They have to be gods themselves, and I want to meet them. Who wouldn't?
I found a nice, shallow pool to wash in, took off all my clothes, sank into it, then closed my eyes. This place is a perfect bathroom, albeit not quite so private. Well, this place is big enough, and I will know if someone is taking a peep.
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After several hours, I returned to the infinite office rooms. My body is properly healed now. I wandered the halls aimlessly, going to places I never went. The more I explore, the messier and more uncontrolled the place gets.
A few minutes earlier, I saw a single bent stop sign and an empty, crashed, toppled bus beside it. I don't think the bus hit the stop sign pole, and I don't think these two objects came from this room itself.
They must've phased in from another world.
The bus was now empty, with no signs of its passengers, though a few dried bloodstains and used bandages remained. Based on the rot, it must've been a year. These people are dead already.
I continued my solo exploration, using my rats as scouts. I've never used them this way; they're usually just for transport or keeping a close eye on someone when my hearing wouldn't suffice.
A soft rumble snapped me from my thoughts. It was the same rumble I'd sensed before, everything covered in a light-green sheen. It's happening again. Is this my chance to escape? Nay.
I placed my palm on the glowing walls, and my hand didn't phase through. Also, there's no guarantee that I will return to my world. This place is like a hallway with many doors.
Best not to knock, much less open.
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A few days later. I've officially been stuck here for more than two weeks. I am currently in what appears to be a cinema or a mock cinema. There are no snack stands nor any movie reels. What a bummer.
Even if there are some reels, I don't quite know how to operate them. Some of the technology here doesn't seem to exist back in my world. I just learned what a smartphone is. I saw a flyer about it and a mockup of a store that sells it.
The closest technological relative I can think of are the bulky phones commonly seen in the hands of American businessmen on New York City streets.
This smartphone would've been quite a boon. With the right attitude, you can track people with these digital curiosities and even spy on them.
There's that rumble again. The air, and even the structures around me, started to glow again in that light-green hue. It's becoming more frequent after that skeleton thing decided to place a mark here.
It opened a portal from its world and then marched its undead army to try to occupy this place. Fortunately, I am far enough away for them not even to see or sense me. Maybe, a whole small country away.
However, they still know someone is watching or spying on them. Maybe someone else is indeed spying on them, maybe it's just not me?
I've ignored the sensation since I can't do anything about it, but it's in the back of my head. I always feel like something is watching.
My mind doesn't play tricks, so I know it's not me.
Anyways, their magic is quite terrifying, but I don't use magic, just contracts, and I guess contracts have their own tricks that even magic can't quite pierce.
Still, I don't want to extensively spy on a force that can cast magic and bend reality to their whims to an even greater extent than mine.
The skeleton sorcerer. Ainz Ooal Gown, he fancies himself, told his servant with a charmingly devilish voice to stop chasing shadows and merely told him that it was just the whole place telling them that they're not really the masters here. Yet.
However, Gown didn't fully dismiss him and just told him to cast anti-scrying and anti-surveillance spells. I've been carefully listening to them, gauging their intentions.
Well, they want to find out the reason for this place's existence and how to exploit it in the name of Nazarick.
How ambitious. If Icarus flew too close to the sun, then the whole of Nazarick is diving straight into the star itself. However, maybe they can do it.
Every single one of those guardians is strong enough to destroy the whole world a few times over, and their army is almost infinite. I don't know how they're making matter out of thin air, even with magic and mana. I can't quite grasp it.
Well, for now, I'll stay at a distance. Besides, my tea is going cold. I managed to find a pack of tea bags yesterday.