Chapter 235.1

Editor: Tide

“A banquet?”

“Yes, it’s this evening . ”

Why are you telling me this now? I guess it’s because you’ve started to understand me .

Ever since I’d decided to take a few days off from the 55th floor, Sung-Joo had been relentlessly inviting me for meals . Of course, I refused many times .

After those repeated rejections came an invite for a banquet hosted by Sung-Joo .

The guilty feeling of continuously turning down Sung-Joo’s invitations had been nagging at me, so I was about to suggest having a meal together, but it seemed like attending the banquet would also serve to ease my guilt .

When I asked the butler, he’d said he’d already planned for the impromptu banquet a few days in advance .

The butler assumed that I was interested in the banquet, and he explained the event logistics in significant detail . He chattered on for minutes about the status of the preparations, how many people had been invited, and how many days the banquet would last .

After listening to the butler’s droning, I felt an inexplicable urge to simply stand and run away from all his babbling, but I resisted the urge and listened to him some more .

“And this banquet will be attended by Young-ae . ”

“Is she well? After suffering from that curse and what not . ”

The clear mission of the 55th floor-stage was to get jewelry from the Dungeon to save Young-ae from the curse .

“Yes, thanks to the apostle . You’ve recovered much faster than expected . ”

(T/N: apostle here refers to Lee Ho-jae, in case you didn’t know . )

Continuing his rambling, the butler began to narrate Young-ae’s features in detail from how beautiful she was to the nature of her mannerisms .

The sight of an old man portraying a girl in her late teens as a goddess sent shivers down my spine . I’d seen him numerous times in the past few days, but I still couldn’t get used to him .

Next, the butler also told me about Young-ae’s role in the banquet .

“Letter?”

“Yes, this is a letter from Young-ae to the apostle . ”

“…Will that be recited in the banquet hall? In public?”

“Yes, it’s one of the main events of this banquet . ”

That was weird .

Going to a crowded banquet hall was already intolerable enough, but I could force myself to endure .

Honestly, I was curious about the banquet . But damn, that letter reading was going to be disturbing .

First of all, I replied to the butler that I understood and quickly sent him out . The sooner he left, the better .

The butler exited with great joy once I agreed to join the banquet .

[Are you really going?]

“Are you crazy?”

As long as there was an event of Young-ae reciting the letter, I wouldn’t go to the banquet . You wanted me to listen to a letter in front of people? At the banquet’s main event? I couldn’t care less about the content of the letter and just knew that there was no way in hell I’d be going there .

Of course, I could just be overreacting . Young-ae’s letter could be a thank you note for my services . But then, isn’t it more natural for Sung-joo to be the one giving his thanks?

I remembered the recent actions of the butler, such as praising Young-ae excessively, trying to keep me informed of Young-ae, asking if I could meet Young-ae, who was lying in bed, and tell her about me, and on and on .

I recalled confessing to my crush in front of the whole school when I’d been a student . It was an old memory, but it amazed me that I was able to recall the event with such detail . No matter how I thought about it, the banquet reminded me too much about that dark memory .

“Let’s make a run for it . ”

[I knew it! Hu Hu Hu Hu . Seregia, I’ll grant you a wish later . ] Ahbooboo chuckled .

[If it’s a strange wish, I’ll say no . ]

I guess the two of them even made a bet .

Ahbooboo, who’d already lost his chance to get fixed, often flew around, but usually hung on a handkerchief tied to a soul sword possessed by Seregia . Perhaps because of that, I felt like the two were getting close recently .

Are they dating?

When I was awake, I could hear what they were talking about, but I had no idea what they were talking about while I was asleep . Just like how I didn’t know about the bet they made .

I’ll ask them later about their relationship . If the relationship they have now is still in the stage where they maintain a subtle distance from each other, then my question could unintentionally strike a sore spot .

“Ahbooboo . You remember Mado Engineering right?”

[Yes, yes . I remember everything I learned . I also remember what parts I didn’t understand . ]

“Don’t forget or get confused later . ”

After confirming that Ahbooboo knew about Mado engineering, I called the frog .

“Hey frog, we’re going to use the ring . ”

“Kee-ek!”

The frog disapproved, but the ring activated to bring us back to the sub-dimensional world .

Ever since I’d cleared the 55th floor, there’d been a portal hovering around me .

“Move . ”

* * * * * *

[Welcome to the waiting room on the 56th floor]

“What is this?”

After using the portal, I thought I’d naturally be moved over to Kirikiri’s fields, but the place where I’d gotten transported to was near a waterfall .

Before I entered the 55th floor, I remembered that Kirikiri said I wouldn’t be able to see her soon . I assumed that she meant I’d have to stay longer on the 55th floor . But now that I see it, she didn’t mention the process of clearing the 55th floor .

