As I walked silently through the sunlit corridor, my thoughts were restless. Where should I go now? Should I head straight to the courtyard, or try to find a mirror to answer the questions about an appearance I've only felt so far?
After a moment of indecision, I decided to go to the main room. It was nearby, and quicker to check myself in the mirror there.
I walked a little further until I spotted the stairs. I climbed up, finding another long corridor.
I thought, seriously... anyone could get lost in this massive castle.
Walking straight a few more meters, I noticed a door with large carvings in the dark wood. As I got closer, I saw it was only a few centimeters taller than me. Without hesitation, I pushed the handle down and opened it.
Inside the room, the lighting was dim due to the closed curtains. The entire space was bathed in dark purple tones. After a quick look around, I spotted the mirror and walked toward it.
When I saw my reflection, I flinched for a moment.
After the shock, I thought, What the hell is this? I don't remember making an avatar like this.
Now, with less fear, I observed more closely. A completely white, expressionless face, no eyes—just a glowing blue orb in the center. The rest matched what I had previously felt.
I gave a small smile to check my teeth. Several sharp teeth appeared. I sighed and thought, Not even in this world can I manage a decent smile...
A rush of emotions passed through me as I processed my new appearance, and the orb changed color, turning yellow. A moment later, it went back to blue.
Looking more closely. Now I've got LED eyes, seriously?
I sighed, disheartened, and turned toward the massive bed, big enough to fit eight people. I walked to it and lay down. It felt like clouds. I had never experienced a bed so soft. I stayed there for a while, just staring at the ceiling.
After a few minutes and with my horn starting to ache a bit, I got up. No more stalling. I headed to the door, left the room, and returned to the corridor. I went down the stairs toward the courtyard.
Admiring the view, I didn't even realize I was already near the courtyard. I only noticed when I saw the vibrant shades of green. Is this a courtyard or a garden?
With neatly trimmed bushes and various flowers, there was a small white wooden gazebo in the center, with a tea table inside. A little girl was peacefully enjoying her tea.
Blonde hair, a crown of yellow lilies on her head, a perfectly arranged pink dress… she radiated purity.
She was the garden's supervisor. Primavera.
Noticing my presence, she gently placed the teacup on the table and spoke respectfully: "What a great honor to have you here, my creator."
I was a bit stunned by the scene. Didn't know what to say.
She continued after a brief pause. "What brings you to my garden, my creator?"
Snapping out of my thoughts. "Could you guide me to a place where I can run some tests?"
She answered immediately. "Of course, my creator."
She stood up with elegance and began descending the gazebo steps. I noticed she was a few centimeters shorter than Gurath. I did try to guess her height. Maybe around 155 cm? Who knows.
She stopped in front of me. "Right this way, please."
I started following her, while thinking, did I only model women on this island? No way… I clearly remember modeling Twilight.
After walking through a beautiful hedge maze, we reached an open area.
Primavera turned to me with a slight smile. "We've arrived, my creator. You may use this space as you wish."
It was just a green lawn. Nothing impressive. "Thanks. You may go now if you'd like."
She looked a little down, lowering her head and joining her hands. "F-Forgive me for insisting, but... may I stay?"
I was confused. Wait, didn't I say she could do as she pleased?
Feeling guilty for maybe expressing myself poorly, I replied, "It's fine. You can stay."
Her face lit up, and she took a few steps back.
Not thinking much of it, I stepped forward, lost in thought. What now? Do I scream 'system' like in the webnovels? Or should I just think about the system?
I tried thinking 'system'. Nothing happened. I murmured "system," embarrassed that someone might be watching. Still nothing.
Frustrated, I started panicking internally. Do I really have a power? What if I don't?
In the middle of those spiraling thoughts, I remembered. Azathoth had said he used one of my… 'scripts'?
I tried thinking of ways to access it. Menu? CMD? Command line?
Nothing worked.
So I decided to write it down on paper.
I turned to Primavera. "Bring me a piece of paper and something to write with."
Without hesitation, the ground seemed to spit out a sheet of paper, and from her right arm, a branch grew. She broke it off and shaped it into a pencil.
