As the message appeared, my whole body stiffened. It was like that one word—no, that voice—that voice had shaken my reality.
I could feel my breathing speeding up; it was becoming harder to breathe.
Despite not wanting to, my head… slowly turned to the side, and my body followed. I was unsettled about what—or rather, whom—I would see if I turned around, but I still did.
?: "It is you, Arthur!"
The voice was filled with relief and happiness.
The owner of the voice was tall, with long legs and slender arms, and a slim waist. She had golden, sunrise-like hair and soft pink skin, blush on her cheeks.
Innocence like none other, yet her smile was full of life and confidence. That confidence wasn't visible in her smile, but that was how I remembered it.
Arthur: "Myeong."
I muttered with whatever breath I had left.
Reality was snatched away from me, and all I could see was her. Everything else turned white for me—nothing held my interest except her.
The urge to hold the person in front of me was so intense that I could feel my arms lifting, despite my mind telling me not to.
My rationality and feelings were colliding, fighting with each other. My feelings were controlling my body while my mind roared at me to act rationally.
But the longing was so strong that I could see my hands approaching her face.
Her golden-brown eyes looked at my hands, then at me. She smiled at me, and I felt… I felt as if she understood my feelings and accepted them.
Suddenly, hesitation left me. Feeling strength in my arms, I decided to move forward—
**
?: "I know who you like."
**
'Huh?'
But then the world went dark around me.
**
A girl, a little chubbier, wearing a school uniform, looking down at me, came into my view.
?: "She told us herself."
Behind her, I could see a blue sky with clouds. It seemed I was lying on a grassy ground, and she was sitting beside me.
Arthur: "Us?"
Following my question, the world around me went dark once again.
**
Myeong: "Arthur… I missed you."
+
[ The exclusive skill 'False Awakening' has been shaken. ]
+
I couldn't focus, and something else flashed before me.
**
?: "I'm telling you, she likes me."
Another voice—a typical male—spoke to someone nearby. They were wearing normal clothes. Behind them, a banner hung on the wall.
?: "I tease her very often, and I know she likes it."
?: "Hehe."
One person tried to imitate a girl smiling shyly.
?: "She smiles like that. Haha."
**
Everything went dark again. I grabbed my head as flashes kept appearing before me.
**
Inside a bus, two people wearing the same uniform as the chubby girl—a boy and a girl—sat on either side of me. They looked slightly younger than me.
?: "I'm telling you, hyung. You're being stupid."
Arthur: "I know… but how does one control what they feel?"
?: "...That is true."
**
**
In the cafeteria, the same girl from the bus—
?: "Oppa, there's a rumour going around… You know, about her—"
**
One flash after another.
**
?: "I'm telling you, man. It's true."
**
**
?: "Hey, Arthur. She's getting married."
**
+
[ The exclusive skill 'False Awakening' is firmly activated. ]
+
The flashes seemed to end with that message.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Persephone: "—ey, are you out of it yet?"
Arthur: "Y-yeah."
Hearing Persephone's voice, I responded, though I wasn't completely out of it.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "He is finally out!" ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "Seems like it." ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Whose Heart Bleeds for Heartbroken' is looking at you with sad eyes. ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Who Likes Cigar and Candy' is looking at you. ]
+
I looked at the comments through my fingers, still clutching my head.
It felt strange that Nubecula [Who Likes Cigar and Candy] hadn't said anything annoying, but I pushed the thought aside.
Arthur: "Yeah. I'm fine."
Letting go of my head as I said that, though it felt like I was saying it more to myself than to anyone else.
Persephone: "Why do you keep blanking out?"
She asked, confused.
Arthur: "...The script attacks mentally."
At my words, some of the confusion left her face.
Arthur: "Since it's locked inside, that's the only way."
+
[ Some Nubeculas are excited to hear your words. ]
+
I looked back at the door. It was still just a simple door, as my mind replayed what I had seen.
'She seems to be a result of the script.'
Even though the script showed me someone from my past, I felt more annoyed than nostalgic.
'...And the other flashes were my memories. I somewhat remember them.'
Some fragments of my memory had surfaced because the script showed me her.
'It didn't show me exactly her, but someone who could shake me.'
The script's influence manifests as a person we feel reluctant toward—someone to whom it's difficult to say no. That way, it can lure them in and trap them.
'Tch.'
I clicked my tongue.
'I never wanted to see her again.' That was my genuine feeling now.
'The influence of the script is getting stronger. If it weren't for "False Awakening"…'
I had "False Awakening," so I wasn't worried about the script's hypnosis. But it still showed me someone from my own reality.
'Is that why it's firmly activated?'
It was the first time my skill had shaken like that—I could feel it. "False Awakening" was a mysterious skill I have, and this time it activated differently than usual.
