Chapter 4: Tutorial boss (4)

Half a year had already passed since I found myself inhabiting the body of Cyan.

To my surprise, the tower was adequately stocked with daily necessities.

Each floor of the Tower of Exile contained rooms identical to the one where I had first opened my eyes, complete with beds, mirrors, and various decorative furnishings—most essentials were readily available.

“…Ah.”

With the arrival of dawn, sunlight would stream in.

My days invariably began with the chirping of birds, the sole inhabitants of this vast forest, as I roused myself from slumber.

A touch of loneliness always accompanied it, however.

“Is it morning already?”

I rose and positioned myself before the mirror.

Within the pristine, dust-free glass, the unadorned form of a silver-haired woman began to materialize.

To be precise, I was indeed wearing underwear.

Though I had no idea who they belonged to, a wardrobe stood within the room, holding neatly stored garments; I would shed my equipment and change into these clothes before retiring for the night.

The existing equipment wasn’t particularly cumbersome.

The only drawback was the chains and various metallic adornments embedded in the clothing, which proved quite obstructive during sleep.

Furthermore, this long hair also posed an annoyance; I had once attempted to trim it with a pair of scissors found in the room, but instead of a clean cut, the scissors merely shattered, leading me to abandon the endeavor long ago.

“Perhaps I should go wash up.”

Over the past six months, I had come to terms with several peculiar facts about this body.

For one, this body lacked fundamental human physiological functions.

More precisely, it was devoid of essential biological urges like hunger or thirst—necessities for any living creature.

Yet, considering the perfectly intact breasts, genitalia, and limbs, the physical form itself appeared entirely human…

It likely stemmed from a unique characteristic of demons, though I couldn’t ascertain the specifics.

In any case, it was more of a convenience than a hindrance, so it hardly mattered.

“It’s a pity there’s no shampoo.”

And another significant discovery.

I had, in fact, managed to recover some of the magical abilities Cyan wielded in the game.

Among these, ‘Teleport’ proved to be the most invaluable.

Its application was deceptively simple.

Provided certain conditions were met, I could instantly transport myself to any desired location, though it was imperative that I had previously visited that place.

In the game, this skill functioned via coordinate settings, allowing players to move to specific stages.

While mana consumption varied with distance, traveling from Seoul to New York, for instance, would hardly deplete my reserves.

Naturally, its efficacy was diminished in inclement weather.

The reason for this remained elusive.

“For now, I’ll teleport to the valley.”

I closed my eyes, then slowly opened them again.

-*Whoosh!*

The gentle murmur of flowing water greeted my ears.

This was a secluded valley, veiled by a dense canopy of trees, approximately twenty minutes from the magic tower.

Though its concealment by the forest’s trees had made it quite challenging to discover, it had since become one of my favored retreats.

I couldn’t discern the source of the stream, yet its remarkably pure, colorless, and transparent waters flowed ceaselessly.

What’s more, a simple wash in its waters would cleanse away all weariness.

This was likely no ordinary water.

-*Rustle*.

“Hah.”

Truthfully, I had no actual need to bathe in this manner.

Yet, if I failed to engage in such rituals daily, I feared my mind would succumb to the relentless ennui and idleness that perpetually encroached upon me.

It was as if my very existence lacked purpose.

For half a year, I had been utterly alone in this place, devoid of human presence or even internet access.

Frankly, I marveled at my own ability to maintain sanity.

Or perhaps I had already succumbed to madness? Could one truly remain sane while living in such utter isolation within a desolate forest?

This, too, remained an unanswered question.

“…How cumbersome.”

As I washed, my fingers brushed against the horns protruding from my head.

They were a pure, unblemished white, even brighter than my own silver hair.

They invariably snagged my fingers whenever I washed my hair.

Still, I persisted, for the act of washing always left me feeling remarkably refreshed.

“They truly are beautiful, though.”

I gazed at my reflection in the water.

Beautiful.

An appearance so undeniably stunning, no one could possibly refute its beauty.

While the sharp gaze held a hint of intimidation, even accounting for that, the face was utterly flawless.

Furthermore, with a figure that boasted a flawless golden ratio, devoid of any excess, what man could possibly remain uncaptivated by such a sight?

…That man was me.

Initially, a spark of curiosity had led me to experiment with various things.

Yet, all I garnered in return were feelings of shame and profound emptiness.

While I, as a man, would have enthusiastically welcomed the chance to merely observe or even approach such a woman, becoming her entirely was an entirely different, and unwelcome, proposition.

“Hah.”

By now, even this had become a familiar reality.

After another ten minutes of washing, I emerged from the water and donned my usual attire.

This, too, had initially caused me embarrassment.

The act of bathing naked outdoors, particularly within a female body that was not my own, had initially evoked a peculiar sensation.

However, here, there was no one but me.

Once that realization truly sank in, it ceased to matter.

In this boundless forest, only I, myself, existed.

