Chapter 98: Fighting the Fear
I still couldn’t get used to these insects. The bugs in this dungeon were massive and far more terrifying than anything on Earth. I tried to stay calm, but deep inside, my phobia remained.
"HAHAHAHA! You’re so pathetic, Nao! I thought you weren’t afraid of anything, but insects? I can’t stop laughing!"
That damn system, Envi, kept laughing in my head.
I scolded him mentally for focusing on ridiculing me instead of analyzing the dungeon floor like he was supposed to.
While I was still shaken, Julius took over command of the dungeon exploration. The team fought through the swarms of insects, struggling with every encounter.
I have to overcome this fear! Come on, Nao, you can do this!
I tried to encourage myself. But suddenly, an old memory resurfaced—when did I start fearing insects in the first place?
...
Back when I was still on Earth, at the age of ten, in my fifth year of elementary school, my home life was in shambles. My parents constantly fought. My father was rarely home and was eventually caught cheating.
At that time, my mother wasn’t as strong as she is now. She was emotionally devastated and ended up neglecting her three children—Nana, Naki, and me—for days. She rarely cleaned the house, allowing trash to pile up in the kitchen.
She still did her daily job and cooked meals for us, but she barely spoke and left the house a mess.