Huuuu…
Releasing a deep breath, I tried to refocus.
'I don't want to think about these complicated things.'
My past, my profile, my weird skills—there was a reason I didn't think about them in detail.
'What is the point of it?'
I'm not planning on thinking about any troublesome things. My past is my past. I am now in a different world. My profile doesn't open, but I don't need to access it right now. And my weird skills, although not in my control, seem to work when needed.
'So, there is no need to think too much about it.'
As I've mentioned many times, living without doing much is my plan. The future is bleak and dangerous, but it should be handled by the existence of this world. I will just help using my knowledge and sit back, riding alongside them.
Persephone: "Are you going to go inside or not?"
She asked me plainly. I looked at her from the corner of my eye. It seemed like she wanted to ask more, but I had to hurry.
'Yes, let's just clear these hidden scripts. It is going to go to waste anyway.'
In my dreams, Zoe's heart's script was left untouched, and this hidden script on the sixth floor caused a major incident without anyone clearing it.
'So it's not like I am taking anyone's chance.' I concluded.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Dionysus' comments, "You going inside or what?" ]
+
[ Some Nubeculas are grumbling. ]
+
Somewhat annoyed by the constant questions, I stood straight.
Arthur: "Shut up. I'm going."
+
[ Some Nubeculas are gasping at your bold remark. ]
+
Persephone: "Are—"
—Not you.
+
[ Nubecula 'Dionysus' is smiling. ]
+
'Why is this punk smiling?' I felt a little chill, but I ignored it.
I walked toward the door at a slow pace because I needed to talk to Persephone.
I didn't use the Isolation item because I didn't want the Nubeculas to get suspicious.
—You have to stay here.
Persephone: "What?"
She spoke as if she had just heard something ridiculous.
—You need to stay here.
Hearing the same message twice, Persephone scowled.
Persephone: "You don't need to say it twice. Why would I stay here?"
—Because I need you to.
Persephone: "Just because I've been nice to you, do you think you can order me around?"
She seemed genuinely offended and angry.
I sighed internally.
—I said "need." There is a limit to how strong an existence can make contact with this script. Someone like you would make the balance unstable.
Persephone tightened her jaw at the word "balance," and I could feel her irritation.
Persephone: "Alteration would happen, I'm assuming."
I nodded. As expected, she understood.
Persephone: "But so what?"
Arthur: "Huh?"
The word slipped out of my mouth. I became confused. What do you mean, so what? The script would become ten times—no, many times—more difficult.
Persephone: "You want to go inside? You're weak. Without me sharing my stats or skills, what would you do? Huh?"
That was true, but—
Persephone: "Alteration or it going berserk—it doesn't concern me. I'm going."
I reached the door. The annoyance was growing stronger. I didn't know if it was only hers—I was feeling it too.
—What about "you not getting in my way"? I want to clear this hidden script.
The irritation inside me intensified, and I could see it on her face as well.
—Stay here. We have a soul contract. A part of you will still be inside me. I also have a defense-type skill.
I have Zoe's heart—it protects me. I glanced at Persephone from the corner of my eye.
She had an angry frown, frustration clear in her eyes.
Persephone: "Fine."
She turned, saying that, hugging herself. Her hair fell over her shoulder, hiding her face.
Persephone: "Do whatever you want."
She said in a low tone, but that didn't sound like grumbling. She sounded indifferent. I looked at her stoically as well. I couldn't show any reaction—the Nubeculas were still watching.
She floated away, phasing through the window without another word.
Even after she left, her annoyance lingered within me.
'She seems annoyed.'
With that thought, I turned back to the door—a simple door with a simple doorknob. My hand moved and grasped the knob, following which the messages appeared.
+
[ You have made contact with the area influenced by the ABANDONED SOUL. ]
+
[ Conditions: Have the permission of the ABANDONED SOUL. ]
[ You have not fulfilled the conditions to enter the area. ]
+
'Do I only gain permission if I am under its hypnosis?'
I concluded that the soul residing on the sixth floor only grants permission to those it can control.
'But…'
+
[ The influence area of the ABANDONED SOUL has decreased due to the soul already influencing a large number of souls. ]
+
A smile crept onto my face.
'This is the reason it goes berserk.'
The soul was gathering people here because it was trying to connect with more and more souls. Even in small amounts, if the souls keep accumulating, the "balance" will be disturbed, and "alteration" will occur.
The collection of drops of water makes the whole ocean.
But before that happens, it starts losing some of its influence—and I can take advantage of that.
+
[ Condition to enter the area has been removed. ]
+
The influence hadn't disappeared completely. I still needed to activate the script before clearing it.
'Let's just go inside first.'
