Perfume (1)
The individual round, the team round, and one final competition we had yet to experience. We all knew that the third floor consisted of a total of three rounds. But at this very moment, through the rabbit's mouth, the players learned that the entire plan for the third floor had been changed.
This is the conclusion reached after compiling the opinions of the Constellations.
The rabbit flipped a page of a document that had appeared from who-knows-where and continued speaking.
The third floor ends here. All players will proceed directly to the next floor.
At the rabbit's words, the players' expressions grew complicated. In other words, the third floor would conclude after the individual and team rounds. From our perspective, however, this didn't feel like good news at all.
"So we're just supposed to move on to the next floor like this? What about the remaining rewards?"
Someone's shout prompted nods from the crowd. Whether it was the individual round or the team round, the floors of the tower ultimately focused on the growth of its players. Moreover, the current third floor granted everyone the special privilege of not dying, making it an even more valuable stretch of time that would be a shame to miss.
But.
Huh? Why are you all worrying about that? Shouldn't the ones concerned about rewards be those monstrous players over there?
The rabbit raised a hand and pointed straight at me.
Get a grip. This is practically giving you all a chance. The third floor was always meant to widen the gap between the strong and the weak. Do you even realize how many of your stats you wasted during the individual round?
The crowd flinched.
Of course, those who managed to claw their way up to the middle ranks might still grow somehow. But the bottom thirty percent are probably vomiting blood in their hearts right about now, don't you think?
Listening to that, it made sense. If you weren't a player capable of scoring high in the competition anyway, there was no need to obsess over the third floor. In fact, escaping it quickly might even be better for them.
But the important question was something else.
"Why?" I asked the rabbit.
The Constellations had brought us into this tower for various purposes. To nurture us and summon us as their incarnations. To purely enjoy watching players risk their lives to survive. There would be many other reasons depending on their individual circumstances. Considering those goals, an early end to the third floor was something I could never have predicted.
Um… I'm not supposed to speak recklessly about the Constellations' thoughts, but since it's a question from Player Kim Siin, I suppose I can answer a little…
The rabbit rested a hand on its fluffy chin for a moment and began to ponder. But only for a moment. As if having made up its mind, it opened its mouth, and what came out was a string of short words.
Next competition. Captains' Battle. Preview. Boring. Waste of viewing fee.
"Ha."
They were short words, but I immediately understood what the rabbit meant. The third round that was supposed to follow the individual and team rounds was the Captains' Battle between each coordinate. But the Constellations had already witnessed my fight against Cheongrin and Landon at the end of the team round. Clearly, they had decided an early end to the third floor because they no longer held any expectations for the upcoming Captains' Battle.
Viewing fee must refer to coins.
This was important information. It meant that in order to watch the players' stories—including the tutorial—they had to pay a certain amount of coins on a regular basis. It also meant that coins were quite a precious resource to them, and yet they still had a reason to spend that precious resource to find incarnations.
I might have been missing something…
Had I been taking the value of coins too lightly? Although they were beings from another world, the Constellations were transcendent existences with powers akin to gods. The coins they granted to humans and that we used as currency were unlikely to be simple goods.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, someone behind me raised their hand and asked the rabbit a question.
"Then… will there be no separate rewards for us…?"
It was one of the players from Earth's coordinate. For a brief moment, an exasperated look flashed across the rabbit's eyes, but since we would be the ones suffering the greatest loss from an early end to the third floor, it seemed to understand our disappointment and nodded.
Well… I suppose the Constellations might give you something separately. It does seem about time for them to start making contracts with the players they've been keeping an eye on…
But the rabbit trailed off vaguely. That was only natural. It was a Helper, not the host of this event. It probably hadn't anticipated the early termination either, because it seemed to have nothing more to say.
Anyway, I'll begin settling the rewards now! Constellations!
You have cleared the 3rd Floor.
The message that arrived right on cue let us know that the third floor's mission had truly ended like this.
Distributing clear rewards for the 3rd Floor.
You have acquired 10,000 coins.
All stats have increased by Lv.3.
Distributing rewards for the individual round.
You may take three treasures you possess with you to the next floor.
The individual round reward floated before my eyes. Without hesitation, I chose the Heart of Frost and the Breath of Fire.
Should I take this one too?
