Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: If Not Me, Who Will? (2)
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The woman holding the dagger stared intently at Regin.
"You're cold-blooded."
"......"
"If you'd offered to help or tried to convince me you're not like those people, I wouldn't have believed you."
A woman being chased by someone. The moment Regin grasped the situation, he tried to figure out the pursuers' positions.
Because it could bring trouble to him as well.
The woman thought that was an honest and cold-blooded judgment.
As an explorer, he was prioritizing his own life.
"Just as you guessed, I got hit by the Steal Party. It was a party led by a swordsman, but they had a mage too, which made them annoying."
"A party led by a swordsman. Were they chasing you because of the crystal orb?"
"Yeah. I was hunting and went for the floating crystal orb, and they attacked me."
Regin listened closely to the woman's words.
He needed to focus.
His actions would depend on what she said.
"It was just a brief encounter, so they don't know my full strength, but the swordsman seemed at least Rank 2 level. They attacked me near the bathhouse ruins."
"The bathhouse ruins are quite a distance away."
"Yeah. At least two hours of running from here."
The 6th Floor had various building ruins and half-collapsed structures inside.
People usually navigated by those buildings' features. The bathhouse ruins were a two-hour run from here.
'It was close to the escape portal, I think.'
Regin kept a cool expression as he listened to her explanation, then asked.
"Why didn't you go to the 7th Floor? Or head to the kingdom? You could have."
"That way was blocked."
"Blocked?"
"The Steal Party had people stationed to keep me from the escape portal. Does that make sense now?"
"You got tangled with some ruthless bastards."
She'd run into the worst of the worst.
They'd already systematically placed people to prevent her escape.
'They didn't impulsively steal after seeing the crystal orb—they'd planned it out for a steal from the start.'
And they were still pursuing her even after she fled with it.
"That sounds more like outright plundering, doesn't it?"
Greg seemed surprised too.
The 4th Floor was one thing, but the 6th Floor had a lot of people around.
Too many eyes for open plundering.
And it was still before sunset, so her fight with the Steal Party had been in broad daylight.
"There's a limit to how brazen you can be. I can't believe scum like that exist."
Greg stared at the woman in disbelief.
"It really was just because of the crystal orb?"
"......"
The woman shut her mouth and looked at Greg.
Even without an answer, Regin and Greg understood the silence.
"No reason to tell us that much."
Grip.
The woman tightened her grip on the dagger and went back on guard against them.
"Whatever the case, if you're not with those guys, get moving."
"Understood."
Greg slowly stepped aside.
No reason to fight her, and she'd let them pass if they weren't with the Steal Party, so he planned to leave.
But Regin stayed put, still staring at the woman.
"Can I ask one more thing?"
"......What?"
"The mage you saw. Was it an elemental sorcerer?"
"Hmm...... Not sure exactly. But it was a guy with a long staff. Does that ring a bell?"
"No. Doesn't seem like any mage I know."
The guy he knew used a wand, not a staff.
Regin inwardly sighed in relief and finally started walking.
'A party led by a swordsman with a mage—thought it might be related to Manannan, but apparently not.'
He hadn't expected a chase scene suddenly on the 6th Floor. Fortunately, it seemed unrelated.
If it wasn't connected to them, Regin had no more reason to care.
"Why aren't you using potions?"
As he walked away, Regin casually asked.
There were special constitutions that couldn't handle potions, but otherwise, she should've used them.
"......"
The woman hesitated, then said to Regin.
"If I have spare potions, can I buy some?"
"Greg. Do we have potion spares?"
"Plenty."
They each still had their full stock.
Skeletons didn't inflict much damage anyway, so no need to use any.
"I'll give you some of mine."
"How much?"
"No charge."
"......Really?"
"As long as you return the favor to us someday."
Greg handed over two Rank 1 potions.
They weren't expensive, and he'd heard explorers helped each other for the future.
'Like in Korea...... serving food to guests who drop by.'
The structure was similar back then.
Old scholars crossing mountains to distant lands.
They'd go hungry as foreigners, and since you might be in that spot someday, you fed guests.
"Thank you. I swear by the goddess, I won't forget this."
The woman sheathed her dagger and clasped her hands in thanks.
Someday, she'd return the kindness.
"Then, happy exploring."
Regin and Greg left the ruins.
Having learned that a nasty Steal Party was currently on the 6th Floor.
* * *
"Let's rest here today."
"Sure."
After parting from the woman, Regin arrived at a half-collapsed cathedral.
It must've been used by the people who once lived in this fortress. Half the structure remained, good enough for cover.
'And no monster respawns here.'
Greg scanned the area, nodded, and started unrolling his sleeping bag.
"Looks safe. No one else around."
Of course, looks could be deceiving.
