Chapter 56

[You have cleared Tutorial, Hell difficulty, 11th Floor . ]

[You are healed of all injuries and status effects . ]

[You have received 2000 points for clearing the Floor . ]

[You have received 2000 points for being the first one to clear the Floor . ]

[Many gods are pleased with your actions . You have received 6000 points . ]

[Many gods are displeased with your actions . 1100 points are deducted . ]

[An additional reward is given according to your performance . ]

[Would you like to accept?]

“Yep . ”

[You acquired great poison resistance Lv . 1 . ]

[Poison resistance Lv . 4 was combined with great poison resistance Lv . 1 . ]

[You acquired great poison resistance Lv . 2 . ]

‘Oh… great poison resistance…’

I already have seen my pain resistance getting upgraded to the great pain resistance before, so I was aware that a higher rank existed beyond the regular skill rank .

Poison resistance skill was definitely difficult to grow .

Other than the poison on the Second Floor’s traps, most of the poisons available were either on enemies’ weapons or inside their bodies .

Although this was obvious, getting hit by them on purpose for the sake of increasing poison resistance was like committing suicide .

So, my poison resistance had not changed a lot since I increased it on the Second Floor, but I ended up with the great poison resistance skill . This was great .

I felt like the effort I put into before to raise the poison resistance was wasted . That was too bad . However, I obtained level 2 version of the great poison resistance, so it was not bad .

For now… I plummeted on where I stood .

“Ugh . ”

I was tired .

It was a bit too much this time .

It was not about the difficulty . The amount of effort needed to clear the floor was seriously too much .

The clear condition for the 11th Floor was stealing a treasure chest in middle of an underground city that was most valued by all monsters residing in the city .

The problem was that I could not find the treasure chest no matter how many of the monsters I slayed .

There were so many chests .

Beyond several hundreds, it was in order of several thousands .

I had no idea which of them was the most valued one among all underground city monster people .

First, I tried to use the knowledge before the time of Babel and tried to interrogate a monster man for information .

It was a waste of time .

Instead of giving up information to the enemy, apparently all monster people chose suicide without hesitation .

It was as if they could do it at a flip of a switch somewhere inside . At will, they could instantly kill themselves . Their special ability was incredibly annoying .

My interrogation skills had improved in a short while recently, but they were useless against these monster people . I was not able to get any information out of them .

In the end, searching every inch of the gigantic city was my only option .

I dug the dirt on the garden of the underground city’s castle where its king resided, and I found a hidden underground passage .

I found a key at the end of that passage . When I put the key inside the gap at the engraving of the handle on the king’s throne, a treasure room appeared behind the throne .

‘… How is anyone supposed to clear this?

If I did not turn the king’s palace garden upside down out of pure frustration, I probably won’t have found this .

Perhaps I should have intuitively realized that there is a treasure room behind the throne after seeing the engraving and just break through the wall? Maybe that is the right answer?

Perhaps…

This reminds me of the time when I was young . I played the English version of the Tomb Raider . I played it while frequently searching the English dictionary .

I remember one time where I had to find the hidden place by following the sound of the clock ticking inside the mansion .

Um… I got motion sickness from the stress and frustration . Because of dizzy spells, I couldn’t play 3D games for a month .

I’m definitely weak against these kind of clearing methods .

If I am to claim that I need a partner, I need a partner who can cover me in this kind of tasks .

In RPG games, there are classes like thieves or adventurers .

They can install or disengage traps and find hidden enemies or places .

They can never be the main character, but for the sake of making the main lead’s story to progress smoothly, such an extra character is absolutely necessary .

I do have a bastard who I could call as a comrade, but that one is similar to me, so that brat would be of no use in this situation just like me .

Ugh .

I guess I’ll just have to play the cards I was dealt .

Instead of aimlessly taking on these kind of challenges, I should get used to deduction, search and etcetera .

I think there will be more of this kind of missions . ’

Having organized my thoughts, I placed my hand on the portal .

* * *

“It’s been a while, Kiri Kiri . ”

“Yep . You came alone this time . ”

“I think the time limit expired . It just disappeared . As you said before, the memory will be maintained, right?”

“Yep . ”

“Then it is all right . ”

“Hehe . This time, it took a while, didn’t it?”

“It sure did . ”

It was a ridiculous mission . I had to find a hidden treasure chest . I had no choice but to get here late because I had been digging around everywhere .

I replied with a few words . Out of frustration, Kiri Kiri turned her lips to look like a duck .

“Heng… Your reactions are boring now . ”

‘Now what’s up with her?’

