“Master, it’s at 100.”
Ava glanced at the black watch on Luke’s wrist and nudged his lower back with her elbow.
“Eeek—that tickles!”
Luke, who had been lost in a daze, jerked awake from the sudden touch.
He twisted his body, took off the precious terminal, and put it back on properly before saying to Ava, “If anything looks off, pull me back immediately! My hundred-odd pound life is entirely in your hands!”
Ava nodded with a *clack*.
“Got it. Ava will remember it forever. I’m already quite skilled at it.”
*Huff… puff…*
Taking two deep breaths, Luke settled into a comfortable position and clicked a specific button.
*Estella*, launch!
His consciousness began to sink and detach…
His body suddenly shook violently.
The terminal’s indicator light instantly turned from green to yellow, flashing a warning…
Ava’s arm extended with a *creak*, her hands—sparking with electricity—hovering over Luke’s head, ready to press down at any moment.
This method of “pulling back” consciousness was just that crude!
There was no other choice.
After countless “demon-level” modifications, the terminal had long since lost its original factory protection protocols.
Fortunately, after a few seconds, Luke’s body calmed down, and the indicator light on the terminal returned to green.
***
On the other side, Luke successfully logged in.
He stood before a mirror and habitually wiped away a bead of sweat that did not exist.
Not far away stood a glowing gate.
This was the **[Login Space]**, the transit station where players first arrived after creating a character and every time they logged into the game.
Its most important function was to pass through the light gate to enter the world of *Estella*.
Of course, players could also organize their bags here or browse the **[Character Journal]** on the bookshelves, which recorded all the history and information of their character.
As mentioned before, once a character was killed by the Demon King in the game, the terminal they used would be locked by a certain rule.
After that, the **[Login Space]** would remain open, allowing anyone to come in and look around.
But it was more than just looking!
The moment a character died, all the items stored in their space and their **[Character Journal]** were abandoned here, becoming ownerless property that anyone who logged in could mess with.
This was one of the reasons why these types of terminals were becoming increasingly expensive.
The **[Login Space]** Luke was currently in was filled with bookshelves packed so densely with **[Character Journals]** that he could barely see the end.
Strange equipment was scattered in corners, and various distorted, weirdly shaped boxes were stacked everywhere.
He could even see fragments of light gates that had been violently dismantled lying on the floor…
This space was a unique product of the fusion of hundreds of terminal spaces.
Standing before the mirror, Luke finally got a clear look at his full appearance.
He was a half-human, half-demon child.
The human half was incredibly delicate, but the other half of the body—composed entirely of writhing tentacles—made one’s skin crawl at a single glance.
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk. Has my soul already been eroded by the abyss? But this little face is truly handsome! I wonder how dashing I’ll be when I grow up?’
Luke spoke in a chunibyo tone he had picked up from somewhere, while habitually trying to raise a hand to stroke his chin in a thinking pose.
The result?
When he raised his hand, a fistful of tentacles *splatted* right across his face!
“Ewwwww!”
The strange sensation startled Luke, and he hurriedly shook off his “right hand” while grumbling in his heart.
‘That’s weird. Why is there sensory feedback in the Login Space?’
‘Forget it for now! Let me think… The system page… I think this is how you call it up.’
Without overthinking it, Luke tried the operation methods from over a decade ago.
He waited anxiously… and waited…
Finally!
The space in front of him distorted, sounding like rusted gears being slowly turned.
The long-awaited system page appeared—struggling, stuttering, and flickering into existence!
Luke’s nose felt itchy, and he felt like howling at the top of his lungs.
‘Over a decade! Do you know how I’ve lived for these past years!?’
Excitedly waving his tentacles, he immediately opened the character page.
“Hahaha! *Estella*!! Grandpa is bac—!?”
His cheers stopped abruptly.
His little body, along with the tentacles he had been waving in excitement, froze on the spot.
His eyes bulged as he stared fixedly at the page.
“Huh? Why is there a name already!?…”
“What in the Amun-Ra! Why is it female!?”
The character panel had indeed opened normally, but the first few lines of information made Luke’s vision go dark.
[Character Status]
Name: Lucoco
Gender: Female
Race: Eldritch Hybrid – Larva (Currently Mimicking Octopus Girl)
Level: 1
His consciousness felt like it had been flipped into the air, spun two and a half times, and slammed hard into the ground!
Little Luke declared himself “dead on the spot”—spiritually speaking—due to landing headfirst.
Luke slumped limply to the ground, the light fading from his eyes as he looked at the panel without expression.