****

[~Hidden Stage~ Tower of Exile, 31st Floor Sector.]

-*CRASH!*

“Just sit there for a moment; I happened to need a chair.”

Having shattered the colossal guardian, I settled onto its wreckage.

The guardians within this Tower of Exile, no matter how utterly pulverized, would invariably reconstitute themselves by the following day.

And that wasn’t all.

Even if the magic tower itself were completely demolished, it would spontaneously revert to its original state within twenty-four hours.

The reason, as detailed in the myriad books scattered throughout this place, was that the tower itself was sustained by the inherent power bestowed upon it by a ‘Transcendent’.

[The Transcendent, weary of the world, severed themselves from it entirely. They forged their own minor dimension and elected to spend the remainder of their existence within its confines.]

“Is it about the Transcendent again?”

Transcendent.

They were transcendent beings, unbound by the conventional framework of dimensions.

More precisely, their standing was positioned somewhere between the Creator God, who fashioned this world, and the Spirit Kings who served beneath them.

In Novel Online, a total of three Transcendent beings had made an appearance.

[The Transcendent of Time – Diabella]

[The Transcendent of Space – Cresia]

[The Fallen Transcendent – Delatros]

Of these, Delatros was the sole Transcendent I had ever encountered.

As intervention in the world was strictly forbidden for Transcendent beings, I had never had occasion to meet the other two.

I merely had to seek out the prophecies they left behind—items within the game that indicated specific locations—in order to advance the main storyline.

It often entailed a considerable amount of repetitive grinding, to be precise.

“And it seems Cresia was the one who created this place.”

[The other two Transcendent beings, startled by Cresia’s disappearance, ventured even into the inner (TL Note: The Korean term ‘이변세계’ (ibyeonsegye) literally translates to ‘other side world’ or ‘hidden world,’ suggesting a dimension distinct from the known world.) realm in their search, but ultimately failed to locate them.]

For both of them to undertake such a search merely for the disappearance of one individual, she must have been exceedingly popular.

Furthermore, considering that the garments found here were exclusively women’s clothing, it seemed highly probable that the Transcendent named Cresia had been female.

Incidentally, Delatros had been male.

If Cresia had been male, the thought would have been rather unsettling.

To spend the remainder of one’s existence crafting women’s undergarments in a world where only they themselves existed… no matter how I considered it, that notion was quite…

“…Well, perhaps that’s not for me to say.”

I murmured, casting a glance down at my own body.

I was entertaining rather nonsensical thoughts.

Still, for a brief reprieve from boredom, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

In such a place, my only possible diversions were bathing, sleeping, and perusing the endless, tedious volumes scattered about.

“Intru…der, detec…ted.”

“Still alive, are we?”

-*CRUNCH!*

And, of course, obliterating these soulless guardians.

If only I could tame them like common beasts or other monsters, but these creatures would simply charge at me with lethal intent upon sight, rendering any such attempt futile.

They were, moreover, ridiculously weak, offering no thrill in combat.

Even when I deliberately allowed their attacks to connect, the only outcome was the shattering of their axes.

Did I possess some passive ability akin to invincibility?

“Hah, how did I ever end up like this?”

I simply slumped onto the nearest stair.

In stark contrast to Cyan’s incredibly potent physique, the mind animating it felt remarkably frail.

And why wouldn’t it? I wasn’t Cyan, after all.

I was merely a human who had once controlled the character Cyan through a monitor, nothing more and nothing less.

Although I had guided Cyan’s journey, that didn’t equate to me becoming Cyan herself within the game.

My memory remained hazy.

I distinctly recalled attempting to delete Cyan at the very end, intending to abandon the game and return to my real life.

Could that have been the catalyst for all of this?

I simply did not know.

[Now, it’s time to awaken from your sweet dream.]

And what meaning, pray tell, was embedded within those words?

A sweet dream? What, precisely, was this dream they spoke of?

“Yet, I can hardly question the very individual who uttered those words, rendering this situation utterly exasperating.”

I sighed, then pushed myself to my feet.

Gazing into the mirror within the tower room, only Cyan’s reflection stared back.

By now, this body felt undeniably like my own.

Having been isolated in this forest for half a year, even the memory of who I originally was had begun to subtly recede.

What was my original name, again…?

-*FLASH!*

“?”

At that very instant, the view outside the window abruptly flared with a brilliant flash, as if struck by lightning.

I instantly rushed to the window, peering out into the forest.

What could that have been?

While torrential downpours had certainly occurred here, lightning had never once struck.

I had always lived under the assumption that the Transcendent had prevented such occurrences, reasoning that a lightning strike in the forest could easily ignite a catastrophic fire.

It was undeniably not lightning.

Then, what was it?

“Could it be…!”

A faint, yet distinct, human presence registered in my senses.

The unmistakable aura of a living being, something I hadn’t felt in the entirety of the past six months, was now undeniably present.

It was, in fact, a player.