Chapter 51
“Rebecca…”
“You bitch... You're that woman from back then! Why on earth did you do this!! Why did you kill Luca, David, Feridna, Oron, Yoon Cheol… and the deputy warden too…? Why!!”
I can feel his anger.
Emotional contagion.
Unless someone is a psychopath, humans are social animals, so they inevitably become emotionally influenced by the people around them to some degree.
‘Phew… He's a person from a virtual world. Let's not worry about it.’
I deliberately ignore his words and don't answer.
I look for an opening while searching for a solution.
The problem isn't merely that Rebecca has been taken hostage.
“There they are! Grab them!!!”
“You bitch!!”
While I was carrying Rebecca and fighting the people outside, the guards trapped inside the detention center put out the fire and came running.
It's not that I can't fight them.
With the deputy warden dead, my odds of winning should be higher.
The problem is time.
The trial won't end just because we leave through the main gate.
Just as the Floor 3 trial only ended after I handed the criminal's corpse over to the city, this trial won't be cleared until I escape and get some distance from the detention center or hide somewhere safe.
It's a little tricky, but the Tower won't accept a cheap trick where I simply run out and set one foot beyond the main gate before declaring the trial cleared.
So... I have to decide now.
“Rebecca!!!”
I shout at the top of my lungs.
Rebecca lifts her head at the sound of my voice.
She looks exhausted, perhaps because she feels miserable after already being on the verge of death and then becoming a hostage as well.
“Why, wha…?”
“Burn it all. Every last bit!!”
“What…?”
“Hey! Make one wrong move and you're dead!!”
The guard threatens her, pushing the side of Rebecca's head with his pistol.
He looks ready to shoot her the moment she moves even slightly.
He had originally been a guard who was kind to the prisoners, but after seeing so many of his fellow guards die, there was no way he would forgive us.
“Rebecca, I'm sorry. From here on... die for me.”
“What…?”
“I'll avenge you. Rebecca Ignos, the last survivor of the Ignos family, who survived the Voltia Empire's massacre! I'll carry on your will!! Now… do this final thing for me.”
"......"
She stares blankly at me for a moment, then
“Heh… hehe…”
her lips part slightly as she lets out a laugh.
A light returns to her eyes.
Perhaps she has sensed her fate, because tears begin to flow as well.
And yet she smiles.
“Yes, this is as far as I go... Thank you for giving me a reason to die, and for letting me die happily... Ah, about the first day... I'm sorry...”
“Hey, what are you doing…!!”
Bang!
The bullet is fired without hesitation.
It pierces her head, and the flame of her life goes out.
And at that exact moment,
- Fwoooosh!!!
a huge blaze erupts from her already lifeless body.
Her sole ability is to spew fire around her.
Those furious flames create a spectacular finale.
The guard beside her is engulfed in flames and dies instantly, while the guards following behind are swept up in the inferno as well.
“I'll remember you, Rebecca Ignos.”
A girl with short blonde hair and red eyes.
A delinquent with sharp features—the sort of woman you'd want to forcibly subdue and train.
'Thank you.'
I start running again.
I enter the deserted Tower, adjust the mechanism, and open the door.
The thick steel door slowly rises upward.
The main gate of the main building is still burning. There is no sign of anyone coming.
“Phew…”
I'm not exactly in good shape either.
The soles of my feet have been burned raw and stuck together, with fluid oozing from them; burn marks cover my entire body as well.
I feel severe muscle pain and agony. Blood is flowing from the areas injured by bullets.
Even so, I keep running.
I tear the scraps of fabric that have been burned beyond any use as clothing from my skin and keep running.
‘The trial hasn't been cleared yet. I need to hide somewhere.’
Outside the detention center, there are mountains in every direction.
I race down the road beneath the dark night sky, illuminated by soft moonlight.
I run without stopping along the rough mountain road, where there isn't a single streetlamp.
As I descend like a madwoman, I see a vehicle coming up from the opposite direction.
‘The army? The police?’
No, it's just an ordinary luxury sedan.
‘A civilian.’
When I focus my gaze, I see an ordinary-looking man beyond the windshield.
“P-please, help me!!”
I wave for help while completely naked. No man could simply ignore a woman in this condition and drive past her.
When I call for help, the car slowly comes to a stop, and the man inside lowers the window and sticks his head out.
“What on earth happened? Are you all right?”
