The Obelisk: Return

Aectaeon soon regained awareness of his surroundings, albeit in a slow manner. Still, he didn't open his eyes.

Nothing was familiar to him.

The coolness of the air caressing his skin; the softness of the grass cradling his body; the lack of racket around him; all of those added to the discomfort that Aectaeon was feeling.

'Am I back at the Obelisk?' He sighed, sensing a gentle heat stroking his eyelids.

The man still refused to open his eyes. He just sighed and sighed, relishing in a moment of peace despite the aches and pains that were roughing him up. He didn't have any plans of tending to his wounds. In the first place, he didn't know how to when he didn't have any equipment.

'If I can, I'll just wait for my next transmigration. I'm positive that I don't have to wait for long anyway. The system seems to be fond of me. The feeling isn't mutual.'

For a long time, Aectaeon remained laying on the grass without having the urge to sleep. Though, he would've preferred if the urge came to him.

All of a sudden, a shadow loomed over Aectaeon's face, compelling him to open his eyes.

[[ Next Transmigration Countdown: 00 D ; 05 H ; 30 M ; 00 S ]]

Aectaeon scoffed at what he was seeing. He then began to laugh as he covered his eyes with his arm.

"See, as expected. I even hoped that they would give me at least a day to recuperate." He muttered to himself, lowering his arm subsequently, "That was a good wake-up call."

Shortly afterward, Aectaeon hoisted himself up to a sitting position. He then surveyed his surroundings in leisure, devouring every single detail that his eyes could land on.

The place was nothing but an endless field of grass, a scattering number of trees could be seen here and there. Although it was quite an empty sight, Aectaeon couldn't stop himself from appreciating it. He let himself smile for the first time in a while.

"This, I like this place. What floor is this?"

Aectaeon proceeded to look around once more, trying to see if there's a floor number somewhere. When he saw nothing, he looked at the system panel and attempted to tap it with his finger.

"Hmm, it went through as expected. That damn guide said that we should explore the Obelisk on our own." Aectaeon uttered as he took a deep breath, "I have to search for a way to heal my wounds anyway. I can't last in this condition."

Just as he made a decision, Aectaeon noticed the garment he was wearing. His eyebrows started to furrow. He tilted his head to the side and hurriedly got on his feet. Aectaeon grabbed his shirt and smelled it.

"It doesn't smell like anything? I'm sure I smelled like sweat the second I got here."

Aectaeon was now wearing a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, similar to the ones he had before being transmigrated. What stopped Aectaeon from thinking that it was the same set was how clean the clothes were.

"Come to think of it, the fabric also feels different. Is this a uniform of some sorts?"

For all his confusion, Aectaeon didn't allow himself to get distracted any further. His main concern was the fact that he couldn't feel any pain in his body. Even if the injuries he had gotten from the first game world were erased, he was still suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.

It was foreign to him to be bereft of the burden on his shoulders, the occasional muscle spasms, the aching of his joints, his innards twisting, and the heavy sensation on his chest.

"Is this even my body? Is this what it feels like to be perfectly healthy?" Aectaeon then clicked his tongue as he shrugged his shoulders, "It's disgusting."

At that very second, Aectaeon caught the appearance of another panel in front of him.

[[ Player Igor Vali ]]

[[ Welcome to the 51st Floor -- The Meadows ]]

"51st… floor? I thought we can only access the first 50 floors of the Obelisk? Why am I on the 51st floor?"

Aectaeon thoroughly contemplated his situation, taking up nearly three minutes of his time.

"Is it because I've cleared one game that I can access one additional floor? The guide did say that only those who are deserving can access the floors beyond the 50th."

The man went on and roamed his gaze around the grassy field. He spotted a total of two light pillars nearby. He made his way to the one on his left.

Without a sliver of hesitation, he entered the pillar. As he did so, tiny square panels appeared in front of him.

[[ 1 ]] [[ 2 ]] [[ 3 ]] [[ 4 ]] [[ 5 ]] … [[ 47 ]] [[ 48 ]] [[ 49 ]] [[ 50 ]] [[ 51 ]]

The availability of the floors he could travel to wasn't sufficient in affirming his suspicions. However, Aectaeon had a good feeling about it. He stepped out of the pillar in a haste, the floor number panels vanishing thereafter.

Before long, another set of panels appeared.

[[ Player Igor Vali ]]

[[ Welcome to the 51st Floor -- The Meadows ]]

[[ To View Floor Stats: recite "Info" + 'Floor Number' ]]

"Info 51," Aectaeon said, putting one of his hands in the pocket of his trouser.

[[ The Obelisk Time: 04:20 Post Meridiem ]]

[[ 51st Floor -- The Meadows ]]

[[ Area: Indefinite ]]

[[ Weather: 22 degrees Celsius, Wind NE 8 km/h, 37% Humidity ]]

[[ Number of Players on the Floor: 1 out of 4,736,148]]

[[ Number of Players Who Have Access to the Floor: 3 out of 4,736,148 ]]

[[ Regulations ]]

[[ A: Battles are prohibited on this floor ]]

[[ B: Grimoires cannot be used on this floor ]]

[[ C: Players are prohibited from activating their abilities on this floor ]]

Out of all the details on the panels, there were three that piqued Aectaeon's curiosity -- Abilities, Grimoires, and the number of players who have access on the floor.

"Three, huh? Monsters, I say. I'm relieved that they're somewhere else. Maybe they're exploring the Obelisk at this very moment." Aectaeon said with a heavy heart, "But what are these grimoires and abilities? Luluwa didn't mention anything about them."