Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: The Rainbow Floor
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The inside of the tower was a different world.
The moment I stepped inside, the air seemed to change, and it wasn't just because of the temperature difference.
The interior was lit by torches.
*Fwoosh—.*
*Flicker…*
The strange thing was, they seemed to be rigged with some device, repeatedly extinguishing and reigniting on their own.
The walls were rough and damp like a cave, making it hard to believe we were inside a building.
But the most puzzling feature was the multitude of doors.
Identical doors were arranged at regular intervals.
[Welcome to the Rainbow Floor!]
[※First Rule※]
[Conversation is forbidden on this floor.]
[Penalty for violation.]
And a sign that caught my eye before anything else.
*…So much for a good impression.*
I take it back, take it back, and take it back again.
In fact, being so two-faced made him far more sinister than Asad or Riese.
Anyway, knowing the tendencies of mages, I immediately shut my mouth, but…
It's a strange thing.
The people gathered here are supposed to be proven elites, yet is there some law of conservation of idiots?
“What's going to happen if I talk?”
Some guy opened his mouth.
The moment he did, there was a flash of light, and the Yeongdo who had spoken simply vanished.
“……!”
“……!?”
“……! ……!?”
“Hic—.”
The Yeongdos let out silent screams. One of them hastily stifled a half-escaped shriek.
Where did the guy who disappeared go?
*He probably didn't die, at least.*
Growing slightly curious, I took advantage of the dim darkness to use my Divine Beast Transformation.
The moment a cool energy focused in my pupils, my senses expanded beyond the first floor to the outside of the tower.
*So he was sent outside.*
He had been forcibly ejected.
The expelled guy, his face pale, pounded on the tower's door, but it showed no sign of opening.
In fact, from inside, we couldn't even feel him knocking. It was as if we were completely isolated.
A slight shiver ran down my spine.
Although it wasn't a great distance, he had been thrown out without even realizing it.
*Could I resist it?*
I'm not sure…
I'd probably have to experience firsthand what kind of force acts on me when being moved outside to get a sense of it.
Meaning, the risk of testing it was too great.
*Anyway, what exactly is the scope of [conversation]?*
For example, would it be possible to communicate by writing on something like paper?
What about methods like telepathy?
Or secondary communication using spirits or summons, or a Blessing that allows you to send telepathic messages?
“Ahem…”
Just then, someone cleared their throat to test it.
It was Karis.
It seemed he made the sound intentionally… but he didn't seem to be forcibly ejected like the last guy.
But did this madman gain courage from that fact?
“Ah, I'm not being kicked out…?”
He cautiously opened his mouth and spoke!
The Yeongdos looked at Karis in surprise.
…….
…….
“……!”
This time, too, there was no change.
Could it be that what he just said was considered talking to himself?
The Yeongdos, with faces of realization, awkwardly cleared their throats and began to speak.
“W-what a damn place this is…”
“U-uhm. I must think about how to ascend…?”
“The sheer number of doors is suspicious!”
“Which door will you all take? Ah.”
*Flash!*
The guy speaking in a strange tone once again vanished with a halo of light.
*Idiot…*
I gave him a pathetic look before turning my gaze forward again.
*It seems the premise of 'conversation' is surprisingly loose…*
I looked at the doors with [Serpent's Eyes], but even with this power that could see through to the outside of the tower, I couldn't tell what lay beyond them.
Ah. I did learn one thing.
The torches lighting the interior.
They weren't real torches, but magical tools shaped like torches.
This was also thanks to [Serpent's Eyes], which allowed me to visually perceive the temperature of objects.
The torches that repeatedly extinguished and reignited at regular intervals.
The temperature of those torches was low enough to touch with my bare hands.
What kind of intention was hidden here?
In any case, an atmosphere where no one could easily move had formed, and the first to stride forward was our very own Nabi Goodspring.
*Has he already solved the riddle?*
As the Yeongdos' attention focused on him, Nabi gave a sly smile and flung open the nearest door.
“……!”
And then we witnessed an astonishing sight.
Another door on the wall suddenly opened.
“Huh…?”
And the one who walked out was Nabi.
