The key to the plan I have set this ti is to attract attention.
I must completely disrupt the nerves of the city’s master. I need to create an environnt where she cannot concentrate.
And if I want to disturb the nerves of the city’s master, who suggests fighting her if you’re annoyed by her managent, there’s no better way than giving her a fight.
And, of course, I cannot play that role. If I’m touched by lightning, I’ll regress. The option of fighting personally is impossible from the start.
But isn’t a great leader’s virtue not about being good at everything, but rather valuing and employing people who are skilled in those areas?
If I cannot fight, then I just need to find soone who can fight in my place.
And as far as I know, the strongest person among those who haven’t yet co to the second floor is Choi Ji-Won.
Even though the heartfelt conversation we shared in the past lingers in my heart, making sowhat reluctant to face her... I have no choice.
There’s no alternative. What can I do?
But you might ask, how do I know when Choi Ji-Won will co up? I have thought this through before acting.
Firstly, it’s considerably easy to hold out on the second floor.
The residents of Silver Grade are diligent in their work due to compulsion.
And they seem to have little interest in money, either because there’s nowhere to spend it or because they lack the free will to do so. Most places offer all services for free.
I haven’t been outside the city, but I hear the resources are incredibly abundant... It makes sense that there’s no intention to demand compensation.
What does this an? It ans one can dine without paying.
Food? Just casually walk into any restaurant and eat.
Clothes? Enter any clothing store, and they’ll let you take whatever you like.
Sleep? There are inns in this city. Of course, due to the lack of foot traffic, they’re mostly empty, but still... they exist. If you want to sleep, you can.
Every aspect of this environnt is optimized for endurance. If it had been a dangerous environnt like in the tutorial, I wouldn’t have dared to wait for Choi Ji-Won.
When I reviewed the plan in my head, it seed perfect.
In two months, Choi Ji-Won will succeed in climbing to the 10th floor.
So, at the latest, she should enter the 2nd floor within a month. There’s no need to wait for years.
“Well, then...”
I settled in a corner of the open space, crouching down to start watching for people being summoned.
When will you co, Choi Ji-Won?
I hope... you co quickly.
“...”
The sun was beginning to set.
Choi Ji-Won was nowhere to be seen yet. I only learned so useless information: during the day, more Asians are summoned, and as ti passes, the proportion of Westerners increases - Perhaps due to the different ti zones on Earth, while ti in the tower is fixed.
“Should I go to sleep now?”
As darkness fell and sleepiness crept in, I headed to the inn. There was no plan to sleep long. It seed unlikely that Choi Ji-Won would co to the 2nd floor in the early morning hours by Korean standards, but you never know. My endurance test was just beginning.
“Bro, what’s up with that guy?”
“I don’t know. He’s just always there like that. Let’s not bother. Just look for soone with a gold mark. Damn, I heard the dawn shift is the best.”
“The dawn shift?”
“If you got a gold mark, would you co during the day or at dawn? I heard the odds are much better in the early morning.”
A week passed.
Choi Ji-Won still hadn’t arrived.
The biggest problem with doing nothing is overcoming boredom.
Scanning the faces of those arriving on the second floor and checking for Choi Ji-Won was excruciatingly dull.
“But is this gold mark really aningful? I’m not even sure if the rewards are significantly different…”
“Man, you really know nothing, do you? In the underworld, rumors about the ‘Magic Potion’ have already spread far and wide. I only recently found out it cos from the tower... Anyway, it’s all the rage these days. Did you know that wealthy old folks are buying up everything that cos out of the tower?”
“...Really?”
“I’m from Detroit, you know? Right now, potions are the hottest item. Especially the lower grades*, you can’t get them even with money. You think I ca to the second floor for no reason? If I get this, I’ll hit the jackpot. I could buy a truckload of won. You can’t make won on the first floor.”
“Right…”
But the thugs blocking the alleyway were no different; they never stopped talking for a mont.
