"...Hah!"
Relia woke from her dream with ragged breaths.
"Hah... hah..."
Cold sweat poured down like rain. Relia looked around, blinking rapidly.
"It was a dream... a dream... thank goodness... ha..."
Outside the window, the moon had already set and the light of dawn was breaking.
Relia was lying on the floor of the shack, just as she had collapsed the night before.
"......"
Relia caught her breath and recalled the dream she had just had.
'...What was that? A dream of the original story?'
She couldn't understand why the contents of the original story had appeared so vividly in her dream.
Goosebumps rose all over her body.
'The original me didn't slip and fall into a pond to die....'
She had taken her own life.
'But why?'
In the original story, Relia died around this time.
That meant it was after the doll incident had occurred.
She had apologized at length for the crime of stealing Juliana's doll, and then witnessed Emperor Perseus appear and take Juliana away treasuringly.
Unlike her, who possessed memories of a past life, the original Relia was truly a seven-year-old child.
Moreover, with delayed development, she was smaller and younger than her peers.
Such a child might not have been able to bear such a great shock. But to take her own life... how could she....
Relia clenched her fists and trembled. Tears dropped steadily in her misery.
Because she had been reincarnated as Relia from the original story, she could sometimes see herself from an objective perspective.
But it was still herself. Everything from the moment she was first born into this world belonged to her. It was a situation where she couldn't help but feel it as her own experience even if she tried.
"......"
In the original story, Emperor Perseus, in the distant future, suffers when he learns that Relia was his daughter. The twin brothers felt the same way.
'It was Juliana who comforted them as they suffered from guilt.'
But they had no right to blame themselves. Because they were the ones who drove Relia to her death.
Relia bit her lip hard.
For the sake of the original Relia, and for her own sake, she couldn't die so easily in this life.
'Somehow or other, I will survive tenaciously.'
Relia, who had been crying, gritted her teeth and pulled herself together. This was no time to be crying weakly.
'Right, what about that pocket watch from yesterday?'
Only then did she recall last night's events.
Relia quickly turned and headed toward the window.
There on the floor lay the pocket watch, exactly as it had been yesterday.
'...Could it be that my wish actually came true?'
Relia hesitated for a moment.
The spell of prohibition that Raidios had used was simple.
If Relia revealed to anyone of her own will that she had hidden her identity as Crown Prince Leo, she would die. But Relia had to reveal that fact to her friends.
Since her wish was to break the spell of prohibition, to confirm it had been granted, she would have to directly tell someone that she wasn't Crown Prince Leo, that she was Relia Auria....
'But what if I die then?'
It was a predicament.
Relia picked up the pocket watch, cursing herself for being foolish enough not to have thought of that.
That was when it happened.
Ting ting.
"......?"
Ting ting.
A sound both familiar and strange was heard. A sound that had no reason to be heard here.
Relia turned her head. The sound was coming from Elizabeth's vanity table.
She cautiously approached it.
Ting ting.
"......"
The strange sound was still coming from there. When she opened the vanity drawer, she saw a sparkling necklace.
It was a pretty necklace with a small blue gem set in it.
"...What is this?"
Relia carefully lifted the necklace. And the moment she touched the gem.
"Kyaa!"
An enormous screen of unknown origin appeared in the air.
Relia covered her mouth, having screamed in surprise.
The screen before her eyes was very unfamiliar, yet somehow felt familiar.
"N, no way...."
The true identity of the screen was the game screen of 'Alchemy Lottery' that had no business appearing here.
The game screen she had wished to be reincarnated into before she died.
On the screen, alchemy tools with familiar art styles sparkled and floated speech bubbles.
And familiar words rose onto the screen.
[system : Optimization 100% complete!]
[Finally completed optimization, Master!
(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و New recipes have been added to suit the environment, so please check! °˖◝(⁰▿⁰)◜˖°]
"......"
Relia stared blankly at the screen. She was so surprised she couldn't even blink.
She recalled a day from her past life, before she died. That day's events vividly played out in her mind.
It was one ordinary day for her, who was just waiting for the day she would die.
If there was one special thing, it was that she had achieved max level in the game she had been working hard on?
<100Lv Achieved!>
[Obtained 'Legendary Alchemist' title!]
[Obtained 'Great Alchemist Who Commands the 3 Great Dragons' title!]
Along with a ting notification sound, multiple messages filled the phone screen.
Behind cute young dragons jumping around motion, golden alchemy tools floated speech bubbles.
[Congratulations, Master! Final upgrade complete. You can now create the Philosopher's Stone! o(≧▽≦)o]
Philosopher's Stone!
She was probably the first to achieve this feat in this game and obtain the Philosopher's Stone recipe.
