Agony's expression changed.
"There's something you should know first."
"What?"
"If I reconnect you to their network, those so-called Gods will be notified of your existence."
Faust paused.
"All of them?"
"The system will transmit your information to its operators. I can't determine exactly who will receive it."
Faust thought for a moment.
He had no intention of attracting unnecessary attention before understanding how the game worked.
Especially when he had no reliable information about the beings operating it.
"Can you hide my information?"
Agony tilted its head.
"What do you mean?"
"Make me appear like an ordinary survivor."
Faust looked toward the monolith beneath the sea.
"I don't want them paying special attention to me just because my body is different."
Agony considered the request.
"That shouldn't be difficult."
"Good."
"I can modify the information transmitted through the connection. Give me a moment."
Agony closed its eyes.
Faust waited.
A few seconds later, he felt something strange.
There was a slight pulling sensation inside his head, followed by a brief pressure behind his eyes.
Then a translucent window appeared in front of him.
Faust blinked.
The window remained in place.
He turned his head, and the window moved with his vision.
"So this is the system?"
A simple display appeared.
[Name: Faust Mchollen]
[Profession: None]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/100%]
[STR: 5]
[AGI: 5]
[INT: 5]
Faust read through the information.
"Name, profession, level, experience..."
His attention moved to the three attributes.
"Strength, agility, and intelligence."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Five points each?"
Considering the abilities his transformed body already possessed, those numbers were clearly not an accurate representation of his actual capabilities.
However, he had specifically requested that Agony conceal his information.
"Agony, are these the values you submitted?"
"Yes."
"Can you manipulate them however you want?"
"Of course."
"Show me."
"Watch."
The interface flickered.
For a brief moment, the numbers disappeared before reappearing.
[Name: Faust Mchollen]
[Profession: None]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/100%]
[STR: 5]
[AGI: 5]
[INT: 10]
Faust examined the change.
"Intelligence increased from five to ten."
"Correct."
"And the system accepts that?"
"Yes. I'm controlling the information exchanged through the connection."
Faust smiled.
"Interesting."
If Agony could alter the data so easily, then the system's displayed information could not be treated as an absolute measurement.
At least, that was true for his own connection.
"Change it back to five."
"Understood."
The intelligence value returned to its previous number.
Faust studied the window again.
For now, he had no intention of testing how much information Agony could manipulate.
There were more important things to investigate.
Just then, the interface flickered again.
A new message appeared.
[Attention, all players!]
[Please proceed to the nearest monolith and make physical contact to commence your tutorial.]
Faust read the notification twice.
"Tutorial?"
He looked toward the water.
"So that's what these monoliths are for."
The announcement had mentioned that the structures were connected to other worlds.
Now the system was instructing everyone to touch one of them.
'Does the tutorial take place inside the monolith?'
That seemed unlikely, considering the structure's limited size.
Unless the interior contained something entirely different from its exterior.
Faust recalled the earlier energy pulse.
'Spatial technology, perhaps?'
He could think of several possibilities, but there was only one way to confirm them.
"Agony."
"Yes?"
"We're heading to the monolith."
"Understood."
Faust looked at the small creature on his shoulder.
"And remember, remain dormant unless I tell you otherwise."
Agony nodded.
"I understand."
"Good."
Faust turned toward the ocean.
"We don't know what kind of monitoring equipment they have inside that thing, so don't reveal anything unnecessary."
"Understood."
The boat began to change.
Its black surface softened before breaking apart into long strips of material.
The strips climbed Faust's legs and wrapped around his body, gradually merging with his existing clothes.
Within seconds, the entire boat had disappeared.
Faust dropped into the water.
SPLASH!
The cold seawater surrounded him as he began descending.
Almost immediately, Agony extended a portion of its material over his face.
It formed a mask covering his nose and mouth, allowing him to breathe underwater.
Faust took a breath.
"Good. Let's go."
He swam downward.
As he descended, the light from the surface grew weaker.
The strange purplish color of the seawater gradually gave way to darkness, although his enhanced vision still allowed him to see his surroundings.
Soon, a faint glow appeared beneath him.
Faust stopped swimming for a moment.
'There it is.'
Far below, several lines of colored light cut through the darkness.
As he approached, the outline of the monolith finally became visible.
It was a massive black pillar standing upright on the ocean floor.
Despite having fallen from the sky at tremendous speed, its surface appeared completely intact.
Faust continued descending.
When he reached the structure, he could finally examine it properly.
The monolith stood approximately ten meters tall.
Its entire surface was covered in strange glyphs, each one glowing faintly with different colors.
Faust approached one of the engravings.
'I've never seen this writing system before.'
He studied the symbols.
Some consisted of simple geometric shapes, while others were formed from complicated lines that connected to neighboring patterns.
The light within them pulsed at regular intervals.
'Are these merely decorations, or do they serve some technical function?'
He raised his hand but stopped just short of touching the surface.
"Agony, can you detect anything?"
"There's a considerable amount of energy circulating through the structure."
"Anything else?"
"I'm detecting a signal similar to the one produced by the crystal."
Faust nodded.
"So they're connected."
He looked up at the massive structure.
The announcement had instructed players to make physical contact.
Whether that was necessary for identification, activation, or something else remained unclear.
"Well, there's no point standing here."
Faust extended his hand.
The moment his fingers touched the monolith, the glyphs surrounding his hand began to glow.
Then the entire structure reacted.
A surge of energy rushed through the engravings, spreading across the pillar in every direction.
Faust felt the pressure around his body change.
The water surrounding him began to distort.
His eyes widened slightly.
'Spatial distortion?'
The energy intensified.
A bright light emerged from the point where his hand touched the monolith, gradually spreading around him.
"Faust."
Agony's voice sounded inside his head.
"I'm detecting a dimensional shift."
Faust watched as the surrounding seawater began to lose its shape.
"What kind of shift?"
"The space around us is being altered. I believe the structure is attempting to transport us somewhere else."
Faust smiled.
"So it really is some kind of transportation device."
He examined the energy surrounding his hand.
The possibility of technology capable of manipulating space was far more interesting than a simple tutorial.
"Should I interfere?" Agony asked.
Faust shook his head.
"No."
He kept his hand against the monolith.
"Let it proceed."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. I want to see where it takes us."
Agony fell silent.
The light continued spreading until it completely enveloped Faust's body.
For an instant, the surrounding ocean seemed to freeze.
Then the energy contracted.
Faust felt a sudden pulling sensation, as though something had seized his entire body.
He maintained his focus, watching the distortion around him.
A final flash of light illuminated the ocean floor.
Then Faust and Agony disappeared, leaving the monolith standing silently in the darkness.