What the hell is going on?
Am I seeing things because I drank too much?
I rubbed my eyes and read the semi-transparent window before me.
Text that remained unchanged no matter how many times I looked.
To call it an illusion created by my drunkenness, my mind was far too clear right now.
‘So… the 500 Million Years Button wasn’t broken?’
It seemed the me who had gone to another dimension had cleared the Towers there. Ten of them, no less.
You worked hard, my other lost self.
Thanks to that, I received all sorts of perks and became able to live in reality.
A C-grade magic stone worth 100 million on the market, and an EX-grade summon skill, of all things.
With this, I can live like a king without having to wait 500 million years.
“Wow, I want to run straight to the Tower right now.”
I wanted to check my abilities immediately, but it was too late, and I had missed the last bus.
Besides, the Tower’s difficulty increases severalfold at night, so it was better to sleep and set out early tomorrow.
‘Let’s check the rest at home for now.’
My dopamine must have been through the roof because I ran all the way home without the slightest fatigue.
After a quick shower, I lay down on my bed and opened my status window.
==========
[Name: Seo Woo-ri]
[Age: 22]
[Stats] Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Intelligence: 1 Luck: 1
[Skills]
Late Bloomer (SSS) - After 500 million years, all stats will be fixed at maximum value. Stat increases are impossible until then.
Soul Contract (EX) - Can forge a contract between souls by mutual consent. This contract is maintained even across dimensions.
└Soul Summon (EX): Can summon those bound by Soul Contract. (Lv.1) (Summons available: 1.)
[Saintess of Bazelheim.]
[Kkanpeu.]
[♥Super Beautiful Mage Who Wants to Take Your First Time♥]
[.]
[.]
[.]
[Demon King Who Always Waits for You on the 100th Floor]
==========
“Oh.”
My stats were still 1. But that was fine.
I had a summon skill, so there was no need for me to fight personally.
I just had to hide safely behind my summons and take what I could get.
Money, fame, that sort of thing.
“Heh, heh.”
A laugh escaped me.
I laughed like a madman until someone knocked on the wall of my studio apartment.
The soundproofing must be poor; I had been too loud.
I shut my mouth and put on a straight face.
Only then did a belated question come to mind.
‘But why are my stats still the same?’
There was no way I had cleared ten towers with stats of 1.
The Late Bloomer skill must have activated for sure.
Could it be that they weren’t recognized because it was a different dimension?
If so, how was the Soul Contract skill possible?
I had no way of knowing since I had no memories.
Well, I’d find out someday. No point worrying about it now.
What mattered was the actual ability of the souls summoned by this skill.
Skill grade EX? I didn’t believe it.
No matter how high the grade, it was trash if I couldn’t use it.
What mattered was the ability I could see with my own eyes right now.
I examined the skill info and made some inferences.
Since they were souls, would they possess me?
Or would they be summoned like spirits?
If I had to choose, the latter was better.
Even the most outstanding soul wouldn’t be able to slay a single goblin with an all-stats-1 body.
‘I should just summon one and see.’
Only one soul could be summoned. Who should I choose?
There were ten options on the list.
=========
[Saintess of Bazelheim.]
[Kkanpeu.]
[♥Super Beautiful Mage Who Wants to Take Your First Time♥]
[Wuying Sword]
[Don’t Leave Me.]
[Forget-me-not.]
[193.207.XXX.XXX]
[.]
[Gold Spoon]
[Demon King Who Always Waits for You on the 100th Floor]
=========
Wow, shit.
Most of these aren’t exactly appealing names?
“Well, there aren’t any traits or explanations. Is it reasonable to ask me to choose based on just this?”
It wasn’t even a blind date; except for a few, there was no way to infer their class or abilities.
I didn’t even know if they were friendly or hostile to me.
Could I die if I chose wrong?
I decided to examine the skill a bit more.
And a short while later.
I figured out a few things.
“This seems like I formed a soul contract with one person per dimension…?”
The number of souls was exactly 10.
It matched the number of towers I had supposedly cleared.
Fantasy names like Saintess, Kkanpeu, and Mage,
Wuying Sword from martial arts stories,
and something like an IP address straight out of cyberpunk were written there simultaneously.
An era of such chaos wouldn’t exist in a single dimension, so I could infer that each was from a different world.
“Besides, I’m the one who did this. Why would I do something to screw myself over?”
Trust myself, not others.
If it were me, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to contract with someone hostile to me.
Thinking that, my heart felt much lighter.
Now, the only thing left was who to summon.
Now that I thought about it, that wasn’t very important.
If I had contracted with one soul per dimension, naturally I would have selected only the strongest beings in each world.
No matter how much time had passed, I was still me, so my personality probably hadn’t changed much from the original.
No point worrying my head off over nothing. I’ll just go with my gut.
‘Here, I should just summon the name that draws me in the most.’
Thinking so, I initiated the soul summon.
『Summoning [.]』
The reason I chose this one was simply that I had no idea what it was.
