Chapter 13
-GreatswordFan) Huh? If it’s the Ilaiya Empire, that’s the country I used to live in.
└GreatswordFan) And I spent almost my entire life in Batium, too.
GreatswordFan.
Most of the gallery users who saw GreatswordFan’s comment reacted in much the same way.
└Here they go again.
└What if you start getting forgetful too?
└DaggerTechniquePro) lol, dumbass
Honestly, I wasn’t sure I believed her.
After all, just moments ago, the troll pretending to know everything had been caught out—and the whole thing seemed impossible to begin with.
But…
└PureAndLovely*) Isn’t it possible? The dungeon she experienced showed up on Floor 10, too.
└Right. Wasn’t it the Forest Without an Exit?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Hmm… You think so?
I mean, maybe some dungeon stuff could go whoosh-bam and make different dimensions overlap.
There wasn’t much reason to trust the blue-tag mod.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) There’s already been a precedent, after all. It really might be GreatswordFan’s world.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I agree with Sword Maiden.
└PureAndLovely*) They’re seriously ignoring only me, huh?
To be honest, I did agree with the blue-tag mod’s theory, too.
And yet, the reason I dismissed it as impossible was…
‘Because it pisses me off.’
The merciless blue-tag mod who’d fired a slash and chopped me to pieces?
Even when she was right, I didn’t want to believe her.
You could say I was being contrary for the sake of it.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Anyway, enough about that. So, are you going into the Hidden Stage?
└PureAndLovely*) You’re really ignoring me, damn it.
└GreatswordFan) For starters, ‘Batium’ is the capital of the empire, so it’s safe. You could just go and check it out.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Okay, thanks.
└PureAndLovely*) I’m the damn blue-tag mod here!!!!!
Remembering how the blue-tag mod had sliced me to pieces, I closed the gallery.
‘I’ll ignore her for a little while.’
If I ignored her too long, she’d definitely sulk. I’d leave her on read for about five minutes, then answer.
Anyway.
[Entering Hidden Stage—‘The Ilaiya Empire, Imperial Capital Batium.’]
The moment I saw the message, I closed my eyes.
‘…’
Nothing was happening, but I absolutely could not open my eyes.
I wasn’t going to fall for it twice.
-Whooosh!
With a sound like light bursting forth, I was transported somewhere.
***
“I did it!”
I opened my eyes, feeling triumphant, and—
-Whooosh!
The light still lingering around me blinded me all over again.
“Gah, ah…!”
Damn it. It wasn’t a delayed attack—it was like the light had been left there as a land mine.
At this point, the Tower had to be messing with me in real time just to toy with me.
‘The Tower really is watching me.’
For a moment, I considered smacking the Tower across the face if I ever got the chance.
[Objective: Follow the road and reach ‘The Path in the Secluded Forest’ outside the city.]
The system announced my objective.
‘Follow the road?’
Thinking I could just follow a straight road, I looked around and realized…
“…?”
I was standing in the middle of a vast medieval city square.
There were more than ten roads leading out of here alone. Which one was I supposed to follow?
‘Let’s open the gallery.’
Maybe showing GreatswordFan would help somehow.
[Title: Problem. Follow the road to your destination.]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
(Dozens of photos, each showing one of the roads.)
Where the hell am I supposed to go?
-You just go that way lol
└For real, why can’t you manage something this easy?
-PureAndLovely*) …Answer me already.
└Yes. What is it?
└PureAndLovely*) Not you, damn it.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Huh? Why?
└PureAndLovely*) Not you either, damn it.
└PureAndLovely*) Oh, wait, sorry.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) It’s fine. I was messing with you in the first place.
└Newbie, don’t ignore the blue-tag mod from now on. They’re surprisingly sensitive, yeah.
└A sensitive person (who abducts random people once a month and dismembers them with slashes)
└PureAndLovely*) I’ve memorized your username.
└Wait, just a second.
As we carried on our half-hearted WWE routine, GreatswordFan left a comment.
-GreatswordFan) Holy shit, this really is where I used to live lol. Was that Square 3?
Looking at the fountain in the middle of the square, I saw the number 3 written on it.
‘So this really is the place.’
It wasn’t just a coincidence that the name matched. The place was exactly like the world GreatswordFan had lived in.
There wasn’t a single person around. Maybe only the space had been copied.
‘Let me ask for directions first.’
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Then do you know how to get to ‘The Path in the Secluded Forest’?
└GreatswordFan) Of course. Is that where you’re headed?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Yep.
After that, I left the city following GreatswordFan’s directions.
I entered the forest near the city and walked for about an hour.
[Title: It really is here]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
(A narrow path winding through the middle of a forest)
It really is just what it says: ‘a narrow path in a secluded forest.’
-That name is so damn literal.
└A mage probably came up with it lol
└For real lol. What a bunch of inflexible bastards.
-GreatswordFan) Wow, this brings back memories. When I was little, I used to train around there all the time.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Is that a popular spot?
└GreatswordFan) I don’t know what ‘popular spot’ means, but it’s kind of like a beginner hunting ground around there.
Oh, I see.
