Drunk on Chicken and Beer

I guess I was drunk.

“...Seriously, this is absurd.”

Should I say I’d expected this result...?

As soon as I saw LongEars at number one, I couldn’t help laughing.

I wondered if I should spin it a few more times, but it seemed pointless, so I gave up. The names after hers would only change; LongEars would be in there no matter what.

That said, it’s not exactly easy to exclude her and run it again either...

It felt a little off to rig it blatantly. I didn’t really have a reason to, and it wasn’t as if I hated her or resented her.

On the contrary, she gave me outrageously good reactions and even shielded me from behind like a bodyguard. What was there to dislike?

It was just a little strange that she landed every single time—this elf, no, this LongEars.

The only one who seemed to keep taking care of me directly was the orange badge, yet for some reason LongEars felt like she was looking out for me too, every single time.

The rest are all people receiving it for the first time, though.

The lurker didn’t have anything written next to them. dd felt like some hardcore veteran who wandered everywhere, and TwinSwords...

Wasn’t he the one who got smacked for trying to defend me ages ago?

I vaguely remembered someone saying on the gallery to ignore him because he had chuunibyou. Even without hearing that explanation, I had a feeling I’d have arrived at the same conclusion just from watching the comments he left all the time.

Whatever.

I’d thought about scattering it around separately, like when I’d doused them with beer and cola, but this time I decided to flex.

If I wasn’t going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do it now, when a pile of money had just fallen into my lap, I’d probably never get another chance. Call it a special event only available right now.

“Heh heh.”

No, really, I had no idea what to say.

I got where they were coming from, and I understood perfectly why they were reacting like that, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“Should’ve had better luck.”

That was really all there was to it.

I flopped down.

Come to think of it...

Lying in bed and listening to my phone buzz nonstop, I opened my photo album.

Seeing LongEars had won made me think of the picture I’d taken on the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials.

The shot I’d taken when she looked like an elf, and the photo I’d taken of Behemoth.

I’d uploaded photos and videos of myself to the gallery before to get feedback on my swordsmanship and posture, but I’d always made sure my face wasn’t visible.

Still, maybe this face would be fine to upload.

That was the thought that had suddenly come to me. I was also curious what the difference between an elf and LongEars actually was.

But just in case, maybe I should get it checked first.

To put it bluntly, if I uploaded it without thinking, it might look like my own face to everyone else. Of course, even if that happened, it wasn’t a huge deal... but the only people who posted their own photos to the gallery were crazy bastards, anyway.

The elf look is cosplay, so that’s okay.

Notice Board

So this idiot’s replying one-handed.

At the orange badge’s reaction, I let out a laugh and casually edited the dumb post I’d put up a few weeks ago.

I added the photo of myself that looked like an elf, copied the link, and sent it to the orange badge. I told him to check it—to see whether the man in the picture looked like an elf.

After a moment of waiting for the orange badge, who hadn’t replied with anything else—

Ping.

I almost messed that up.

Thanks to the orange badge’s comment saying it was just a person, I hurriedly edited the post.

I was glad I’d asked for confirmation first. If I hadn’t, I might’ve ended up plastering my own face all over the gallery for no reason.

“Phew.”

I considered asking the orange badge to check the Behemoth photo in my album too, but that one didn’t really matter no matter who saw it, so I decided to just post it to the gallery.

I’ll wait until the gallery cools down a bit before checking.

For now, I should probably wait for the chicken-and-beer review first.

* * * * *

The chicken was way tastier than I remembered...!!!

This was my first time drinking, so the feeling was kind of strange...

I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling.

You guys should really try it too.

It’s seriously delicious!!!!

I want more beer, though—give me a little more, Newbie...

Please... okay...?

“Hehe... Wiki really...”

I smiled at the orange badge’s frantic replies.

I didn’t remember the details exactly, but TwinSwords had been active for decades. I had no idea how old he’d been when he entered the tower, but even just counting the time he’d spent here, he must’ve lived several times longer than the orange badge.

Besides, the definition of adulthood is different depending on where you’re from...

In some places, you’re an adult at thirteen. Long-lived races might still be treated like children even after decades.

The thing the orange badge was worried about probably wouldn’t happen here.

I’ve only had alcohol once myself, though...

When I became an adult, I remembered my younger sibling somehow getting hold of a lukewarm can of beer for me.

I had no idea when it had been made, and I couldn’t feel a trace of carbonation. It was lukewarm and tasted and smelled weird, but even so, I remembered being incredibly happy.

“Khh...”

If my sibling had still been alive, if they’d gotten to become an adult too, I wanted to give them a drink this good.

“Is this what being drunk feels like...?”

My chest tightened for no reason.

After everything I’d been through, after all those long years in the tower, it felt as if the tightly locked thing inside me had suddenly come loose on its own.

“Wiki... thank youuu...”

Sitting on the floor, I swayed side to side and smiled.

The chicken was already gone, but the happiness hadn’t left me yet.

I wished he’d report in more often... though I did worry every time he disappeared for days on end.

