Chapter 288: The Fiftieth Floor (2)

On a rainy morning, I stepped out into the plaza, my face hidden beneath my raincoat hood. Suddenly, I heard an unfamiliar voice from the holographic display board installed in the plaza.

—I ask you all to please vote carefully.

To my shock, it was my own voice. The video was a recording from exactly two months ago. I could feel my face flush with embarrassment.

Ugh. Why does my voice always sound like that? It's so creepy...

I hurriedly left the plaza, but not before catching a glimpse of my reflection in the hologram. I looked really serious, staring straight ahead as I spoke earnestly.

—Everyone, this vote isn't just about whether you trust the Five Guilds or not. Should we reach the fiftieth floor, or should we give up and stay here? This vote will determine the future direction of our entire Tower. From the fiftieth floor onward, a completely different world awaits us.

The hologram then showed a view of the Babylon Plaza, bustling with excitement. Having just completed their voting, the residents of the Tower were animated.

—Death King! Death King! Death King!

An announcer appeared in a corner of the screen.

—Yes, we just watched this video from two months ago. As you can see, the vote held two months ago passed with an overwhelming majority. We voted whether to trust the Five Guilds and stick with the current system or not. Professor, surprisingly, the vote skewed heavily in favor of the Five Guilds, correct?

—Yes, it’s assumed this is because of the Death King. Our Rank 2 Hunter has a pretty good public image. Both he and his spouse are very popular.

—Yes, they’re very popular!

—Yes, yes, so this was kind of a popularity vote...

—A popularity vote?

—It couldn’t have been anything else. The way the Death King presented himself during the vote and the way the Duke of Ivansia refuted all objections is what swayed the voters.

—But, Professor, if the fiftieth floor is unlocked, Hunters from other worlds will visit us, right? What do you think about these other worlds?

As I walked away from the plaza, the sound of the news faded, and my embarrassment gradually diminished. I sighed and adjusted the hood of my raincoat.

It’s already been two months since the vote. Time surely flies.

In the meantime, I had been busy sorting out things inside the Tower. Dealing with the Blessing Tower Society fanatics hiding in the Pantheon and the Black Dragon was part of this internal cleanup.

Now, they won’t catch us off guard.

Preparations were complete. There was now only a slim chance that our Tower would suffer from internal division. I stepped out of the city, walking through puddles of water that smelled of rainy clouds. In the middle of a bleak slum street, I saw the Mirage-Walking Princess.

“Welcome, Death King,” she said.

“It’s been a while.”

“Two months isn’t that long.”

“Have you been waiting for me here?”

The street was now deserted. The long-neglected roofs couldn’t keep the rain out, and water flowed through the leaky pipes. The princess crouched down, placing her index finger over the gutter from which water was gushing.

“Well, you came out here to find me anyway, right? So, I predicted the path you would take and came here to meet you. It’s raining, so there's no need to waste time.”

“I see,” I replied as I approached her from behind.

The blond Pillar didn't turn to look at me; she continued to play with the gushing gutter. When she moved her finger, the flowing water split in two. “You came here to ask me to open the fiftieth floor, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I can do that for you any time, but is that okay? Death King, you’re alone right now. Since you have so many trustworthy colleagues, wouldn’t it be better for all of you to go together?”

I shook my head. “Once the fiftieth floor opens, our world becomes accessible to other worlds. It means those worlds can use this opportunity to invade us. All the Hunters except me will stay here and prepare for the invasion. The Terras... I mean, the Asuras are already fully prepared. If a force tries to invade, thinking that we’re newbies, they will run into a real disaster.”

“You guys are cautious,” the princess noted, standing up. “While all the others are on the defensive, you’ll go up to the fiftieth floor as a scout. Even if things go wrong, you don’t stay dead.”

“Exactly.”

“Alright,” the princess said as she reached out and grabbed my wrist. “From now on, you have graduated from the beginner stage.”

The moment I felt the moisture from her palm, the sky above us tore up.

Rumble...

