"WELCOME HOME, Mama!"
Aigoo.
Navi felt half-awkward and half-amused when the kids greeted her enthusiastically after she stepped foot in the treehouse.
This is their home, huh?
Apparently, the Glass Tower wasn't open yet.
Hence, in the meantime, Stello brought Navi and the kids to a huge treehouse attached to the only normal-looking tree in that place.
The tree in question had normal green leaves.
And the treehouse looks like a cabin.
"My name is Navi, so call me that. You can also call me 'Noona' if you want," Navi said, even though the kids weren't Korean. "Just don't call me 'Mama.' It sounds awkward."
The kids all tilted their heads at the same time as if they were confused.
Navi clenched her hands tightly.
So freaking cute!
Haaah.
"Forget it. Call me whatever you want," Navi said, sitting down on the sofa. Yes, there was a sofa in the treehouse's living room. "I told you my name, so it's your turn now."
The kids' faces instantly lit up.
"My name is Blue!"
"My name is Yellow!"
"My name is Pink!"
"My name is Red!"
Aigoo.
Their names are based on their hair color…
Navi wanted to sigh, but there was still one kid who hadn't said his name yet.
The others were looking at the tallest kid with an encouraging look on their faces.
"My name is Green!"
"Huh? Not 'Black?'" Navi asked, confused, while looking at the last kid's black hair. "Why is your name 'Green' when your hair is black?"
She didn't mean anything bad with her question.
But Green suddenly became teary-eyed.
"Please don't cry," Navi said, slightly panicked, while raising her hands. "I don't know what to do when kids cry."
Green looked like he held it in, but the kid was still teary-eyed.
Aigoo.
"Green, it's okay! Mama is not mad," Blue, the one who seemed to be the leader of the group, said while walking towards Green. Then Blue held Green's hands. "Mama just asked because Mama wants to get to know us better. And that's a good thing!"
Wow.
Navi looked at Blue in disbelief.
That kid is so delulu.
"Mama, we call him Green because his eyes are green!" the red-haired boy explained energetically. "And his green eyes are so pretty!"
Green?
Navi was good at remembering faces, since she was the type to hold grudges.
I'm the type to remember the names and faces of people who wronged me.
So, she was pretty sure that the black-haired kid also had black eyes…
… oh.
When Green lifted his head, his black eyes turned green.
Sparkling green— as if the child had emerald gems for eyes.
It was pretty, yes.
But for a Hunter like Navi…
This child is like a giant lump of Mana.
Realizing how powerful Green was gave her the chills.
"Mama, Mama."
Hmm?
Navi looked down at the yellow-haired kid who kept patting her hand to get her attention. "Yes?"
"Green is our youngest, and he's a good kid," Yellow— the kid with a beauty mark under his left eye— said while smiling sweetly as if he were trying to convince Navi to believe him. "He's not strange."
Ah.
She suddenly felt bad.
Her emotions probably showed up on her face.
"I see. Thank you for letting me know," Navi said, smiling. There was no need to be cruel to these kids. "You're a good friend, Yellow."
Yellow smiled as if he were proud of himself. "I'm the oldest among us!"
"Oh, are you?"
"Blue and I are the same age, but I'm older by a few months. So, I'm still the oldest," Yellow said proudly. "Pink is the third oldest."
Pink, the smallest among the kids, just nodded as if he were too shy to speak.
"Red is the fourth, and Green is the youngest," Yellow said happily. "We're a family."
Aww.
Navi thought the kids were cute and pretty smart.
And that confused her a bit.
They act like clueless kids most of the time, but sometimes they act as if they know exactly what's happening.
Hmm.
Was it like how most transmigration stories in webtoons worked?
The protagonist's soul is trapped in the body of a child, but they have the old memories of their past lives. But it's also possible that their mind regresses the longer they stay as children.
Before Navi could use more brainpower, her Status Window popped up in front of her.
[Miss Earthling, I'm almost done hacking the Glass Tower's System— I just need you to make a new identity.]
Excuse me?
***
[THE GLASS TOWER only opens its doors to souls that have been reborn from the Soul Cubes.]
