Chapter 14
In an instant, my body is transported to a pure-white waiting room.
"Ooh, refreshing!!"
Every foreign substance on my body is removed, and my stamina and wounds are completely restored. The strange sensation in my lower abdomen has disappeared as well.
I'm dressed in clothes that look like something medieval Western officials might have worn.
'This is why you keep climbing without a break.'
[Choose a weapon]
Just like on Floor 2, weapon racks rise in a circle around me.
- What are you picking this time?
- Just pick one you're good with
- An axe is good too
- Let's kill, let's kill
- Something good for slaughter
- Anything that's good at killing people
- Better put a content warning on this one
- ?? What comes out on Floor 3?
- Why did these guys suddenly become slaughterers?
There was a reason people were saying such cruel things....
*
[Tower-Climbing Support Gallery]
---
[Title] : Newbies, stop asking about Floor 3 and read this
[Content]
Looks like some people who don't usually care about this place have shown up, so I'll explain what Floor 3 is about.
The theme of Floor 3 is 'massacre.' The opening story has you catching a criminal and whatnot, but don't do that. Go to the village you're told to enter, then kill every human you see without asking questions or making inquiries.
That's it.
For the record, this isn't my opinion—it's the 'official strategy.'
[Comments] :
- ???
- What you see on Floor 3 is this: 'Can you kill even innocent people?'
- They're fictional people anyway, so can't we just kill them all?
ㄴ Well.... You'll understand when you see it, but it's fucking realistic;;
- I don't get it;; Can't we just solve the case?
ㄴ They say not to.
ㄴ If you do that, the survival rate is under 10%.
- There is a way to solve the case, though.....
---
*
"I'm going with a spear this time."
A spear of an awkward length, around 1.5 meters. But that makes it easy to handle with this body.
- A spear isn't bad....
- Seeing how well you handle a staff, a spear should work too
- ㅇㅋㅇㅋ
- Let's go!!!
And there's something I want to say before I go.
"This time, I'm going to try for the true ending."
The true ending.
It's one of the ways to raise the Tower's reward rank.
Rather than merely receiving a rank adjusted passively according to the difficulty, it's a way for the player to act proactively and receive a higher-grade reward.
The Tower also lets you actively raise your rank through hidden endings or party contribution, not just true endings.
But would you go out of your way to get a higher reward?
Of course, the difficulty of progressing is extremely, extremely high. That's why the Awakener Association and all six major guilds tell people never to pursue the true ending on Floor 3.
Even if there's already a strategy? Their attitude is, 'Someone like you can't do it.'
The same goes for me. Since the trials aren't always the same, there will be some that even I can't do.
"Everyone, I'm not saying I'll definitely get the true ending. I'll look at the conditions first, and if it seems possible, I'll give it a try."
I can't be 100% certain either. But it would be such a shame to end things here.
Only Floors 3 and 4 among the tutorial floors have true endings. Considering how important the early choices are, I think it's worth trying.
- Hmmmm....
- Right, check whether it's possible early on, and if not, follow the normal strategy?
- You told us ahead of time this time
- Ahead of time (10 seconds before entering)
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Ah, anyway, she told us ahead of time~
- It's fine; if it looks too hard, just massacre them
"Thank you for trusting me. Now, let's go!!!"
Please let me meet the conditions for the true ending, I pray as I surrender my body to the white radiance.
***
A high, blue sky.
- Clip-clop.... Clip-clop.....
Mounted on a slowly moving horse, I pass along a bumpy dirt road, feeling the gentle rocking.
Far across the broad wheat fields, I can see a tiny village.
[You are an investigator for the kingdom. Catch the culprit and solve the case]
A very simple explanation.
If I just keep going, I'll reach the village, where I catch the culprit and finish.... As if it could be that easy.
If I go in like this and say, 'I'm an investigator! Cooperate with me!!' I'll be stabbed with a spear and end up skewered.
Unless I have insane powers of persuasion, most of the villagers are already steeped in hatred for investigators, so the 'official strategy' is to massacre the villagers without asking questions or making inquiries.
- Should we hold a meeting first?
- Wait
- We've got plenty of time here anyway, so let's take a break
As the viewers said, there's no need to charge in right away.
"Yes, let's assess the situation first."
First, I dismount and unpack my belongings.
"This is an ID card.... Useless travel supplies, and.... Here it is. Shall we read it together?"
