The Constellations' World (1)

The clear chime of a notification rang out.

I had finally reached the first floor of the Tower. The brief sensation of simply stepping through a door quickly gave way to an inexplicable feeling of liberation. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an entirely new space.

“……It looks like a medieval city.”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Sunlight poured brilliantly over the city square. Gazing at the massive walls and castle visible in the distance, I was once again struck by the realization that this place was far from the modern world I knew. Looking around, I saw people dressed in medieval-style clothing strolling along the streets. But the important thing here was that none of my companions who had entered the Tower with me were among them.

Before I could even finish assessing the situation, another system alert appeared before my eyes.

“This… the details are way too vague, aren’t they?”

My initial relief at receiving new information quickly faded as I read through the quest. The missions I’d received during the first tutorial had been brutally difficult, but their objectives were straightforward. Survive until the time limit. Hunt the monsters. Enter the Tower’s domain. But being told to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply “find the path to the 2nd Floor” with no further guidance felt incredibly vague no matter how I looked at it.

‘Maybe there’s something here that can help me…… huh?’

Just then, the sound of horse hooves began echoing from somewhere nearby.

Clip-clop. Clip-clop.

A group of soldiers was approaching me from a distance. At their head rode a single mounted knight who stared directly at me. When he reached me, the knight remained on his horse and spoke.

“Are you one of the players who has just entered the Tower?”

I kept my guard up and quietly scanned for escape routes. The knight seemed to notice my intentions and spoke again in a reassuring tone.

“There’s no need to worry. I have no intention of harming you. I am merely a guide.”

“……Could you explain what you mean by that?”

“The 1st Floor of the Tower was created to assist challengers who have completed the tutorial. So you may rest easy.”

When I touched the sword at my waist and replied, he continued his explanation with careful courtesy. He said the reason he brought soldiers was because outsiders who entered the Tower occasionally attacked the citizens. While it was hard to relax when he’d shown up with a whole armed squad telling me to lower my guard, his reasoning was understandable enough.

“I am called Von Gregory. I am a knight in charge of public order here. The reason I introduced myself as a guide is because I received orders from the king to bring you to the castle.”

“You mean that castle over there?”

My eyes fell on the enormous, ornate structure visible at the edge of the city. It was the place I had suspected most strongly might contain the entrance to the 2nd Floor when I first received the quest.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“If that is your choice, I will try to dissuade you once. We are servants who carry out the king’s commands. We must obey his words.”

“So I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

I took my hand off my sword and met his eyes. A knight carrying out the king’s orders… I didn’t know much about chivalry, but I doubted he would simply let me go if I refused. In that case, walking there on my own feet was better than being dragged off after a fight.

“A wise decision. You must be exhausted from everything you’ve been through. Consider this a chance to shake off your fatigue and rest.”

The knight who had introduced himself as Von Gregory finished speaking and remounted his horse. Following the soldiers’ guidance, I boarded a small carriage, and it began moving along the paved road toward the massive castle.

After stepping down from the carriage, I naturally began walking down the corridor behind the knight. The soldiers we passed saluted Von Gregory with their swords, and he returned their greetings lightly, suggesting he held a fairly high position.

Inside the castle, as I followed Von Gregory through the ornate hallways, I soon encountered one of the survivors who had arrived before me.

“Ahjussi?”

A bright, clear voice and dazzling blonde hair that made her look almost like a foreigner. The first person I met upon arriving at the castle was Han Gamin.

“That outfit……”

“Oh, this?”

Unlike the clothes she’d worn when we met at the Sky Games building, Han Gamin was now dressed in an elegant medieval-style court gown.

“Pretty, right? They said my blood-stained clothes would feel gross, so they made me change into this.”

Han Gamin spun once, proudly showing off the flowing dress. With her golden hair sparkling, she looked like a noble young lady straight out of a storybook. It felt strangely fascinating.

“Ah, they said they’d wash my original clothes and return them.”

I stared at her in disbelief. The thought that she had followed the soldiers without any suspicion made her seem both reasonably prudent and completely reckless at the same time.

But after speaking with Han Gamin, a question arose in my mind, and I immediately turned to Von Gregory.

“Aren’t you going to give me a change of clothes?”

“Hm? You need new clothes as well?”

It was an unexpected response. Need clothes? Shouldn’t that have been something he offered before I had to ask?

“We’re going to meet the king. I can’t show up in blood-stained clothes, can I?”

When I countered, he tilted his head as if confused. His eyes showed genuine surprise at my question. But the answer that followed left me the one feeling bewildered.

“Huh? I was told you would refuse even if we offered you clothes.”

“……Who said that?”

“……The Helper Rabbit.”

Aaah. A vein throbbed on my forehead. That damn Helper. I had no idea when it had even come and gone. I knew it had been displeased with me ever since it grumbled about how I was breaking the balance, but I never expected it to be this petty.

