Irwen’s power literally shoved me out of her throne room before I could catch the details of her arra with that thing. The prospect of a long trek ahead forced me to address my injured leg. As I lifted my hand to create runes, I noticed it was trembling.

  I tried to steady it, but the shaking wouldn’t stop. Huh. My mind and body aren’t in sync. Or rather, my body was betraying aion that had tugged at me through the entire versation with Irwen: fear. Betrayal. Everything’s fine. I ihe stale dungeon air and tried again. This time, I created a healing ruer only three tries! Progress.

  As I trudged back through the long, silent hall, I finally ied my iara. At any point in my past life, I’d worn whatever gear had the best stats, sing pieces in and out without a sed thought. No poiing attached to anything—every piece would be wiped when a new version hit the test server.

  But this? This was different.

  During my tless quests in service to the empire, spanning hundreds of instances, I’d crossed paths with dozens of princesses and even an empress or two. Despite that, I’d never seen anything as breathtaking as this tiara. Maybe that’s because it’s mine?

  Irwen had clearly crafted it for her chosen servants, weaving glimmering silver filigree into intricate, snake-like patterns. Over twenty small, rose-cut stones gleamed at its edges, each seamlessly fitted to create a unified and regal design. Four navy-blue gems added a bold trast, framing the tiara’s terpiece: a massive, four-inch ruby-like stohat caught the dim light with an almost hypnotic glow.

  “What…” I muttered, stopping mid-step. “No way!”

  Not only was it one of the most beautiful tiaras I’d ever seen, but its stats? They outshone anything I could find on my own—even legendary items.

  [Princess Tiara]Quality: 6-marvelDEF:2Durability:InfiniteEffect:+10 INT, css-specific skillRestri:Pyer Princess Princess Tiara of the Elven kingdom. It gives the wearer i skill [Princess Grace] and a titur title “Princess”.Queen Irwen note: Use this well daughter.[Princess’ Grace]Type: 6-marvel | Lv. Novice 1 | Mana: 30% INTEffect: Target all allies you see, add 20% of your INT to the highest target’s attribute, or 25% of your INT to heath; does not stack, only one appliesDuration: 30 minutesCooldown: 15 minuts* as you increase the proficy, the effect’s increased, cooldown decreased.Of course, I knew about the system in the Elven kingdoms. Princesses and princes weren’t the actual children of the king or queen—not in the way the system reized the titles. Sure, they were often called that, but the roles themselves were appois. A king could designate up to three of each gender, usually his children, but they didn’t have to be.

  And now, I was one of them!

  The only thing standiween me and an i princess bloodline was… Wait. She called me “daughter.” Am I a princess now? Should I embrace it officially? That wasn’t something I could undo.

  And for that, the Empire would hate me. Nope, never.

  While admiring my new marvel of a tiara, I wandered out of the duoward the beach. There, I stumbled upit, resting in the sand without Don in sight. Kig the barge in frustration, I cursed under my breath. I’d be the one paddling now. Stupid traitor.

  I smashed the barge again, and the wooden frame of the Briggit creaked under my abuse. It was tied securely to a vely pced rock—thanks to Don’s irritating petence—so it stayed put. “Don’t look at me like that,” I muttered to the barge. “I know it’s not your fault Don deceived me.”

  Briggit, of course, didn’t answer. She just y there, silent and indifferent.

  “Let’s go then.” I moved to uhe rope, but it quickly became apparent I wasn’t prepared to handle even this first hurdle. The knot was firm, defiant, and no amount of tugging made it budge.

  I called on my staff for help. What could it do? Smash it? Letting out a frustrated sigh, I wedged the staff between the rope and the rod pushed with all my might.

  Still nothing.

  After a while, I gave up and slumped onto the beach. A mundane knot defeated the mighty Exploiter. What nonsense. I stared at the rope in all its smug, immovable glory, and tears threateo spill over. Fod’s sake, I’m not some crybaby!

  Things weren’t going my way, so what? An image of Don fshed in my mind. No. I turned my focus to the tiara instead.

  While admiring its gems—n for your information—nothing happened. Nothing at all. It was as if the cruel world didn’t care I existed. My insignifice pressed down on me. How could I even dream of ging anything? That pu me back, but what had I actually done?

