Seed

The information that rose from the deepest part of my soul felt vaguely familiar.

Examining it carefully with an uneasy heart, it was clearly the game’s status window.

It wasn’t something I could see with my actual eyes, but rather felt like it was being projected directly into my consciousness.

For a moment, all thought ceased.

I was afraid of what this meant.

That familiar UI I had seen hundreds of times was now being engraved into my consciousness as the absolute truth defining my very existence.

‘Th-this is a status window? Am I really inside a game?’

My throat went dry.

Could it be that I’ve truly become game data?

Calming my trembling heart, I focused my consciousness once more.

Then, as naturally as opening a game menu, more detailed information surfaced.

『  ★   (Nameless)    Seed    LV1    0 years old    ♀

  【Stats】

   HP : 10/10

   MP : 10/10

   Attack Power : 0

   Magic Power : 1

   Defense : 130

   Magic Resistance : 130

   Agility : 0

  【Skills】

  「Hibernation」

  【Traits】 

   [Inferno Stigma]  』

‘Wait… did I really come to the game world? Or did I just become game data?’

‘No way… is this for real? A game world… that’s ridiculous…’

But the reality was undeniable in its clarity.

I’d seen this situation in many novels, but now that it was real, I was filled with nothing but fear.

If this was a real world, that would be fortunate, but if I’ve just become game data… the mere thought sent a chill down my spine.

‘Let’s think calmly.’

Suppressing my trembling heart, I checked the information in the status window one by one.

The first thing that caught my eye was the star symbol at the very front of the status window.

『  ★

  – ★  』

‘A black star… it’s like the grade indicator in Shadow Symphony…’

My heart sank instantly.

Black stars didn’t exist in Shadow Symphony.

Yet the form of this status window was completely identical to that game.

It was as if someone was deliberately showing me information in a form I could understand.

‘Could it be… that this is the real world of Shadow Symphony?’

That thought brought an even greater wave of terror.

Of all the countless games, why did it have to be the world of a game that didn’t even have an ending?

In the game’s lore, the Demon King tried to destroy the world, and countless lives were sacrificed in the process.

‘Haha… I’m in a game whose story wasn’t even finished? I don’t even know what will happen to this world… can I even survive here?’

I was gripped by an anxiety that made me break out in a cold sweat, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

First, I needed to accurately understand my current state.

Taking a deep sigh, I turned my attention to the next information.

『  (Nameless) 

  – You have no name.  』

‘My name… is gone too.’

The fact that my name had disappeared actually made it feel more real.

Like waiting to name a character before starting a game, only an empty blank remained.

The next piece of information revealed my current identity.

『  Seed

  – You are a seed.  』

A chill ran through my entire being instantly.

No, as someone who didn’t even have a body now, only my consciousness shivered coldly.

Coming to the game world was shocking enough, but to be a seed of all things…

‘Wh-what are you saying? At first I thought I’d just become a vegetable… but am I really a plant?’

‘Wait… is it because I looked at plant galleries often? No, that doesn’t mean I should actually become a plant…!’

A shock that felt like my heart stopping washed over me.

But the fact that I was a seed began to make sense of all the situations I’d felt so far.

Absurdity and despair mingled together.

The most powerless existence-unable to move, speak, or even breathe.

I had become a passive lifeform that could only wait for nature’s course.

Since I was already a seed, perhaps being in a game world was actually fortunate.

‘If this is really a game, I should be able to evolve into another form…’

The information that followed was equally shocking.

『  LV1

  – You are Level 1.  』

『  0 years old

  – You are 0 years old.  』

『  ♀

  – You are female.  』

‘Wait… female!?’

Only then did I discover the identity of the strange sense of dissonance I’d felt about myself since gaining consciousness.

It wasn’t just my way of speaking.

I could feel subtle changes in how I thought, how I felt emotions, even how I recalled memories.

Like an old black-and-white photo being newly colored, even the same memories began to look different.

‘My way of speaking felt strangely… no, it clearly changed weirdly, was it because of this?’

‘But wait, gender for a plant, does that even make sense?’

My mind became complicated instantly.

With memories of my previous life still vivid, suddenly changing genders was hard to accept.

A confusing sensation washed over me, as if the identity I’d built until now was collapsing.

‘Ugh… this isn’t the time to worry about such things…’

Given my current circumstances, something like gender was truly a minor issue.

Still, this suddenly changed way of thinking and speaking was hard to adapt to.

『  HP : 10/10

     MP : 10/10

    Attack Power : 0

    Magic Power : 1

    Defense : 130

    Magic Resistance : 130

    Agility : 0  』

‘What is this! Only 10 HP? This garbage…’

Anger surged within me.

