I started to regain consciousness after feeling the dust entering my nose and airways. I immediately coughed and opened my still-blind eyes.
Once my vision cleared, I could see my surroundings. A red sandy plain, rocky hills studded with towering, needle-like rocks, a gloomy sky with red, green, and yellow thunder.
I recognized this place, didn't I?
Oh yes, this was the place I'd met the Hellraider in person, but in a dream.
Was this my dream again? I turned around.
But the situation was the same. I was alone here.
I tried pinching my arms and slapping my cheeks. I could feel the pain. I was still wearing the same equipment and armor as before.
"Oh no... it can't be... I... I'm really in hell...!!!" I screamed, shocked and terrified.
The last thing I remember was Simone kicking me in the chest, making me feel like I was being pulled into the main portal.
Suddenly, I heard growls and howls, but I didn't know where they were coming from.
I immediately saw a cave beneath the rocky hill. I instinctively ran inside. I didn't think they might be coming from within.
But fortunately, it wasn't a cave, but a deep depression that formed a fairly large chamber. I immediately hid inside. My reflexes did the same thing I had in the hidden drainage chamber when the disaster struck Earth.
I controlled my breathing to keep it steady and more silent.
After I calmed down, I suddenly heard something running simultaneously past my hiding place. I slowly glanced outside, and there were countless humanoids monsters, hellhounds, and reptilian monsters, just like the ones that appeared on Earth.
"Did they also just come from Earth looking for me? Or did they know where the Hellraiders were?" I wondered.
I was thankful I'd gotten up and found a hiding place right in time. Otherwise, they would have devoured me.
After the group of monsters left, I could breathe a sigh of relief again. Suddenly, I noticed something else in the corner of my vision to the right.
The interface for my weapon slot reappeared. I don't know why this interface appeared so unexpectedly. It seemed like it couldn't be commanded to appear on its own, as if it had consciously sensed what I was doing.
"You... When I needed your help to rescue one of those troops, you didn't show up..." I complained.
I saw one of the slots displaying a pistol icon with a description of 60 rounds underneath. I wondered for a moment why there were 60 rounds when I had inserted five magazines contained 10-round ammo.
Oh yeah, I remembered that the pistol was also loaded with a full-round magazine.
I remembered and checked the other pistol I might have on my belt. But it was gone, and all I had were the pistol magazine and the grenade launcher, each with one only left.
Ahh, I probably dropped the other gun right after Simone kicked me.
I suddenly remembered Simone's actions. Honestly, I didn't understand why he would do that to me so quickly and without first discussing it. Was he still holding a grudge against me, but he was just suppressing it as if his relationship with me had improved? Or was there another motive, as Imelda had said?
I then remembered what Simone had said during our early high school feud.
He didn't want me to be on his level, or even surpass him.
"Ahh... never mind. That's just his true nature. If I were still there and had saved the world, he would most likely still hold a grudge against me," I said with a sigh.
Having begun to come to terms with my fate here, I began to wonder what I should do. There was no way I could just walk around freely. This was a true hellscape. Many terrifying, stronger monsters roamed out there. I also didn't know where Hellraider was, making it difficult for me to track him down.
I thought for a moment. Then I figured out what the solution would be.
According to the game's hell setting, monsters that walk on the plains shouldn't be able to climb these hill walls, unless they're the dinosaur bird monsters.
I planned to just walk along the hill walls. Most of the hills here aren't too steep and are fairly easy to climb. I was confident I could do it without having to face the monsters directly on flat ground.
Then I remembered the binoculars I'd tucked into my slot.
I didn't know what I was putting it in there for at first. But I could use it to monitor the surroundings from the top of the hill and determine which path was safer. It turned out to be a very useful tool here.
I exited the place and carefully scanned the area to ensure there were no monsters in the distance. Once it was safe, I determined which hill I could climb to the top. After selecting a climbing route, I immediately started walking and climbing up the hill.
At the beginning of the trail, I didn't encounter any significant challenges. I was thankful that my physical strengthening training at base was useful for keeping me up the cliff without quickly tiring.
If I had been thrown in here without good physical condition, I probably wouldn't have lasted even an hour.
I had to be careful and keep an eye on my surroundings. I was completely alone here, with no troops protecting me.
Halfway through the trail, I suddenly heard something moving. It seemed to be crawling along the wall of the hill. I had a feeling it must be the monster. Oh shit... it turns out there really is no safe place in hell!
I saw the slot indicator was still there. My right hand immediately reached for it and I said "Pistol." Suddenly, there was a flash of light in my right palm, revealing the same pistol I had retrieved from the headquarters' logistics room.
I adjusted the pistol, ready to fire. Then, I heard something fall from behind and hit the rocks. When I turned around, I saw the same reptilian monster from the nuclear power plant was already about 5 meters away.
The reptilian monster then emitted glowing embers from its back scales, and a fiery liquid was already coming out of its mouth. Damn, it was about to spit the fiery liquid at me.
I immediately got into position, ready to shoot. I aimed my pistol at its eye, intending to briefly blind it and give me time to escape.
As I pulled the trigger, the monster raised its head, intending to release its own liquid, but accidentally exposed its smoldering lower neck.
My bullet went straight into that neck, causing the monster's head to explode.
I was shocked. I only knew how to defeat the monster using the two methods I'd shared with the troops at the nuclear power plant. It turned out this method was much more efficient, but it required precise timing, and there was a high risk of failure that I'd been hit by those fiery liquid.
Before I could feel my relief, I suddenly heard something crawling above me. I looked up and saw the reptilian monster crawling again hill wall. But this time, the worst part was, it was ready to shoot me with its fiery liquid.
Reflexively, I jumped forward. I dodged the blast just in time. As I landed, I turned around and saw the lower part of its neck, still smoldering. I quickly aimed and fired my gun at it, and the monster's head exploded and crashed into the rocks.
But suddenly, a crack appeared in the rocky path, and the path collapsed rapidly toward me. I immediately got up and ran along the path up the hill.
When I saw the top of the hill and was almost there, I immediately jumped to the plateau at the top. I then lay down and caught my breath.
"Thank God, I actually survived this first time in hell without anyone's help," I said with a smile.
After lying down for a moment, I immediately got up and took shelter on the rocky outcropping that formed a large terrace. As I rested, I could see the expansive view of hell.
I wanted to rest for some time. After that, I would observe it with my binoculars and determine where I planned to go and what my strategy would be.