Chapter 63

Get up in the morning, go to work, and come back home in the evening to enjoy some hobbies before going to bed.

Then, wake up in the morning again, go to work, and fall asleep in the evening—repeating a simple cycle of daily life.

Depending on the person, some might go to work at night, while others might go to school instead of work. There are small differences, but everyone has their own daily routine.

Some people describe this as such:

A life as dull as a hamster wheel, endlessly spinning with the same monotonous days, day after day.

However, when faced with a situation that breaks this monotonous cycle, those same people often express discomfort.

Repetition brings familiarity and stability.

In other words, stepping out of the cycle means confronting unfamiliarity and instability.

Da-eun was one of those people trapped in a hamster wheel.

Waking up, washing up, having breakfast, lying down in her capsule-type virtual reality device, starting her stream, having a brief conversation, and then logging into Silia Online.

Even feeling frustrated by Kana being buried under the blankets—that had become her recent routine.

But today was different.

“Yaaawn….”

When Da-eun, who had just logged into Silia Online, sat up from the bed, someone approached her with small, quick steps.

“….”

“Oh, Kana!”

Stretching her stiff body and yawning, she turned her head upon sensing a presence and greeted with a bright smile.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.”

Usually, Kana wouldn’t even acknowledge Joanie unless spoken to first. But today, she came to Joanie on her own.

That alone was surprising enough, but it could still be brushed off as “Maybe she’s in a good mood today.”

What truly shocked everyone was what happened next.

Kana hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers, and then shyly opened her mouth.

“…Did Joanie sleep well, too?”

“Of course, I slept well, thanks to my Kana! …Hm? Kana, come here for a moment.”

“Yes.”

“Your hair’s really messy. …There, all fixed!”

“…Thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you, for letting me touch such soft hair.”

Swoosh.

Kana, who rarely showed emotions, made a barely noticeable small smile. She even rubbed her head slightly against Joanie’s hand, as if wanting more head pats.

—?

—????

—Morning meeting??? What’s going on???

—???????

Viewers, watching the situation unfold from beyond the monitor, collectively entered a state of shock and began spamming question marks in the chat.

…Kana, initiating a morning greeting, quietly approaching when Joanie called, and letting Joanie touch her hair?

Even just that was beyond what the viewers could process, leaving them stunned. But when Kana smiled and rubbed her head like that, the audience collectively clutched their chests.

The smile and affectionate gesture from the usually stoic girl had that much of a destructive power.

—Something’s happening;

—Wakyaahaaa ????

—OMG, she’s so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ

—What on earth happened yesterday for her to go from wanting to break up to this? Did she use some kind of hypnosis app?

—How much is that hypnosis app?

—(This user has died from excessive cuteness)

—So what exactly happened yesterday!!!!!

—????????????????????????????

The chatroom was a chaotic blend of fangirling and confusion.

Joanie, who was patting Kana’s head, glanced at the chat and grinned.

“Curious? Want me to tell you?”

—YesYesYesYesYes!!!

—Tell us what you saw!

“Hmm, you don’t seem that desperate for it, though?”

—Dear teacher, I hope you have been in good health today. May peace be with your household always. If it’s not too rude of me, could I perhaps inquire about what happened yesterday?

—Oh no, the mind games again.

┗(Message deleted)

—Ah! May I seek permission to ask for approval to disclose the matter of what happened yesterday… if it’s appropriate to raise such a question at all?

—Do you chat alone or something? ㅡㅡ

“Hmm! Fine. You all seem pretty desperate. If my dear audience wants it that much, I suppose I can tell you!”

Joanie flashed a satisfied smile.

Then, lowering her voice as if whispering—

“…But, I’m not going to tell you.”

It was no surprise that the chat exploded into a firestorm afterward.

***

“So, have you made up your mind?”

As I entered the prayer room, Edel, who was sitting on a cushion, greeted me.

It was an ironic scene—to see her sitting on the very cushion meant for people to pray to her.

If the person who placed that cushion saw this, they’d probably burst into tears.

“I think the same.”

“…Don’t read my mind so freely.”

“How can I help it if I can read it so easily? If you don’t like it, try harder not to let it show.”

“….”

Edel, who had initially greeted me in a prayerful posture, loosened her legs and sat more comfortably.

“It’s time to finish our conversation.”

“Only if you don’t run away again like last time.”

“…I told you, it wasn’t running away. I simply ran out of time. That wouldn’t have happened if I were in full strength.”

“Useless god.”

“What?! Hey! Are you done talking?!”

Her face flushed in anger at my words, but she quickly caught herself and returned to her usual calm demeanor.

Not that acting like nothing happened would erase the embarrassment she just showed.

“…I know. Ahem—anyway, from the look on your face, it seems you’ve more or less sorted out your thoughts.”

“Who knows?”

I wonder if I looked carefree in Edel’s eyes.

I still didn’t fully understand what Edel meant by ‘what I truly want.’

…But still.

“Yes, I have organized my thoughts.”

It was true that I felt more at ease.

As I moved, the bracelet on my wrist jingled softly.

Passing by Edel, who was still seated on the cushion, I approached the statue. I leaned against it, just like Edel had done a few days ago.

I looked up at the statue’s benevolent smile and asked her a question.

“You called me a sword, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Was it you who brought me to this world?”

“No, it wasn’t me.”

Edel shook her head.

“It wasn’t me who brought you into this world, nor did I place you in that environment, nor did I make your benefactor die without recovering from his injuries—”

“…He’s not just my benefactor. He’s my dad.”

Edel, who had been surprised by my interruption, quickly regained her composure.

“Right. The fact that your father died that way—it wasn’t something I planned either.”

