"Um... excuse me, I'd like to say something. May I?" A soft voice came from the corner of the cave, breaking the previous tension.
All eyes turned. A thin figure with messy hair looked at them with a hint of hesitation. His clothes were too big, his face was pale, but his eyes were serious.
Theo stepped forward, gesturing. "Go ahead, Erik."
Erik took a breath, looking at everyone briefly before speaking. Next to him, two people, a boy and a girl, stood close together, looking like a small circle that didn't want to stand out too much.
"I... think this is just my hypothesis," his voice was hoarse, "but..."
He paused, feeling the gaze of twenty pairs of eyes piercing his body.
"...I think... we're trapped in another world."
Silence. Even the sound of water droplets was clearly audible. For a moment, everyone seemed frozen, trying to digest those words.
Then, a small voice broke the silence. "What... do you mean?" whispered, almost inaudibly.
Followed by another, louder.
"Another world? Are you crazy?"
"Impossible!"
"Nonsense!"
A roar of voices erupted, filling the dark cave. Some of the students stared at him as if Erik had just uttered a crazy spell.
Amidst the commotion, Kyle just looked down, his shoulders heaving heavily. Karin snorted, her disgust clearly visible. Lisa covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders shaking as she held back tears. Hanna, who had been trying to stay strong, was now pale, her eyes wet, as if the image of Carl and the first bus had come back to haunt her.
And Raven, He didn't say a word. Sitting in the corner, his back pressed against the wall, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails turned white.
His gaze was fixed on the ground, cold... and full of pressure.
"Silence." Theo's voice boomed, enough to silence most of the noisy mouths.
His gaze was intense, forcing everyone to focus on Erik. "Finish it, Erik."
Erik took another breath. This time his voice was steadier. "I know… this sounds crazy. But think about it. How could anyone or any human throw a spear at that speed? How could they run so fast that they almost caught up with our bus? Even after we sped up, they were still closing in on us!"
He paused for a moment, then looked around.
"And one more thing. We were clearly on the highway. But somehow, we suddenly found ourselves stranded in a vast grassland. There was no asphalt, no passing cars, not even a trace of a road. Explain that if it's not... another world." There was a moment of silence.
Even the most skeptical couldn't argue with that logic.
"If... if what you say is true..." a student whispered, "Does that mean we're... stuck here forever?"
Erik looked down for a moment, then shrugged. His eyes looked dark.
"I don't know. But... if this really is another world like in the novels I've read..."
he swallowed, then looked at them one by one, "...usually, someone is given power. Either from the System, or from the gods... that power is what usually allows the main character to survive, and even find a way home."
"HEY!" interrupted a student in a high-pitched voice.
"Then why did we run away from them earlier? If we have powers, we should be able to fight back, right?!"
Erik was silent for a moment, then replied stiffly. "I'm just saying... that's how it usually is in novels."
"So what do you mean?" came another annoyed voice, tinged with scorn.
"Novels, novels, novels!" another student hissed sarcastically.
"So what are we then? Novel characters?! You're crazy!"
The commotion broke out again, voices overlapping each other. Mr. William and a counselor just stood there, watching and staring at Erik seriously.
"Enough!" William's voice finally cut through the commotion, firm and heavy.
"Erik." He looked straight at the student.
"So... what's your conclusion?"
Erik swallowed, then answered slowly, but his words were like a bomb.
The room fell silent. Everyone stared at Erik. He took a deep breath, then spoke softly, "This... is just my theory. But I don't think this world is a fantasy world of magic like in novels.
The world we entered..." He paused for a moment, took a breath.
"This world... is the world of Murim. The world of martial artists."
Silence. Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
"Murim...?" someone whispered.
"What is that?"
Confusion spread quickly. Pale faces exchanged glances, seeking an explanation.
In the corner of the cave, Raven, who had been silent until then, suddenly furrowed his brow.
That word...
Murim...
For some reason, it sounded strange yet familiar to his ears. Like a faint echo of something he once knew or should have known.
Erik finally spoke again, slowly, his voice heavy.
"Murim... is a world centered on martial arts. The people there train their bodies and minds beyond the limits of ordinary humans. They are called martial artists. And some... have something called inner energy, or qi. It's a kind of life force that they train until they can use it as a weapon."
Some people gasped and some were amazed by Erik's long explanation in one breath.
"So... the world is full of warriors?" a student's voice trembled.
Erik nodded slowly. "If this is true, Murim... then the law here is not the law of the state. Not the law of the police. But the law of the jungle. The strong... rule. The weak..."
He lowered his head, his voice dropping, "...are trampled. Or killed.
The cave suddenly felt colder. Several students shivered.
"Nonsense!" one student exploded, more to cover his fear.
"That's just a story in a novel! How could that be possible—"
"Think again," Erik cut in, his gaze piercing.
"The people who threw spears that strong. The people who ran almost as fast as a bus. Their clothes were like those of people from ancient times. That... is exactly what the world of Murim is like."
Ancient clothes...?
Raven furrowed his brow. Those words immediately drew him into the shadow of a dream that often haunted his sleep, where a strange man in long, ancient-style clothes, typical of a dynasty he had once researched himself, appeared.
Instantly, a cold feeling began to spread down his spine.
Could it be... that the dream had something to do with this place?
"If that's true..." another voice trembled, "what will happen to us? Do we also... have to become like them?"
Erik was silent for a moment, then looked down. His hands clenched the hem of his baggy shirt. "I don't know. But if the novel's pattern is correct... then we have two choices: adapt... or die."
A small commotion broke out again, some students began to panic, some were angry, some laughed cynically because they didn't believe it. But Theo's gaze remained unmoving. He stared at Erik, his eyes dark, thinking silently.
Raven himself was still leaning against the cave wall, his face submerged in the shadows of his thoughts. Murim's words swirled in his head, mixed with strange dreams that felt increasingly real.
Suddenly, Lisa's voice broke the commotion. "Wait!" she said quickly, her tone almost desperate.
"In the stories you mentioned earlier, Erik... there's always a way to return, right? The main characters... they can usually return to their own world, right?"
Erik took a breath, looking at Lisa with a serious expression. "If we're talking about fantasy novels or magical worlds, that's true. Usually there's a way to return, whether through summoning magic, ancient artifacts, or the help of gods. But in this case... the murim world, it's different."
Lisa furrowed her brow. "Why is it different?"
Before Erik could answer, a woman's voice from behind him joined in, sounding calm but piercing. "In a world of magic, most people can return home because magic has the ability to change reality and time. But murim... is not a world that can be manipulated so easily."
All eyes turned. From the shadows of the cave wall, a woman stepped forward. She walked with a slight limp due to a sprained ankle, but her gaze remained strong. Her golden blonde hair was braided into two plaits, falling in front of her shoulders. Her sharp blue eyes made several people fall silent, as if her words carried extra weight.
Kyle spontaneously stared at her longer, almost forgetting to breathe. He recognized her face as Rahel, the student he had carried on the bus earlier. But this time, under the dim light of the cave, she looked different, not just a weak victim, but someone who carried something... a secret or knowledge they did not yet understand.