This Might Be the Game of My Life

The first floor—the Goblin Labyrinth dimension—was infinite. Yet even dimensions like that had a tower that encompassed them all.

In the skies above the Dimensional Tower, constellations shone. On the ground, heroes carved out their adventures.

Those who had already proven themselves, or promising talents expected to become great explorers someday.

Lured by the rumor that reaching the top would grant any wish and turn them into gods, they set off on their grand journey.

Each floor held countless trials and vast continents ready to test them, but still, innumerable people staked their lives to climb the Dimensional Tower.

And now, a new hero had been invited.

One who sliced through enemy throats more bravely than anyone, coldly read the battlefield, and in the end rampaged like a lunatic.

Such a crazy commander and berserker—who had reached the summit—had finally caught the tower’s eye.

So the tower summoned that warrior.

Of course, it did not demand they surrender all the power they had possessed in life. Although the Dimensional Tower was a lower realm, it generously compensated for the strength brought from elsewhere.

Thus, a new warrior and explorer set foot inside the labyrinth of the Dimensional Tower.

The warrior transmitted exactly as their game avatar slowly opened their eyes and looked around.

“……Huh?”

They first frowned at the changed map, then their whole body froze when they realized every piece of equipment they had been wearing was reset to default.

And when they realized something about their own body had changed, they let out a short curse.

“Fuck.”

I’m screwed.

I had seen that system message every single time I logged into the game. The message that had grown so familiar could feel this bewildering. A fresh realization hit me as I examined the surrounding terrain.

Stone walls covered in green moss, a weathered stone floor, and wildflowers blooming on one side. Unlike the wide-open view of the 90th floor and above, every direction here was enclosed by stone walls.

Had the GM personally tweaked the location for the full-clear celebration event? I clung to that faint hope while trying every ridiculous thing I could think of for dozens of minutes already.

No matter how I look at it, this has to be that place.

Every game has its settings. So even in Eternal Tower, the Dimensional Tower, there was a kind of testing ground before entry to weed out weak explorers.

Also known as the Goblin Labyrinth.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the stage where the weakest monsters appeared even among the early floors teeming with green-skinned beasts. In complete contrast to the summit I had just reached, this was the first floor—the lowest layer.

“Ugh, this is the worst.”

It was bad in every way. First, the fact that I had been suddenly thrown into the game itself was bewildering. The fact that it was a brutally difficult game I had only managed to clear after five years also left my head spinning. And on top of that, when I came to my senses I realized my body had turned into the female character I had been climbing with. That was the biggest shock of all.

Is this for real?

The dazzling full-body armor that had been the pride of every server was gone. My defense was gone. Likewise, Excalibur—the blade I had forged from the finest materials gathered across countless floors—had vanished too.

Instead of my ultimate armor and sword, I was wearing nothing but the plain white T-shirt and shorts given to new arrivals. The crude iron sword in my hand was just the cherry on top.

Where the hell did my ultimate endgame weapon Excalibur go, and why was this piece of dogshit in my hand instead?

“Status window.”

Even my character data had been completely reset. The first twenty or thirty minutes after falling here had been spent crying and screaming, but my mind had finally stabilized.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn’t that I was an especially calm person—

—but it felt like something was helping me. My mind was eerily calm. Calm enough that I could probably spout wise sayings like the countless sages on the internet.

Based on that unusually steady mentality, I pondered every possibility for a long while, but there was only one answer.

I had to climb.

With a sigh, I left the moss-covered ground behind and took a step forward.

Every sight that met my eyes somehow felt more real today. Well, it was real, but far more vivid than usual. My senses were sharp.

“……Hoo.”

The thin, feminine voice that slipped from my lips, the lowered eye level, the unpleasant air of the labyrinth, the hair swaying in the breeze, the damp stench of goblins—everything felt both repulsive and strangely blood-boiling.

I kept walking, carrying that contradictory sensation.

—Krrrik?

Because sooner or later, I was bound to meet one.

Alright. Stay calm. Just kill it calmly with the sword. I’ve slaughtered countless goblins in the game, haven’t I? There’s no way I’d actually die to one, right?

I steadied myself and stared at the curving stone wall ahead.

—Krrk?!

The moment the cry sounded again, a faint shadow appeared above the wall.

“Fuck.”

Regardless of my nervous curse, the shadow swelled larger and soon revealed a familiar ugly little devil right in front of me.

—Krrk?

