I shouldn’t have left Shio-ram.
As soon as I reached the spot where the Echoes of the Ghost Valley were supposed to be, that thought hit me.
It took forever to get here. Time was precious, and seeing the awful results only reinforced that notion.
I had been cooped up in the train for nearly a whole day. I didn’t spend all that time idly, though. Instead of spacing out, I crammed in study notes for my written subjects and scribbled some magic theories.
I couldn’t really move around. No matter how fancy the train facilities were, it wasn’t the right setting for serious physical training.
I switched trains in hopes of finding a hidden piece along the way.
Even applying my knowledge from the original source here didn’t yield precise results. Thus, I had to fill in the gaps with my own experiences.
After wasting all that time, I finally found the remnants of the dungeon that had been conquered and disappeared, along with a weathered stone tablet that was mostly deteriorated.
I stood there for a while in a daze. My head was spinning. I had the urge to smash that innocent stone tablet.
I hurriedly turned my back. Staying there any longer felt like it would make me lose my mind.
The way back wasn’t smooth sailing either. Being out of the city, there were monsters roaming around.
In that perilous atmosphere, I returned with my spatial awareness wide open, keeping an eye out for danger. Occasionally, I would take down monsters charging at me while trudging along.
Having finished the inspection at the outskirts, I made my way back into the city. Before I could reach my accommodation, my legs gave way.
I collapsed onto a bench at the nearby park.
‘Ah…’
Thoughts from just moments ago began to resurface in my mind.
I should have just stayed at Shio-ram. What was I thinking, wasting my time and taking on these risks? Who did I think I was, stepping out like this? I could’ve just rolled around in my crib like a baby…
Regret washed over me, but that was hindsight talking. Don’t most people feel this way?
“Oh, if only I had done that back then…”
The reason I regretted this trip was the lack of any meaningful results.
Had I managed to snag even a single hidden piece, I wouldn’t be feeling this time loss – I’d be bragging about how much I gained despite all the trouble.
‘Honestly, it wasn’t totally unexpected…’
This was reality, not a game.
I kept repeating that phrase. It was something I should naturally know, but given how incompetent I felt at times, I had to remind myself not to misthink it.
Thus, I suspected that the hidden pieces I was seeking might have already vanished, and it turned out to be true.
This instance was different from the Egg of Origin in many aspects.
The Egg of Origin was within the strictly-accessed Tower of Growth, and even if I found it, I wouldn’t be able to acquire it without special admission qualifications.
The hidden pieces I was looking for this time… didn’t have any strict limitations or requirements. Whoever found it first claimed it.
They weren’t even located in particularly hard-to-reach areas, nor did they require special conditions or a daunting difficulty level to retrieve.
That’s precisely why I thought I might at least make a go for this hidden piece. I wasn’t brave enough to tackle the other hidden pieces yet.
Ideally, I wanted to solve the curse of short life right away, but as far as I was aware, there were only two methods.
One was a consumption-type artifact through the Treasure of the Sun.
The problem was that the dungeon which spat out the Treasure of the Sun was ranked level 1.
This place had a standard monster tier of 5. And even if an Alpha specimen popped up, it would be tier 3.
If anything like that fell into an ordinary area, alarms would ring out even to neighboring countries, and the guild would promptly dispatch analysis and suppression teams.
What I was contemplating wasn’t something I could step into… honestly, I doubted I’d be able to ever take that plunge.
Right now, I felt like I couldn’t even show my face. Its location was so remote that while it may have some possibilities, I still wasn’t sure if it had already been conquered.
The second method was to conquer a tower and get a wish ticket.
More accurately, it involved conquering an unbroken tower to receive the right to make a wish, thereby breaking the curse…
‘That’s insane…’
It’s a method even crazier than the Treasure of the Sun.
When I attempted to conquer the tower with my appropriately leveled 8th Character Thundra, I fled, dumbfounded.
The difficulty was outrageous. I was greeted by an overwhelming tide of traps and monsters, leaving no distinction from regular dungeons, and I had to escape immediately.
Depending on the advantages, I could solo tier 3 monsters at this level 8, but it was still formidable.
Of course, had I persisted in a prolonged battle, I might’ve stood a chance, but my home base (Earth) was under attack, so retreat was the only option.
I planned to conquer it later; I had a scheme but got side-tracked by Baek Ahrin and ruined the whole plan.
Anyway, the only tower I somewhat managed to tackle was the 11th-tier Golden Warrior.
I figured I’d need to be at least as strong as an 8th Character Thundra… ideally, I should be around the level of the 11th-tier Golden Warrior before even attempting that…
‘……’
I felt an overwhelming sense of melancholy. The possibility of dying young loomed suddenly. My hands and feet started to tremble.
Even the feathers in the sky seemed to quiver in harmony with my emotions.
Taking a deep breath, I covered my face.
I didn’t want to die. I hated the struggle, too, but given my true nature was beast-like, I feared death even more…
– Thud.
‘?’
As I tried to calm my racing heart, I noticed something approaching me through my spatial awareness.
It was a little kid.
The child, with neatly tied hair falling to one shoulder, waddled over to me and tugged at the ends of the sky’s feathers.
‘What is this?’
There was no malice.
