Chapter 235.1 – Tutorial 56th Floor (1)
Editor: Tide
“A banquet?”
“Yes, it’s this evening.”
Why are you telling me this now? I guess it’s because you’ve started to understand me.
Ever since I’d decided to take a few days off from the 55th floor, Sung-Joo had been relentlessly inviting me for meals. Of course, I refused many times.
After those repeated rejections came an invite for a banquet hosted by Sung-Joo.
The guilty feeling of continuously turning down Sung-Joo’s invitations had been nagging at me, so I was about to suggest having a meal together, but it seemed like attending the banquet would also serve to ease my guilt.
When I asked the butler, he’d said he’d already planned for the impromptu banquet a few days in advance.
The butler a.s.sumed that I was interested in the banquet, and he explained the event logistics in significant detail. He chattered on for minutes about the status of the preparations, how many people had been invited, and how many days the banquet would last.
After listening to the butler’s droning, I felt an inexplicable urge to simply stand and run away from all his babbling, but I resisted the urge and listened to him some more.
“And this banquet will be attended by Young-ae.”
“Is she well? After suffering from that curse and what not.”
The clear mission of the 55th floor-stage was to get jewelry from the Dungeon to save Young-ae from the curse.
“Yes, thanks to the apostle. You’ve recovered much faster than expected.”
(T/N: apostle here refers to Lee Ho-jae, in case you didn’t know.)
Continuing his rambling, the butler began to narrate Young-ae’s features in detail from how beautiful she was to the nature of her mannerisms.
The sight of an old man portraying a girl in her late teens as a G.o.ddess sent shivers down my spine. I’d seen him numerous times in the past few days, but I still couldn’t get used to him.
Next, the butler also told me about Young-ae’s role in the banquet.
“Letter?”
“Yes, this is a letter from Young-ae to the apostle.”
“…Will that be recited in the banquet hall? In public?”
“Yes, it’s one of the main events of this banquet.”
That was weird.
Going to a crowded banquet hall was already intolerable enough, but I could force myself to endure.
Honestly, I was curious about the banquet. But d.a.m.n, that letter reading was going to be disturbing.
First of all, I replied to the butler that I understood and quickly sent him out. The sooner he left, the better.
The butler exited with great joy once I agreed to join the banquet.
[Are you really going?]
“Are you crazy?”
As long as there was an event of Young-ae reciting the letter, I wouldn’t go to the banquet. You wanted me to listen to a letter in front of people? At the banquet’s main event? I couldn’t care less about the content of the letter and just knew that there was no way in h.e.l.l I’d be going there.
Of course, I could just be overreacting. Young-ae’s letter could be a thank you note for my services. But then, isn’t it more natural for Sung-joo to be the one giving his thanks?
I remembered the recent actions of the butler, such as praising Young-ae excessively, trying to keep me informed of Young-ae, asking if I could meet Young-ae, who was lying in bed, and tell her about me, and on and on.
I recalled confessing to my crush in front of the whole school when I’d been a student. It was an old memory, but it amazed me that I was able to recall the event with such detail. No matter how I thought about it, the banquet reminded me too much about that dark memory.
“Let’s make a run for it.”
[I knew it! Hu Hu Hu Hu. Seregia, I’ll grant you a wish later.] Ahb.o.o.boo chuckled.
[If it’s a strange wish, I’ll say no.]
I guess the two of them even made a bet.
Ahb.o.o.boo, who’d already lost his chance to get fixed, often flew around, but usually hung on a handkerchief tied to a soul sword possessed by Seregia. Perhaps because of that, I felt like the two were getting close recently.
Are they dating?
When I was awake, I could hear what they were talking about, but I had no idea what they were talking about while I was asleep. Just like how I didn’t know about the bet they made.
I’ll ask them later about their relationship. If the relationship they have now is still in the stage where they maintain a subtle distance from each other, then my question could unintentionally strike a sore spot.
“Ahb.o.o.boo. You remember Mado Engineering right?”
[Yes, yes. I remember everything I learned. I also remember what parts I didn’t understand.]
“Don’t forget or get confused later.”
After confirming that Ahb.o.o.boo knew about Mado engineering, I called the frog.
“Hey frog, we’re going to use the ring.”
“Kee-ek!”
The frog disapproved, but the ring activated to bring us back to the sub-dimensional world.
Ever since I’d cleared the 55th floor, there’d been a portal hovering around me.
“Move.”
* * * * * *
[Welcome to the waiting room on the 56th floor]
“What is this?”
After using the portal, I thought I’d naturally be moved over to Kirikiri’s fields, but the place where I’d gotten transported to was near a waterfall.
Before I entered the 55th floor, I remembered that Kirikiri said I wouldn’t be able to see her soon. I a.s.sumed that she meant I’d have to stay longer on the 55th floor. But now that I see it, she didn’t mention the process of clearing the 55th floor.
“This is awkward.”
