Chapter 277: Chapter 277 – Tutorial 60th Floor (0-3)

Chapter 277 – Tutorial 60th Floor (0-3)

Kirikiri was enchanted by the story Byeoljubujeon . When a Terrapin, ordered by the Dragon King, tricked the rabbit into taking him to the Dragon Palace, she listened with her ears stiff . When the rabbit used his wits to trick the Dragon King and the turtle into escaping to the land, she became so excited . She was more amused than I had expected . Maybe it was because it was a story about a rabbit .

“Then, the keyword is Terrapin?” After enjoying hearing about Byeoljubujeon, Kirikiri asked .

I nodded .

When Kirikiri saw me nodding, she held out her hand to me . Why did she put forward that palm for?

“Now that you’ve decided on a keyword, you’ve got to pay . ”

“Information price?”

Kirikiri shook her head to my question .

“No . That’s the price for privacy . This is another thing . ”

In the meantime, I had to do business .

I asked again, “What’s the price?”

“Power . ”

Kirikiri’s answer was unexpected .

Power . There was no way that she could buy anything by consuming the power of a challenger . This was a Tutorial to foster challengers . Why did I need to pay power?

“Source?”

“Yes . ”

The power that had I drew through the contract with the God of the Sky disappeared upon clearing the stage . The power of the source collected from the 59th floor, likewise, was taken away after clearing . There was only one left: the core of the source given by the god of remorse .

I looked up at Kirikiri again . She was still smiling with her palm out .

Let’s think about it . It didn’t matter exactly why Kirikiri wanted the source . The Spirit King had coveted the core of the source, and he felt that it would greatly help in ascending . What I needed to think about was whether Kirikiri’s proposal was reasonable .

Was it a reasonable price to give someone the core of the source in return for constraining information? I had to think about this part .

First of all, I had to consider the danger involved . Although privacy was expensive and cost me many points, it could be recognized anyway . Kirikiri had said privacy was expensive, but it could be found out .

Of course, not many people would try to find out about the 61st-floor stage or my privacy . No one would have that much information . If there had to be someone, it would be the latecomer, Hyung-jin . He was the one who should not get to know . The risks were high .

Next was the proposal itself . It was absurd that the price was the source . This power couldn’t be possessed by a Tutorial challenger in the first place . If I alone had not received a gift from the God of Remorse, I would not have got it either .

This was not a system for challengers . They were targeting challengers, but their main clients were gods or at least apostles . Was this the way to properly coax a challenger who had been nominated as an apostle candidate?

Moreover, Kirikiri was not even trying to explain this information constraint . She repeated only her words and gestures to save information .

“We need a price for privacy settings . ”

But until then, information about the gods and their origins had been well explained . There were two possibilities . Was she avoiding answering under the pretext of saving information price? Information beyond the gods or the source was costly .

“What do you want to do?” Kirikiri asked, but I didn’t answer immediately . A little more thought was needed .

“When the trigger* gets activated, I’ll explain to the target* that the 61st floor is a stage where cooperation is needed . It’s a fact . I’m not going to lie, but I can cheat indirectly . The target won’t know that the 61st-floor stage concept is based on sacrifice . ”

1* Keyword

2* refers to another Hell Difficulty challenger

Of course, you’ll be able to cheat . Kirikiri was the only informant of the Hell Difficulty challenger . Even if she didn’t lie, it was possible to deceive someone .

Now there was only one thing left to think about . It was about the possibility that information constraints had been applied to myself . Was there any lie in what I had said to Kirikiri so far? Had I ever activated a trigger? Was there a god who could fool me even after paying for the source or my power?

* * * * * *

Kirikiri transferred the power of the source I extracted from my body into a pretty crystal bead . She rolled around with it, a happy expression on her face, eyes gleaming, and I watched her quietly .

About a dozen minutes later, the excited Kirikiri came back to me . There were bits of grass and dirt everywhere on her body . Kirikiri didn’t even think to shake it off and just laughed .

“I’m dying of trouble here, is it that funny?”

“Sorry . Heng . ” She didn’t look sorry at all .

“Have you thought about it?”

I nodded . I looked back on the conversation from the first time I met Kirikiri, but there was no doubt that Kirikiri had deceived me .

The reason was simple . I didn’t hear much except for the information on the stage and advice for growth . My goal was formed separately from Kirikiri, and regarding that goal, Kirikiri never interfered, though she had expressed her opinion .

I gave a lot of information about the gods, but it was also meaningless . Even though I gave her knowledge, I judged the gods only as I perceived them . In addition, Kirikiri had never praised most gods . The only thing she ever tried to wrap up nicely was the God of Adventure .

It didn’t seem like anything was at stake right now . I could think about it later, but it wasn’t something to hang on to right now .

Kirikiri smiled back . I should think about Hyung-jin rather than her .

For now, let’s just say that I was going to stop attacking for a while and rest on the 60th floor . I said I’d help Hyung-jin in my spare time . So, even though I helped him in the previous stages, later, I needed his help on the 61st floor . I think it would be better to talk to him . If I asked him to run straight to the 61st floor, he might feel burdened . After thinking about it, I sent a message to Hyung-jin right away .

