The Night Is Too Dark (5)
The Night Is Too Dark (5)
-16 : 12 : 55
The world was stained with sunset hues, but the sun itself was nowhere to be seen. Snow fell heavily, and the sky was hazy.
"Hoo..."
I sat on the castle wall, looking down at the monsters. They squirmed and struggled against each other. Sometimes the stares they shot at me were fierce.
Strictly speaking, what Ahn Gyeong-nam said wasn't entirely correct.
Even in the Tutorial, those who did wrong eventually faced appropriate punishment. It was the same on Floor 2.
Even the last room on Floor 3 wasn't a trap, as Ahn Gyeong-nam thought. It was a room created with good intentions, but stained red as the wrong history kept repeating itself.
"...Two months ago, you said the first Tutorial was?"
Of course, there's no way the room was dyed red in just two months. It's more accurate to assume it was red from the moment the Tower first appeared. The bastards who created the Tower must have also fostered those misunderstandings. But the important thing is that, as Ahn Gyeong-nam said, it wasn't a trap.
The Tower is constantly telling us: Walk the right path. Otherwise, you'll pay the price.
Even so, I thought Ahn Gyeong-nam's words had merit for a simple reason.
"...Raphael."
The Archangel. That bastard I met on Floor 2 didn't consider anyone except Earthlings human. Something about being on a different level? That man, who sees humans not as people but as livestock, is in charge of Floors 1 through 5.
With that context, Ahn Gyeong-nam's words made perfect sense. A sin? You shouldn't commit sins. But killing Otherworlders isn't a sin, right? That's how it could be interpreted.
"..."
Even so, I don't have the nerve to test it out myself.
Objectively speaking, my current state isn't normal. In fact, it would be more accurate to say I'm slightly broken, and I'm aware of that.
But if I were to intentionally slaughter civilians here... I don't know. What would become of me then?
"So here you are."
As I was lost in thought, looking down at the monsters, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"How's your body holding up?"
Baron Jorge grinned, stroking his beard.
"I should be asking if you're alright, Baron."
"I've done all the preparations I can. What's left is to leave it to the heavens."
Baron Jorge looked up at the sky as he said that.
"Though it is a bit murky. Ha ha."
Baron Jorge, usually weighed down by a heavy atmosphere, now felt light as a feather—airy and free.
"Do you have something to say?"
"...I do."
Baron Jorge plopped down next to me. He reached into his chest pocket, rummaged around for something, then pulled his hand out with an awkward expression.
"Right, I didn't have any cigarettes. My memory must be failing me now that I'm old."
Baron Jorge, who had been quietly clenching and unclenching his fist, suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Jun-ho."
"...Go ahead."
"Why are you protecting us?"
"...I made a promise, didn't I?"
"Promises mean nothing. In the end, it all depends on the person."
Baron Jorge picked up a broken piece of stone and threw it toward the horde of monsters.
"The day I inherited the title of baron... I gathered people in the plaza and swore an oath. That I would always fulfill my duties as a noble, and protect the territory residents."
"..."
"Of course ------ even so, I can proudly say I've fulfilled my duties by and large."
I couldn't hear the middle part because of the Tower's filtering. But his emotions, at least, were conveyed to me in full.
"But... today, we will suffer devastating damage. More people will die than survive. Surviving intact is close to impossible."
The sky was slowly darkening. The last of the sun was setting, too.
"...I intend to challenge the impossible. Even if I have to burn my own body to ash, I'm going to save as many of the territory residents as I can."
Baron Jorge turned his head and looked straight at me. The wrinkles around his eyes were deep.
"I won't ask you to join me. I won't ask you to burn your body to ash like me."
"...Baron."
"Just... do what you can. I'm asking you."
Baron Jorge put his arm around my shoulder. I could feel a gentle energy flowing in through his arm.
"This is all the mana I have. Since I've tamed it, it will help you in your training... I'm sorry this is all I can give you."
"..."
