Does Death in the Tower Claim Lives in Reality Too?
Tarte thought to herself.
The situation was far worse than she had anticipated.
She had thought it was a matter of mindset, a matter of character.
She had thought that Hyeolpung Geomseong had not yet resolved to kill the animal form.
In reality, it was a lack of ability.
She had thought that mindset could be fixed somehow, through advice, persuasion, some trigger.
But combat sense couldn't be developed overnight.
Perhaps his martial spirit would remain a burden for a while.
'Thinking about it.'
Even when they were just friends in the game, when they were forming the top attack team in Starfall, Hyeolpung Geomseong's skill wasn't that great.
How did he get so many first clears then?
It was because it was a K-RPG where money was spec, so he had overwhelming specs.
Since he became the character itself in the game, she had expected warrior-like senses to develop in him, but her expectations were betrayed.
'Maybe it's for the better.'
With her wide field of view, excellent observation, memory, judgment.
It wasn't something she gained from this body, but brought from outside the Tower.
So she had no choice but to take on his share as well.
As before.
She was still the main leader of this party.
"Our old man fought like shit, sorry!"
Ninejibdaepokpal tapped Hyeolpung Geomseong's shoulder with his long mage's staff and apologized on his behalf.
The two were friends, but Tarte found that a bit odd.
Hyeolpung Geomseong, a guy who liked wuxia novels, was rich, but his game skill was a bit lacking.
From these facts, Tarte had thought he was probably in his 40s or older.
But Daepokpal was estimated to be at most 30s, probably 20s.
It was a bit surprising that they were friends.
"Staying here won't do any good. Let's keep advancing. How's Geomseong's arm? Is it better?"
"Yeah, almost healed. I can swing the sword."
Tarte had given First Aid to Geomseong's arm just 10 minutes ago.
In reality, the wound shouldn't have healed in that time.
But with herbs, bandages, and the Priest's healing skill, the wound was almost healing.
'If he were a warrior, he should tank for the team in critical moments.'
Tarte thought.
The only frontline tank in the party, the toughest, should draw the enemy's attention in crisis and take the damage.
But the combat sense of such an important person being lacking was a problem for the party.
But since only 8 people were summoned to this Tower, and they were originally B team, member replacement was impossible.
"Let's start again."
They continued their journey to find the Druid to ask how to purify the Forest God.
At that time, Team A was using the trick of setting fire to the forest and massacring monsters.
"Something smells burning?"
"The sky color from far away is weird, like a big fire broke out."
Tarte detected the burning smell first, and Daepokpal agreed that it was a fire.
"The fire spreading in the forest might be faster than a person running."
Tarte looked at the mini-map and pondered.
To reach the Druid's dwelling, they had to go deep into the forest.
But to avoid the spreading fire, they had to go out of the forest in the opposite direction.
The choice had to be fast and accurate.
'If the forest burning is part of the scenario?'
It was possible.
It was a very common trope in games to have forests burn or caves collapse to heighten tension.
But.
"This is a really important question, but if I die in the Tower, will I really die in reality?"
Tarte asked, as her life was on the line if she made a wrong judgment.
To Ninejibdaepokpal, a subculture fan with deep knowledge of web novels, comics, and animations, answered.
"In most novels about climbing the Tower, if you die in the Tower, you don't die in reality. It's a death game."
Tarte agreed quite a bit.
She thought the Demon's game couldn't be that kind.
"The burning forest is too dangerous. First, let's get out of the forest and check the situation."
As party leader, Tarte modified the route.
Instead of going to the Druid, go out of the forest first.
But that choice wasn't easy either.
"Be careful behind you! You might get ambushed!"
As they avoided the fire in the forest, animal migrations happened.
There were animals not threatening like squirrels or small birds, but also the red fox they had fought hard against, wild boars, and even bears.
'Bears are really dangerous.'
Fortunately, it wasn't a monster bear over 2 meters tall.
Based on two legs, about 1.5 meters tall, not that huge.
But even a small bear is a bear.
A fox in front of a bear is just a snack for a mouthful.
It was hard to imagine this party, which had struggled against red foxes, easily defeating a bear.
Tarte, not wanting to provoke the bear, but having to make them hear, shouted in an ambiguous volume that couldn't be too loud or too soft.
"Don't provoke the bear too much, let's gather first. If the bear attacks."
Consider possible or impossible.
Consider all variables.
Simulate the process and result in the head.
"Geomseong will block it."
The result was that they had to trust their teammates.
It was impossible for Tarte.
Her physique, strength, equipment.
After considering everything, it was impossible.
In this party, only Geomseong could block the bear.
So, they had to believe.
"Understood."
Geomseong answered well.
Whether he could execute it as well as he answered.
He couldn't rush awkwardly.
Tarte prayed that the bear would jump in another direction.
Because she was a priest with insufficient faith, the prayer didn't work.
The bear that found the group approached on all fours, low posture.
As planned, Hyeolpung Geomseong stepped up.
He gripped the sword with both hands.
He had to do what had to be done.
Block the bear's first strike with the sword.
Normally, a person shouldn't fight a bear like this.
The sword would miss, and all arm bones would break, the upper body would be crippled.
But Geomseong did it.
He was not an ordinary human, he was the frontline of the party with the Warrior job.
Clang!
The bear's attack was almost none. It was blocked once.
In game terms, normal attack, i.e., basic attack.
It could be swung as much as wanted.
No consumption.
But the bear changed direction and started running away.
The bear judged.
This guy has similar size and front paws are very hard.
So can't suppress instantly by fighting.
A fire is approaching from far away.
Fire can't be won against.
Can't waste time here.
Strong against weak, weak against strong.
In the wild, it's too natural.
Because the bear's intelligence was quite high, and Geomseong didn't show fear, the situation ended.
"Are you okay? Did your arm break or something?"
"I'm fine."
Geomseong shook his arm to show he was fine to Tarte's concern.
Swoosh.
At that time, rain started pouring.
Not dew, but quite heavy downpour.
"If it rains this much, the fire will go out. I hope the bear doesn't come back."
The situation changed, so judgment had to change.
Now Tarte's concern was not the fire in the forest, but the bear they just faced coming back.
Geomseong had blocked the bear's first strike perfectly, but there was no guarantee for the second and third.
Before having proper combat power, she didn't want to fight such dangerous enemies.
But Tarte didn't know that a bear was a cute-level threat at this point.
"Eventually, we have to meet the Druid. So let's go to the Druid."
Tarte's party changed route again to go find the Druid.
Tarte walking while muttering "Hard to see that damn Druid once" heard a strange sound.
Uuuuuuung.
It was like the horn of a large ship before departure, or the cry of a dead person's lament from the abyss.
It would have been easier to prepare if it was like a wolf's cry.
The corrupted Forest God came to trample Team A to death and deal with other intruders.
"Wow."
What kind of place is the forest?
It's a place with many trees.
Dense trees limit visibility and make it hard to know approaching threats.
So when the forest deer god appeared in front of them, they realized they couldn't escape without being caught.
"Perhaps this genre is not RPG but horror game?"
Tarte muttered.
Error: No answer even after thinking.
Palja do jochi. The viewers watching the fire from across the river are envious.
Tarte's head spun quickly.
And outputs the result.
What if I encounter the boss I should meet at the end of the scenario already?
Then the question again.
"One question.
If I die in the Tower, will I really die?"