Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 117: Too Weak

"Alan... Alan... Alan!" Bob shouted at me.

I snapped out of my deep thoughts.

"Are you okay? Or are you still shaken because you died? Come on, man, don’t be a coward," he said with a grin.

"Hah! Says the one who died first," I shot back.

"He was so fast, man... I couldn’t even react. And you didn’t last much longer than me."

"Yeah, whatever. But now we lost 5,000 BP for pain, and got nothing in return," I said, frustrated.

"But isn’t that great though, Alan? We can use these cards to push past our limits and grow stronger. No wonder it’s called a Challenge Card! It’s meant to pull us out of our comfort zone. That’s terrifickingly cool!" Bob said, clearly exhilarated.

Terrifickingly? Is that even a word?

I rolled my eyes. "Challenge or not, that card just now was way beyond us. There’s no point in challenging something like that if we haven’t made any progress ourselves. We’re just throwing BP away."

I turned my gaze to the window. The sky had turned a warm orange, it was already evening. Down below, people were setting up stalls for the night bazaar in front of our building.

Bob then opened up his status window and picked another card. He held it up to me.

"Alan, let’s try this one. I picked a Rare. It’s just 2,500 BP," he said, trying to persuade me.

I turned my head sharply toward him. "Did you not learn anything from our last mistake?"

"Come on, bro. Just this one. I think we can beat it."

He showed me the card, it had a picture of a tapir-like creature, clad in heavy armor. The name read: "Bakuul the Devourer."

Tapir? That animal is small, isn’t it?

Maybe this one’s better than the last nightmare we faced. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

I sighed. "Fine. Just this one, okay?"

Bob nodded eagerly.

And with that, we were teleported to the arena again.

Another 2,000 BP down the drain...

...

Thud!

Once again, we landed flat on our buttocks in our room.

"What the hell was that?! Are you sure that thing was Rare rarity?" I snapped at Bob, thoroughly irritated.

Bob looked traumatized, his head pressed against the floor, hands clutching his hair, trembling wildly.

"T-That was scary..." he mumbled.

What we just faced was no less terrifying than Gazelle. If Gazelle was about speed, then that thing was all about defense.

Sure, we managed to land a few hits this time since it was slow...but none of them had any effect.

And Bob, as usual, was the first to die.

And the way he died? It was gruesome, he was eaten alive by that monster.

And as for me, I got stomped to death by that creature.

Just thinking about it again made my whole body shiver.

Even a Rare rarity was strong as hell.

I’m starting to think this system seriously underestimates the power of these monsters.

Bob slowly lifted his head.

"I-I could feel my intestines getting chewed by that thing," he said, still trembling.

"Let’s stop for today, Bob," I said with a sigh.

"It’s obvious these monsters are way too strong for us. That just means we’re still too weak. Let’s focus on strengthening ourselves first."

"Hmm... okay," Bob replied, slowly getting to his feet and wobbling toward the toilet.

Then suddenly...

"How about we try the Uncommon one?"

"NO!" I shouted.

And at the same time, a flock of dove birds resting on our window took flight, soaring across the city sky.

---

"Are you sure it was a new tunnel?" Sir Edward raised a brow as he spoke to the old man in front of him.

"I’ve been doing this job for nearly fifty years. And you still question my ability?" Poch replied, his tone sharp.

They sat in a beautifully exotic room, warm and rich in details. The wooden walls were adorned with vibrant flowers, blooming as if they belonged to another season. A fireplace crackled gently nearby, casting dancing shadows across the space. Above it hung the mounted head of a deer, its glassy eyes glowing, almost as if still alive.

Tall bookshelves lined the opposite wall, stacked full of aged tomes. A sliding ladder clung to the rails.

Edward and Poch were seated on a deep, comfortable sofa in front of the fire. Their faces were serious as they studied a hand-drawn map laid out on the table before them. The flickering flames bathed the room in a reddish hue, adding a sense of gravity to their discussion.

Edward placed his hand on his chin, fingers brushing through his neatly trimmed white beard, deep in thought over everything Poch had just said.

"I’ll take note of everything you’ve told me, Poch. Does anyone else know about this?" he asked.

"So far, just the mining crew and William, the warrior from the Dawnbloom Guild."

"Hmm... It’s going to be tough keeping this from spreading. Still, just tell them to keep their voices down."

"I’ll let them know... but you know how loose their mouths can be," Poch chuckled.

Edward then stood up. "Thank you for informing me. Don’t worry, I’ll find a new mining site for your group while I investigate this issue," he said, extending his hand.

"Please, sir. These boys rely on this work to survive each day," Poch said, grasping his hand and shaking it firmly.

Poch then exited the room, leaving Edward standing alone in front of the fireplace. The quiet crackle of flames was the only sound that remained.

Edward had served King Radcliff for nearly three decades, ever since the current king took the throne, a fact made evident by the streaks of white in his otherwise black hair. He had worked tirelessly, dedicating his life to supporting both the king and the kingdom.

But one day, an outsider arrived, and slowly, Edward’s role as the king’s right-hand man began to diminish, taken over by that outsider named Kelar.

Since Kelar assumed the role, many things had changed in the kingdom. The most significant was the monster attack on Rose City, ten years ago. Tens of thousands lost their lives that day.

Edward was the one who led the investigation into that tragedy. But strangely, nothing could be found. It was as if all the evidence had vanished, like someone had intentionally covered it all up. From that moment, he began to grow suspicious of Kelar, especially because of the things Kelar did afterward. One of them was taking a young royal knight named Cythia under his wing.

That girl had once been one of the key witnesses in Edward’s investigation. But since becoming a royal knight under Kelar’s command, Edward had been unable to get close to her.

Which is why, with this current issue, the discovery of a secret tunnel, he already had a suspect in mind.