  Nothing that mattered.

  When you doubt your existehere’s only one answer: go to a bar. So, that’s exactly what I set out to do—and logged off.

  The moment I staggered out of the capsule, my body threw a wrento my pns. Tiredness. Yeah, who could’ve guessed that half a day of fighting in another world might leave me drained, right?

  Like a ravenous tiger, I devoured aire tube of nutri-pasta. Wait—like a tigress. Am I really going to get used to this?

  It didn’t matter. “My beloved Charlie, let’s sleep.” Despite my usual struggle to fall asleep, tonight my eyes closed the moment my head hit the pillow.

  Somewhere in the Scorg Dungeon

  Bright fires illuminated Natasha’s slim frame as she carefully made her way through areacherous, trap-deion.

  “Rob, if you mess it up again, I swear…” Lisa’s eyes stayed glued to the unreliable warrior, her tone sharp and ready to escate when—not if—he iably slipped up. Fmes shot out sporadically from the walls and floor, f the team to flind jump with every burst as they navigated the naturally formed hallway.

  At the end of the corridor, Natasha reached a bend that opened into a reasonably sized cave. Sing for traps but finding none, she let out a sigh and colpsed onto the cool stone fluys, I’m beat. Let’s rest.”

  Ign her frown, Rob charged in and plopped down beside her, grinning like he hadn’t almost burhem alive twice already. Lisa aer followed, with the remaining three teammates keeping watear the hallway entrance.

  For a moment, the group let their guard down, chatting and ughing, their voices boung off the cave walls. But just beyond the edge of the flickering firelight, shadows stirred. Something—or someone—was there, lurkihe walls, cloaked by the deep shadows cast by the fmes.

  Natasha, blissfully unaware, y on her back, admiring the stactites hanging from the ceiling. “We’ll finish today,” she murmured. Rob, oblivious as always, nodded and flopped onto his back beside her.

  Then it came—a deafening roar that reverberated through the cave.

  Before anyone could react, a massive ball of fire hurtled past, missing them by inches. Natasha and Rob screamed in unison as the seari surged around them, the air growing stiflingly hot. Their screams quickly turo pitiful wails as the oppressive heat pressed in, a cruel reminder of their overfidence.

  [Teammate Rob has suffered 65 damage. Remaining HP: 22][Teammate Natasha has suffered 65 damage. Remaining HP: 0][Teammate Natasha died]Three r infernos desded on Lisa’s group in rapid succession, the blisteri so inte felt like her skin eeling away. She was the st o standing.

  With a deafening crash, an unseen force smmed into her, hurling her across the cave. She hit the wall with a siing thud; the impaog the air from her lungs. Stunned, she slid to the ground, the world spinning around her.

  [You lost 30 HP.][You lost 5 HP.][You lost 15 HP.]The shadow crept closer, revealing a man draped in a long beige robe. His scalp gleamed uhe flickering firelight, with only a few stray hairs ging stubbornly to his otherwise bald head. His pierg brown eyes locked onto Lisa, cold and calg, as his fident strides brought him closer. A smirk tugged at his thin lips, drawing deep wrinkles into his angur cheeks.

  Lisa gred at him, hatred burning in her eyes, but her body refused to move. She’d lost too much HP, and some twisted status effect pinned her to the ground. Her fists twitched weakly at her sides; she wanted nothing more than to knock the smug look off his face.

  The man squatted beside her, his movements slow, deliberate. With a mog tenderness, he brushed his fingers across her cheek; the gesture sending a shiver of revulsion through her. “Hello, my dear adversary,” he said, his voice smooth and warm. Fake warmth.

  The acrid smell of smoke from the fires that had ed her teammates still hung thi the air. His eyes glimmered with satisfa as he looked around, the age clearly pleasing him. “You really should pay more attention to your surroundings,” he tinued, his tone as if teag her. “Inpetence is a sin, and it’s my duty to ensure you pay for it.”

  “Dmitry,” Lisa hissed through ched teeth. “You’re dead. You hear me? I’ll kill you!”

