The First Wall

Anyone could see it was a monster.

A perfect one, beyond all doubt, beyond all argument.

"······But right now, are you not human?"

"What a picky bastard."

Gulp.

I swallowed the core again. At once, bone and flesh clothed my entire body, and feathers sprouted. Dramut flinched as he watched me become the King of Corpse Crows in an instant.

"H-how? How can a human take a monster's form?"

"One of the abilities I possess, caw."

"An ability that lets one become both human and monster······!"

This was no mere disguise. I had become a monster itself. Even if an ancient dragon used Polymorph, it could never become a perfect human. Likewise, no matter how great a mage, none could become a perfect monster. They could only imitate.

Someone who didn't know better might be fooled at first glance — but if the transformation happened while you were watching, you would inevitably notice that subtle sense of wrongness.

And yet there was no distinction. Not a single trace of dissonance existed. The man before him had shattered something that was like a law of the world itself.

"Dramut, caw. Spit out everything you know, caw."

"······Do not give me orders while cawing."

Better to be human. Watching a Corpse Crow caw out commands was more humiliating than listening to him speak in a human form — even if that form was still unpleasant.

Dramut spilled everything he knew.

The reason the Star Guardians had gathered in Kramdel. That reason was, indeed, the thirty-third star. But the changes in Kramdel had begun a year ago, and the Star Guardians had only come seeking this place now for an entirely different reason.

"The star here is completely different from the thirty-two stars that existed on the original continent."

"Isn't a star simply a goddess's corpse? How can an entirely different kind of star even exist?"

A natural question. From the beginning, the corpses of dead goddesses had merely been called stars. If so, anything that was not a goddess's body could not become a star, could it?

"The goddess who became the thirty-two stars is the Goddess Rhea. But she had a twin younger sister — Fina."

"Sounds like a setting I've seen somewhere."

"Setting?"

"Never mind. Keep talking."

I had no particular interest in the lore surrounding Pangenia's origins. I'd skimmed past it roughly, but I was fairly sure I'd seen something similar.

Dramut tilted his head, then opened his mouth again.

"······The Goddess Rhea created the earth, and the Goddess Fina created the sky. But in the war against the primordial Ruin, Rhea died. Before she died, however, she divided her body into thirty-two pieces and scattered them across the continent."

Those were the thirty-two stars — the indispensable requirement for a human to transcend. Gamers, the players, had competed over those thirty-two stars. Even with the qualifications, if you couldn't find a star, or if none remained, you could not transcend.

But when a Transcendent who held a star died, the star fell back to the continent. That was why "Transcendent hunting" happened with some regularity. Unless you possessed overwhelming force like Wilhelm, a middling Transcendent often became prey for the great powers.

That's why the higher your rank, the more important your faction became.

One of the reasons gamers formed alliances and banded together was precisely to protect their stars. Having played solo, I had inevitably clashed with those alliances often. In fact, several of my transcended characters had been killed by them.

Dramut continued.

"Before the entire continent was swallowed by the Abyss, Fina raised what remained of it. The lands that had not been consumed were severed from one another, but they could be connected by 'Warp.' All of it thanks to the Goddess Fina."

The reason the continents were broken apart. The setting of a world where you had to take a Warp every time you moved between cities. In truth, the continents did not exist on the ground at all. They all floated in the sky. The original surface was occupied by the Abyss — and if you went even further down, that place was the Demon Realm.

Without the twin goddess Fina, every continent would have been destroyed by Ruin.

"So putting it all together — that grateful Goddess Fina somehow died?"

"······I do not know. That is why the Star Guardians gathered in such haste."

"Then why are they still dawdling around here?"

"An overwhelmingly powerful 'Mystery' of a barrier has been spread around the star."

The White King had spoken of it as well. A Unique-grade Mystery was deployed there. That was why he had been unable to check the interior.

"So we just need to remove that Mystery?"

"I do not know how one would remove a Mystery — but even if it can be done, one must be cautious. Spreading a Mystery means some being is near the star."

