Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Level 1 Player
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[You are now a Level 1 player.]
It was Yu Se-hwa's bright and lively voice.
[Which means...]
A chilling atmosphere.
At that moment.
[Lightning will strike.]
Rumble! Boom!
Lightning crashed down from the sky, exploding right in front of Go Yohan's nose.
Crackle, crackle.
Overflowing currents scorched the surrounding air.
"W-What was that?"
"Aren't lightning storms in the tower only supposed to happen in the upper floors?"
"Is that player okay?"
People recoiled in shock at the sudden event.
And then.
[It means you could die from a single bolt like that.]
It was the moment Yu Se-hwa's warning rang out.
"World Tree, that's going too far."
The voice came from beside Go Yohan.
"Huh...?"
"Huh!"
The crowd started to shout as they noticed Yun Seung-ah.
Whoosh!
A surging wave of force swept over everyone.
They froze in place as if they'd fallen asleep standing up, mumbling nonsense with dazed eyes.
"Our Captain wouldn't get hurt by something like that."
[Do you know why I pulled a prank like this? It's all because of you!]
The space around them blurred, and Yu Se-hwa's figure materialized.
"Why do you think I'm doing something like this! And yet you're stuck to his side like that! Me too, me too!"
"It's only natural for an Apostle to guard the Captain. World Tree, surely you're busy with other matters."
And then.
"Enough."
Go Yohan stepped forward, as if he could no longer hold back.
"This is getting too childish to watch. You two, why are you always at each other's throats like this?"
"Pardon?"
"Captain...!"
"And Seung-ah, Se-hwa's right. This is..."
The reason he stood on the first floor as a Level 1 player, with Babel's power sealing away all his strength.
"It's to search for traces of the goddess and fully attune to the divinity of the Pantheon. To spread what lingers in my power throughout the tower and track it down."
At Go Yohan's words.
"...Captain."
Yun Seung-ah shrank back and bowed her head.
"You're worrying too much. I assigned you as guard, but it's excessive. This journey retracing my past memories is a trial—please stay well back."
It was while Yun Seung-ah stammered, at a loss for words.
"And Se-hwa."
She flinched.
"That's why you pull stunts like that, and Seung-ah gets all prickly."
Go Yohan pressed his throbbing temple.
"Die to a bolt of lightning?"
In that instant, Go Yohan reached out as if clutching his own throat.
Even an ordinary human, given the will, precise aim, and proper force...
-Crack.
The neck would snap, leading to instant death as a matter of course.
But.
Flash!
With a burst of sparks, the Go Yohan standing there reverted to his original silver hair.
[System update in progress.]
Messages rose naturally before his eyes.
Before they could fill his entire view.
[System update in progress.]
Once more, he felt Babel's power activate alongside his strength's return.
"Who wouldn't know you had a safety measure in place?"
"...I need opportunities like this to tease you."
"You, Yu Se-hwa!"
"Enough."
Go Yohan waved his hand dismissively.
"You two stick together for a while."
"......!"
"......!"
"You must've been together before, so why the constant snarling? Se-hwa, you only approach through the system. Seung-ah, no need for guarding."
As the two opened their mouths to protest, Go Yohan cut them off again.
"Twice."
His eyes darkened.
"Don't make me say it three times."
Only then did they fully back down.
"I'll do as you wish."
"If it's what the Captain wants."
Go Yohan rarely ever got angry.
So they knew just how precarious this moment was and withdrew.
"Haa."
Rubbing his still-throbbing head, Go Yohan finally regained his composure and began to move.
*
*
*
The first floor of Babel.
A place where many challenged themselves and dreamed new dreams.
"Damn it!"
But also where countless dreams were shattered.
Those without player experience, chasing only the glamour of players.
Or.
"How am I supposed to catch a monster like that without a weapon!"
Those desperate to become players but not yet ready.
Weapon use on the first floor was forbidden by Babel's rules.
That made it the safest safe zone, in truth.
"Damn it all!"
Which meant hunting on the first floor had to be done without weapons.
A lone man stood before a group of goblins.
"...This is my last shot."
Already four deaths.
Babel had one absolute rule.
[If you die five times within the first five floors, access to Babel will be permanently revoked.]
