The Constellation's Fabricated World (2)

The system notifications flashed before my eyes.

As my mind cleared, the notifications in front of me sharpened into focus.

“What the hell…” I muttered. Han Gamin, standing beside me, tilted her head with a puzzled look. She didn’t seem to be in serious trouble, but her expression was subtly more dazed than before. I glanced at her briefly, then quickly opened my skill window and read the description of Quick Comprehension (C-).

Grants resistance to weak mental attacks.

Quick Comprehension, the skill that had grown while I fled from zombies at the end of the tutorial. I hadn’t had the chance to read its description back then, but now it seemed an additional effect had been added upon its growth. Mental attacks…

Only now did the situation begin to make sense. The unnaturally excited people, and even myself feeling strangely at ease ever since arriving at the castle. This place was the first floor of the Tower, an extension of that tutorial filled with monsters. There was no visible danger, yet the realization that I had forgotten that very fact sent a chill down my spine.

“Hey, Park Jo—” I started to call out to the others beside me, then stopped and closed my mouth.

“……Huh?” Park Jocheol replied blankly. But his eyes were already unfocused, and the same was true for Namgung Cheonho, Seo Seyeong, and Han Gamin.

“…Never mind.”

Deciding to keep quiet for now, I slowly turned my head toward the ruler of the first floor who called himself Noya. The once-blurry age spots and wrinkles came into view. His back was still hunched, but I could now clearly see that the so-called king was merely stooping to play the part of an old man. A man who looked to be in his forties at most. Moreover, as the mental attack faded and my vision widened, I noticed something I hadn’t registered before.

…A staff?

A crude wooden staff rested in the man’s hand. At first glance it seemed like nothing more than a long wooden club, but the blue gem embedded at its tip made me wonder how I had missed it. Is it because of that? The fist-sized gem at the end emitted a faint light that was stealing away my mind. Its color was eerily similar to the portal the Helper Rabbit had opened to guide us to the first floor.

Staring at it triggered the skill again. My consciousness had begun to be eroded without me noticing. I shook my head and forced my mind back into focus.

“……Therefore, you may rest without worrying about the remaining time.”

Just as I was struggling with all my might not to be ensnared by that unknown power, the old man’s long speech came to an end. As he exited, the doors to the banquet hall slowly began to open.

Thud, thud—

Children entered with quick steps. They looked about ten years old. The short-haired children in neat white clothes each approached one of the diners and began guiding them out of the hall. Soon after, the child assigned to me approached.

“Hello.”

A mysterious child with golden short hair and blood-red eyes. Yet despite the child’s beautiful appearance, I couldn’t help but frown.

“I will escort you to your quarters.”

There was no focus in the child’s eyes. The expression was utterly blank, devoid of curiosity or emotion—far too empty for a young child. Even though I was covered in dried blood from not having changed clothes, the child showed not the slightest hint of fear or discomfort.

Brainwashing……

The only objective on the first floor was to find the path to the second floor. What I had thought would simply be a matter of time had turned out to involve unexpected variables.

To avoid revealing that I had resisted the mental attack, I obediently followed the child. The room was located not far from the banquet hall. Judging by the furniture, it appeared to be lodging prepared for players climbing the Tower.

“This is the room where you will be staying for the time being.”

At the child’s guidance, I scanned the neatly arranged room. It was a space designed purely for rest, complete with a wide, plush bed. The luxurious decorations and paintings on the walls were of such high quality that they put even hotel suites to shame. But the moment I began to admire the room, Quick Comprehension activated once more.

“Hah…”

What now? I carefully examined the interior I had looked over upon entering. There was a bed. A small tea table had been placed there, perhaps for a light breakfast, and various paintings hung on the walls to prevent the room from feeling plain. And right beneath the most ornate painting…

A… statue?

Just like when I had failed to notice the king’s staff, a wooden sculpture gradually entered my vision. I turned my gaze to the child. Still that blank face. The child merely rummaged through their clothes and pulled out a small bell.

“If you require anything, please ring this bell three times.”

Tap, tap—

After handing over the small handbell, the child left the lodging with an oddly detached air. My mind was in turmoil. I had almost no information. Was this what it felt like to be stranded in the middle of a desert, forced to search for an oasis? I had no way of knowing whether everyone on the first floor was classified as an enemy, or if only the so-called king served as some kind of key for the mission.

“……”

But in this desert-like situation, there was at least one mirage visible to me, so I decided to hold on to that small hope. I slowly approached the human-shaped statue placed beneath the ornate frame. It was the only clue I had been given—a small statue the size of a forearm. At first I assumed it was carved from wood, but when I touched it, the texture felt rough, like plaster. I grasped the statue’s head and torso with both hands. Then, applying pressure with my fingertips, I began to slowly crush it.

Crack!

The wooden statue began to fracture far more easily than expected. As it started to crumble into mere fragments, a familiar notification rang in my ears.

Ding.

The moment the statue shattered, the nauseating sensation that had been clinging to me vanished as if washed away. The broken pieces began to scatter from my hand like a sandcastle caught in a gust of wind. When the form completely disappeared, all that remained in my palm was a single small bead emitting a blue light.

“This is……”

It seemed to be the same kind of gem as the one on the staff. Though smaller, the energy emanating from it carried a distinctly similar presence. Just then—

Ding.

A magical orb that loses its function once the medium is destroyed. After confirming the information about the Memorial Piece, I almost laughed without realizing it. I still didn’t know exactly how the first floor’s mission ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was structured, but I possessed one special skill that no one else had.

The very skill obtained from the tutorial that was now firmly protecting my mind like an impregnable fortress. Being in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠state of complete immunity to mental attacks at all times—was there any easier way to coast through this?

The problem is… I was the only one enjoying this benefit. I finished preparing to leave the room, sword in hand. The first place I needed to stop was the nearest room, where I planned to smash the mediums of brainwashing one by one.

I carefully slipped out of the lodging and began walking down the silent corridor. At first, I had assumed there would be children in the hallway because of the child’s instruction to “ring the bell three times if you need anything.” Strangely, however, the corridor felt eerily devoid of human warmth, and I was able to reach the room nearest to mine without any interference. The moment I grasped the doorknob of the first room—

—Kyaaah!

Startled by the scream coming from inside—Han Gamin’s voice—I placed my hand on my sword’s hilt. Bang! I roughly flung the door open and rushed inside. But there was one thing I had overlooked…

Everyone except me was not in their right mind.

“Haa… Han Gamin. Why are you so pretty?”

It was the first time I had ever seen someone refer to themselves in the third person. Standing in front of the mirror was Han Gamin, wearing a dress and pouting her lips. And she was the only one in the room. Naturally, what she was doing was quite the spectacle.

“Oh my? This girl! Look at that silky hair! And that skin!”

It was also the first time I had seen someone rant about themselves as “this girl.”

“Pfft! Ah, I’m handsome! I’m the best! I’m awesome! Kyahaha! Kyaha……”

“……”

“Hic.”

Was this also the first time I had witnessed someone’s embarrassing moment live…? Han Gamin’s gaze turned toward me, the intruder in her room. Her grinning face stiffened and began to flush red.

“Uh… Should I come back later?”

A place where embarrassment and shame coexisted. The first floor of the Tower.