He is a scholarly-looking man who appears to be in his mid-to-late forties.
He wears neat clothes and round glasses.
He smells faintly of alcohol, as if he has just come from a party, and his hair is carefully styled.
His eyes widen in surprise as he looks me up and down.
“Ah… I-I was… in the mountains… Something bad happened to me… sob.”
I pretend to be a woman who was forcibly raped by thugs in the hills.
I pretend to wipe away tears that aren't there, while covering myself with my other hand so the semen won't show.
Fortunately, my body makes up for my pitiful acting skills. My body, reddened by burns, and the scraps of clothing burned and stuck to me make me look as though I was beaten and dragged through a dirt field.
‘Ah, I can't believe I have to act this far...’
I feel a little self-loathing, but this can't be helped.
‘It's all for the sake of clearing the Tower…’
“Good heavens… How terrible. I would like to drive you there myself, but... I'll report it to the police. I'm in too much of a hurry to take you anywhere.”
He looks me up and down once more, as if disappointed.
Then, with his head still sticking out of the window, he makes a gesture as if doing something on his phone.
‘What?’
I can't let him call the police.
Thud!
Without hesitating for even a moment, I strike the back of his neck and knock him unconscious.
“Ahem… I'm sorry! You should've just given me a ride…”
I drag him out of the car and climb into the driver's seat.
“Oh, this is nice.”
I turn the car around and drive down the mountain road.
After descending for a while, I reach an ordinary paved road where other cars are passing by.
Several police cars pass me along the way, and I hear a helicopter flying overhead.
Of course, I slip through without being stopped or inspected.
“Phew... Is it over now…?”
This trial was quite long.
The tension leaves my body, and I lean back comfortably against the seat.
‘Huh…?’
As my field of vision widens, I notice a rectangular business card hanging inside the car with information about its owner.
“Wait… Raymond Campbell, director of Augschultz Detention Center? He was a Grade 2 ability user…?”
‘What? Was I just lucky?’
The disadvantage of ability users.
Except for those with physical enhancement abilities, most of them have bodies no stronger than an ordinary person's, so one little tap can kill them.
I feel as if I luckily cleared the final boss.
A Grade 2 ability user is weaker than the deputy warden, but with a time limit in place and me already exhausted, I have no idea how that fight would have turned out.
I drive on and enter a nearby city.
When I abandon the director's car in a suitable spot and hide in a dark alley, the system voice rings out.
[You have cleared Floor 11 of the Tower's Trial. Your rank has increased as a solo-play bonus.]
‘It's a shame I didn't get the true ending…’
Only after leaving do I feel a little disappointed.
[Your reward rank is SS. Choose an equipment item.]
“Phew… First, I'll move to the personal waiting room for the next trial. I'll choose the equipment later.”
When I enter the Floor 12 waiting room, I feel my injured body recovering.
“Whew… This one was a little tough. Chat window!”
Then, I open the chat window for the first time in a while.
- Finally cleared it lol
- Doha~ congrats!!!
- SS rank congrats!!!
- Do-hee, save our Rebecca!!! ㅠㅠ
- I feel so bad for the director lol Was that bastard some kind of hidden final boss?
- It was suspicious enough, but did he get distracted by Lee Do-hee's body?
“Exactly. The director was a little lucky. And Rebecca…”
- Save Rebeccaaaa!!!
- Rebecca was unlikeable at first, but I felt sorry for her at the end
- Lee Do-hee psychopath controversy... ㄷㄷ
- You should've escaped together and had lesbian tribbing sex...
- ???: Die for me!!
- ???: Rebecca, die!
“No, when did I ever tell her to die… It was a noble sacrifice. Rebecca is now living on in my memories.”
Yes, the virtual character Rebecca died, but the real Rebecca remains in my memories.
"...That's how the Tower is. If party members had challenged it together, the person there would have been a real person, not a virtual character named Rebecca.”
The Tower is cruel.
No matter how strong someone is, a purely good person can never climb the Tower.
And the higher one climbs, the more a person's cruel and negative nature emerges.
That's why some people say this:
‘The higher I climb the Tower, the more I feel as if I'm gradually drawing closer to my true nature.’
“Er… If I ever get the chance to meet the Voltia Empire, I'll give them a proper scolding for Rebecca. Now, shall we take a look at the reward?”
For someone seeing Tower-climbing streams for the first time, watching companions die may be unfamiliar and shocking. But it's a common occurrence.
