Chapter 14: The Tower's Trial: 3rd Floor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: The Tower's Trial: 3rd Floor
In an instant, my body was transported to a pure white waiting room.
"Ah, so refreshing!"
All the foreign substances on my body were gone, and my health and wounds were fully restored. Even the strange sensation in my lower abdomen had completely vanished.
And I was now dressed in clothes that looked like something a medieval Western official would wear.
'Heh... this is why I do back-to-back climbs.'
[Please select a weapon]
Just like on the 2nd floor, weapon racks rose up in a circle around me.
- What're you picking this time?
- Just pick whatever you're good with
- An axe would be good
- Kill kill kill
- A weapon for slaughter is good
- Anything that's good for killing people
- Might need a content warning for this one
- ?? What's on the 3rd floor?
- Why did these bastards suddenly turn into murderers?
There was a reason people were saying such cruel things...
*
[Tower Climbing Support Gallery]
---
[Title]: Newbies, stop asking about the 3rd floor and read this.
[Content]
Looks like some Panbungis who weren't interested before have shown up, so I'll tell you what the 3rd floor is about.
The theme of the 3rd floor is 'Slaughter'. There's some initial story about catching a criminal, but ignore that. Just go to the village they tell you to, and without asking any questions, just kill every fucking human you see.
That's it.
For the record, this isn't my opinion. It's the 'Official Strategy Guide'.
[Comments]:
- ???
- The point of the 3rd floor is this: 'Can you kill innocent people?'
- They're just virtual people, so isn't it fine to kill them all?
└ Well... you'll see, but it's fucking realistic;;
- I don't get it;; Can't you just solve the case?
└ They say not to.
└ If you do that, the survival rate is less than 10%.
- There is a way to solve the case, though...
---
*
"I'll go with a spear this time."
A spear of an awkward length, about 1.5 meters. But that made it easier to handle with this body.
- A spear, not bad...
- Seeing how she handled the staff, a spear should be fine
- ok ok
- Let's go!!!
And I have something to say before I go.
"For the 3rd floor, I'm going to try for the True Ending."
The True Ending.
It's one of the ways to raise the grade of your reward from the Tower.
It's not just about passively having the grade determined by difficulty; it's a method for players to actively take matters into their own hands to receive a better reward.
Besides the True Ending, the Tower also allows you to actively increase your grade through things like Hidden Endings or party contribution.
But do you think you get a higher reward for nothing?
Of course, the difficulty is extremely high. That's why both the Awakener Association and the Six Great Guilds warn everyone to never attempt the True Ending on the 3rd floor.
Even though a strategy guide exists? Their stance is, 'Someone like you can't pull it off.'
The same goes for me. The trials aren't always identical, so there will be things that are impossible even for me.
"Everyone, I'm not saying I'll definitely get the True Ending. I'll check the conditions first, and if it looks doable, I'll give it a shot."
I'm not 100% confident either. But it would be a shame to just leave it at that.
The only tutorial floors where you can get a True Ending are the 3rd and 4th floors. Considering how important early choices are, I think it's well worth a try.
- Hmmm...
- Right, so you'll check if it's doable at the start, and if not, you'll follow the original strategy?
- You told us in advance this time
- In advance (10 seconds before entering)
- lolololol
- Hey, at least she told us beforehand~
- It's fine, if it looks too hard, just go on a rampage
"Thanks for trusting me. I'm heading in now!!!"
Hoping, praying that the conditions would be right for me to get the True Ending, I entrusted my body to the white halo of light.
*
A high, blue sky.
- Clip-clop... clip-clop...
Riding a slowly moving horse, I felt the gentle rocking as we traveled along a bumpy, unpaved dirt road.
Far in the distance, beyond the sprawling wheat fields, a small village came into view.
[You are an investigator for the kingdom. Catch the culprit and solve the case.]
A very simple description.
If I just head straight from here, I'll reach the village, and then I just have to catch the criminal... as if it would be that easy.
If I go in just like this and announce, 'I am an investigator! Cooperate with me!!' I'll be skewered by a spear in an instant.
Unless you have an insane level of eloquence, most of the villagers are already steeped in hatred for investigators. That's why simply slaughtering everyone in the village without a single question is, believe it or not, the 'Official Strategy Guide'.
- Let's have a meeting first, shall we?
- hold on
- We have plenty of time here anyway, let's take a break
Just as the viewers said, there was no need to rush in immediately.
"Yes, let's assess the situation first."
