Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: D-Rank Hunter, Conquering the 10th Floor of the Tower of Lust
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Only once I truly felt the vehicle's safety did I finally catch my breath.
Sporadic beasts tried to block our path, but they weren't much of a problem.
-I know there's a male inside! Come out already!
-Don't hog all the good stuff!
-Hand him over nooow!!!
-Give us the male! Let's have some fun with him together!!!
It was just a gimmick.
They couldn't fully block the vehicle and eventually cleared the way.
"Ugh, what a headache. Living this long, I've seen some truly bizarre shit."
"Most men who enter here for the first time say the same thing."
If it was like this from the first floor, I could understand why the gimmick to reach the tenth floor was the same mess.
I'd somehow endured it, but that was thanks to my gear and buffs. Thinking about how many men must have been captured here made my heart ache for them.
"Do we have to climb from the first floor to the tenth ourselves?"
"Yes. Normally, once the tenth floor opens, you can freely travel between floors one through ten."
But right now, that was sealed, so we had to go through like this.
"Luckily, we got the vehicle on the first floor, so we can safely reach the fifth. It's a gimmick that doesn't appear often, so we got lucky."
In other words, up to the fifth floor was furry territory.
"What about the floors after that? Same vibe... like, just mobs trying to eat guys?"
"Pretty much. That's why there are so many female hunters in this tower. On floors one through five, if you're a woman, they either let you pass or kill you cleanly. Women don't get aggro right away either, so if you've got the skills, it's a decent money-maker."
"And men?"
"They become playthings. There's a breeding pen in the corner of each floor where they keep captured males, and once a month, they form a coalition to send in rescue teams. Not many get caught, but it still happens."
Any guy who enters immediately gets swarmed, so with mediocre skills, you're 100% getting nabbed.
That's why they wear chastity belts to avoid that mess.
Poor bastards.
"From the sixth floor on, enemies inflict pleasure regardless of gender. It's a kind of curse—starts subtle, but before you know it, you're addicted. Not as bad as Park in some ways, but dangerous in others."
Mention of addiction to pleasure brought Madam's people to mind.
They must be victims from the sixth floor and up.
"Most hunters who sell their bodies are victims from here. Aura protects you from the gimmick, but you can't always be at full strength. Floors one through five, you rescue and done. But from six onward, it messes with your mind, and there's no cure at present."
It's wreaking unspeakable havoc on both men and women from the lower floors up.
I couldn't even imagine the upper ones.
"Back when the floors weren't sealed, like when up to the fiftieth was open."
I asked what it was like then, and her driving suddenly got rougher.
"Simple terms: hell. Perverts blending city walls and gates paraded around. Men wandered the streets in diapers, women raped women and weren't satisfied until they went after someone else's lover and stabbed each other to death."
Vroom! Jolt!
"Some even lusted after their own kids. Incest was basic. They sold tower drugs to create wrecks, succubi hid in alleys leaving withered corpses daily. Hell, some nutjobs even married those lower-floor beasts we just saw."
Married a beast?!
"That's how fucked it was?"
"Clears went smoothly, but floors opening too fast was the issue. Under skilled hunters challenged around the fortieth on their own whims and broke every time."
"Pay that good to risk it?"
"A week's haul from Silver Tower? You could make it in hours looping thirtieth to fortieth back then."
They really risked life and limb.
Traces of that era still lingered in Madam's turf.
"This could backflow. Korea'd turn into hell."
"Why would something like this spawn in a Confucian country?"
"Maybe because it is Confucian? Could be someone thinking it'd be fun in Korea."
"Plausible, and I hate it."
Britain's tower was Gluttony too, so yeah.
These tower lords—do they know memes or what?
-Gyaaaaaah!!!
-Male! Male! Male!
-Dick out nooow!!!
-Marry meeee!!!
"No mute function here?"
"Give up."
The safari bus charged on relentlessly.
At Park's edge loomed a rift of light like an exit. We barreled toward it and arrived in a new park.
'Same scenery until the sixth floor, huh.'
Ceres handled driving. A map sat beside the wheel—bought from Cartographer Guild, easy to read at a glance.
Ceres wouldn't get us lost. Ignoring the shrieks outside, we relaxed with chit-chat.
Especially with the witches from Maan providing support—mid-tier hunters by any measure.
-How long have you seniors been in this tower?
"Not that long. We were originally an outside party."
-Oh, overseas vets?
"Yeah. By chance, we met the Guild Master, and that's what brought us to Korea."
"Thought we'd joined a good guild back then. Never dreamed it'd lead here."
-What do you usually do?
"Like Ceres said, monthly rescues from one to five. Otherwise, patrol above six for those who've fallen in."
"Sixth is addictive, lots of irreversible victims."
"More urgent than below, so near-daily patrols."
-Like what?
"Look ahead."
By now, we'd passed the sixth floor.
The world gleamed gold for a moment, then our vehicle vanished, leaving us in the middle of a ward.
