NOVEL WEB Chapter 6
Darkness enveloped me completely.
In the absence of even a sliver of light, I had opened my eyes to find myself struggling to escape this space.
Of course, despite my desperate attempts, nothing was really changing.
“Log out.”
[Permission denied.]
“…Forced game exit.”
[You must complete all quests to gain permission.]
“Could you just let me out, System? I suddenly don’t want to play anymore.”
[Permission denied.]
Every little thing seemed to require permission. I glared at the message from the System that was flaunting its presence in front of me.
The message felt bureaucratic, like a customer service rep too lazy to answer properly, running some macro instead. It was no different from that. After taking a deep breath, I spoke quietly.
“Skills.”
[Due to the influence of sealing magic, skill usage is not possible, but you can view the skill window. Would you like to proceed?]
– YES/NO.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue.
What good would it do to see skills I couldn’t even use? It wasn’t like anyone was playing a prank on me. This wasn’t of any help in the current situation.
Fortunately, it was a relief that not much had changed since the last time I had possessed another character, so that was one comfort.
“I guess there’s nothing to see in the inventory. The only things worth checking are the status window and the cash shop.”
The cash shop was out of reach anyway, so I skipped that. That left only the status window.
“Status window.”
I had long left any embarrassment behind.
I casually examined the familiar status window as if it were an ordinary thing and attentively looked at the sparkling stats of my character in front of me.
[Character Status Window]
Name: Charlotte Cyclamen
Gender: Female
Class: Charlotte Cyclamen
Race: Half-breed (Dhampir)
Title: Blood Avenger, Progenitor’s Representative
Stat Points: 1
Strength: E(0/10)
Agility: E(0/10)
Mana: D(0/10)
Luck: F(0/10)
Unique Ability: Blood Mana
Traits: Beginner’s Benefit (A), Blood’s Stigma (S)
▶ Random Gacha. One free trait draw possible.
“Wow, what the hell. What’s with these pathetic stats?”
The highest was D, and the lowest was F. I stared in shock at the extreme status window filled with E’s. What was this garbage stat? I marveled in a completely different sense.
It truly was a ridiculous stat in several meanings.
Since the interface had overall not changed from the previous version, F must be the lowest stat. I whispered for the single stat point I had to be allocated to Strength, and when I did, the voice recognition changed the number from 0 to 1.
[Character Status Window]
Name: Charlotte Cyclamen
Gender: Female
Class: Charlotte Cyclamen
Race: Half-breed (Dhampir)
Title: Blood Avenger, Progenitor’s Representative
Stat Points: 0
Strength: E(1/10)
Agility: E(0/10)
Mana: D(0/10)
Luck: F(0/10)
Unique Ability: Blood Mana
Traits: Beginner’s Benefit (A), Blood’s Stigma (S)
▶ Random Gacha. One free trait draw possible.
“…Oh. So it changes like this.”
This was a function that hadn’t existed before.
So, that meant, if the total stat points reached 10, my strength could upgrade from E to D, one step up.
It was convenient, but it was still sad that even with an upgrade, it remained a D.
“Sigh… well, that’s that.”
More than that, starting from the beginning genuinely made me feel like my mind was about to leave me. At least the last time I possessed a character, despite being in a state of spiritual exhaustion from being in my main character, I didn’t have to worry about stats.
I was already at maximum level; what would I have to worry about?
The genre wasn’t even a visual novel. Back in those days, worrying was a luxury. I had slashed everything that came into view. That’s how I could solve quests effortlessly from the start.
“Not anymore.”
Having killed everyone in sight without hindrance, my notorious deeds had spread so much that many people referred to me as ‘Heavenly Demon’ instead of my name, claiming I was a demon who had stained the skies red with blood.
Why do I say this?
In short, the situation was completely different from now.
“I’m screwed.”
An expletive escaped my lips before I even realized it. In a world where dying might mean the end in reality as well, I had to choose quests carefully going forward.
