50 The Reality (3)
[You have killed 5 Red Orcs and received 100.000 + 50.000 (Title Bonus) EXP!]
[You have reached level 20!]
[You have completed the second wave!]
"..."
"You're finally back, huh..." Matthew cleaned the dust of his clothes as he looked at the blank panel in front of him.
Instead of the usual blue interface of the tower, it now displayed a purplish hue with intricate details.
[Hello... Master.]
"Tsk... just tell me about your new features."
[I now have an powerful authority within the tower that can even rival those of a tower's guardian. The tower's guardian is one of the entities that rule over the tower.]
"Was it Nyx?"
[Excuse me...?]
"Or Gaia? The one who granted you this authority, I mean."
[...]
"Frankly, I'm quite curious about these so-called constellations… they're said to be individuals who transcended human existence and became entities akin to gods."
"But... what do they really want? Do they simply like seeing us, mortals, killing each other for fun?"
"I mean... what did the creator of this world even think of? He directly died so his creation would come to 'life'..."
"Who would've thought that a simple novel on Earth would turn out to be a world in another part of the universe?" Matthew chuckled, a hollow sound.
"You know... after I came to this world, I simply decided to left my past life behind... however, I still dream of it."
"If I hadn't come here... would I have lived an ordinary life? Married someone, had kids... become a grandfather…"
[...]
"I suppose I could still do that here, right? But it seems I need to become a constellation first, doesn't it?"
"Not because I want to, but because... there's something... or someone urging me to become one, isn't there?"
[...]
"So... was it Nyx or Gaia?"
[...Both.]
"I see... I've always been suspicious of them both. They claim to be the strongest kind of constellation, yet they can manipulate the tower's systems and grant you significant authority within it."
"That tower error during the tutorial...? It was probably one of them that messed up with the system, am I right?"
[...]
"Why is my surname even covered in my status?'" He continued as he opened his status window...
[Matthew #"%#&#?]
"Is there something that I forgot about? I'm pretty sure my name is... Matthew Arcadia, but why is it covered? Does it have anything to do with this world which is also called Arcadia?"
"If I recall correctly, Arcadia was a sort of 'paradise' in Greek mythology. But I'm not entirely sure."
"You know... whatever secrets you're hiding... they'll come to light eventually..." He gave a lifeless smile at the panel before him.
[...]
"By the way... are you sure there was a tower in that novel?" Matthew, who seemed on the brink of ending his speech, suddenly spoke up.
"I remember a detailed review... it was at chapter 152, titled 'As Chaos Unfolds, So Does The Brightest Star'..."
[Mas—!]
"Shh." Matthew hushed, raising a finger to his lips, but he was cut off by another notification that popped up.
[The second wave has been successfully completed!]
"Barrier... activate." He murmured.
It was a barrier that prevented anyone from overhearing their conversation...
"In that same review... it said that the novel was going at a very nice pace compared to the first hundred chapters. It also said that the idea of Lilian destroying the world and killing a few of the males leads, so Stacy could go get a sudden power up was incredibly well made. Along with that, it was also mentioned that most of the rearders were very excited when Stacy suddenly borrowed the powers of the constellations to be able to deal a bit of damage to Lilian, and force her to retreat."
"However... one curious thing was that... it had a very nice phrase in the last line..."
'I'm glad that instead of creating towers like in those manhwas, you've simply decided to go with the constellation's world, like those upper worlds in the wuxia novels. It was a different yet effective idea.'
"Does that bell a ring?"
⋘ "Stop." ⋙
Suddenly, everything froze as a large black panel replaced the purplish one, and the world seemed to turn monochrome.
The only colores were... black... and white.
Fwwopp!
And in that instant, a figure materialized, instantly recognizable to Matthew. It was the same figure that had appeared when he first awakened his class.
Or... Nyx, in a different form.
However, instead of the colossal size, now it had the same size as a normal human.
"""Matthew.""" She spoke.
Matthew simply remained motionless as he looked at Nyx.
As she reached out to touch him, her hand passed through his body.
"A phantom... huh." Matthew muttered as he observed.
Nyx's form was nothing more than a phantom.
"""I don't have much time. But... understand, I'm doing this for you. For... us. Nothing more, nothing less."""
"Then why change the world's structure? Wasn't it better as it was? I could've reached you sooner..." Matthew stated the obvious.
"""Listen. Things aren't as simple as you think they are. If the world kept going without this 'towers', it would be destroyed in the span of just a few months. And at that time, I wouldn't be able to meet you."""
"Uh... what do you mean by that?"
"""The system that I and Gaia made, what did it said when you first tried to interrupt the chance of one of the male leads...?"""
"It said something... that my actions would led to world destruction?"
"""Exactly. You did something that shouldn't have been done. You disrupted not only the meeting of two male leads, but also caused the protagonist to fall in love with you."""
"""You literally made the world will act itself."""
"Then why reward me for doing such things? And give me quests?"
"""It was to restore balance to the world. The second male lead, Ronald, that you interrupted had a direct connection to the first you disrupted, and you don't even know who the first male lead you disrupted was!"""
"....That..."
"""I know that you don't give a fuck about your own life, Matthew. And even worse about the fate of the world, but why don't you think about the people that care about you!?"""
"""Roxanne, Lilian, Stacy... and both me and Gaia. I gave you this chance, so I could finally meet you, Matthew!! I spent... a ton of my original power, and I almost lost all of my powers so I could bring you to this world!"""
"""Do you know how fucking difficult it was? Pushing you out of a world that has no laws whatsoever? That, the constellations, cannot intervene!?"""
As she continued, a few drops of seemingly black tears that matched her figure slid down her cheek and fell in a field of dandelions.
"""W-why... are you making this so hard!? Can't you just wait until we meet, and then I can explain everything to you!? I've been waiting, Matthew... for a very, very long time."""
"""Please... just wait until I can finally touch you... I...I... Please. Just wait until you meet me..."""
"""I'll always be waiting for you..."""
Fwwoop!
Time pressed on as Matthew sensed a gust of wind sweep through, tousling his hair, while dandelion stems danced gracefully through the air...
"...."
[Master. Please understand that both Nyx and Gaia have waited millions of years for you.]
[You have time. There's no need to rush, right?]
[There are no hidden schemes; only two people deeply care about you. Please understand that.]
"...."
"Barrier... dissipate."
[9 minutes and 49 seconds until the third and final wave begins.]
"Haaah..."
"I'm quite selfish, aren't I?"