└GreatswordFan) But sometimes really strong monsters would pop up, so you still had to be careful.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Like what?
└GreatswordFan) Hmm. Golems or wyverns? I think basilisks showed up sometimes, too.
What kind of beginner hunting ground had monsters that dangerous?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) What the hell makes that a beginner hunting ground?
└GreatswordFan) Normally it’s only goblins and orcs, so don’t worry.
While we were chatting like that…
[Objective complete: You have reached ‘The Narrow Path in the Secluded Forest.’]
I had completed the objective.
‘Is that it?’
All I’d done was walk, so I was feeling a little underwhelmed when…
“…”
I realized something was off.
Why hadn’t the clear message appeared?
‘It should show up right away if I just stand here.’
Just as an uneasy feeling began to creep over me…
-Thoom.
A heavy rumble traveled through the ground.
‘…Something’s coming.’
I focused and searched for the source of the vibration.
It was coming from beyond the path.
Something was approaching me.
“…”
I watched that way, tense, and eventually spotted a bizarre creature that looked like a huge boulder.
It was enormous, probably over five meters tall.
‘A Stone Golem?’
The moment I realized what it was, a system window appeared before me.
[A new objective has been issued.]
[Objective: Defeat the Stone Golem.]
‘And what am I supposed to do about that?!’
Objective or no objective, I was going to run.
If I ran far enough, the system would cancel it on its own!
‘Run awaaay—!’
I was just about to head back the way I’d come when…
A barrier had appeared all around me, blocking every way out.
“Shit.”
I had no choice but to fight.
But the Stone Golem was an A-Rank monster, just like the Lesser Griffin.
Fighting it head-on was basically suicide.
‘I can’t kill it from a distance like I did last time, either.’
The Lesser Griffin had basically put all its points into speed, so I’d gotten lucky and killed it.
Even then, I’d only managed to kill it with one shot after risking my life and putting everything I had into it.
But what about a golem that had put every point into pure size and strength?
It would surely shrug off an attack like mine.
I couldn’t think of any way to beat it.
‘…Let’s ask the gallery.’
Maybe they’d know what to do.
[Title: A Stone Golem showed up]
[Title: A Stone Golem showed up]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
How do I kill this thing?
-DaggerTechniquePro) Kill it? Just run like hell lol
-Run while it’s still far away.
-WokeUpAsATSGirl) What if I’m trapped by a barrier?
└The newbie is live in a world of shit!!!!
└PureAndLovely*) This one’s genuinely not easy.
└GeniusSwordMaiden) …I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do. GreatswordFan is the expert in this sort of thing.
└GreatswordFan) Greatswords are good for taking down large monsters, yeah.
└Amazing how you took this chance to peddle greatswords again…
└PureAndLovely*) But she’s right. A longsword isn’t going to do much against something like that.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) What if I don’t have a greatsword?
└Hmm… Don’t you already know?
└Just beat the shit out of it with aura lol
└DaggerTechniquePro) Good luck, newbie.
└GreatswordFan) Why’d Daggercel suddenly get nice?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Someone’s about to fucking die. You expect me to make fun of them?
“…”
Seeing Daggercel act nice made an overwhelming sense of danger wash over me.
If even they were acting like that, then things really were hopeless.
“Phew.”
I let out a quiet breath and thought it over.
‘…Well, there’s no point making a plan, is there?’
When you were up against overwhelming force, plans and schemes were useless.
I had no choice but to answer force with force.
‘Aura.’
I imbued my whole body with aura as I thought.
The Stone Golem’s weakness was its speed.
Because it was so tough and powerful, it was easy to dodge its attacks.
Of course, that still made it faster than most B-Rank monsters.
‘I’ll just have to dodge somehow.’
My goal was a no-hit run: defeat it without taking a single hit.
-Thoom!
I kicked off the ground and charged at the golem.
I drove my sword toward the part of its chest where its core was, and…
-Clang!
The blade bounced off without a scratch.
‘It’s hard.’
There was no time to dwell on that.
Now it was the golem’s turn to attack me with its fist.
I landed and immediately rolled away.
-KWAANG!
Its fist slammed down where I’d been standing just moments before.
‘I’ll keep doing this.’
I kept fighting, repeatedly stabbing the same spot with my sword.
-KWAANG, KWA-KWAANG!
The fight was utterly unfair.
I had to risk my life dodging every time, while the golem didn’t even flinch when my attacks hit it.
‘A longsword won’t cut it.’
To kill the thing, I’d need to bring at least a greatsword.
Maybe I could beat it with overwhelming aura, like the gallery users said. But I wasn’t that strong.
There was no way I could pierce its outer shell.
‘If only I could attack the core directly.’
The only gap in the golem was too narrow for me to fit my longsword into.
But…
‘…There is a gap, though, isn’t there?’
The gallery users’ advice from earlier flashed through my mind.
└Just beat the shit out of it with aura lol
Of course, they’d meant using aura to strengthen my body and increase my physical power.
‘But I actually can do it.’
The ‘Formless Mist,’ which gave my aura mass.
If I used that, it might work.
-KWA-KWAANG!
I barely dodged the golem’s fist while manipulating my aura.
