IWRIT-01

Chapter 1 – New Game Start

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[At long last, the Tower has been freed from its ancient curse.]

The moment she saw the ending message appear on the screen, she shot both hands into the air.

“Yesss! I finally beat it!”

The game she was playing was called The Darkness Tower.

Usually shortened to Dark Tower.

It was a CRPG where you became the lord of a city that housed the ancient Tower, sealed away to contain an ancient evil. You managed your territory while conquering the Tower itself.

Watching the ending credits roll, she smiled to herself.

There really isn’t another game like this.

Its graphics were gorgeous, rivaling even the latest releases.

It had countless companion characters.

Character customization that was practically limitless.

So much content it felt endless.

The game had been out for well over six years, and despite playing it nearly every single day, she still hadn’t gotten tired of it.

Why doesn’t everyone play this amazing game?

Of course, Dark Tower wasn’t without its… flaws.

As expected of a dark fantasy game, its world was utterly devoid of hope, complete with a gloriously miserable storyline.

Many quests were so cryptic they were nearly impossible to complete without reading a guide.

There were absolutely no convenience features like speed-up or battle skip.

Its playtime was absurdly long, showing no mercy toward people with modern schedules.

And every DLC somehow made the game even more brutally difficult.

And…

And…

Let’s stop there.

Even with all those little shortcomings, Dark Tower was an incredible game.

At least, to her, nothing else came close.

That was why, six years after its release, she had accumulated over 30,000 hours of playtime, evolving far beyond an ordinary veteran player into something closer to crude oil.

Even for someone like her, defeating the final boss completely solo on Hardcore Mode, where a single death meant permanent game over, had been anything but easy.

But I pulled it off.

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[A Lonely Legend]

Lift the Tower’s curse alone on Hardcore difficulty. (Completed)

0.0001% of players have earned this achievement.

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The achievement had originally shown 0% completion.

Now it read 0.0001%.

Meaning…

She was the very first player to clear it.

The world’s first.

Now that’s what I’m talking about.

This is why I play games.

Beaming with satisfaction as she admired the achievement window, she immediately clicked New Game.

She had literally just finished the game and earned every achievement.

Why start over already?

Because that’s what veteran players do.

Now then… what should I try this time?

She’d spent the last several playthroughs min-maxing for achievements.

Maybe it was finally time for a relaxed run.

Maybe I’ll make an overpowered character and dump all my New Game bonuses into her.

She’d already conquered the Tower solo so many times she’d lost count.

This time she could take it easy and spend more time hanging out with the companion characters instead.

Opening her saved appearance presets, she loaded the female character she’d painstakingly created using premium CC items—custom content mods made by players, including hairstyles, outfits, weapons, makeup, and more.

Eyes shimmering like pale violet opals.

Long, elegant eyelashes fanning outward like butterfly wings.

Perfectly sculpted facial features framed by flowing violet hair cascading gracefully over her shoulders.

A flawlessly elegant figure she’d crafted by adjusting every body slider in increments of 0.01.

The appearance was so dazzling it looked completely out of place in a grim dark fantasy setting.

But she didn’t care.

As president of the “If My Character Isn’t Pretty, I Quit” club, visual perfection mattered far more than genre consistency.

With her appearance settled, it was time to choose a class.

Sorcerer, obviously.

Sorcerers—the closest thing fantasy had to psychics—could cast high-tier spells starting from Level 1.

Spells like Irresistible Charm, Domination, and Irresistible Compulsion.

Essential abilities for recruiting companions.

Why did recruiting companions require brainwashing spells?

Because it was a dark fantasy game.

Naturally.

Next… stat distribution.

She adjusted the default attributes, which all started at ten.

Vitality: 6
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 16

Since attributes above 11 required double the bonus points, she had to strip several other stats down rather aggressively.

She didn’t regret it in the slightest.

Her Sorcerer’s primary attribute—Charisma—was now ridiculously high.

Race… Nephilim.

Being descendants of angels, Nephilim received +2 Charisma.

That raised her total Charisma to 18.

Then…

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[Mind Sorcerer has been unlocked.]