A single ring rested on my finger. The Ring of Summoning, which had proven remarkably useful from the individual round all the way through the team round, caught my eye and left me deep in thought.
A ring that can't be used without a medium…
We could only take three treasures. That meant I couldn't bring items like the Desert Lord's Stone or the White Monkey's Stone even if I wanted to.
But.
I carefully slipped the Ring of Summoning off my finger and added it to my selection. I couldn't explain why. I simply had a feeling that there would come a time when I would need to use this ring again.
Distributing rewards for the team round.
Absorbing a portion of the flag's stats.
As the team round rewards rang out, people began checking their stats with gasps of admiration. But a special message that didn't appear for the others appeared only for me.
You have recorded 1st place in the team round.
You have acquired additional stats.
Your stats have reached the maximum limit for the 3rd Floor.
Converting excess experience into coins.
162,000 coins have been granted.
"Huh?"
I hurriedly opened my status window to check my stats. Every single one of them had been adjusted to Lv.40. I couldn't tell exactly how much my original stats had been or how much they had risen, but seeing my coins swollen to an absurd amount made me realize once again just how much I had struggled.
Roughly a little over 200,000 coins.
It was enough that I would likely maintain the highest stats among the players even after moving to the next floor. Still, I decided to hold off on raising my stats for now. There would be no problem saving them for a truly critical moment, and for some reason, I had a feeling there would be other uses for the coins.
Have you all finished checking your rewards?
Seeing that the players had confirmed their rewards, the rabbit spoke again.
I will now open the door leading up to the 4th Floor. Of course, I cannot give you detailed information about the 4th Floor's mission, but there are a few things I must advise…
Precious information absolutely necessary for survival. But the rabbit's following words were vague, and as always, only a mountain of question marks filled with doubt appeared above our heads.
Find yourself, but do not lose yourself! Keep thinking, never stop, and keep taking action. That place is the 4th Floor of the Tower.
The moment the rabbit snapped its fingers, a familiar portal began to form before our eyes. And naturally, another mission followed.
To the 4th Floor
📍 Subject: None
📍 Difficulty: None
📍 Description: Proceed to the 4th Floor.
📍 Mission: Enter the 4th Floor through the portal.
🎁 Reward: Entry to the 4th Floor
⚠ Failure Penalty: Death if you choose to give up.
Yet another mission handed down by the beings who constantly toyed with our lives. As I stared blankly at the quest, someone called my name.
"Player Kim Siin."
A voice that seemed to echo inside my skull rather than my eardrums. It was similar to telepathy or the sound transmission used in Murim. I looked up and met the rabbit's eyes, which were still holding its hand up in the same position as before.
The Constellations are paying close attention to you.
"…!"
It was an expression I had never seen before. Although it was clearly the face of a beast whose emotions were impossible to read, I could sense a deep and heavy tension in the rabbit's eyes.
I will see you on the 5th Floor. Good luck.
Having said that, the rabbit opened a portal of its own and disappeared somewhere. I turned my head to look at the others. Everyone hesitated to step into the portal that had appeared before them, but in the end, no one could resist and they all walked into the maw that would swallow them whole.
"Siin."
"Yes."
"Do you think this will be another team round?"
"…I don't know."
Seo Seyeong, who stood beside me, spoke up as if to calm her own nerves. The others were just as tense. If even I couldn't shake off the tension toward an uncertain future, there was no way they—who didn't even possess mental skills like Quick Understanding—could keep their minds intact.
"Let's survive and meet again."
Whatever was going to happen would happen anyway. If we let ourselves get too tense and stressed, we might even mess up the things we could normally do well. So the only thing I could say was not to be nervous.
With that, I stepped into the portal. Remembering the rabbit's words about not losing myself.
Tssst……
The dizzying sensation that came with traveling through the portal stimulated my body. An alien feeling that seemed impossible to ever get used to. But what caught my attention first wasn't the portal disappearing behind me, nor the creeping sense of bodily dissonance.
It was simply.
"…Where is this?"
White wallpaper that evoked a familiar scent, and in the corner beneath it, a neatly folded bundle of blankets. It was all far too familiar. But because it was so familiar, the unfamiliar environment forced my gaze toward the window where bright sunlight poured in.
"This is insane."
A small one-room apartment where the massive building outside the window subtly blocked what little light managed to enter. This was the studio I had lived in before joining Sky Games.