Chapter 169: Forty-Sixth Floor, The World of the Virtuous (2)

[Collect a minimum of three thousand gold. Time remaining: 165 hours 23 minutes.]

Roughly two hours had passed since I began scouring the hunting grounds.

Regrettably, I hadn’t encountered any of the so-called field bosses. Perhaps they only appeared after a set amount of time, or maybe I had simply failed to track them down.

Instead, my mimic was now brimming with over thirty carcasses, including rabbits, boars, and deer. While my initial goal had been to hunt forty, the sudden influx of other climbers into the area prompted me to stop.

This should be enough anyway.

I spared a brief moment to silently acknowledge the climbers I passed on my way out. With most of the local prey already cleared, they were bound to have a tough time. They would either have to trek deeper into the area or compete fiercely with one another.

Before long, I found myself once again standing outside the fortress city.

Hurry up and move along.

I remained hidden, waiting for the climbers leaving the city to disperse.

In a world where lying would result in death, even a casual encounter could spiral into an annoying and chaotic situation. If someone were to ask why I was heading inside now or what they should do next, I would be forced to awkwardly explain.

Because of that, I had taken great care to avoid others on my way here.

Still... Why did they stick around the city for so long? Are they underestimating the challenge? Or do they genuinely believe earning three thousand gold will be easy?

While contemplating, I watched the last group of climbers disappear into the distance.

Once I had confirmed the area was clear, I stepped out of hiding and approached the city gates.

Two angels clad head-to-toe in gleaming plate armor stood guard. Massive wings stretched from their backs, so large that I couldn’t help but wonder how they managed to wear armor over them.

As I pondered the logistics, one of the guards stepped forward. “Ah, a visitor. Welcome to Paloran.”

“Uh, yes. Hello.”

“Each individual must pay a five-gold entrance fee.”

“Here you go.”

I had anticipated the fee, but it still rankled me that I had to pay for Doppy as well. After all, the tower had arbitrarily assigned him as my climbing assistant without my input. The absurdity of it all annoyed me.

Fortunately, I had preemptively told Ryun to keep his mouth shut just in case. One wrong word and I could have come up five gold short, leaving one of them stranded outside.

I fished ten gold out of the pouch I had received upon arrival and handed it over. The guard’s eyes lingered on my hand, narrowing slightly.

Even though I had wiped it clean earlier, faint traces of animal blood still stained my gauntlet.

“

Hmm...

That’s animal blood, isn’t it? Did you actually go hunting before coming here? Quite unlike the others.”

I forced a lighthearted laugh, trying to brush past the comment. “

Haha

, yeah.”

Unfortunately, the guard’s piercing gaze didn’t waver. “Interesting. Most newcomers don’t even know where the hunting grounds are, yet you’ve already been there. Did you foresee this? Or are you just unusually curious?”

The guard was sharp. I could have acted dismissively, arguing that he was overstepping his bounds, but I reminded myself to stay composed. This kind of scrutiny was commonplace here.

Ha Hee-Jeong had warned me to always think carefully before speaking, so I had prepared for situations like this.

“

Haha

, something like that.”

A vague reply, paired with an easy smile, would often be enough to deflect suspicion. Some guards would press harder, but they weren’t really performing an interrogation—I wasn’t obligated to provide detailed answers.

The exchange could feel a little awkward, but that was preferable to risking my life.

The guard finally relented, handing over two passes with a faint smirk. “Well, just make sure you don’t cause any trouble inside.”

“Thank you. Take care.”

I hadn’t used Shadow Veil to sneak in precisely because of this pass, which was necessary to enter any of the city’s facilities. Now that I had one, I could simply slip in and out unnoticed next time.

With Doppy at my side, I entered the city.

Paloran, my first sky city.

Doppy’s eyes widened as he marveled at the surroundings, his gaze darting in every direction. “Wow! Su-Yeok! This place is amazing!”

“Agreed. Even earlier... I found... it hard... to believe... we’re standing... on clouds...” Ryun chimed in.

I nodded. “Same here.”

Beyond the fortress walls, towering structures lined the streets. Interestingly, the buildings wouldn’t look out of place back on Earth. They weren’t made of concrete, though; they were built from wood, bricks, and other materials I couldn’t identify.

Each exuded a mysterious aura. How such towering buildings stood firm atop clouds was anyone’s guess.

Equally fascinating were the winged angels roaming the streets.

Just like Ha Hee-Jeong said, they wear animal ears.

Rabbit ears, wolf ears, dog ears... No wonder animal ears fetched such high prices.

Apparently, these angels had a penchant for adorning themselves with them. Oddly enough, their ears drew more attention than their wings.

The angels, in turn, regarded us with curiosity. Though they had undoubtedly seen other climbers before, we still seemed to pique their interest.

Well, it would be stranger if they weren’t curious.

In this world, climbers were branded as outsiders. It felt scripted, and no doubt the tower was involved, but from the angels’ perspective, we appeared utterly alien.

I recalled my own fascination when encountering non-human races for the first time.

Ignoring their curious glances, we made our way through the streets. Along the way, I spotted climbers working part-time in angel-run shops.

It struck me as odd. Earning three thousand gold this way would be painfully inefficient. Surely, they knew that.

Maybe they are gambling on the same strategy as I?

