Chapter 93

Translator: Penny

Chapter 93

“I bet we’ll get more points if we find the treasure first.”

The blonde giant, Number 1, said.

“But I don’t think we need to rush. The fact that there are only three treasures in this Mission, which started with 30 people, means they’re going to be quite difficult to find. The reward for third place isn’t low either.”

Number 1’s words were quite logical.

Number 3 approached me.

“Well… I guess nothing bad will happen, right? It’s not like there’s a floor you absolutely have to clear and climb, and you won’t die even if you don’t find the treasure. You’re not going to kill other players just to get it, are you?”

Number 3.

“Oops!”

The woman with short hair mumbled to herself and covered her mouth with both hands.

Apparently, after listing them out, she realized that what she said made quite a bit of sense.

“That makes sense. You might kill each other for the points you get from finding the treasure.”

Floor 20.

At this point, it was rare to find someone who hadn’t killed another player even once.

Number 3 sighed deeply at my words.

“…Haa, then I guess I should prioritize not dying first.”

“Let’s go up for now. Number 1 seems quite motivated.”

Number 3 nodded slowly at my words, then tilted her head.

“Korean?”

“…Excuse me?”

What, how did she kno-

“I’ve been watching other people’s lip movements a lot, so I can tell them apart to some extent now.”

The voice is automatically translated very naturally, but that doesn’t cover the lip movements.

“That’s right.”

It’s not that I didn’t want to say my name or the difficulty I was climbing, but I didn’t mind being found out about my country. It was absurd, though.

“I’m Japanese.”

Perhaps because she guessed my origin correctly, Number 3 immediately said which country she was from.

And she added quietly.

“But I don’t think that matters for a while.”

“We’ll be able to go back someday.”

I decided to stop the small talk there.

I looked at Number 1, who was staring straight ahead at the front.

“Number 1, keep focusing on the front. I’ll watch the left, and Number 3 will watch the right.”

Number 1 glanced back at me.

“Okay.”

That’s what he said, but since I was already spreading my Energy Sense wide, I could react no matter what angle these two were looking at.

I heard a commotion right next to me.

“Hey, how are we supposed to find the treasure? You have to tell us what it looks like!”

“Hold on, it looks like there’s a way to find it on this mountain….”

I looked at the people who were hitting the ground with pickaxes.

I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“Where did they get those and carry them around?”

The answer to my question came from Number 3’s mouth.

“Haven’t you ever done a farming-related quest? On Floor 10?”

What’s that?

“I think I picked up something that was lying on the ground back then?”

I realized that there were quite a few types of quests that I hadn’t experienced.

My intuition led me to the conclusion that if it was such a high mountain, I should at least climb to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠middle.

Right now, I had the complete mindset of an enjoyer.

The multi-layered crises that had been going on since Floor 13.

The Exchange Meetings in between gave me an abnormal sense of relief.

I was now treating the Exchange Meetings as just a resting period.

“Let’s go up to the middle for now.”

At my words, Number 1 turned around and looked at me.

“Without checking anything?”

I listened to Number 1’s question and opened my mouth again.

“I don’t think there’s anything before the middle since it’s so high. It wouldn’t be strange if all three were gathered at the top of the mountain.”

“…That’s a good point.”

“And I don’t think it’ll be over as soon as we find it. I think we can steal it if someone finds it first.”

In my opinion, this Exchange Meeting had several vicious aspects.

There were 30 players, but only 3 treasures.

It was a setup that openly encouraged intense conflict.

“Let’s not overdo it. Let’s just make sure we find one.”

Number 1 nodded at my words.

“I feel the same way.”

Team 3.

The three of us, including me, sped up and climbed the mountain.

Quickly.

Of course, it was a little slow by my standards.

But it was enough based on the players in this Exchange Meeting.

We passed the players who were hitting the ground of the mountain with farming tools and climbed to the middle.

Number 3 took a breath and wiped away the sweat.

I saw an item stuck in the ground like a flag.

I pulled out the item.

Beep-!

As soon as I pulled out the long stick, an unnecessarily clear sound rang out.

[You have acquired the ‘Iperium Mana Stone Detector’!]

[Only one ‘Iperium Mana Stone Detector’ can be acquired per team!]

Number 1, who was next to me, reached out to one of the detectors that was placed around, but his hand was lifted back as if it was blocked by something.

“One per team…?”

The notification window that popped up in front of me seemed to have popped up in front of Number 1 as well.

Number 3 slowly shook her head.

“Too bad. It would be better to break it if we could touch it. To make it unusable.”

Hmm.

As expected, she was a player from Floor 20, who had climbed up with difficulty, so her personality didn’t seem that smooth.

Until Floor 10, there were still quite a few players who had a naive side.

Now, they were players who had gone through their own struggles and climbed up to Floor 20, so they all had a certain degree of reality.

It was fortunate that they didn’t seem likely to become baggage.

[The way to use the ‘Iperium Mana Stone Detector’ is to infuse it with Mana!]

I infused the detector with Mana.

The light at the top of the detector began to blink.

And the Mana waves that spread out from the end point identified the location of the treasure to be found on this floor.

Number 1 frowned.

“Nothing ever goes smoothly.”

The detector had done its part by telling us the location of the Mana Stone named Iperium that we had to find.

But the problem was that the process of finding it was too noisy.

“It’s over there!”

“We can subdue them the moment those guys get the stone!”

I roughly looked around.

As the shouts I heard, there were people with Killing Intent in their eyes.

The place where their gazes were directed was none other than me.

