Chapter 2

The information that floated up from the deepest recesses of my soul felt familiar somehow.

When I examined it more closely, my heart filled with unease – it was definitely the status window from a game.

It wasn’t something I was physically seeing with my eyes, but rather felt like it was being directly projected into my consciousness.

For a moment, all thought ceased.

I was afraid of what this meant.

That familiar UI I’d seen hundreds of times before was now becoming engraved in my consciousness as an absolute truth that defined my very existence.

“Is… is this a status window? Am I really inside a game?”

My throat went dry.

Surely I haven’t actually become a piece of game data?

I took a deep breath to calm my trembling heart and focused my consciousness again.

As if opening a game menu, more detailed information naturally surfaced.

『★ (Unnamed) Seed LV1 0 years ♀』

【Stats】HP : 10/10MP : 10/10

Attack Power : 0Magic Power : 1Defense : 130Magic Resistance : 130Agility : 0

【Skills】「Hibernate」

【Abilities】[Inferno Stigma]

‘Wait… is this really the game world? Or have I just become game data?’

‘No way… there’s no way something like this actually exists, right? A game world… it’s ridiculous…’

But the reality was unmistakably vivid.

I’d seen countless novels with situations like this, but experiencing it in real life filled me with nothing but fear.

If this truly is another world, that’s somehow comforting, but if I’ve simply become game data… the thought sent shivers down my spine.

‘Try to think clearly.’

I steadied my trembling heart and began checking each item in the status window carefully.

The star mark at the front of the status window caught my attention first.

‘Black star… looks like the ranking system from Shadow Symphony…’

My heart suddenly sank.

Shadow Symphony didn’t have black stars.

However, the format of this status window was identical to that game’s.

It was as if someone deliberately made the information understandable to me.

‘Could this really be the actual world of Shadow Symphony?’

The thought brought on even greater fear.

Out of all the games, why did it have to be this one without an ending?

In the game’s world, the Demon Lord sought to destroy the world, sacrificing countless lives along the way.

‘Ha… if this is really a game world whose story hasn’t concluded yet? We don’t even know how this world will end… can I survive like this?’

I was overwhelmed with an anxiety that made me break out in a cold sweat, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

First, I needed to properly assess my own condition.

After taking a deep breath, I shifted my gaze to the next piece of information.

『(Unnamed)

– I have no name.』

‘Even my name… it’s gone.’

The fact that my name disappeared only made the reality more palpable.

It was like waiting to name a character before starting a game, leaving only an empty void.

The next piece of information revealed what I currently was.

『Seed

– I am a seed.』

A chill ran through my entire being.

Well, what remained of my body now – just my consciousness trembled with cold.

The shock of finding myself in the game world was great, but to be a seed of all things…

‘Wh-what does this mean? I thought I’d become a plant-like humanoid… but actually a plant?’

‘Moment… could it be because I used to browse plant galleries? But that doesn’t mean I should actually become a plant!’

A paralyzing shock hit me like my heart had stopped.

But through the fact that I was a seed, all the circumstances I’d experienced so far made sense.

Absurdity and despair intertwined.

The most powerless existence – unable to move, speak, or even breathe.

I became a passive organism that could only wait for nature to take its course.

Given that I’ve become a seed, being in this game world might somehow be fortunate.

‘If this really is a game world, then I should be able to evolve into another being…’

The following pieces of information were equally shocking.

『LV1

– I am level 1.』

『0 years

– I am 0 years old.』

『♀

– I am female.』

‘Wait… I’m a girl!?’

Only now, as my consciousness awakened, did I notice the strange sense of dissonance I had with myself.

It wasn’t just my speech patterns. The way I processed thoughts, felt emotions, even the way memories surfaced were subtly different.

Like an old black-and-white photograph that’s been newly colorized, my memories began to appear differently.

‘So that’s why my speech patterns seemed strange… no, obviously abnormal to anyone else. This is why.’

‘But hold on, gender for a plant? Does that even make sense?’

My head started to throb with confusion.

With the memories of my past life still vivid, the sudden change in gender was difficult to accept.

A sense of confusion came over me as if my established identity was crumbling.

‘Urgh… this isn’t the time to worry about this…’

Considering my current situation, gender was a truly trivial issue.

Still, the sudden change in thought patterns and speech was hard to adjust to.