“This is awkward . ”

[What’s wrong?] Ahbooboo asked, but for now, I remained silent .

Was it because I had to learn something from the 55th floor or did Kirikiri think I needed a break? Even though I was grateful, I had questions .

If after clearing the stage, the process of being transported to Kirikiri’s field had been omitted, then when would I be able to see Kirikiri again? What kind of place is this?

The notification indicated that this was the waiting room, but there was no sign of a portal for the next stage . In the waiting room, there was no furniture, such as beds, that would’ve usually been there .

There was just a massive waterfall . Releasing my mana, I looked around, and found out that a huge cave lied behind the waterfall .

I went into the cave, but it ended up being eerily empty . Even small creatures such as bugs and bats couldn’t be seen . The only thing in the cave was a crystal ball that layed, discarded, near the bottom of the cave .

[Hello . ] A resonating voice came out of the crystal ball and greeted me .

“Who are you?”

[Challenger, I’m Karin, who will guide you till the 59th floor . ]

* * * * * *

The voice from the crystal ball had taken the name ‘Karin’ . The most important thing was that the voice referred to me as a challenger .

“Are you part of the Tutorial System?”

The voice didn’t answer my question immediately . After a brief pause, it spoke .

[You may see it that way, but it’s more of a vaccine than a tutorial . ]

(T/N: It literally says vaccine here . If any of the readers have any idea what this is supposed to be, please let us know _(:3」∠)_)

What? I’ve been hearing a lot of strange stories today .

“Then, are you like a manager?”

There was a manager for each difficulty level in the tutorial . In the case of Hell’s difficulty, Kirikiri filled that role .

[From your point of view, it’s similar, but the reality is quite different . ]

It was similar . But the reality was different . But from my point of view, it was similar . Are you saying that you belonged to the same system? That you’re an equal? Firstly, I don’t think this thing can ever replace Kirikiri .

I asked for a detailed explanation from the voice . Fortunately, the voice began to explain as I’d requested .

[My role here is to decide which stage is right for you . ]

“Stage?”

[Yes, I will decide which stage you will go to, from the 56th floor to the 59th floor . ]

It meant that the content of the stage could change depending on the voice’s intention . I decided to ask more about this later, and appreciated the fact that there was an end to the 59th floor .

“After clearing the 59th floor, can I meet Kirikiri again?”

This was the most important question . A new store window would open as soon as I entered the 60th floor . I yearned to listen to Kirikiri’s advice, preferably before entering the 60th floor .

[KiriKiri?]

“Hell’s Difficulty Manager . ”

[Oh . Yeah, as you said, once we clear the 59th floor, we’ll see her again . ]

Kirikiri’s position in the tutorial, no, in the vaccine, seemed to be quite high . It was a predictable statement, but quite puzzling to learn it this way .

“Then are you an apostle?”

I didn’t think it was God . Apostle came to my mind first when she said she belonged to a vaccine war .

[No . ]

No, she’s not . There’s nothing that fits today .

[I don’t belong to one God . I’m just working for a vaccine war . To put it bluntly, it’s a slightly higher position than a typical apostle . ]

You needn’t explain something that I didn’t ask… I continued to ask more questions .

“Why are you talking through the crystal ball? And also, why was this important crystal ball discarded on the bottom of the cave?”

[The gods said it would be better to talk through the crystal ball . I don’t know .

It’s better to not question a God’s advice . ]

It’s better to not question a God’s advice? What a funny remark . Maybe it was because people usually get disappointed or embarrassed when they hear the reason .

I became even more interested in the reason . The voice, “Karin,” was seen as a member of the vaccine war and interacted comfortably with the gods .

I was curious about the identity of the voice . “What exactly are you? What do you usually do other than the role of giving a stage?”

Listening to me, Karin gladly introduced itself again .

“Dragon?”

[Yes . ]

Karin’s voice showed pride in its race . It wasn’t a sin to be proud .

I remembered the people on the 20th floor worshipping dead dragons like gods . For them, dragons were divine beings . After hearing the word dragon, it felt strange to think it was related to the vaccine war .

On the other hand, I was happy . Dragon .

Oh . My . God .

“Hey . ”

[Huh?]

“Come out for a second . Let me see your face for a moment . ”

[… Can I hear why you want to meet me and why?]

“Why? Because I want to see a dragon in person . It’s been a dream since I was a kid . ”

[Don’t lie to me . ]

Damn it . Was it that obvious? Suddenly, it became alert .

“You have to decide which stage is right for me . Wouldn’t it be better to meet me in person? You know, to measure my combat capabilities . ”

[But the gods advise…]

“Scared?”

At my words, Karin sounded embarrassed and shouted, [What coward! I am a dragon! Even though you’re a challenger, do you think I’m going to be scared of you?]

“Then come out for a moment, yea?”

[… . ]

“Scared?”