[What’s wrong?] Ahb.o.o.boo asked, but for now, I remained silent.
Was it because I had to learn something from the 55th floor or did Kirikiri think I needed a break? Even though I was grateful, I had questions.
If after clearing the stage, the process of being transported to Kirikiri’s field had been omitted, then when would I be able to see Kirikiri again? What kind of place is this?
The notification indicated that this was the waiting room, but there was no sign of a portal for the next stage. In the waiting room, there was no furniture, such as beds, that would’ve usually been there.
There was just a ma.s.sive waterfall. Releasing my mana, I looked around, and found out that a huge cave lied behind the waterfall.
I went into the cave, but it ended up being eerily empty. Even small creatures such as bugs and bats couldn’t be seen. The only thing in the cave was a crystal ball that layed, discarded, near the bottom of the cave.
[h.e.l.lo.] A resonating voice came out of the crystal ball and greeted me.
“Who are you?”
[Challenger, I’m Karin, who will guide you till the 59th floor.]
* * * * * *
The voice from the crystal ball had taken the name ‘Karin’. The most important thing was that the voice referred to me as a challenger.
“Are you part of the Tutorial System?”
The voice didn’t answer my question immediately. After a brief pause, it spoke.
[You may see it that way, but it’s more of a vaccine than a tutorial.]
(T/N: It literally says vaccine here. If any of the readers have any idea what this is supposed to be, please let us know _(:3」∠)_)
What? I’ve been hearing a lot of strange stories today.
“Then, are you like a manager?”
There was a manager for each difficulty level in the tutorial. In the case of h.e.l.l’s difficulty, Kirikiri filled that role.
[From your point of view, it’s similar, but the reality is quite different.]
It was similar. But the reality was different. But from my point of view, it was similar. Are you saying that you belonged to the same system? That you’re an equal? Firstly, I don’t think this thing can ever replace Kirikiri.
I asked for a detailed explanation from the voice. Fortunately, the voice began to explain as I’d requested.
[My role here is to decide which stage is right for you.]
“Stage?”
[Yes, I will decide which stage you will go to, from the 56th floor to the 59th floor.]
It meant that the content of the stage could change depending on the voice’s intention. I decided to ask more about this later, and appreciated the fact that there was an end to the 59th floor.
“After clearing the 59th floor, can I meet Kirikiri again?”
This was the most important question. A new store window would open as soon as I entered the 60th floor. I yearned to listen to Kirikiri’s advice, preferably before entering the 60th floor.
[KiriKiri?]
“h.e.l.l’s Difficulty Manager.”
[Oh. Yeah, as you said, once we clear the 59th floor, we’ll see her again.]
Kirikiri’s position in the tutorial, no, in the vaccine, seemed to be quite high. It was a predictable statement, but quite puzzling to learn it this way.
“Then are you an apostle?”
I didn’t think it was G.o.d. Apostle came to my mind first when she said she belonged to a vaccine war.
[No.]
No, she’s not. There’s nothing that fits today.
[I don’t belong to one G.o.d. I’m just working for a vaccine war. To put it bluntly, it’s a slightly higher position than a typical apostle.]
You needn’t explain something that I didn’t ask… I continued to ask more questions.
“Why are you talking through the crystal ball? And also, why was this important crystal ball discarded on the bottom of the cave?”
[The G.o.ds said it would be better to talk through the crystal ball. I don’t know.
It’s better to not question a G.o.d’s advice.]
It’s better to not question a G.o.d’s advice? What a funny remark. Maybe it was because people usually get disappointed or embarra.s.sed when they hear the reason.
I became even more interested in the reason. The voice, “Karin,” was seen as a member of the vaccine war and interacted comfortably with the G.o.ds.
I was curious about the ident.i.ty of the voice. “What exactly are you? What do you usually do other than the role of giving a stage?”
Listening to me, Karin gladly introduced itself again.
“Dragon?”
[Yes.]
Karin’s voice showed pride in its race. It wasn’t a sin to be proud.
I remembered the people on the 20th floor worshipping dead dragons like G.o.ds. For them, dragons were divine beings. After hearing the word dragon, it felt strange to think it was related to the vaccine war.
On the other hand, I was happy. Dragon.
Oh. My. G.o.d.
“Hey.”
[Huh?]
“Come out for a second. Let me see your face for a moment.”
[… Can I hear why you want to meet me and why?]
“Why? Because I want to see a dragon in person. It’s been a dream since I was a kid.”
[Don’t lie to me.]
d.a.m.n it. Was it that obvious? Suddenly, it became alert.
“You have to decide which stage is right for me. Wouldn’t it be better to meet me in person? You know, to measure my combat capabilities.”
[But the G.o.ds advise…]
“Scared?”
At my words, Karin sounded embarra.s.sed and shouted, [What coward! I am a dragon! Even though you’re a challenger, do you think I’m going to be scared of you?]
“Then come out for a moment, yea?”
[….]
“Scared?”