Where did things go wrong? Should I have ignored that old woman completely? Should I have coldly pushed away the old woman who seemed ready to follow me to the ends of the earth?

I looked around carefully with a disgruntled expression. Was it because so much information had flooded in all at once? Suddenly, Angela’s bedroom didn’t feel unfamiliar.

Since I’d have to stay here for a while, my brain seemed to have decided to accept this new world.

Well, I’ll be. It was absurd, but I had no choice but to accept the situation I was facing.

Soon, the status window appeared before me again, announcing the start of the game.

[System: If you clear the game, you can return to your daily life. Will you accept the challenge?]

[YES/NO]

But the strange thing was that only YES was lit up, and the NO button wasn’t activated.

What the h*ll? What am I supposed to do when there’s no real choice? I had no options now, so naturally I was going to press the YES button, but looking at the status window made me feel coerced and uncomfortable.

But what could I do? I grumbled complaints and pressed the YES button.

[System: Your role is simple. Bring the ring from the villain and place it in the temple, and the mission will be complete.]

The object I had to steal was unexpected. What important role could this ring play that they wanted me to steal it?

Besides, a villain and a ring… Don’t those seem like a mismatch?

“Where is it?”

[System: That’s what you’ll need to figure out going forward.]

They want me to figure it out. How irresponsible can you get? Shouldn’t they at least give me basic information about the item before telling me to figure it out?

“Is this all? No more information?”

I protested, but the system ignored my words and continued listing only what it wanted to explain.

[System: Let me introduce you to the villain.]

[Name: Victor Lindsey. Head of a count family, magician and researcher.]

[System: This is all the information we can provide. Find the rest on your own.]

“You want me to find that on my own too? What kind of game is this unhelpful? At minimum, I need to know how he’s destroying the empire and where he is so I can go looking for him, right?”

Does Count Lindsey carry it around every day, keep it at his estate, or store it in a secret vault? Can’t they at least tell me that much?

I pressed various parts of the status window to see if it would give me any clues, but no buttons related to game progression were activated.

So basically, I’m forcibly trapped in this game right now?

“What is this?”

I was so dumbfounded I was speechless.

I didn’t want to play this stupid game. Belatedly, I looked to see if there was a logout button. Fortunately, I found a logout button at the bottom.

I pressed it hard, wanting to escape from this ridiculous game quickly. However, the logout button wasn’t activated, so no matter how hard I pressed, nothing changed.

The situation wasn’t much different from when I frantically pressed the power button before entering the game and it wouldn’t turn off.

Does this make any sense?

Furious, I threw punches into the air. I alternated between both hands hitting the system window, but my hands just passed through the system.

I couldn’t land any blows, but I wanted the system to react somehow.

Even after the system window disappeared, I continued making a scene. After repeating the same behavior for 10 minutes, a new status window suddenly appeared.

I thought maybe it would give me additional explanation because I’d been raising such h*ll, but no.

[System: Remember this. You can only log out if you bring the ring to the temple.]

Once again, the system only said what it wanted to say and disappeared. I stared resentfully at where the status window had vanished, but nothing changed.

“D*mn it.”

Grumbling, I got up and headed straight to the mirror. Though forced, I’d become a player, so I needed to assess my situation.

Clear skin without a single blemish, full br*asts, a slim waist. Glamorous blonde hair. An S-line figure with delicate, well-proportioned features…

It was a face that stood out at first glance. My current appearance was dazzlingly beautiful, like a moving doll, which raised questions.

This doesn’t suit someone from an assassin family at all. Well, better than being ugly?

Come to think of it, it would be ridiculous for the protagonist to look ordinary, so I decided not to quibble about this anymore. It was better to think about what I needed to do going forward.

“How am I supposed to steal the ring?”

Recalling the status window that told me to gather information on my own made me sigh automatically. Easy to say, but would it actually be easy?

Far from properly explaining the story, I knew absolutely nothing about the protagonist Angela, which made the future seem bleak.

I poked at the air with my finger, hoping a status window might open. I was grasping at straws.

“What kind of foolish thing are you doing?”