When you arrive in another world, gathering information comes first.
Investigation journal.
Reading this should give me a rough outline of this trial.
<Record of the Inspector from the Second Heizen Branch of the Kingdom Inspection Bureau.>
[Date] : June 14, Imperial Year 472
[Case] : Investigation into the serial rape case that occurred in the city of Koshva.
"A serial ra....pe....?"
Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?
I ignore it for now and continue reading.
[Recorder] : Pichina Evenstein
'My name is Pichina? My surname is Evenstein? I must be a noble, then....'
[Summary] : The undersigned inspector was dispatched to the village of Boringer to investigate the serial rape case in the city of Koshva. Since the times of the crimes have always coincided with the village's trading hours, there is a strong possibility that a likely suspect is present.
[Victims] : Lilia Bellonia and at least 20 others, presumed.
[Criminal's characteristics] : A large-built middle-aged man, a large scar on his lower abdomen, an enormous dick, slightly curved so that it points upward when penetrating...
-Smack!
I quickly fold the case journal shut.
"I think we've seen enough. It looks like the investigation began after a noblewoman became a victim, and the large scar on the lower abdomen is probably the key evidence."
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- That's a case journal...?
- What a filthy aristocratic world
- Why'd you close it there? The giant dick is an important detail
- So the 20 commoners are just 'and others'.....
- Why are there so many dick descriptions? No face description?
"Yeah..... It says they don't know his face because he wore a mask. Anyway, guys. You all saw it, right?"
- Yes
- Saw.... it?
- ㅇㅇ
- What
- ??
- Why
"Why what? Figure out who the culprit is already."
- Huh?
- Me?
- ???
- How the fuck are we supposed to know from just that?
- ???
- Us?
"Oh, never mind if you don't know."
There's a reason I said something so out of the blue.
The Tower seems to present a new trial every time, but in fact, that's not the case.
Surprisingly, there are times when the trial is exactly the same.
In fact, the city of Koshva mentioned in the case journal is a city I know. It's a city under the Duchy of Heizen in the Kingdom of Luminous.
How do I know?
'It's the city where I fought the Demon King's army on Floor 33.... I guess it's peaceful now.'
The era is different, but it's clearly a real city in a real world.
It's still only a theory, but it's practically established that rather than creating new trials, the Tower implements or recreates historical events from various worlds.
The evidence is that you can leave this place and wander around this fantasy world, living there. You can return to Koshva City to gather more evidence, or ignore everything and go on vacation to a seaside village.
I didn't even try it on Floors 1 and 2, but if you set your mind to it, you can turn around and leave there too. But since you might get unlucky and face an increased difficulty, or encounter a higher difficulty later on, there's no reason to try.
There was even an incident where someone who let the culprit escape on Floor 3 returned to the real world five years later, after the culprit died somewhere.
Anyway, since the number of cases isn't infinite, people sometimes end up assigned the same case. That's why I asked the viewers.
"Um..... Unfortunately, it seems nobody who handled this case ever reported it."
There is a reporting procedure because trials can overlap perfectly, but honestly, 50% of people skip reporting, and half of the rest only report it within their own guild.
'I worked so hard to get this activated....'
Turns out the government subsidy paid for reporting after my death had been discontinued.
- Let's just kill them all.
- Massacre ending, let's go
- Let's get in there~~
- Let's kill them all cleanly and finish this, right?
- ??? : Just die
I don't know who the culprit is. But the villagers won't even cooperate with the investigation. It would be lucky if they didn't shoot arrows at me the moment I arrived.
So if I just kill them all, the culprit will die too, ending the case. Easy and simple.
Aside from a few members of the vigilante group, most are farmers, frail old people, and women, so I should be able to win more easily than expected if I launch a surprise attack.
But—
"No, this looks like it might have a true ending, doesn't it? Am I the only one who sees a solution?"
I have to see the true ending of Floor 3's trial.
*
[Tower-Climbing Support Gallery]
---
[Title] : Anyone curious about the Floor 3 true ending, come in....
[Content]
I'm tired of answering all the questions that keep getting posted, so read this whole thing.
To get the true ending, you have to arrest only the culprit without killing any villagers.
It sounds easy, but the village on Floor 3 is incredibly difficult because a previous investigator did stupid things there, like arresting and killing innocent people or raping women.
That doesn't mean it's impossible.
There are various ways, whether you persuade them with pure smooth talking or kidnap them secretly.