The small green monster’s body was even scrawnier than my own shrunken frame. Its hunched posture put its head roughly at my waist as it tilted it in confusion.

It wore no leather, just a savage appearance. But I didn’t let my guard down. No matter how weak a goblin was, it was more than enough to massacre an ordinary civilian who hadn’t even become an explorer yet.

Especially against me, who had suddenly lost my masculinity.

And the creature had a weapon. The green devil fiddled with the dagger in its small hand while observing the prey before it.

“……Tsk.”

Incidentally, the prey caught in that gaze was me.

—Krrrik!

After ten or so seconds of unpleasant eye contact, the goblin finally decided it could take me. It let out a shrill cry and began to move.

Tap-tap-tap. The barefoot green monster’s bare feet raced across the labyrinth floor, charging straight at me.

Faster than I—

It was fast. Though small like a child and hunched over, its movements were as agile as a beast’s. The goblin practically ran on all fours across the stone.

It had no sharp fangs or claws, but it did have the dagger clutched in its hand. Between its grinning lips, dirty teeth glistened.

Even though I had been reduced to a pretty female character, did I really look like easy prey?

The thick killing intent and desire I was experiencing for the first time made disgust boil up inside my chest.

Did I make the game avatar too pretty?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind. They said even a healthy man would find it hard to kill a wild dog if he didn’t truly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠commit, and here I was in the body of a beautiful girl. In the game I could have closed my eyes and still won, but could I win without a scratch in this reality?

On top of that, the creature held a crude blade. Even a graze from that dagger would hurt like hell even if it didn’t kill me.

I would have to kill this one and four or five more just to finish the tutorial. After that I still had to clear the first floor and climb countless more layers. It was an achievement I had only managed after dying thousands of times in the game. Could I do it with senses this realistic?

Could I really survive? Could I climb all the way back to the top of the tower?

Wait, wasn’t that just a game story? Could I win? Could I endure until the end?

Any person with a sound mind would feel this kind of fear. So why?

My head, which had been filled with confusion and rage, grew calm once more.

—Kyeeeeek!

I felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, I wondered how best to hunt the creature charging to kill me. At the same time as I felt that inexplicable excitement, I observed the goblin rushing at me like a beast.

The weakest monster—a green-skinned goblin. A wild animal running with a dagger, drooling. As I watched the beast-like creature, certainty settled in my mind.

No, I had actually known from the start. The experience I had accumulated over years of playing and the still-unfamiliar sensations of this body were screaming at me.

You can slice apart a mere goblin with ridiculous ease.

Clack.

So I gripped the sword tightly.

The rough leather grip. The blunt edge typical of a crude iron sword. The sensation was clearly different from the game, yet it still felt perfectly natural in my hand. Any sense of awkwardness vanished in an instant.

The hand that had only ever held kitchen knives now accepted a blade meant for taking lives. I raised my head and glared at the goblin before me.

—Krrriik!

Once the distance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠closed enough, the creature kicked off the ground and raised the hand holding its blade. At this range I could clearly see every pimple on its hideous face.

Certainly, facing something like this was not just frightening—it was downright repulsive. But why?

Thump—thump—

My heart began to race with ecstasy. It was only a goblin, yet standing against a drawn blade felt incredibly enjoyable. Had I simply gone mad from the irrational situation?

Maybe.

But it didn’t feel bad at all.

The sensation was so exhilarating that I almost regretted never feeling anything like it before.

“Not bad at all.”

My lips curled into a grin of their own accord. The feeling was positively electric.

—Kyeeeeek!

I raised my sword toward the goblin that charged with an unpleasant shriek. The rather heavy iron blade moved exactly as I willed it. The goblin’s dagger was already at my nose, but I felt no fear.

Cut it.

I swung the sword down. Hard.

The goblin’s dagger met my blade, and the outcome was decided in an instant.

CRRRRRUNCH──!!

The euphoric sensation of slicing through everything in its path traveled up my arm along with the sound of severing flesh. At the same time, the goblin’s eyes widened in confusion as its head flew into the air.

Bright red blood sprayed across the empty space. The crude blade it had been holding clattered helplessly to the floor.

The battle had ended far too easily.

“……Hah.”

I stood there blankly, drenched in the goblin’s fountain-like blood, then looked down at the hand gripping the sword. I replayed the sensation of that instant.

Thump, thump, thump. My heart pounded so violently it almost hurt.

“This is awesome.”

This might just be the game of my life.