Chapter 37
Chapter 37 – A Warrior’s Nickname
Translator: HH Editor: ShaSha
In the last regression .
It was when the tutorial of the tower was finished .
-Warriors .
-Those climbing the tower .
The hunters had counted down with all their might in the square . And the goddess had descended in that square . The goddess spoke seriously like she was an apostle praying .
-From the 11th floor to the 20th floor .
-You will be met with a test .
-A test of faith .
The hunters didn’t listen to the goddess’s voice .
A new era . A new stage .
They were excited because a new stage was opened, and immediately left for the 11th floor . There was even a hunter who had tested if the goddess could be cut with a sword .
-You will find the answer .
However .
-The answer you find will reveal who you are .
I didn’t do that .
I stayed until the end .
-And so that’s how you will know yourself .
Thinking back now, we had already received a sign of what would happen starting from the 12th floor .
-Climbers of the tower .
The question wasn’t which award we would choose, or who we would suspect . The tower just let us know that our answer would be of importance .
-May luck be with you .
The goddess was quietly praying .
At this moment, I arrived on the 12th floor again .
I lifted my head, thinking of the scene in the square back then .
And I spoke .
“I’ll clear up to the 20th floor in 5 days . ”
Of the answer that I had chosen .
2 .
It was dead silent .
The first person to speak was the Black Dragon Master .
“Wait . 5 days…?”
She looked confused .
“Did I hear something wrong? I think you just said that you would clear up to the 20th floor in 5 days . If that was supposed to be a joke, that wasn’t funny, so take it back . ”
“No, you heard right . And it’s not a joke . ”
“······ . ”
The Witch shut her mouth .
The silence in the reception room turned to low murmuring . The faces of the hunters changed . Some looked like they were flabbergasted, some looked like they couldn’t believe it, and others looked like they didn’t know how to react .
‘This kind of reaction is obvious . ’
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I calmly took in all their gazes .
Because it was an announcement that didn’t make sense even if you thought about it logically .
“…That’s impossible . Kim Gong-ja . ”
A moment later, the Witch spoke .
“You know . It took us years to clear just until the 10th floor . Of course, since we cleared the 11th floor in less than an hour, you might be flowing with confidence but…it’s too much . You’re overconfident . Aren’t you a bit too excited?”
“Black Dragon Master . ”
I bowed my head .
“It’s my request . ”
“······ . ”
“I cleared the 10th floor . I didn’t do it for you . I cleared it because I wanted to succeed . However, I still shared the rewards of the 10th floor with everyone . ”
Information that this would be a team battle, and the location of the boss monster on the mini map . I shared information, and the damage to the guilds was lessened .
“-everyone benefitted, not just me . ”
So I could speak with confidence .
“I have the qualification to ask this of everyone . ”
“······ . ”
“I’m not telling you to wait until I clear the 20th floor . 5 days . Whether I succeed or not, please just wait 5 days . This is my last request . ”
Silence swirled around the reception room .
It wasn’t a silence that was disadvantageous to me .
Maybe that was the reason why .
[Welcome, hunter Kim Gong-ja . ]
[You have subjugated the 11th floor as Rank 1 . ]
[The 11th floor clear is being given . ]
The notifications popped up more quickly than last time .
Last time, only after the fight with Sword Saint was finished was the reward given . It had taken a long time . On the other hand, this time was different . As soon as I spoke, information about the reward flew up .
‘Hello . ’
Like it was frantically trying to get my attention .
[The Goddess of Protection is suggesting a reward to you . ]
[The Devil King of Fall Rain is suggesting a reward to you . ]
The sounds of the notifications rang consecutively .
I didn’t select either reward .
I just grinned inwardly .
‘Are you feeling anxious because we didn’t fight, Devil King?’
Soon, the rewards of the goddess and the Devil King slid up . Glance . I gave it a single look . I didn’t show any interest or amusement .
[The Devil King of Rall Rain advises you to choose a reward . ]
A voice rang in my head .
[The Devil King hints that you can even give up a reward . ]
Again and again .
My attitude didn’t change .
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‘I don’t care what you say . ’
I was firm .
I didn’t look at the roles of the goddess’s reward, or at the conditions of the Devil King’s reward .
I ignored them .
[The Devil King of Fall Rain is bewildered . ]
[The Devil King of Fall Rain cannot understand your intentions . ]
That’s fine . Don’t rush me .
Since while you’re confused I’ll go find you .
“Mm…”
The silence continued in the reception room . The Heretic Questioner looked around and laughed with an ‘aha!’ He seemed to have decided to speak first .
“It’s simple! Kim Gong-ja has shared information about the 11th floor with us . In return, he asked us to do a favor for him, and we promised to do it as long as it’s not impossible!”
The Heretic Questioner beamed .
“All of us waiting here without doing anything . It’s not a simple favor thinking of what the media will say…but it’s not impossible! So I agree!”
“It’s not impossible but…”
“A promise is a promise, Black Dragon Master!”
The Witch’s face turned dark .
She opened and closed her mouth, then sighed .
