Chapter 231: The Tutorial Floor (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 231: The Tutorial Floor (3)
Lucifer’s finger pointed at a woman.
“What is that.”
Her chillingly calm voice pierced my ears.
I swallowed dryly, but I tried my best to sound nonchalant as I spoke.
“...A person?”
The next moment, a fierce killing intent tightened around my neck.
I quietly lowered my gaze.
“H-Hellooo...”
The woman, wrapped in a blanket and sipping hot chocolate, offered a timid greeting to Lucifer.
Her name was Lee Serin. I had saved her when she was on the verge of being killed by a horde of orcs and goblins.
“H-Hiiik...!”
Struck head-on by a killing intent that didn't discriminate between men and women, she trembled like a rabbit caught in the rain. At Serin’s reaction, Lucifer withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened.
Just the kind of heart you'd expect from a former angel.
Instead, she turned that gaze on me.
Why are you doing this to me?
“You didn’t bring her here to play the saint, did you?”
“Of course not.”
If I had, this clearing would be overflowing with people I’d saved.
As I said before, I’m not interested in charity work.
“I just couldn’t leave her to die right in front of me.”
Of course, if she hadn’t been a beautiful woman of my type, I would have saved her life and left her right there. I wasn't exactly in a position to play babysitter.
“Ha, you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You must have felt some sexual attraction to her.”
“...”
Just as expected of a former Constellation, her mind-reading skills were on another level.
“S-Sexual attraction...?”
“It’s slander.”
Despite my protests, Lee Serin’s wariness toward me instantly skyrocketed.
I felt wronged.
Of course, if you asked if I had any ulterior motives when I helped her, that wouldn't be true either.
After all, if she had been ugly, I would have pretended not to see her.
But are ulterior motives necessarily a bad thing?
Not at all.
In the first place, feeling attracted to and lusting after a charming member of the opposite sex is a perfectly natural process.
If I were truly a piece of human trash with a rotten personality, I would have raped her the moment I saved her.
There are no trivial laws on this tutorial floor, and I have more than enough strength to easily overpower a delicate woman like her.
“If you want to satisfy your lust, I suggest you get it over with quickly and get rid of her. The week on the tutorial floor is an opportunity that will never come again. There’s no time to waste on filthy instincts.”
“...I told you, it’s not like that.”
I met her contemptuous gaze with a smile and sat down next to Serin.
“I... It’s my f-first time, so please don’t make it hurt...”
“...”
I’m not a rapist.
Sighing internally, I handed the whimpering woman some Holy Water.
“Drink this before you get a scar on your face.”
It was the lowest grade, but there was nothing better for scratches.
There were potions, too, but I’d rather chew on medicinal powder than drink one of those.
“Ah... th-thank you...”
Lee Serin finally seemed to relax a little, her face slightly flushed as she thanked me.
“It’s nothing. And if you don’t want to suffer from muscle soreness tomorrow, you should force yourself to stretch, even if it’s hard.”
“...Okay.”
I gave her shoulder a light pat and stood up.
Walking a short distance from the campfire with Lucifer, I used a spell.
[Silence]
With this, I wouldn’t have to worry about Serin overhearing our conversation.
Of course, it wouldn’t work on the Constellations, but that didn’t really matter.
If the topic got too dangerous, Lucifer would cut me off herself anyway.
「‘The Saintess of Uruk’ is amazed by your magic.」
>
「‘The Saintess of Uruk’ is curious about your exclusive traits.」
>
「‘The Saintess of Uruk’ is intrigued by your identity.」
It seemed our troublemaker Saintess was fascinated by my proficient use of magic. To think she’d keep sending indirect messages to me, a mere player candidate.
Then again, I had only used a sword, not magic, when hunting monsters, so it was understandable she’d find it strange.
For the record, only the System and the Administrator can view a player candidate’s status window.
Something about fairness, or whatever.
Thanks to that, even a highest-ranking god like Ishtar couldn’t peek at my status window as long as I was a player candidate.