Still, it wasn’t a viable approach for most climbers. Unlike me, they lacked a clear plan. That was their problem, however, not mine.

Having explored enough of the city, I decided to head to the butcher shop.

The butcher should be able to remove the heads for me.

I could sell the carcasses there and then take the ears to a fabric store to sell them separately.

Since I wasn’t familiar with the city’s layout, I stopped a passing angel. “Excuse me.”

“Yes?” A bear-eared angel turned, greeting me with a warm smile. “An outsider! How can I assist you?”

“I’m looking for a butcher shop. Could you point me in the right direction?”

“A butcher shop? Head down that alley until you see an inn. Turn right, and you’ll find it.”

“Thank you so much.”

“No problem.” The angel waved a hand dismissively, as though it were no trouble at all.

Exchanging a final polite smile, I parted ways with the angel and proceeded down the alley as directed.

One of the reassuring aspects of this world was that I didn’t second-guess such minor exchanges. Even as the alley narrowed, not even the slightest trace of concern surfaced in my mind.

The path remained clean and orderly, and rather than evoking any sense of danger, it simply gave the impression that the butcher shop was tucked away in a quieter, more isolated spot.

Following the previous angel’s instructions, I continued past the inn and turned right. The street soon widened again and revealed a surprisingly large butcher shop.

“Su-Yeok! Over there!”

The door stood wide open, and upon stepping inside, the imposing sight of three muscular angels greeted me. Two of them were busily carving meat, while the third, stationed behind the counter, fixed a watchful gaze on me.

They stood before me, muscular and clad in a rubber-like apron with their arms crossed. The addition of cat ears perched atop their head created a rather peculiar contrast.

“It’s been a while since an outsider stopped by!”

“Hello.”

“May I see your entry pass?”

“Of course. Here you go.”

As I handed over the pass, my eyes swept across the interior of the butcher shop.

The space was surprisingly roomy. To the right, there was a dedicated workspace, and in front of the counter, there was a broad open area, likely meant for placing animal carcasses.

“So, what brings you here? Did someone send you to buy meat?”

“Oh, no. I’m actually here to sell animal carcasses.”

“You don’t appear to have anything with you. If you’re referring to the goblin standing beside you, I’m afraid we don’t deal with goblins.”

Doppy flared up, practically shouting in indignation, “What?! Angel! What nonsense is that?!”

Meanwhile, the muscular angel smirked. Judging by the playful glint in their eyes, it was likely meant as a joke rather than an actual insult.

That said, they hadn’t lied once.

Shaking my head, I placed a hand on the mimic. “No, not Doppy.”

With a light tap on the mimic, animal carcasses began tumbling out one after another. “This is what I’m selling.”

As the bodies continued to spill forth, the angels’ eyes widened gradually, their mouths falling slightly open. They clearly hadn’t been expecting this.

I couldn’t blame them as I was a little stunned myself. While I had stuffed them into the mimic earlier, seeing them laid out all at once made me realize just how many there actually were.

The spacious area in front of the counter had been completely filled.

“Outsiders haven’t even been here for more than a few hours... And yet you’ve already caught this many.”

“

Haha,

well

...

So, how much are they worth?”

“Let’s see... Twelve rabbits, nine boars... That’s thirty-four animals in total. Calculated individually, the total comes to around ninety gold, but I’ll round it up and give you a hundred.”

“What the—

Ha!

” I couldn’t help but dryly chuckle after hearing their offer.

While they hadn’t said anything untrue, they had obviously lowballed me. Just because they couldn’t fabricate information didn’t mean they couldn’t inflate prices or shortchange buyers.

Who do you think you are trying to swindle?

I sharply questioned them, “That’s accounting for the heads being removed, right?”

One of the angels scratched the back of his neck, looking momentarily flustered. “Oh, you wanted the heads taken off, too?

Haha..

.”

He likely assumed I was too new here to know any better.

“Yes. I plan to sell the heads at the fabric store.”

“

Haha

... Well, I figured you’d be handing everything over to us...”

“So, what’s the final price?”

“Let’s see... I can offer fifty gold.”

“You’re not trying to rip me off, are you?”

“Of course not! Prices for outsiders are fixed.”

I accepted the slight loss as it couldn’t be helped. “Alright. Go ahead and process it.”

Outsiders and angels operated under different pricing systems—a standard practice in the sky cities.

While outsiders paid the same prices as angels when buying goods, the tables turned when it came to selling or receiving payments, leaving outsiders at a clear disadvantage.

That’s probably why this trial forces us to gather three thousand gold.

At the very least, fixed prices assured that I wouldn’t lose money when making purchases.

***

[Collect a minimum of three thousand gold. Time remaining: 164 hours and 37 minutes.]

Removing the heads took longer than anticipated. Even with the three muscular angels working together, the sheer number of carcasses dragged out the process.

Once everything had been sorted, I asked the butcher for directions and made my way to the fabric store. After selling the animal heads there, I pocketed an additional seventy-two gold. That brought my total to one hundred twenty-two gold.

Time to hit the casino. I should have more than enough money to get a good footing.

I now had roughly the equivalent of 1.22 million won.

For most climbers, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to reach the three-thousand-gold target. However, with my foolproof strategy already in mind, it wouldn’t be a problem.

By the end of the day, I intended to have at least five thousand gold in hand.

Regardless, I needed to make one last stop before heading to the casino.