I always took on quests that demanded unreasonable things. That wouldn’t change this time either. This damned game always created crises to be entertaining, putting me in tough situations. Taking a short breath, I accepted reality quietly.
“One trait seems good, while the other seems ominous.”
Is this okay? I made a slightly uneasy expression. The Beginner’s Benefit looked good, but the Blood’s Stigma right next to it seemed foreboding.
It wasn’t a pact of blood or a blessing of blood, but a stigma of blood. The word stigma felt like a curse.
“It seems I can’t check the traits with voice recognition.”
I tried saying the Beginner’s Benefit and the Blood’s Stigma traits several times in order to check them, but there was not even a flicker of reaction.
Do I have to click it? How annoying. It was a pity that I couldn’t because my arms were chained and immobilized. It seemed I would have to read it later after doing the free trait draw.
In the end, the only way I could escape this place right now was through the pathetic method of shaking my body, praying for the chains to come loose.
That’s understandable, as I had used every method I could think of to escape as quickly as possible, yet being completely sealed meant my options were limited.
Among those limited methods, the only pathetic option I had was to squirm around and try to pull the chains out bit by bit, which was a sad situation, and even that didn’t seem to help much.
But it was better than simply resigning to reality.
With this noble mindset, wanting to be like a shounen manga protagonist who wouldn’t give up, my resolution was unfortunately met with limits very quickly.
“Seriously, damn it.”
As I took a breath and paused from struggling, I muttered a curse under my breath.
The more I flailed, the tighter the awful chains constricted. It felt like they were mocking me, as if saying, ‘Come on, keep trying. Won’t you give up yet?’
As my chest and throat tightened, I let out a small whimper and eventually stopped squirming.
“I’m losing my mind.”
I looked ahead with a blank expression.
There was nothing alive, not even a single object—only the pure void of darkness.
A world where even high-ranking Mazoku would be terrified, an atmosphere of dark magic floating around like air in the human world. A normal person would not last even a moment, their skin melting away as they screamed in pain like someone exposed to radiation.
Or they might snap, losing their sanity instead.
Both outcomes would lead to a horrific end.
I still gazed blankly, recalling what the system had just said about where I was, and let out a sigh.
A prison that the Mazoku deemed legendary, the very bottom of the Demon World. It was akin to Tartarus in Greek mythology.
A prison for those who broke taboos or for unspeakable criminals, a place only filled with darkness from which one could not see ahead—this was literally a place called ‘the Abyss.’
If one ended up trapped in the Abyss, the notion of survival was almost laughable, as it was terrifyingly legendary.
There was even a legend that spoke of a god imprisoned there for committing a horrendous sin. I never imagined I would actually end up here. And to make matters worse, I was now in a different body.
Clank, clank.
Each time I struggled with my arms and legs, the sound of metal clashing echoed. My chest felt unnecessarily heavy as my body became female.
As my entire body, including my arms, legs, torso, and neck, was tightly wrapped in chains, the more I thrashed, the more the chains pulled tighter, choking me mockingly.
Cough… Cough—
“Ugh.”
I could hardly breathe.
Pain filled my eyes with crimson. Tears were about to flow.
Choked as I was, there was nothing I could do since my body was bound. Every time I twisted to escape, those horrid chains pressed down on my body even harder.
As if telling me not to resist uselessly.
The intention of the chains was clearly conveyed. The sealing magic was sturdier than I had imagined. Ultimately, I concluded that even thinking of twisting my body to escape was foolish.
“Is this really what my life has come to?”
I calmed my breath and lamented as I glared at this dark space.
“I took care not to disappoint my parents and lived more reliably than others. Wasn’t that enough?”
First came resentment, then anger. Following that was acknowledgment, and afterward, a time of resignation.
As I let out meaningless words, I chuckled bitterly. A hollow smile. It was the laugh of someone resigned. I truly had no idea what sins I had committed in my past life for the gods to hate me this much.