  Dmitry tilted his head bad let out a low, deep ugh, the sound eg ominously through the cave. He closed his eyes briefly, as though sav her rage. “Oh, my sweet, foolish child,” he said, his voice almost a purr. “Do remind me—why exactly did you leave my team? I warned you it was a mistake. I’m a generous man, you know. If you’d like to resider your decision…” His smile widened, sharp and predatory. “Well, you know how to reach me.”

  He stood, his robes rustling softly, and strolled leisurely toward the other end of the cave. Pausing at the threshold, he gnced back over his shoulder. The flickering light showed his grin. “Let me know how this punishment feels.” His chuckle was low as he walked away, leaving her broken and alone.

  Lisa forced her voice through the pain, spitting out, “I’ll feast on your corpse!” But the liasted bitter in her mouth, and even she was disgusted by the emptiness of her words.

  And then he was gone.

  “Eight hours of sleep, Miss Charlie,” Tin- suggested, trying to rouse me from slumber. Despite my growing urge to yell at the unrespo, I took the high road. Hugging my plush pillow tightly, I sank deeper into its warmth and deeper into sleep.

  “Nine hours and thirty minutes of sleep, Miss Charlie.” Every fifteen minutes, like clockwork, he tried again. The problem? I could sleep through almost anything. Proven, by the way, during that oime in Spain when I slept through the demolition of a building right door.

  Still… had I slept enough? On sed thought, yeah, probably. I tugged gently at my temples—no headache yet. Those didn’t e until after the tenth hour.

  The transformation in my body meant my m routine had to ge. Before being a girl, I couldn’t have cared less about skipping a shower. Now, my nose protested after just a few hours. How annoying.

  After a shower, I stood in front of the mirror, studying my still unfamiliar face.

  Thankfully, this Charlie retty. If she hadn’t been, I would’ve worked harder to get my body back. Yeah, it wasn’t fair to those less fortunate, but that’s how my brain worked. Sorry, not sorry.

  Though, wasn’t my nose just a little bigger than it should be? And my legs—so short! Minor details, sure, but irritating. Not as irritating as my wardrobe, though. Or rather, the ck of one.

  Lucas’s hand-me-downs weren’t cutting it anymore. Some deep instine I shouldn’t keep wearing the same dress, but what could I do? The thought of extinct shops crossed my mind… Wait. Shops areinct. Yet.

  After a quiutri-paste breakfast, I stepped outside in my trusty white high heels and sleeveless dress—my only clothes. Not for long.

  The sun hovered low on the horizon, just retly risen. As I strolled along the pavement, I grinned, watg people rush past, their faces set on their destinations—work, school, or something I couldn’t even imagine.

  People. Not robots, but actual, living, breathing people. I ched my fists, a flicker of determination bubbling up. I’ll save every single one of them.

  Maybe.

  The memory of yesterday’s beach hit me like a punch to the chest, sadness washing over me again. My struggles might seem cute to some, but what else could I do? I wasn’t like those geniuses who memorized stock markets for fun. No, I was just a normal guy. Girl. I worked, I watched Katherine’s streams, and that was about it.

  Pushing the thoughts aside, I found myself outside my favorite fshy mall. The mall. The one where we’d oried—and kinda succeeded—in breaking in. A grin tugged at my lips as the memory surfaced. The drualians hadn’t believed we could do it, but Patrick’s regurs weren’t stupid. We had to prove it.

  Cheg my phone, I realized I’d timed my arrival perfectly—seven o’clock, just as the mall opened.

  From the outside, it looked like every other building in the neighborhood. Probably some gover regution. But ihe peaceful sound of a fountain in the ter drowned out the bustling noise from hundreds of shops spread across four sprawling floors.

  “Will that be all?” the cashier asked the girl buying a sad topped with something fiery red—maybe tomatoes? The girl was funny-looking in the best way. Sungsses indoors, her face ed in a green scarf, a bck-sleeved shirt, and jean shorts. God, she retty. As always.

  “Yes, thank you,” she said, her voice polite but quick, before darting out of the shop. That voice—it was unmistakable. Katherine.

  To be fair, this enter wasn’t as random as it might seem. I knew she liked to shop here—she’d actally let it slip during a stream once. I’d seen her here a few times since.

  Well, seen might be a strong word. More like… observed from a distance. A stalker? Maybe. But could you bme me? Every time I even thought about talking to her, my body staged a full-on mutiny.