Purple lightning struck. Thunder roared through the clouds once, twice. Even the dark clouds, which wore their vapors like armor, couldn't contain the thunder.

Rumble! Rumble...!

The clouds split into ten, then a hundred pieces, and the purple lightning spread across the sky like tiny blood vessels.

A lightning storm poured down on me.

[Beginner protection measures have been suspended.]

[

Beginner privileges have been permanently revoked.

]

[The Lion Realm has officially joined the Official Route.]

[The Lion Realm can now freely travel to the fiftieth floor.]

[Other worlds can now freely travel to the Lion Realm.]

The invisible walls that had protected us until now were collapsing. I swallowed the rainwater that seeped into my mouth.

This is the world that Yoo Soo-Ha has never been able to get to.

It’s the world where Hunters like the Constellation Murderer roam... and where the Sword Emperor reigned supreme.

Lightning struck

.

It was louder than any lightning strike. From the sky to the horizon, everything split in two. Not only did the dark clouds part, but even the rain that had been pouring down was divided.

Rumble!

The gap that had started opening up only grew wider, resembling a cracked eggshell; the sky was shedding its skin.

[Announcement.]

[As of today, the fiftieth floor has opened.]

Finally, on the other side of the open sky, a sight we had never seen before unfolded. A single tower stood tall, just like the World Tree.

“Now, whenever you look up, you will see that tower!” the princess exclaimed. “Even in the mansion where the dolls sleep, the Aegim Empire, the snow-covered

gangho

, outside the library's window, Goru, where the Terras were born... any world that you guys decided to be together with you will be able to see it at any time.”

The princess was soaking wet from the rain.

“Bye-bye, Death King. Survive. I’ll wait on the one hundredth floor!” she announced while laughing.

I smiled. The moment I opened my mouth to respond, pure white light enveloped me.

[Entering the fiftieth floor.]

***

I had been to the fiftieth floor before. I sort of cheated at the time, but I remembered that when I entered the stage, the area around me was quiet. This time was different.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse has detected your arrival!]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye senses the Constellation Murderer’s presence from you.]

[The Lonely Seeker welcomes a resident from a new world.]

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus is observing the sword you are holding.]

Before I even opened my eyes, when my mind was still blank, alarming messages rang out loudly. Those with titles I had and hadn’t heard before sent messages as a response to my official arrival on the floor.

What a grand welcome!

The Guardian, who had kept quiet since the dream this morning, appeared rather nonchalant.

—Of course, it makes sense. I don’t know everything, but almost all Constellations probably have you on their watchlist, Kim Zombie.

Huh? Why? I did wreak havoc here, but I've since regressed, so it’s like it never happened. From their perspective, this is probably the first time they've seen me.

—Yeah, it's their first time seeing you in person. Just think about all the things you’ve done so far.

Slowly, the white light around me faded.

What did I do?

—First, you killed Mutia's apostle. If you had just killed her, it wouldn’t have mattered, but you took her in with your Skill and made her your subordinate. You even have the Constellation Murderer as your subordinate. Do you have any idea how famous he is among the Constellations? He was considered the king of lunatics, and you now have him by your side.

As my vision returned, everything gradually became clearer.

Huh? The Constellations already know that I’ve taken in Kim Yul? That's absurd. I only took in Kim Yul. That’s all. The Constellation Murderer’s puppets are still up and about...

—Yeah, they don't know everything, but some guys have good eyes. At least one or two of them had been watching the Constellation Murderer constantly and figured out that you devoured him in your shadow. Do you understand what I mean? Be careful, punk.

My sense of touch recovered completely before my sight did. The teleportation was complete, and I could finally feel my feet touch the ground.

—You took down the Demon King of Autumn Rain, but that isn’t all. You gathered every piece of the Goddess of Protection. The Indoor Librarian has become an ordinary kid because of you. These are many things you, a beginner who hadn’t even reached the fiftieth floor, have done!

The Guardian chuckled.

—Normally, Constellations have to guide you kindly, and you would have to bust your ass to complete the quests and collect the quest rewards. But you kept destroying the quest givers instead! On top of that, although no one knows this, you even met the Tower master! Even I find that strange.