I had no choice but to shut my eyes tight.
This was a dignified begging for lives. A noble, setting aside his pride, begging me. Please, save the territory residents.
"Then... I'll give it my best shot."
Baron Jorge descended the wall with staggering steps. His retreating figure was so pitiful that I couldn't bring myself to stop him.
**
Right after Yun Jung-hyun announced the list dividing everyone into rooms.
"Fuck, this is bullshit, I'm telling you?"
"Is being strong a crime? Huh? Is it?"
The atmosphere among the players was extremely volatile. The stronger the player, the more so.
Yun Jung-hyun had perfectly executed the task I'd entrusted to him. He grasped the players' combat strength as objectively as possible and distributed it as evenly as he could. The difference in ability between each room was likely negligible.
"I got a good trait because I'm great, and I trained hard to get this strong. Why do I have to sacrifice myself?"
In other words, it meant the strongest person in each room had to shoulder the biggest burden.
That's just how a community works. Those who have more give way more, and those who have less give way less. If it's for a common goal, this is a natural phenomenon.
"I'll be blunt. Should I have to take losses for a bunch of trash bastards? Is this right?"
But that's only the story of an ideal community. In reality, the strong never give way. If anything, they take the gains.
"Hey, and you all know we have to fight for at least 5 hours, right? If the lineup's like this, I'll have to fight for three of those hours. Isn't this just telling me to go die?"
To be honest, listening closely to what the strong players were saying, their words weren't entirely unreasonable.
Even I, who currently wields power close to an overpowered character, can allow a single hit if I let my guard down. In combat, skill is important, but so are split-second judgment and concentration.
If it's like this even for me, what about the other players? Would they willingly accept it if you told them to walk a tightrope between life and death for three hours?
The strong players' reactions right now were by no means an overreaction. Their lives are on the line.
But if they tried to throw their weight around as the strong, I had my own thoughts on the matter.
"Hey."
"What, you fucking bast... Mr. Jun-ho?"
"Just do it."
"..."
"I said just do it. I've memorized all your faces. There's the U.S. branch, and I hear they're making an Association-like thing in Korea too. Think you can go your whole life without seeing me?"
If it were me in the Tutorial, I would've tried to persuade them instead of threatening like this. I would've used regression to understand these people's personalities and stories, gotten close to them on a human level, and then gently coaxed them. The people truly influenced by me would have followed my words.
But I'm too tired to go around doing that for each and every one of them. I'm worn out, too.
If these bastards were going to act so nasty, flaunting the authority of the strong, I planned to treat them the exact same way.
"Mr. Jun-ho. The preparations are roughly finished."
Just then, Yun Jung-hyun approached.
"We've roughly laid out emergency rations and all the weapons are in place. We also installed some traps, though I doubt they'll mean much. I can state with confidence, this is the best we can do."
A sudden question occurred to me, and I asked Yun Jung-hyun.
"Mr. Jung-hyun."
"Yes?"
"Why are you working so hard?"
"..."
Yun Jung-hyun. The man who suggested we stick together as soon as I was summoned to Floor 4.
Despite the situation turning hopeless time and time again, he hadn't wavered and gave it his best shot. More precisely, he trusted my judgment and followed me. I was curious about that part.
"The direction I'm leading us might not be the right answer. Have you ever thought of that?"
"Well... I'd be lying if I said I hadn't."
Yun Jung-hyun shrugged his shoulders.
"But what's scarier than a wrong direction is a divided direction. At least, that's what I think."
Yun Jung-hyun grinned, glanced around slightly, and then whispered to me.
"And I have something I'm counting on in my own way. You don't have to worry too much."
"I wasn't worried."
"Really? Thank you. I suppose I must seem trustworthy. Here, this is the Magic Device."
Yun Jung-hyun handed over the Magic Device and departed. I watched his retreating figure in silence.
**
-6 : 12 : 11
The castle wall trembles.
The sky turns an eerie red.
"It's coming."
The hourglass is running out.