I'll Give You 3 Seconds, Answer If You Don't Want to Die
I'll Give You 3 Seconds, Answer If You Don't Want to Die
The next day
"I'd like to register for the Tower's 5th Floor Gate. Name is Yoo Han-gyeol, no guild affiliation, and my 5th-grade license is here on the app..."
Having arrived at Seongsim Tower early in the morning, I completed the entry procedures in the still quiet tower lobby with no waiting line since it was still dawn.
"Seems you've done your research. But just in case, would you mind if I explain it once more?"
"Of course"
The place I was going to challenge today was Tower 5th Floor
"As you know, the 5th Floor is a single-entry floor where you can only enter once in your lifetime from the Tower's mystical dimension, regardless of Association certification status, and party formation is impossible..."
While listening to the Association female employee's explanation that I already knew with one ear and letting it out the other, I tried to recite the 5th Floor strategy I had prepared last night but soon gave up.
'I prepared thoroughly, but honestly, it's probably impossible'
Actually, calling it a strategy was ambiguous since the 5th Floor doesn't have any special gimmicks.
"Additionally, if you do manage to clear the 5th Floor, the usage rights for the warp elevator that opens accordingly are granted to the Association the adventurer belongs to, but according to the treaty of the World Ability Users Association and China Ability Users People's Association, 70% of the resulting profits and hiring authority for administrators and staff are permanently granted to that adventurer..."
There exists only one monster
'Inviolable Dinggisso'
Truly inviolable as the name suggests
The moment you enter, all use of special abilities is prohibited, and if any violent action toward Dinggisso is detected, you're immediately ejected outside.
The clear condition for the 5th Floor was to solve the riddle posed by Dinggisso, the absolute being of the 5th Floor whom ability users couldn't do anything about with their powers.
'But this is what makes it difficult. Because...'
"Regarding profit distribution negotiations for all subsequent rights, that ability user can assert their rights, which takes precedence over all opinions from Ability Users Associations and certified guilds. That's all. Do you have any questions?"
"Huh? Ah, no! It's fine"
"Huhut, it was a boring explanation, right?"
"Well...sorry about that"
"No need. I was just reading from the manual, so it must have been plenty boring for you"
Since I already knew everything, I apologized for half-listening to the employee's explanation, and the employee opened the path to the gate as if it was nothing.
"I wish you success in your challenge, Yoo Han-gyeol-nim"
The greeting I always hear from employees when entering the Tower
But today, for some reason, it felt like they didn't actually expect me to succeed.
"Thank you. Have a good day"
"Yes, thank you"
Since even I didn't have expectations, I responded with a routine farewell to the routine greeting and headed toward the 5th Floor.
.
.
.
After entering the Tower through warp, I habitually checked the Tower's exit sign.
【5th Floor: Dinggisso's Riddle】
"Hmm. Entered without any problems"
After checking the sign that gave the 5th Floor monster its name 'Inviolable Dinggisso' despite no records of it introducing itself, and confirming the open exit door that seemed to say 'leave on your own if you don't plan to clear it,' I looked around.
'It's definitely small'
A very narrow room for a Tower, probably about the size of an elementary school classroom
"You came! You came again!"
A furry monster with a round yellow body and a large nose in the center of the room looked at me with delight.
"Now! Come quickly! Solve my riddle! Then your trial shall end!"
Dialogue exactly as I'd heard beforehand
And the riddle would probably be one of the five riddles I had researched in advance.
'Please let it be that one...please riddle number 3 please...'
Thump thump-
"Now then, the question!"
Dinggisso, who had grinned brightly just from me approaching without saying anything, began posing the riddle on its own even though I hadn't said to start.
"Who is the strongest being in this world!"
"!!"
'Yes! That's it! Riddle number 3!'
I didn't even need to check the problems saved on my smartphone.
Though I had prepared answers for all five riddles, I excitedly clenched my fist at Dinggisso's words since it had given me the problem I was most confident about.
'The strongest being in this world'
Among the numerous people who answered this problem, there were ability users who answered 'god' - something whose existence was unknown.
And to those answers, Dinggisso responded not with right or wrong, but with a different answer.
- "Say god's exact name"
To that, all sorts of answers came out - God, Buddha, Zeus, Odin, etc. - but records showed none were ultimately correct.
After seeing these records, I became certain.
'Jabisin-nim! The strongest being in this world must be Jabisin-nim!'
Jabisin, whose existence I learned about through Rio-nim
Since it was a god, it undoubtedly had to be the strongest being in this world, so I stated the answer without hesitation.
"Jabisin-nim! That being is the strongest!"
"Huh!?"
Startled by my answer, Dinggisso rolled its eyes around for a while before responding.
"...Full name"
"What?"
"Say Jabisin-nim's full name!"
"Sigh...figured as much"
I had wondered if I might become the first ability user to clear the 5th Floor - hitting an incredible jackpot beyond comparison to lotteries or subscriptions - but that wasn't to be.
