Chapter 1 –  Where Am I? (1)

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“Get out of the way…!”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence.

A massive chunk of black iron, as large as my body, reflected light and gleamed menacingly.

Facing the giant golem’s fist hurtling toward me, I clenched my teeth and raised my guard.

Immediately after, a tremendous shockwave engulfed my body. Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain coursing through me, I couldn’t hold my ground and was sent flying through the air.

‘Damn it.’

I instinctively realized that the armor encasing my body had been completely shattered. This was my only S-grade item.

“Ugh.”

I bounced and rolled across the ground countless times before finally slamming into the floor.

I must have suffered severe internal injuries because, against my will, my body curled up like a shrimp, trembling uncontrollably. Blood naturally spilled from my mouth.

Honestly, it’s laughable that I even survived that insane blow, considering even professional tanks would’ve been obliterated.

“Lady Reina!”

My ears were ringing, and my vision was blurry, but I could feel someone rushing toward me and grabbing hold of me.

My comrade, the vice-master of our guild, and the one personally assigned to assist me in this operation—Korean hunter Kim Ji-eun.

Even through the haze, her voice and face were unmistakably hers.

“It’s over. We’re wiped out! We need to retreat… Ahhh!”

The moment she tried to lift me, another massive explosion and shockwave sent us tumbling across the ground.

Now, I couldn’t even move a finger, but I desperately clung to her as she held onto my clothes, gasping for breath.

‘Another failure. Those insane golems are swarming out, and they’re just the gatekeepers.’

This was the 150th-floor raid, a joint operation involving multiple factions. It was already the 10th attempt, and today seemed destined to end in failure once again.

This wasn’t the first time, but I couldn’t help but feel it again: surviving with my life intact was nothing short of a miracle.

But with my armor shattered, I couldn’t be sure if I’d make it out alive next time.

‘Did we manage to escape safely?’

At some point, I regained consciousness, but I had no idea how much time had passed.

As I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a familiar sensation, the scene before me was exactly what I had expected.

It was the hospital in the safe zone. A place familiar to anyone who dared to challenge the Tower.

I could see IVs and potions connected to needles, flowing into my veins.

“Haah…”

Lying in the quiet private room, I let out a sigh and relaxed my aching body.

Today, the sense of despair felt particularly heavy. Was it because I had truly given it my all?

With casualties mounting and the 150th floor seeming like an insurmountable wall, my resolve was slowly crumbling.

If I really thought about it, the reason I had been so fiercely climbing the Tower and pursuing strength and achievement since being transported to this world was purely for self-satisfaction.

In my past life, I was just another cog in the machine of society, utterly ordinary. But here, I could accomplish things that were once impossible.

No one forced me to climb the Tower, and my body wouldn’t explode if I didn’t. But the price for this freedom was the constant threat to my life and the need to fight powerful enemies.

Still, until now, I thought it was worth it.

“F*ck… Should I retire?”

But now, faced with a real wall, my passion was starting to wane.

I’ve come this far, and even if I retire, I wouldn’t have to worry about making a living.

「Constellation Community Login」

“…Huh?”

But just as I covered my eyes with my arm, thinking I should just go back to sleep, something inexplicable happened before my eyes.

There was no warning, no foreshadowing—it just happened.

「15th Ranker, Moonlight Sword Radiance, Reina Frontier Fan Gallery」

Floating before my eyes were words, and a bright, radiant photo of a silver-haired woman smiling brilliantly.

It was my photo. One I didn’t even remember being taken.

I froze as I read it.

‘What the hell is this?’

I thought it must be some crazy dream, but it felt too vivid and clear for a dream. More than that, there was an intuitive sense of something real about it.

It reminded me of when I first woke up in this body. Back then, I denied reality too, but everything turned out to be real.

——————————————————————————————————————————

[Is it true that Reina’s retiring?]

[If Reina retires, I’m leaving the gallery for real lol]

[This time, give her a weapon instead of armor… I’m begging you, Constellations]

[What’s Kim Ji-eun doing while Reina’s considering retirement?]

[Reina’s 150th Floor Raid Tips (Incomplete)]

[Why Reina’s damage absorption rate was low in this battle]

[What would happen if Reina found out about the fan gallery.txt]

[Which Constellation skill has the best synergy with Reina?]

[Recommended equipment for the next raid]

[Reina’s pissed-off face during battle lol]

[Every time her armor breaks, the Constellations’ wallets cry]

[Is Kim Ji-eun really following Reina around for that reason?]

——————————————————————————————————————————

···

‘What is this?’ I wondered, and at that moment, another window opened before my eyes.

Unfamiliar text scrolled up, but I instantly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

This was a scene I had seen countless times before—an internet community, something I had frequented before being transported to this world.

‘…’

The problem was that the core topic of this community was none other than me.

Back then, it was just something I observed passively, but now it was as if I had become some kind of celebrity, with people discussing every detail about me.

