༺ Monologue (3) ༻

The State Exam Prep Students’ Tower of Trials.

Although there was a study room on the 5th floor, that title was the nickname for the building in the floors below it, from the 1st to 4th floor; Respectively on each floor, there was a billiards room, an internet cafe, a comic book rental store, and a karaoke room.

I could hear people vigorously tapping at their keyboards, engrossed in their games. Of course, they were all gray.

‘There’s nothing special here.’

There wasn’t a game that I hadn’t seen before and browsing the news on the internet didn’t reveal any noteworthy issues.

The real-time search terms on the portal site were just full of celebrities and political issues.

Even though the sky was falling, the world seemed to be running just fine.

I tried to look up ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ in the search bar. As expected, only static and noise occurred and the search term couldn’t even be seen.

When I instinctively searched and pressed Enter, this time, the entire computer screen was covered in noise.

It felt like something similar to Providence was severely restricting any information related to ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.

“Ugh.”

So fucking stingy…

It seemed like the internet was going to be of little use.

◆ ◆ ◆

Even as time passed, nothing noteworthy happened.

I didn’t feel hungry, despite not having eaten, and I wasn’t sleepy either, even though it became night.

In no time at all, the Descending Sky had fallen to a third of its original position. In terms of time, it had only been 2 days since this trial began.

I devised various methods in a sober state.

With my robust body, I tried getting lightly hit by a car and I created a huge lump of ice in an attempt to attract people’s attention.

However, that was all I could do. I hadn’t even found a hint of a clue for the conditions of clearing this trial.

“…Ah.”

I was wandering around, formulating numerous hypotheses.

As I was crammed into the crowd at the side of the street, my stomach suddenly began to churn.

State exam prep student lifestyle. The scenery made it seem like this world was solely excluding me.

That feeling.

As the sensation of that time was recalled vividly, nausea overwhelmed me. It was uncontrollable.

I rushed to the public restroom at the train station and vomited into the toilet.

“Haaa, phew…”

After barely calming my stomach and flushing the toilet…

I washed my face at the sink and left the restroom.

“…I’m fucked.”

Not just people, but even objects.

Everything reflected upon my eyes was gradually dyed in that accursed black and white.

I already knew it all. This was just the Trial of Sandstone. It was just a fake world designed to devour my sanity.

However, the sensations I had felt during this time of my life were vividly recalled, making it so fucking difficult to endure.

I hurried back to my one-room apartment at Sinlim-dong.

Briquette-shaped keyring, the hourglass, the marimo, the legal literature; these were the only things not dyed in black and white.

“Eden!”

I tried to summon my familiar, but I didn’t even get a response.

Only then did I realize that my own arms were now dyed gray.

◆ ◆ ◆

Time passed.

Just as it was before, nothing had happened.

The only change was that the world I saw now was completely monochromatic.

It was a sight that felt like an old black-and-white TV had replaced a color TV.

At least the Descending Sky maintained its original color.

Before I knew it, that sky had already descended half-way.

However, even now, I still couldn’t grasp a single hint of the clearing conditions for this trial.

“…”

I walked along Sinlim-dong’s streets.

I could feel myself becoming more withdrawn.

I at least wanted to visit the company that created ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, but when I tried searching the corporate name to find its address, the screen was filled with noise; It was utterly maddening.

The only silver lining was that even though objects had turned monochromatic, I could still touch them.

There was a drawback because of the lack of detailed sensations.

But still, it was fortunate that I had not been completely cut off from this world yet.

◆ ◆ ◆

[Status] Name: Isaac

Lv: ???

Gender: ?

Year: ?

Title: ??????

Mana: 500 / 500

– ?? Recovery Speed (??)

The sky had gotten quite close.

I estimated that within the next three days, this world would meet its end.

However, my vision still only reflected colorless landscapes.

And I still couldn’t even guess what the conditions for clearing this trial could possibly be.

A cramped one-room. I sat quietly in the corner. I was thinking.

What should I do? What in the world did I have to do in order to overcome this trial?

As I pondered and pondered while glancing around, a black and white calendar on the desk suddenly caught my eye.

As I realized what today’s date was, both my eyes widened.

I couldn’t do anything besides quietly stare at the calendar, as if time had stopped.

September 23rd.

Today was the anniversary of my mother’s death.

***

There was a place I really wanted to go.

Even if it was a fake world, I didn’t wish to go there in sweats, so I dressed up nicely.

A white shirt, blue jacket, and black pants. Of course, it all just appeared black and white. Fortunately, the sizes all fit me fairly well.