Scenes of awakened people being massacred while streaming in real time appear fairly often as well.
I offer them a little consolation, then open the reward.
It only seems that way because I saw an SS-rank reward after seeing an SSS-rank one, but SS is actually an unbelievably amazing reward too.
[Please choose a type]
Several cards appear in the air before my eyes.
Weapons, armor, necklaces, earrings, capes, and so on—all kinds of items that can be equipped in item slots.
“Since I already have a weapon, I'll naturally choose the most efficient armor.”
When I choose armor, three cards appear in the air, facedown.
Some people say that everything up through Floor 11 is the tutorial, but strictly speaking, there is no tutorial from this point onward.
So there are at most three choices!
A choice that increases the maximum number of options may appear if you're lucky, but that's genuinely rare; normally, starting from Floor 11, you have to choose one of three options.
You can't refuse to choose.
Even if all three options are garbage, you still have to choose one.
“But surely all the armor options won't be strange, right? I'll press the first one!”
When I touch the facedown card with my hand, it flips around and displays a high-resolution illustration.
<Asanagi's Armor>
Armor worn by the legendary kunoichi Asanagi for a special mission.
Strength +10
Agility +30
Defense +10
Armor defense 50
It contains Auto-Repair and Auto-Clean magic, and allows the use of the <Stealth lv.10> skill.
“Huh? No, wait a second! What is this?”
Putting aside the unsettling feeling that the illustration was drawn from an actual photograph, this is just too...
“Lewd!”
What kind of armor is this?
Jewels are attached to the breasts, barely covering the nipples, and the breast flesh is visible through sheer material.
And what about the lower half?
It covers the pussy, but the cameltoe is visible, while the hips and buttocks are almost completely exposed in this vulgar armor.
And why do the stockings stop halfway up? Are these those things called knee socks...?”
- That's why it's good, though?
- Wow... Look at that pussy showing lol
- You can see her entire chest?
- That Stealth skill is great. Isn't it worth several billion won?
- As expected of the administrator, look at that sense of style lol
- The people looking for Rebecca got buried under the armor and disappeared....
- This is it, choose it right now!!
“No, but even so, this is…”
Of course, I'll have to change my armor later anyway.
But with performance like this from an SS-rank reward... Wouldn't I have to get past at least Floor 40 before replacing it?
“I-I'll choose carefully. Let's look at the next armor.”
I press the second card.
“No, why is this one like that too!!”
<Exposed Bikini Armor>
A bikini armor whose defense increases as more of the body is exposed.
Its stats reach their maximum when nothing but this armor is worn on the body.
Defense +10~100
It contains Auto-Repair and Auto-Clean magic, and allows the use of the <Nudification> skill.
“Nooooo!!! Please give me some normal armor!!”
It has good performance... but the fashion is just as insane.
If I choose this, I'll have to enter the Tower and walk around dressed like this from now on.
Above all, if I choose something like that, I'll constantly be subjected to visual sexual harassment and afflicted with a permanent arousal-state debuff.
- Kya~ This is it~
- Bikini armor, go go go go
- The defense stat is totally broken. Choose it quickly
- It looks good, but it's seriously vulgar
- Personally, I think it's too vulgar to be appealing...
- You're perfect as an onahole and flesh toilet, bitch~
- But what is Nudification?
“Nudification...? Shall we see what it is?”
<Nudification>
Changes the user into complete nudity. Instead, it doubles the final defense.
“Ah.....”
- Double? Don't tell me that's multiplicative?
- It's not +some percentage; anything written as several times higher is always multiplicative, and it even says final defense
- Her defense should easily break 300
- She'll be harder than a chunk of stone lol
- That's good, isn't it?
- Hard like Do-hee~
- As expected, SS-rank rewards are broken
- There is an exposure penalty, but Lee Do-hee is a pervert, so it's actually a benefit for her, yeah
“Urgh... I'll look at the last one.”
Didn't a decent option appear at the end last time too?
Believing there would be some cool armor among the final options, I slowly press the card.
“Ah...”
<Parasitic Tentacle Armor>
It implants a special parasitic tentacle called 'Yugusper' into the body; the tentacle preys on human women.
It grows by feeding on human women's bodily fluids and excrement, and can attack and defend autonomously.
Because it hides its main body inside the large intestine, it is difficult to kill unless its owner dies.
