A withered dark purple tree.
A sky that remains endlessly gray, both day and night.
A barren land devoid of any grass.
Animal carcasses scattered haphazardly.
Instead of clear, fresh water, a river flowing with thick, putrid, red blood.
In such a place, a blue-haired girl was being whipped, tears streaming endlessly down her face.
“…Hic…!!!”
A voice leaked out as she writhed in pain.
Hearing that sound, the monster grinned and whispered into her ear.
“…I told you not to make a sound, didn’t I?”
“…I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Startled by the chilling voice, the girl threw herself to the ground, bowing deeply.
She paid no attention to her torn wounds, desperately begging for forgiveness.
“If you made a mistake!! You should be punished, right?!”
“…Kugh…!!!”
“I’ll send you back to the labor site if you stay silent for one minute.”
“Agh, it hurts!! Please don’t hit me!!”
“Shut up!!”
With a smirk on his lips, the High Devil swung his tail like a whip.
The more the girl struggled to escape, the more the wounds on her back spread to her arms, legs, and shoulders.
“…Ugh!!!”
She bit her lip so hard that blood dripped down.
“…Now you understand what happens when a spirit dares to talk back, right?”
The High Devil, letting out a spine-chilling laugh, approached the girl.
He lifted the chin of the sobbing girl with his tail as she lay collapsed on the ground.
The girl weakly nodded, her trembling lips and fluttering eyelids expressing her pain.
“Pff… What a funny sight.”
“…Please… save me…”
“Who knows, maybe if you enter the Tower, you’ll live a slightly better life.”
The High Devil sneered as he stomped on the wounds on her back.
“AAAHHHH!!!”
“Hold onto hope.”
“…Kugh…”
“Of course, it’ll still be hell.”
He used his Hellfire skill to sear the girl’s wounds.
She bit her lip again, swallowing her screams, before losing consciousness.
“…Tch, already passed out?”
The High Devil instantly erased his grin, his expression turning cold.
He kicked the unconscious spirit girl, sending her flying.
“Ugh… this wretched Demon Realm.”
Spitting in the direction where the girl landed, he turned around.
Nearby, other spirits, shackled with magic-suppressing bracelets, repeatedly swung pickaxes, collapsing from exhaustion.
“Hey, you there! Stop falling over and get back to work!!”
Monsters threw stones at them, laughing cruelly.
KWAACK!
The spirit girl, who had regained consciousness, clenched a fistful of dirt and sobbed.
“…It’s unfair…”
“I… I don’t want to live like this…”
Non-monster races were at the absolute bottom of the Demon Realm’s hierarchy.
Not because they were weak—just because they were different.
Even if they entered the Tower, they would only be labeled as Residents.
The system would impose no restrictions, nor grant any rewards.
In other words, they were abandoned by the world.
In the Demon Realm, they were destined to live as slaves.
Inside the Tower, there existed a separate level where Residents could live freely.
However, monsters soon invaded those areas, turning them into colonies.
In the end, they were enslaved once more.
Yes, Residents were slaves.
At least in the Tower, resources were scarce, so they weren’t treated as brutally.
That was the last mercy the system granted them.
To become slaves of the Tower.
‘…No… No…!!’
No matter how much she resisted, she could never escape her fate.
The girl thrashed against it.
Why did she have to suffer just because she fainted?
She had been tortured by the High Devil simply because she lost consciousness from exhaustion.
And when she screamed from the pain of being punched awake, she was dragged away and beaten even more.
The sickening smell of burnt flesh rose from her back.
Perhaps her nerves had died—she could no longer feel pain.
“…I need to… heal…”
She tried to summon her magic to cast Heal,but the magic was immediately absorbed by the Magic Suppressing Stone,dispersing into glittering stardust.
She felt her strength draining away,her body growing weaker and weaker.
‘Ah… So this is where I die…’
Everything felt meaningless.
She had suddenly opened her eyes one day, only to find herself born in the Demon Realm.
If only she had been born in the Tower,then at least she could have explored other dimensions.
Why was she born in the gap between worlds,only to live this hollow life and die meaninglessly?
What was the System,what kind of existence was it,that it forged her soul and tossed her into this desolate place,only to let her perish without reason?
“Haa… haa…”
Her breath grew ragged from dizziness.
Her vision blurred, and she could feel the magic seeping out of her body.