——————————————————————————————————————————

[Is it true that Reina’s retiring?] (+12)

——————————————————————————————————————————

As I stared blankly at the screen, my eyes suddenly caught the title of the most recent post at the top.

It must have been posted very recently, given its position. The problem was that comments were rapidly piling up beneath it.

——————————————————————————————————————————

• Reina Worshipper #1

-“I heard her mutter ‘F*ck… Should I retire?’ after the raid today. She’s not really retiring, is she? Without Reina, those guys wouldn’t even dream of clearing the 150th floor.”

ㄴIf Reina retires, who’s gonna carry the DPS? The top 14 are all supports and tanks.

ㄴHonestly, if Reina retires, the 150th-floor raid is over.

ㄴShe’s just venting. She’s been through worse. Remember when she kept fighting even after losing an arm?

ㄴBut this time was really close. Her last piece of armor got destroyed just at the end.

——————————————————————————————————————————

···

As I read the post and comments, my mind went blank again.

It was true that I had muttered about retiring after waking up in the hospital.

But at that moment, there was no one around me.

This was a hospital in the safe zone, a place where no faction could intrude, and high-ranking hunters were always stationed. There was no way anyone could have eavesdropped on me.

Yet, these mysterious community users knew every little detail of my private mutterings.

‘What the hell is this?’

Dazed, I tore my eyes away from the post and scanned the screen.

Then, I noticed a newbie’s introductory post from some time ago.

——————————————————————————————————————————

• Black Iron Saint

-“Nice to meet you all. Seeing the end of the Tower, I thought I’d take this opportunity. I like the lady’s face, so I decided to join.”

ㄴLol, look at this guy. You’re not a ranker anymore, you idiot.

ㄴLeave him alone. He’ll change in a week. Anyway, welcome.

——————————————————————————————————————————

···

The post was a simple greeting, and most of the comments were teasing the poster.

——————————————————————————————————————————

ㄴ“Actually, I didn’t get to hear the full explanation at the end. What exactly is this place?”

ㄴ“Just a place to hang out. It’s a gathering spot for those who want to observe other Towers and become higher-ranked Constellations.”

ㄴ“Constellations… Right. I chose to stay in the Tower to become a Constellation.”

ㄴ“You’re hooked lol. It takes ages just to get out of the trainee Constellation phase. When you first climb the Tower, you feel like you’ve conquered the world. But guess what? No matter where you go, there are always people like that.”

ㄴ“W-what? But the Tower’s spirits said it was a great achievement…”

——————————————————————————————————————————

As the conversation continued, it was clear that the poster was in shock.

And I was just as shocked.

‘Is this for real?’

Those who had climbed the entire Tower. Those who had transcended rankers and become something beyond—Constellations.

I knew that Constellations had once existed in the Tower. But I had no idea there were different tiers among them, and that they had formed their own communities.

The fact that the Tower wasn’t the only one was also a huge shock.

The Tower I was desperately trying to climb was already a place where people from various worlds had gathered. But to think there were multiple Towers…

——————————————————————————————————————————

[Blocked User List: Reina’s Footrest]

• Main Admin

-“Banned for 1 month due to repeated uploads of excessively revealing photos. Please review the guidelines before uploading fan photos or videos.”

ㄴ“Come on, admin, let us see her chest at least.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

But I couldn’t reveal my identity to these people who were posting photos and videos of me without my consent and ask what the hell was going on.

Since coming to this world, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to let things go when they’re beyond my understanding.

[Reina’s 150th Floor Raid Tips (Incomplete)]

Instead, I decided to look at something else.

Most of the posts were mind-boggling, but there were some that caught my eye.

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• Setkkabi

-“The party composition is just wrong. With the current setup, Reina has to handle both DPS and tanking while doing backflips to clear the 150th floor.”

“Either recruit more mages for an extreme focus or Reina needs to get stronger herself. Otherwise, there’s no way to break through the Black Iron Golems.”

“After you destroy the Black Iron Golems, the Gigantis swarm out. How are you planning to deal with them?”

——————————————————————————————————————————

···

Someone had written a 150th-floor raid guide. Surprisingly, they knew details about what lay beyond the 150th floor—things no one else knew.

They knew how to approach the raid, the weaknesses of the enemies, and what I needed to do in my current situation.

‘Is this for real?’

I read every word, mesmerized. The heated debates in the comments, the vulgar insults that inevitably erupted, and the admins stepping in to block users—I saw it all.

It was all so surreal, and even now, it was hard to believe. But somehow, the guide felt like it had cleared a blockage in my mind.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
It’s a generic gb this time, so you can now shut up about me TLing ‘those’.

Smh… 

Anyway, I picked this one up because it looked fun enough, me being me, I didn’t check further than 3 chapters and immediately picked it up…

Hopefully this decision doesn’t backfire like that other novel…

Oh yeah, as usual, check out the novel on Novelpia and say hello to the author, or I will crush your balls.