“W-what is that…”
The Yeongdos, who had been hesitant to speak, let out bewildered voices.
It was a sight hard to believe even seeing it with your own two eyes.
From one door, you could see Nabi's back, and from another door a few spaces away, you could see Nabi's front as he walked out.
“Uh, uh…”
Nabi was probably just as bewildered as the Yeongdos watching this spectacle.
In any case, seeing that dazed look, it seemed he hadn't solved the riddle but just opened a door without thinking.
Anyway, with Nabi as the start, the other Yeongdos finally began to move…
They started opening doors at random, only to immediately emerge from other doors.
Sometimes, collisions occurred.
*Thud!*
“Ack!”
“What the!?”
The heads of someone trying to enter and someone trying to exit collided.
“……! ……! ……!”
“……!? ……!”
Of course, since conversation was forbidden, the two who collided could only express their anger through expressions and gestures.
I watched the situation from a short distance away, and after a moment, I felt a sense of unease.
*The number of people has decreased a bit, hasn't it?*
It wasn't obvious, but a few of the guys who were randomly opening doors had disappeared.
Among them were Fam and Karis from our side.
Did they solve the riddle?
I can see Fam doing it, but I doubt Karis solved it faster than me…
It was at that moment.
Someone swooshed past me.
Flowing white hair… no, silver hair.
It was Seren Goodspring.
She walked haughtily past the confused Yeongdos and opened a certain door.
In that instant, I expanded my vision to take in all the doors, but Seren was nowhere to be seen.
*She's moved on to the next stage.*
She's different from the thoughtless ones.
That face, that attitude.
It seems Seren has solved this riddle.
Or… she knew the answer from the beginning.
Anyway, since it was a strain to keep using the Divine Beast Transformation, I closed my eyes for a moment.
When I opened them again, my vision had returned to normal… and that's when I felt something was off.
*Hmm?*
The color of the door seemed slightly different from before.
It wasn't very noticeable because the surroundings were so dark, but it now had an orange hue.
*Flicker…*
It wasn't a mistake.
The moment the torch flickered off and on again, the color changed once more.
This time, it was yellow.
I realized that the color of the doors changed with the flickering of the torches.
*Wait a minute.*
I recalled the color of the door Seren had just entered.
Red.
And the name of this floor is [The Rainbow Floor].
“Hmm…”
I think I'm starting to get it.
*Step.*
I moved when the color of the door turned red again.
***
Immediately after opening the door, Seren was greeted by a new room.
This place also had about ten doors on the walls, but the difference was that there were no other Yeongdos around.
The sudden silence could have been frightening, but Seren wasn't particularly scared.
And she focused on the color of the doors, which changed subtly with the flickering of the torches.
*Orange.*
Now's the time.
Seren flung open the door and went inside, faced another room, and this time, opened the door the moment it turned yellow.
This was the riddle of the [Rainbow Floor].
Doors that changed color as the torches flickered.
The solution was to time it right and proceed through the seven colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—in order, seven times.
It was a simple problem, if you knew the trick, but because the tower's interior was so dark and the color changes weren't dramatic, it was difficult to notice.
Of course, this riddle was only the beginning.
*Clack—.*
After closing the violet door, Seren let out a sigh.
A staircase appeared before her.
A sign hung in front of the stairs, and on it was written:
[The Infinite Staircase.]
*…So the real test starts now.*
To be honest, Seren had no idea how long it would take her to conquer these stairs, but…
If she didn't perform well here, she would be expelled from the academy.
Since that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, Seren began to slowly climb the stairs.
***
Hector Bednicker was climbing the stairs.
The rainbow riddle hadn't been a very difficult problem for him. He had solved it in just fifteen minutes.
He didn't know it himself, but he was the second fastest among the thirty-odd Yeongdos.
Considering Seren was first, it was practically the same as being the fastest to solve the problem.
The staircase that appeared right after.
Hector was climbing the staircase with the grand name of [The Infinite Staircase].
…for an hour already.
*This is strange…*
With Hector's body, climbing a tower for an hour should have been more than enough to reach the top.
To be more precise, it was enough time to have gone up and down two or three times.
