Chapter 445: Night Market
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 445: Night Market
The Tower is vast.
This is because each floor is a world unto itself.
Of course, they aren't as large as Earth, but I've heard it's not uncommon for floors in the upper levels to boast a scale comparable to a planet.
For this reason, the Tower's population is tens of times greater than Earth's.
Of course, considering the sheer scale, it should be even larger, but the areas within the Tower where humans can actually live are not that expansive.
Typically, the first ten floors are considered to be within humanity's sphere of influence.
According to the Tower's laws, it's difficult for Constellations to intervene on the lower floors, and even those that do exist are mostly low-ranking divinities.
As a result, Players contracted with Constellations are a rare sight on the lower floors.
Tiring—
[The ‘Dancing Destroyer’ strongly asserts that looking at only one woman is true love.]
Someone like me, who had attracted the attention of three divinities right from the Tutorial Floor, was the real anomaly.
Tiring—
[The ‘Constellation Who Hides Their Modifier’ stares at the ‘Dancing Destroyer’ with narrowed eyes.]
[The ‘Dancing Destroyer’ breaks out in a cold sweat and avoids the situation.]
“...Huh?”
I tilted my head at the screen that appeared before me.
If my guess was right, the 'Dancing Destroyer' was supposed to be a highest-ranking divinity. But there was someone who could make him back down like that?
[The ‘Saintess of Uruk’ clutches her stomach and bursts out laughing.]
[The ‘Dweller of the Swamp’ scoffs at the ‘Dancing Destroyer’.]
It seemed the other Constellations knew the identity of the one who hid their modifier.
It felt like they were all in on some inside joke that excluded me, so I swiped the screen away.
“Kraaaaaaaah!!!”
Slice—
A flash of light cut through the dark night sky.
The head of the werewolf that tried to pounce on me flew through the air.
Tiring—
[You have subjugated the werewolf.]
[You have passed the 4th Floor test.]
[Rewards will be distributed according to your contribution.]
[Solo subjugation confirmed.]
[Additional rewards will be provided.]
[You have acquired the Werewolf's True Blood.]
[You have acquired 3,000 WP.]
Flick—
I flicked the blood off my sword.
The foul, bestial stench filled the air, emanating from the corpses of the wolf-like magical beasts scattered around.
[The ‘Dweller of the Swamp’ smiles in satisfaction.]
[The ‘Dweller of the Swamp’ sponsors you 3,000 WP.]
This guy, who rarely ever sponsored me, sent a whole 3,000 WP. That was an amount equal to the reward for clearing the 3rd Floor solo.
No wonder Players were always kissing ass trying to get sponsorships from Constellations.
[WP Held: 96,025]
I had already gathered nearly 100,000 WP.
At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call me one of the wealthiest individuals on the lower floors. Of course, compared to a great family like the Astreins or a large clan, I was probably just a country landlord.
'What a relief, though.'
I let out a silent sigh of relief as I looked at the werewolf's corpse on the ground.
The 4th Floor test was to subjugate a werewolf leading a pack of dozens of wolf-like magical beasts on a mountain under a full moon.
The test itself wasn't very difficult, but for a moment, I thought that killing wolves might incur the wrath of the 'Dweller of the Swamp'.
But seeing as he even sponsored me, it seemed my worries were for nothing.
'Then again, I'd be pretty dumbfounded too if someone treated me like I was the same species as a chimpanzee.'
Tiring—
[You will soon be transported to the 5th Floor.]
I slowly closed my eyes at the message before me.
I wanted to absorb the residual energy from the werewolf's corpse, but my intuition was screaming at me not to use Tam while the Constellations were watching.
There was no reason or evidence for it.
But the fact that Tam wasn't whining, even with prey right in front of it, was reason enough to trust that feeling.
'I'll have to ask Lucifer about this later.'
Fwoosh—!
A familiar sense of floating enveloped my body.
Then, when I opened my eyes—
The vista of a city, shining beautifully with countless lights under a dark night sky, spread out before me.
Tiring—
[Welcome to the City of Night, ‘Noxhollow’.]
*
A day had already passed since I parted with my companions.
In that time, I had passed the Floor Tests for the 3rd and 4th Floors, thanks to Lucifer telling me the locations of the test sites.
Normally, I would have had to wander through each floor's danger zones to find the test site myself, or pay a hefty price to an information broker, but I didn't need to do any of that.
“Hey, did you hear? The Floor Test is opening up soon.”
“Already? Time flies. I wonder how many will die this time.”
“Well, it might be different this time. I heard a raid team from a large clan is challenging it.”
“What? A large clan?”
“Tsk, the atmosphere in the city is a mess these days.”
“You think it's just the city? The mines are like a funeral home. I heard dozens of miners have died already.”
“Haaah... What in the world is the Lord doing?”
“He's probably just sucking up to those damn Players. Haven't you heard they all swarmed the castle the other day?”
Thud—
I set down my beer mug.
After arriving in Noxhollow, I was having a late dinner at a nearby pub.
Why was I eating in a pub, you ask?
[Goddess's Blessing]
[Grade: B]
[For the next five days, fortune will come if you stay away from women, and misfortune will befall you if you get close.]
'...Fuck.'
