Chapter 40: The Second Floor is Too Suspicious (1)
You have entered the second floor.
The first thing I saw as I opened my eyes was a fountain made of stone.
In a large square, a fountain was placed in the center, and numerous alleyways were closely connected to the square.
In the center of the circular fountain, two cute baby angels were facing each other, drawing their bows, and the streams of water spouting from the tips of the bows crossed in midair, radiating beautiful colors.
Next to the fountain, an angel was passionately speaking about something while holding up a large wooden board, and about three or four men in brown clothes were nodding their heads as they listened to her.
“...Hmm.”
When I looked around, I saw a city in a medieval fantasy style. Houses made of wood. Floors made of stone. Small alleyways. The blue sky, and countless people.
Literally, I was in the middle of a medieval city.
“…”
I was a bit tense, staying on guard of my surroundings, but people were busy going their ways without paying any attention to me.
Come to think of it, the touch against my skin felt a bit awkward. “...My clothes have changed?”
I was not wearing my familiar modern clothes but was dressed in a full set of leather including leather trousers, armor, and shoes; anyone could tell it was the ‘beginner’s set’ with just one look.
When I entered the portal, I was wearing jeans and a hoodie, but it seemed like my clothes naturally changed upon entry.
Judging by the disappearance of the phone that was in my pocket... it seemed like everything I had disappeared when I entered the second floor.
“...There’s this, though.”
To be correct, almost everything had disappeared. Because the ‘Berserker’s pill’ that I shoved into my pocket was still there.
I couldn’t bring items from Earth... but it seemed like I could bring items obtained in the tower to the next floor.
I was contemplating ways to utilize this when I unknowingly dodged, feeling a presence behind me.
“...Huh?”
A tall, black man froze mid-action, his hand hovering where my shoulder had been. It didn’t seem like he intended to harm me, but due to intensive evasion training, I had instinctively dodged him.
“...Bro, you have swift movements.”
He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
He was wearing the same full set of leather attire as I was. Judging by how the person at the fountain and others around were dressed the same, it seemed like it was the basic equipment provided to all players.
“Well, that’s good.”
The man who was scratching the back of his head soon grinned widely, revealing his shiny white teeth.
“Dude, you were just summoned, right? I saw you appear out of thin air. I came about 10 seconds before you. My name is David Troutt. Nice to meet you.”
“...”
He extended his hand for a handshake, but I did not respond.
I thought that if this man suddenly decided to start a fight and gripped hard, I might have to regress. Besides, he seemed to be almost 2 meters tall.
“Not a fan of touch? Sorry, sorry. I lacked consideration.”
Even though I didn’t respond to the handshake, David cheerfully brushed it off.
He spoke to me in fluent Korean, but on closer inspection, his lip movements didn’t match his voice.
Is there some convenient feature like automatic translation magic encompassing the whole tower?
“I meant to ask… let’s team up temporarily. Did you get any stage objectives?”
“...No.”
“Same here. They should have informed us by now; if this was an online game, it would have failed long ago. It’s so user-unfriendly.”
David, shaking his head and rambling, was clearly a social butterfly, and just a short conversation was enough to understand that. And me? I’m the type who feels drained when around social people.
“Hey, buddy. Where are you going?”
“...There.”
Leaving David, who kept trying to continue the conversation, I approached the angel who was speaking fervently beside the fountain.
“You know now, right? Just bring the mark!”
It seemed like the explanation had just ended, as the men listening to the angel dispersed in various directions.
“Oh, glad to meet you, climber! Welcome!”
“…”
Like David, the angel was also filled with extreme enthusiasm, bouncing around in place.
“You all have worked hard, haven’t you? Ah, I can’t understand what the one who designed the 0th floor was thinking. No, isn’t it made just for death? It’s not for nothing that it’s not managed by a higher angel.”
“...”
“But, you can rest assured! Archangel Raphael, in charge from the 1st to the 5th floor, loves humans! We won’t forcefully lead you to death!”
The angel, gleaming with a bright smile, clapped her hands enthusiastically!
Then, a familiar message window appeared before my eyes.
2nd Floor -Clearance Condition: Earn the recognition of the city residents and bring the mark of acknowledgment to clear the floor. However, you cannot leave the city area. Climbers, please get along with each other!
-Clearance Reward: Varies depending on the grade of the mark.
“Whoa…”
David, who had appeared behind me at some point, exclaimed in awe. The problem was, hearing his reaction, the angel’s enthusiasm rose even higher.