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th floor: Hyung-jin . ]

* * * * * *

“Are you going?”

“That’s right,” I answered Kirikiri’s question .

“You can stay a little longer,” Kirikiri said, pouting, with her cheeks puffed up .

This was enough . I think I’d have to wait a long time on the 60th floor anyway . No matter how intense the training was, I’d have plenty of time to spare .

“Ah, Kirikiri . ”

“Yes?”

“You said it was normally impossible to clear it alone, right?”

Kirikiri nodded . That meant there was an abnormal way .

“It can be done with a vote, right?

Vote of the gods .

The God of Adventure had forced me to move from the fourth floor . Whenever I got too close to the source, the gods had forcibly cleared the stage . On the 61st floor, the gods would be able to do the same .

“Yes, but they won’t . ”

I guessed so . Most of the gods in the temple wanted me to be an apostle, but I had no intention of becoming one .

“On this stage, there are gods who think that you will face limitations and bend . ”

For the gods, it was not a significant loss to keep me on the 61st floor for years because the concept of time was different for them .

Someday when I was anxious for the gods’ help, I think it’d be great if you could step up and convince them .

“I think it’s possible . ”

What possibility was there? The possibility of me becoming an apostle of the gods and escaping from the stage through a vote?

“Would you like to make a bet?”

“Yes, I will!” Kirikiri liked to bet . I usually lose .

“Then, let’s bet that I’ll clear it normally . ”

Kirikiri nodded . She didn’t even ask what my wish was .

“I’ll bet you can’t clear it normally . Buy me a cake if I win!”

Cake? She’d get that even if we hadn’t made a bet . I smiled and climbed onto the portal .

“See you next time! You must buy me a cake!” Kirikiri hopped and waved .

The usual greeting to buy her a cake sounded different from usual . It seemed like a cheer to clear and come out . Answering that I knew, I got moved to the 60th floor .

* * * * * *

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[Welcome to the 60th-floor residential area . ]

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I remember stopping by the 30th-floor residential area, so I wasn’t stunned . The 60th-floor residential area was a scene similar to the one seen in the second Tournament . A road lined with suitable buildings, neatly arranged, and there was a reasonably spacious square in the middle . At first glance, it seemed like an excellent European neighborhood to live in . It was a pity that I was the only one here .

I clicked my tongue in annoyance . This quiet space annoyed my nerves . I felt a chilling and sharp pressure, like being drenched in cold water when you’re incredibly sleepy . I didn’t know how long it would take to be completely free from this pain . Should I become a god?

Wouldn’t I feel lonely if I become a god? It was a good question . After arriving on the 60th floor, I felt more suffocated than before . I didn’t know if I could get through it . But it was not about reaching the final goal; it was about the process of reaching there .

Again, I clicked my tongue and opened the inventory . Seregia, Ahbooboo, and the frog were summoned .

[I’m the Dragon Warrior!] As soon as Ahbooboo got out of the inventory, he shouted .

[Warrior, hurry up and get those… Huh?]

Perhaps Ahbooboo did not recognize what time it was currently, after being stopped by the God of the Sky .

[Warrior, 59th floor?]

“I cleared it . ”

[Oing?]

Ignoring Ahbooboo, who made a strange noise, I saw the frog . The frog, of course, croaked and greeted .

“Keeeeek!”

“Yes . Sorry, it’s been a while . I didn’t get a chance to get you out in the last stage . ”

“Keeeeek!”

“Okay . I’ll leave you like this for a while . ” After talking with the frog, I turned to Seregia . Naturally, she said nothing .

I told them that they had to stay here for a while . The frog liked it, and Ahbooboo was calm . Seregia, who had been quiet, seemed to be shocked .

[So I’m unemployed from today?] she asked .

“I won’t be able to clear the 61st floor, but I’ll be able to challenge it . I don’t think you’re unemployed . ”

[Let’s get going, then . ]

It was difficult right now . The information from the 59th floor should be sorted out . Most of all, it would take quite a while to sort out the magic theories from the sorcerer .

[I thought you said you’d have a lot of time left anyway . Let’s do that later . Let’s go . ]

I had a lot of time left, so I went to the 61st floor later and cleaned up first . Seregia wanted to do the opposite . Since it was necessary to proceed directly with the 61st floor, Seregia decided to do as she wanted .

╔═══════════════╗

[Entering the 61st-floor stage . ]

[Participating Challengers (1/50)]

– Lee Ho Jae

[The 61st-floor stage begins . ]

Explanation: Challenger who wants to take a short break and start a journey, here are two roads . One is a trail, where you have to walk on a burning desert, and the other is to climb a mountain with snow-storms . Both roads are full of dangerous enemies and difficult challenges . Conquer both paths, and reunite with your colleagues at the end .

– Clear condition .

Conquering the first course of asceticism .

Conquering the Second Passage .

3 . ?

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Finished

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