Floor 32: The Sky Whale Protectors (4)

Huh? Wait a second…….

They weren't actually trying to recruit me, were they?

If I said I hated humans, they'd probably ask me to join them in protecting nature, just like they do.

It went without saying that I wasn't particularly keen on the idea.

A few days ago I might have humored them with some vague agreement, if only to keep things cordial while we traveled together…….

But right now, I really didn't feel like it.

The elves' insufferable arrogance played a part, sure, but there was also something instinctively off-putting about the whole thing.

How should I put it? It was like running into that college classmate who used to guilt-trip me over eating meat.

"Honestly? I mean, some of it does go too far, but wouldn't a certain amount of development be necessary for convenience's sake?"

Roxanne stared at me in silence.

Her gaze was calm and level, yet the trace of disappointment in it was unmistakable the moment my answer landed.

She let out a small ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sigh, then pushed back.

"But human development is going further and further beyond its bounds. You need only look at how the Sky Whales have been driven all the way east of Lejium. Nature is dying."

Roxanne bit her lip.

"Didn't you save the Sky Whales because you felt the same way we do, Kwon Suhyeok?"

"……Well, to some extent, sure."

The truth was I had no real idea how far the humans' development had actually gone, but I nodded and gave her words my assent anyway.

It wasn't as if I could suddenly say no right to her face.

Perhaps she found hope in my answer, because something unusual flickered in Roxanne's eyes.

She pressed the question again, her voice lingering with reluctance.

"Then… might you be willing to join us in stopping humanity's indiscriminate development?"

There it was. Just as I'd expected — a recruitment offer.

The 33rd floor's trial had been altered, and Floor 32 was coming to an end.

I couldn't be certain, but I had a feeling that whatever I chose right now would decide what the 33rd floor became.

If I accepted Roxanne's offer, I'd side with the elves — if not, I'd end up standing with the humans…….

Hmm. This actually required some thought.

Team up with the elves and block human development, huh.

The thought crossed my mind that this might be a hidden mission — but then I remembered the episode where the elves had slaughtered the subjugation force.

I had no intention of killing innocent humans just to clear a hidden mission.

Of course, if I refused, I might well end up fighting the elves anyway.

Still, their unwavering conviction bothered me — the kind of faith that would let them eat nothing but insects for the sake of nature.

I understood the value of the natural world as much as anyone, but the elves took it to a fanatical extreme.

Somehow, I just had a feeling that if I joined hands with Roxanne, I'd come to regret it.

"Hmm. I'm sorry."

"…What a shame. I thought we might have more time together. To be honest, you're the first human I've ever thought highly of, so I let myself hope. But a human is a human in the end, I suppose."

The moment I refused, Roxanne's words turned noticeably cold.

Well, I am human. What else would I be?

That last remark soured my mood a little — and yet it was the first part that stuck with me.

I thought we might have more time together.

Just as I'd predicted, it seemed that conversation had become the branching point for the 33rd floor.

I must have winced visibly, because Roxanne caught herself and hurriedly added, "I didn't mean it as an insult, Kwon Suhyeok. If it came across that way, I ask your generous forgiveness. I'm grateful enough that you lent your strength to save the Sky Whales."

"……No, it was only what anyone should have done. Ah — the pursuit force is getting close."

Uncomfortable with the awkward air, I changed the subject.

Fortunately, the pursuers' airship was just closing the distance at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that very moment.

I'd come all the way to eastern Lejium, turned down Roxanne's recruitment offer…….

It felt like Floor 32 would end before long.

No sooner had I thought it than the notification window popped up. I hadn't expected it to appear so soon. A little flustering, honestly.

Now was the time to leap from the airship.

If I vanished from the deck without warning, it could needlessly drag the elves into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fallout.

"Well then, I should be going—"

"It's time, I see. It was a pleasure to travel with you."

A curt reply. Roxanne produced a smile that was clearly manufactured.

Hm. These elves.

I hadn't realized cooperation was the only thing keeping their attitude afloat…….

Disappointed, though perhaps I shouldn't have been, I gave her a parting smile in return, then scooped up Dobby and leapt out over the side of the airship.

Despite being warned well in advance, a scream tore its way out of Dobby's mouth.

"Kkiiheeek!"

The sky rushed downward; the forest-carpeted land closed in within the blink of an eye.

The crushing gravity squeezed the breath right out of me. It felt like bungee jumping with no cord attached.

A savage wind streamed over my skin, and my hair whipped wildly behind me.