The details vary slightly from trial to trial, so there's no way to know what the correct answer is. It's just fucking hard.
There's a reason the reward rank goes up by one when you get the true ending.
---
*
"I'm going to take these off first."
- ??
- ㅗㅜㅑ
- Oh
- 1. Strip first
- Stripping is acceptable
- Are you going in as a prostitute?
- Strip....!
"I have to disguise myself to get in first, or what am I supposed to do?"
If hatred for investigators makes it impossible to investigate, then why not enter as a different profession?
And what is the all-purpose wandering profession of the Middle Ages?
'An adventurer~'
- Jiggle~
I take off my fine-looking shirt and accessories and lightly bury them in the nearby ground.
Then I roll the remaining thin clothes around in the dirt once and stretch them this way and that to make them look shabby.
'Hmm.... These pants too....'
The leather of these pants is far too fine. There's no way an adventurer would wear them, right? I take them off, then lightly tear the cloak, wrap it around myself like a skirt, and tie it in place.
'Hmm, these underwear are too....'
I take off the expensive lace-trimmed underwear as well.
Then I lightly smear some dirt over my face in a natural-looking way and tether the horse with the luggage attached near the investigator's coat.
"How do I look? You can roughly tell what profession I am, right?"
This isn't the first or second time I've done something like this in the Tower. Most cases were solved with greater force, but there have definitely been exceptions.
Disguise and camouflage are basic skills, you know~
- ?
- Oh, did you see that?
- Yeah, that worksㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- But is it okay?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Ooh.... As expected of a Tower-crazy girl ㄷㄷ
- Are you really going with that?
- I saw a little
- After getting a taste of it.....
- Ooh?
- Suddenly, I can see a chance at the true endingㅋㅋㅋ
"Hmm? Th-that.... right? Looks like it could work, right?"
The reactions are a little strange, but anyway, everyone seems positive.
- Seriously, she was thinking of going in as a prostitute;;
- Finding the scar on the lower abdomen should be easy, though
- ㅗㅜㅑ
- Do-hee even thought of a service scene....
- Hehehe... How much for one session?
- Prostitute is acceptable;;
- Prostitute fast pass
- Seriously, who would think a noble investigator came as a prostituteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Climbing the Tower by selling her body ㄷㄷ
- Yeah, Tower-crazy girl can even be a prostitute
Uh.....?
Pro....stitute?
Something's wrong. What kind of nonsense are these bastards spouting again?
"Guys...? What are you talking about... Can't you tell just by looking? I'm an adventurer!!! Ad. Ven. Tur. Eeer!!"
A prostitute? What the hell do they take me for!!
Kraaah!!
- How does your outfit look anything like an adventurer's?
- I mean, even if we overlook the breasts....
- This is an adventurer?
- Fuck, I wish I could show you a mirror
- Fact) Anyone can see she's a prostitute
- At best, a refugee
- If the wind blows...
- Someone tell her what the problem is
- Um;;
Ah...
Strange. When I was a man, people treated me as an adventurer when I dressed this way......?
Then,
[Ding~]
[Jeonbokjuk Master donated 50,000 won]
What kind of adventurer walks around with her tits that exposed? And if the wind blows right now, everyone can see your jeonbok, you exhibitionist pervert whore!!!
"Huh?"
- Gasp!
- It's Jeonbok-i hyungㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Jeonbok, fuckㅋㅋㅋ
- That hit the spot~~
- Kyaa~~ Gotta cover the jeonbok~
- Jeonbok doesn't get banned, huhㅎㅎ
- Do-hee's jeonbok is so chewy...
- The manager doesn't know what jeonbok meansㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What?
Jeon....bok?
'No way.....'
I happen to look down, and just then, a gust of wind blows my skirt up, fully exposing my private parts.
Ah, jeonbok? No way.... Ah!?
The moment I realize what jeonbok means, a flush of heat rises to my head.
"Ah... uh... I'll ch-change clothes...."
To think I was planning to enter the village looking like this. What an idiot.
How did I momentarily forget that men and women look different even when wearing the same outfit...
Did all the nutrients meant for my brain go to that sturdy lump of flesh instead?
- Just put your panties and pants back on.
"Yes....."
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- She suddenly turned into a femaleㅋㅋ
- She listens so wellㅋㅋㅋㅋ
And so, following the viewers' advice, I finish disguising myself as an adventurer.