The meaning of these numbers was clear.

Complete helplessness.

HP and MP lower than a slime’s, stats close to zero.

Only Defense and Magic Resistance showed three-digit numbers.

‘Ah, no… this pathetic spec is me…?’

‘No, there must be some way. There has to be…’

『  「Hibernation」

  – Maintains life activities at a minimum. Increases Defense and Magic Resistance by 100. Disappears upon germination.  』

‘Disappears upon germination…? Wait… wait a minute…’

‘I need this to survive… and you’re saying even this will be gone when I germinate? That’s ridiculous!’

‘Disappears’-the word weighed heavily on my chest.

My only advantage had an expiration date.

The fact that my one protective shield would disappear someday made my entire being tremble.

I couldn’t believe that the moment I germinated, I would lose everything.

‘Surely… naturally, when I germinate, some new skill will appear, right?’

As if searching for my last hope, I turned my gaze to the Traits section.

‘Please… let the trait at least be an overpowered special trait…’

But the moment I checked the final trait, I felt like tears would burst forth.

『  [Inferno Stigma]

  – You are vulnerable to fire attributes.  』

‘Why! Why does it have to be fire! This is too much!’

The end of my previous life came to mind.

Though I hadn’t experienced the pain of burning, the terror alone remained vivid even now.

The despair of choking on smoke felt branded into my soul like a stigma.

The fact that I couldn’t shake off that weakness even in a new life felt like a cruel joke of fate.

‘I don’t want… to end like that again… please, not that…’

‘Did I get this because I died in a fire…? No, I shouldn’t think like that…’

The uneasy premonition didn’t fade easily.

Based on my game experience so far, such weaknesses were always tested at some point.

After checking all the information, my despair only grew.

‘Hahaha…’

…

How much time had passed?

‘No matter how I think about it, this situation is absurd…’

The reality was undeniable. That I was now a seed inside a game.

Now I had to focus on survival.

I needed water to germinate.

Though I would lose the Hibernation skill, I’d rather not live as a seed forever.

‘So, where exactly am I?’

I extended my consciousness toward my surroundings.

Thanks to realizing I was a seed, I could feel my sensory abilities as a seed slowly awakening.

The texture of the soil surrounding me, the moisture level, the temperature… everything was new.

But soon I realized the grim reality.

Hard, frozen ground enveloped me.

A cold, dry sensation wrapped around my entire existence.

Germinating in this frozen ground would be my first challenge.

No matter how much potential I had, it would be useless if I couldn’t even take the first step.

The chill seeping from the cold ground felt like mockery.

Just as I was trying to steel my resolve, a new notification seeped into the surface of my consciousness like a ripple.

『  You have acquired the 「Detection LV1」 skill.』

‘Huh, a skill? Really…?’

『  「Detection」

  – Detects your surroundings.  』

The status window that had devastated me brought good news for the first time.

But the utterly inadequate description was typical of a status window.

Upon gaining the new skill, I instinctively understood how to use it.

From the deepest part of my being, my consciousness spread outward as ripples.

Like being submerged in water, a subtle vibration enveloped my entire body.

I could perceive a very small spherical range centered on myself.

Though different from seeing with eyes, I clearly had vision in a new way.

Like looking into an aquarium from outside, I could see things existing within the sphere with this new vision.

As expected, aside from ‘me,’ only hard frozen soil was visible.

Focusing, I examined myself.

A small black seed.

Since there was only soil around, I couldn’t tell the exact size, but it looked like a watermelon seed.

Looking consciously, the black shell and slightly flattened shape were exactly like a watermelon seed.

‘Uh… am I really a watermelon?’

At that moment, the status window delivered a new notification.

『  Your 「Detection LV2」 skill level has increased.  』

‘Huh, it levels up this easily?’

Suddenly, the black star that adorned the beginning of my status window came to mind.

In Shadow Symphony, the number of stars represented potential.

Perhaps this unknown grade hinted that I had potential beyond 5 stars.

‘Yeah, this is the proper balance…’

Holding onto hope, I examined the slightly expanded detection range and found a substance that wasn’t soil.

Looking at the mysteriously blue-tinged material, information about it appeared in my status window.

『  「Proten」 Ore

  – Proten: A metal with high hardness and strength that contains cold energy. Rarely found in the Cialt Ice Cave.』

Just as I wondered why I had the ability to know such information, the words ‘Sia Kalt’ caught my eye.

‘Isn’t this referring to the Sia Kalt Great Labyrinth?’