Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Go, Stop (1)
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As evening fell, the surroundings began to grow dark.
The biggest difference between floors 1 through 4 and floor 5 was that time passed here.
Up to floor 4, time had been frozen in place, but on floor 5, it flowed just like the outside world.
Thanks to that, Regin's sense of time, which he'd momentarily forgotten, started to creep back in.
“Whew, there's way too much to log. Is every first expedition this crazy, Regin?”
Inside one of the camp's tents.
Regin and Manannan had unpacked their gear and were taking a brief rest.
Manannan was jotting down everything that had happened in a book, while Regin lay back, mulling over past events and what lay ahead.
“Something I realized while talking to Chimihi earlier.”
“Hm?”
“We've been through a lot of unusual stuff, I think.”
Regin answered lightly.
Truth be told, it wasn't exactly a normal start.
Even Regin, who'd played DAT multiple times, had never had a first entry this eventful.
“...Figures. Damn. I was starting to think I just didn't mesh with the Tower. I figured everyone goes through crises like this every time.”
“Let's think positive. We survived, at least.”
Survival was what mattered.
No one would listen if he complained about the insane difficulty right from the start.
The Tower was full of variables, so difficulty varied by situation—it couldn't be helped.
‘But it's better to get the hard stuff out of the way early.’
As long as you survived.
It was a game where that experience and effort paid off in some form.
No, Regin was the type who'd relentlessly researched ways to turn every experience into rewards.
This time was no different—he was already racking his brain on how to make use of it all.
‘For starters, my level went up.’
He began calmly checking his current status.
Hunting in the Twilight Forest on floor 1 had leveled him up. Regin's current level was 3.
It wasn't a game where level directly equaled combat power, but the stats from leveling were useful in many ways.
They solidified the character's foundation, so even just leveling up was a small win.
【Player Name: Regin Petrichio】
Level: 3
Gender: Male
Job Change Status: Stage 1
Reputation Rank: E
It was fascinating every time he looked at it.
DAT had not just a stat window for viewing stats, but a status window for overall condition, and various system windows for tracking progress.
‘But nothing else shows up. Just my own stats.’
What was the intent?
Why let him see only his own stat window?
He pondered for a moment, but no answer came. It would have been convenient to see all the system windows, honestly.
‘At least I can see the stat window.’
Pushing aside the unsolvable question for now, Regin focused on the info in front of him.
‘Reputation. Right, there's this too.’
Reputation measured how much a player's character influenced the game world and came in 12 ranks total.
From F to S.
The higher the rank, the more you could feel NPCs treating you differently.
There were plenty like Chimihi, who looked past reputation to a person's essence.
But generally, higher reputation meant more favorable treatment.
...That said, why was it already E-rank?
‘Because I told Chimihi about breaking through the Lycanthropes?’
Levels rose from hunting, steadily climbing the Tower, interacting with NPCs.
That built reputation, but to rack it up faster, you did something rumor-worthy.
Like the Lycanthrope chase with him and Manannan.
It was definitely the kind of feat that boosted reputation.
‘But the only NPCs we've interacted with are Ernia and Chimihi.’
So for reputation to hit E already meant one of them had spread the word.
Chimihi was the likely culprit.
‘She's got that obsessive curiosity—if she latches on, she sees it through to the end.’
[Chimihi. This chick is insanely persistent lol]
[Did one raid and Chimihi tracked me to the ends of the earth.]
[If Chimihi's favor alert pops up, watch out. She dumps chain quests like crazy.]
If something seemed fishy, she'd dig in obsessively. If she deemed you skilled, she'd test your limits with quests.
‘Didn't expect her to move this fast.’
Good thing the stat window showed it.
Without it, he wouldn't have known Chimihi was spreading rumors.
“Regin. You asleep?”
He was lost in thought when—
“I can't sleep. Too much has happened.”
Manannan, who'd been trying to sleep lying down, stared at the tent ceiling and spoke up.
“...Seeing someone die like that. Even those Pendant jerks, sure, that was on them. But that guy earlier? No way that was his fault.”
“Guy?”
“The archer who got chased with us by the Lycanthrope. Looked like he got caught after hanging out on floor 4.”
He was talking about the male archer devoured by the Lycanthrope.
“It's not pity or anything... it's just scary.”
“Scary?”
“Yeah. One minute I'm thinking, 'Finally made it to the floor 5 camp'... but now that I'm here, nothing says I won't end up like that guy... You okay?”
Regin thought quietly, then shrugged.
Honestly, he felt fear too.
It was natural to worry if he'd meet the same end as that archer.
“Manannan.”
“Yeah?”
But Regin still planned to climb the Tower.
“They say giving up becomes a habit.”
“...A habit?”
“Yeah. Even if you give up and take another path, something despair-inducing will be waiting there too.”
“...Another line from a book?”
Regin chuckled and shook his head.
“Heard it from someone I know.”
“Oh?”
An image of a certain woman flashed through his mind.
‘...Mom.’
He recalled his mother, who'd left those words etched in his heart.
Scenes like that always resurfaced in key moments, playing briefly before fading.
