The Night Is Too Dark (3)
The Night Is Too Dark (3)
"Huff, huff, huff..."
The instant I reached the basement, I scanned my surroundings. Nothing visible, and no sign of anything about to emerge from behind.
"...Hoo."
Only then did I check my sword. The edge was so wrecked it looked less like a sword and more like a saw. Replacing it was urgent, but I'd left the weapon pile back in the corridor.
"Fuck."
I never expected the barricaded corridor would actually get breached. Did the bastard who designed Floor 4 know we'd try to seal the passageways? Would it have been different if we'd packed earth instead of bricks? Or would the wolf and cat monsters have just dug through anyway?
More to the point, why was the basement this quiet? Up above, the thuds and shrieks echoed, yet down here it was utterly silent.
"Probably because there are no people here."
The monsters had shown a single-minded drive to head upward. There were several possible reasons for that... but I'd think about it later.
"..."
So it was a failure. The regression was already a foregone conclusion. Whether player or otherworlder, the casualties wouldn't be minor.
"No, let's look at the bright side. It's fine."
I'd gathered plenty of intel. I now knew that half-assed barricades at the entrance could let cat monsters infiltrate, and I'd learned the secrets hidden on each floor.
I'd also learned that on the fourth day, a slime monster would appear and melt the barricades. Maybe if I carefully removed the bricks instead of smashing them, then used them to seal the entrance... no, that would make the work impossibly slow.
Still, it was fine. After a regression, I could do it again.
After a regression...
"..."
I'd have to start the whole performance over.
Rally the player faction, convince Baron Jorge, and go through all this bullshit again.
And of all things, it's a five-day window. Before I could tear Floor 4 apart piece by piece, my own mental endurance was likely to give out first. Choi Ji-won's face flickered in my mind. Maybe I should've waited for her.
"...Hah."
Yun Jung-hyun. William Smith. Baron Jorge. Ahn Gyeong-nam. Baek Da-hye.
I'd gotten attached without even realizing it. A regression meant another first meeting with all of them. Once or twice is bearable, but could I handle it if it kept repeating?
Once the tension snapped, all kinds of thoughts crept in—enough that the thudding above my head barely registered anymore.
"..."
I pressed my hand against the wall and moved forward. Not because I lost my balance—I remembered there was a secret passage somewhere near here.
I'd wait in the secret passage until things quieted down, then head up to Floor 1 and mop up the remaining stragglers. Even if the monster influx stopped, we'd still have to deal with the ones already inside.
Clunk.
A stone brick sank inward under my touch, and at the same time the wall rotated, revealing a hidden corridor. It was too narrow to lie down, but enough to crouch and rest...
"..."
"..."
Eyes met mine. Someone was already here.
"...What are you doing in here?"
A man from my memories. Sullen-looking, the one who used to snap at the otherworlders.
"N-No, that's..."
The man stammered, unable to answer. Not a scratch on him, and he'd taken his boots completely off. I guess his feet were sore from the cold and he wanted to give them a break.
"What's with the state of your weapon?"
The axe lying beside him was fairly battered, but so were the bricks in front of him. Obvious. He'd brought the axe down on the bricks to fake battle damage on his weapon.
"You've been hiding here the whole time? While others were dying out there?"
"..."
This man must've been holed up here from the very start. Maybe even yesterday.
While everyone else fought desperately and ran for their lives when the barricaded corridor broke open.
This son of a bitch had been casually hiding in a secret passage, massaging his own damn feet.
Smack!
"Ghak!"
My foot moved, and blood sprayed from his nose in every direction. I'd controlled my strength, so his head didn't explode.
"Make your excuses."
"..."
"I said talk."
I've never killed anyone aside from that punk in the Tutorial. But that doesn't mean I have some overwhelming aversion to killing.
I just worry that if I start slaughtering people, my humanity will be damaged beyond repair. I was still prepared to kill those who deserved it.
"People are dying out there right now. You know why monsters aren't coming here? It's because everyone else is fighting for their lives. So I'm asking you—what the hell are you doing?"
"Y-you came here too! In the end you're no different..."
"I've probably killed more monsters than every other person here combined. Are you telling me that makes you and me the same?"
Smack!