I was already holding the doorknob. I twisted it to open the lock.
Creakkkk… tuck.
The door opened. I pushed it and then looked back.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Dionysus' comments, "She is not there anymore, let's go." ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Whose Heart Bleeds for Heartbroken' is looking at you. ]
+
I knew that he was talking about the person I had seen due to the script's influence.
'But I don't give a crap about her.'
My gaze lingered where Persephone had phased through. The annoyance hadn't decreased.
Sigh.
I turned back and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
Slam.
Past the door, a narrow hallway opened up like a maw—an extremely narrow one.
The hallway was so tight that I could touch both walls if I stretched my hands to either side.
The path ahead led into darkness, meaning I couldn't see the end.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "Woah, this is so ominous." ]
+
I walked into the unknown. At first, the walls were empty, but as I stepped further inside, a painting appeared on my right.
The framed painting depicted a bright room with no windows. A fireplace on one side lit the room, and on the other side stood a large bed.
On the bed sat a woman—an adult with a petite frame.
She wore a majestic red dress with a white collar and solid crystal-like shoulder pads. Jewelries adorned her everywhere—on her dress, on her long gloves, on her neck, on her shoulder, and even on her cheeks, as if floating by magic.
She had white hair and blue, cat-like eyes that were glowing. On her head, she had a crown which resembled a Phoenix crown from China, but it protruded like cat ears at the top. Many cats surrounded her.
'Hmmm…'
After observing the painting as a whole, I walked further. After what felt like a minute or two, another painting came into view—this time on the left wall.
I stopped and looked at it.
'It looks the same.'
It was the same painting as before. It was strange to encounter the same framed image again, but I was certain it was on a different side, so I looked back down the hallway.
Arthur: "Obviously."
Obviously, I couldn't see the painting from before; I had walked too far.
Ignoring the painting, I continued forward, and again after a minute or two, the same framed painting appeared on the right wall.
Glancing for a fraction of a second without stopping, I walked past it. The same paintings kept appearing on both sides like a loop.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "It seems like a loop." ]
+
'But it feels different.' I mused internally.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' is looking at you. ]
+
After passing what I estimated to be fifteen or sixteen paintings, I stopped at one on my left.
Arthur: "There are fewer cats now."
+
[ The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' is nodding her head. ]
+
Everything about the painting was the same. The same majestic woman sitting on the bed, the same room with no windows, the same fireplace on one side.
But the cats around the woman were fewer in number. I could count them now.
'Fifteen, ...more, maybe seventeen.'
After roughly counting them, I walked past it again. The same painting kept appearing, and as expected, the number of cats kept reducing.
After another fifteen or seventeen minutes, the hallway finally came to an end. It opened into two more hallways—one to the right and one to the left.
In front of me, there's a wooden railing, and past it, a wall with a large window in the shape of a rectangle with a half-circle top. I didn't know what the shape was called.
The window was foggy, but something shiny seemed to be behind it—perhaps the moon or the stars.
I walked to the railing, then held it with my hands. Looking down, I saw parts of similar railings at different levels below.
I concluded that there were about five more floors beneath this one, and the wall in front of me extended all the way down.
Pushing myself away from the railing, I turned.
'Should I go right or left?' I thought.
There were three ways before me, and I am not sure which to choose. I decided to go right, simply because the first painting I saw had been on the right wall.
I walked, and the hallway was once again narrowed. The path was dark, and I couldn't see the end, but I continued anyway.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "It is still ominous. I don't like it." ]
+
One minute further, and another framed painting appeared, this time on the left.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "It is a loop." ]
+
Arthur: "Heh~… it's the same one."
I snickered. The same painting—the same as the first painting, filled with too many cats to count—hung on the wall.
I walked further, and soon the painting appeared again, now on the right.
Arthur: "It really does seem like a loop."
I laughed lightly. I had already spent around thirty minutes in the previous hallway. If this one is similar, it would take another thirty minutes.
'I'll just run through this one.'
I don't know how long it would take to find what I was looking for. I don't want to get exhausted.
'Let's see how many points I have.'
I focused, and a white, slate-like tablet with golden text and runic designs appeared.
+
[ Points possessed: 42,300 ]
+
+
[ The Nubecula 'Dionysus' comments, "Pretty little sum you got there." ]
+
[ 20,000 points have been used. ]
[ Strength Lv. 29 → Lv. 39 ]
[ Stamina Lv.29 → Lv.39 ]
[ Agility Lv. 29 → Lv. 39 ]
[ Magic Power Lv. 29 → Lv. 39 ]
+
[ Your Strength has increased tremendously. Your body's capabilities have improved. ]
[ Your Stamina has increased tremendously. You will tire less. ]
[ Your Agility has increased tremendously. You can now move and perceive faster. ]
[ Your Magic Power has increased tremendously. You can sustain skills for longer durations. ]
+
Multiple marbled, slate-like tablets of different colors appeared before me, sliding upward one after another, replacing each other and leaving my peripheral view.
