An unexpected guest stood beside .
"I’ll do my best."
Gerado, a Third-Rank knight.
Despite insisting that no assistance was needed, he still followed , bringing along twenty of his subordinates.
As Gerado had confidently claid, the subordinates he selected seed useful.
There was even another knight of the sa Third Rank as him.
They would be more help than the players.
The six players beside hadn’t even reached level 20 yet, so the chances of them using Aura or magic were slim.
If I were to be generous, maybe one of them might be able to.
After the previous battle, I could feel that the players’ gazes toward had changed slightly.
Unless their eyes were for decoration, they must have realized that I had used sword energy, which was enough to make them wary.
We arrived at the forest Gerado had nad—Elbram.
I looked at the players.
"Don’t scatter. Stay together. I don’t know how strong this Bug Ritualist is, but we can’t afford to be picked off one by one."
"Understood."
The voice of the Japanese player, Okada Yuuji, rose higher than usual.
"We’ll spread out in a wide circular formation, moving through the forest. We should keep each other’s safety in mind while making sure to scan the entire area."
After finishing my words, I looked at Gerado, the Third-Rank knight, standing beside .
"Any better ideas?"
"No, this seems like a good plan."
I was hoping he might have a better tactic as a knight, but he didn’t seem to have any new ideas.
The response to the search ca much faster than expected.
A blood-soaked man, missing one arm, ca stumbling out of the forest in a panicked state.
It seed like he had bandaged his wound himself.
Once again, watching from the rear, I quickly walked forward to et the man.
"AAAHHH!!"
I grabbed the left shoulder of the man, whose eyes were filled with fear.
"Stop. Get a hold of yourself."
The man’s mouth opened wide.
"He’s dead! For sure, that Russian’s dead!!"
I lightly slapped the man’s cheek, who was spitting with panic.
His eyes were filled with intense fear.
"Right, you’ll have to kill the one who did it. Quickly tell who did it. And while you’re at it, tell your na and what country you’re from."
When I grabbed his collar, the man’s eyes seed to regain so level of clarity.
"Pl...Player...?"
"Yeah, a player. I’m asking why the number of participants in the exchange dropped from 10 to 9."
"The one controlling the bugs... and the monster next to him... they were too strong."
I started pulling more information from the man, now that he was speaking more coherently.
His na was Henry Thompson, from the UK. He was a Normal Difficulty player on Floor 7.
Seeing the fear still embedded in his eyes, it seed like Henry knew exactly where the Bug Ritualist was.
"Alright, let’s head back."
"Huh?"
"I said, let’s go back to where the Bug Ritualist is."
The British man with dark brown hair snapped at .
"Are you crazy?! A person from Hard Difficulty, Floor 10, was helpless and died! I’m not going there!"
Henry seed certain in his judgnt.
"No way, not with Second Rank. We’d just get wiped out in a group. We need at least Third Rank. But there’s no way soone like that would be at the exchange eting for this floor!"
I didn’t need to explain any further.
The other players stepped forward and grabbed Henry by the shoulder.
Matthew was the first to speak.
"Tell us quickly, whoever the enemy is, we’ve got soone here who can handle it."
Next, Okada stepped forward.
"You’ll be able to keep your life. You know this is a race against ti. The sooner we finish, the safer we’ll be. Tell us where they are."
Lena, the German woman, approached Henry as well.
She then pointed at with her finger.
"That guy will take care of everything."
I chuckled.
"You're acting like you’re leaving everything to ."
Lena shrugged her shoulders.
"You’re going to kill them all, right? You."
"Depends on the situation. And I need to make sure I’m contributing too."
Lena nodded at my words.
"I’ll do my best. But I’m not sure my best will be any better than you casually taking them down with a kick."
"You’ve got so low self-esteem, don’t you?"
At my words, Lena clicked her tongue.
"That example of kicking was ant to raise my self-esteem, okay?"
Fortunately, Lena and the others’ exaggerated praise seed to have convinced Henry.
"...Fine. If I can kill them, it’s better to kill them quickly."
I approached Henry again.
"Not you. Do you know where the other one is?"
Henry let out a deep sigh.
"I don’t know. I risked my life and ran left, and I saw that Arican woman running right for her life..."
He glanced at the players watching him.
"Make sure to check if there are any survivors along the way."
"Got it."
After re-equipping ourselves, we began to move forward again into Elbram Forest.
This was the day we entered Elbram Forest.
Day 1.
We had to face the night without any clear results.
In the end, the Arican woman player who had run away could not be found.
Since the number of participants in the exchange still remained [9], I could only assu that she was hiding, avoiding the Bug Ritualist.
Okada muttered beside .
"That guy, it’s like he’s hiding sowhere now, unlike when the three of them were roaming around. Why isn’t he showing himself?"
Henry shook his head.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
"He’s not that kind of person. You didn’t see the madness in his eyes when he killed that Russian guy. There was no one crazier than him..."
The Elbram Forest was cloaked in darkness.
The players and knights settled into their positions, sitting around.
At the center of the eight players, including myself, a campfire crackled.
Once again, no one spoke first.
I looked at Henry and asked.
