Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Quest-Spamming NPC (1)
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“You haven’t been above the 5th Floor yet, have you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you wouldn’t have much idea what the 6th Floor is like.”
Reggin paused in thought for a moment before nodding.
Greg continued, hiding a smile.
“I’m not underestimating your skills... No, actually, I fully acknowledge them. Given everything you’ve shown so far.”
“Yes.”
“But starting from the 6th Floor, you’ll need someone to guide you. And someone who knows the monsters well.”
“Are you saying that’s you, Greg?”
Reggin asked with a chuckle, and Greg nodded with an awkward laugh.
“That’s right. Haven’t I climbed up to the 11th Floor?”
“Of course.”
“Teaming up with me would benefit you too.”
“...Yeah, I get that much.”
It went without saying. Having Greg join would make things easier for Reggin as well.
“The 6th Floor is more chaotic than you might think.”
He was right.
If Reggin didn’t know the 6th Floor well, Greg would have been essential.
The Skull Castle truly began in earnest from the 6th Floor.
‘It’s a place riddled with gimmicks everywhere. Without plenty of experience, it’s hard to conquer easily.’
But Reggin wasn’t someone who didn’t know the 6th Floor.
He might know as much as Greg, or even more.
Thanks to that, Reggin could calmly assess his proposal.
“I understand why I might need you, Greg.”
“Haha, I wasn’t trying to put it that way. Just that I’d be helpful.”
“But I don’t quite get why you’re making this proposal to me.”
“...Huh?”
“As you just said, you know the 6th Floor well. And you have your own skills.”
“That’s true.”
“So you could find other party members at the 5th Floor camp. Or go up alone.”
Reggin looked at Greg with an expressionless face.
Greg Harvian.
They had fought together in the Rabbit Den this time, but Reggin didn’t know what kind of person he really was.
‘On the surface, he seems like just another common explorer. He has enough spirit of adventure to wander into the Rabbit Den alone to verify a rumor he overheard...’
The problem was that was all he knew.
Why he wanted to climb the Tower.
And what he aimed to gain from this expedition...
He needed to find out.
‘Prepare for the worst.’
At the very least, until the 10th Floor, he needed confirmation that neither would betray the other.
“Reggin.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know who the most appealing companion is for an explorer?”
“An appealing companion?”
“People usually say it’s a strong one. Or a reliable one.”
“You think differently?”
“I do. Of course, those kinds of companions are reassuring if you have them. But if you’re going to follow someone...”
Greg chuckled as he looked at Reggin.
Seeming to find the situation amusing himself, Greg paused in thought before continuing.
“You want to follow someone extraordinary.”
Greg slung his axe over his shoulder as he spoke.
“And in my eyes, you’re extraordinary. Enough that I want to follow in your footsteps and see what trail you blaze.”
* * *
Clatter—
Before exiting the 4th Floor.
Reggin and Greg set up a temporary camp nearby.
Since the Rabbit Den portal was quite a distance from the 5th Floor portal, they decided to rest slowly without pushing themselves.
“You rest first. We’ll switch every 2 hours.”
“Got it.”
Memories of climbing with Manannan flashed through Reggin’s mind.
Back then, they’d taken turns on watch like this while sleeping.
Now, he was heading to the 5th Floor, alternating watches with Greg.
“You should sleep soon. I plan to switch with you exactly in 2 hours.”
“Haha, you’re strict about switch times, huh.”
“Heh, gotta be. If you make exceptions and keep changing plans, someone ends up feeling slighted.”
He certainly seemed seasoned.
You could feel he had plenty of experience partying with others.
He knew prioritizing principles over emotions was more efficient.
Greg stared at the campfire they’d lit. Reggin closed his eyes on the sleeping bag beside him.
He wanted to sleep right away, but his mind was racing.
‘...Extraordinary, huh.’
Greg had proposed partying.
It might have been less headache-inducing if he’d had a clear goal or intent.
But calling it a spirit of adventure...
From Reggin’s perspective, there was a lot to consider.
‘Well, the NPCs who survived long in DAT usually had that kind of romanticism.’
He thought back to the NPCs he’d acknowledged as companions while playing.
Faces of those he’d journeyed with for at least one full run passed by.
At the same time, he recalled a post he’d seen on the community around dawn.
[NPCs definitely don’t seem Korean.]
He’d clicked it wondering what ethnicity had to do with it.
[Honestly, I play optimizing builds and Tower routes for efficiency, but these guys just roam on pure curiosity lol. Makes sense—if they cared about efficiency, they’d be doing business under nobles from the start.]
The way NPCs acted differed from gamers, especially efficiency-focused Korean gamers.
The explorers in this Tower, even if their path was a bit inefficient.
They boldly stepped forward if it was a place where they could achieve their dreams.
‘He saw some explorer instinct in me. Wants to bet on it.’
Whether that was sincere, he didn’t know yet.
Nor what exactly Greg saw in him.
‘But...’
Reggin thought as he closed his eyes.
He could empathize with that sentiment.
Truth be told, Reggin himself was a player whose style differed from Korean gamers.
—Why the hell are you still farming there? It’ll make prepping for the upper floors from 15 onward tough.