Then, I ran without looking at any of the paintings on my sides. After ten minutes, I exited the hallway, and a similar-looking scene came into view with the railing and the window, and two hallways on the right and left sides.
Without thinking much, I glanced past the railing. It was the same—five floors below this one.
I moved toward the left hallway, since this time the first painting had appeared on the left wall.
About a minute in, the same painting appeared again—this time on the right side.
'But it is different now.' I smirked.
The painting was slightly crooked, tilted on one side. I ran, and some pictures in the hallway were the same, but some were tilted like the first one.
After exiting the hallway, I looked down once more—still the same five floors. I quickly turned and entered the right hallway.
This time, the first painting was totally hanging on its edge on the left wall. All the paintings were either tilted a little or off balance.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "I don't like it." ]
+
Exiting the hallway, I noticed the window across the railing—it seemed longer now. I could see up to my eyes from the top, but nothing below that.
I looked down again—nothing changed—so I entered the left hallway.
Each time, the hallway grew more distorted, and the window stretched longer and longer.
I went through the hallway several more times. It had probably been an hour and a half since I entered through the door, but I wasn't tired since I raised my stats.
On this round, the hallway was completely wrecked—it looked like a hurricane had gone through here.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "...I don't like it." ]
+
Arthur: "Well, I do understand why you say that."
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' is furiously nodding her head. ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "It is like a haunted house." ]
+
The paintings were no longer on the walls but scattered across the floor—some torn, some bent, some lying upside down. Even the wallpaper was ripped. The atmosphere was eerie.
After walking through, I exited the hall again. This time, the window beyond the railing was at my level—I could fully see my reflection.
I looked… quite dashing.
'Do I really look that relaxed?' I wasn't sure.
I walked to the railing, grabbed it like before, and looked down.
'Oh?' I smiled.
+
[ Some Nubeculas are frowning. ]
+
The area beyond the railing was now completely dark, as if swallowed by a shadow. No more railings, no more floors—nothing was visible anymore.
It was just a vast, consuming darkness. Honestly, it was unsettling to look at.
I looked back at my reflection in the window. The reflection inside the window didn't look afraid; it had a weird, confident smile. I didn't know if I actually looked that confident. I felt like the image was provoking me.
Pfft.
I snorted at my reflection. Standing straight, I tightened my grip on the railing and rolled my shoulders a few times as I took deep breaths.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "What is he doing?" ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "I don't have a good feeling about this." ]
+
I ignored them, as usual.
Then, tightening my jaw, I lifted my right leg over the railing and then my left leg. I sat on the rod and placed my heels on the edge of the sixth floor.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Guhimo' comments, "Yup. I don't like this." ]
+
I stood on the railing while clutching its rod. In front of me, the area was empty. The shadow was underneath me, and my heartbeat had risen a little.
My reflection was still snickering at me, but I ignored it.
'Okay… nothing to fear. Not a big deal. Just a step. Just like in the movies. C'mon, Arthur.' I reassured myself.
Gripping the rod even tighter than I already was, I swayed my body forward and backward.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments, "I don't know if that's a good idea." ]
+
[ The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' is looking at you. ]
+
'Okay… one…' I began counting in my mind.
'Two…' Another swing.
?: "What are you doing?!"
+
[ The Nubeculas watching you are confused. ]
+
'And three.'
On three, I pushed off with my heels—but suddenly, someone's voice reached my ears.
Thud!
I tried to turn my head, but then I heard someone step over the railing—and jump.
Someone grabbed my collar from behind.
Arthur: "Wha—"
My throat got pulled by the shirt where the button was holding it, even though I had my collar unbuttoned.
'I should have unbuttoned another button…'
At that moment, a message appeared:
+
[ Lower Existence 'Lisa Hart' has used the Active Skill 'Telekinesis Lvl.2' ]
+
I was turned mid-air. Someone grabbed my shoulders, and I finally saw their face.
Arthur: "...Lisa?"
I had jumped facing the shadow, but now I was turned around—the abyss behind me as we fell.
Lisa: "What the hell did you jump for?!"
She roared at me. It was completely different from how I usually see her—calm and composed.
Seeing her angry face, the unease I felt before jumping disappeared, and I had to hold myself from laughing out loud.
Lisa: "Why are you grinning?!"
My grin broke into a low laugh. Her furious expression only made it worse.
'Damn it… this is going to be difficult.'
We kept falling—until the darkness swallowed us whole.