"Do you know the na of that Arican woman who ran off to the right, and her tower difficulty?"
"Of course, I asked right when she was summoned at the forest’s edge. Her na is Nora Brooks... Easy difficulty, Floor 6."
"She must’ve been lucky to escape alive, then."
"That bugger... Ah, Bug Ritualist, was it? When I first saw him, I had a feeling I had to back off slowly. I guess he just knew when to run."
After that, there wasn’t much else to say.
It seed no one else had anything to add either, and we all stayed silent.
It wasn’t that there was nothing to say—it felt like everyone was reluctant to speak.
I stood up and slowly walked through the surrounding forest.
Thud, thud.
Soone followed behind , not even trying to hide their footsteps as they approached. It was Lena Vogel, the German woman.
"I’ve got a question."
Lena, walking side by side, suddenly asked .
"What’s up?"
"Are you 'Private'? You know, the person who always tops the rankings, constantly deleting their ranking page."
Lena’s gaze was fixed on the number above my head.
< 9 >
It ant I had cleared Floor 8 and was residing on Floor 9.
Coincidentally, 'Private' had also just cleared Floor 8 recently.
Lena must have pieced that together in her head.
"No."
Even if I denied it, she wouldn’t believe it.
Leaving aside the floor I was currently on, after seeing use sword energy so openly during the exchange, she was probably suspicious, nearly certain.
But I wasn’t going to admit to it.
"Ah, I see."
Lena nodded at my response.
After all, I was wearing a mask. She didn’t know my na, and she didn’t know which tower I ca from, so even if she did figure it out, all she would know is that the masked guy at the exchange is 'Private'.
My information wouldn’t leak.
Lena seed to realize I wasn’t planning to tell her the truth and naturally stepped back.
"Hmm."
I leaned against a massive tree and looked up at the sky, taking in the sight of stars glowing against the dark background.
Although the situation was urgent, the beautiful view cald my mind.
I took out the Binding Scroll, infused magic into the back, and activated the Veil of Secrets.
I pulled out the Transcendent Gallery terminal.
Title: Looks like our exchange eting friends realized I’m 'Private' ㅇㅇ
Author: ㅇㅇ*
- Yeah, considering I blatantly used sword energy like that, it would’ve been pretty scary if they didn’t figure it out.
Oh, and one of the two players originally assigned to the Bug Ritualist’s area has been found.
We’re camping here for the night.
I’ll wrap things up tomorrow.
ㄴ Yeah, if you’re wearing a head, it’s weird if they don’t notice, lol
ㄴ ...Looks like everyone we t at the exchange is just a big fool?
ㄴ Well, back in the earlier floors, so of the low-rank players were using sword energy in early Normal mode.
ㄴ First ti realizing there are people from the 21st century Earth among this new batch, lol. It’s such a strange world. Hilarious listening to the Climber Gallery talk.
ㄴ Thanks to being dragged into the tower, most of them quit stuff like stocks, haha. It’s funny, but their ntal health is much better now. Makes sense, right?
Hmm, I guess it does make sense.
ㄴ That’s right. There were plenty of grand beginnings in Normal mode too. But with no growth limit, 5th Rank was the cap, lol.
ㄴ You introducing yourself?
ㄴ Damn, yeah.
ㄴ ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
ㄴ Seriously, I thought I’d be a Sword Saint by the ti I hit Third Rank! But turns out, I’m a no-na stuck at the end of Fifth Rank.
ㄴ Spear King) So of my subordinates went to the Climber Gallery and got a little... weird. Talking about scrimmaging with the Murim League... the eldest son of a family executed a hero’s son? T-bagging, they called it... the executioner passed out after.
ㄴ Ahem, the foundations of the big clans are shaking.
ㄴ Usually, those who get pulled into the tower end up being the pillars of the sects, haha.
ㄴ Terms getting horribly corrupted.
ㄴ Absolute Monarch) ? If anyone disturbs the nation’s order, they should be thrown into prison no matter what the reason. They’ll beco good soon enough.
ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) Uh, uh, risky talk there.
ㄴ Ice Queen) Frozen! I’ve been watching the Climber Gallery, now I’m only looking at the Transcendent Gallery, haha!
ㄴ Elf Guy) Sa here... The Climber Gallery starts to get frustrating.
ㄴ Archmage) Slowly reduce the variables and clear it.
ㄴ Admin) Wearing a mask... Even if they figure it out, it’s just for this exchange, right? Just act humble and enjoy it.
ㄴ Sword of Light) If you see a lot of bugs, just use Aura Shield. That way, unless the Bug Ritualist is controlling so powerful creatures, they won’t be able to do much damage to you.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) Yeah, the fleeing player ntioned strong minions. We should be careful.
The morning ca. We began marching again.
Luckily, the harvest ca quickly.
Henry Thompson stepped back, his eyes wide.
"...Why is the dead guy in front of ? And why is he walking this way?"
A bizarrely contorted, blonde man with a disfigured body was limping toward us, his left foot dragging.
"Is that the Russian who died?"
Henry nodded blankly.
"...Yeah."
It seed like the Bug Ritualist had desecrated the body.
The tower was truly ruthless.
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