224 – Returner is mentally weak (3)
-Entered the 23rd floor.
The sky is dark.
When you’re stumbling home drunk, it’s not the sparkling darkness you see when you sit on the bench and look up. It’s not the dusky color of dawn that you see when you happen to wake up early and go out for a breath of cold air.
Dull, similar to mop-washed water… It’s an unpleasant kind of darkness. It’s the kind of color that makes you feel bad just looking at it and makes you want to spit on the floor.
“Jiwon… “
Choi Ji-won’s magic power is not felt. The tingling energy felt due to the frequent use of ‘Heart of Seomjeon’ can be easily sensed even from afar. If she decides to hide her magic, she might not know. We usually release her magic freely when we enter the tower. So that everyone can easily find each other. In other words, Choi Ji-won is not here or is very, very far away.
“Hmm.”
Well, there’s nothing we can do. Instead of looking for Choi Ji-won, who was not there, I started walking toward the magical power response that I felt relatively close by. The number of people felt was about five to ten. I think I need to see it with my own eyes to know the details.
Sabak. Sabak. Sabak.
After stepping on the crumbling dirt and walking through the withered grass, what I saw was… A big town. It is incomparably larger than the previous 22nd floor. It’s too big to be called a village, but not big enough to be called a city… It is large enough to accommodate thousands of people. The name is ambiguous, so I will just call it a village.
“It’s spooky.”
All the buildings in the village were well maintained. The trees are shiny, and the roof is clean and without a single moss. There are no spider webs on the eaves.
Even the neatly laid stone blocks are in good condition without any marks, and upon quick inspection, the inside of the mailbox shines as if it has just been cleaned.
The overall condition is close to new, but what concerns me is… That there is not a single person.
From Noble mtl dot com
In such a large city, the buildings appear to be new, but there are no traces of use at all. Is this strangeness called liminal space? I feel distant, like I’m trapped in a space with no one around.
No, there are people. There’s smoke coming from over there. I gathered my spirit to escape to Samcheonpo and quickened my steps again.
Now that I think about it, the direction of the magical power I felt matched the direction of the smoke. There must be someone who started the fire. Is it a few residents or a player? Actually, the answer is obvious.
“You’re here.”
“You’re here.”
The source of the smoke was a small bonfire. A group of men and women sitting around a weakly burning campfire look at me. Overall, her appearance is neat, but there is a subtle dust stain on her armor. It looks like he didn’t wait here for a day or two. As you may have noticed from the mention of ‘armor’, they are all players.
How long did we wait longer than that? It’s definitely at the top level, so it seems like there aren’t enough people.
“Am I the last?”
“Yes. “There was just one person missing.”
A rough-looking woman stands up, bending her neck from side to side. The number of people staying at the bonfire was seven. Including me, there are a total of eight people.
“I thought I was going to die because I was so stingy.”
“My words. “Is this just the beginning?”
Other players also warmed up in the same way. Everyone is just having fun. People who can be recognized as ‘experts’ wherever they go. If the quality of players is this high, it will probably be easy to beat the 23rd floor.
My heart is pounding. The fact that such great people join forces to overcome the tower… The fact that I was working hard to become stronger stimulated the romance in my heart.
“Everyone. I don’t know why I should tell you this right away, but… “
“… ?”
“Let’s do really well. “Let’s clear it.”
“You are saying something obvious.”
“Huh, indeed. Not even a child. “It would be better to wake up quickly and go back.”
Other players shook their heads. They looked embarrassed when they heard what I said, while also raising one corner of their mouth and bursting into laughter. We are not enemies. They are colleagues who climb the tower together.
[8/8]
“It’s the beginning.”
“Let’s go.”
A number appeared before my eyes as if the conditions had been met with my arrival.
“Smoke?”
“It seems like some kind of gimmick.”
Between the buildings, cloudy smoke gradually began to creep in from all directions. It doesn’t look like natural acting, and is quite artificial.