『HP : 10/10MP : 10/10

Attack Power : 0Magic Power : 1Defense : 130Magic Resistance : 130Agility : 0』

“Wha- what is this! Only 10 HP? This is garbage…”

Frustration welled up inside me.

What these stats implied was clear.

Absolute powerlessness.

Lower HP and MP than a slime, stats that were practically 0.

Only defense and magic resistance reached triple digits.

“It can’t be… I’m this trash spec…?”

“No, there must be some way. There has to be…”

『Hibernate– Maintains minimal life activities. Increases defense and magic resistance by 100. Dissipates upon germination.』

“Germinating causes it to dissipate… hold on… just hold on…”

“This is the only advantage I have right now… and it disappears if I germinate? What is this nonsense!”

The word “dissipate” weighed heavily on my chest.

What I possessed as my only advantage was temporary.

The realization that the sole defense protecting me would inevitably disappear one day made me shiver.

The thought of losing everything upon germination was unbearable.

“Surely… surely I’ll gain some new skill when I germinate, right?”

Searching for even a shred of hope, my gaze shifted to the traits section.

“Please… let it be an overpowered trait…”

But at the moment I confirmed the final trait, tears welled up uncontrollably.

『[Inferno Stigma]– Weak to fire element.』

“Why! Why fire of all things! This is ridiculous!”

My previous life’s ending came to mind.

Though I didn’t experience the pain of burning, the fear is still vivid.

The despair as I was suffocated by smoke is etched into my soul like a brand.

Even in this new life, I couldn’t shake off that weakness, which felt like a cruel twist of fate.

“I can’t… I don’t want to end that way again. Please, not that…”

The unsettling premonition didn’t fade easily.

Judging by my gaming experiences so far, such weaknesses were bound to be tested sooner or later.

After confirming all the information, my despair only deepened.

“Ha ha ha…”

…

How much time had passed?

“No matter how I look at it, this is an absurd situation…”

There was no denying the reality that I am currently a seed in a game world.

Now I needed to focus on survival.

I need water to germinate.

Though I’ll lose the Hibernate skill, I want to avoid staying as just a seed forever.

“So… where am I?”

I spread my consciousness outward.

Awareness of myself as a seed made it possible to gradually awaken seed-like senses.

The texture of the soil surrounding me, the moisture level, the temperature… everything felt new.

But soon, I realized the grim reality.

I was encased in hard frozen earth.

Cold and dry sensations wrapped around my entire being.

Breaking through this frozen ground will be my first challenge.

No matter how great my potential, if I can’t make my first step, it’s all meaningless.

The cold seeping through the soil felt almost mocking.

Just as I was trying to steel my resolve, a new notification rippled across the surface of my consciousness.

“Hey, a skill? Really…?”

“「Detect」– Detects surroundings. ”

The status window that had been tormenting me finally delivered some good news.

The woefully inadequate description was still characteristic of the status window.

As soon as I obtained the new skill, I instinctively knew how to use it.

From the very depths of my being, waves of consciousness rippled outward.

It felt like being submerged in water as fine tremors enveloped my entire existence.

Around me, I could perceive a small spherical area.

Though different from sight, I could definitely sense my surroundings in a new way.

Like looking into an aquarium from outside, I could see what existed within the sphere through this new perspective.

As expected, all I could see were frozen clumps of soil, except for “me”.

Focusing inward to examine myself, I saw a small black seed.

Though I couldn’t accurately determine its size surrounded by nothing but soil, it resembled a watermelon seed.

Upon close examination, the black shell and slightly flattened shape indeed looked exactly like a watermelon seed.

“Could it be… am I really a watermelon?”

At that moment, the status window delivered another notification.

“「Detect LV2」Skill level has increased.”

“Whaaat? It leveled up this easily?”

The black star marking at the beginning of my stats status came to mind.

In Shadow Symphony, the number of stars indicated potential.

Perhaps this mysterious rating suggests I have potential greater than 5 stars.

“Right, this is the proper balance…”

With renewed hope, I examined the slightly expanded detection range and spotted a non-earth material.

As I gazed at the mysterious blue-glowing substance, its information appeared in the status window.

“「Proto」 Ore

– Proto: A metal with high hardness and strength, containing cold energy. Rarely found in the Shia Kalt Ice Cave.”

Just as I was about to wonder why I could access such information, the words “Shia Kalt” caught my eye.

“Could this really be referring to the Shia Kalt Great Dungeon?”