Chapter 31

She was dumbfounded by the sudden transfer to a new space.

The Tower itself was already an unbelievable story.

But these abrupt spatial movements were equally awkward.

Kim Haemi thought this as she carefully examined her surroundings.

Surprisingly, the surrounding area was an ordinary forest.

A literal forest with nothing particularly special.

A lush green forest with a vast blue sky stretched high above.

An incredibly peaceful landscape.

If only the chirping of birds were mixed in, it would be even more so.

Thinking this, she suddenly got goosebumps.

The silence emitted by a forest where various creatures should be living and breathing felt strange.

No chirping of birds or sounds of insects could be heard.

Not even the common sound of wind could be heard.

The silence of the forest was heavy.

Even the air felt like it had settled heavily.

The silence that densely pervaded everywhere seemed to mix in with every breath she took.

The pressure that had settled in this way made it difficult to breathe.

The quietness that had felt comfortable until just a moment ago was now uncomfortable.

The silence pervading the surroundings amplified anxiety like the calm before a storm.

It felt like holding a string that could break at any moment.

She hastily turned her head, examining all directions.

It was clearly a peaceful landscape, but due to the unpleasant sense of dissonance dormant within, she could no longer feel the previous coziness.

Her breathing naturally quickened. Cold sweat flowed, wetting her body.

She pressed her palms, dampened by sweat, firmly, trying to calm herself.

“Haa. Haa.”

Only her own breathing sounded particularly loud over the quiet forest.

Then, a strange message appeared in her field of vision.

[Anonymous Constellation 1 highly praises that your breathing sounds sexy.]

[Anonymous Constellation 2 says Constellation 1 is pathetic.]

[The number of viewing Constellations watching you is 2.]

“Constellation?”

The sudden message was confusing.

Weren’t Constellations things that only appeared in novels?

Come to think of it, it was something that strange fairy had explained.

That during the Tower climb, it would be shared with someone like recording a game walkthrough video.

[Anonymous Constellation 2 advises you to focus on the tutorial.]

Yes, that’s right.

Don’t get distracted by other things and focus on the current situation.

But there was nothing nearby.

She stepped forward one by one toward the forest filled with an unpleasant silence.

She moved forward slowly, crouching as much as possible and reducing the sound of her footsteps.

Without any weapon to wield immediately, she felt even more anxious.

There was no means to protect herself.

She wasn’t physically strong, nor was her intellect exceptionally brilliant.

She was just an ordinary person who knew a bit about games.

Wait, games? At the mention of games, she momentarily felt like everything she had encountered connected.

The familiar shape of the Tower.

The voices of about 100 people had also been strangely familiar.

The fairy who had strangely emphasized and repeated the word “game.”

Was that the reason for the déjà vu I felt?

Because this world was the game I used to enjoy?

“S-status window!”

Something immediately appeared in response to her hopeful call.

[Kim Haemi]

[Lv.1]

[Class: None (Undetermined)]

[Contracted Constellation: None]

[Stats▼]

[Skills▼]

[Traits▼]

[Inventory▼]

[❄TIP! Each person has their own unique skills and traits. Why not try using these to navigate through the tutorial?]

She couldn’t help but laugh hollowly at the familiar window.

“Haha.”

It was real.

Why hadn’t they told her such an important fact?

Was there some advantage in doing so?

They hadn’t even told her she could summon a status window.

Why? Was there some hidden intention?

Her mind became complicated.

No. That’s not what’s important right now.

Survival was the most important thing at the moment.

First, let’s check the stats.

[Anonymous Constellation 2 tries to persuade you to look at skills before stats.]

[Anonymous Constellation 1 retorts that blocking is the answer to backseat gaming.]

“B-blocking? Is there a blocking function?”

[Anonymous Constellation 1 mocks you, saying there’s no such thing.]

[Anonymous Constellation 2 feels hurt, asking if you were thinking of blocking them.]

“N-no way? I was just asking!”

The chats coming up made her dizzy.

Though she wasn’t sure if they could be called chats.

Still, much of her tension had disappeared. Should she say that just not being alone was reassuring?