Because Dinggisso would evade or say you're wrong without acknowledging it even if you said the answer it was thinking of.
"Hihihi, you don't know? You don't know, right!? Hihihihi! Idiot! Stupid idiot who doesn't even know your own world's god's name! Hihihihihi!"
And when ability users eventually couldn't endure Dinggisso's subsequent provocation and laid hands on it, they would be immediately ejected
This was the pathetic reason why the 5th Floor remained uncleared despite the Tower having been fully conquered up to the 500th floor over decades since its appearance.
"Sigh~ I only lose dealing with this"
As expected, the Tower challenge failed
Just as I turned to leave, thinking I'd ask Rio-nim later if I got the chance.
'Wait, Rio-nim?'
[The dumbfounded Constellation Rio says 'How absurd~']
The moment I thought of that being, a dialogue window appeared before my eyes
"Hey~ you raccoon over there~"
And the moment the dialogue window disappeared, Rio-nim herself appeared and asked while pointing at Dinggisso.
"Do you know~? You don't know Jabisin's name, right~!"
"Huh? Who are you? How did you get in here..."
"I asked if you don't know~! More importantly, can you even speak it~!"
'Can you speak it? What does that mean?'
At Rio-nim's question, who seemed somewhat drowsy but clearly angry, Dinggisso flustered about just like when I first gave my answer, then became angry and said.
"That's...eek! Cheating! Only one person can enter the 5th Floor! Disqualified! Get out of this floor!"
Clunk!-
Simultaneously with those words, the exit door opened and tried to forcibly suck us out, but it was useless.
"Tsk~ such a bother~"
Kwaang!-
Because the exit that had been sucking me and Rio-nim out just moments ago completely disappeared with a single gesture from Rio-nim.
"Huh? Eh? Huh?"
Leaving the bewildered Dinggisso, Rio-nim spoke to me.
"Han-gyeol-ah, close your ears~ The will not to hear is important, so just cover your ears~"
"Ah, yes"
Receiving my first non-lewd command from my Constellation, I covered my ears with both hands as Rio-nim instructed...or pretended to while secretly leaving them slightly open.
"I'll kindly teach you the correct answer~ so try following along, raccoon~"
"Stop! Don't do it! No, please don't do it, oh exalted being!"
This was because I couldn't contain my curiosity about Rio-nim's instruction that seemed to indicate she would say something I shouldn't hear, but
"...'Jabisin □□■'..."
I soon paid a harsh price for betraying Rio-nim's kindness.
Pik-
"Huh? Ugh!"
With pain as if my eyes were bursting, my vision began turning bright red.
Plop-
Plop plop-
"Ah...guh, keuk!"
The nosebleed that had been dripping one drop, then two drops, soon began pouring onto the floor like a burst dam to the point where breathing became difficult.
It felt like my brain was trying to interpret Rio-nim's words - which I couldn't even understand - to the point of explosion, and failing.
I urgently circulated my naegong to protect my body, but it was completely useless.
"Kkeuk!? Kkik! Sto,op! Please stooop!"
And Dinggisso seemed to be the same - probably in as miserable a state as I was now - as it collapsed to the floor and began begging.
"Han-gyeol really is such a troublesome vassal~"
The pain that made me think I might die like this melted away like snow along with all my wounds the moment Rio-nim's hand touched me.
"Huh!"
"Our Han-gyeol~ this is debt~? Punishment for not listening to your Constellation-nim~! Understood~?"
The same drowsy tone and seemingly tired expression as when I first saw her
"...Yes, Rio-nim. Thank you. Truly thank you..."
But since those eyes contained clear disappointment that even a child could sense, I couldn't bring myself to look at them and answered with my head bowed.
"Good~ then cover your ears~ Now then, raccoon~ I'll give you 3 seconds, speak if you don't want to die~"
This time, I tightly covered my ears determined not to hear Rio-nim's command, so I couldn't hear anything Rio-nim was saying at all.
"..."
"Stoooop!"
"..."
"Uwaaah! Fine then! It's the correct answer sooo!"
"..."
"Kuhhek! Sto,op! Please...sto...p...kugh!"
Though Dinggisso was covering its ears just like me, it seemed Rio-nim's words trying to be heard had more power than its attempts not to listen, as the wretchedly struggling creature became increasingly battered until it finally stopped breathing completely.
Fsssssssh-
The 5th Floor began to disappear, and Dinggisso's neck with its long tongue lolling out as if it were a reward
And so, thanks to the absurd being called Rio-nim, the 5th Floor that had never been cleared since the Tower's appearance was cleared in truly anticlimactic fashion.
"Ah~ just so you know, the strongest thing in this world isn't Jabisin-nim anymore~"
Rio-nim's muttering in front of the already dead Dinggisso's neck was heard by no one.