The Philosopher's Stone was the highest-tier item that appeared in any game dealing with alchemy.
The ultimate item for an alchemist. Not only granting immortality, but the Philosopher's Stone that grants any wish!
Though it was a game item, if this Philosopher's Stone really granted wishes, she would have answered without hesitation.
When I die, let me enter that game.
Being an alchemist who could create even the Philosopher's Stone, with various titles, max-level alchemy tools, and even cute dragons.
Furthermore, in the bag for storing items, she possessed dozens of bundles of various alchemy materials, 9999 of each.
With just this, she could live making whatever she wanted until she died, even in the game.
...But such a thing shouldn't have happened.
The game 'Alchemy Lottery' was a crafting game where you become an alchemist and obtain various recipes, requiring grindy gameplay.
It was perfectly suited for her, who liked alchemy themes to begin with.
The game story wasn't much.
The protagonist who ran a lottery shop for villagers one day hit it big with alchemy potions she made as a side business.
So she changed the shop name to 'Alchemy Lottery' and used alchemy to create various items.
It was a game where you received various quests from villagers, raised your alchemy level, and unlocked diverse recipes.
There were over thousands of alchemy recipe types alone. Called alchemy, but she made magic potions, tools, and even food with alchemy tools.
The villagers' requests were so outrageous that users often complained....
But thanks to the charming illustrations and various alchemy recipes, it was popular.
Moreover, thanks to the talking alchemy tools and dragons being so lovable, quite a few users still remained.
After breaking the last achievement, a sense of fulfillment and slight emptiness washed over her simultaneously.
'I actually broke the final achievement.'
She was probably the first. Well. Compared to company employees, students, or unemployed people with many other temptations, her circumstances were far too advantageous.
Plus, recently she had spent more time gaming than reading novels.
After savoring the emotion for a moment, she pressed the alchemy tool on screen and looked at the recipe list.
She saw a new recipe had been added at the very end.
When all recipes were unlocked, finally the last recipe was added.
A thrill rushed through her. She pressed the recipe to check the materials.
Required materials: None
'Wow, no materials needed either?'
All that seemed needed to create the Philosopher's Stone was the 'Legendary Alchemist' title.
'So fulfilling....'
She immediately pressed the creation button.
Fortunately, the creation time was short. 10 seconds.
Anxiously, she tapped the screen several times. It didn't shorten the creation time, but it was a habit.
<'Ultimate Item Philosopher's Stone' complete!>
A stone appeared, glowing with fluorescent green, fluorescent orange, and other fluorescent rainbow colors mixed together.
So this is what it looked like.
'Looks a bit like a radioactive stone....'
Then the alchemy tool appeared and floated a speech bubble.
[Master, you've succeeded in creating the 'Philosopher's Stone'! ٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و Make a wish to the Philosopher's Stone that grants any wish! It'll grant anything! ✧*٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*]
What the. Then at least give me an input field....
With a skeptical mind, she whispered quietly to her phone.
"Let me enter the game with my alchemist titles, inventory, alchemy tools, and dragons all intact."
She purposely wished specifically. Afraid of reincarnating at level 1. But the phone screen remained as it was.
"......"
She expected it, but it felt empty somehow.
Confirming the Philosopher's Stone was safely stored in the item inventory, she closed the game.
Having broken the achievement, now it was time to read novels for a while.
'Anyway. Now I have no regrets even if I die!'
It wasn't empty words, it was true. There weren't many things a patient lying in bed waiting for death could do.
Play phone games, or read novels.
Very good ways to forget reality.
'Now time to read novels.'
After turning off the game screen, she entered the web novel app.
Actually, she hadn't been able to read a new novel because the lingering feelings from a novel she'd finished reading a few days ago still remained.
'Well, thanks to those lingering feelings, I only played games and achieved the accomplishment.'
While searching for a new novel like that, drowsiness gradually crept in and she seemed to have fallen asleep.
Making a wish that wouldn't come true.
'I want to live....'
Of course, the Philosopher's Stone didn't grant the wish perfectly.
She had definitely spoken to her phone asking to be transported into the 'Alchemy Lottery' game, and before sleeping she seemed to have wished 'I want to live'....
When she opened her eyes, she was a spirit looking at her own dead body.
'How ridiculous....'
But still, goodbye to the unbearable hospital life!
Her dead spirit was naturally guided to the spirit world. She wandered the spirit world for a while, staying in darkness.
A world of nothingness.
Even though she was normally fearful, she felt no fear at all. It was a world where she couldn't feel any emotions, including fear.
After a long time. At some point, something sparkling light appeared, and her spirit was absorbed by that light.
And what she was reborn as was this life.