“Last time, you cried like a baby, saying it’s been a very long time since you saw me . It was fun . ”

‘… This girl’s attitude is growing more and more annoying .

Well, what she said is true, so I can’t really talk back .

All right . I decided . ’

“No cake for you today . ”

“Ahhhhhhh . NOOOOOOOO!”

Kiri Kiri threw a tantrum and rushed at me . I pushed her away and assumed my position to take a nap .

I was tired .

‘Let’s sleep for a bit and think after I wake up . ’

“I’m sorry . I won’t! I was wrong! Buy me a cake!”

I told her I might buy her a cake if she kept quiet while I slept . Like that, I made her close her mouth and went to sleep .

* * *

“Uuuaaaaaam~

How long did I sleep?”

[Round 14, Day 6, 16:30]

‘I didn’t sleep for long .

Actually, should I consider this as having slept long?’

I had been having a hard time sleeping lately .

There was no need to sleep in the waiting room, so I didn’t think too much about this fact .

Meanwhile, inside the Stage, because I was exposed to danger, having the sleep time reduced was not a bad thing .

Time passed like that for a while, and I could no longer fall asleep even when I wanted to .

In the past, I was worried that this might happen, so I had regular sleep and meals even when I was in the waiting room .

Out of anxiousness, I focused on clearing the Sixth Floor while eliminating the time for sleep, meals and even rest . It seemed my regular daily rhythm was gone after doing that .

Thanks to the waiting room’s recovery effect, I could handle the stamina issue . However, mental recovery through the sleep could not be replaced by anything .

So, I had been making up for the lost sleep by taking a nap whenever I visit Kiri Kiri’s plain .

Still, I felt fortunate that I could sleep comfortably at Kiri Kiri’s plain .

It would have been really difficult if I couldn’t even sleep here .

As for Kiri Kiri…

Well, as usual, she slept using my stomach as her pillow .

I stroke Kiri Kiri’s head between her large ears .

Kiri Kiri was sleeping soundly like a child . I looked at her face .

She had such an adorable face .

She acted like a kid often, so I thought of her as my little sister or cousin .

‘When a friend in middle school raised a rabbit at his home, did he say rabbits don’t like being touched on the nose or like being touched on the nose? I don’t remember .

Actually, this lass has the face of a human being, so maybe it won’t matter?’

I just realized that I had many things to ask Kiri Kiri this time .

Since the Sixth Floor, I had been saving the chances for asking her questions so I could ask her a lot later .

‘For now, let’s organize my thoughts so I can ask Kiri Kiri right away when she wakes up . ’

From when this troubling thought started and when I saw the clear message after completing the long conquest of the Sixth Floor around when the Round 12 was coming to an end…

[You cleared the Sixth Floor of the Tutorial in Hell Difficulty . ]

It was long . Very long .

I could still remember clearly how I felt back then .

The experience through the Sixth Floor was something I never want to go through again .

I liked moving forward .

Being stuck at a place due to inadequacies in my abilities was a really horrible experience .

The broken man’s life that I led after retiring from the professional gaming came to my mind while I was at the Sixth Floor . With that memory overlapping with the stress through the Sixth Floor, it was mentally traumatizing .

I wondered if I was going to spin the wheel here forever .

I was at the mental limit .

I might have lost my mind if there was another boss after that squid looking boss and delayed the conquest of the floor further .

Anyway, things worked out well at the end since I got through it at the last moment .

However, I got a new thing to worry about since I cleared the Sixth Floor .

[God of Slowness would like to bestow the destiny of apostle to you . ]

[Would you like to receive the test to prove your worthiness to become an apostle?]

[God of Adventure would like to bestow the destiny of apostle to you . ]

[Would you like to receive the test to prove your worthiness to become an apostle?]

‘What should I do?

If just one god proposed the test for the destiny of apostle, I would not be agonizing over it like this . ’

I was worried that the god I refused would retaliate out of anger if I chose one .

From what I experienced at the Fourth Floor, I knew gods could blind my vision and teleport me .

It meant they could kill me in middle of battle if they wanted .

I had to be very careful .

‘When I finished the Sixth Floor conquest, as soon as I met Kiri Kiri…

Wait, perhaps it was not immediately . . . ’

Thinking about what happened during the meeting with Kiri Kiri after clearing the Sixth Floor made me feel a little embarrassed .

‘Let’s forget about it . That’s the best answer . ’

Kuhum…

I asked Kiri Kiri about the proposals made by the gods .

Of course, she was not able to answer my questions .

It was because information about gods were expensive, very expensive .