Unlike the others, who had job descriptions or characteristics, this one just had a single period, which piqued my curiosity.
‘I’ll find out who this is soon enough.’
Soon, a blindingly intense light flooded the room.
In the cramped studio, wind blew from somewhere even though the window was closed.
Bright masses of light gathered, riding the wind.
A short while later, where the light faded, a woman stood.
Blonde hair and a doll-like face. She was wearing light clothing, as if she had been about to go to bed.
The woman’s eyes went wide upon seeing me.
I felt like a kidnapper.
Wait, I thought it was a soul.
I thought it would possess me or appear hazy, but this was just a real person.
The woman approached me as I stood there bewildered.
“Oraboni, long time no see?”
Unlike me, who was shy around strangers, she had an extremely delighted expression.
“Is this Oraboni’s mansion?”
It was a cramped studio apartment that didn’t suit being called a mansion.
It was even dusty because I never cleaned properly.
But the woman didn’t seem to care about such things at all.
After confirming that no one else was around, she approached me with an incredibly moved expression and grabbed my hand.
“I just knew you’d choose me first. Honestly, I was so anxious I couldn’t even sleep properly.”
“….”
“I wasn’t this nervous even when I was chosen by the Holy Sword, but thinking that I might not be chosen by Oraboni made my heart pound so much, you know?”
Seeing her mention the Holy Sword, she must be some kind of hero.
A Holy Sword is incredibly important to a hero.
And she said she was more nervous about not being chosen by me than that?
… Ah, she’s probably just saying that because I summoned her.
I scratched my cheek and replied.
“… Ah, really?”
“Oraboni’s voice. It’s so good to hear it after so long. Can you hear my heart pounding?”
“I can’t….”
*Squeeze!*
“Can you hear it now?”
“Mmph!”
“I pretended to be calm when Oraboni left, but after being apart, I realized. I can’t be without Oraboni. So let’s stay together like this always. Okay?”
What the hell did I do to make her act like this the moment she was summoned?
I tried to resist, but she was far stronger than me.
*Squish!*
No good. My strength is fading….
But for some reason, it doesn’t feel bad….
“Oraboni! Are you okay?”
“Huff… huff….”
Just before losing consciousness, I was finally released.
Gasping for breath, I raised my head to see the woman on the verge of tears.
“I’m sorry. I was so happy I made a mistake.”
“… It’s fine. But what’s your name?”
“Ah, so you really don’t remember….”
The atmosphere turned gloomy again.
But the woman forced her voice to be bright and told me her true name.
“Rachel Grace. I’m known as the Hero of the Eden Empire and the one who saved the world…. You don’t remember even after hearing it, right?”
“No, nothing comes to mind.”
“That’s okay! We can make even better memories than that.”
Suddenly, Rachel took my hand.
I felt the soft, pliant sensation of her hand.
“Shall we go out? It’s been so long, so let’s eat together and take a walk.”
“No, wait a moment.”
I hurriedly stopped her because I had a feeling I’d get swept up in her pace if this continued.
“I have a question. What exactly was our relationship?”
I needed to get this straight.
Her behavior right now was almost that of a situationship or lovers.
But since I had no memories, re-establishing our relationship was important.
“It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say with my own mouth….”
“Please tell me anyway. And I’d appreciate it if you could also explain how you came to contract with me.”
“Hng….”
Rachel properly explained the situation despite her embarrassment.
After hearing everything, a sigh naturally escaped me.
“So you formed a contract on the condition of helping me, who had lost my memories?”
*Nod, nod—*
“… And in return, I was supposed to marry you?”
… *Nod, nod.*
“Does that even make sense?”
“But it’s true! I said I wouldn’t form the contract unless that was the condition.”
“No, I know myself, and I’d never do such a thing. I promised myself I’d only marry the person I fall in love with for the first time.”
“Hmph! Oraboni knows me very well too, right? If that’s the reason, then we can just start dating.”
“Besides, I’m only 22. What marriage?”
I was 22, an age where my future was still bright.
I didn’t want to live tied down to someone already.
Maybe after making a lot of money and establishing myself socially.
In my current state, I’d be a burden to a marriage partner.
After expressing that opinion,
“I’ll earn the money! I’m a more capable woman than you think, you know?”
“That doesn’t mean I’ll marry a woman I don’t even like.”
“Hmph! Oraboni will eventually come to like me.”
Suddenly, the woman looked straight into my eyes and spoke with confidence.
“… Me?”
“Yes, because you already liked me before.”
I was at a loss for words.
“You simply don’t have the memories. Oraboni liked me very, very much.”
At a distance where our breaths could almost touch.
*Gulp.*
Even the sound of swallowing felt cautious as she carefully embraced me and spoke.
“So please give me a chance. A chance to make Oraboni fall for me again.”
A sigh escaped me.
What the hell did I do to make such a pretty girl so obsessed with me?
I wanted to ask my other self the real secret.