A Mystery was proof. A roadside pebble could not possess a Mystery. Only the living — only those who sought to prove the value of their own existence — were granted Mysteries. If a Unique-grade Mystery was spread, it was as good as saying an equally powerful being was within.

I stroked my chin thoughtfully.

"If something of that caliber was spread near a star, it could be a Star Guardian."

"······The odds are low."

I roughly understood. Blocked by a Unique-grade Mystery barring the way near the star, even the Star Guardians were fretting — and no one knew what being sat inside.

They know nothing.

At this rate, they were no different from me. But there was something I clearly had over the Star Guardians.

"Dramut. I can destroy that 'Mystery.'"

"Haha! A Mystery is akin to truth itself. How do you propose to destroy such a thing?"

Dramut laughed heartily, as if telling me not to joke around. Clear contempt.

"And a Unique-grade Mystery, no less. Something even the White King, master of Kramdel, and the strongest Star Guardian have given up on — and you?"

"Did you not hear that I erased an Imugi's Mystery before the Hall of Mysteries?"

"There was quite a ruckus about that, yes. ······Wait. That was you?"

In an instant, Dramut's eyes went wide. No matter how little interest the Star Guardians took in Kramdel's affairs, there was no way they hadn't heard about the long, noisy business at the Hall of Mysteries.

"Some Corpse Crow forced an Imugi to its knees and went with the Four Lords to meet the White King······."

"That was me."

"······."

Dramut was at a loss for words. Come to think of it, the protagonist of that uproar had been a Corpse Crow. He had also heard the story of someone destroying an Imugi's Legend-grade Mystery. But every Star Guardian had dismissed it as a joke. They had believed such a thing simply could not be possible.

And yet the party in question stood before him now. The master of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the star he guarded — Randolph. The bastard had entered the Hall of Mysteries posing as a Corpse Crow and turned Kramdel upside down. Not only that, he was taking an interest in the thirty-third star as well.

"······Can you truly erase it?"

"Of course."

An immediate answer. Dramut's head began to spin. From the start, this had been a strange man of unknown identity. Strange — but thinking back, even when he first took the star, he had been chosen by the goddess without any trial at all, had he not?

If an unqualified person touched a star, their entire body would burn. Yet Randolph had merely laid his hand upon it and become its master. If, by any chance, Randolph truly could remove that barrier, this would be a major incident.

My own standing would rise as well.

His status among the Star Guardians — currently that of leftover cold rice — would soar dramatically. Something even the strongest Star Guardian had failed to accomplish, Dramut would lead and finish.

The problem was the risk of failure.

"If you approach the barrier, the Star Guardians will notice. Approaching in secret is impossible."

"So?"

"You will have to do it before the eyes of every Star Guardian. However······the moment you fail, you must be prepared to die."

The Star Guardians were utterly serious about everything related to the goddess and the stars. They would never sit idle while an unauthorized person approached a star. Even if they granted permission, failure would mean staking one's life as collateral.

"No big deal."

I shrugged as I spoke, and Dramut answered in an even more solemn voice.

"All I can do is bring you before the barrier. I cannot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠protect your life as well."

"That's enough."

Coming to Dramut had been the right call after all. If I had gone on my own, I would have been killed on the spot by the swarming Star Guardians. Given that they even knew the White King had visited, secretly approaching the star seemed impossible.

"Very well. Wait."

Dramut left the room — to persuade the other Star Guardians.

I should make every preparation as well.

I needed to do everything I could in case of the unexpected.

The Constellations of the Hall of One Hundred Constellations. The rewards they personally offered.

The reward list obtained by clearing Main Quest 5. I still had not chosen a reward.

The Constellations most favorable toward me. I should examine those first.

The more favorable they had been, the higher the chance they had offered useful rewards. These were rewards that had emerged after I achieved an overwhelming score of five hundred points. Each one was surely a treasure that would shake heaven and earth — but if I couldn't use it, it was trash. Carelessly picking one could drop me into a trap.