Black mist began to rise around my Mithril Sword.
I wrapped the sword in the Formless Mist, then quickly bound it tight.
And as a result…
‘Got it.’
Aura imbued with mass settled into my sword.
I immediately leaped high and thrust the blade into the gap between the golem’s arm and torso.
-Rumble, rumble!
The black mist seeped into the gap and wrapped around the golem’s core.
‘I have to break it quickly.’
I squeezed every ounce of strength out of myself and crushed its core.
-Crack!
At last, a sound like something splitting rang out.
A moment of silence fell over the area, and then…
-KRA-KA-KA-KAANG!
The golem’s body exploded, sweeping through the area.
‘What the…!’
The enormous explosion sent me flying a long way.
‘How far am I going?!’
If I wasn’t careful, I might leave the area and die before the system registered the clear.
Just as I was about to grab onto something to stop myself…
-Thump!
“Aagh…!”
I finally stopped after slamming the back of my head into a tree.
[Objective complete: The golem has been defeated.]
[Objective complete!]
“…Phew.”
With a sigh of relief, I trudged toward the golem’s remains.
I had to take a proof photo, at least.
[Title: My arms and legs got blown off]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
(Photo of the golem’s remains, its entire body shattered)
I broke its core, and the golem’s arms and legs went flying ㅠㅠ
What should I do?
-DaggerTechniquePro) The title scared the shit out of me.
└GreatswordFan) Look at you acting like you’re worried lol
└DaggerTechniquePro) 🖕
-I’ve been thinking this for a while, but the newbie’s titles are damn good.
└They really are in a league of their own.
-PureAndLovely*) So how the hell did you kill it this time?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I did this and that, and the core broke…
└GreatswordFan) Apparently they found a greatsword lying around and knocked the golem’s head off with it, yeah.
└Is that actually true?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) How’d you know?
└PureAndLovely*) Seriously, how did you do it? I’m dying of curiosity.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Aren’t you already dead?
└PureAndLovely*) I just mean it figuratively!!!
To be honest, I thought about it for a bit.
It wouldn’t be bad to trick, mock, and tease the gallery users to get my dopamine fix.
‘But this time, I’ll just be honest.’
You had to know when to rein in your trolling.
If I went wild every time, the gallery users might gang up and lynch me.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) You know how I can give my aura mass? I slipped it into a gap in the golem’s body and crushed just the core.
└??
└The more I see the newbie’s ability, the more busted it seems.
└What the f@ck is that invisible telekinetic swordsmanship supposed to be?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Isn’t it too much for even your unique ability to be busted?
└Yeah, yeah. Here comes the guy whose only trick is strengthening his body.
└DaggerTechniquePro) Damn it. I can strengthen my thrusts, too!
└Strengthened thrusts lmao
└GreatswordFan) Even the newbie knows how to thrust, dumbass lol
While I was killing time browsing the gallery…
[Hidden Stage—‘The Ilaiya Empire, Imperial Capital Batium’ cleared!]
*A connected area exists for this Hidden Stage. You will be moved automatically in 5 seconds.
“Huh?”
I’d been moved to another area again.
I thought that was the end of it?
***
When I opened my eyes, I was in a shabby wooden house.
‘What am I supposed to do here?’
I was so confused that all I could do was look around.
It looked like a perfectly ordinary house. Was a monster going to show up here or something?
‘I’ll ask GreatswordFan first.’
That should get me somewhere.
[Title: I suddenly got abducted to some weird wooden house]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
There’s no system message. They literally just dumped me here.
What’s going on?
-Did something glitch?
-PureAndLovely*) If nothing else works, try requesting a spar and see if that gets you out.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Yeah, I’m not falling for that.
└PureAndLovely*) lol
-GreatswordFan) I know most places. Take a random photo outside and post it.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Okay.
I guess GreatswordFan really was the only one I could count on.
I wandered around the house, looking for a window.
But there wasn’t even a window, and the door leading outside was locked, so I couldn’t take a picture of the view.
Can’t be helped.
[Title: Do you know where this is?]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
(Photos of the wooden house’s hallway)
There aren’t any windows, so I took pictures of the house instead.
Let me know if you recognize the place ㅎㅎ
-How are we supposed to guess from this? lol
-Shit lol, this is ridiculous.
-DaggerTechniquePro) Greatsword, if you get this right, I’ll call you big sis for the rest of my life.
-GreatswordFan) Hmm…?
She left a short message, sounding bewildered.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I sent it just in case, but I guess you don’t know. What a shame.
└GreatswordFan) No, that’s not it… Isn’t that my house?
└?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Wait, what the hell?
Just as GreatswordFan’s comment left the comment section frozen…
-Creeeak.
Someone opened a door and walked into the hallway.
“…Who’s there?”
A red-haired woman looked at me with lifeless eyes.
I was taken aback by how familiar she looked, and then…
-Thump!
She crossed the distance in an instant and pinned me against the wall.
-KWAANG!
She drove her greatsword into the wall beside my head and said,
“Who are you?”
“…”
The mysterious woman glared at me.
‘…No.’
To be precise, it was another ‘GreatswordFan’ glaring at me.