The Little Girl in the Cabin

The blinding light faded, and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in that familiar white void once more.

"Back here again, huh."

Tutorial Tower. Evergreen Tower.

Both times I'd entered for the first time, I'd ended up in this pure white space.

And just as expected, a system window popped up before me as I blinked awake. I read the text scrolling across it.

Yeah, figured as much.

Same pure white space as before.

No surprise the system message was identical.

"Another unique skill this time, huh."

Something told me it'd lead to yet another new tower.

Clearing the Evergreen Tower had netted me the Illusion Tower, after all.

"Still gotta clear it, though."

The haul from the Evergreen Tower had been massive.

Starting with Cheori, plus that invaluable connection with Elpinire.

A 2% synchronization rate, and most crucially, the Ultra Regeneration Blessing.

With time to spare, there was no reason not to dive in.

"Alright, show me the notice already."

If this place was the same as the Evergreen Tower,

then the tower's announcement would pop up just like before.

And sure enough, no sooner had I spoken than the system responded.

Hm?

That's unexpected.

I'd assumed the Illusion Tower would let me come and go like the Evergreen Tower.

But that didn't mean I was backing out now. No big deal.

I nodded after scanning the full announcement.

A floating sensation accompanied my arrival on Floor 1. I glanced around.

So this place is...

"Why's it a forest again?"

Another damn forest.

Had I somehow ended up back in the Evergreen Tower instead of the Illusion Tower?

I'd figured it'd be some totally different space, but nope—more woods.

The main difference from the Evergreen Forest? It was shrouded in darkness on all sides.

"Hm."

I stroked my chin and quietly extended my hand forward.

Black mist began coalescing into a humanoid form.

Soon, Elpinire stepped out of it with heavy footfalls.

"Ho. A forest, eh?"

Elpinire emerged from the mist, eyeing the surrounding woods with clear interest.

"Master. Is this the other tower you mentioned?"

"Yeah."

"What do we gotta do here?"

"Uh... dunno."

I scratched the back of my head at her question.

Truth be told, I had no clue.

Since arriving on Floor 1, I'd been waiting, but no conditions for Floor 2 had appeared.

"This your home world of Orision, at least?"

"Feels like it. Mana density matches the Evergreen Forest exactly."

Elpinire had said Earth's mana was super thin.

But this place matched the Evergreen Forest perfectly.

Which meant the Illusion Tower, like the Evergreen Tower, connected to the world called Orision.

Orision, huh...

Gates, mana—all that stuff had hinted at it, but damn, other worlds were real.

I nodded in wonder, then yelled at the empty air.

"Hey, system! Do your job!"

I even shouted outright, but nothing.

This was straight-up negligence.

I let out a long sigh and turned to Elpinire.

"If this is Orision too, any idea what forest this is?"

"Asking me? I've spent my whole life in Elcid and the Evergreen Forest."

"...My bad."

Shouldn't have asked.

I clicked my tongue softly and scanned the shadow-draped woods.

Black shadows everywhere.

"Cheori. Fire."

"Kkung."

Whoosh.

I picked up a fallen branch and lit the end with Cheori's flames.

Flickering fire danced at the tip.

The area should light up now...

"Huh?"

It didn't.

The fire was right there in front of me.

I could feel the scorching heat.

But the surroundings stayed pitch black.

Exactly as before lighting it.

"No way..."

I trailed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off, glancing sideways.

There,

"Ha."

an abyss of darkness awaited me.

I got it now.

This forest.

The darkness blanketing it—this was the illusion.

"Tower lives up to its name."

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue and turned to Elpinire.

"Elpinire. Let's get outta here."

"Right."

Normally, I'd be lost for days.

No light, just gloom—how the hell would I navigate?

Lucky for me, I had Elpinire, my rock-solid ally.

A forest expert second to none.

She nodded and channeled mana into the ground.

I followed her lead, stepping forward.

Darkness.

In this forest filled solely with darkness, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one spot shone bright.

The sky was black, no light pierced through.

But that one area held a steady glow.

A girl sleeping in the cabin at its center sensed intruders in her domain and bolted awake.

"Tch, intruders...!"

Drool crusted at her mouth, red hair a tangled mess, she snapped her eyes open.

She scrambled into her outer robe and dashed to the living room.

"Ugh... who the heck is it this time..."

Sniff.

She swallowed snot and placed her hand on a crude glass orb.

It flawlessly revealed a green-haired woman and a man with piercing orange eyes approaching through the gloom.