“Fine . A promise is a promise . ”
She was saying she agreed .
The other hunters all agreed as well . The Witch and the Heretic Questioner . The influential hunter and the most psychotic hunter had agreed . Even the hunters who weren’t Guild Masters ended up agreeing and promised 5 days of silence .
“I never agreed to that kind of promise . ”
Except for the boomer who was ranked the highest .
“There’s only one promise that I made with this person . That I’ll watch this youngster for 5 days . Other than that, I don’t have to do anything . ”
“······ . ”
“If you’re leaving to clear the 20th floor, I’ll just follow you like our promise . ”
“Mm . ”
I nodded .
“Yes, that’s fine . ”
From now on, I was going to go up against the Devil King alone .
I was confident but…if the Sword Saint was behind me, it would be like I had an army of thousands . I had no reason to stop him from following me .
I looked around the reception room .
“Thank you for listening to my request, everyone . ”
I slowly turned to move .
“See you in 5 days . ”
Creak-
I opened the large door of the reception room and left .
There was a large palace beyond the door . Past the palace, there were high walls, and beyond the walls, there was the city of the Aegim Empire .
It was the same as last time .
-Huh?
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But it was different .
-Huh? The NPCs are all standing still?
Bae Hu-ryeong and I looked here and there while walking together .
Bae Hu-ryeong was right .
The knights guarding the palace, and the NPCs selling fruit in the market . All the NPCs in the city were still .
‘It’s because the quest hasn’t begun yet . ’
Time was paused .
I walked down the paused street .
Far behind, Sword Saint was coming too .
-Quest?
‘Yes . No one has chosen their [Role] yet . ’
In the empire right now, there was no chancellor or grand master of knights .
Even though they were important figures that were needed .
This was the quest of the 12th to the 20th floor .
‘As soon as we entered the 11th floor, the quest was given . That’s probably the right order . But didn’t we already arrive here some time ago? Why would it take so long for the quest to be given?’
The quest opened after the roles were chosen .
That meant .
‘If roles are chosen, the quest doesn’t begin either . The Devil King’s attack didn’t begin, and the empire soldiers don’t fight against it . ’
That was why the NPCs were still .
And they would continue to be like that .
‘In this world, we don’t choose a role . ’
It was a kind of trigger .
When the highest subjugators chose a role, the quest would begin .
‘But you know that, Sword Emperor . ’
I crossed the streets . Because there were passersby, I twisted around them to move by them . It was like walking through a maze .
Even while walking through the maze made of people, notifications continued to ring in my head .
[The Devil King of Rall Rain advises you to choose a reward . ]
I ignored it .
[The Devil King of Fall Rain advises you to give it up if you aren’t going to choose a reward . In that case, the ability to choose a reward moves onto the next subjugator . ]
I ignored it and continued to walk .
When I left the city, there was a large field in front of me .
‘If . What happens if the Devil King dies in this state?’
-What?
I could see it .
A sparkling red dot that was clear on the half-transparent map .
There was only 1 red dot at this point when no monsters were summoned .
‘I said, what do you think will happen if the boss monster dies before the quest starts . ’
The Devil King .
‘Simple . No one will be able to choose the reward of the Devil King . ’
-······ .
‘Of course, there won’t be any betrayer . He’s just out before he can try anything . ’
I crossed the field . I headed straight for the red dot . Not too long after, the red dot was right in front of me . If I went just a bit further, it would be where the boss monster was marked .
[The Devil King of Fall Rain is furious at you!]
Did he understand what I was trying to do now?
Another voice that was slightly different rang inside my head .
[The Devil King of Fall Rain is manifesting!]
The sky in front of me swirled with black . Like a black hole, a pitch-black hole was opened, and something like wastewater flowed out .
One drop . A stream . A clump .
It gathered to make a figure, and a voice leaked out from the figure .
-You dare .
The Devil King was red with rage .
-Take the proper steps, warrior of the goddess . It’s rude coming here without choosing anything . Only those who received the qualification of the empire can take my sword .
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
I gripped my sword even tighter .
“I picked the right thing . ”
-What…
“Look . This is the best choice . ”
In this time when the quest didn’t begin yet .
And the city wasn’t attacked by the Devil King yet .
So, it was a world where no one had died .
“Devil King . I’ll kill you before the quest begins . Then not a single hunter will die, and nor will anyone from the empire . There won’t even be a betrayer either . ”
-······ .
“Did you understand? It’s a happy ending without any sacrifices . ”
I smirked .
“I never really liked bad endings . Is it because of my personality? I like happy endings more . You were continuing to fuck with us, and so we couldn’t get a happy ending, so please die . ”
-You dare…
The figure of the Devil King squirmed .
-You dare to try to stop me by yourself? Without even the help of the empire?!
“Yup . ”
I pulled out my sword .
I precisely aimed the blade at the black figure .
“Help, my ass . ”
In the middle of the paused field .
I became a part of my sword and targeted my enemy .
I opened my mouth .
“A warrior is supposed to fight alone . ”
The 5 days of forever began .