—Can’t understand why you even went Spellcrafter. You’ll burn all your cash on material items and can’t progress.
—Kinda wish you’d stuck with Assassin research. You’d probably have cleared Jerome by now.
Even the other DAT players found Reggin’s choices baffling.
They all seemed like characters and routes with clear limits.
Every playstyle Reggin chose looked inefficient to other players.
‘But I made it work. I saw the end of the path I wanted... and even here, I’m confirming there’s more beyond that.’
Chasing romance.
What Reggin saw in Greg’s eyes was his past self.
The plays he’d believed in and made succeed weren’t all that different from Greg’s.
‘It was a solid answer.’
So he didn’t dismiss Greg’s words as mere flattery.
It was an explorer’s answer.
“Greg.”
“Oh, you’re up?”
Two hours later.
Reggin, having dozed off briefly, looked at Greg.
“How far up can you guide me?”
Greg smiled as he replied.
“Up to the 11th Floor. I’ll take responsibility and get you there, as far as I know.”
“For this expedition, the 10th Floor is enough for me.”
“Hmm. Planning to head out after reaching the 10th for resupply?”
“Yeah, gotta restock once. Spellcrafter’s curse.”
“Haha! Alright, then I’ll guide you to the 10th responsibly.”
Reggin nodded, and Greg let out a hearty laugh as he extended a hand for a shake.
“Looking forward to it!”
“Same here.”
Since entering DAT, this was the first party member he’d recruited since Manannan.
‘Of course, I can’t drop all suspicion yet.’
Few people chase romance even in the face of death.
Reggin thought while keeping a proper distance.
“Looking forward to working with you outside the Tower too.”
Just because Reggin had chased romance didn’t mean he wasn’t a gamer.
He’d never completely abandoned efficiency.
‘Greg will be useful outside the Tower too.’
He’d already calculated it clearly.
‘Black Mana Stone. To refine it, I’ll need a blacksmith like Greg.’
Since they were partying anyway.
Whether inside or outside the Tower, he’d already planned to make maximum use of him.
* * *
After resting adequately, Reggin and Greg headed straight up to the 5th Floor.
At the same time, the long darkness of the 4th Floor finally ended.
“Finally, the 5th Floor. How long’s it been since I saw a bright sky...!”
Greg exaggerated a bit as he marveled at the blue sky.
A bright, open forest felt better than the gloomy evening woods.
Easier to see ahead.
“Where should we go first?”
“Treatment first. Got some scratches from fighting the Ghouls.”
‘Not much has changed.’
The 5th Floor still had all sorts of explorers around.
Still, being his second visit, it felt a bit more familiar than before.
They passed the guards and entered the treatment tent.
“Hello. Oh... Aren’t you Reggin?”
“Long time no see, Ernia.”
Ernia, the priestess he’d seen during the last expedition.
The one who’d healed his Lycanthrope wound was still bustling about busily.
“Yeah, really been a while. Your arm looks fine this time. Hehe.”
“Luckily, I didn’t run into another Lycanthrope.”
“...Running into one twice in a row means you should quit exploring. How unlucky would you have to be?”
Ernia shook her head with a chuckle.
“Anyway, glad it worked out. No need to treat your arm twice in a row.”
Reggin smiled too.
...Not like he could say his arm—and nearly his head—had almost been severed this time.
‘After Lycanthrope, I saw Skelji too...’
As he gave an awkward smile, Ernia naturally began treating his wounds.
The wounds from the Rabbit Den had been healed with potions.
But the scratches from breaking through the 4th Floor afterward remained.
‘...It hurts more than it should.’
He’d felt it last time too—Ernia’s healing had a weird quirk.
For holy power healing, the pain was unexpectedly intense.
“Oh? A dwarf... Greg Harvian, right?”
“That’s me, yep.”
“I’ll treat you too, Harvian.”
“No need. A potion will fix me right up.”
“Aww, the goddess’s blessing beats potions. And you might have internal injuries. Let me check.”
Greg seemed to know Ernia too, but he cleared his throat and refused her treatment.
...Was he even breaking a cold sweat?
Reggin gave a wry smile at the sight.
‘Even Greg knows. Ernia’s treatments are special.’
Whether he knew or not, she insisted cheerfully.
Making it hard to refuse or accept—an awkward situation all around.
“Greg.”
“Uh... yeah...?”
Looking at Greg caught by Ernia, Reggin stood up.
“I have business with Chimihi, so I’ll step out for a bit.”
“You know Chimihi?”
“Saw him during the last expedition. And we have some things to discuss separately.”
“Hmm. Got it. I’ll be at an empty outpost—come find me when you’re done.”
“Will do.”
Reggin left the treatment tent and headed toward the largest central tent.
That’s where Chimihi, the commander of the 5th Floor camp, was.
He gripped the letter he’d taken from his inventory and moved to his bag.
The letter from the noble Preton he’d met in the kingdom.
‘Delivering this was the condition Preton set.’
Preton, who’d promised to supply materials for the 10th Floor.
This letter was the item he needed to deliver for their deal.
He didn’t know the contents, but he had a rough idea.
‘...Nothing good comes from exposing it to others.’
Otherwise, they wouldn’t go to the trouble of using a secret courier like this.