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A special class unlocked through multiple Sorcerer playthroughs.

The Mind Sorcerer specialized entirely in mental magic.

Its offensive abilities were mediocre.

But it completely ignored enemies’ resistance against mind-affecting spells, allowing irresistible charm and brainwashing magic.

Even characters whose affection sat at -100 could instantly become lovers after a single brainwashing spell, skipping every romance event in the game.

The class was so infamous players nicknamed it the “Romance Ending Collector.”

Still…

That alone wasn’t enough.

Trait combinations are what really matter.

This was where even she had to think carefully.

She had unlocked countless traits over the years.

But she could only equip three.

Her mouse darted back and forth for nearly an hour as she agonized over the perfect combination.

Eventually…

The finished character was perfect.

The perfect brainwashing machine—

No.

The perfect irresistible protagonist.

At this rate… I could probably start dating two people the moment the game begins.

In Dark Tower, attempting multiple romances usually ended with the characters stabbing each other—or trying to kill the player.

But honestly?

That sounded even more entertaining.

She wanted to witness the chaos firsthand.

And why stop at just two lovers?

With this absurd level of Charisma and brainwashing magic…

Anything was possible.

Stealing someone else’s lover and dating both?

Possible.

Destroying lifelong friendships?

Easy.

Turning parents and children against one another?

Absolutely.

This is what a true casual playthrough looks like.

Grinning at her ambitious role-playing plan, she entered her character’s name.

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[Camellia]

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She clicked Create Character.

Her heart pounded with anticipation as she stared at the monitor.

The opening cinematic began.

The screen suddenly went dark.

Not just the screen.

Everything around her darkened as well.

Huh?

The instant she thought the darkness itself was swallowing her…

Her consciousness vanished.

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[Memory transfer failed.]

[Retrying memory transfer.]

[Memory transfer failed.]

[Retrying memory transfer.]

.

.

.

[Memory transfer permanently failed.]

[Loss of the sealed vessel confirmed.]

[The Tower’s seal is being released…]

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A loud ringing echoed inside her head.

Feeling violently nauseous, she gasped before barely managing to open her eyes.

Her entire body was soaked.

Water dripped from her chin and the tips of her eyebrows.

Why am I completely wet?

Looking down in confusion, she found the lower half of her body submerged inside a glass tube filled with some unknown liquid.

She wasn’t wearing her familiar pajamas anymore.

Instead, she wore a pure white dress.

The floor had changed as well.

Gone were the wooden boards of her bedroom.

Instead, black stone stretched beneath her, carved with deep crimson grooves that looked like the random scribbles of a child.

It was unfamiliar.

Yet strangely familiar.

Where have I seen this before…?

Trying to steady her spinning head, she climbed out of the glass tube.

As her vision rose…

The first thing she saw was a gigantic crimson monument carved with the same blood-red patterns as the floor.

The second…

Was the corpse nailed to it.

“…Huh?”

She blinked.

Nothing changed.

The eerie glass tube.

The circular altar swallowed by unsettling darkness.

The blood-red monument standing at its center.

And hanging from it…

The corpse of a woman with a gaping hole through the middle of her chest.

This… surely…

Before she could gather her thoughts, the loud clang of armored footsteps echoed through the darkness.

Moments later, a knight in heavy plate armor emerged from the shadows.

He wasn’t wearing a helmet.

She saw his face immediately.

Long white hair braided over one shoulder.

Skin as pale as snow.

Piercing blue eyes, sharp as a finely honed blade.

He was so beautiful he looked more like a nobleman than a knight.

It was also a face she knew all too well.

The number-one recommended knight companion in Dark Tower.

Second place in the game’s popularity poll.

And the very first companion players met.

Rohengrin Eschen.

He’s… standing right in front of me.

Not on my monitor…

Right here.

Her instincts—

No.

Some inexplicable certainty—

Told her this wasn’t a dream.

Which meant…

I… transmigrated into the game?

Not a dating sim.

Not a relaxing farming game.

Not even a gacha game.

But a hopeless, merciless dark fantasy.

Overwhelmed, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Only one thought filled her mind.

I’m screwed.

Completely and utterly screwed.