“If you go to the residents, they will give you suitable tasks! These days, it’s called a quest! Anyway, clear the quest, and come back here with the mark!”
Bang! Bang!
The angel tapped on the wooden board placed next to her.
“This floor is clear then! Additionally, you can choose one reward per grade! Moreover, the reward will be given safely after moving to the 1st floor! So there’s no risk of it being snatched away! It’s like killing two birds with one stone!”
“...?”
Did such a saying make sense here?
Anyway, the wooden board listed four grades: Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum. I decided to read the details later.
“Archangel Raphael loves you, humans! What you have to do is only one thing! Effort! Endless self-improvement! Drawing a better future is essentially human! Please show your potential!”
“Whoa whoa whoa!!!”
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Leaving the angel, who was completely immersed in her speech, and David, who was fervently applauding, I decided to look around the plaza with the fountain a bit more.
For now... just as the angel had said, there were no signs of direct threat as if the Archangel indeed loved humans. What I was most cautious about was a situation of infinite regression where I couldn’t leave the entrance... but it didn’t seem like that would happen.
Of course, letting my guard down was not an option. There was the possibility that people could transform at night, when I tried to rest in a place like an inn.
And... I could see the possibility of exploiting the rules if one intended to.
I could also feel the gazes from everywhere.
Ignoring the stares, I quickened my pace.
I headed towards the place where the men, who were listening to the angel’s explanation before, were heading. They were reading a large poster attached to one side of the square, and although the content was in English, I could read it smoothly as well.
<We recommend exchanging for potions after acquiring a Bronze or Silver mark. On the 1st floor, it is possible to duplicate the items you already have. Naturally, the value of consumables is much higher. If unlimited recovery is possible, you can train much more actively. Please make good use of the 1st floor. -M.J.>
“So... is this the rumored M.J....”
“As expected... it’s M.J....”
“...?”
The men muttering while looking at the poster were all Caucasians, and at first, I thought I had heard wrong.
However, soon after seeing the signature swirled at the end of the poster, I understood. No, who would have thought the initials would be M.J.
“...Michael Jeter?”
Without a doubt, these were the initials of Michael Jeter, who would later be acclaimed as the top player in the United States. I clearly remember the name of the man who held the fate of my coins.
“Oh, you know him as well? I thought only the American community knew... the news travels fast among our Eastern friends.”
The Caucasian man looked back at me as he turned his head.
“...There’s already a community?”
“Huh? Yeah. Of course, it’s not an official community, but… ‘normal’ people can’t hear what we’re discussing anyway.”
The United States already had an unofficial climber community in place. No, come to think of it, there must already be one in Korea too. The precursor to PlayerNet would already be set up somewhere on the web.
“...Stock up on potions.”
It seems Michael Jeter, who likely did the same experiments on the first floor as me, recommended acquiring potions first.
What Michael Jeter recommended was precisely the ‘Potion Training Method’. He proposed a training method of training insanely to the point where all the muscles in the body are torn and then recovering by gulping down potions.
“...Smart, isn’t he?”
If my body wasn’t one to regress when injured, I would have trained like Michael Jeter as well. They say that torn muscles become much stronger during the recovery process.
However, to the current me, this advice was utterly useless. After all, when muscles are excessively torn, I regress, so how can I use the super recovery potion? I was destined to become stronger purely by increasing my stats.
Now, just as I was slowly starting to get a grip on the quest and intended to look around the city.
“*gasp*, *gasp*...”
“...?”
A woman, with a large golden symbol floating above her head, was running crazily toward the square from within a narrow alley.
“Hoo, hoo!”
Her stats seemed quite decent, as the speed she was running was relatively fast.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
But when three men, who had been waiting nearby, blocked the alleyway with their bodies, she had no choice but to stop.
“…”
There was no violence at all. It didn’t seem like they were using any abilities either.
They were merely blocking the alleyway with their bodies.
Moreover, the men blocking the way... their stances were quite shoddy. They were definitely not the stronger ones.
Given the performance the woman showed, it seemed like she could just high-jump over the men or push them away with her strength, but…
“...What do you want?”
Instead of resorting to violence, the woman engaged in negotiation.
After witnessing the whole farcical situation, I was sure…
2nd Floor -Clearance Condition: Earn the recognition of the city residents and bring the mark of acknowledgment to clear the floor. However, you cannot leave the city area. Climbers, please get along with each other!
-Clearance Reward: Varies depending on the grade of the mark.
‘Climbers, please get along with each other.’
…Violence is prohibited on the 2nd floor.
– – – End of Chapter – – -
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