Chapter 245

Editor: Tide

“What are you doing?” I asked the tired-looking 1400, who was standing at the front door .

“Come in, treat it like it’s your own home,” I said casually .

“This- This is my home, though . ”

It was quite a neat apartment . This world was similar to that of modern Earth, so the structure of the apartment seemed familiar .

By the way, he was pretty neat . I planned to clean up if the room was dirty, but that wasn’t necessary anymore .

“Sit here,” 1400 instructed .

I sat at the dining table, while he rummaged around in the kitchen cupboard and brought a plate filled with snacks and a bottle of liquor .

“Are you actually going to sleep here tonight?” 1400 questioned .

Seriously, how many times did I have to say it? I nodded in response .

“What about your home?”

“I don’t have one,” I said . No home .

1400 looked at me sympathetically and patted my shoulder .

“Work?” 1400 probed .

“I don’t work either . ”

1400 sighed at my answer . “How can a B-grade man have no home or work? If you have the ability, you usually have a job and some money in your pocket . Ah, well, that’s true . Only if you have the ability . ”

What did he say?

1400 quietly poured the sparkling wine into my glass . I took a look at the living room while sipping slowly, the smooth wine sliding down my throat .

All I could see were ordinary household objects . Among them, there was only one ambiguous object .

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the thing .

“Game console . ”

I got curious about this ‘game console’ . It looked like a public phone booth that could fit three to four people . Were you supposed to go in there?

“Do you want to try it?”

* * * * * *

“It’s been four days already . One more round?” I asked .

“You’re crazy . ”

Game consoles were like those standard FPS games in arcades . It just happened to be a little more advanced than that of Earth’s . There was only about half a generation’s difference . Perhaps if I stayed on Earth longer, Earth would’ve become more similar to this world . The only difference would be that they use various kinds of superpowers instead of guns, but in my opinion, that wasn’t very unique .

Anyway, the games were fun . I asked 1,400 for some basic rules and played a little bit in single mode .

After gaining some confidence, I suggested betting . “Wanna make a bet?”

1400 initially declined the bet; perhaps he was worried I would lose .

“Scared?” I taunted . 1400 immediately accepted the bet .

The bet was a good idea; I could stay at 1400’s house an extra day for every game that I won .

1400 said it was a ridiculous condition, but I was able to win four games and secure four days at his house .

[You’re really good at this . Anyone would think that you’re taking advantage of him . ] Ahbooboo said .

Taking advantage? It wasn’t called taking advantage when the other party agreed to play along .

“Hey . Let’s play another round,” I said and restarted the game .

After playing for a few times, I got used to controls . Now, I think I could win even with a few disabilities .

“No, I refuse to play anymore!” 1400 yelled .

“Oh, ho . I got the kill . Is it already my fifth win?”

Miraculously, I secured a five-day stay . 1400 grumbled as he came out of the game booth, lying on the couch in the living room .

“How crazy . Is this really your first time?!”

Even though he complained, he didn’t revoke my five-day stay . Was he going to doubt me because I won the game? Apologies if your pride got hurt .

It was always better to play the game seriously . If you still want to be kind, you can repay the loser with some gratitude . If you become too meek, those who like taking advantage of pushovers will stick to you like a leech . Fortunately, 1400 was not that much of a pushover .

“You said you didn’t have a job earlier, right?” 1400 asked .

“Yes . ”

“Then, would you like to work with me?” 1400 asked if I had any thoughts of working at his workplace . After all, staying at his home would require me to pay rent .

“Of course, I’ll pay accommodation fees . ”

The condition for clearing the 57th-floor stage was death, which likely meant to collect as much information as possible before I die .

I thought of the black sphere, the hovering asteroid, the superhuman sealed inside, and the plan that was drawn up to rescue that superhuman . However, there was nothing I could do until the operation began .

“What are we supposed to do there?” I asked .

“It’s the same as what I told you about earlier . Come forward when people need help . Usually, we mediate conflicts between superpowers or stand guard at a crime scene . Sometimes, we guard or track criminals down . Oh, I don’t stakeout since it takes a long time . ”

“Okay . ”

There was no reason to be displeased with this work . The more the people who got involved, the easier it would be to get information about this place .

[I think it’s okay for me too . ] Ahbooboo belatedly expressed his consent .

1400 left the house to make a quick run to the store . While drinking wine, I leaned back on the sofa, enjoying its slightly rough, yet comforting texture against my skin . At this sight, Ahbooboo said, [You’re walking around like it’s your own house . ]

“He said I could stay here . That makes it my home too . ”

[What kind of logic is that?] Ahbooboo questioned disdainfully .

* * * * * *

“You didn’t sleep?”

“I did . I just woke up, though . ”

When 1400 returned, I was playing a game in the living room . Although I felt comfortable, I couldn’t fall asleep quickly . The feeling of unease I always had when on a stage refused to secede . The addictive game console didn’t do much to help my insomnia, either .