"And why is that?" Navi asked lazily while standing in front of the full-length mirror, admiring herself in her transcendence form. She couldn't get over how beautiful and sexy she looked without the curse that had halted her physical growth for years. "Is that why I need a new identity? Because I wasn't reborn from a Soul Cube?"
[Correct. I hacked this planet's System to think the hero Hunter Ahn Navi, from Planet Earth, had already been reborn. That's the only way for you to enter the Glass Tower with the children. So, it will be safer if I address you with another name.]
"Is that why you never called me by my name until now?"
Navi was only 'Miss Earthling' to Stello from the moment she woke up on that planet."
[Correct. Although I'm confident in my hacking skills, there's still a possibility that certain words might trigger this planet's "consciousness." When I say I hacked this planet's System, I actually mean I hacked the Administrator in charge of the Soul Cubes. That's why I'm being careful not to say words that might flag the main System.]
"Oh, I see. So, we need to make a new identity for me."
[I actually just need a name from you— I can handle the rest.]
"Can't I just use 'Ahn Vina?' That's my Civilian name."
[We can use that if you don't mind getting recognized by the people from your world once you return.]
"What?"
[The price for climbing the Glass Tower is the opportunity to return home.]
"Damn, and you're only saying that now?"
[Miss Earthling—]
"Stop calling me that," Navi said, cutting off Stello. "Viki Young— that's the name I want. And don't put my last name first. It should be 'Viki Young' and not 'Young Viki.'"
[Oh. I didn't expect you to come up with a new name on the spot.]
"Viki Young is the name of the main character from the one and only webnovel that I wrote under the alias 'butterflyyy.' Viki was inspired by my favorite third-generation idol 'Vicky' while 'Young' was the last name of my favorite supermodel-turned-entrepreneur, Margaret Young. That's how my 'Viki Young' was born."
[You were a writer?]
"Well, I was bored at the start of my semi-retirement. Since I wasn't allowed to raid dungeons, I spent most of my time at home. So, I began writing a romance fantasy webnovel where the main female lead, Viki Young, woke up in the body of a villainess from her favorite novel."
[Ah, that sounds interesting.]
"Forget it. It was a total flop since only one person read it," Navi said while waving her hand. "But I treasured that reader a lot. They never failed to leave a comment whenever I posted a new chapter."
[Only one person had read your webnovel?]
"Yeah."
[You should have promoted it as Hunter Ahn Navi then. I'm sure your story would have gained a lot of readers had people known the writer was you.]
"Nah, writing was just a hobby to me. The story wasn't even that good since I only wrote it for fun. I didn't want a story like that to get famous just because of me— I wanted the story itself to shine. But it didn't."
[Too bad.]
"It's fine. I'm already happy with one loyal reader."
[Have you finished the story?]
"Nah. I was on a hiatus, but I was planning to go back to writing when a certain Fallen Constellation 'killed' me."
[I see. Then it's a good thing there's a way to bring you back to your previous world.]
"Right? We got sidetracked, but we're finally talking about the important matter again."
[As I explained earlier, this planet is a graveyard for heroes killed by dungeon monsters. The Soul Cubes are acting like a womb, nurturing the souls of the heroes until they are ready to be reborn. And once they are reborn, they will be given a chance to return to their world by climbing the Glass Tower.]
"So, at the very top of the Glass Tower, there's a door that will lead us to our previous world?"
[Correct.]
"And you brought me here because you wanted me to take the children to the top of the Glass Tower?"
[Correct. The children can't climb the tower on their own because their minds have also regressed.]
"Bullshit."
[…]
"I'm not book smart, but I can tell when I'm being used or scammed," Navi said, scoffing. "You bragged about the kids being natural S-Class Hunters like I am. And I can tell that you weren't lying. Especially that black-haired kid, the supposedly youngest among them— that one is a monster. There's no way they can't climb the Glass Tower on their own."
[Their minds have regressed—]
"Bullshit," Navi said sternly. "Those kids are acting like children most of the time, but I can tell that they know what's going on."
