The Solitude of the Strong
Because one is strong, they are lonely; therefore, the bell that teaches love—ding.
Albus closed the screen displaying the code that formed Solaris, his hands trembling.
Someone intervened in the events between the First Emperor and Solaris.
His heart began pounding wildly.
Until now, he'd believed his position in Luddera was absolute.
This is my world, the one I created. All authority over it resides within me—who could possibly interfere?
Even after countless beings from the continent flooded into Luddera, and as higher-level players kept pouring in due to its unexpected popularity, he'd felt some concern but never true fear. After all, no matter how overwhelming a powerhouse like a Dragon Lord or Demon King might be, inside this world they were just players he could crush with a flick of his finger.
That's what he'd thought.
But...
They dodged my gaze and tampered with an NPC's memory.
Something had slipped past his eyes and unfolded right under his nose.
Albus recalled the hackers that had plagued so many game companies in his past life.
Luddera was born from illusion magic. The entire world was woven from magic. If someone could access that magic, they could interfere with this world just like a cheat program in a game.
Hackers already? I never saw this coming.
He hadn't imagined that players from this other world—where the very concept of games didn't exist—could produce a hacker.
Early intervention is key in situations like this.
How many games from his past life had been ruined by cheats?
He couldn't let Luddera fall to something as trivial as hackers.
Visualizing all logs related to the First Emperor and Solaris as code.
They slipped the First Emperor's idealized memory of a wandering swordsman master into Solaris's mind without me noticing.
The intent was hard to discern. If they were using hacks, wasn't it for classes or items? Why tamper with an NPC's memory specifically?
Solaris was an NPC who couldn't leave floor 3 of the Labyrinth Tower anyway. And as long as the First Emperor owned that floor, meeting Solaris was impossible.
Why?
......
Albus slowly scrolled through the logs, organizing his thoughts.
...No, that's not it.
The goal was the First Emperor from the start.
The memory implanted in Solaris wasn't a real recollection from Kartesia's escapades—it was the First Emperor's vision of an ideal mentor. A memory that had never actually existed.
By having Solaris "recover" this memory, the First Emperor could experience the situation he yearned for—a dreamlike scenario given his position.
...But why?
What reason could anyone have for doing this for the First Emperor?
Albus bit his lip hard.
He'd thought Luddera was entirely under his control.
Yet this had happened right under his nose without him noticing a thing. No—he couldn't even guess the motive now.
Not for personal gain by interfering in Luddera? Surely not just to make the First Emperor happy.
A headache throbbed in his skull.
Without a way to track the hacker, he had no means to uncover it himself.
Should he contact Kartesia first?
His reason for logging into Luddera had been to ask her about divinity anyway.
"Sorry to interrupt while you're enjoying the game after so long."
Kartesia's location confirmed: Labyrinth Tower, Floor 4.
"Labyrinth Tower floor 4. Figures you'd be here."
Wooong.
Albus swiped his arm through the air, opening a dimensional gate to floor 4 of the Labyrinth Tower.
First, get Kartesia's advice.
She knew far more about magic than he did. Better to seek her help than rely on his shallow knowledge to deal with a hacker.
Albus stepped through the gate.
Paat!
The moment he crossed, light enveloped him.
The recent incident in the desert, where his casual 10-meter domain deployment nearly exposed him to the First Emperor. That had made Albus reflect on his carelessness.
He could meet Kartesia as GM or his real self, but if another player spotted him, who knew what trouble it might cause? His identity as GM could leak.
He wouldn't repeat that mistake.
He needed a third persona.
Wooong.
Light briefly engulfed Albus. When it faded, a black-haired boy radiating decadent allure stood in his place.
"Haven't used this look in ages."
It was the avatar from his past life's games—a masterpiece he'd spent six hours customizing.
Creating Luddera and the Labyrinth Tower, he'd used modeling assets from Kartesia's memories. It saved him from making originals, but as with Solaris, someone who knew the source assets might recognize them.
For absolute safety, nothing beat importing a model from his past life that only he knew.
"Perfect. No one will connect this to me now."
Nothing like his real silver-haired self. Albus prepared to fly toward Kartesia's location.
Then—
Labyrinth Tower Floor 4: Miracle Great Jungle cleared by player Lea and 0 others.
"...Huh?"
Albus's ears caught the alert sound. It was a world message echoing across all of Luddera.
"...What?"
His eyes widened at the message.
The vast tropical rainforest comprising Labyrinth Tower floor 4, the Miracle Great Jungle, wasn't designed for solo clears. Floors 2 and 3 were absurdly tough alone, but floor 4 imposed auto-accumulating debuffs on entrants, forcing parties to use Miracle Spring Water from the spring to cleanse them and clear together.
Of course, outliers like the First Emperor or Beast King might solo it...
"Who's Lea?"
He'd never heard the name.
His head already ached from the hacker, and now this? First the Emperor, now another norm-breaking newbie. Should he check every player in Luddera?
As Albus clutched his throbbing head—
Thud.
A massive throne crashed down before him.
"I shall ask."
A woman like a predator licked her lips as she lounged on the throne, eyeing him.
"Are you Albus?"
* * *
The will of this world's seeming absolute god appeared to be guiding her toward a man named Albus.
She had no intention of blindly following a god's whim to manipulate her.
But this world of Luddera was where she would reside from now on. To understand it and its absolute ruler, she planned to investigate this Albus.
She had no prior info on Albus, but finding him was simple—just follow GM's lingering will.
After toppling the giant tower and tracing that will through the jungle, Lea spotted a black-haired boy.
Thud.
The throne landed right in front of him.
"I shall ask."
Lea tilted her head slightly, gazing down at Albus as she spoke.
"Are you Albus?"
She, who had reigned as the Empire's top figure above all nobles, saw interrogating a mere human boy for info as trivial.
Or so she thought.
...This is dangerous.
Black hair, black eyes.
A decadent beauty hidden within, impossible to escape once seen.
The Empress felt her lower belly flutter wildly.
The boy standing before her, looking up, was her ideal type incarnate.
I didn't expect it to exceed my expectations this much.
By her hypothesis, this world's god granted the deepest wishes of Labyrinth Tower conquerors.
Does that mean my wish was love?
She who had declared marriage to the Empire.
No man had ever pleased her.
She hadn't even considered producing an heir, leaving the Empire to her sibling.
She'd never taken a lover, nor even imagined one. Strength brought solitude, and thus the very emotion of love was incomprehensible.
Lea's current feelings were utterly alien.
GM... you're frightening. My mind has endured no interference, yet this...
Slurp.
Despite her words, she licked her lips while gazing down at Albus.
Zing!
"...Eek."
Albus shivered involuntarily and stepped back a pace.