“Uh, uh… “
The smoke, which had been forming in a circle, instantly filled the space. By the time I couldn’t see an inch ahead due to the hazy smoke… From that moment on, there was no sound. The magic power I was using as a substitute for vision did not extend beyond my body. It feels as if my whole body has been wrapped by an invisible hand.
“… “
“… “
10 Seconds like that. 20 Seconds. 30 Seconds.
When exactly one minute had passed, the fog suddenly dissipated and my previously frustrating vision became brighter. The visible scenery is the same. Small bonfire. A village that is incredibly clean. Even the dark sky.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. There is nothing wrong with my body… “
I checked everyone’s physical condition, but I didn’t feel anything unusual. The magic works well, all the items are there, and all the limbs are attached.
When the series of confirmation processes were completed, a message window appeared before my eyes.
＜23Rd floor＞
-Find and kill the two false beings. They will try to take the climbers’ lives.
-For each day that passes, climbers are given one disadvantage.
-Every day before the sun sets, there is a mission you must complete. If there are uncompleted missions, you will be at a significant disadvantage.
“Finding two false beings… “
“Is there a monster hiding somewhere in this town? “What is your mission?”
“I still don’t understand… “Doesn’t anyone have a child with a spinning head?”
Neither I nor the other players clearly understood the tasks on the 23rd floor. What is a mission, and what is a false existence? It can’t be anything but a naughty task befitting this naughty town…
“Wait a minute.”
No, I feel a sense of discomfort. Something… Something is very wrong. Same town. Same sky. And the same person… ?
“How many of us are there now?”
“What do you mean?”
What kind of idiot are you talking about? A man frowning his eyebrows with an expression.
“No, you can’t even count numbers properly? Look Carefully. One. Two. Three. Four. Five six.”
The voice of a man who vigorously counted people.
“Seven. Eight… nine… “
“… “
“… “
“… Heat.”
By the time we counted the tenth person, it had become so quiet that we couldn’t hear it properly.
“Weren’t there definitely eight of us?”
“There were definitely eight people. “I also saw the number [8/8].”
Eight people came in, and ten came out. Two people increased.
“The two false beings that the status window was talking about… Was it something like this?”
“So you’re saying the two people here aren’t real people, but monsters?”
“I guess that’s it.”
Among the other players muttering with serious expressions, there is no one who looks awkward or stands out. Everything I saw at the bonfire, at the bonfire, at the bonfire…
“Holy sh*t.”
My memory is vague. I can’t remember people’s faces properly. Even though I’m not good at memorizing people’s faces, I’m not at a level where I can forget the faces of people I saw just 10 minutes ago. This… It’s a ploy by the tower.
“Hey, do you remember who is who? “There are people who have stayed here for a long time.”
“I remember. I have a friend with whom I talked about life. So, that friend… “Holy sh*t.”
“Was the person next to me a man? Was it a woman? “I don’t even remember that?”
“What number was I? Was it the last time? Was it your first time?”
Memory confusion is the same for other players. Although there were clearly some players who stayed for a long time, judging by the state of their armor, they did not recognize each other’s faces.
“You remember me, right? I came last. “I came and there were 8 people.”
“… Was it like that? But wasn’t the last person to come a woman?”
“No, I think the last two people came at once?”
“No, I am definitely the last… “
… Was I the last one? Now even my memories are jumbled. It’s ambiguous. Was I really the last one? No, it seems like someone came after me.
Confusion that overwhelms the entire situation. It was clear that they had decided to join forces, but the way they looked at the other players was slowly becoming distrustful.
-This is your mission.
-Repairing the sign at the west entrance [Incomplete]
-Reforge ingots at the blacksmith [Incomplete]
-Completing the artist’s final painting [Incomplete]
Finally, the ‘mission’ mentioned in the status window comes to mind.
“I… “I think we should go east.”
“I am from the northwest.”
“I am in the center of town.”
Even these missions are all different and in different locations.
“… Please wait a moment.”
In a situation where it is certain that two monsters are mixed among us, if their movements are mixed up… Anyone can die in an instant.
“First of all… “Let’s all talk about ourselves.”
We have to find the monster here and now.