Incidentally, not even the Administrator could see my current status window. It was thanks to the System’s help.
He was probably looking at a slightly modified version.
I didn’t know why the System had done me such a favor, but there was no way I could fathom its thoughts no matter how hard I tried.
For now, I had no choice but to accept it as it is.
“So, what are you going to do with that woman? Don’t tell me you plan on dragging her along with you.”
“What choice do I have? If I leave her like this, she’ll be dead before long.”
“What does that have to do with—!”
Lucifer cut herself off mid-sentence.
Seeing her bite down hard on her lip, my hand moved on its own.
Smack!
Lucifer roughly slapped away my hand that had touched her lips.
With a deeply distorted expression, she glared at me before whirling around and stalking off somewhere. I watched her bright red earlobes and let out a sigh.
‘...Did I treat her too much like one of my women?’
My body had moved irrespective of my will. Perhaps I didn’t want to see her pretty lips get scarred.
For the record, you shouldn’t follow in situations like this.
Although we hadn’t known each other for long, I could at least tell when I should follow and when I shouldn’t.
Should I call it instinct?
She’d probably go hunt some nearby monsters to blow off steam and then come back.
It sounded like a brutal way to relieve stress, but it was also surprisingly effective.
Not that I’d ever tried it, of course, but according to Noel, it was a common way for people to de-stress back in her homeland.
‘No wonder she wouldn’t even bat an eye when a monster’s guts spilled out.’
I chuckled at the sudden thought, then dispelled the magic. I walked back to the campfire and sat down.
“Um... if you two were fighting because of me...”
“It’s not because of you, so don’t worry about it.”
I picked up the bubbling kettle and made some hot chocolate.
It wasn’t for me; it was for Lucifer.
She had a surprising sweet tooth and, surprisingly, a sensitive tongue that couldn’t handle heat. If I let it cool down beforehand, it might improve her mood.
“Since we’re here, shall we properly introduce ourselves again? I’m Kang Hyun-woo, 21 years old.”
When I offered a handshake, Lee Serin hastily grabbed my hand with both of hers. It was small, soft, and warm.
It had been colder than ice when I saved her from nearly being killed by the orcs.
“I-I’m Lee Serin. I’m 25...”
“So you’re older than me?”
“...”
She nodded, her face turning bright red.
Come to think of it, there were a lot of older women around me.
Iris and Sylvia went without saying, and my master and the Tower Lord, Sister Lael, were also older.
I didn’t know her exact age, but Lucifer was probably older than me, too.
“Um...”
Lee Serin’s voice, now much closer, broke me from my thoughts. A sweet scent brushed past my nose.
“Hyun-woo, do you happen to know where this place is...?”
Her gaze was filled with palpable tension. Her faintly trembling eyes even looked pitiful.
“Why do you think so?”
“Well... you handled the monsters so skillfully, and you seem strangely calm...”
True, anyone who started off by slicing up monsters with a single sword couldn’t possibly be an ordinary person.
I thought for a moment.
Should I tell her the truth, or should I just pretend I didn’t know?
At first, I leaned toward the latter, but her desperate expression swayed me.
“Well... I probably know the second-most among the people here.”
“Ah...!”
Though I questioned whether Lucifer counted as a person, I decided to just let it slide.
“Could I possibly ask you just one thing...?”
I nodded, and after a moment’s hesitation, she spoke cautiously.
“...Can we go back to Earth?”
It was the question I’d expected.
I had two options here. I could lie to be considerate, or I could help her face reality.
I made my decision.
“It’s impossible right now.”
Useless consideration would only make things harder for her. It was better for her to face reality, even if it was difficult at the moment.
Lee Serin’s expression darkened rapidly.
“I-If it’s impossible right now, that means there’s still a way, right...?”
She was right. If someone cleared the 100th floor, all players would be expelled from the Tower.
Expulsion here meant being returned to the planet they originally lived on. The System had told me, so the information was solid.
But there was no telling how many years that would take.
As of now, only 63 floors had been cleared.
After hearing this, Lee Serin was silent for a long time.