It seemed the human-like appearance of those two was more comforting.

“Then skills first.”

[Skills▲]

[Mist Form (Unique)]

[Transform your body into mist.]

Though the description was simple, it was quite a good skill.

It was the same skill her previously created character had.

Looking at that, maybe the game hadn’t transformed into the Tower. Maybe they created the game to help adapt to the Tower.

Being able to transform the body into mist means not being affected by physical attacks.

Later on, she might struggle against enemies who use magic attacks, but for now, she could avoid most attacks.

The problem was that unlike in the game, she didn’t know how this skill would be implemented in reality.

How do you use a skill in the first place?

Do you just say the skill name?

“M-mist Form!”

But unfortunately, nothing happened.

Only my voice echoed through the empty forest.

[Anonymous Constellation 1 shakes their head, saying it’s because you stammered.]

Ah, I see.

I shouted again, louder this time.

“Mist Form!”

But again, nothing happened.

“Hello?”

[Anonymous Constellation 1 pounds the table and bursts into laughter.]

[Anonymous Constellation 2 advises you to prepare.]

[Anonymous Constellation 2 says there’s nothing like practical experience and cheers you on.]

“Eh?”

After that, no more chats came up.

They hadn’t left yet, as the number of viewers at the bottom of her vision still showed 2.

That question wasn’t left unanswered for long.

A huge sound of “Thud!” was heard.

And then another “Thud!” followed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The regularly occurring thuds sounded like footsteps, coming at regular intervals.

And they seemed to be getting closer, as strong vibrations could be felt from the ground.

But all I can see are trees?

It was strange. With vibrations and sounds of this magnitude, the source should have been visible by now.

She moved her head busily, looking for the source of the sound.

“F-found it…”

It was a tree.

A tree with a shape similar to a human.

The problem was that it looked like a skeleton, and it was also too large.

Despite having a form similar to a human, its way of walking was like a frog.

It approached me gradually, moving on all fours rather than on two legs.

I stayed still, holding my breath as much as possible.

I barely managed to suppress the urge to curse.

For a tutorial opponent, a too strong enemy had popped up.

It was a monster recognized as a semi-boss in the game.

Khekhekhekhekhe.

An unpleasant laughter echoed.

I barely endured the urge to collapse at the sound uttered in a disagreeable high pitch.

According to the settings, it recognizes enemies by sound.

It was written that it finds and kills opponents who react to that unpleasant laughter.

It continues to roam around, turning its head left and right.

The empty eye sockets are just frightening.

It’s not just turning its head, but creaking and twisting its neck, making it even more terrifying.

How much time had passed like this?

Poof.

With a trivial sound that didn’t match the current situation, the monster collapsed.

No, rather than saying it collapsed, it would be more appropriate to say it revealed its true form.

It was a small jellyfish.

A jellyfish about the size of a human fist was floating in the air.

It looked like an inside-out transparent plastic bag.

Its appearance, glowing from within like a firefly as it moved around, also resembled a lantern.

The weakest monster from the Tower.

It had an official name, but because its appearance resembled a jellyfish, it was called a jellyfish among users.

There was a setting that it enjoyed taking the form of other monsters.

In the game, it had never been implemented, so I thought it was just a simple setting.

Now that it was reality, even such minor details seemed to have been implemented.

“Phew.”

As I sighed, I saw the jellyfish startling and preparing to fight.

-Ptui.

I barely avoided the spit the jellyfish spat out by rolling on the ground.

The tree behind me made a terrifying sound like “sizzle” and melted.

“Huh? Hmm.”

Come to think of it, I don’t even know how to use my skill, do I?

“Please spare me.”

The merciless jellyfish, without blood or tears, spat once more despite my plea.

-Ptui.

I barely avoided it again by rolling.

The ground I rolled on was scraped, causing stinging pain in various places, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such minor things.

-Ptui.

I rolled my body once more.

-Ptui.

Then I clearly saw the trajectory of the spit flying preemptively toward the place where I had rolled.

Ah, this one will hit. Is this the end?

“Mist Foooooorm!”

I shouted the skill name with desperate intensity.

Because I didn’t want to die yet.