“Ah… so it’s an octopus girl…”
After being dazed for a long time, he finally moved.
His gaze shifted mechanically downward toward the mark list.
“…Huh!?”
Activated Marks: **[Demon King]**, **[Saintess]**
Unactivated Marks: **[Hero]**, **[Eldritch Ruler’s Body – Sealed]**
Luke squeezed his eyes into slits.
“What the hell… Demon King? Saintess? Hero? I must be seeing ghosts!”
With three top-tier marks and two strange ones appearing at the same time, Luke had every reason to suspect this was a bug.
In common knowledge, the three marks representing the world’s extreme powers—Demon King, Hero, and Saintess—were absolutely, positively impossible to coexist in the same individual!
Even the NPCs in the game believed that.
If this were real, wouldn’t he be deleted as a bug?
His gaze continued downward, looking at the skill bar…
Passive Skills: **[Negative Immunity A]**, **[Holy Affinity SSS]**, **[Logic Magic Affinity C]**, **[Nature Affinity SSS+]**, **[World Tree’s Blessing]**
Active Skills: **[Perception Mask S]**, **[Unranked Seal]**, **[Holy Healing A]**, **[Siphon A]**
Unactivated Skills: **[Spear Mastery SSS]**, **[Primal Domain]**, **[Divine Illumination]**, **[Gaté]**
SAN Value: Unknown
Detailed Attributes: [Expand to view after entering the game]
“Ha…?”
Luke stared intently at the system page… then opened and closed it several times in a row.
Open, close, open, close! Open!
The text on the page remained motionless… there was no change!
His body twisted back and forth as excitement gradually overcame the unease and doubt in his heart.
‘If this is real… hehe… then things are going to get interesting!’
If there was no issue with what the page displayed, then after his successful return, he would definitely be a bug-level existence.
‘It’s not like I can’t accept it! Since I get a redo anyway, if I get taken out, I’ll just try again!’
In the end, he accepted the reality.
Continuing to check the system modules, Luke discovered other problems.
Over half of his icons were blacked out and unclickable.
For example, the official forum module used for player communication and the player live-stream module—he could only see the public sections.
The player-exclusive inner-section modules were black.
Just like ordinary people without game qualifications.
Then there was the life profession module.
Although this could be opened and the start button was white and usable, with all the previously unlocked recipes present, all the detailed attributes—such as level and proficiency—were blacked out, making them impossible to view or use.
Feeling a bit disappointed, Luke took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward the most critical icon: **[Player Inventory]**!
This was the true highlight that would test whether his decade of waiting and his crazy concept had succeeded!
With his fingers trembling slightly, he tapped it lightly…
*Ding! Player Inventory displayed.*
[Detailed items omitted…]
[Inventory Space: 187/6150. Current Weight: -2%.]
[Currency: 2 Crystals, 700 Gold, 86 Silver, 62 Copper, 50 Shells]
“Hahahahaha!”
Luke’s breathing became rapid as he laughed wildly!
The spaces from hundreds of game terminals had successfully merged exactly as he had envisioned!
The inventory spaces of the previous players had actually merged into his!
Along with the massive amount of materials and various currencies stored in those bags, everything had been stacked without a single cent missing!
He scrambled up, the gloom completely gone from his face, replaced only by pure relief and anticipation.
He cheered, “Hey, hey, hey! I can’t wait! *Estella*! I’m back!”
He dove into the only open light gate, eager to enter the game and check the specific details.
As for the “Unknown” written in the SAN value column, he only gave it a glance and didn’t care at all!
Perhaps this was the composure of a mature man? Maybe, who cares…
***
After a sensation of weightlessness, as if his soul was being pulled out and stuffed back in, Luke slowly opened his eyes.
A campfire illuminated the darkness.
It seemed to be late at night, and beneath him was a pile of soft hay.
Then, at his side…
Um… was there a wild woman wrapped in animal skins?
He checked himself.
There was a piece of grass rope tied around his own chest, covering the critical parts. Okay, that was fine.
Except…
‘Where did these glowing clothes draped over me come from?’
‘Wait! And the look in this “wild woman’s” eyes—why does it look like I bullied her?’
‘…Anyway, I’m sorry! My bad!’
‘But! I’m a newcomer, and you’re a woman who could be my mother.’
‘Look! It’s written above your head: “Lucia (This is your mom! Pseudonym. This information is only visible to you.)”‘
While he was mumbling to himself, a system notification sounded in his mind, and a quest panel only visible to players leaped out before his eyes.