The wind wasn’t too chilly, but it wasn’t too hot either.

I took the subway and arrived at the Columbarium.

Inside a glass cabinet was a small urn. a bouquet of flowers, and a framed photograph.

In the photograph, smiling awkwardly in embarrassment…

A woman more lovely than anyone else could be seen.

“It’s been a while.”

Mom.

If I traced back my memories, I truly was a stupid bastard.

I had turned off my smartphone and fully engrossed myself in books, all for the sake of my, oh so important, studies. As such, I only found out about my mother’s passing much later on.

In the uninteresting play that I had a role in, my prep student life was like a monologue.

A sensation of being isolated from the world.

Buried in books, I was doing all kinds of useless bullshit on my own, as I ran aimlessly towards an uncertain future.

Although the hollow passage of time did help me regain the strength needed to move forward…

The emotions I felt when I heard about my mother’s passing never improved even until the moment I passed the state exam.

After the admission ceremony of the Judicial Research and Training Institute concluded, I visited the Columbarium with my certificate of appointment in hand.

I wanted to share the news with a smile, ‘Isn’t your son truly incredible, Mom?’

However, when I saw my mother’s picture, it felt like my heart was being torn apart. I had to crouch here for a long time, only sobbing without any words.

I closed my eyes. For a moment, I quietly took a deep breath.

I opened my eyes again and imprinted the picture of my mother even more vividly in my mind.

I began to walk.

Leaving the Columbarium, I took the rattling subway back to Sinlim-dong.

I looked out the subway window at the sky.

The sky had come much closer. Compared to the beginning, it seemed like two-thirds of it had descended now.

The beautiful colors that the rock mana radiated were incredibly vivid in this monochromatic world.

Death was rapidly approaching.

This wretched scenery was pressing down on me like a weight.

The effects of [Frozen Soul] helped calm me somewhat, but with just that much, nothing could be solved.

◆ ◆ ◆

When I arrived at Sinlim-dong, I headed towards the pedestrian overpass.

I leaned against the railing, silently watching the cars pass by with loud noises.

A colorless scenery.

Looking back, it wasn’t even that novel.

After all, during my state exam life, the scenery reflected upon my eyes was originally this dull.

“…”

I could not lose myself.

So, I lit [Frostfire] in my right hand.

For some reason, my mana had significantly decreased, but I could still barely maintain [Frostfire].

The chilly mana blazing like flames also appeared black and white.

Although I couldn’t feel any sensation, looking at those frigid flames actually made me feel like I was still alive.

Time passed again…

And as my mana depleted, [Frostfire] flickered out like an exhausted matchstick.

I had been pondering deeply throughout my time here, but I still had no idea how to clear this trial.

At least in the Trial of Frost, the Evil God resurrected, ending the world. If it was something like that, how could I not know what the conditions were?

However, here, I was simply isolated.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Even so, I had no intention of giving up.

I didn’t despair. On the contrary, I was more determined than ever.

If I were a flower, I would bloom even in a mire filled with filth.

I softly closed, then opened my eyes, taking a moment to hone my emotions before quietly starting to move forward.

With that, I fired up my will.

Then, at that moment…

A dull thud echoed, as something collided with the railings of the overpass.

Simultaneously, an elegant and pure sound that should not be heard in this muted world chimed.

“…?”

I stopped and turned my head back to the railings where the sound came from.

And my jaws dropped.

In the world dyed in black and white, only one girl sparkled, rousing a cluster of stars of various colors.

Her posture indicated she had fallen from the sky and landed on the railing. Her light purple hair, tied only at the end, momentarily floated in the air.

“Gosh.”

She pressed her witch hat to prevent it from flying away…

And then jumped off the railing, facing me.

When she did so, her cheeks turned rosy as she smiled widely, revealing her pearly white teeth.

“I finally found you.”

At that moment, my composure vanished and my chest tightened so much that my face crumpled like a sheet of paper.

However, after taking a deep breath and exhaling, I barely managed to control my expression so it didn’t distort.

“Senior…”

The person who had shone endlessly bright to me was now right before my eyes.

“President. Do you know what I went through to find you? I was exhausted to death! Now, I’ll give you a chance! Come on, why don’t you come and comfort this Big Sis~?

While raising her hand to her chest, Dorothy wore a playful smile.

I had no idea how she appeared in front of my eyes.

However…

[Dorothy Heartnova] Lv: 183

Race: Human

Elements: Rock, Starlight

Danger: X

Psychology: [★☆★☆With☆★☆★☆★]

It wasn’t difficult at all to realize that she was real.