“Heehee...”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Still, when I thought about how it let me eat something this good, it didn’t seem so bad.

Swish.

...

I checked the photo I’d quietly saved earlier.

It was a shot of a face that looked completely blank except for the faintest smile at the lips. The blue sky and forest from the tower showed in the background, so it had definitely been taken inside the tower.

“This is Wiki’s photo...”

As soon as Wiki said that it was his picture, my finger moved before I even realized it. Probably because I’d been drinking, I almost instinctively went back into the link he’d sent and saved the photo.

The picture disappeared soon after, but thankfully I managed to save it to my device in time.

“...He’s ridiculously handsome.”

With a foggy mind, I stared at Wiki on the screen.

He was so handsome it was almost absurd.

To the point that I couldn’t understand why someone like that was rampaging around the gallery.

“...”

I’d never seen anyone this handsome, not even among the people living in safe zones in my old world.

And this guy was sending me food.

Someone like this was treating me specially.

Gulp—

“Ah... it’s empty...”

I set the empty beer bottle on the floor and closed my eyes.

For some reason, I felt good.

I wasn’t sure whether it was because I was drunk or for some other reason.

Right now, I just wanted to hold on to this hazy feeling and fall asleep feeling warm and content.

Thud.

“Wiki...”

Still sprawled out blankly on the bed, I thought back to the comments we’d exchanged after that earlier conversation.

The comments I’d already deleted. A secret conversation that existed only in his memory and mine.

“Heehee...”

Somehow, it felt like I was going to have a very pleasant dream tonight.

* * * * *

Best!!!!!!!!! Newbie, do whatever you want!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll pray every day that Newbie keeps doing well!!!!!!!!

Best! Best best best!!!

From now on, you guys can only curse at Newbie?!?!

“This is seriously fucking hilarious.”

Was it because of the alcohol, or was it just because that was how it was?

I laughed out loud for a long time at LongEars, who was now completely out of control.

The comments were a mess, the new posts were a mess, and yet she alone remained utterly calm. It was comedy gold.

Maybe it’s about time I posted it?

The post traffic and comment firepower had dropped quite a bit. The hype was dying down now... or so it felt.

It was still a little early, but I wanted to check on Behemoth soon.

At least it’s visible to me.

I stared silently at Behemoth in my album.

If Behemoth was some kind of anomaly, then the others probably couldn’t see it.

I had no idea how many people would remember the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials from the first run, but there was no harm in checking.

I died fourteen times trying to kill this bastard.

Is the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials always this brutal?

“...Then that confirms it as an anomaly.”

The comments made it clear.

Behemoth wasn’t supposed to be the boss of the 50th floor on the first run.

It had definitely appeared in front of me for some reason—some data error, some restriction, whatever the reason was.

I do want to ask SageStone a bunch of things.

But first, I wanted to make another circuit through the Tower of Mind and gather all the information I could. Depending on what [???] turned out to be, there might be even more I needed to ask.

It would be better to settle everything clearly in one go than to struggle through discussion now and then do it all over again a few days later. Maybe it would even be better not to tell the other gallery members at all, SageStone included.

If it’s fast, maybe tomorrow.

I was already a little tipsy today, and I intended to get some proper rest in bed for the first time in a while.

Since it was the Tower of Mind, I didn’t really need to buy equipment or skill books, so I decided that unlocking [???] would be my top priority.

Thud!

“Aaah... now this is it...”

I lay stretched out on the bed and slowly closed my eyes.

It had been a long time since I’d felt this comfort, this softness.

With the tens of thousands of TP I had left, maybe I should upgrade the bed or replace the pillow and blankets with top-quality ones.

* * * * *

“Phew...”

I stood before the Tower of Mind and took a deep breath.

What’s going to come out?

You couldn’t predict the Tower of Mind. Sometimes ghosts would leap out at you; other times, it was a place where you had to sit there blankly, like the five-hundred-million-year button.

Thinking about how the other towers had each spiked in difficulty once on the 10th floor and again on the 50th, the Tower of Mind would undoubtedly be the same.

Maybe it would even suffer a full-blown anomaly like the Tower of Fortune.

...I already took my calming medicine, and I drank an energy drink too.

Thanks to dying and coming back, my body was in peak condition. I’d also slept deeply after that boozy crash, so I was fully doped up and ready.

Creak...

Straining my eyes, I slowly pushed open the heavy tower door and stepped inside.

“...”

Thoom...!!

Utter darkness, so deep I couldn’t see a thing.

Even the faint light that had been leaking in from behind me vanished as the door slammed shut of its own accord.

What would come out?

I waited, thinking it might be another jump-scare style horror thing—

Flash.

The moment I, with my eyes already open, opened them again, the world around me changed.

...I didn’t see that coming.

To a place both unfamiliar and familiar.

To that place I knew all too well, yet had always found unfamiliar.

Swish—

“Han Seol.”

“...Park Do-jun.”

“Are you okay?”

It had turned into the orphanage from my childhood—the beginning of all my hell.