They decided to take turns sleeping while keeping minimal watch.
"Regin."
"Yeah?"
As Regin unrolled his sleeping bag to sleep first, Greg asked.
"That woman earlier."
"Yeah."
"She seemed to be hiding something. Did she to you too?"
Regin thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Unless the other side is total scum. Open plundering like that on the 6th Floor is tough."
"Yeah. Chasing her even after she stashed the crystal orb in her bag? That's straight-up plundering."
"And she hesitated on that answer. Whatever she's hiding, she wasn't fully honest with us."
"Right. That's why I'm a bit puzzled."
"Hm?"
"About you offering the potions."
Technically, Greg had given them.
But looking at the process, it was different.
"I saw her wounds too. But I pretended not to notice and moved on...... while you wanted to give her potions."
"True."
"It ended up being mine, but I was curious."
Greg, pondering by the campfire, continued.
"You're the guy cold enough to ask about pursuers' positions to avoid trouble. It wasn't a light decision...... Maybe you had some deeper intent with that woman?"
Plenty of explorers acted on justice or pity, but Greg saw Regin as more than that.
Incredibly calm and cold-blooded for a newbie.
Regin had qualities most explorers lacked.
"Just curious. No matter how I think about it, helping her offered no gain for me."
"Hmm. No hidden motives on my end either."
"Really?"
"Explorers build rapport with the strong or those who can become strong, right?"
"So she's strong? Or has potential?"
"For now, yeah."
"Didn't see anything special myself. Must've caught your eye."
Regin hesitated, then chuckled.
"Pure gut feeling this time."
"Gut feeling?"
"Yeah. Instinct. Just a hunch."
"......Haha! Right. Gut feeling!"
It could've sounded baseless, but Greg got it.
He burst out laughing and nodded.
"Yeah. That gut feeling of yours is why I'm here with you. Can't argue."
Seemed like a good answer.
He'd followed Regin on the same basis.
'Convinced him. Time to rest.'
Regin closed his eyes, thinking.
In a life-or-death tower, gut feelings?
Unlike what he'd said, it wasn't just instinct.
'I've seen a brown long-haired reverse-grip dual-dagger woman in action before.'
Just once.
An assassin wielding reverse-grip daggers rampaging in the final phase.
DAT changed NPCs' futures slightly each run.
So you couldn't be sure who'd reach the final phase.
'But after countless runs, some NPCs show up often. Those are the ones I always try to ally with or recruit.'
Even ones seen once gave Regin reason to build rapport.
'Only played with that assassin once, and no guarantee it's her......'
If that was her future.
If it matched perfectly, the peak potential outcome.
'Worth giving her a whole box of potions.'
A gamble worth taking. Convinced, Regin went to sleep.
* * *
"Good sleep?"
"Nothing happen?"
"Yeah. Doesn't seem like monsters spawn here."
Next day.
After four-hour shifts, once Greg had slept too, they packed their sleeping bags.
"Best sleep in ages. No better night buddy than you."
"......Pardon?"
"Kidding. Don't take it so seriously? Night buddy, you know."
"......"
"......We can't handle jokes like that?"
Regin chuckled.
Not because he hated bad jokes.
......Just reminded him of the deputy manager who spouted similar lowbrow ones.
'Compared to that deputy, Greg's trustworthy. And I'm earning his trust too.'
Ex-soldiers would get it, but night watch was a sensitive thing.
Whether you could sleep depended on the partner.
In that regard, Regin was primed for night watch.
From training camp, he'd stood watch for a whopping 20 months.
"Thought so vaguely yesterday, but good spot."
And today's camp choice was spot-on.
Greg scanned around with a satisfied smile.
On the crowded 6th Floor, you had to watch for clashes with others.
He'd expected trouble every eight hours, but sleep in the ruined cathedral was peaceful.
"We'll see with more time, but if no one else finds it, could use as a temp base."
Greg liked the ruined cathedral.
Just a few stone pillars left, roof mostly gone.
But explorers prized hidden comfy spots others didn't know.
"Amazing. Who'd think of a monster-free spot like this. Your instincts are sharp."
If empty at night, they could use it awhile.
They packed and headed out.
An hour or two after leaving the cathedral.
"......Greg."
"Yeah."
Above a scorched house ruin, a blue tombstone poked out slightly.
"A gimmick."
The biggest reason the 6th Floor got more hate than the 4th.
Traps everywhere that required knowing how to disarm or stop.
Regin stared at the edge of the blue tombstone, then said.
"We need to back up a bit more."
Others called them headaches, and figuring them all out took forever.
'Means I've studied them at least once.'
To Regin, they were time sinks.
He'd analyzed everything in DAT.
And honestly.
'If not me, who will?'
Shh—
Regin glared sharply at the tombstone and carefully stepped forward.