“…Shit…”
A crude curse slipped from her lips.
But she was too weak—her voice was so faint that no one heard it.
And then.
[Congratulations! Resident No. 11,653 of Demon Realm (Zone 871), you have been selected!]
[You will now be transferred to the Tower!]
A massive notification appeared before her eyes.
A set of symbols she had never seen before.
Yet instinctively, she knew what they meant.
‘…The System?’
‘M…EH…?’
The dying ember of hope inside her suddenly burst into flames.
Her golden eyes shimmered with renewed determination.
But just before she could be transported to the Tower,her hope was extinguished.
“HAHAHAHA!!! FINALLY!!! FINALLY!!!”
“…?!”
The one who had tormented her,who had beaten her to the brink of death—He had been selected too.
“…Looking forward to working with you?”
“…No…”
The light faded from Stella’s eyes.
And so, both the High Devil and Stella the Spirit vanished from the Demon Realm,with only a final message left behind:
[Transferring to Dimension 3212, Planet ‘Earth’!]
[Transferring to the Kind Nine-Tailed Fox’s Tower!]
***
“I have paid 1000 coins, as requested by the status window.”
[1,000 coins deducted.]
[Remaining balance: 6,732 coins.]
“Thank you, everyone. I was low on money, but thanks to you, I was able to summon a new Resident.”
I was actually short on funds.
Summoning 10 Residents required 5000 coins.
“I won’t be able to summon many, though.”
“But even two is better than none.”
I had learned my lesson from my past reckless spending.
Only buy what is necessary.
I didn’t need Residents, but I was summoning them because I felt lonely.
I couldn’t afford to spend too much.
Unlike my past life, wasting money in this world could genuinely put my survival at risk.
***
I’m excited!
A spirit race is joining!
Nice!
Pretty lady, I’m waiting for you!
If a spirit arrives, will the Tower start looking like a forest?
What if she escapes the Tower?
LOL.
Just like me, the chat was buzzing with anticipation.
I was excited.
What kind of personality would this spirit have?
At last, a massive purple portal appeared before me.
“Ooh…!!”
From within, a man in a sleek black suit trudged forward.
Sweeping back his red hair, he bowed politely.
And in his hand.
A girl with dead eyes, held by her hair.
The girl’s condition was beyond words.
Perhaps due to the power of the tower, her torn wounds and bruises were slowly healing, but seeing her body seemingly reversing time made me instinctively frown.
Moreover, the strong stench of burnt flesh from somewhere made me furrow my brows even more.
Noticing my expression, the man reacted in surprise and bowed his head in apology.
“Boss, please don’t concern yourself with this filthy wench. I apologize.”
“…What?”
“If she’s displeasing you, I will dispose of her immediately.”
It seemed this mysterious man had assumed that I disliked the girl.
???
Is that really a spirit?
Isn’t that just a High Devil?
A High Devil.
It is classified as an S-rank monster, but it’s quite an ambiguous one.
A rather weak creature with not much it can do.
Even an A-rank hunter could defeat one on their own.
In short, it’s a weakling.
‘I summoned a spirit, though?’
Why was a High Devil here instead?
“…That girl over there does seem to be a spirit.”
Yeah, that seems right.
Why is that bastard beating up our spirit girl?
He thinks he’s all that, but this is just hilarious.
Did I just get scammed again?
This time, by the system itself?
“…Shit.”
The curse slipped out instinctively.
I must look so easy to mess with if even the system is screwing me over now.
“Um… Boss?”
The High Devil was grinning cluelessly.
‘…I wish he’d just disappear.’
I spent 500 coins just to summon… this?
Sure, monsters are valuable assets.
But not this one.
Even Hwarangdo seemed stronger than this, and this thing had the audacity to consume 500 coins to appear.
“…I’m pissed.”
“Excuse me?”
“…Everyone, is it okay if I just kill this thing?”
Not only did it show up uninvited after consuming 500 coins, but it also nearly killed the only decent one that came with it.
Kill it, right?
Who would oppose killing a monster?
Yeah, get rid of it.
Uh… This is kinda scary.
The chat also seemed to agree.
Fwoosh!!!
I immediately set the demon ablaze with foxfire.
“…Aaaaagh!!!”
“…Tsk.”
Leaving behind the demon, which had turned into dust, I approached the dying spirit girl.