All I could think was: Did that not hurt?
Taking the items from her hand, I thought of writing some code. The moment I had the thought, a transparent window appeared in front of me.
Primavera noticed my reaction—or maybe the orb changed color?—and asked, "Is something wrong, my creator?"
I calmed myself and replied, "It's nothing, just an idea I had."
She bowed her head, lifted it again, seemingly understanding, and returned to simply observing.
In the interface, I saw several folders: Magic, Skills, Core...
These were the folders I had organized beforehand. For easier access.
I thought about "Magic," and it opened, showing a massive list of scripts I had written.
I placed a hand on my chin and turned my back to Primavera, who seemed a bit uneasy under my gaze. I swear I wasn't staring.
I thought, how does this work? Is it enough to think the name of the spell?
I tried with fireball. The list scrolled and opened the matching script.
Now… how do I cast this?, I thought.
I went through several commands in my head. Go, fireball. I choose you, fireball. Activate fireball. Nothing.
Refusing to yell out skill names—way too cringe—I tried thinking of something else.
After a few seconds… maybe it needs compiling?
At that moment, time seemed to freeze for a second. A fireball icon appeared, labeled "Fireball.exe."
Staring at that, I paused for a moment to understand what just happened.
Not giving me much time, five empty slots appeared. I thought of dragging the file into the first one. It moved. The interface vanished.
The fireball script reappeared. I was lost. What the hell just happened?
Understanding the situation a bit more clearly… this was the way to test newly created skills.
Thinking about the obvious command: Slot 1, activate.
My hand began to glow. I lifted and shook it, surprised.
Primavera looked confused as I shook my arm like that.
I calmed down. The thing in my hand glowed yellow with hints of red.
I observed. The color shifted from yellow to red, then blue, finally turning white. The heat grew, scorching the grass beneath me.
Would it work if I just… thought about releasing it?, I wondered.
I ended up blasting myself in the face with a fire burst. Everything around was scorched. Primavera got hit too.
Amid the chaos, without a single scratch, I looked at her. Half of her body was burned. She was made of wood and regenerated slowly. She stood still.
Concerned, I asked, "Are you okay?"
She calmly answered, "Yes, I'm fine. As expected from my creator… unleashing a simple fireball with such power and remaining untouched."
She smiled. I felt relieved, but also confused as to why she was praising me.
Now fully recovered, the garden began to regain its green color.
I thought, what was the cost of that attack? Do I have mana or something?
Not feeling any side effects, I tried casting another one—faster this time.
It was just a generic fireball, like the ones in games or anime.
The only issue was during compilation, when everything around me seemed to freeze. I probably have a limit to how much I can cast… I'll test that later.
With that in mind, I decided to compile something more complex. This time, I chose fire pillar.
When I thought about the script, it appeared. As I compiled it, I noticed the birds suddenly went quiet.
I picked up a small rock and tossed it into the air. I compiled again. I didn't even blink, but the rock had already fallen.
Got it. Compilation freezes my time. But casting consumes something else.
That gave me a click. So that's why I froze in the throne room? Does this island only exist because I compiled it into this world?
With no answer, my head started to ache from all the thoughts.
I took a deep breath and focused on the now. The tests were done. Time to go.
I looked at Primavera. "I'd like to leave now. Could you lead the way?"
She simply bowed and lifted her head. "Of course. This way, my creator."
I followed her, thinking how badly I would've gotten lost if she hadn't stayed.
As we walked, only the sound of our steps on the grass and the chirping birds filled the air. We reached the end of the maze, back to the start.
I spoke calmly, "Thank you for guiding me. I'll be heading back to the castle now."
She replied with tranquility. "Of course. I thank you for your visit, my creator."
She turned around and walked back to her gazebo, where the now cold teacup still rested.
As I neared the castle entrance, I saw Luxian standing there, as if she had been waiting for someone.
When she saw me, her face lit up, and with a less formal tone, she said, "Khan, I've gathered information about this world."
To no surprise… more work.