First, I dismounted the horse and unpacked my things.
"This is my identification... some useless travel supplies, and... here it is. Shall we read it together?"
When you come to another world, gathering information is the priority.
The investigation journal.
Reading this should give me a rough outline of this trial.
<Kingdom Inspectorate, 2nd Heigen Branch, Inspector's Record.>
[Date]: June 14, Year 472 of the Imperial Calendar
[Case Name]: Investigation into the serial rape case in the city of Koshva.
"Serial ra...pe...?"
Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?
I ignored it for now and kept reading.
[Recorder]: Pichina Ibenstein
'My name is Pichina? Last name Ibenstein? So I'm a noble, I guess...'
[Summary]: This inspector has been dispatched to Boringer Village to investigate the Koshva serial rape case. Based on records showing the criminal's offenses always coincided with the market times in Boringer Village, there is a high probability of a prime suspect being present.
[Victims]: Lilia Bellonia and an estimated 20+ others.
[Criminal's Characteristics]: A stocky, middle-aged man, a large scar on his lower abdomen, enormous pnis length, a slightly curved pnis shape that thrusts upwards...
- Thwack!
I quickly closed the case file.
"I think that's enough. It seems the investigation started because a noblewoman became a victim, and the large scar on the lower abdomen must be the key piece of evidence."
- lolololol
- That's a case file...?
- What a filthy, aristocratic world
- Why'd you close it? The giant p*nis is an important detail
- So the 20 commoners are just "and others".....
- Why so much dick description, is there no face?
"Yes... it says they don't know his face because he wore a mask. Anyway, everyone. You all saw that, right?"
- Yep
- We... saw it?
- yeah
- What
- ??
- Why
"What do you mean, 'why'? Hurry up and figure out who the criminal is."
- Huh?
- Me?
- ???
- How the fuck are we supposed to know from just that
- ???
- Us?
"Ah, never mind if you don't know."
There was a reason I said something so out of the blue.
The Tower seems to present a new trial every time, but that's not actually the case.
Surprisingly, there are often cases where the trials are completely identical.
In fact, the city of Koshva mentioned in the case file is a city I know—it's part of Duke Heigen's domain in the Luminous Kingdom.
How do I know?
'It's the city where I fought the Demon King's army on the 33rd floor... Looks like it's peaceful now.'
The era is different, but it's a city and a world that clearly existed.
It's still just a theory, but it's widely accepted that the Tower doesn't create new trials, but rather implements or recreates historical events from various worlds.
As proof, you can even leave this place and live as a wanderer in this fantasy world. You could go back to Koshva to gather more evidence, or you could ignore everything and go on vacation to a beach town.
I never even tried it on the 1st or 2nd floors, but even there, you could turn around and leave if you really wanted to. However, if you're unlucky, the difficulty might increase, or you might encounter an even harder trial later on, so no one bothers trying.
There was even a case where someone who failed to catch the criminal on the 3rd floor was suddenly returned to the real world five years later when the culprit died somewhere.
Anyway, since the number of cases isn't infinite, people sometimes end up with the same one. That's why I asked the viewers.
"Eh... unfortunately, it seems no one has had this case before, or at least they didn't report it."
There is a reporting procedure for when trials overlap perfectly, but honestly, 50% of people skip the report, and half of the remaining people only report it within their own guilds.
'I tried so hard to get this system activated...'
I found out that after I died, the government subsidy for reporting these things was eliminated.
- Just kill them all.
- Slaughter ending, let's gooo
- Let's do this~~
- Let's just kill them all cleanly and be done with it, yeah?
- ??? : Just die
I don't know who the criminal is. And the villagers won't even cooperate with the investigation. I'd be lucky if they don't shoot arrows at me on sight.
So, if I just kill everyone, the criminal will die too, and the case will be closed. It's very simple and easy.
Aside from a few vigilantes, they're mostly farmers, weak old people, and women, so a surprise attack would make for a surprisingly easy victory.
But—
"No, I think a True Ending is possible here. Am I the only one who sees a solution?"
I have to get the True Ending for the 3rd floor trial.
*
[Tower Climbing Support Gallery]
---
[Title]: Anyone curious about the 3rd floor True Ending, come in...
[Content]
It's a pain to answer all the fucking questions popping up, so just read this.
To get the True Ending, you have to arrest only the criminal without killing any villagers.
It sounds easy, but the villages on the 3rd floor are fucking tough because they've had past experiences with other investigators doing stupid shit like arresting and killing innocent people or raping women.