[…]
"Plus, I don't think the children were properly reborn. If they were, then they shouldn't have the same power that they had in their past lives."
[…]
"Moreover, you said that the world where the children came from had already been destroyed. So, why do they need to climb the Glass Tower to return to their world?"
[You got me there, Viki Young.]
"Oh, you're using my new name already."
[I'm going to tell you the truth now.]
"Go ahead. I'm ready. But I have the attention span of a goldfish— so start with a bombshell that will pique my interest."
[Then let me start by saying that I need you to become a Constellation for those children, Viki Young.]
Aigoo.
"Okay, you totally have my attention now," Navi said, nodding. "So, start from the very beginning."
***
[WHILE you are on this planet, you'll remain in your Transcendent form, Viki Young. That means you won't feel hunger, thirst, tiredness, and even sexual desire. But don't worry. I assure you that your physical body will remain in pristine condition even after you "turn off" your transcendence.]
Of course, Navi knew that.
Tsk.
I'm still digesting all the heavy stuff that Stello just said to me, and here he is again— trying to coax me with the "benefits" of being his pawn.
The Fallen Constellation was right, though.
Being a Transcendent meant getting rid of a human being's earthly needs and desires.
However…
"Are you trying to kill me?" Navi complained. "Just because I'm a Transcendent doesn't make me omnipotent. Maintaining this form for a long time requires infinite Mana. I only have half a Core left, so I'll die if I run out of Mana."
[You won't die as long as you have an infinite source of Mana.]
"And where would I get that…"
Oh.
"The kids?"
[Correct.]
Navi was about to ask how the children were an 'infinite source of Mana,' but she stopped when she heard the kids singing outside the treehouse.
What the…?
She immediately got up and went outside to check.
The kids weren't just singing— they were dancing as well.
They're dancing while holding wooden sword toys?
Damn, these kids could sing.
As the daughter of a veteran singer, I have good ears.
But wait.
Are my eyes deceiving me, or have the kids turned into teens?
Navi was a bit confused.
The image of the kids singing and dancing was clear.
However, silhouettes of their older versions were behind them— doing the exact same thing their kid versions were doing.
It's probably how they looked as grown-up Paladins.
Anyway, she just focused on the performance.
Even if Navi couldn't understand the language of the song that the children were singing, she was still mesmerized.
Blue had the beautiful voice of a siren.
Yellow sounded like an angel.
Pink could really hit high notes.
Those three kids are so main vocalist material.
Red had a deep and raspy voice.
Damn, that red-haired kid could easily be a rapper in a Kpop group.
Green, the kid with black hair and strange emerald eyes, had the weakest vocals among the five.
But it was something that could easily be improved.
[The children are singing and dancing to the song they created for their Saint. Even after their mind regressed, they still remember the songs they used to sing and dance as Paladins.]
Navi ignored Stello's yapping because she was busy assessing the kids' dancing this time.
Blue had the most beautiful voice, but his dancing was weak.
But Red was the worst dancer among the group— the red-haired kid was stiff, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had two left feet.
I like Red's energy, though.
Anyway, Blue and Red had to work hard to improve their dancing.
On the other hand, Yellow had an elegant dance line.
The yellow-haired kid's dance movements weren't powerful, but the way he moved was light and smooth.
Like a butterfly.
The top two dancers among the kids would be Pink and Green.
Pink would be your standard main dancer or dance machine in Kpop— he danced like a professional dancer and not as an idol.
Yes, there's a difference between the two.
Lastly, Green.
That boy is really special.
Green was a good dancer, but his martial arts movements were what stood out the most.
The black-haired kid's sword dance was powerful, and the way he flew around while kicking in the air was captivating.
Heh.
This is interesting.
Navi covered her mouth when an evil grin spread across her face. "Stello-nim, I'll do it."
[Do what, Viki Young?]
"I'll climb the tower and bring the kids to the top."
[Very well—]
"But I have a few conditions."
[I'm listening.]
"I have our old house in my inventory. My father's old recording studio is on the second floor of that house. All the unreleased songs and albums that he left to me are also there," Navi said. And, yes, her Inventory was that big. It was one of her perks as System Sola's eldest daughter. "Make it so I could access it with the children while climbing the Glass Tower."