Since I was located on the lowest floor of Team 3, it was only natural that I would look like the weakest to the enemies.

And since that guy was holding the Mana Stone Detector, he would look like he had a lot of openings.

I was wearing a somewhat shabby leather armor, so was I unintentionally putting out a fishing rod?

Number 3 didn’t seem to understand the situation.

“…No, there are detectors lying all over there. Why are they leaving those alone and targeting us? Why would they bother fighting?”

Number 3’s point was definitely correct.

It wasn’t the people who drew their weapons who answered Number 3’s question, but me.

“If there were 10 treasures, they could make a somewhat rational decision… but since there are only 3, I think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that’s why they’re doing this. They must have come to the conclusion that the easiest way is to steal it as soon as you find it.”

Number 3 exclaimed as if she had understood my words.

“Ah…!”

Team 8 Floor 27, who was holding a sword while supporting his feet on the mountain, was also nodding at my words.

“That’s right, that judgment is correct.”

Is that something that a guy who’s obviously targeting me should say?

Unbelievable.

I decided to have a little chat with Floor 27.

“If you’re standing there with your sword drawn like that, can you go to the place where the detector tells you to go and farm properly with peace of mind? Huh?”

Team 8 Floor 27 showed a subtle smile.

“…Well, I can wait until you get one of those treasures.”

“Bullshit.”

I said that and took out a staff from my Inventory.

I hadn’t asked what the level of the players in this Floor 20 Exchange Meeting was yet, but there was one point I could be sure of without asking.

The certainty that if I wielded my power as usual, the limbs of these players would be torn apart.

So, what I took out was the weapon I acquired after clearing Floor 17, [Branch Embracing Coincidence].

What’s a way to give a sense of intimidation to a large number of people without killing them?

I swung the staff at Team 8 Floor 27.

I had no intention of killing the player.

I was just going to press them down.

“This crazy bastard…!”

Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-!

Team 8 Floor 27 raised Sword Qi on his sword.

What’s the point of raising Sword Qi?

It’s so sloppy that I can’t get hit.

He looked like Rank 3 at best.

I could clearly read the trajectory of his Sword Path.

I brushed off the enemy’s attack and stretched out my arm in a straight line.

Even a very basic weapon technique was enough.

The staff was embedded in the center of the guy’s upper body.

And I lifted the staff as it was and slammed it down on his right shoulder.

I kept beating the crap out of Floor 27’s body.

“Kuaaaak!”

To the point where Floor 27 couldn’t control his body.

But not to the point of dying.

Kwaduk!

The goal was to put on a kind of performance.

Regardless of the difficulty, the sight of Floor 27 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being beaten by Floor 21 gave a pretty fresh shock, and I could see that the eyes of a dozen people in the vicinity were all focused on me.

“Kkeuaaaaaak!”

Kwajik!

Floor 27’s body fell forward.

I poured the lowest-grade potion on Floor 27’s body.

“…Number 2!”

Number 3, whose tone suddenly changed to polite, held out a smooth-textured Magic Stone to me.

This must be the Iperium.

While I was making a mess, she activated the detector and found the Iperium.

As soon as I grabbed the stick, I saw the stick body shaking violently. I thought that at least one Magic Stone would be nearby, and that expectation was correct.

Hmm, Number 3. Unexpectedly capable?

The Japanese woman, Number 3, hurriedly added, as if she had something more to say.

“The rules were additionally revealed only to me, the discoverer!”

“What?”

“I achieved the additional score condition by discovering the treasure first! If we hold it until the other 2 are found, the score will be awarded as is!”

Number 3 continued.

“But as a reward for finding it first, I can give additional conditions that will apply until the end of this Exchange Meeting! Except for those fraudulent conditions that would allow us to protect the treasure unconditionally…!”

Number 3 was stomping her feet.

“I have to decide within 1 minute…! There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are forty seconds left!”

The reason she’s asking for my opinion must be because of what I just showed.

“Non-killing. A condition that prohibits killing between players. Like the Martial Arts Theme.”

A condition that can turn the Mission Theme into a Martial Arts Theme.

“If we just get rid of the risk of dying, we can protect the treasure perfectly.”

“Ah, okay!”

Right after Number 3 finished speaking.

A notification window appeared in the air.

[The rules have been revised by ‘Team 3’, who discovered the ‘Treasure’ first.]

[A new rule has been established in this Exchange Meeting.]

[Killing between players is not allowed in this Exchange Meeting.]

I saw that not only Team 3 but also the eyes of others were directed towards the sky.

That meant that everyone knew that a new rule had been established.

I thought that I had created a board that was enough to warn the other team members.

“I won’t kill.”

I pointed to Floor 27, who was still lying on the floor, with a chin, even though I had poured a potion on him.

“You know that we’re the ones who made the new rule that just came up. But would I kill him?”

Murmuring sounds were heard from all directions.

“You, you beat him to death, but isn’t that a contradictory statement?”

“I didn’t kill him.”

I lifted the staff that had been dragging on the floor.

“Our Team 3 will end with getting one treasure. As long as you don’t touch us.”

After making the threat.

Perhaps because of the mess I had made, there were no people from other teams following us.

The middle of the mountain.

We started to rest inside the shade that stretched out like an eave.

“…”

Team 3’s Number 1 looked at me suspiciously, but he didn’t do anything special, perhaps because he found the Magic Stone first.

***

<Climber Gallery>.

Title: Let’s guess which floor ‘Unidentified’ is on.

Writer: Gwonma

My prediction is Hard Difficulty Floor 18. Ah, but I hope he didn’t die.