After bringing up the reward list, I carefully selected one from among those the Constellations had offered.

Beneath the hot springs.

In the underground tunnels where the spring water flowed, a vast "barrier" was spread.

"Can that Corpse Crow truly erase a 'Mystery'?"

"If this is a lie, Dramut, the responsibility will fall on you as well."

Nearly ten Star Guardians had gathered. The figure they regarded with displeasure was only one — the King of Corpse Crows. Every eye was fixed on whether the King of Corpse Crows standing before the barrier could truly erase a Unique-grade Mystery.

But the Star Guardians were not the only ones present.

"······The White King and the Four Lords."

"Why are you lot here?"

The Star Guardians looked at them with even greater displeasure. With both the White King and the Four Lords present, it was only natural.

The White King shrugged.

"Is it a crime for me to set foot on my own land?"

"We overlooked it once — but I believe I said that if you so much as loiter near the 'star' again, it would mean war."

The strongest Star Guardian, the Giant of Extinguishing Evil, lifted his chin. One of the few remaining giants — and the giant race was the strongest race on the surface, claiming the role of the goddess's protectors.

"I simply wish to watch. If even that displeases you, then blood will have to be spilled."

But the White King did not back down either. He was genuinely curious — whether that Corpse Crow could truly destroy a Unique-grade Mystery.

I didn't expect him to try handling this before even announcing the Fifth Lord.

That drive alone was on a wondrous level. He was also intensely curious how the man had managed to persuade the Star Guardians. But more than any of that, what interested him most was still the destruction of the Mystery. Unique-grade. Neither the White King nor the other Star Guardians had been able to enter, blocked by that Mystery.

"Hmm."

······And before their gazes, I couldn't help but furrow my brow.

What stretched before me was certainly a Mystery. The problem was the text the Mystery was showing me.

At the same time, something within the barrier met my eyes.

It was a star. The King of the Dimensional Rift, gripping a star dyed black! And countless nightmares led by the King of the Dimensional Rift lurked inside the barrier.

Main Quest ???

Could the others not see this? Even setting aside the explanation of the Mystery, the number of nightmares inside the barrier exceeded the number of monsters gathered here in Kramdel. And the King of the Dimensional Rift holding the black star was radiating a presence that was unmistakably overwhelming.

Looks like only I can see it.

If they had seen it, they wouldn't be watching me this calmly. Whether it was because I was a player or not, the contents and the monsters within the Mystery seemed visible only to me.

The First Wall.

That's the first Dimensional Rift.

When the collapse rate hit ten percent, the First Wall would vanish, a Dimensional Rift would open, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and it would lead to Earth. The "rift" that had been emphasized ever since I was first summoned to Pangenia — was this it?

The true beginning of invasion and corrosion.

Why is it under Kramdel?

Why were so many nightmares here of all places? What had made the goddess's tears flow into the underground spring water was without question the star. Tears flowing from that black-dyed star had soaked the spring water and brought Kramdel to prosperity.

And —

It called me.

That star was calling me. The first time I entered the spring water after meeting Isaac.

It had said the Hand of the Blind Goddess was searching for me and detonated the spring water. A curious thing. I had no memory of being particularly close with the goddess. Wilhelm, who had transcended at five stars, had held five stars and been called the "Knight of the Goddess" — but there was no separate connection beyond that.

Ever since becoming a player, I had the strange feeling that the goddess was oddly fixated on me. Or was that star related to me somehow?

What was certain was that the moment I erased the Mystery, countless nightmares would come pouring out.

······There's only 0.04% left anyway.

Even if I didn't do it, it would happen regardless. I didn't know the criteria by which the collapse rate rose, so there was no way to stop it. At the current pace, it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit ten percent within a week at the latest.

In that case —

This might actually work out for the better.

I shifted my thinking. Rather than waiting for a Dimensional Rift that could open at any unknown time, opening it at a timing of my choosing and clearing it might be better.

No — that was unconditionally better.