[It's possible, but you have to return to your original form to have access to your Inventory. You have to be in your Transcendent form while on this planet in order to breathe, but you don't have to do that in your Inventory. Will that be alright?]
"Why won't it be?"
[Well, your earthly desires might return while you're in your original body.]
"Ah, that's fine. I need to remind myself that I'm human from time to time."
[Then I'll do my best to give you access to your Inventory, but only for a few hours— and I can probably only do that once a week.]
"That's fine as long as we can use all the equipment and other stuff in the house. In short, I need Wi-Fi, water, and electricity there. System Sola used to provide all of that for my Inventory."
[May I know why you need a functional house?]
"I'll train the children how to become Kpop idols, so I need all of the things I mentioned."
[I don't understand why you need to do that.]
"My second condition: I get to decide the children's role once it's time to go back to my world."
[You sound confident that you'll succeed in climbing the Glass Tower, Viki Young.]
"Well, duh. I want to reach the top since the other reward is tempting."
[I coaxed you well.]
"Right damn you did," Navi said, and then she raised three fingers. "My third and last condition: when I reach the top of the tower, you're going to give me one of your skills."
[…]
"Yah, answer me."
[You're scary, Viki Young— as expected of System Sola's eldest daughter.]
"I need that if you want me to become a Constellation for the kids."
[Are you really going to become a Constellation? Even if it means…]
"I like doing fun things," Navi said, smiling at the kids who were now waving enthusiastically at her. "I'm going to raise those little aliens as idols— even if I have to sacrifice my remaining life span to do so."
***
THE GLASS TOWER was finally opened.
And Navi got the shock of her life.
The children looked exactly like humans from her world, so she forgot that other life forms weren't bipedal like they were— and other aliens totally looked different from humans.
Now it finally sinks in that I'm on a different planet.
It was just a little awkward since most aliens there looked quite similar to the dungeon monsters that she had slain in the past.
"Mama, Mama, we're scared…"
Aigoo.
When Navi looked down, she saw the colorful tops of the children's heads— everyone was clinging to her legs.
They must have been spooked by the other aliens.
"Don't worry, kids— I'll safely bring all of you to the top of the tower," Navi said confidently while gently patting the kids' heads. "No matter how long it takes."
What Navi didn't know at the time was that climbing the Glass Tower would take her ninety-nine years.
The damned tower had one hundred floors
Worse, the top floors are H-Grade dungeons— and 'H' stands for 'Hell!'
***
THE DAY Ahn Navi died, South Korea had lost its right to be called a model of democracy.
There was also one person who ended the freedom that the country and its citizens enjoyed for so long.
Won Yiwon.
The Hunter who lost his mind the day Ahn Navi died had turned into a tyrant overnight.
"Y-Yiwon Oppa, are you really going to overthrow the government?" Cha Hyein asked nervously. "How can a Hunter declare Martial Law when you're not the President—"
"Shut up."
"Okay, Oppa."
Won Yiwon put on his black leather gloves after he turned everything in the President's Office to dust, and then he raised his head.
It wasn't just Cha Hyein who destroyed the Blue House with him.
Park Seokjin, Kwon Junghwan, and Lee Hansol also joined his little rebellion.
The Elites, minus Ahn Navi, had gathered for the same purpose after a long time.
"From this day onwards, the Elites no longer belong to either the Hunters Association or the government. You can do whatever you want— I don't care anymore," Won Yiwon said coldly, turning his back on his old colleagues. "I'll go and find Ahn Navi."
Because Won Yiwon refused to believe that Ahn Navi was already gone.
I'll find you, Ahn Navi— even if it takes forever.
---VOLUME 0.1 END---
***
sola_cola's Note: FINALLY, the long "prologue" was over. I dedicated this volume to world-building and introducing the important characters to you, my dear readers. The main story begins next volume~
PS: The kids will get 'normal' names soon. Hehe.
Thank you for taking a risk when picking up this webnovel. ;)
***
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