Chapter 27
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Their Own Stories (3)
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Yoo Ji-han nodded.
Before we discussed the third floor, he told me how he’d managed to clear the second.
Unlike me, who had killed every single monster that attacked during the mission to protect the mana core, Yoo Ji-han had apparently set the forest on fire right from the start.
He said the goblins panicked when the forest went up in flames.
Yoo Ji-han used that opening to selectively target the leaders and officer-class monsters, a strategy designed to disrupt the flow of battle.
At this point, I was starting to feel like an idiot for my brutish approach.
“Even if I taught you the sword, it was only for a moment.”
The mission’s objective was simply to survive until the time ran out.
It didn't matter if you killed all the goblins or used some other method.
Still, who normally thinks of setting a forest on fire?
“It’s because you gave me some information.”
Being practically an outcast in the lobby, Yoo Ji-han had no way of getting information about the floors.
He wore a look of relief, as if the information I’d given him had been a true blessing.
[You’re not exactly sane either, are you?]
That was the end of our talk about the second floor.
Yoo Ji-han hesitated, as if he had something else to say.
Although I was sitting on the platform, he couldn't tell exactly where I was.
‘No matter how I look at him…’
He kept reminding me of Kim Yoo-han. The resemblance in their demeanor was uncanny.
Yoo Ji-han’s dimension was similar to the one I was originally from.
I knew this because he showed no reaction when I asked him about Hunters or the Awakened.
“I heard from the guys in the lobby about the gods.”
[I thought you were practically an outcast in the lobby.]
“I said it was *like* being an outcast, not that I *was* one.”
Yoo Ji-han looked displeased at the word “outcast.”
What does it mean to be *like* an outcast but not actually one?
[Stop kidding yourself. You’re just an outcast.]
“I am not!”
[What? You have friends then?]
Yoo Ji-han, who had just shouted, clamped his mouth shut at the word “friends.”
[See? You don’t have any friends. What’s that if not an outcast?]
“You’re so annoying. They’re not friends, but there’s this one guy… I saved him when he was about to get a raw deal from the Central Guild guys. He said this place is like a playground for the gods. What does that mean?”
Yoo Ji-han showed his discomfort at the topic of conversation being derailed.
I decided to stop teasing him.
The lobby was a mix of challengers from the lower floors.
Naturally, there was a disparity in the information they had.
In this unknown space, information was power.
The structure favored early birds and put latecomers like Yoo Ji-han at a disadvantage.
Between Yoo Ji-han and me, there was not only a difference in time but also a spatial gap.
The space between floors.
It was a place where the future me and the present Yoo Ji-han coexisted.
It was only natural to wonder if what happened outside the Tower had also happened in the past.
The question of why I came to possess this Tower remained unanswered.
[It’s something like that.]
Unfortunately, that was the best answer I could give.
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes wavered at my response.
“Why are they doing this? What’s the point? Do they think they can do whatever they want just because they’re gods? Or do they see us as nothing more than toys because we’re human? Hey, you’re a god too, so say something!”
Yoo Ji-han’s face turned red as his voice rose.
Ji-han had survived, but someone in the lobby had met their end today.
And this was only the beginning.
At first, Ji-han had been startled by the sight of a corpse, but in less than a month, his personality had changed so much you’d think he was a different person.
[I don’t know either.]
“How can you be so irresponsible! Are you even a real god? Are you a fraud?”
[You seem a little worked up. Calm down.]
I decided to try and soothe him first.
I didn't know exactly what had happened in the lobby or what he had experienced. But in his current state, anything I said was bound to hurt his feelings.
‘Is it his age, or just his personality?’
Seeing him flare up like that, it seemed far more likely to be his personality.
As I fell silent, the classroom grew quiet.
Sure enough, Yoo Ji-han realized I was deliberately avoiding his question.
“Hey, are you ignoring me? What’s going on, say something… What the hell are you, what are you guys? What are you?”
As the silence stretched on, Yoo Ji-han ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
He glared at the ceiling, fuming, then finally seemed to calm down, his breathing evening out.
“Did you really just ghost me?”
[…]
“Fine, I’ve calmed down, so talk to me.”
[I don’t know anything about the other gods.]
I had met a few gods during my time as a dimension-hopper, but since becoming a god myself, I was a complete outsider.
I had never met any other gods, inside the Tower or out, so I had nothing to tell him even if I wanted to.
“I guess if you had, you wouldn’t have accepted someone like me as a follower. Can I ask one more thing?”
[It’s not like you’re going to stop if I tell you to. What is it?]
“What does it mean that the more Contribution Points you offer to your god, the stronger you get?”
[It’s exactly what it sounds like.]
Living outside the Tower had made it clear to me.
Contribution Points were a god’s power.
Hunters who belonged to a named god with a lot of Contribution Points grew at a different rate.
That’s not to say that serving a named god would let a D-Rank Hunter fight like an A-Rank overnight.
To use Choi Soo-hyun’s analogy, it was more like starting the game with a beginner’s package.
While others gained 100 experience points for killing one monster, you might have something like a 100% bonus acquisition buff, or you might use better items.
That was about it.
“Then I’ll give you all these Contribution Points, so make me stronger than I am now.”
[It’s not that simple.]
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
Yoo Ji-han crossed his arms, a look of incomprehension on his face.
In moments like these, he had a childish side.
[First, give me all your Contribution Points.]
“Don’t talk like a thug when you’re a god.”