Since then, in order to hear Kiri Kiri’s advice about the gods’ proposals, I had been saving my chances on questions .

I asked her back then about when I would be able to hear the answer . She said she will be able to tell me when I clear the 11th Floor .

[God of Adventure is anxious . ]

Messages like that appeared occasionally . However, I didn’t let them make me rush into making the decision .

I felt fortunate that I could postpone making a decision until I confirmed the information first .

‘Things for me to check are…

If I can accept both gods’ proposals .

If there is a penalty for doing so .

If I can accept one side and refuse the other side .

If there is a penalty or benefit for doing that .

Finally, if I should choose just one side, which side Kiri Kiri recommends .

Did I cover everything?

If I end up with some allowances left for more questions, I should ask about the God of Adventure’s preference . ’

Other than that the God of Adventure was a fool and acted a little like an idiot, I knew nothing about the god’s personality or preferences .

‘Just like how I heard about the God of Slowness’s personality and principles, I should hear some about the God of Adventure .

If I still end up with some allowances left after that, I guess I should ask about information on 12th Floor .

Now, that’s enough organizing .

I just need Kiri Kiri… to wake up .

This lass is sleeping way too soundly . ’

She was snoring rhythmically . She was sleeping with such a happy look on her face . I couldn’t wake her up after noticing all that .

‘For now, just a little while longer . I’ll let her sleep just for a while longer . ’

[Lee Ho-jae, 11th Floor: Did anything happen?]

[Kim Min-huk, 30th Floor: Yes . Something big . ]

‘Something big…

Is there going to be another day of great harmony?

[Kim Min-huk, 30th Floor: Uh… I heard it is going to be held again before this round ends . It’s happening almost every other round now . ]

[Lee Ho-jae, 11th Floor: What is it this time?]

[Kim Min-huk, 30th Floor: That’s the most serious problem . I have no idea why it is happening again . ]

‘That is a big problem . ’

[Lee Ho-jae, 11th Floor: Well… Keep up the hard work . ]

‘I am sorry to say this, but I cannot help you on anything .

Not only am I on a different difficulty, I am no good at finding hidden problems and solving them .

It would be best for you to assign that task to someone else and let me do what I do best during the day of the great harmony . ’

[Lee Ho-jae, 11th Floor: What about Park Jung-ah?]

[Kim Min-huk, 30th Floor: Well, she is causing a ruckus again . She is thinking really hard about how to punish the members of the Order who failed to hunt down the people who committed crimes in their areas . ]

‘That’s not good .

Causing a stir inside the Order of Vigilance is a serious problem .

If the members of the Order get divided or even decide to turn against each other, the Order could get disbanded like that .

Also, from the outside, the Order of Vigilance has to look strong .

The Order is in charge of judging and delivering punishment to all criminals .

They have the power rivaling that of a country’s justice system . ’

Also, the source of this power was standing on a very shaky foundation .

The authority given to the Order was based on the power demonstrated by the rankers during the very first day of the great harmony, my own power to be exact .

Also, there was the charisma and ruthlessness of Park Jung-ah, the one who executed the members of the Representative Federation .

Objectively speaking, we were oppressing the people with strength and fear .

We could not afford to let the outsiders see that the Order was faltering inside .

‘If the Order of Vigilance loses the public’s trust, their judgement and punishment would also lose people’s support .

Without people’s support, we are nothing but just a violent organization that forces our rules to others .

If people made up their mind and stood up to oppose us, there won’t be anything we could do . ’

[Kim Min-huk, 30th Floor: I know, you rascal . I bet Park Jung-ah knows that too . She is doing that because she’s just upset . She also needs to do that . ]

[Lee Ho-jae, 11th Floor: Anyway, watch her closely so she doesn’t cause an accident . ]

Kim Min-huk said he got it . With that, our conversation ended .

‘Judging from what he said, it does not look like the problem will be resolved before the day of the great harmony happens .

In that case… It looks like I might end up with something that I will need to do .

Um…

Anyway, Kiri Kiri… This lass…

It’s about time she woke up . ’

To wake her up, I pushed in my pinky into her nose that was making snoring sound so well .

“Kiiiiaaaong!”

Along with her unique shouting, Kiri Kiri was revived . She threw a punch .

Of course, its power was pathetic .

* * *

“There is no problem if I accept both?”

Kiri Kiri had cream on her lips . I asked her again .

“Yep!”

‘… Why are you telling me this now…’

“It’s because you said you will make the decision after hearing all relevant information . ”

‘I did say that .

Um…’

“Kiri Kiri . ”

“What is it?”

“Stop eating that . Hand over the cake .