“......”
It feels as if the Tower is handing me this choice while saying, 'Not a chance!'
This armor goes beyond the realm of normal and is completely insane.
- LOLLLLLLLLL
- This one is good too, isn't it?
- How can armor be named Tentacle Armor lol
- Kya~
- Since it's growth-type, this is probably the best one
- I have to climb the trials wearing this? I'll be mistaken for a dark mage or witch the moment I start, and that'll be the end of me lol
- If she chooses that, she'll be getting pounded by tentacles every night, right?
- Do-hee, let's raise the tentacle well
- Let's start tentacle breeding right now!!
“Sigh... Yes, I'll choose number one.”
- What?
- Huh?
- ?
- Whoa?
Even so, number one looks like a goddess by comparison now.
At least it covers all the parts that need covering, and it's the only one that actually looks like armor.
Number two is far too revealing, and if I wear number three, there's a strong chance the trial won't proceed normally.
To pass the Tower's Trials, reputation and recruiting allies are often extremely important, and normal progress would be impossible while wearing something like that.
- Ah
- Boring
- Totally lost it
- ㅡ.ㅡ
- My tentacle...
- Do-hee...
- I'm disappointed in you, Lee Do-hee
[Arararasa has donated 10,000 won]
You really lost your touch, you bitch
“Just be satisfied with looking at the illustration!!! How could I wear something like that!!!!”
The moment I choose number one, I quickly put it on.
‘Come to think of it, I was talking to the viewers completely naturally while naked...’
Surprisingly, none of the viewers pointed that out either.
[DoheeTunaSoDelicious has donated 500,000 won]
Turn around and show us your butt too~
“...Sigh.”
Though the customer is a pervert, enough money has come in, so I turn around once.
“H-here... L-look...!”
‘Ah, this feels kind of strange...?’
I turn around toward the camera and stick my butt out slightly.
- Ohhh?
- Fucking bitch...
- Ha... What a fuckable ass
- That's a generous one
- I'm so jealous of Yoon Seong-gi, what the hell is that bastard doing these days
- Look at her getting embarrassed
- This is good too, hehe...
- Why is she embarrassed about showing her ass after getting human-toilet sex? LOL
- She must be lewd; she's definitely getting a little excited while showing it
- Hehehe....
- Look at that female expression
- More, more...
- As expected, teasing exposure is more arousing. This is more appealing than nudity
- Lay her down sideways right away...
The aroused viewers suddenly pour out, testing the limits with sexual harassment.
The viewers who have already tested the limits in Lee Do-hee's room send messages carefully calibrated not to get them banned outright.
‘This is more embarrassing than I expected...’
“Urgh... All right! That's enough of this! Now it's time to check my overall stats, right? Shall we see how much my final stats have increased?”
If I keep showing my butt like this, I feel like something might get wet.
I quickly change the subject.
I equip the <Dojester's Long Spear> I brought from Floor 10 as well, then open my status window with every buff active.
“Status window!!!”
- What a waste—I already pulled my pants down
- I captured it, so check the photo board later
- LOL, all right, let's see the status window
- Just how much did Lee Do-hee cheat this time!!
- This is what I'm most excited for whenever she opens it lol
- Seriously, watching the numbers shoot up is incredible
[Ding~]
<Final Stats>
Strength: 60.6 → 93.6
Agility: 30.6 → 71.5
Defense: 87.6 → 109.8
Divine Power: 720.2 → 824.2
Lust: 128 → 226.8
Divine Power Recovery Rate: 2 per hour
Regeneration: 1
All-Attribute Resistance: 50
Bonus Stats: 16 → 21
“Kyaa..... This is the good stuff!!!”
My other stats have increased a lot as well, but my Agility has nearly doubled in particular.
- Wow......
- Lee Do-hee's stat cheating has become routine
- Her base stat total... has broken into four digits...?
- ????
- How are these the stats of someone on Floor 11?
- So this is what it takes for two people to defeat a boss meant for 600 people...
- Do-hee, did you defeat the deputy warden without even using your bonus stats? LOL
“Come to think of it, I didn't use any bonus stats at all. I saved them for when things got dangerous...”
Of course, I'll use them all now.
“Then how much time is left?”
I had spent almost two days in that detention center...
[Time remaining: 124 hours 46 minutes]
“Hmm... I think I can do this.”
Looking at my status window, I feel a surge of confidence.