Am I Allowed to Realize This?
Am I even allowed to realize something like this?
Your whole approach is wrong.
Nightpin is still a timid little girl. You have to ease that naturally.
So I gave her a spatial teleportation ring as a gift. She'll say hi next time, right?
I logged into the gallery first thing in the morning.
2EE's post caught my eye right away.
This girl practically lives in the gallery outside of Tower climbing time... kinda admirable.
I check it daily too, but it's half-forced for me. She, on the other hand, brags, analyzes, and comments to her heart's content.
And most of it is about me.
"Is that such a great thing?"
What's so brag-worthy about gifting me something?
She gave away something that expensive without batting an eye?
Just how big a deal is she?
Well, works for me.
If she hypes me up like this, maybe others will think of gifting me gear too.
Keep writing those posts, girl. Work harder.
Alright, next post.
I made these personally.
Planning to make figures later too.
Anyone wanna buy extras?
Whoa...
Merch with my face on it.
Deformed character proportions maximized for cuteness.
Me in ninja garb.
Me in shrine maiden outfit.
Just two styles with masks, but the personality overflows, drawing the eye instantly.
Even I think it's cute.
"Mmgh..."
Yeah, I did put effort into picking outfits.
Not using stuff after buying it would be inefficient anyway.
But seeing my image turn into merchandise gave me a weird feeling.
Does my appearance have that much value?
Someone even sold my hair last time.
Anyway.
This must be fame.
Once you're famous, this happens. Cute merch launches, related stuff gets commercialized.
In other words, cuteness becomes a commodity.
And my looks are pretty and cute.
Praised as a beauty even with the mask, and tons say the outfits and proportions are adorable.
Merch like this was probably inevitable.
So what is cuteness, anyway?
How far can cuteness go?
Probably.
It can be a weapon.
It can be a shield.
Beauty works the same way.
I already got the answer from the broker incident. Not cuteness or beauty per se, but this fragile look was enough to draw his goodwill.
Essentially the same conclusion.
So.
Beauty.
Cuteness.
Frailty.
Can't I leverage them all together?
Snap!
I stood in front of the mirror again.
A slender, fragile-looking girl.
Body, proportions, face—all beauty with cuteness infused. The dark circles trigger strong protective instincts.
Strong enough to sway even a battle-hardened broker.
If I added cute mannerisms to this pretty, fragile exterior... how many people would fall for it?
If I did that...
Shake shake.
"No way."
I thought about it briefly, but nah, impossible.
Forcing cuteness isn't my thing.
Energetic 20-something girls have aegyo built-in, but I'm an uncle at heart.
Still, ignoring an existing weapon would be hugely inefficient. Like with the merch, isn't there a way for me to use this directly?
The potential value seems massive.
Feels like such a waste.
From the start.
"How does cuteness... look?"
Tap tap tap.
Searched for cute poses online.
Cat paws.
Bunny ears.
Heart cheeks.
Lady fan.
Whoa... why's my stomach churning? This feels like a world beyond me.
Clothes—you wear 'em and play dumb. But this requires posing.
Click.
I closed the window.
No way I could do it.
And even if I pulled off goodwill with those poses, what efficient gain would it bring?
Better to NPC-farm hunters for gear...
Huh?
Farm gear?
Wait, if I approach cutely, would they give items more readily?
Come to think of it, 2EE called me cute multiple times.
She ran off in annoyance, but also pitied me enough to overlook it.
And ended up gifting an item.
Was it all... because I was cute?
Did I look cute to her??
Uh oh...
Feels like I discovered something I shouldn't have.
Is cuteness... this powerful?
Or did I just not notice?
Thinking back, it's everywhere in daily life.
Thumbnails, for example.
Cute images skyrocket click rates.
Same principle.
Be cute, extract more.
So if I act cute, more people give items easily, and with expensive gear, I get stronger??
"If I'm cute... I-I can get stronger."
Huh. Am I allowed to reach this conclusion?
Am I, a former uncle, allowed to realize this?
Feels like crossing a line I shouldn't. Can I cross it?
Ugh, no, obviously not.
At least I can't.
Plus, as with the broker and 2EE, my base appearance already works fine. No need for extras.
Unless I lose my mind for some reason, no way I'd do something that weird.
Time to get up.
More thinking and I'll go strange.
Spring!
Best to move at times like this.
Back to training.
My goal's challenging floor 3.
*
Receiving item tributes.
Duplicating items.
Bug, glitch, or intended—who knows. But I can do it.
No reason not to climb the Tower.
Climbing's way more efficient.
If gains outweigh risks.
If holing up gets boring.
Yeah, Administrator. I'll gladly challenge you. Not gonna be easy this time.
Fwoooosh!!!
Fired an acceleration rock from the back mountain.
The rock shot straight like a railgun in my line of sight, parting and sweeping everything!
Paat!!
It vanished into storage in one second.
I'd pre-opened my Inventory at the landing spot.
Wanna experiment without wrecking the surroundings? That's the method.
My skills keep growing.
Getting used to the weird sensation of using Inventory. Even open/close delays are shrinking.
Someday it'll feel like part of my body.
Scribble scribble.
Today too, honed new techniques, noted them, tested thoroughly.
I know best how dangerous the Tower is. At minimum, I need to break last time's restraints effortlessly.
Four days like that.
Nonstop dedication.
"This is the best for now."
Finally feeling confident.
Time to climb.
No more efficiency gains from training. Not waiting out the season grinding like this.
The prepared fear nothing.
Let's go.
To victory.
*
Seoul Grand Park.
On the way to the Tower, a text from the broker.
Since he visited my place, we've texted daily.
Eaten breakfast?
Doing well?
No inconveniences?
No one's bothering you?
One a day, like clockwork.
Basically check-ins.
I replied curtly, no long chats.
This guy probably sucks at casual texts.
Not that I'm one to talk, but I'd be better.
What to do?
Should meet once, at least.
Wanna know if he's sincere.
And after surviving floor 3, I've got one request.
Efficient reply first.
What I want.
Oh?
Texts suddenly got long.
But... sorry.
About to enter the Tower now. Got big plans this time.
Item duplication. How could I resist?
Dupe gear will leapfrog my efficient life.
So ignore the advice, back to main point.
Hmm.
Reply stopped.
This feels super ominous.
Confirm once more.
Reply cut off again.
This is getting uneasy...
He won't buy weird clothes tomorrow, right?
The broker's got zero fashion sense, I bet.
And what's this pro?
Might've said too much.
But one thing confirmed.
He's genuinely trying to look after me. Just oversteps into annoying territory.
Continue to Tower Floor 3?
Arrived at the Tower entrance without realizing. Accepted instantly, no hesitation.
Paaw~!
Swallowed by light, teleporting.
In that moment, I steeled my resolve deep.
Doom Floor 3 ahead. My NPC duplicate this time.
Let's be a bit more lenient this round.
No refusing gifts offered.
No.
Since you're a perfect copy of my heart, let's ingrain it properly again.
I—let's be a bit more lenient this time.
If someone saves me, don't bolt too fast.
If they offer a gift, negotiate for gear. Or if one's to your liking, give an item.
For our future!
For happy life!
Heh.
Let's farm items like crazy.