Caught off guard by the sudden action, my head tilted instinctively. I turned to see what was going on.
The child mirrored my head tilt.
The neatly braided yellow hair slipped off the shoulders, looking a bit familiar… with the color reminiscent of chick down feathers.
But unlike the person I knew, the child’s eyes seemed oddly stoic.
What was this kid trying to do? As I pondered, the child tapped on the smartwatch on their wrist.
The design looked familiar.
[Are you okay? Do you need any help?]
It was a hologram I was used to seeing. The text appeared just like on mine.
It was a technology developed by the guild that distributes smartwatches… or so I was told, but the real scoop came from the powers of the Tower of Harmony.
I gaped for a moment before sneaking a glance at the child.
When people talk, it’s naturally more convenient than not talking at all.
If they weren’t speaking, there must be some situation at hand.
Like me.
[Hello. I’m fine, thank you.]
The child stared intently at the hologram I displayed and nodded. They remained silent, though.
‘…This is complicated.’
I made an uncertain expression at the child’s demeanor.
I appreciated their kindness, but I couldn’t help but feel foolish for looking so pitiful that a child would think I needed help.
…But thinking back, perhaps feeling foolish wasn’t warranted. Maybe I was overselling myself?
My mental age seemed similar to that child’s. Not to mention my inability to do much on my own was reminiscent of a child too.
Given the kindness shown just now, maybe this kid was actually better than me.
Suddenly, my thoughts spiraled into self-deprecation. I shook my head and tapped on the smartwatch again.
[Thanks for worrying, but I’m okay.]
The child nodded and then trotted around, plopping down on a nearby bench.
…Why weren’t they leaving?
‘Where are your parents…’
I meant to ask, but I paused midway. It was a potential risk.
What if they didn’t have parents? The question could be impolite…
After giving it a moment of thought, I concluded that it wasn’t really my business. The child didn’t seem to be lost and appeared calm.
At the very least, they didn’t seem to be in any difficult situation.
Just in case, I fiddled with the bracelet hanging next to the smartwatch.
It had an interference function.
The grade was top-tier, and it could maintain a highly complex magical interference without needing to charge for a whole week.
It was crafted by the vice president. Moreover, since Shio-ram would provide some basic identity protection, there was no way anyone here would recognize me.
I sighed as I watched the child swinging their legs back and forth on the bench and leaned back against the bench.
‘Let’s go back…’
I had already booked a train arriving in the afternoon.
I was returning earlier than anticipated. If I’d had to dive into the Echoes of the Ghost Valley, I would’ve been cutting it close.
Despite the early return, the results were nearly non-existent… a bittersweet outcome.
In the end, it was a letdown. The only thing I gained was the information that all the easily accessible hidden pieces had been snatched away.
From now on, I couldn’t even take a step outside my crib….
Suddenly, I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. My fuzzy thoughts snapped into clarity.
This sensation was familiar. I raised my hand and rubbed my neck.
Cold sweat began to surface. This reaction too felt reminiscent.
‘…This.’
It was the same feeling I had just before generating my character for the 13th run the day before coming to this world.
A wave of dizziness washed over me.
– Bang!
“…?!”
I jumped up from the bench as if I had been jolted awake. The kid sitting nearby jumped up in alarm, but I didn’t have the luxury to care.
‘What the heck? What’s happening?’
It felt dangerous, but I couldn’t quite discern why. I was confused, but the certainty of danger was so strong it felt like my chest might burst from frustration.
I gritted my teeth.
My mind was racing aimlessly. Just at that moment, a desperate thought popped into my head, and I hastily tapped my smartwatch.
Requesting help. I didn’t know what was happening, so I wanted to send a survival report and request aid.
I didn’t expect much, but if this intuition turned out to be a mistake? I’d just pass it off as a sudden panic attack.
The hologram changed, pulling up the most recent contact.
[Professor Atra]
▶Me: Yes, I’ll return safely (Yesterday, 6:21 PM)
▶Me: Professor… (Now)
– Kboom!
‘Gah…!’
Before I could even finish my text, a sudden massive impact struck my head. More precisely, it was a collision of my consciousness.
As my mind was jostled, the hologram flickered and distorted, then faded away.
My spatial awareness trembled erratically. It felt like I was watching through the eyes of someone hit by a dump truck.
‘Ugh…’
I struggled to hold onto my fading consciousness. Remembering that time when I almost burned out my mind in spatial awareness felt trivial compared to this.
Just as I managed to keep it from collapsing, I was met with an all-encompassing sense of pressure.
It felt like being buried under a massive pile of dirt; my spatial awareness began to constrict. This sensation was oddly familiar.
– Kaboom!
Before I could even process it, a gigantic explosion rang in my ears. It wasn’t a one-off; the continued blasts echoed through the city.
– Ah, ahhh—!
– What’s going on?! Why is there a dungeon… without warning?!
– Where are the protection spells?! Where did all the magic go?!
Moments after, various noises filled my ears. There was not a trace of good news among them.
Fear, sorrow, pain, confusion… an array of negative emotions.
‘……’
The sudden surge of magical energy around me, the disconnect of my smartwatch, and monsters cropping up everywhere.
I couldn’t even curse.
My face went unnaturally pale.
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