Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: A Veteran Enters the New Community
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A message popped up saying that the ancient spirit 'Groa' had sent me an invitation.
✨ INVITATION ✨ [Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' has sent you an invitation.] [§Dreams☆ and Illusions☆ Unfold in the Spirits♡ Playground§] [§Enter Now☞ // www.gro...] The moment that message appeared...
"......?"
An alarm siren blared automatically in my head.
Visions of my bank account being completely drained flashed before my eyes, along with a flood of suspicious terms like gambling, voice phishing, romance scams, and more.
I closed the window in front of me and turned my head away, ignoring it.
Then.
✨ SPECIAL OFFER ✨ [♣♣Spirits♡ Playground♣♣ $$100% Points for All New Members!!!☜☜] [☞Legendary Spirit Restaurant Food Giveaway...!] Another window popped up, plastered with even more vivid colors and dense special characters.
It felt oddly desperate somehow. Was that just my imagination?
'No interest.'
I ignored it again and closed the window.
[※ Multiple mentions of 'you' confirmed in 'Spirits♡ Playground'] [☞ Would you like to check? (Yes/Yes)] 'Multiple mentions of me?'
...Should I just take a peek?
For a moment, I stared at the system window like I was entranced, then snapped out of it and shook my head vigorously.
'What am I even thinking right now?'
No matter how curious I was, that thing was way too suspicious...!
This ancient spirit 'Groa' guy.
I had no idea what he was up to, but he clearly had a talent for pulling aggro.
I'd almost clicked that link on impulse.
As I kept ignoring the messages popping up in front of me...
The White Night Guild Master gathered all the scattered awakeners around her.
"Everyone, assemble. We're heading to the third floor soon."
Shallow breaths and sighs mixed with exhaustion leaked out from here and there.
The pollen of the first floor, the scorching seawater of the second.
After passing through both zones, their faces were utterly drained.
"Finally... the last one."
"The raid's taken longer than expected, so I'm beat. But let's hang in there, everyone!"
Still, no one voiced any complaints.
Some nodded silently, while others slumped down and checked their weapons.
Once everyone was ready...
We all climbed the stairs toward the final gateway together.
This time, instead of stifling heat, a bone-chilling cold swept over us.
Shivering, we reached the top of the stairs, where a tall, heavy iron door awaited us.
Creeeak—
The door swung open on its own, as if it had been waiting for us, without anyone touching it.
"This is it, the final stretch. Let's give it our all to the end."
The awakeners barely managed to nod at the White Night Guild Master's encouragement.
Someone else flashed a weary smile and patted the awakener next to them.
"After this, let's all go grab some pork belly..."
"Just the smell of grease might make me puke."
"Chicken, then?"
"Getting out alive comes first, everyone."
The light joke that burst out amid the fatigue and tension eased the heavy atmosphere, if only for a moment.
"We're entering."
And so—
One by one, we stepped through the open door.
I slipped through the heavy iron door amid the awakeners.
The moment I took my first step onto the white snowfield...
"......Huh?"
The sounds of breathing, voices, clashing weapons—
All the noise cut off abruptly, like someone had snipped it.
Startled, I looked around, but the people who'd been walking right beside me just moments ago were gone.
As if I'd been alone from the start.
"What the...? They were right next to me..."
I blankly scanned my surroundings.
Before me stretched an unfamiliar forest shrouded in white mist and falling snow.
Frost coated every branch.
Snow piled up to my ankles on the ground.
The trees stood in evenly spaced rows.
Bushes and branching paths tangled complexly between them.
Snow fell endlessly from the sky, and the windless forest was eerily silent.
Soon, a system window appeared before my eyes.
⚔ ZONE ENTRY CONFIRMED ⚔ Early Winter Forest [※ Current Temperature: -7.8°C] [※ Body temperature dropping rapidly due to ongoing cold snap.] [※ 'Remnants of Illusion' appearing throughout the forest. Contact causes memory confusion and loss of direction sense.] [※ Skill usage temporarily restricted.] [※ Location sharing disabled.] [Clear conditions updated.] Find the exit and escape from the blizzard-swept forest. I still couldn't believe the people who'd been joking with me moments ago had all vanished.
But I couldn't just stand there frozen.
The cold seeping through the snow was already numbing my fingertips.
If I stayed put, I might end up trapped alone in this unknown space...
