149 – Trained by the Returner (10)
“… “
The number [31] Written on the inside of the elevator and the number [4] Written on the outside.
To confirm my hypothesis, this time I deleted the number [31] And entered the number [25].
[10]
Then, like a ghost, the number outside the elevator changes back to [10]. This confirms that the sum of the internal and external numbers is fixed at [35].
“What are you doing?”
“… “
Whether the acne man was talking to me or not, I swept my face with my palm to organize my thoughts. As expected, I think my thoughts are right. Only one person can enter this elevator at a time. And, unlike an elevator, there is a ‘Confirm’ button. That means…
“Wait a minute! “Would you all like to get off the elevator?”
At the moment when my doubts turned into certainty, I heard the voice of a woman with glasses outside.
“Huh? What’s the matter?”
“I think I understand the 12th floor. Everyone gather around! “Sit here!”
A woman with glasses placed her hands on her waist in a triumphant manner. She strode into the elevator, grabbed me and the pimple guy by the arm, and dragged him outside.
The woman with glasses sits us down on the metal chair and begins to explain.
“Now, listen. “I think this is some kind of loyalty game.”
A woman speaks while raising her glasses. There was confidence in her voice.
“I briefly touched the license plate inside, and the maximum number that can be entered there is 35. Coincidentally, the number written on top of the elevator is 35. And they said that only one person can take the ‘test’ at a time, and that each person can only enter once per round. Do you understand what this means?”
“… “I don’t know.”
“It means we have to enter the elevator once and fill in the number [35].”
Surprisingly, the woman with glasses made the same guess as me. It looks like the glasses on her face are not just an accessory.
“This is my guess. Each time you enter the elevator, you can enter a certain number and take a ‘test’ by pressing the confirm button. When 5 people’s turns are over, the sum of the numbers we chose should be 35. “The higher the number you enter, the more difficult the test will be.”
Five people can each choose a number and enter the elevator once. In other words, the five of us can combine to create the number [35].
“Oh, oh… “
“Well, maybe that number [35] Is the sum of the numbers written next to the reward we chose… Everyone, the numbers are 1, 5, 10. It looks like this, right? What reward did you choose?”
Were my expectations too low? Or is this woman outstanding? Still, looking at the glasses woman who seemed to have her head spinning, I nodded her head in satisfaction. Um, yeah. This is it.
“First of all, I chose 10.”
I confidently said that I chose 10 because I had nothing to hide. Add 1, 5, and 10 5 times to get 35… All you have to do is get 10 twice and 5 three times. In other words, there is one person besides me who chose 10… This means that the rest chose 5.
The standard strategy for this floor is simple. All you have to do is enter the number of rewards you chose into the elevator and take the corresponding ‘test’. You can think of it as similar to Dutch Pay, where you pay for what you eat.
“Really? I chose 5. “What about you?”
“… “I also have 5.”
“I easily chose 5, right?”
“It’s my first time too, so I take 5.”
“… “
The problem is… There are already free riders. As mentioned earlier, two people chose 10. However, the other four people all claim that they chose 5. One of them is lying.
“Hey. “Is this what you guys are doing?”
The woman with glasses frowned and rolled her eyes as if she realized there was a liar. I heard that the other four other than me were a team, so I can’t believe a situation like this would come up.
“It’s been a while since we got together, but aren’t we still a team? Where does something come out like this?”
“… “It’s been a while since we got together?”
“Ah, yes. We started going together from the 11th floor… “
“… “
Now that I think about it, the 6th to 10th floors were the floors that I could navigate alone. It is no wonder that teamwork is loose between them.
“No, I really chose 5?”
“I am not. Really really. “Bet my mom.”
“… I also chose 5… “
Either way, the remaining three people keep complaining about their unfairness. Just by looking at his expression, it seems like he was really framed… Conversely, is the woman with glasses trying to bluff? No, let’s not jump to conclusions. Anyway, as long as there is regression, the truth will be revealed someday. For now, it was more important to control the atmosphere and collect information.
“Okay, everyone. Don’t fight. In any case, it is impossible to find the culprit as long as the tower blocks information. Let’s move on and think about this later. “Isn’t the important thing about passing the test?”
“… “That’s right.”
“One thing we are missing is the fact that we do not know what a ‘test’ is in the first place.”