A shame I couldn't keep the airship like I'd originally planned.

There'd been no helping it.

This was bleeding into the next floor. I couldn't very well stuff an airship into my inventory right in front of the pursuing force.

By the time my thoughts had run their course, I was already halfway between the airship and the ground.

Come to think of it, the notification window was later than usual.

What's going on? Was it delayed because it was still settling the 31st floor's account?

Not that I was worried. I had Kashatum's Sky Shoes, after all.

And then —

A distant explosion rumbled through the air.

I whipped my head around in alarm and saw black smoke billowing skyward over the eastern ridge.

Though I was now quite far from the airship, Roxanne's fury-laced cry came through with perfect clarity.

"You filthy human trash! Eastern Lejium is a designated no-development zone, and you know it!"

A no-development zone?

Ah — now that I thought about it, Roxanne had said the east of Lejium had been left untouched by development.

Wait a moment. If development was happening here too…….

Then what would become of the Sky Whales they'd driven all the way out here?

Why now, of all times…….

It wasn't some TV drama, and yet a disaster erupting the instant the floor ended — it was almost comically absurd.

No, hold on. Don't tell me Floor 33 was another connected floor, just like this one?

In the instant my thoughts deepened, the notification window refreshed.

"Dobby, go wash up first. Hurry."

"Kkiik! Got it!"

My first time back in the Waiting Room in six days.

I hadn't been able to wash properly on the airship.

After sending Dobby off to the bath, I turned the final explosion over in my mind again.

It wasn't a connected floor, then. But still……

Either way, it seemed certain that what had just happened was tied to the 33rd floor somehow.

They'd developed a no-development zone, so the elves weren't about to sit on their hands.

Would I end up fighting elven guerrillas, having refused to take their side?

Probably. That was the extent of what I could deduce for now.

Once I'd organized my thoughts, I checked my status window.

My stats had ticked up a little and Bellows had gained a level, but there was nothing remarkable to report.

Growth on the recent floors had been painfully slow.

I wanted to throw myself into combat training, but I didn't exactly have a worthy opponent.

Hm. I'd hoped for more from this being a personal floor…….

There simply hadn't been anyone strong enough.

Then again, Roxanne had looked reasonably capable — I resolved to have a proper spar with her at some point.

Come to think of it, didn't they say my reward was the Orb of the Sky Whale?

I turned my head, and sure enough, a small wooden case sat on the Waiting Room's table.

When I opened it, a translucent, sky-blue orb lay inside, radiating a faint glow.

Hmm… it felt a little underwhelming.

As a reward for unlocking a floor through a hidden mission, it was bound to have some use, but it certainly didn't look impressive.

My guess was that the real point of the 33rd floor's trial would be figuring out how to put this thing to work…….

What? The 33rd floor's trial just… disappeared?

It didn't collapse the way the floors had before — it was simply erased.

Back on the 31st floor, the Tower had definitely said the 33rd floor had been altered.

So the floor just vanishes because I turned Roxanne down?

Confusing, yes — though I did have a theory.

On the 31st floor, I had sided with the elves. It had been a hidden mission, and because of it, Floors 32 and 33 had both been altered.

Most likely, the altered 32nd and 33rd floors were floors built around acting on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the elves' side.

And then I'd rejected the proposal midway — so the floor had been erased.

But one question remained.

If that's true, shouldn't I have been given a trial where I had to hold the elves back from the humans' side instead?

I couldn't figure out the reason.

Recalling Ha Heejung's reasoning from when Floors 17 through 19 collapsed…….

You could surmise that the remaining trial was erased because it didn't match the 33rd floor's difficulty.

Meaning that blocking the elves from the human side would have been too easy?

Hold on — if there was a real chance Floor 33 would vanish, and they still handed me the whale orb as a reward……

The odds were high that my personal floor was tied to the collective floor again this time.

In that case, asking Ha Heejung would be faster than guessing on my own.

I fired off a message in a hurry.

As I told her about what had happened on Floors 31 and 32, Ha Heejung cut me off mid-story, visibly stunned.

What — she'd suspected all along and just never told me?

In the moment I was puzzling over it, another message from Ha Heejung arrived.

A trial on the collective floor that nothing could be done about beforehand?

What kind of trial was it, that she'd talk about it like that?

At her request, I gave her a detailed account starting from everything that had happened on the 31st floor.

The subjugation force, the elves, the Sky Whales — all the way through the final explosion and the disappearance of the 33rd floor.