Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (7)
Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (7)
"...What did I just see."
"...I can't believe my eyes."
The players who had managed to stay conscious pulled themselves up, one by one.
Countless others lay sprawled across the ground like discarded luggage.
"...It actually worked."
I replayed the last few moments in my head.
The idea first sparked when I saw the City Master pull a Diamond Badge from the pouch at her waist and toss it to me.
The other residents were being controlled by those Badge Boxes. In that case... what if? What if the City Master was too? That question started the whole plan.
The fact that her personality felt far too childish and arrogant for a "City Master" also played a part. Honestly, for a "master," she came off as a brat.
Of course, I didn't do it with absolute certainty. I figured the odds were about fifty-fifty.
If the diamond box really existed, I could just swipe her pouch and be done with it.
If nothing but a lone Diamond Badge was sitting inside, I planned to slip a Bronze Box into the pouch, toss it back to her like nothing happened, and play it cool.
I'd even imagined her taking it, instantly turning into a beggar, while I stood over her teabagging and saying, "Congratulations. You are now a beggar." ...But.
"...Thank you."
My thoughts broke off as the City Master staggered toward me.
No—the person who had been acting as City Master. I don't know what to call her now.
"Truly... thank you."
The (former) City Master no longer carried that oppressive weight. She felt like a completely different person from the woman who once radiated overwhelming authority.
She just... looked like an ordinary village girl squeezed into armor that didn't suit her.
"...So."
I voiced the question that had been gnawing at me ever since I laid eyes on that diamond box.
"Who are you?"
"..."
The City Master hesitated, then finally spoke.
"...The Real City Master is dead. Half a year ago."
"...The Real City Master is dead. Half a year ago."
One year ago.
Exhausted by the endless conflict between classes, the Real City Master had offered up this city to God.
He was a young noble who had inherited the city at a painfully young age after both his parents died abroad.
Defiant and idealistic in a harsh reality, the young man had a clear goal: to turn this city into a perfect utopia. And he had the drive to make it happen.
But... what the naive City Master failed to grasp was how agonizing it would be to forcibly "understand" other people.
By that point, most had adapted in one way or another, but when the city's rules first changed, it was pure chaos.
Actions were compelled. Personalities were twisted. Who am I? What even am I right now? People who couldn't accept it were everywhere.
The City Master tried to stay optimistic at first.
It's only a matter of adjustment. When enough time passes, the residents will even thank me.
But no matter how much he brainwashed himself, reality never changed.
He had set out to build a better city—a perfect city.
Yet the city before his eyes was nothing but a cruel play, with everyone controlled like puppets on a stage, weeping tears of blood.
It was already far too late to undo anything. The situation was hurtling toward catastrophe.
The young City Master anguished over it—and anguished again.
Until he reached a conclusion: someone had to take responsibility.
"...So he made a decision."
There was a way to restore Floor 2—to fix this city.
Because he had dedicated the city itself to God, he was granted the position of "Temporary Administrator" in recognition of that service.
Thanks to that, he now fully understood the newly rewritten rules of the city. The key was his own existence.
Aside from rules with hard physical enforcement—like "You cannot leave the city"—every other violation had to be punished by the City Master personally.
In other words, for Floor 2 to keep functioning as Floor 2, his existence was essential.
Which meant...
"And so he died. He destroyed his own heart. His last words... I think they were 'I'm sorry.'"
If I'm gone—
Floor 2 cannot function as Floor 2.
It cannot serve its purpose as a trial, as God intended.
And if that happens... perhaps God will create a new Floor 2.
Perhaps the city's residents will be set free.
That was what the City Master believed when he took his own life.
"...Never once dreaming that there was a Badge Box that would force someone to behave exactly like him..."
Beside the horrified maid who had witnessed his death, an angel appeared, holding something that glittered.
That day, the second City Master was created.
She did not agonize like the first City Master. She didn't self-reflect. And above all, she was arrogant.
Self-examination and self-reflection are what drive a human being to evolve into a greater intelligence—but the new City Master was granted no such function.
Because this Tower had no need for it.
"...The angels placed restrictions on every other resident to prevent them from speaking of this, but... perhaps they thought the person in question didn't need to be silenced. She was never restricted..."
"..."
I opened my mouth to say something, but my voice wouldn't come out.
It hit me that everyone here was a victim—except the original City Master, who had monumentally screwed everything up.
"...What does it want?"
What does the God who built this Tower actually want?
I can't fathom the intentions of an entity that would pull this kind of stunt and then claim it's passing judgment on humanity's sins.
Something like, "I'm this much of a bastard, so grow up fast and come cut my throat?"
Or maybe it's, "Think about what humanity did during the colonial era. This is nothing compared to that."
It might even mean nothing at all. Could just be, "Well... because it's fun."
Watching the angels openly carry out atrocities really made my head spin.
"Hoo..."
But from everything I'd experienced on Floor 0, I knew that at times like this, you just have to keep your eyes forward.
If a problem has no answer no matter how much you think about it, stop thinking about it. What mattered right now was the present.
"So... you're free of the box's bondage now?"
"...Yes."
"Hmm..."
I glanced at the diamond-colored box in my hand, then toward the massive sack slumped at the mouth of the alley. The sack stuffed with Badge Boxes.
Now there is no City Master. No one left to force anyone to follow the rules.
There's also no way to earn badges. Every single box is crammed into that sack.
<Floor 2>
- Clear Condition: Earn the recognition of the city's residents and bring proof of that recognition. However, you must not leave the city district. Get along with your fellow climbers!
Except for "you must not leave the city district," every rule had become dead letter.
Just as the City Master had wished, Floor 2 could no longer function as Floor 2.
"In that case..."
What do I do now? Right as that thought crossed my mind—
"Congratulations!"
Abruptly, an exquisitely beautiful voice rang out.
At the same moment, a brilliant pillar of light blazed upward in the exact center of the plaza, and baby angels appeared from nowhere, smiling bright as they blew trumpets.
-[Wonderful Achievement Notifier!]
-You have successfully neutralized the Hidden Boss, "City Master"!
-A Special Reward is granted to [Kim Jun-ho] for the greatest contribution!
To top it off, a message window I hadn't seen in a while floated before my eyes to congratulate me.
The whole setup felt like welcoming home God's great champion after a hard-won mission.
As the trumpets of victory echoed across the plaza—
"...Huh?"
I realized I was the only one still awake in this plaza.
The firefighter Park Cheol-jin, who had been exchanging glances with me just moments ago.
The other players who had been breathing heavily.
The (former) City Master, who had been telling me the past with swollen eyes.
All of them had collapsed where they stood.
"I healed them. You don't need to worry."
Still, their breathing was steady and their faces looked peaceful, so it seemed like they'd simply fallen asleep.
I turned my head to check on Choi Ji-won. Every wound she'd taken during the fight—large and small—had been healed.
So the angel hadn't been lying.
I lifted my head again and shifted my gaze toward the source of the voice: the pillar of light.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
A sharp nose. Smooth skin. Large eyes and crimson lips. Long, auburn curls cascading down the angel's back.
Had humans modeled their appearance on that angel, but done a clumsy job of it?
Or was this the creature God had poured the most intricate care into creating?
The androgynous angel stepped slowly out of the pillar of light, wearing a warm smile.
No pure-white wings unfolded behind them.
No brilliant halo floated above their head.
And yet, the entrance was majestic. The sight was sacred.
Even more starkly against the plaza, still caked in the stench of smoke and dust.
"I am Archangel Raphael."
The Archangel known to oversee everything from Floor 1 through Floor 5 had descended.