Ch.91Scent of Hometown…? (1)

‘It can’t be…’

Eterna had never even used this kind of speech pattern.

Above all, it would be crazy to be certain when the only thing we had in common was being mages.

Even if it were true, Eterna probably had her own hobbies…

It seemed wrong to intrude on that.

Hmm…

“So this is what the Transcendent Forum looks like…”

It gave me a sense of nostalgia, as it looked exactly like what I remembered from back in the day.

Overall, it was surprisingly identical.

[Looking for someone to fight me IRL]

[The two guys below are fucking hilarious lol]

[The Empire is counting down to collapse lolololol]

[Here’s what’s happening in my Empire lol]

‘All kinds of random posts are going up…’

This was indeed the community I knew.

TowerInside was mild in comparison.

Of course, since TowerInside was basically created following this Transcendent Forum’s system, they were similar, but the Transcendent Forum felt much more raw.

I could fully understand why Eterna was addicted to the Transcendent Forum.

However…

‘If I start this, I’ll probably end up glued to it…’

Forums like this where random posts go up without any specific topic are the hardest to break away from.

If posts were centered around specific topics, you’d get tired of those topics and stop reading. But places with no particular theme where any kind of post goes up tend to have all sorts of stories.

That must be why she could continue browsing the forum for a thousand years without getting bored.

‘A forum, huh…’

Human affairs are truly unpredictable.

Seeing the forum actually exist with my own eyes gave me a strange feeling.

I thought I’d never see the forum I knew again.

‘It’s been quite a long time since then.’

When I first came to this world, I thought I’d be completely separated from modern conveniences, but to meet them again like this…

Of course, there were some differences from what I knew, but just being able to use an anonymous community was enjoyable.

‘Since Eterna is right next to me, I should just look around for now and try posting something when I get home…’

If I posted something here and couldn’t properly answer when Eterna asked if I just posted something…

‘Ugh…’

I don’t even want to imagine it.

I must never show a relaxed appearance in front of this person.

For some reason, I felt that was absolutely necessary.

Thinking about it made me want to go back quickly.

‘It’s perfect timing since I’ve been having trouble browsing TowerInside lately…’

Recently, the only posts on the board were ones praising me.

That made me not want to read them much.

In the past, I might have found such posts entertaining, but even those get boring after seeing them repeatedly.

Or there were posts still claiming I defeated Eterna through cowardly means…

Either way, they were posts I didn’t particularly want to see, so just when I was feeling bored with the forum, the Transcendent Forum appeared to offer a completely new experience—how could I not welcome it?

“Now that I know how to open it, I should head back.”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps because I suddenly showed signs of wanting to return home, Eterna’s gaze turned sly as she looked at me.

Though her expression only changed slightly, I had the illusion that she could see right through all my thoughts.

“Is… there a problem?”

After blurting that out, I looked at Eterna with an anxious expression, thinking I might have been too sharp, but Eterna just looked at me as if I were cute.

“I was like you once…”

“…”

What is she suddenly talking about…?

I left the room, leaving only my words about going back.

This hardly seemed like the behavior of a Transcendent who founded a country and another Transcendent who defeated her, but this was more comfortable for me.

It’s better this way, I suppose…

With such thoughts, I headed toward the Blood Magic Tower.

* * *

Despite winning against Eterna, there wasn’t much change.

Of course, I could feel that the way people looked at me had changed, but that was about it.

Even when leaving the Aether Tower, I only noticed the changed gazes and a few mages whispering as they looked at me.

I guess my expectation that someone would ask what I did to Eterna was just my excessive speculation.

‘Well… this is Aether Tower’s headquarters after all…’

Maybe they couldn’t do anything bold while Eterna was watching with her own eyes at Aether Tower headquarters.

Or perhaps they were actually acknowledging me as a being.

I’m not sure which it is.

Even if they noticed, there’s nothing they could do anyway…

From the moment they realized I was a being that even Eterna couldn’t handle, they would see me as Eterna’s equal, not below her.

I was just surprised that there wasn’t much reaction despite someone who was practically their god being defeated by a mere Magic Tower Master.

“The Blood Magic Tower has become my home now…”

Of course, that room is more comfortable than the mansion.

Though it’s much smaller than the mansion, it has everything I need.

I don’t need a whole mansion just for myself anyway.

What’s the point of a mansion that will only deteriorate with time unless maids walk around managing it?

A home is sufficient as long as it’s a place where I feel comfortable.

I’m already getting excited about returning to my room to browse the forum, but I need to control myself…

After returning to the Blood Magic Tower, I quickly went back to my room, avoiding being seen by anyone.

‘Thank goodness…’

I did run into one person on the way, but fortunately, I managed to silence them.

Well… it would be surprising if someone had the guts to speak when I, the Magic Tower Master, told them not to, but still.

Since I didn’t need to wash up, I quickly changed clothes and dove onto the bed, blankly staring at the ceiling.

‘A forum, huh…’

Lying alone in my room looking up at the ceiling, memories of my previous life come back to me.

Back then, I used to lie on my bed like this and browse communities too.

Of course, I wasn’t like other toxic users who said weird things and cursed.

Since I loved games, I only went to game-related forums to see funny posts or information about games.

And now that person has come to a fantasy world, not only becoming the administrator of a similar community but also joining a community of non-humans.

‘Transcendents are all the same…’

Well, there might be some Transcendents who weren’t originally human, but most were probably human originally, so this behavior is understandable.

I’m a Transcendent too, but my thinking isn’t much different from humans, so…

“Phew…”

Now that I’m settled in, let’s start browsing the forum.

I opened the forum without hesitation.

And then,

[Newbie arrived?]

[I was wondering why there was no response, turns out you didn’t know how to open it lolololol (photo)]

[Hi]

[What’s this? Are you guys being friendly? Isn’t that forbidden?]

[Who’s the Transcendent of Life?]

[There’s no guarantee they’ll see this today even if we post it (photo)]

Countless welcome messages greeted me.

‘What…?’

Wondering how they knew I was coming today to welcome me like this, I scrolled up and saw:

[Why the Transcendent of Life didn’t respond…txt]

An anonymously written post greeted me.

It started by pointing out that normally the forum is the first thing Transcendents see, but I didn’t immediately enter the forum.

When someone becomes a Transcendent, they should at least access the Transcendent Forum, if not post something.

But since I neither posted nor even entered, considering that a being without intelligence couldn’t become a Transcendent, there were essentially two possibilities:

Either I truly had no interest, or I didn’t know how to enter.

After checking with their abilities, they determined I was human, and a young one at that, confirming it was the latter.

On the surface, it seemed coherent and logical without any errors.

Someone who didn’t know better might be completely fooled.

But not me.

I could tell perfectly well.

There was no way I couldn’t know.

‘Eterna, that woman…?’

This anonymously posted message.

It was posted by Eterna.

I could tell instinctively.

‘Was I being played in the palm of her hand…?’

This is infuriating.

Argh.

“Grr… ARGHHHH!”

After considering whether to just turn it off, I let out a strange cry.

I’m definitely going to hit her next time we meet.

I really will, I swear!