Chapter 37
“Si-Yeon. Close the curtains again.”
Having sufficiently verified the items' performance, I decided to change my clothes again.
Taking off the dress was just as difficult as putting it on.
I barely managed to take it off in the bathroom and changed back into my original shorts and short-sleeved shirt.
Phew. I feel like I can live again.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
[Should I ask her to make another one that feels like my everyday clothes?]
I thought about having her make something like a Blood Tracksuit, but quickly dropped the idea.
To do that, I’d have to gather Low-grade Blood for a few days again.
Above all, it felt a bit wrong to say I’d wear something else instead of the first piece Riri worked so hard to make.
It would be a different story if I had to wear it all the time.
Since it’s an outfit I’ll only wear on rare outings or during Tower Climbing anyway, it should be fine.
…I’m absolutely not doing this just because I received a ton of compliments earlier about how well it suited me.
Anyway.
After changing and lying comfortably on my bed, I checked the time on my phone.
There was less than 24 Hours left until I could enter the 5th Floor.
It bothered me a little that I was entering without reaching Level 30.
But I had prepared a Sun-blocking Item, and I had Three Retainers, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
I had also read through Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s strategy guide in my spare time, and there was a definite Chance to Clear.
No matter how much of a coward I am, I’m not one to hesitate in a situation like this.
Of course, if I had to do it all myself instead of having my Retainers do everything, it might be a different story, but… anyway!
[Then I’ll enter the 5th Floor as soon as the Cooldown is over. Since I have nothing else to do, should I browse Heon-gael for a bit?]
<Domestic Hunter Gallery>
As expected, there were many posts related to me in the popular section today as well.
Lately, the topics were mostly like this.
[Title: Why is the Association so quiet lately?]
Poster: Active A-rank Hunter
When the True Ancestor first appeared, they made a fuss like they were going to sign a contract right away.
Shouldn’t they be looking even harder now that she’s cleared up to the 4th Floor?
But these days, they just say they’re putting all their effort into contacting the True Ancestor, but it doesn’t seem like they’re actually trying that hard?
I asked a friend who works at the Association, and he said he didn’t know either.
- Yeah, right? It is a bit weird.
- Didn’t the Association just give up? Since she keeps ignoring their calls.
- They still have to keep trying. It’s not just anyone, it’s the True Ancestor.
- Do you still trust the Korean Association? Lol. They really suck at their jobs.
- Tsk tsk,,, The Secret Contract is already done behind the scenes,, you na-ive. fo-ols.
- They signed a contract with the True Ancestor? If they did, common sense dictates the Association would be advertising it everywhere;;
- Wouldn’t they have a reason to hide it,,? You simple-minded kid.
- grandpa, it’s time to take your medicine~
- Looking at this guy’s Activity History, he came from the Mystery Gallery lol
- Lmaoooo
[Uh… I actually did sign a contract, though.]
Of course, that person probably wasn’t saying it because they actually knew.
The chances of a Top Secret Truth handled by the Association actually spreading to a place like the Mystery Gallery were slim.
But looking only at the conclusion, it was a bit ironic that they weren’t wrong.
Besides the Contract Topic, there was also this topic.
[Title: The True Ancestor is totally washed up lol]
Poster: Anonymous
She used to climb the Tower diligently every week, so why is she quiet after the 4th Floor?
It’s been almost two weeks now.
Looks like she hit a wall and chickened out? Lol
- These forced haters are still around.
- Ugh, just wait a bit. There must be a reason. It’s only been a week;;
- Before the 3rd Floor, you guys said she’d never clear it, and then you all shut up when she cleared it in 3 seconds. Do these guys have no Learning Ability?
- Don’t feed the trolls for no reason.
Posts saying the True Ancestor is washed up or overrated.
They were getting a ton of downvotes and being cursed at in the comments, but they still popped up consistently.
[Good grief.]
Just two weeks ago, everyone was worshipping me, but now that things have quieted down a bit, Skeptical Public Opinion is creeping up again.
Well, I suppose this is the Fate of a Superstar.
With my long Forum Experience, I was used to this kind of behavior, but I couldn’t help feeling a little wronged.
[They don’t even know anything…!]
After the Nightmare Grade 4th Floor, there’s a 2-week Cooldown, so I didn’t chicken out, I just can’t climb it yet, okay?
You bunch of Ignorant persons.
I’m not washed up, so just wait a bit.
I’ll turn those sneers into cheers.
As I was scrolling down the gallery like that.
A post caught my eye.
[Title: Chilling Vampire Urban Legend circulating among Hunters lately]
Poster: Anonymous
(Screenshot of a Hunter-exclusive Internet Cafe)
I have an acquaintance who is a B-rank Hunter belonging to a Guild everyone knows by name, right?