Finally, my surroundings slowly came into focus.

—Your situation is really unusual. Now, Zombie. Yeah, this is the first time the starheads are seeing you in person, but don’t you think they would be interested in a crazy newbie like you?

Hmm. I think I would also be a little interested.

—They’ll be fucking interested.

So what? I like attention. Don't worry. Smile!

—I’m sorry to break it to you, but it’s not the kind of attention you like, kid. The Constellations are somewhat like game masters. GMs. They create and assign quests. Just wait and see what happens when you catch their attention.

I found myself in the middle of the wilderness. That area where only strange monsters should have been wandering at best was now teeming with dozens of people for some reason. I wanted to believe they were all Hunters searching for monsters, that my arrival here was by chance, and that our meeting was purely coincidental. However, at first glance, it didn’t seem that way. As soon as these people saw me, they pointed at me.

“There he is! It’s him!”

“He finally showed up!”

“Prepare for battle!”

Every one of them was holding a hideous sword. It was actually hard to dismiss everything as a coincidence, even when faced with finger-pointing and drawn swords. My situation was no exception. Even before I could celebrate officially making it to the fiftieth floor, I had to draw my holy sword.

“What the heck?” I murmured.

I was already surrounded. More than twenty people encircled me.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse has issued a quest to the followers.]

[You have been designated as the quest target!]

[Disclosing the quest.]

Take down the Death King.

Difficulty Level: Unknown

Goal: The Death King is a human from the recently introduced world named Lion Realm. Before his world had even set foot on the Official Route, the Death King dared to confront the Eternal Plains Warhorse, killing Mahos’ apostle.

Brave warriors, the Eternal Plains Warhorse calls upon you. Take down the Death King! Take advantage of the moment he arrives on the fiftieth floor and launch a surprise attack!

Please be careful. The Death King is terrifying and wicked. He’s a cultist who will use any means necessary to achieve his goal, a demonic cult leader with hundreds of fanatics under his command. Fear not, warriors. If you strike him while he’s still unfamiliar with the Official Route, victory can be yours!

Mahos will bestow the blessing of selecting any warrior who kills or captures the Death King as his apostle.

※Death King, you cannot participate in the quest.

※You are the quest target.

My flabber was gasted out of my mind.

What? Terrifying and wicked? A cultist who will use any means or methods? Who the heck is that?! I don’t know who that is! Is this some kind of error?

—What error? Zombie, you are actually from a demonic cult. If an ordinary person sees you, they’ll think you’re an actual cultist.

So you’re telling me that I’m actually an evil cult leader with hundreds of fanatics under my command?

—That isn’t technically wrong, Young Heaven. That Viper or whatever his name is told you that you’re basically the Heavenly Demon of this era. A demon from heaven. Wow. Just hearing the name alone makes you sound like a bad guy.

What the fuck are you talking about?!

A Hunter shouted, “Don’t let your guard down! He’s the one that Lord Mahos told us to be wary of! Just because he looks no different from us doesn’t mean he’s not a threat! He’s the devil of devils. If we underestimate him just because he’s a beginner, we’ll be the ones who die!”

“Draw your swords!”

“Everyone, attack!”

The Hunters rushed at me while shouting. I raised my aura and prepared my stance. Still, I couldn’t help but scream, “Wait a minute! I’m not a bad guy! If anything, I’m a good guy! Everyone, this quest is a lie! How can someone blatantly lie while giving a quest?! Hey, everyone! I’m not the villain that the quest says I am!”

—

Hey, it’s useless. The GMs decide how a quest works. Don’t you remember the quest that the Demon King of Autumn Rain gave you? The Constellation Murderer went around killing Constellations for a good reason.

Then what should I do?

The Guardian didn’t bother to hide his laughter. He grinned.

—What do you mean what should you do? Fight. Welcome to the world of the fiftieth floor, where manipulation and distortion are part of your everyday life, Gong-Ja!

Ah, fuck.