  Today, though, things were going to be different. I hadn’t po meet her—I was just running on autopilot—but now she was here. And this time, I was going to do it.

  The middle-aged cashier handed her the sad and a shopping bag, and she smiled—bright, effortless, perfect. As she turned and started walking, I leaned against a metallic pilr, weighing my options.

  How do you befriend someone?

  She walked straight toward me, her every step making my heart beat faster. Do I really o do this today? There was always tomorrow.

  No, I told myself. This was it.

  But my stomach had other ideas, threatening to send my breakfast nutri-paste all over the floor. Stop it! I shook my head and whispered, barely audible, “Uhm, hello, Katherine.”

  She breezed past me as if she hadn’t heard. Oh, thank god. I let out a sigh of relief.

  But theopped.

  Turning back, she faced me, her mouth slightly open. “Excuse ma? Ya say Katherine?”

  Oh no. My face heated up as I stared at the floor, my fingers fidgeting nervously. “Maybe? I’m sorry!” Stupid idea! John, you’re a moron!

  L her sungsses, Katherine’s pierg eyes locked onto me, sih an iy that made my knees weak. Then her expression softened into something almost pyful.

  “Don’t be shy, girly,” she said with a grin. “Yar my fan?”

  “Yeah, I like… your stream. I’m KatFan69,” I muttered, sighing as I preteo rummage through my ent pockets. Wait—my dress doesn’t even have pockets! Panic set in, and I clutched the poor fabric like my life depended on it.

  As soon as I revealed my username, her eyes widened, and she practically leapt at me, ing me in a hug so tight I could barely breathe. “Thank ya!” she excimed, her face pressing against mine.

  She used to be shorter than me, but now… she was just slightly taller. Wait. Thank you?

  “KatFan, ya are my first genuine fan! I’m so happy to finally met ya!”

  The faint st of her perfume instantly lifted my mood, even as her hug left me light-headed. What is it with all this hugging tely?

  “I’m Charlie, Miss Katherine,” I squeaked, awkwardly returning her hug. “I saw you and… I o ask for help.”

  Katherine pulled back, her sharp eyes examining my face. “Charlie? o meet ya. o be shy—I won’t bite. Ya need my help?”

  “Yes,” I admitted, gesturing to my dress. “My only clothes. Will you help?”

  Even with her friendliness, my ce wasn’t strong enough to meet her gaze. Instead, I studied the half-broken floor o her, where an iing crack caught my attention. Maybe someoomped here too hard?

  Out of the er of my eye, I caught Katherine smirking and nodding. “Yea! I’ve got time, let’s go!” Grabbing my hand, she pulled me toward a thrift store. “So, how’dya find my el?”

  “Truth? Tab streams nearby. You pretty,” I blurted out, instantly regretting it. “I mea tent—”

  Before I could finish, she burst into ughter. “Ha! Charlie, that’s crazy! Yeah, I thought it was somethin’ like that. ‘Member when we chatted on Halloween?”

  How could I fet? Even after all these years, that day stayed vivid in my mind. One of my worst days—getting dumped because I wore a geeky e—turned into one of the best. “Yeah. Was fun,” I said with a silly grin. Nothing more? Why am I so bad at this?

  The door to the shop swung open with a loud bang as she pulled me inside, and I stumbled, trying to keep up.

  “Fun? Ha, ya saved me! My mates wao party, but they left ma. I almost cried when I turned oream, ya know?” Her expression hardened for the first time today. “Ma first and only good follower spent a day with ma. Y’know how good it felt?”

  I wao tell her how much it meant to me, too. That I’d been so sad. But the words wouldn’t e. Damn me!

  The shop was more like a warehouse, with rows upon rows of shelves stacked with everything from casual shirts to wedding dresses. Finally, letting go of my hand, Katherine dove into the racks.

  I say it. Just say it. I took a deep breath. “Same. Me sad too,” I mumbled, and immediately wao sp myself. Instead, I focused on a rack of jeans, pretending I knew what I was doing.

  “Yeah. Wanna try ‘tis?” she asked, tossing a bck pleated skirt at me before pulling out two sleeveless tops with blue and white stripes. Without waiting for my answer, she grinned. Our shopping had officially begun.