“Ahem. Still, I should have asked you myself. My apologies.”

At his apology, I shook my head to indicate it was fine. The situation was a bit absurd, but I had actually gained some useful information from it, so in a way it was fortunate. The people here held no malice toward us. As long as we didn’t harm them, they had no reason to provoke us either. I still couldn’t tell what their true intentions were, but gathering information through the residents here seemed like it would be relatively easy.

“We’ve arrived.”

After walking down the corridor a little longer, we reached a grand door adorned with intricate jewels. Two guards in dazzling golden armor stood before it. When the knight guiding us approached, the guards announced our arrival, and the doors slowly opened to reveal the room beyond.

The murmur of voices filled the air. A long table was covered with countless dishes. The people seated around it were chatting noisily, each focused on their meal.

“This is basically a banquet hall, isn’t it?”

I nodded at Han Gamin’s comment. Countless foods, music flowing from somewhere, and the survivors I had seen at Gwanghwamun all sitting together eating. The peaceful scene made everything we had gone through feel like a distant dream, to the point that it almost seemed unreal.

“Now we simply wait here for His Majesty to arrive.”

After leaving those words, Knight Von Gregory quietly left the banquet hall.

The noisy interior of the banquet hall was an incredibly peaceful place. Even the people I had only seen briefly at Gwanghwamun were smiling serenely, and those who appeared to be original residents of this place were mingling and conversing with one another.

As I observed the crowd for a moment, a familiar voice called out from behind me.

“Siin! Over here!”

At the deep male voice, I turned my head immediately. Park Jocheol was waving his hand, while Seo Seyeong and Namgung Cheonho stood beside him, smiling somewhat awkwardly as they looked at us.

When we approached, Namgung Cheonho spoke first, looking at me. He was dressed neatly. As expected, everyone except me was wearing rather luxurious noble-style clothing.

“You made it. I was worried you might not come.”

“The atmosphere didn’t really allow for refusing an invitation.”

“Still, you always show us unexpected sides, Mr. Kim Siin, so I thought you might refuse. And as for Mr. Park Jocheol here…… haha.”

At his hollow laugh, Han Gamin and I turned to look at Park Jocheol. He was also wearing clean clothes. But there was one difference from Namgung Cheonho.

“……Did you seriously try to fight the soldiers?”

“They suddenly told me to follow them. How could I trust that?”

At Han Gamin’s words, Park Jocheol clicked his tongue and lightly rubbed the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of his neck. There were faint bruises on his cheek and the back of his hand where skin was exposed, as if he had rolled on the ground once.

When Park Jocheol grumbled, Han Gamin continued with an incredulous look.

“There were so many soldiers. How could you even think about running? Isn’t that a bit reckless?”

“Isn’t it common sense not to follow a stranger who tells you to come with them? I’m the one who doesn’t understand why everyone else followed so obediently.”

Park Jocheol spoke in a firm tone, almost scolding Han Gamin. But she clicked her tongue in return and shook her head.

“No, if they had hostile intentions they would have arrested us, not invited us.”

“Ah……??”

“Sigh……”

At her words, Park Jocheol closed his mouth with a stunned expression. He had seemed like such a reliable person. This was a good reminder to see him in a new light.

But our trivial conversation didn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last long. The gentle music that had been playing suddenly stopped, and a loud announcement echoed throughout the entire banquet hall.

The crowd naturally fell silent, waiting for the king’s arrival. The ruler of the Tower’s 1st Floor slowly appeared before us. However, Seo Seyeong’s impression of the king was short and simple.

“He looks so ordinary?”

“Calling him ordinary might be…… he looks quite old.”

It was true. The king we saw was simply an elderly man who appeared completely ordinary. If he hadn’t been wearing luxurious robes and flanked by guards, it would have been hard to believe he was a king. His back was slightly hunched from advanced age, and the age spots on his face made it even harder to guess exactly how old he was.

“Greetings. I am the master of the Tower’s 1st Floor.”

The owner of the soldiers guarding this place, the lord of this castle, and the old man who called himself the master of the 1st Floor continued as he looked at us.

“Some people call me king or lord when they see me, but such titles feel burdensome. It would be nice if you simply called me Noya.”

He gave off the impression of a kindly neighborhood grandfather. Perhaps because of the wrinkles on his face, an inexplicable sense of closeness arose when looking at him. The others seemed to feel the same. Even Namgung Cheonho, who usually had sharp judgment, and Han Gamin, whose personality was extremely picky, were both murmuring “Noya” with comfortable expressions.

‘Noya, huh……’

It was a normal honorific used to respectfully address an elderly man. While that was its literal meaning, hearing a title that essentially meant “grandfather” somehow made the atmosphere feel even more intimate.

But at that moment—

Brainwashing?

The sudden alert appeared. My mind gradually cleared, and the old man before me began to look different.