Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Fact That I Don't Die - 3
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Back at the park, Ellie was still sitting on the bench where we had sat together.
The only change was who was sitting next to her.
'Rien?'
The two of them were sitting side by side on the bench, deep in conversation.
I wondered if it was another irritable exchange like the time we'd bumped into each other at the request office, but it didn't look worrisome at all.
"Senior?"
"Earthbound Spirit?"
Only when I approached from behind did they turn their heads.
They recognized me at the same time, each using a different form of address.
"Did you finish the task Guard Delion asked of you?"
"It wasn't a big incident... Well, maybe it was pretty serious? But we resolved it without any issues."
"That's a relief."
Considering the combat prowess of the adventurers who caused the incident, it might not seem like a big deal, but given that it led to multiple murders, it wasn't something to brush off lightly.
The unique environment of the tower seemed to warp everyone's sense of severity.
Rien asked about the full details with a face full of curiosity.
"Nothing's been properly uncovered yet, but I got a sense of their stance."
There had been competition over slime hunting, and one idiot adventurer stabbed another to keep from losing his slime. Then, as revenge, they kept killing him every time he revived at the clinic.
The guards would handle the exact details, but that was the gist of it.
"Why? Do you know something?"
"Huh? Me?"
"You had that look like you'd figured something out."
"Oh, no. Not really..."
Rien trailed off evasively.
Did she know one of the adventurers involved?
I didn't feel like digging deeper.
More than that, I was curious about what had happened while I was away.
"What were you two talking about?"
"Just, you know, some consulting."
"If it's consulting, just say consulting. What's with the 'just'?"
It seemed like they'd had quite the conversation while I was gone.
They appeared to have built up a bit of rapport in the meantime.
"I heard you were both busy, so I wondered what was up, but I never imagined you'd have a prior engagement. And in an atmosphere like this, no less."
"What's with that look?"
"To think you stayed on the first floor for a reason like this. How romantic."
No, seriously, what had they talked about?
Tell me too.
"Now that Senior's here, I shouldn't intrude any longer. Good luck, Sis!"
"You too, Rien! Take care!"
"Sis...?"
What was there to wish good luck about?
They seemed more than just a little friendly.
Rien quickly excused herself, and Ellie waved goodbye to her.
"Earthbound Spirit, I think I misjudged you."
"Huh?"
"You might actually be a decent guy."
"The same person who complained last time that I was getting too close has suddenly become sisters with her? How'd that happen?"
Even Ellie didn't seem inclined to explain properly.
I couldn't figure out why Ellie's opinion of Rien had flipped so drastically in a single day.
"I got some advice from Rien."
Consulting, advice.
That was all the hints the two of them gave me.
"The incident might've been a blessing in disguise. All the adventurers cleared out from around here because of it."
Most of them were probably still clustered around the clinic.
I could finally enjoy the pleasant first-floor scenery after so long.
Right now, no one would interrupt our meal like they had that morning.
"Shall we take a little walk?"
"A stroll sounds good."
Even so, Ellie opted for something relaxed rather than anything grand.
As if my planned itinerary didn't matter.
In the cool breeze of early evening, I walked alongside Ellie along the path encircling the village.
"Did you know Rien was following you around?"
"Following me? I didn't get that vibe."
Even if I listed the places we'd run into each other—the inn, the damp forest, the training grounds, and now the park—it didn't add up to stalking.
For the number of encounters in just a few days, sure, it was a lot, but excluding the training grounds, they were all chance meetings without any set plans.
"Compared to a normal person, it wasn't ordinary. In the tower, trusting other adventurers easily is one of the most dangerous things you can do, but she didn't seem guarded at all."
"It was obvious she was approaching you to get close."
"Is that still bothering you?"
"Heh, just kidding. The reason Rien approached wasn't what I thought at all."
A different reason?
"She's the Sword Saint's little sister."
"What? Who is?"
"Rien. Don't they look a bit alike?"
Rien was Ryu Jae-hyun's little sister?
"Honestly, hard to believe. Their personalities don't match at all. Total opposites."
"Vaguely, their looks do seem similar. I only caught a glimpse of the adventurer called the Sword Saint when he passed through the first floor."
"Now that you mention it, yeah, kinda."
Information rarely flowed from upper floors to lower ones, so first-floor residents had to rely on rumors from incoming newbie adventurers.
News about celebrities like Park Sua, aka Amelia, or Ryu Jae-hyun, the Sword Saint, spread the same way.
"Rien told you all that?"
"Somehow the conversation got really deep."