But it's not impossible.
There are various methods, whether it's persuading them with pure eloquence or secretly kidnapping people.
The content of the trial varies slightly each time, so no one knows the exact answer. It's just fucking hard.
There's a reason your reward grade goes up by one if you get the True Ending.
---
*
"First, I'm going to get undressed."
- ??
- Ooh
- Oh
- 1. Get naked
- Undressing is approved
- Are you going in as a prostitute?
- Strip....!
"I have to go in disguised to do anything."
They can't investigate because of the hatred for investigators? Then I just have to go in as someone with a different profession, right?
And what's the ultimate jack-of-all-trades wandering profession in the medieval era?
'An adventurer~'
- Jiggle~
I took off the fancy-looking shirt and accessories and lightly buried them in the nearby dirt.
Then, I gave the thin clothes underneath a good roll in the dirt and stretched them out here and there to make them look shabby.
'Hmm... these pants too...'
The leather of the pants is too high-quality. An adventurer wouldn't wear something like this, right? I took off the pants, tore a piece off my cloak, and wrapped it around myself like a skirt.
'Hmm, this underwear is too...'
I coolly stripped off the underwear with its fancy lace as well.
I also lightly smeared some dirt on my face to make it look natural, and tied the horse with its luggage near the investigator's coat.
"How's this? You can probably tell what profession I am, right?"
This wasn't the first or second time I'd done something like this in the Tower. Most cases were solved with overwhelming force, but there were definitely times when that wasn't the answer.
Disguise, camouflage—these are basic skills, you know?
- ?
- Oh, you see that?
- Right, there's that method lololol
- But is that okay? lolol
- Ooh... as expected of the Tower Slut, whoa
- Are you really going with that?
- I saw a little peek
- After getting a taste once...
- Oooh?
- Suddenly the True Ending looks possible lol
"Uhm? R-right? It seems possible, doesn't it?"
Their reactions were a bit strange... but anyway, they all seemed positive.
- For real, to think of going as a prostitute;;
- Finding the scar on the lower abdomen will be easy, at least
- Ooh
- Do-hee, even thinking of the fan service scenes...
- Hehehe... how much for one time?
- A prostitute is the right call;;
- Prostitute free pass
- Seriously, who would think a noble investigator would come disguised as a prostitute lolololol
- Climbing the Tower by selling her body, whoa
- Yeah, yeah, our Tower Slut can even be a prostitute
Uh...?
A... prostitute?
Something's weird. What kind of nonsense are these bastards spouting now?
"Guys...? What are you talking about... Can't you tell by looking? I'm an adventurer!!! An. Ad. Ven. Tur. Errr!!"
A prostitute, how dare they!! What do they take me for?! Raaaargh!!
- How is your outfit an adventurer's in any way?
- I mean, the chest aside...
- This is an adventurer?
- Fuck, I wish I could show you a mirror
- Fact: Anyone can see you look like a prostitute
- At best, you look like a refugee
- If the wind blows...
- Someone please tell her what the problem is
- Um;;
Ah...
This is strange. When I was a man, if I dressed like this, people treated me like an adventurer...?
Just then,
[Ting~]
[Abalone Porridge Master has donated 50,000 won]
What kind of adventurer walks around with her tits out like that? And if the wind blows right now, your whole abalone is gonna be on display, you exhibitionist pervert whore!!!
"Heh?"
- Gasp!
- Abalone-bro is harsh lolol
- Abalone, fuck lol
- So refreshing~~
- Kya~~ You gotta cover the abalone~
- He's not getting banned for "abalone" hehe
- Do-hee's abalone, so chewy...
- The admin doesn't know what abalone means lol
What?
A...balone?
'No way...'
I glanced down without thinking, and just then, a gust of wind blew my skirt up, completely exposing my precious parts.
Ah, abalone? Don't tell me... Ah!?
The moment I realized what "abalone" meant, a burning heat rushed to my head.
"Ah... ugh... I'll... go change..."
To think I was going to enter the village looking like this, how foolish.
Why did I momentarily forget that the same outfit looks different on a man and a woman...
Did all the nutrients that were supposed to go to my brain go to these hefty lumps of flesh instead?
- Just put the panties and pants back on.
"Yes..."
- lolololol
- Suddenly turned into a female lol
- So obedient lolol
And so, following the viewers' advice once more, I completed my disguise as an adventurer.