At this point, I began to seriously suspect if I had sold my country to the enemy in the war.
“If my past life wasn’t that of a traitor, this doesn’t make any sense.”
If that wasn’t the case, surely the gods wouldn’t bestow such harsh trials only upon me.
Even though I had already possessed a wretched game character once, it seemed the grand deity wasn’t satisfied. Plus, it happened to be the sequel to the very game I had possessed.
I had parted with Leticia in a manner almost like being consumed, without even a proper farewell, and if she were to find out that I had returned, I could only imagine what would happen.
I trembled at the thought.
I didn’t even want to think about it. I was fortunate to only pour out my resentment and hatred. The problem was the lack of assurance that something worse wouldn’t happen.
Shedding blood tears in my heart, I carefully surveyed my surroundings again, confirming that there was absolutely no escape route in this space, leading to despair.
“Mainly, since this chain binds my body, it seems escaping is impossible.”
Rather, the damned system should at least provide a quest. Ever since it notified me that the prologue had ended, it remained completely silent.
This was truly unacceptable. It felt too unfair. Being in this sightless space for even one hour was torturous, yet I had lost track of how long I had been trapped here.
“Is this all I get for struggling? My word. I can’t stand seeing my descendants suffering like this.”
“…Who…?!”
“I’ve been right in front of you all along. Do not narrow your view; see it broadly. Only then will you see.”
A calm yet languid female voice.
The woman’s words held a certain air of composure. Startled, I quickly raised my head, looking around.
And then I saw her.
A woman knelt with hands twisted backward, her limbs tightly bound by thick, sturdy chains, dozens of swords and arrows embedded in her back.
The woman had wings, once pure and white, now darkened and scarred, bearing the semblance of nearly severed or plucked black obsidian-like wings.
I watched her intently with my own two eyes.
“…Ah, ugh.”
Fear rendered my voice mute.
This sensation—I’d felt it when witnessing the prologue story of Charlotte Cyclamen. A woman commanding the mother of this body.
A creature that instilled fear just by being seen.
It was a woman exuding an atmosphere similar to that of a monster that made me feel fear after a long time.
Her appearance bore some resemblance as well.
Blood-red eyes, resembling the ominous stars that brighten the night sky.
Although the surroundings appeared dark, upon closer inspection, her hair was as black as the night sky.
She was indeed a mysterious and stunning beauty more beautiful than any woman I had seen before; however, there was a stronger visceral reaction of distaste and horror within me.
I swallowed hard.
I knew that the goddess of the Demon World assumed an extraordinarily beautiful human form. I knew that, but I hadn’t expected it to be to this extent.
The woman gazed at me shivering and spoke calmly.
“Do not be afraid. It is merely a consequence of betraying the goddess of the Heavenly Realm, leading to myfall into this loathsome appearance.”
“…It’s not loathsome. You’re extremely beautiful… so, who are you?”
“No need to flatter me unnecessarily. My name is Lucifer. I was once the right hand of the goddess, a seraph who led a rebellion and was defeated.”
The very being who created the Mazoku.
She took a deep breath and added,
“A foolish demon who was betrayed by a trusted companion and stuck to the ground. One among those demons you refer to as ancient demons.”
The woman smiled awkwardly.
“I really wonder how long it’s been since I last saw a living creature. You can disregard what I say, but would you listen to this pitiful old woman’s ramblings?”
At that moment, a sudden quest caught my attention.
[Main Quest: Have a conversation with Goddess Lucifer.]
[Goddess Lucifer desires to converse with you. By speaking to her, you may obtain useful information to escape this place.]
[Reward: 10,000 Cash and +6 Stat Points.]
10,000 cash and +6 stat points for just talking.
Getting information in exchange for a conversation and receiving 10,000 won to spend in the cash shop, as well as six stat points?
Anyone who could endure this would undoubtedly be a fool.
“I’ll definitely do it.”
Ultimately, capital and rewards are the most important.