I cuffed his head again. Irritation flared. Was this the kind of bastard I'd been breaking my back to save? Did I really have to save him too? Killing him would feel so satisfying.
"No, this is wrong."
Get a grip. Stay cold and rational. Do only what's necessary. Taking pleasure in killing people—that's what monsters do.
"Hn, hnngh..."
I was shaking my head to myself when the man in front of me suddenly started crying.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"..."
"I was just... so scared... scared I'd die..."
"You think other people aren't scared?"
"Other people... they're strong... my trait is only D-rank... and I used up all my items on Floor 3..."
He clung to my foot, blubbering.
"I'm... I'm no help... I felt it yesterday. I almost died to a goblin that other people kill easily. Even if there were a hundred thousand of me, we wouldn't be as useful as one person like you..."
"..."
"I'll never climb the Tower again. Never. During the Tutorial, I picked up a golden bead lying on the ground and thought I was the main character of the world... I believed my luck meant anything was possible... please, just let me live, just this once..."
The repulsive excuses of a deserter.
They were repulsive, but...
What if.
What if I didn't have the regression trait?
If I'd received some unremarkable, mediocre trait and found myself facing death while climbing the Tower.
Could I be absolutely certain I wouldn't end up in that man's place?
Pathetic.
But ordinary people always become pathetic when crisis hits.
"..."
Was pushing this man back into the fight the right thing to do? His skills were shitty, and his spirit was already broken. If I forced him to fight tomorrow, he'd definitely die.
But what about everyone else on Floor 4 who was fighting tooth and nail right now? Would they find it fair for me to pretend I never saw him and just walk away? While they were putting their lives on the line, fighting like crazy?
The moment of choice had come, and I was the one holding the decision. The man stayed curled up, pleading for mercy.
"...What's your name?"
"Ryutaro. It's Ryutaro..."
From the way his mouth moved I could tell he wasn't Korean, but I didn't know he was Japanese.
"...I'll be watching you. I'll let it slide for now."
"Thank you... thank you...!"
I said that and left the secret passage. I figured making a decision at this exact moment was too hasty, so I chose to observe. 'For now.'
"..."
A bitter taste filled my mouth. You could say Ryutaro's overconfidence brought him to Floor 4, but you could also argue the Tower itself is the real problem.
Was he 'originally' a despicable person? Or did this Tower turn him into one?
**
-26: 31: 00
Once the chaos had mostly died down, I quietly walked out of the basement. Thanks to the monster influx stopping, only a few were still visible in the corridors.
I forced my badly damaged sword through, carving a path. At this point the edge was nonexistent, so I just snatched an axe from a passing orc and used that instead.
"A decent weapon would be nice."
I shot a resentful glance at the scabbard hanging at my waist, then went back to swinging the axe. It wasn't a weapon I was used to, but my base specs were so high that killing monsters wasn't an issue.
I passed Floor 1, then the 2nd, and kept going all the way to the 3rd.
Cutting down monster packs, I stormed upward with unstoppable momentum and finally reached the stairs leading to Floor 4.
"No, I'm telling you...!"
"Does that even make sense...!"
Voices came from the top of the stairs. I tossed the orc's axe aside and trudged up.
"Everyone, are you all unharmed?"
Every gaze snapped toward me. I glanced around quickly; Floor 4 was packed to the brim. Just as I'd predicted, Yun Jung-hyun must've led everyone up here to escape.
"Are the casualties severe? I was also..."
I couldn't finish my sentence.
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere was frigid. Excessively so.
"...What happened?"
I asked Yun Jung-hyun, and he reluctantly nodded.
"...Two things occurred. First... several residents fell to their deaths."
"That's because you lot forced your way up, insisting you had to come. Did we not ask for more time? Time to make room."
"With monsters chasing us from behind, where could we find that kind of time?"
"Seven people lost their footing and died. No—honestly, if they'd died from the fall itself, that would've been a mercy. Better than being torn apart alive by the monsters below."
Baron Jorge glared at Yun Jung-hyun with bloodshot eyes. But he paid him no mind, just looked back at me and continued.
"...And the second thing..."
Yun Jung-hyun let out a dry laugh.
"Is that we found the portal you, Jun-ho, had hidden."