“Then—”

“Ah—wait, wait. Before we get into that, there’s something you need to know first.”

Ignoring my annoyed look at being interrupted, Edel continued.

“Didn’t you find it strange? How your growth was abnormally fast… Ah, I’m not talking about your height, you know? That’s more like it’s slowed down to a halt rather than grown.”

“….”

Of course, I found it strange.

Other people could barely sense mana, let alone control it, yet I could wield it as naturally as breathing.

I achieved the rank of Master, something people say takes at least until your forties, at only a mere teen’s age.

No matter how much of a once-in-a-century genius I might be, isn’t that too fast?

It was why I had suspected that Edel had brought me here in the first place.

She brought me from Earth and artificially accelerated my growth. If that were true, it would explain my abnormal speed of development.

“You wouldn’t know this, but there’s one thing gods always do when creating a world.”

Edel said, “It’s to place restrictions on the souls within that world.”

“Restrictions…?”

“Yes. On how fast they can grow, how strong they can become… Things like that. There are more, but that’s all you need to know for now.”

“Why are those restrictions necessary?”

Is it to prevent them from becoming too powerful and challenging their authority?

“There might be gods like that. But the primary reason is to protect the soul itself.”

Think about a machine.

If you run an engine too hard, it may produce high output for a moment, but it’ll soon break down.

“The same goes for souls. If they grow too quickly or attain strength beyond their capacity, the soul breaks. What god would want a soul they painstakingly created to shatter in no time?”

“Then what about people who become stronger faster than others?”

The so-called geniuses.

“It’s because their souls are more resilient, allowing for a higher limit.”

“There are also people who come back stronger after surviving near-death experiences.”

“During that process, their souls become strong enough to partially release some of their restrictions.”

“…I see. So, you’re saying that my soul is resilient, right?”

“No. While your soul is indeed resilient, that’s not the reason you were able to become this strong.”

Edel denied my words without hesitation.

She then opened the fist she had been clenching.

“There are no such restrictions on your soul.”

“Is it because I’m from another world?”

As I said this, a question arose in my mind.

“Then shouldn’t there be restrictions from Earth’s Administrator or something?”

Given how strong I’ve become, it doesn’t seem like their restrictions would be any weaker than these ones.

“Bingo. You’re sharp. Yes, right now, there are no restrictions on your soul. Neither the ones I created, nor those placed by that Administrator.”

Edel clapped her hands in confirmation, then her expression turned serious.

The serene expression she had just moments ago vanished, replaced by an impassive look as she continued. Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“I told you a few days ago about the Dimensional Creatures. The ones that invade other dimensions to drain their energy. And that I’ve been fighting them for hundreds of years.”

“Yes.”

“Dimensional Creatures destabilize any dimension they appear in. So you can imagine what state my dimension is in after hundreds of years of fighting them. One day, while I was battling them, I felt a massive tremor in the dimensional barrier.”

There had been countless tremors before, but that one was far more severe than anything Edel had ever experienced.

And at that moment, both Edel and the Dimensional Creature she was fighting sensed it.

“That this dimension had briefly connected with another dimension.”

Though it was only a fleeting connection, the path that had opened remained.

“Amidst the shaking dimensional walls, the other dimension, and the battle with the Dimensional Creatures, I failed to notice a single soul slipping through. I never thought it would even be possible.”

How could anyone even imagine such a thing?

For a weak soul to cross the barrier between dimensions…

To withstand the vortex between dimensions…

And then cross the dimensional barrier once more to enter a different dimension—who would ever think such a thing was possible?

Even for a goddess like Edel, it would be an incredibly dangerous journey, with no guarantee of success. Yet, that fragile soul endured it all and created a miracle.

Just like forging a solid sword by heating it with intense fire and hammering it countless times, the soul grew stronger, having gone through all those hardships.

“A lot has been erased, and many things have been forgotten. The restrictions placed by Earth’s Administrator were one of them.”

“….”

“And that soul—”

I cut her off because I already knew what she was about to say.

“That soul is me.”

“That’s right.”

Edel nodded at my words.

That’s the hidden story behind the birth of a girl named Canaria Grasis.

“Do you know how shocked I was when I first discovered you? A soul I’d never seen before appeared in my world, without any restrictions placed on it, and unnaturally tough, too…. But thanks to that, I could start planning my counterattack.”

She grumbled in a small voice.

And upon learning all of this, I—

“I see.”

—I just nodded.

My calm reaction seemed to fluster Edel, who was the one sharing the story.

“…Huh? That’s it?”

“What kind of reaction should I have then?”

I know I undertook a grand adventure crossing dimensions, but I have no memory of it, so it’s hard to feel anything about it.

Besides, since Edel wasn’t the one who orchestrated it, what else could I say?

If she’d been talking about my experiences after being born into this world, then I’d have plenty to say.

I shrugged.

“Is that why you collaborated with Earth’s god?”

“…Yes. Since they were already aware of your existence, it was obvious that if this world fell, Earth would be the next target.”

They had an advantageous forward base in Silia, and even a direct path to their next prey.

There was no reason for the starving Dimensional Creatures not to invade.

“That’s why we made our decision. By downgrading this dimension, we’d use the Creatures’ power against them. I wasn’t just sitting back and taking it; I found a way to use their power to our advantage.”

That’s why the world was constructed in the form of a game.

By having players hunt down Dimensional Creatures, it weakened their power.

Even if we ultimately failed to stop them and Silia was destroyed, leaving Earth at the mercy of those monsters, the strength they accumulated here would serve as the foundation to resist them.

That was the true nature of Silia Online, the strategy devised by Earth’s Administrator and Edel to prepare for what lay ahead.