I quietly handed her a snack. Since I knew nothing about her, any attempt at consolation would only be counterproductive.
To kill some time, I opened my status window.
「Name: Kang Hyun-woo
>
Age: 21
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Contracted Constellation: Fallen Star
>
Affiliation: -
>
Authority: Black Flame (C)
>
Exclusive Trait: Path of Magic (S), Formless Vajra Art (A-)
>
Exclusive Skill: Fire Magic (B), Lightning Magic (B), Crimson Cloud Thunder Art (C), Close Quarters Combat (C), Killing Intent (C)…
>
Trait: -
>
Skill: -」
It was a rather satisfying screen.
But there were a few things I didn’t quite understand.
‘The Formless Vajra Art is only 3-star, but it’s ranked A-?’
And my magic-related trait was S-rank even though I was only a 4th Circle mage. I didn’t understand the criteria for these rankings.
Of course, I had a guess.
When I fought The First Tempter, I had used both magic and the Formless Vajra Art.
What if the rankings were decided based on that?
‘Does this mean it rated casting 5th Circle magic simultaneously higher than the Buddha’s Palm?’
It was a plausible hypothesis if I assumed the System couldn’t recognize my Dating App ability.
Ultimately, to make me a player, it would have had to quantify my abilities.
For the record, my contracted Constellation was still Fallen Star because my contract with her hadn’t been completely severed.
Although she had lost her status as a Constellation, her essence was still that of a divinity.
She just couldn’t send indirect messages or sponsor WP like before.
Moreover, since she and I were under a temporary contract, there was no risk of her modifier being visible to others.
Well, it did make the process of contracting with other Constellations more complicated, though.
“Hyun-woo.”
My head turned at the sound of her beautiful voice.
Lee Serin was looking at me with a gaze that was completely different from before. She even looked resolute, as if she had steeled herself for something.
“...I know this is a shameless request.”
She knelt and bowed her head.
“But I’ll do anything, so please, help me adapt to this world.”
She was desperate.
Well, she had almost been killed by an orc, so it was understandable.
“Did you say you’d do anything?”
“...Yes.”
I heard her swallow dryly.
Lee Serin cautiously raised her head, and our eyes met. She was trembling faintly. As if sensing what was to come, she slowly closed her eyes and moved closer to me.
A deep blush bloomed on her face, and her eyelashes were dark.
She was far too beautiful to be an ordinary person.
“I’m not going to do anything, so you can open your eyes.”
“...Huh?”
When I pressed my fingertip to her forehead, Lee Serin let out a dazed sound and opened her eyes.
The only ones I like to blackmail and fuck are bitches with rotten personalities. I have no hobby of forcing myself on women who look vulnerable.
“Did you know that I’ve let several people die by just watching? About ten of them, I think.”
In fact, I had ignored screams coming from right nearby.
They were all men, of course.
“For the record, it wasn’t because I didn’t have the time. I just didn’t like doing charity work.”
“Then why did you save me...?”
“Because you’re pretty. There’s no grand reason.”
I took a sip of the slightly cooled hot chocolate.
As I thought, it was too sweet for me.
“Are you disappointed?”
“...No. No matter what, you saved me.”
“I’ve killed people, too.”
“Was it murder without reason?”
“Of course not.”
Lee Serin silently took my hand.
Looking again, I could see calluses here and there, as if she had played an instrument.
“To me, Hyun-woo, you are my only hope, my lifeline. You’re the person who saved my life. That’s enough. I won’t say things like asking you to help other people.”
Honestly, when I first saw her, I had a strong impression that she was the type to always get the short end of the stick.
Her gently curved eyes seemed like the perfect bait for scammers.
But now I saw she was a wise woman who knew how to seize an opportunity.
“I’ll be in your care from now on, Serin.”
At my reply, her face brightened.
She looked like a job seeker who’d just passed an interview.
“By the way, it’s a bit much to keep using formal speech since we’ll be spending time together. Is it okay if I speak comfortably with you?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
“Got it, Serin-nuna.”
“...?”