When I heard a deep voice, I stopped what I was doing. As I turned my head toward where the voice came from, the status window that had shown no signs of appearing finally materialized before my eyes.

[System: It’s time to carry out your mission now.]

Was it appearing to give me some items? Usually you’d buy them, but there should be items provided for free. I read the status window with anticipation, expecting to use them to carry out my first mission.

[System: Listen carefully to Count Richmond’s words and act accordingly.]

Contrary to my expectations, the system only left a message telling me to follow the count’s words and disappeared. Then, like he’d been waiting, Count Richmond opened his mouth.

“I’ve decided to entrust you with the mission of taking the ring from Count Lindsey.”

He explained to me exactly what the status window had instructed.

How am I supposed to steal it?

Since the system hadn’t told me, I didn’t know what abilities I had.

Though I might look weak on the outside, I could surprisingly be incredibly strong. Or maybe I could use magic.

As I wondered what powers I might be hiding, Count Richmond spoke to me.

“Show me your abilities. Depending on what abilities you have, the method of execution will differ.”

“Understood.”

Receiving Count Richmond’s full expectations, I headed to the garden with him. There were targets set up to test me.

The count handed me a gun and commanded.

“Shoot.”

“You want me to just shoot this?”

Having never even held a toy gun before, I couldn’t help but be flustered when he suddenly told me to shoot. I need to know how before I can shoot.

I waited for a status window to appear to help me, but there was no sign of one appearing. Tsk. The count, who’d been looking at me with a pathetic expression, this time handed me a dagger.

“Hurry and throw it.”

I threw it at the target from a reasonable distance, but far from hitting the center, it didn’t even reach the vicinity.

Watching the dagger fall weakly, Count Richmond clicked his tongue.

Next, he gave me a bow, but I couldn’t even draw it. The count’s expression as he looked at me gradually began to fill with contempt.

With an expression that showed he no longer had any expectations, he handed me a long sword.

Telling me to hold a sword when I’d never learned kendo or fencing. And a real sword, not a fake one.

“Now, lift the sword.”

“Kyaaaa!”

The moment I picked up the sword, I became so frightened that I dropped it on the floor. Seeing the sharp blade that could easily cut through anything, I had no confidence I could wield it.

Count Richmond, with a resigned expression, had me try running, jumping, and all sorts of other things, but I couldn’t do a single one properly.

“Such a useless thing. You must have attended lessons diligently all this time, but it was all for nothing.”

The count looked at me with eyes that saw something less than vermin. Seeing his cold demeanor, it seemed he no longer regarded me as his daughter.

I’m just as dumbfounded at myself!

I was just as frustrated. From what I could see, the game setting suggested Angela had learned various skills since childhood, so shouldn’t they be ingrained in my body?

For some reason, I couldn’t feel any trace of having mastered anything in my body. I was a complete beginner—no, my body wasn’t much different from my actual one.

Does this make sense?

Usually when you play a game, shouldn’t the protagonist have special buffs?

This game was nothing like that. Only my appearance was different; my pathetic body wasn’t much different from my own.

There was only one difference. I didn’t feel the fatigue I usually experienced—that was the only thing. What the h*ll is this?

Since the system was so unhelpful, I had to find out what items were available through Count Richmond at least. I was hoping there’d be at least one ability.

“Is there a drug that enhances physical abilities in a short time?”

“Where in the world would such a drug exist?”

Count Richmond looked at me with contemptuous eyes and left the room. I watched his retreating figure with hollow eyes and spat out curses.

“D*mn it, what kind of game is this?”

Wasn’t this a virtual world? Isn’t it normal to give special items so you can feel that? What am I supposed to do if it’s the same as my actual body?

If this is how it’s going to be, why create a setting about stealing a ring?

If it’s a game, shouldn’t I have items like teleportation or a potion that makes strength surge when you drink it?

In my current state, returning to my original life seemed impossible. When that thought occurred to me, rage welled up.

So what? What am I supposed to do?

Feeling deeply wronged, I poured out my complaints into the air, and only then did the status window appear before me again.