And yet, this spiral staircase showed no sign of ending.
*It's magic.*
Hector realized that, but he couldn't figure out exactly what effect the magic was having on the stairs.
*Could it be… that the number of stairs is truly infinite?*
Or is there another way?
In case this was also a riddle, Hector tried every method he could think of.
He sprinted up the stairs with all his might and even swung his sword at the adjacent wall.
His last attempt was to go down in the opposite direction, but that was a futile effort.
It felt like he had climbed tens of thousands of steps, but when he went down, he reached the entrance in an instant.
“Kuh…!”
His pride soaring, Hector abandoned any thought of going down and stubbornly climbed the stairs.
About another hour passed.
Hector's entire body was drenched in sweat.
His mana had long since run out from sprinting at full power.
*No. It feels like my mana depleted much faster than usual…*
Is that also the power of these stairs?
“Hah, hah…”
His breath came in ragged gasps.
His thighs and calves burned as if they were about to burst.
He wanted to collapse right then and there, but instead, Hector glared upward and muttered.
“As if I'd give up…”
***
“Khahahaha…”
Alderson let out a wicked laugh unbecoming of an educator.
It was the expression of a child who had just gotten the toy they wanted most in the world.
“This is it…! The first in this Alderson's masterpiece series, the [Mana-Eating Staircase]…!”
The [Mana-Eating Staircase] was a device designed by Alderson himself, which used the climber's mana as power to generate an endless staircase.
In other words, the moment one was overwhelmed by the seemingly endless stairs and used mana, the number of steps they had to climb would snowball.
Of course, even without using mana, the staircase was incredibly long.
One had to climb at least fifty thousand steps.
So, the true condition for clearing the first floor was to climb fifty thousand steps without using mana.
*No wonder there are so many complaints about the [Tower of Asceticism]…*
The observing professors cast pitiful glances at the Yeongdos who were struggling to climb the tower.
Most of the Yeongdos were already exhausted.
Quite a few had already given up.
Of course, there were talents who shone even among them.
“Karon Woodjack. Truly a crane among chickens. His climbing speed is extraordinary. His basic physical fitness is also beyond the level of a Yeongdo.”
“In terms of speed alone, Nabi Goodspring is probably the fastest. He's already climbed half the stairs.”
“Hector Bednicker's tenacity is also amazing. His stamina must have reached its limit long ago, but he shows no sign of stopping.”
Alderson stroked his beard in satisfaction.
As he had put so much effort into preparing the tower, it was far more enjoyable when there were Yeongdos who performed admirably like this.
“The level of this year's transfer students is quite high! By the way, what was the first-place record for the [Rainbow Floor] among the new students?”
“6 hours, 13 minutes, and 27 seconds.”
Alderson glanced at the time.
It had just been three hours since the transfer exam began.
“Hoh… In that case, a new record might emerge from among them.”
Alderson looked at the sprawling screens with a delighted expression.
This was it.
Those expressions, that pain, that desperation…
The anguished faces of the youth always invigorated Alderson.
“Khehehehe…”
His face was a far cry from the benevolent expression he wore when he first appeared.
The professors pretended not to see the Headmaster, their faces showing their weariness.
He wasn't a bad person.
Objectively speaking, Alderson was an excellent Headmaster and a figure worthy of respect.
He wouldn't have received the recognition of the imperial family and the title of the Seven Colors for nothing.
But…
*…As expected of mages, they always have a screw loose somewhere.*
The sad truth was that, for a mage, he was on the more sane side.
It's not like there was any real malice in what he was doing now.
It was then.
“Uh…”
Professor Moland, who, due to his meticulous nature, was checking even the screens in the corner, let out a dazed voice.
His eyes blinked slowly a few times.
Realizing that what he was seeing wasn't a hallucination, Moland called out to the Headmaster.
“Um… Headmaster?”
“Oh! Professor Moland. Did you finally find the cookies? The black tea has cooled a bit, but I can heat it up in no time with my magic—”
“Ah, no. It's not that…”
Professor Moland said in a bewildered voice.
“Someone has already completed the [Infinite Staircase]…?”
*Crack.* A crack appeared on Headmaster Alderson's face.