45 – Episode 45. Again Hardcore Root_(2)
2Nd floor of Gili’s general store. Suga’s personal space.
Suga only woke up after lunch.
As always, the old log ceiling greeted her today.
Then Suga let out a big sigh.
‘Ehh… I’m sick of it, I’m dying…’
I got up from my seat after I had sorted out the salpuri.
The fugitive’s lair has always been boring, but the past few days have been the worst of the worst.
The climb was stopped because a bully named Grou was threatening the villagers.
No one enters the tower, no one buys anything.
At least, the interesting rumors that were often heard are completely missing.
Thanks to that, Suga didn’t wake up until lunchtime.
I’m a morning person.
‘A life where I have to sleep because I have nothing to do… f*ck, am I going to die?’
What should I do to pass the time today?
Thinking about it, there is no trick, but Suga drank water and left her shop.
If you’re going to be still all day, it’s better to watch a cute kid.
Today, like yesterday, I went into the bar as naturally as I did yesterday.
The tavern, which hadn’t had much to do with it, looked even more miserable now that even the door had disappeared.
“Dana is alive…”
“Good morning, sister! There are still a lot of ingredients left, but are you already here? Would you like some stew?”
“Wow… I’m going to die anyway, so please don’t bother me anymore.”
“How is our house stew!”
“If you explain in detail, I could talk about it all day… Yes, that’s it! I’ll have to kill some time with it today. Now sit back and listen to how bad your stew is?”
“Do you have nothing to do?”
“Sure! Oh no week It’s not like I’m crazy.”
“Ehh, you can just make something to do. How about imitating Grandpa Dixie? You go for a walk three times a day these days.”
“That’s right, is the man’s body okay?”
Suga’s half-closed eyes opened completely when he heard the name Dixie.
Dixie was a wizard who was abandoned in the village after being attacked by a climber hunter.
It’s the reason why villagers can’t enter the tower these days, and what she’s been focusing on the most lately.
“They are sprouting and flying around. He agreed to help with the store from tomorrow.”
“Is that so? If possible, don’t go around and stay at home.”
“Why?”
“You should check whether the contract has disappeared or not. It’s annoying to look for.”
“Ah… That’s it? It’s only been two days since Dohyeon entered the tower, so please wait a little longer.”
“That’s how it should be. But what can I do when I have nothing else to do!”
Actually, what Suga was more interested in was the human named Lee Do-hyun who saved the old man.
It is also a miracle that a nobleman, who would have died long ago if he had been on another floor, came back to life.
The method used is also unique.
Thanks to that, for the past week, all of Suga’s nerves were focused on Lee Do-hyun.
But even that was amplified 200 times by entering the tower a few days ago.
As Suga kept whining, Dana grumbled.
“What about being in town? It’s much better to be in town than to be in danger by going into the tower.”
“Much more boring.”
“Ah, unnie, get used to it. How nice it is sometimes when people I know come back. Please tell me the funny story that happened at the tower.”
And from Suga’s point of view, only sighs came out the same way as Dana.
‘He’s kind and pretty, but if you take that out of it…’
This world was a world of competition.
It is also a fierce world where only one seat of the throne is covered, risking one’s life.
Climbers must still be fighting bloody battles on the upper floors, but Suga couldn’t understand the psychology of leaving those fun things behind and getting stuck in the village.
There were no customers at the bar today.
So, Dana shouldn’t have anything to do, but since earlier, she had been walking around wiping clean dishes for no reason, and she didn’t look into Suga’s eyes.
In an impatient voice, like someone being chased by something.
“And by the way, sister. The contract might not disappear, right?”
“Yes! The guy named Grow is the one who went backwards in the upper layer, so the probability that Mr. Dohyeon loses is much higher. Do you have any fun thoughts today?”
“Not that. You can just come back without fighting.”
“Ugh. That’s terribly boring.”
“You can come back if you find it difficult to go up. So do other people. Right?”
Suga didn’t like what Dana said, but that was the most likely.
Only 5 out of 100 people can go from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor.
Usually, before that, they either die because they can’t adapt to this world, or they die because of bad luck, or they get caught in a trap.
The most pitiful thing is to go backwards through the tower and settle down in this town.
That was the normal flow.
But from Suga’s point of view, at least Lee Do-hyun wasn’t that kind of person.
He was special.
Returners and the ability to recover health,
He had the ability to defy the rules of the Tower itself.
I don’t know about the rookies on the 1st floor, but in the upper floors, those who destroy the rules of the tower used to be called transcendentalists.
The name was given not because they were strong enough to transcend humans, but because ordinary humans could never understand them.
From noble mtl dot com
They had something in common.
The first is that he throws his life away like a worm.
The second is that he has no regrets about climbing.
The third is being strong.
Those who overcame the fear of the Tower used to obsess over their lives.