Five deaths in what was called the beginner zone equated to a verdict of no talent as a player.
"You fucking... What opportunity? What 'anyone can do it' bullshit!"
The approaching goblins.
The man screamed, rage now all that remained.
"Kieeeek!"
Finally, one goblin charged as if it had spotted its prey's doom.
"Hup!"
The man instinctively twisted away, dodging the goblin's spear.
Slash!
But he couldn't stop its flesh from tearing open.
The power of a man who hadn't even cleared the first floor was just that of an average adult male.
"I... If only I were a player too..."
The man clenched his fist and spat.
"If only I had some talent, it'd be different!"
Whoosh!
He threw his punch with all his might.
Swish.
But the man's fist merely grazed past the goblin.
The spear thrust toward such a man.
Aiming straight for between his eyes, the end.
"Damn iiiit!"
His last ticket would vanish.
And he'd never climb the tower again.
And.
"Mom..."
He wouldn't even be able to pay for his bedridden mother's hospital bills.
That was when.
"Get down."
Startled by the sudden voice, the man instinctively ducked his head.
Whoosh!
He felt the spear, which should have pierced his brow, whistle over his head.
"Roll to the right."
A stranger's voice, arrogantly commanding.
But it carried an irresistible force.
Flash!
He followed without thinking.
"Failing to read your opponent is suicide. Know what you can do. Use your head. Roll again."
Thud thud thud!
He saw the goblin's spear embed where he'd just been.
"An average adult male can handle goblins just fine. Even untrained village men can hunt them. Extend your right fist."
No more doubts.
Whoosh, thud!
"Pull back your right fist, crouch, then uppercut. But there's one absolute taboo: taking on a group of goblins. That's..."
It was the first time.
The goblin he'd thought was just fast got hit by his fist.
"Kieee! Kie!"
Screaming in pain.
The stinging ache in his fist.
But more intensely.
Whoosh!
The thrill and chills from something having changed.
"Finishing is most crucial. Killing something requires resolve that you might face death yourself. Can you do it?"
The goblin horde had vanished from the man's mind.
All he saw was the small goblin slumped and shrieking.
The man hesitated for a moment.
-Chang-min-ah.
Thinking of his mother on her sickbed.
Splat!
He stomped down with all his strength.
"Kie! Ki... e..."
The shrinking scream faded, and the goblin's wail ceased.
"Huff... huff... huff!"
Not from the exertion of rolling nonstop, but from the shock of having slain something, his breath caught.
Yet the immense euphoria of accomplishment.
[Goblin hunt successful.]
[Level up.]
[Stat points available for allocation.]
The messages before his eyes proved this was real.
"Th-Thank you."
That was when the man turned around.
"...Ah."
A breathtaking sight.
The horde of dozens of goblins was no illusion.
The corpses of fallen goblins.
While he'd been fixated on one, unable to act, the voice's owner had soloed several.
"Who...?"
An upper-floor player?
But.
"......"
The goblin corpses were too clean.
Immense power would have torn them apart.
Moreover, if an upper-floor player.
"No mana traces either...?"
There should have been clear mana residue, but there was none.
He examined the bodies.
That was when.
"D-Did you do this?"
Players who'd gathered examined the goblin corpses and addressed the man.
"Pardon?"
"I asked if you hunted these goblins."
"Ah, no."
"Huh."
The group spoke with genuine awe.
"M-Mind blown. Who did this?"
"Why?"
"A hobgoblin that shouldn't appear around here showed up, so we came to subjugate it, but these goblins all died in one hit."
He could see that much himself.
"No mana traces."
"And without weapons, to boot. All one-shots, vital points."
He could tell just from their discussion.
"Level seems low too."
"Who the hell?"
That day, a new mystery arose on the first floor.
"Didn't see anything?"
The question directed at the man.
"Well... I heard a voice. And I think I glimpsed black hair."
A black-haired voice.
The beginning of an incident that would become a legend and mystery of Babel's first floor for years.
And that day, a new name appeared on the city's ranking stele.
At the very bottom, where no one paid much attention after some time had passed.
-Joseph.
The name Joseph.
Engraved on the first floor, before even a full day passed.
-Joseph, 5th floor.
It was listed as having reached the fifth floor.