Too white. Iron bars inside, walls marked [NO SHARPS].
"...Asylum?"
My head spun suddenly.
What? Mental attack?
"Don't zone out—wrap yourselves in aura, quick."
I hurriedly complied, and my mind cleared right up.
That's when I spotted the creepy monsters circling us.
Invisible without aura.
"Octopus...?"
Cthulhu vibes.
Humanoid bodies, purple octopus faces—unknown creatures in doctor garb patrolling the ward.
Then I met those sickly yellow eyes...
"Do you... have a favorite dream...?"
...Dream?
Sudden question??
"Don't answer. They won't attack unless we strike first."
"Passive?"
"Yes. So no hitting, no talking."
"Got it."
Ceres shoved past the octopus doc and strode the hall, map in hand, leading us.
A mental hospital in a tower? Atmosphere's off.
Octopus docs standing blankly in corridors, all ward doors wide open.
"You rescue people around here?"
"Yep. See, all doors open?"
"Yeah."
Empty inside. No sign of patients.
Just vacant rooms and zombie-like octopus docs...
"Closed doors mean someone's inside. Captured, or came willingly."
"They inject pleasure if caught, right?"
"Yeah. These octopi show your favorite dream, pump in pleasure, slowly break your mind."
"Dreams so real, even knowing doesn't help—tons get stuck."
Following Ceres up the stairs, light enveloped us: [7th Floor].
Straight hall to opposite stairs: [8th Floor].
Octopi really didn't attack, just asked "Favorite dream?" even noticing us.
Asked Ceres again.
"You said wrap aura earlier. What if we drop it?"
"We get attacked. They forcibly read your desired dream the moment aura drops, then smother you to make it real."
Right on cue, a closed room mid-hall to the ninth—victim inside?
"Wanna see?"
Curiosity piqued. Nodded, and she opened the door.
Just opening didn't aggro; inside quiet. Woman lay on the bed.
"That's the victim?"
"Yep."
An octopus doc clung to her head.
"Slurp, slurp, slurp..."
"Ah♡ Ah♡ Ah♡"
Mashing its beak to her head, gulping something down. She drooled happily as it fed.
"Like Alien, sucking brains—!?"
"Stop with the gross talk. It's eating her dream. Prolonged, she gets pleasure-addicted, ends up with Madam."
"How to save?"
"Can't pry it off in that state—kill it. Alarms whole ward, enemies swarm."
Rescue starts: fight horde of octopus docs in this tiny room.
What a nuisance gimmick.
"Looks like a hunter. Light gear, though—probably came on purpose."
"Spot that quick?"
"Cases like this everywhere."
Sacrificing mind for a hit of pleasure.
Scary.
How good must those dreams be?
Do they even know they're screwing everyone over?
"Know there's a victim—send rescue later."
'Rescue? She'll probably crawl back anyway.'
This tower—no redeeming corner anywhere. Hurriedly shut the door.
Octopi stares felt sharper now.
"This is the ninth."
My body glowed.
Passed stairs marked [9th Floor], down another hall.
Stairs to next floor in different spots each time—total asshole design. No map, we'd be lost forever.
Aura keeps attacks away—reassuring, but mess it up and you're attacked, turned wreck...
"Almost tenth. Lower floors, so smooth sailing."
"What I went through on first?"
"Compared to missing from tenth? Child's play."
True, men don't die—so yeah, kiddie stuff.
But post-capture... fucked.
"...Here."
Finally, last stairs.
Tenth-floor stairs weren't the white ones we'd climbed—dark stone steps.
From here, the real gate. Ominous vibe hit hard.
"We'll wait here. Current constellation doesn't like you parading with women, so go up solo from here."
Constellation... the doorkeeper after that exploit bullshit?
"Knight of Purity...?"
"Yes. Tricky talker. Pick words carefully, avoid lies—that's the key."
"What kinda key is that? Sounds like a bitch."
"You'll see when you meet."
"That phrasing again!! 'You'll know when you meet'? What the hell kinda 'know' is that!? I got dragged here 'cause of that shit! You tryna piss me off again!? Huh? Should I just kill you both, master and servant!!"
"Understood. Since you put it that way, example time. Picture a medieval knight with 'love' on his lips."
"...Huh?"
"Then shout as loud as possible: Pure love! Chastity belt! Pure love! Chastity belt! Dance wildly, hammy as hell."
"..........."
No clue.
What the fuck kinda weirdo?
Explained, even less sense.
"Still lost?"
"Yeah. Totally."
"No lies. For real. Go meet, you'll get it."
Ceres bowed for that phrasing sin.
"Wait a day here. Please don't die, Chang-gi-nim."
"Won't die till Seong-yeon beats me to it, so relax."
"Looking forward."
Light enveloped my body.
Engraving last night's milkmaidstrategy tips in my head.
I threw myself into uncharted human territory.