And quietly freeze to death.
"Anyway, I just need to find the exit..."
I clenched my fists, took a deep breath,
And slowly stepped into the forest before me.
All around was filled with white mist and snow.
The trees all looked the same, and no matter how far I walked, it felt like I was going in circles.
I tried checking my footprints just in case, but...
They were already erased by the relentless falling snow.
How long had I been walking?
A fork in the path appeared before me, and I cautiously chose one.
Moments later, an identical split blocked my way again.
This pattern repeated several more times.
By the time I thought I'd walked quite a distance—
What I saw before me was...
The tall, heavy iron door from when I'd first entered this place.
"......"
My breath caught in my throat.
I spun around desperately and plunged back into the snow.
But again, a feast of branching paths unfolded.
This time, I picked a completely different route.
As if mocking me...
The massive iron door appeared once more.
"......."
The more I walked through the forest...
My sense of direction, distance, and time dulled more and more.
It felt like I was trapped in an endless maze made of snow.
My fingertips were frozen solid, and my toes had long lost sensation.
"...Is anyone there?"
Despair crept in—the thought that I might really freeze to death here, undiscovered by anyone.
"If anyone's nearby, please help..."
As I muttered weakly and collapsed onto the ground...
✨ INVITATION ✨ [Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' has sent you an invitation.] [§Dreams☆ and Illusions☆ Unfold in the Spirits♡ Playground§] [§Enter Now☞ // www.gro...] The suspicious message window popped up again.
"......"
As I stared at it blankly, another line appeared.
[Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' is confident this will help you.] ...Fine.
At this point, I didn't care if it was bait or a trap.
Anything was better than freezing to death like this.
With the mindset of grasping at straws, I touched the suspicious link floating before me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "What is this...?"
Unlike my fears of being dragged into a distorted otherworld,
Or my bank account emptying in an instant,
Or some fatal incident befalling me...
"...A community?"
When I touched the link, what appeared was a crudely, sloppily made community screen.
🌟 Welcome to 'Spirits♡ Playground'! 🌟 A bulletin board with slightly misaligned sorting.
Inconsistent fonts.
The community boards were just 'Hot Posts' and 'General'.
Only two.
From the board layout alone, it was clear this was a brand-new site, fresh out of the oven.
Instinctively, my eyes went to the 'Hot Posts' board.
Among the scant posts, I clicked the one with the most comments.
📰 [LilyPrincess♡] Are Mushrooms Plants? Or Animals? Some rootless spirit keeps insisting mushrooms are animals, but come on, mushrooms aren't animals, right? — LuminaNyang Nyang nyang? Nya nyang nyang! — Spirit123 Mushrooms are... plants, I think? — LuminaNyangThunder Mushrooms are animals, though? ⭐ Top Comment — Flame Ruler Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. — Pristine Fungi, obviously. Familiar names started catching my eye amid the users seriously debating.
'...What??'
Lily? Pristine?
LuminaNyang... the Lumina Spirit?
Even the debate topic matched the conversation I'd overheard recently, turning my suspicion into certainty.
'This is really a community used by actual spirits?'
I'd already forgotten the cold as I scrolled through the community board before me.
📰 [Pristine] One Day, I Became a Human's Familiar Spirit. (Episode 1) I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. As I sat up, a human filled with warm energy looked at me and... — LuminaNyang Nyang lololol nya nyang lolol nya lolol — LilyPrincess♡ What is this trash post? — Strongest凸Reaper Hmm... 📰 [LuminaNyang] Nyang nyang~ Nya nyang nyang~ Nyang~ Nyangnya nyang nyang~ Nyang nyangnya~ Nyang nyang nyangnya!! — Pristine Groa, please ban this user flooding the board with off-topic nonsense immediately. — LilyPrincess♡ It's so dumb it can only write dumb posts. — LuminaNyangThunder So cute today too ^^ Lily occupying the top hot post with a thread on their old squabbles.
Pristine randomly writing fanfic about herself and me.
'LuminaNyang', who seemed as skilled at aggro as I was...
"Heh heh heh..."
Just moments ago, I'd been crushed by despair.
But reading their posts melted away feelings of loneliness and fear.
"Definitely... helpful for my mental state."
As I murmured softly, the ancient spirit messaged me again.
[Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' advises seeking 'practical advice' from the spirits in the community.] "Practical advice? How do I get that?"
[Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' advises creating an account first.] Following Groa's advice, I hit the 'Sign Up' button on the crude screen.
I'd expected some complex verification since it was a spirits' community, but it was surprisingly simple.
Just enter an ID and password.
ID naturally as PlantFanatic,
Password set to PlantFanatic123, and done.
Then.
[Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' nods in satisfaction.] [Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' advises posting about your current situation to ask for help.] 'Post about my current situation for help?'
Normally, newbies flood greetings or do newbie intros, but...
'...No time for that luxury now.'
Given the circumstances.
📰 [PlantFanatic] Trapped in a Maze, Help! Some winter?? Forest? That's the name, but not sure exactly... While writing the post, I suddenly muttered into the air.
"Can I attach photos too?"
[Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' sweats profusely, saying that feature isn't available yet.] [Ancient Spirit, 'Groa' begs you not to leave, promising quick implementation, hands clasped.] "Can't be helped if not..."
I carefully described my situation in detail so the spirits could understand.
Once the post was up.
Comment notifications flooded in nonstop.
🔔 New Comment! 🔔 New Comment! 🔔 New Comment! No aggro bait in the title or anything, yet already five comments.
'Do spirits stare at this all day?'
...The doubt crossed my mind; 'Spirits' Playground' had firepower rivaling top communities.
— LuminaNyang Nyang nyang~ Nya nyang~ Nyang~? lol (Why should I help lol) — LilyPrincess♡ Took the wrong portal, huh... Newbie spirit? ⭐ Top Comment — Strongest凸Reaper Newbie spirit!! Rare!!! — Flame Ruler First time seeing a spirit trapped in a maze. Lots of heat, but no nutritious comments.
'That LuminaNyang guy, though...'
Really good at pissing people off...
My head heated up at the comment from the presumed Lumina Spirit user when...
— Pristine Early Winter Forest, right? Finally.
A proper comment.
'Pristine...'
Just knowing she was somewhere beyond the screen eased my mind more than I expected.
— Pristine That's the maze my friend made. I'll help you out, so don't worry too much. 📩 [Pristine has sent you a Whisper.] [Allow Whisper? (Yes/No)] "Yes! Yes!"
I answered urgently, and a separate chat window opened in the corner of the system screen.
💬 Whisper - Pristine Describe what you see right now. I described the scenery before me in as much detail as possible and sent it to Pristine.
💬 Whisper - Pristine You're still near the entrance. From where you are, see the path overgrown with bushes to the right? Go there. I hurriedly looked around after her reply.
The snow made it hard to see the ground, but just as Pristine said, there was a passage covered in bushes amid the mist and snow.
"...That one?"
I parted the snow and cautiously stepped forward.
💬 Whisper - Pristine This is an 'intentional loop.' It's designed to mess with your sense of direction. At the next fork: left, right, right... Hold your breath here for 5 seconds, and a side path will appear. I followed Pristine's directions through the snow for quite a while.
💬 Whisper - Pristine Almost there. See the big dead tree ahead? Go around behind it, and the exit's there. Squeezing out my last strength, I circled behind the massive dead tree.
There, in the middle of the snow-filled forest, was the one spot untouched by snow.
I'd really reached the exit.
"Haaa..."
A deep sigh of relief escaped from the depths of my chest now that I could finally escape this damn gate.
💬 Whisper - Pristine Found it? I thanked Pristine, saying I'd found it safe thanks to her, and asked how I could repay her.
💬 Whisper - Pristine I didn't help expecting repayment or anything, but... She seemed hesitant.
The chat window sat with '...' for a long while.
Finally, Pristine's next message arrived.
💬 Whisper - Pristine Um, you know... If you check the board, you'll see the novel I posted...? Just leave a comment saying it's fun... "......"
The usually aloof spirit was...
Pathetically begging for comments on her own post in the community.
It felt strangely heartbreaking.
'Should I show her the power of sockpuppeting?'
Conveniently, 'sockpuppeting' was my specialty.
No verification needed.
Creating a few alt accounts was no big deal.
And that's not all.
'Pushing it to hot posts is easy.'
With the power of my sockpuppeting, Pristine's novel would soon top the hot posts.
'Just wait a bit, Pristine.'
Vowing to give her a solid reward soon,
I dragged my weary body toward the exit.