After breakfast with 1400, I finished getting ready for work and dressed in a uniform that 1400 had lent to me . The outfit consisted of a large vest, but the front of the garment was rather hard . I wondered how long it would be able to withstand the brute force of supernatural powers .

When I asked 1400, he replied, “Of course, it can’t bear the destructive force of superpowers . If someone grade C or higher decides to attack you, the vest isn’t going to do anything . But it’s better than walking around with nothing . It’s light, too, so it shouldn’t be too troublesome to carry around . ”

I muttered, “I see . ”

After I finished preparing, I lazed around on the sofa and asked 1400 if he wanted to play games, but he said he didn’t play games during working hours . Oh, my God . He’s so uptight even at his own home; he was tougher than I thought . In the end, I dazedly held a glass of water and sipped it occasionally .

An hour or two later, the device in 1400’s pocket rang . Checking the device, he said, “We have a dispatch request . Let’s go . ”

Finally! The moment I had been waiting for . 1400 said his job was to resolve disputes between superhumans, and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of superhumans would be fighting .

* * * * * *

“You son of a b*tch!”

“F*ck you!”

I want to go home and play games was the first thought that came to my mind as soon as I saw the children shouting and swearing at each other .

The request had come from an ordinary school, so I had been very excited when I heard about this location .

What had happened at that school? Did a superhuman run away to a school with children and take hostages during a battle? Or was the battle area just near this school? Even though I entered the school with a pounding heart, I soon let out a sigh in disappointment .

Two young children were fighting against each other . One of them had a blue eye, and the first one’s face seemed to have been punched . If each other’s superpowers were used, they shouldn’t be bruised, but have their heads blown off instead .

“Both are energy-related . I’m in trouble,” 1400, who was standing next to me, murmured .

I asked why he was in trouble . 1400 explained patiently . “When their powers collide with each other, it’ll cause an explosion . ”

“What’s the extent of the explosion?”

“The upper floor, lower floor, and half of this floor will certainly be blown away . ”

That was a wide range . In that case, the school would have to be shut down . There would be a hefty amount of reconstruction if the building were to blow up .

Nearby, teachers were quietly evacuating students, and it looked like they were trying not to provoke the two superhuman students who were fighting . Several teachers were clinging to them, trying to stop them somehow .

“Shut up before I blow you away, you bitch!” one of them growled in anger at a teacher .

He’s going a bit overboard with his language .

“Oh my,” I said monotonously . Young children cussing? What a shocker .

“There are only a few options . Wait until they’re exhausted . Or, if we’re lucky, they’ll make up by themselves . ”

No matter how hard I looked, it didn’t seem like those rude children would make up, so I asked how to attack them .

“I take one, and you take one . Can you do it? I would have done it if it were just one person,” 1400 explained . “It’s dangerous to rush in hastily . Because I have no experience, I may fail to control my powers, and if I do, it will cause a massive accident . ”

Oh, Lord . Two rude children were fighting, and it caused such a huge problem . This situation was a side effect in the world where superpowers were randomly given . Many young people had high power .

Most of us improved our abilities with gruesome effort, but some were naturally born with god-like powers . And such skills were considered priceless . Outside of this world, there had never been an instance where unqualified children were given abilities .

In many ways, this was a bizarre world .

While I was thinking, 1400 went to talk to them, and upon seeing 1400, the children stopped fighting . Was it because of the B-grade embedded in his uniform? I had a feeling that was the case .

The reason the children seemed to shrink away in front of 1400 was because he was both superhuman and a B-grade .

Both of them were intimidated . That alone made things much better, but even then, the situation did not settle down .

[This place is amusing . ] Ahbooboo commented .

“Yea,” I agreed .

[I still think it’s a little unfair though . ] He said quietly, talking about the way people got superpowers randomly . [That easy-to-get power in all of them feels a little strange . ]

“You’re appalled by it, aren’t you?”

[Yes . ] Ahbooboo and Seregia answered in unison . Seregia, who usually remained silent, answered the same .

The two were from the same world, a world full of criminals who transcended law enforcement using brute force . Civil wars were rampant among humans, and whenever there was a moment of peace, someone would manage to stir up trouble .

For Ahbooboo and Seregia, strength was precious, and it was only natural to pursue it through hours of training . I could understand because I knew their greed for power and their fierceness .

While I was talking to Ahbooboo and Seregia, things took a new turn .

“Do you know who my father is?!”

Ah, I had seen this a lot in Earth dramas . I no longer felt the need to listen to the children’s whining . I formed a transparent ball of energy behind the necks of the children and proceeded to hit them on the back of their necks with it .

The children fainted, and their superpowers naturally dispersed as they lost consciousness . I was prepared to dissipate their powers by force, but it was a waste of effort .

1400 looked at me in bewilderment . The teachers looked at me curiously as well .

I decided to answer their questions about what happened . “Invisible frog . ”

I summoned the frog from the ring .

“Kea-ek!” As soon as the frog was summoned, it croaked cheerfully .

Tutorial 57th Floor (4) Finished