But he’s been saying weird things for a few days now.
He went near a C-rank Gate that opened on a mountain late at night and met a girl with bright red eyes.
He said his arm was bent at a weird angle without her even touching him.
When he came to his senses, his friend next to him had his arm bent the exact same way.
But the girl didn’t even show any signs of having done it and was just innocently saying, “The humans' arms got weird, how fascinating~” Goosebumps
My acquaintance originally had a bit of a Thug temperament.
But lately, he suddenly declared he’s turning over a new leaf and living a new life because he almost died back then, so I can’t get used to it lol;
- Goosebumps Goosebumps
- I should be careful walking at night OMG
- Vampire Rumor lol The conspiracy theories are starting again
- There are Demon Persons, so why wouldn’t there be vampires?
- Didn’t a news article come up last time about a Blood-drained corpse being found? It really seems like something is out there.
- sigh, if that were true, the Association would have announced it. Why would they hide it? Think a little, use your brain.
[Huh. Wait a minute. Isn’t this about me…?]
That incident where Katarina broke the arms of those two Thugs at the mountain entrance last time.
It seemed to have flowed into the gallery at some point.
Well, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding in this story, but.
It really did seem like there were other vampires out there.
Since I saw that Pure-blood Vampire named Larc… something or other at the gate last time.
The fact that vampires existed was an undeniable fact.
But as I read the comments, a question arose.
[Yeah. They made the Demon Person Announcement, so why are they keeping vampires a secret?]
Normally, there would be no way to find out about this, but I’m different now.
Because now I have the Climber Community!
I immediately logged in and searched for the keyword 'Vampire'.
Just in time, a summarized popular post popped up.
[Title: Information Summary regarding Vampire Monsters]
Poster: Anonymous
I keep seeing Vampire topics, so I’ll summarize it for you.
To get straight to the point, the race known as vampires, or bloodsuckers, actually exists.
The Governments of various countries and the Association High Command have all known this for a while, and related research has already been done to some extent.
But why haven’t they announced it to the public?
They learned their lesson from the Demon Person Announcement 10 years ago.
Everyone probably remembers the chaos that ensued when they hastily announced it back then, leading to riots, a Witch Hunt, and the Lynching of Innocent Awakeners.
The Association doesn’t want to repeat that, and they plan to make an Official Announcement when they feel the citizens are ready to accept it.
- Yeah, that’s why they’re slowly releasing Vampire topics in Internet Communities lately, to get people used to it.
- For real;
- Goosebumps The Association’s work process is really meticulous.
- It seems like America is about to announce it soon. Will it be released worldwide then?
- Probably? I’m in Europe, and posts keep popping up in communities here too. It seems the Association is working on it.
[…Huh? Then was the ghost story circulating in Heon-gael also released by the Korean Association?]
Goosebumps.
The Association was moving this meticulously.
Then maybe I, whom the Association President treats with such tension and politeness, am actually incredibly amazing?
I suddenly felt amazing all over again.
My shoulders shrugged slightly with pride.
While skimming through the posts again, this post caught my eye.
[Title: True Ancestor-nim should be climbing the next floor soon]
Poster: Anonymous
It’s been 13 days since she cleared the 4th Floor, so the 5th Floor Cooldown is almost over.
- Oh, you’re right.
- From Nightmare 5th Floor onwards, the ranking is based on a point system instead of Clear Time, right?
- Correct. The System Judges how well you did in each chapter and Assigns Points on a 100-point scale.
- Ah, I wonder how many points she’ll get.
- Honestly, points or whatever, just clearing the 5th Floor makes you an Expert lol
- For real lol Most of the people here probably haven’t touched the Nightmare 5th Floor either.
- Honestly, it’s weird to even challenge it. Even that guy Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa only climbed up to the 7th Floor on Nightmare before quitting and moving to Normal Difficulty. It’s enough to make even a Tower Maniac like him run away;;
- True, the cost-effectiveness is really bad.
- How far will Jinjo-jwa climb on Nightmare?
- Isn’t the Highest record so far a full clear of the 7th Floor? I hope the True Ancestor breaks through it lol
- If it’s True Ancestor-level, it might actually be possible?
- It might not be easy. The Nightmare Difficulty isn’t something you can beat with just combat power; it’s difficult in many ways, like Information Gathering.
There were many mentions of me here too, just like in Heon-gael, but the atmosphere was different.
It seemed to be because everyone here was a High-tier Awakener and had a lot of information.
[Still, everyone is looking forward to it.]
I felt slightly better.
Thinking I had seen enough, I put down my phone.
[By the way.]
I raised my head and looked around the Studio Apartment.
Si-Yeon, standing neatly and waiting next to my bed.
Katarina, standing in an Immobile Posture against the wall.