When you think about it, it’s true. How long are they supposed to wait here aimlessly, hoping soone will co with a gold mark?
and the thugs, in the end, we all had to win the battle against ourselves.
At least the guy blocking the path near was chatty, which kept entertained for a while, but even that had its limits.
Fighting like hell with a goblin seems easier than this.
Choi Ji-Won, when are you coming...
Two weeks passed.
Yesterday in the early evening, David, the guy who acted friendly with , cleared the second floor with a gold mark.
What about the guys blocking the path?
“Move aside, I’ve got four marks here. We’re supposed to help each other out, right?”
“Oh, wow…”
He bribed them with the marks. It probably took about two weeks because he needed ti to gather enough gold marks to bribe the thugs blocking his way.
“It took so ti because of the NPCs getting in the way… but I was in the football team. You gotta win the ga, right?”
David had a triumphant expression, like a running back who just scored a touchdown.
I thought about saying sothing, but... it seed pointless, so I let it go.
Choi Ji-Won, when are you coming? I’m really going to lose my mind at this rate.
Two and a half weeks had passed.
I occasionally saw other Koreans, but still, no familiar faces appeared.
Because of this, unable to overco my boredom, I beca acquainted with the thugs blocking the alley near where I was. (The ones who were talking before had already obtained gold marks and cleared the floor. They called it ‘graduating’.)
I asked them sothing I had been curious about for a while.
The one who created the tower initially proclaid to judge humanity, and in the tutorial, that was actually demonstrated.
Despite this, I asked why there were still those who committed evil acts...
The answer was more shocking than I expected.
“Well… soone else will probably handle that judgnt. No one expects to clear the 66th floor anyway. Wouldn’t it be okay for to live like a jerk just this once? It’s not like I’m the only one doing this.”
One with a ‘just ’ mindset.
“The judgnt is over, right? That ans the price has been paid. What? What if there’s another judgnt later? Then... just lose so stats or sothing. Paying the price is enough, right?
One willing to commit evil acts, expecting to pay for them later.
“Just don’t think about it, you know? My life’s already screwed... might as well all go down together.”
One without any thoughts.
“…”
The world is vast.
Globally, are there more good people or bad?
More educated or uneducated?
The never-ending cri across the world seems, in a way, inevitable.
When too much power is given to an individual, chaos is inevitable.
I must climb the tower quickly.
Three weeks had passed.
After a long wait... I finally ca face to face with soone I knew.
“Long ti no see… or should I say that?”
Yes.
The person everyone had been waiting for.
If this world were a novel and I were a reader, the person I would have looked forward to eting again.
A person with a righteous heart.
Walking towards with a commanding presence and extending a handshake.
“Pleased to et you. Do you rember ?”
It was Park Cheol-Jin, the middle-aged firefighter.
“I’m grateful for your help in the tutorial. You saved my life…”
“…”
“At first, I wondered if I was dreaming... but I wasn’t the only one with that experience. Being able to create a portal to the first floor whenever... I’ve co to accept it sowhat.”
“...”
“To think we did the tutorial together and now the second floor... Feels like it’s fate, doesn’t it? Ah, how long have you been on the second floor? There doesn’t seem to be any imdiate threat, but... I haven’t seen any mission objectives yet.”
It’s good to see him.
But... I wish it were soone else I was more eager to see.
Feeling gloomy, I unknowingly clenched my mouth shut.
“Sorry, there are many things I want to ask and say… but there’s soone I’m waiting for. Ah, there she cos.”
Turning around, firefighter Park Cheol-Jin looked towards the center of the square.
Step. Step.
In the direction he was looking, a woman was walking towards us.
“…What are you doing here, looking like that?”
Swishing ponytail. A familiar-shaped sword.
As I slowly turned my head, the face from my mory was staring right at .
Those cold eyes were fixed on .
“…Thank you for your help in the tutorial.”
Choi Ji-Won.
She had finally reached the second floor.
{‘Especially the lower grades*, you can’t get them even with money’ - it was said because there’s another grade lower than that - lowest.}
– – – End of Chapter – – -
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