I had no choice, since the staff at most restaurants were all women.
In fact, I'd barely managed to find this place.
Most pubs also had female staff, and the majority of them were crawling with prostitutes plying their trade.
'What a pain in the ass, all because of one crazy goddess...'
Thanks to her, I had to leave Lucifer without even having sex.
My blood still boils just thinking about it. I had no choice but to explain the blessing to Lucifer when she snuck into my room before I left, and then send her away.
—...
Recalling the look on her face back then still sends a chill down my spine.
Once Lucifer recovers her power and returns to her seat as a Constellation, I doubt Ishtar will be able to keep her life.
'Anyway, a large clan... The timing is pretty bad.'
The Tower's tests generally get harder every five floors, and every ten floors, they're called Tower-climbing Tests instead of Floor Tests, boasting a brutal difficulty.
According to Lucifer's information, the 5th Floor test is held once a month. That was why I had rushed my ascent up the Tower.
From what I knew, the 5th Floor was where the most dropouts occurred on the lower floors.
Of course, it wouldn't normally be that difficult, but if a large clan was participating in the test, that was a different story.
Nine times out of ten, they would have spent WP to have a mid-floor Player intervene in the test to quickly level up the new members they recruited from the lower floors.
'The next test is tomorrow evening.'
“Check, please.”
“Thank you!”
I placed the money on the table, left the establishment, and immediately ducked into an alleyway.
It was exceedingly dark, untouched by the lights that illuminated the city.
'That way?'
But I navigated the streets with practiced ease.
Thanks to scanning the area with Detection Magic, a map of the vicinity was already in my head.
Soon, I reached my destination.
A dead end lay before me, but I didn't stop, walking straight toward the wall.
Swoosh—
It looked for all the world like I was about to crash, but I passed right through the wall and stepped into the space beyond.
Tiring—
[You have entered the hidden area, the Night Market.]
“Hey, how much for this?”
“2,000 WP.”
“...What? You think I'm a fucking pushover, you bastard?”
“Hey, hey! If you're not buying, don't touch it and get lost! What's a broke bastard like you doing at the Night Market anyway?”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Hoh... This is quite a high-quality item. I'll take it.”
“Haha, as expected of a Daoist Master, you have a discerning eye. Excellent taste.”
“So, how much is it?”
“Ah, yes! It's 3,180 WP!”
“How much?”
“Pardon?”
“How much?”
“...It's 2,500 WP.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“It's especially crowded today.”
“That's because the Floor Test is tomorrow. They're probably hoping to get lucky and find one good item that'll let them pass.”
“You think someone who can't even pass the 5th Floor will get that lucky?”
“You never know.”
In stark contrast to the dark, empty alley, a chaotic market so crowded there was barely room to stand unfolded before my eyes.
[All combat is strictly forbidden within this area.]
[A fee is incurred for staying within this area.]
[50 WP will be consumed every 10 minutes. If you are unable to pay the fee, you will be forcibly ejected.]
I glanced around for a moment before heading deeper into the market.
This was the Night Market, one of the hidden areas on the 5th Floor, and it also boasted the largest scale of any market on the ten lower floors.
A Player visiting for the first time would have to be puzzled.
The Karnate family, who ruled Noxhollow, was considered relatively weak compared to other great families. How could they possibly operate a market like this?
The reason was simple.
The Night Market did not belong to the Karnate family.
Tiring—
[The ‘Being Who Repels the Five Poverties’ is looking at you.]
Most of the Constellations who took an interest in the lower floors were low-ranking divinities. As a result, Players were desperate to reach the middle floors and form a contract with a powerful Constellation.
But the Night Market was a rare area managed by a high-ranking divinity.
The Being Who Repels the Five Poverties.
Daikokuten, one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods (七福神), who governs wealth and abundance.
One of the reasons Players flocked to the Night Market, despite the expensive fee, was to attract his attention.
If they were lucky, they might even catch the eye of one of the other Seven Lucky Gods.
But the chances of that were practically zero.
Realistically, it wasn't much different from thinking you could pay off your debts by winning the lottery.
Of course, not every Player came here hoping to be noticed by a Constellation.
Fundamentally, the goods sold at the Night Market were all of outstanding quality.
The excessively high prices were a flaw, to be sure, but on the other hand, if anyone tried to scam you, the Constellation himself would step in and crush them. This made it one of the few places in the Tower—a place rife with all sorts of fraud—where you could shop with peace of mind.
Tiring—
[The ‘Being Who Repels the Five Poverties’ is staring at you.]
But I couldn't feel at ease.
It was because of the screen that kept popping up in front of me.
It was the attention of a Constellation that others were dying to receive, but I, at least, was not one of them.
'...I haven't caused a scene in the market or anything, so why is he doing this?'
Daikokuten was, without a doubt, a high-ranking divinity.
The current situation, where such a being had singled me out from among the countless Players to show interest, felt more ominous than welcome.
But that thought was short-lived.
Tiring—
[The ‘Being Who Repels the Five Poverties’ widens his eyes.]
[The ‘Being Who Repels the Five Poverties’ breaks out in a cold sweat.]
[The ‘Being Who Repels the Five Poverties’ hastily flees.]
“...What?”