Well, it could be fighting a monster. Or maybe it’s solving a puzzle. It could even be something that causes pain directly to the brain. In any case, unless you know the type of test, you should avoid taking bold action.
“So, I dare to make a suggestion. “We’re going to pick one brave person, enter [1], And ask them to take the test.”
Since I don’t know the type of test, I ask them to input 1, which is assumed to be the easiest, and check the test. I think my proposal is an extremely reasonable one.
“But… “
However, there is one problem here.
“Then, the person should have entered 5 or 10 originally… “You’re going to enter 1, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Then how do we make up the missing number?”
That’s right. In guageuk, if one person lifts a log, someone else has to bear the weight. But there is a solution to this too.
“I’ll type [19] Instead. No, it’s okay for me to pay the rest [34]. “I’m confident.”
That’s right, I’m carrying that log. In fact, this is the way I have solved various layers so far. Having become strong enough through regression, I break the next layer by taking on all of the problems that should have been borne by others.
This method has worked great so far, and that’s why I said it with the feeling that I was being generous.
“Just a moment.”
A man with a mole walks towards me and stands in front of me.
“I think that approach is wrong.”
“… ?”
“If you do that, you’re blocking our opportunity to grow, right?”
“… “
“We entered the tower to become stronger. But if you wipe out all the enemies like that, don’t we lose the opportunity to grow? “Experience points and combat experience are the same.”
Although Malbonsae is very rude, what this man said is true. This is also a problem I’ve been thinking about throughout the tutorial and the 4th floor.
If I take the lead and crush all hardships, others will lose their chance to fight. This was especially true on the 4th floor. The people I saved on the 4th floor survived by obtaining a treasure called elixir, but they lost the opportunity to gain enormous experience by fighting monsters. It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to say that they suffered losses because of me.
But that doesn’t mean… Should we let people die? Just because someone risked their life to come here, should we just let them die? It is said that police and firefighters prevent people who try to jump from high places on a provincial level, but I am neither a police officer nor a firefighter, and this is not modern society. Is it right to bring in existing morals here?
“We are not the people you need to take care of. If you want to pick Jeong [1] And scout, you do it.”
“… “
I see. I think what this man said is correct. Maybe I was being too selfish. I may have been taking away the ‘opportunity to grow’ from others. I thought I was losing money by acting like a brat, but it may have been the opposite.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we will let people die. However, it is clear that it is wrong for me to wipe out all enemies. It would be right to find an appropriate compromise between the two. Well, I feel like I have achieved personal growth.
Good. This time, let’s play to their rhythm.
“Okay. I will choose number 1 and scout it out. “Do you all agree?”
“Yes, well…” “
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
After looking around, I slowly got on the elevator and entered [1]. Then the elevator started to move with a whirring sound.
When the elevator stopped moving for about 30 seconds and the doors opened, a completely white space unfolded before my eyes. The walls and floor are all white, so there is no sense of distance. It feels as if there is only one elevator in an empty space.
“… Hmm.”
-Let’s start the test.
As soon as I got off the elevator and looked around, a voice without any relief rang out. At the same time, a black mannequin-like figure suddenly appears in front of me. Is this similar to what you experienced on the 5th floor?
“Is it okay if I catch him?”
A black mannequin with [1] Written in large letters on its head slowly approaches, holding a wooden bat-like baton. However, the movements were slow and the limbs were shaking slightly, making it seem like he was acting like a frightened person.
“… “
Suddenly!
There was nothing to call a fight. I just cut off his head with the sword, and the mannequin couldn’t stop it.
-Test has ended. Please return to the waiting area.
“… Is it worth it?”
Even though it is 1, the difficulty level is definitely easy. In my experience, it seems easier than the Goblin variant in the tutorial.
Now that I think about it, the people who were trapped on the 11th floor couldn’t climb up, not because the floor was difficult, but because they didn’t sell passes. For top level players, the lower levels of the tower are easy. This is because the specs of the current players are excellent enough to be considered overspecs.
From Noble mtl dot com
The guys I was with earlier are also a bit grumpy, but they are probably top-tier players. So… If I keep going like this, I’ll be able to beat the 12th floor very smoothly and cleanly, right? After I wake up, I have to go back to reality and get some recuperation. Jiwon will be worried. I need to prepare in advance what I will explain.
There was a time when I thought,
I think the they are fighting players…