Of course, to the locals here, top rankers were just 'clumsy rookies on the first floor who turned out talented up top.'
"She said he's her only remaining family, but they don't get along well."
"Wait, so the Sword Saint entered the tower even though he has a little sister?"
Government requirements meant Rien was an adult now, but considering when the Sword Saint and I entered, it would've left his middle-school-aged sister behind.
Only remaining family meant their parents were gone.
That was a common trait among tower entrants—most had no attachments to the real world.
Or maybe he hated them so much he treated them as dead.
He could've dumped responsibility for Rien on relatives.
"She didn't say his exact goal, but it seems like revenge or proving something."
Adventurers enter the tower.
They all pass through the same floors, but each with different aims.
Some to reach the top no matter what.
Some to be recognized as the strongest adventurer.
Some to lead the greatest guild.
Some for a happy, comfortable life.
Rien had set foot in the tower to surpass someone.
"So that's why you thought I was stuck on the first floor because of a hidden quest?"
"Can you blame me? After seeing you fight, no one would believe you're an adventurer who hasn't cleared the first floor yet."
Sorry to burst Rien's bubble, but the tower didn't provide shortcuts.
Its unfairness lay in giving adventurers different starting lines.
On the first floor, only first-floor-appropriate things remained.
Everything else was stripped away.
Even Tiana, with her exceptional swordsmanship, could only grant common-class jobs suited to the first floor.
Had she been on a higher floor, her training hall would've offered classes matching her teachings.
"She grilled me about it too. Whether you'd really been on the first floor this whole time."
If I answered from all my memories, it'd be a lie.
If from this current life, the truth.
"So, what'd you tell her?"
"That you've been here the whole time since entering the tower. You have, every day."
From Ellie's perspective, it was undeniable truth.
"Talking to her made me curious too."
"About what?"
"How you ended up as Earthbound Spirit. Why you don't go to the second floor."
To her, it looked like I hadn't even tried.
I couldn't answer her before because it meant admitting the me who'd given up.
"I didn't come out intending to ask from the start, but it feels like if not now, I never will."
"......"
"Why aren't you climbing the tower like other adventurers?"
Maybe because I'd shown her that gruesome sight first, I always felt some responsibility to explain.
But we'd both pretended it never happened, carrying on with the same daily requests and routines.
Ellie hadn't had the confidence to prod at that endless wound.
Today was different.
Seizing this uninterrupted time, she mustered her courage.
"Tell me. That day—the day you promised to leave the first floor with those adventurers. Why did you stab yourself in the throat?"
The tower is not kind.
It never properly explains the special phenomena on the first floor.
Adventurers have merely pieced it together through repeated trials.
The first floor's most iconic trait: immortality.
And I was the first to prove it.
"Even after recovering at the clinic, why did you stab yourself six more times?"
"That is..."
I'd discovered that no matter how many times I died, I'd revive unscathed at the clinic.
This was going to be a long story.
Night was still young; we had plenty of time to talk.
· Iteration 1, Floor 1
"Everyone ready?"
Over what felt like a long yet short period, we'd acclimated to the tower.
Not knowing the second floor's environment or clearance conditions, the consensus was to train thoroughly on the first.
Even with subconscious first-floor safeguards, our calm decisions stemmed from several rational members untouched by reckless curiosity.
With few peers from the same intake, unifying opinions was easy.
"Wonder if we'll run into Jae-hyun again on the second floor."
"Even if he's confident, ditching without consulting anyone? Come on."
Not everyone agreed, of course.
Some couldn't afford delays and went ahead alone.
Amid complaints, childish banter flowed from the back of the group.
Even right before departing for the second floor, Sua's chatter showed no signs of stopping.
"Aren't you disappointed? Shouldn't we hunt more slimes first?"
"Stop teasing."
"Why? You were so thrilled catching your first slime."
"That's not it. Dust got in my eye."
I'd struggled more than others to catch slimes solo.
Unaccustomed to physical exertion, and unaware of my trait's effects back then.
After that grueling battle with the tenacious slime bastard, I'd nearly shed tears of emotion.
Nearly. I didn't actually.
Endless Challenger《LEGENDARY》
Great grade, surely powerful, but no effects yet—it was frustrating.
"Alright, let's go for real!"
We handed our Adventurer's Proofs to the village head and approached the gate ahead.
People started moving to the second floor one by one.
Will you challenge the 2nd floor?
· Requirement - Adventurer's Proof (1/1)
I never imagined I'd see that dreadful prompt thousands more times ahead.