"H-how? This is Darkness..!"

Darkness.

One of Orision's five forbidden zones.

Second only to the Evergreen Forest in danger.

Eternal night, perpetual shadow.

Home to darkness spirits—those not chosen lost their way in the black.

Yet...

"Uuu..."

They advanced unfazed.

Through this deadly woods.

This wouldn't do.

She'd lose her home again.

"I-I'm not a witch..."

Grip.

She clutched an old, shabby bell beside the orb and squeezed her eyes shut, ringing it.

Ding-a-ling.

"...?"

What the—?

Trekking through the forest, I sensed something off and looked up.

"Elpinire. Something feels weird, right?"

"Just picked up on it myself."

The air flow shifted suddenly.

Until now, it'd been steady.

Now, it was like...

"A vortex?"

The air began swirling.

Not intense, but enough for me to notice.

I halted, staring where the flows converged.

Something was there.

Invisible, but definitely there.

That vibe.

So,

Destroy whatever's scheming first.

Clear-cut solution.

I clenched my fist tight, stepped forward, and swung.

Whoosh.

My right arm thrust into empty air.

The compressed mist on it scattered wildly, then—

"Fuu..."

Boom-boom-boom-boom!

A massive explosion chained outward.

The blast echoed through the silent woods.

Whatever had been gathering dispersed completely in the aftermath.

"Huh?"

I blinked ahead.

Far off,

someone standing before a cabin blinked back at me.

So...

"Master. Did you really need me for this?"

"..."

My right hand was too strong, apparently.

Even dispelled the forest's enveloping darkness.

"...!"

The petite girl before the cabin finally clocked the situation, face draining pale.

She pulled her robe hood over her red hair and frantically raised the bell.

"Sh-Shadow!"

Ding-a-ling—

The clear ring spread as darkness reclaimed the space.

I leaned forward without hesitation and kicked off the ground.

My body shot forward.

Closing in on the girl, I swung a light punch skyward to land.

Oh.

So this was Darkness.

Wonder what the next floor is—

Thud!

Dull pain throbbed in my gut.

My body floated up; I gulped air and glared at what had struck me.

Dirt?

Dirt.

Pure, ordinary dirt—no mana at all—had slammed my abdomen.

"Guh!"

Crash!

I tumbled across the ground, nails scraping to halt myself.

"Hoo."

I exhaled the breath the impact had stolen, eyes narrowing on the girl.

She clutched the bell tight, eyes squeezed shut, and yelled,

"G-Gnome! Descend here and protect me!"

Ah, gotcha.

So she was the 'witch'.

Can't kill her.

That's why it's 'subdue,' not 'eliminate.'

I nodded, flexing my Black Dragon-activated right hand open and closed.

Meanwhile, the dirt at her feet writhed and rose.

It formed a massive golem, looming over me.

I eyed the single yellow flower blooming atop its head and muttered,

"Cute lil' thing."

Thud!

The gnome called golem smashed down with its fist.

I hopped aside easily and let out a dry chuckle.

"Insane."

The ground quaked.

For real—shaking like an earthquake.

I dodged and immediately unleashed my clenched fist.

Boom!

Massive blast on impact.

The shockwave engulfed the gnome perfectly.

But...

"What?"

The gnome was fine.

Correction:

The dirt clump rapidly regenerated its damaged parts.

I landed, tsked, and glared.

"Attacks not working?"

What now?

That's when a voice called from the side.

"Master! The ground!"

"What—"

Thud!

My vision whitened.

Ringing in my ears, I looked down.

A massive dirt pillar had erupted under my feet unnoticed.

That's what Elpinire had yelled about.

Launched skyward, I couldn't land this time and rolled across the dirt.

"...That hurt."

Thanks to the Ultra Regeneration Blessing, my body recovered fast.

Otherwise, a few bones would've shattered.

The lingering pain inside was no joke.

I grimaced, rubbing my sore gut as I stood.

"Master. You okay?"

"Yeah."

Ptoo.

I spat the blood pooling in my mouth, wiped my lips with the back of my hand, and rose.

"Master. What do I do?"

"That dirt pile. Immobilize it."

"Got it."

Clack.

Elpinire clapped her fists together.

Evergreen energy bloomed around her instantly.

High elf power, vivid even in darkness.

Each step through the shadowed woods birthed life as she punched at the gnome.

And...

"N-No way..."

Lush grass sprouted thick across the gnome's body.