Riri, sitting on the floor and drawing something like a picture in the air with blood.
Looking closely, it was a picture of me and her, with lots of hearts.
[…It’s cramped.]
I was feeling it anew, but the house had gotten very cramped.
It was natural for it to be cramped with four people squeezed into a Studio Apartment originally meant for one.
[I really need to move now.]
The reason I hadn’t done it until now was simple.
I couldn’t buy real estate because of the Identity Issue.
And I couldn’t move during the day because of the Sunlight Problem.
But it’s different now.
I received an ID card, and I can block the Sunlight with the [Blood Silk Garment] and [Ink Shadow Parasol].
There was no reason not to look for a new house.
“It is rather cramped. I am thinking of changing our Residence soon, what are your thoughts?”
“…!”
For a moment, Katarina’s eyes widened slightly.
Then she hurriedly approached and Knelt on one knee.
“I wished to speak of it sooner, but I dared not bring it up, as it would be presumptuous to argue over my Liege Lord’s Quarters.”
“I also think it would be best to move.”
Si-Yeon calmly agreed as well.
“It was a bit cramped! Though Riri likes it because it feels like I’m sticking close to Master!”
Riri also answered, raising her head.
[As expected.]
The Retainers all knew it too.
They were just waiting for my decision as their Master.
I spoke with dignity.
“Ahem. Once we return from our First Expedition to the 5th Floor, I shall resolve the Residence Problem.”
“…Liege Lord!”
Katarina’s eyes trembled as if she were deeply moved.
“I am truly grateful for my Liege Lord’s deep consideration.”
“Wow! Are we moving?”
Well, details like where and how to move could be decided slowly after the climb.
For now, I had to clear the 5th Floor right in front of me.
* * *
And finally, the next day.
The Cooldown for entering the 5th Floor ended.
I dressed up in the Black Dress and held the parasol in my hand.
“Let us go.”
The Nightmare 5th Floor we entered with my Three Retainers.
As soon as we stepped inside, what unfolded before our eyes was.
A clear blue sky and an Open Field.
And, a massive Castle Wall visible in the distance.
Flags fluttered atop the sturdy stone Castle Wall, and Guards fully equipped in Iron Armor stood rigidly on either side of the Main Gate.
The typical scenery of a Medieval City.
A System Message Window popped up right in front of me.
[You have entered the Trial 5th Floor, Nightmare Difficulty.]
[The First Story begins.]
[Objective: Enter the Castle and Meet the Lord.]
[It’s exactly like Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s strategy guide.]
I immediately organized the strategy in my head.
They said the 5th Floor was like an RPG Game.
Quests progress by chapter, and the system scores how you solve them.
And the very beginning of Chapter 1 is passing through this Castle Gate and going inside.
The Standard Strategy here is to create a plausible excuse to Enter the Castle naturally without arousing suspicion.
It involved pretending to be a Traveling Merchant or an Adventurer, or making up a suitable excuse to get in.
You had to do some Role-playing, kind of like a TRPG.
But that was impossible for me.
Because of [Exalted Dignity], arrogant words would pop out of my mouth as naturally as breathing.
So I had looked into another method beforehand.
A comment left on Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s strategy guide.
- Cheonma) This Seat has never created such an excuse. When the Guards at the Castle Gate tried to stop me, I cut them all down and entered straight through the Main Gate.
- Crazy lmaoooo That works?
- Lol This actually works
- How good is your combat power, fuck lol
- Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa) Honestly, even I’m a bit surprised by this… Though I wonder if there’s really a reason to go this far;;
I just had to follow Cheonma’s case.
Since I had Katarina and Si-Yeon anyway, we had more than enough combat power.
It might paint a rather bloody picture, but the beings in the Tower were just NPCs, not real entities anyway, right?
Having made up my mind, I walked toward the Castle Gate with my parasol open.
My Three Retainers naturally followed behind me.
Step, step.
As we reached the Castle Gate, an armored Guard blocked our path.
“Halt. What brings you here? State your identity, name, and Purpose of Visit.”
Instead of answering, I slightly lifted my parasol and looked him straight in the eye.
Then, I slowly opened my mouth.
“That is none of your concern.”
In a very arrogant and haughty voice, with my Passive fully activated.
“Step aside.”
“…!”
I saw the Guard flinch in surprise.
[Good. He won’t step aside anyway, and then the Guards will come swarming in. Katarina and Si-Yeon can just handle them appropriately, right?]
I had pictured it up to that point in my head.
The Guard suddenly bowed 90 degrees.
“I-I apologize for not recognizing such an Esteemed Person!”
Then he shouted at the other Guards standing nearby.
“What are you doing! Open it immediately!”
Then, didn’t they all clear the path into the Castle Gate and bow politely in unison?
[?]
No.
Why are you actually stepping aside…?