And I struggled to go up one more floor.
Everybody did.
That’s why they survived longer and climbed higher than others.
But the Transcendentalists didn’t want to survive and didn’t try to climb higher.
The rules of the match only work for those who want to win.
But how can you beat someone who has no intention of winning?
That was the secret of their strength.
The irony of going higher than others because you don’t want to climb higher.
Knowing that, Suga became obsessed with Lee Do-hyun.
Even though I’m weak like a bug right now.
Because one day, that alien power, the strange personality, will surely lead him to himself.
‘I’m sorry, Dana, but that bastard isn’t coming back. He would rather die fighting.’
And to Dana’s sad story, Transcendentalists never settled in the Tower.
To the extent that others look like a lunatic, he uses others and moves calculatedly.
In the end, he is left alone high up in the tower and becomes infamous.
And those involved, whether enemies or allies, are swept away by their fate.
As well as that halfling kid.
So, like Dana’s wish, there was no option for Lee Do-hyun to return to the village.
There are only two options for Lee Do-hyun to choose.
Beat him and go to the second floor, or throw his life away like a worm and die.
Suga wanted to check the results before leaving this town.
If Grow’s contract is up to the end, he will leave it for entertainment for the future.
And if the contract disappears…
I was thinking of putting him on the Golden Rule’s Boundary List.
That too in an incredibly enjoyable way.
At that time, an unfamiliar voice came from the entrance of the bar.
“I’m back. Can I do my job?”
“Are you here early? I heard you came around sunset?”
I looked at the entrance, and there was a wizard standing there.
The second person on the first floor who makes Suga happy.
As soon as he saw his face, Suga’s voice rose dramatically.
“Grandpa, are you up and running now? Is it worth living?”
“Thanks to you, I came back to life. Before it becomes a nuisance, I have to recover and return to the tower.”
“Wow, this old nobleman has guts. But I don’t usually say things like this, but you’d better be in town. If you hold the curse like that, I will die on the first floor.”
“If that’s the case, you won’t have to worry. Because I have a strong card in my own way.”
“Ehh, my mind is still going back and forth. Check the dog tags. Your precious Fireball will no longer be there.”
Then the old man grabbed the dog tag with a sour expression.
Then he smiled broadly at Suga.
“Heh heh, Fireball is fine. Stop worrying about me and have stew together.”
“Is there a fireball?”
“How many times do you say? You are fine.”
Rock-!
At that moment, Suga disappeared from the chair, and he appeared in front of the old man in an instant.
He was still clutching his dog tag.
“Oops, surprise me…! Be careful, the old man’s liver will fall.”
“What is it? Are there real fireballs…?”
“If you are talking about the cards the young man took, thank you for taking two curses.”
“What? Really? Isn’t that bastard crazy!?”
“Perhaps it was to save me, but I’m starting to get worried. No matter how strong you are, it will be difficult to survive with the curse…”
Suga’s expression twisted, then straightened in an instant.
Putting the curse on purpose was insane.
Although it has a strong ability, the more you use it, the more the climber will surely fall into death.
The fact that no climber on the 40th floor was holding a curse card proved that.
However, when I thought about Lee Do-hyun’s ability, a completely different picture unfolded.
Curse cards and recovery abilities.
‘I’m going to use my recovery ability… That’s it.’
But he couldn’t understand that alone.
No matter how hard it is, to pick up a curse card even with an outstanding combo of Fireball and Meditation right in front of you.
That disparate sense made a smile appear on Suga’s lips.
‘Cursed deck… Crazy bastard.’
Still pretending to pick up a fireball.
After knowing the truth about her, her heart became more earnest.
I hope that we will know whether Lee Do-hyun is alive or dead until three days after we leave this village.
She spent several boring years, but at the last moment she couldn’t miss the most delicious thing.
But then.
Something unusual caught Suga’s eyes.
It was at the bottom of the old man’s dog tag.
“The contract is…”
It was there until a second ago, but a sentence disappeared from the old man’s dog tag in an instant.
[Party Contractor: Grow Stone] Was the sentence.
That meant one thing.
“Dana. Mr. Dohyun is alive.”
“Yes!? Uh… That means…”
“Yes. Since the contract disappeared, it must mean that Mr. Dohyeon has now arrived on the second floor. I have to inform the villagers.”
After knowing the ending, the two of them had completely opposite expressions.
Suga left the pub with a smile full of satisfaction.
Dana’s blank expression was covered with loneliness.
**
After the sun had set, Dana made her way through the darkened streets to the tower.
And she climbed the watchtower at the entrance of the tower in a natural gesture.
Looking at the entrance of the tower from the watchtower, the entrance looked like a dark precipice.
Once you fall in, you can never come out, and you feel dizzy just standing nearby.
She always climbed this watchtower and looked at the entrance of the tower when it was a gloomy day.