[Just give them to me.]
“Fine.”
Yoo Ji-han grumbled as he opened his status window.
He, who had fumbled at first, not even knowing how to operate it, now seemed quite natural.
I peeked at Yoo Ji-han’s status window.
[Yoo Ji-han (Soter)]
Rank: Guardian
Strength: A- (31%)
Stamina: B- (71%)
Mana: C+ (90%)
Healing Power: B (45%)
Contribution Points: 40,390
Skills
Talent [Blessing of the God Soter]
‘Those stats are just plain cheating.’
His average rank was nearly a B right from the start.
If I weren’t in this position and had to fight him in Kang Han-gyeol’s body, I wasn’t even sure I could win.
Though I’d probably win, since I had more experience.
Yoo Ji-han pressed the [Donate] button on the side of his status window.
[You have received a donation of 30,000P in Contribution Points from the Guardian ‘Yoo Ji-han’.]
[Yoo Ji-han’s current donation ranking is No. 1.]
Thirty thousand Contribution Points came in at once.
Considering I had earned a little less than twenty thousand from working for nearly three months, I had just made a month’s worth of points in a single day.
But why was he holding out on me?
[I said give me all of it.]
My voice made Yoo Ji-han grimace in annoyance.
He seemed to have figured out that I could see his Contribution Points.
“Give me some potions and items. Especially that Shower Bomb thing.”
[Am I a shop? You think I’ll just give them to you if you ask?]
“I donated 30,000. I’ll buy them with the rest of my points.”
From the moment I heard he had set the forest on fire and taken out the commanders to buy time, I knew Yoo Ji-han was a pretty sharp kid.
My worries about him dying after I gifted him the sword from Choi Soo-hyun felt pointless now.
I had planned on giving him potions anyway, so that didn't matter, but…
[What do you need the Shower Bombs for?]
“After the third floor, I’m going into business.”
[Business? What are you talking about? Explain it so I can understand.]
I had no way of knowing the situation in the lobby.
Yoo Ji-han explained what life was like there.
According to him, the challengers in the lobby used an item called a Waterball to shower.
‘They have Waterballs here too.’
I was honestly a bit surprised.
A Waterball was, literally, a ball that held water.
Depending on its capacity, it could hold up to nearly 100 liters of water at once.
The water from a Waterball could also be used for drinking, making it a very useful item.
Using it was simple.
You could either stick a sharp straw into its rubber-like surface to drink, or you could poke a hole in it and hang it up to use as a makeshift shower.
The Waterballs currently circulating in the lower-floor lobby were the smallest size, holding 1 to 5 liters.
“The problem is, the guys from the Central Guild have a near-monopoly on the followers of the god who gives out the Waterballs.”
Bathing was one thing, but controlling the drinking water was a major problem.
It wasn't a complete monopoly, but thanks to it, Waterballs were traded at a very high price.
[Contribution Points can be traded?]
Ji-han nodded.
It seemed Contribution Points were used almost like currency.
[Hasn't any challenger received a Shower Bomb?]
“Not yet.”
The items I could give Yoo Ji-han were mostly survival-related goods like potions, painkillers, and Shower Bombs.
[How much are you going to give me?]
Yoo Ji-han muttered as if he couldn't believe it.
“Aren’t you my god? And it’s not like there’s a limit to how many you have. You’re a straight-up daylight robber.”
[How much are you planning to sell them for?]
Ji-han held up two fingers.
[Double?]
At my words, Ji-han gave me a pathetic look.
“Two hundred per.”
[Do you have any idea how much one Shower Bomb costs?]
You’re the unbelievable one, kid.
At two Contribution Points a piece, they were practically free.
A 100-fold profit margin.
Yoo Ji-han looked down at the empty schoolyard.
Unlike me, who was dumbfounded, Ji-han was brazen.
“I priced it quite conscientiously.”
[Looking at you, I can tell just how messed up the people in the lobby are.]
“Just hurry up and give them to me. It all comes back to you anyway, right?”
He had a point there.
[Consumed 400 Contribution Points to gift ‘Yoo Ji-han’ 2 sets of Shower Bombs x100.]
[Acquired 400 Contribution Points.]
The items I gifted appeared in Yoo Ji-han’s item window.
[Take some potions and painkillers too.]
Yoo Ji-han scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish.
“They don’t work that well.”
[You should still take them.]
It seemed Yoo Ji-han’s growth was much faster than I had thought.
“I guess it’s better than nothing.”
Yoo Ji-han purchased additional potions and painkillers.
It had been a roundabout conversation, but it seemed we could finally talk about the third floor.
“You mentioned something about a train. I heard a bit about it in the lobby, but I don’t know the specifics.”
The third floor was themed around a train.
It was a simple mission: assassinate someone on board.
The mission itself was very straightforward, but there was one thing that worried me.
[Have you ever killed a person?]
“A person? You mean, murder?”
[Yes.]
After clearing the third floor, I had looked up some information and learned something.
It was about what happened if you failed the assassination.
In that case, not only did the clear difficulty skyrocket, but the method of clearing it also became much harder.
‘Kill every single person on the train.’
That was the hidden route for a failed assassination. Personally, I hoped Ji-han wouldn't have to take that path.
At my question, Ji-han’s eyes darted around.
Given the state of the lobby, he had probably witnessed a murder or two.
But witnessing it and killing someone with your own hands were two entirely different things.
After a long pause, Ji-han answered.
“No.”