“...Giving up becomes a habit.”
“Yeah. So I'm gonna keep going as far as I can.”
“You rascal. Always saying cool shit solo.”
Manannan smirked at Regin.
“Got it. Truth is, I was debating heading back to the village. But after hearing you, I think I'll stick around longer.”
“Huh?”
“Was even thinking of popping back to the kingdom real quick to sort my thoughts.”
Regin tilted his head, confused. There was definitely a misunderstanding.
“I'm planning to go to the kingdom and come back, Manannan.”
“What? You just said no giving up...”
“Not giving up... I just have a lot of prep to do. Can't dive into fights right after mana recovery like you.”
“...”
“Need to restock scrolls too. Which means gathering materials.”
“Oh.”
“That's the reality of a spellcrafter. Elemental mages don't get these woes...”
“Ah! Got it. Here we go again!”
That's why you don't team with grouchy elementalists.
Farm, settle accounts. Settle accounts, craft.
They don't understand the struggles of us spellcrafters who stick to the process.
“So you're swinging by the kingdom and coming back?”
“Yeah.”
“...Tch. Guess I'll... tag along then...”
As Manannan continued—
Someone approached the tent entrance.
“Lord Regin, Lady Manannan? Are you in?”
Manannan shot up and looked toward the entrance.
“Lady Ernia?”
“Yes, that's me. Priestess Ernia.”
Perfect excuse for the sleepless Manannan.
“Would you... care for a drink, if it's not too much trouble?”
* * *
The camp streets at night.
It was so well-kept, you could mistake it for a small village.
Surprisingly quiet outside.
Given the hour, most noise came from inside the tents.
The three headed to one where meals were served.
“But can a priestess drink?”
“A little is fine. We need to relieve stress too, right?”
“Ah.”
Ernia smiled faintly as she sat at the table.
“And I was worried. Wanted to treat you both to a meal and ask how you're doing.”
“Worried?”
“Yes, Regin. Your wounds were serious. Your arm—it's really okay now?”
“All better. Thanks to you.”
Just in case, Regin waved his arm to show he was fine—no need for extra healing.
“Good. Really... it was shocking at first. No one's faced a Lycanthrope in years and lived.”
“Haha...”
“Still a miracle thinking back. Oh, not just luck, though. You two overcame it.”
Ernia spoke with a warm smile.
“Anything you want? Bet you haven't had a proper meal since entering the Tower.”
Regin and Manannan exchanged glances and nodded.
True.
They'd been surviving on dried fruits and meats.
Gurgle—
The aromas filling the tent made their stomachs rumble.
“This is the best spot in the Tower for real food. My treat tonight.”
“She says so, Regin? Order everything on the menu?”
“...That's a bit much.”
“It's fine. Not much to spend money on here anyway.”
Regin nodded at Ernia's words.
Fair enough—she was a resident priestess on floor 5.
Paid by both kingdom and church.
Top-tier salary among priestesses, and no real spending spots on floor 5.
“Then we'll order freely.”
“Sure.”
Regin and Manannan picked dishes—mostly Manannan taking charge.
This world was based on DAT's lore.
Hence the bizarre foods impossible in reality.
Like 'Red Eye Body Stew' or 'Blue Slime Pudding'.
‘Always wanted to try them once.’
He recalled trendy community posts.
The infamous DAT community belly cooking contest.
‘...Chefs recreated DAT foods, posted pics, voted on the best.’
Forcing fantasy recipes led to pics that killed appetites on sight.
Even with shared recipes, Regin never tried—why force those flavors in reality?
‘But here, it's real ingredients, real cooking.’
DAT foods he'd seen.
Curious what these actually tasted like, not user knockoffs.
Clink—
Soon, dishes hit the table.
“Making my mouth water already.”
“Right?”
“...”
Regin gave a wry smile alone.
‘...Sorry, fellow players.’
Visuals were spot-on, no big differences.
DAT users nailed the recreations better than expected.
“All here. Let's eat and chat a bit.”
“Ah, sure. Sounds good.”
Thus began mealtime-slash-conversation.
Manannan devoured the dishes ravenously.
Makes sense.
No proper meals on the climb to floor 5.
Regin cautiously tried his order.
‘Missing kimchi.’
Kimchi and ramen.
How blessed that simple combo was.
Tears in his heart, Regin ate on.
“Salty!”
“...!!”
But the beer? Different story.
‘...This is fantasy beer!’
Regin's eyes widened. Sweet like butter inside, urging more gulps.
Beer: pass.
Overwhelming compared to Korean brews.
As Regin grinned to himself—
“By the way, are you two heading back to the village?”
Floor 5 had a portal out.
Exit took you to the village; re-entering started from floor 1.
“I'm planning to go back for now.”
“...Still deciding.”
“I see.”
Ernia paused, then continued.
“Was gonna introduce you to a party if you were staying on floor 5.”
“Huh?”
“Heard the Lycanthrope rumors, apparently. There's a party interested in you two.”
Regin set down his mug and looked at Ernia.
“They're offering to party up with us?”
It was word of a party invitation.