Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Third-Class Officer

Sword watched the fleeing [Low-Rank Soldier] and bit her lower lip.

It was certainly convenient that random weaklings no longer bothered her.

Yet something felt heavy inside.

More frightening was...

Should I chase him and kill him?

That thought had appeared naturally.

If the fleeing Hunter's rank had been [High-Rank Soldier] instead of [Low-Rank Soldier]...

She couldn't guarantee she would have let him go.

No. Even Mid-Rank Soldier might have been enough...

This wasn't entirely Sword's fault.

Fist.

He was probably chasing her even now.

After the PvP system began and she met Fist...

The moment Sword reached High-Rank Soldier, Fist had started hunting her whenever possible.

They had killed each other again and again.

You lose Contribution Points when you die.

Without Fist constantly targeting her, Sword would have completed the full Squad Leader set long ago.

Fortunately, or unfortunately...

More Hunters had now reached Mid-Rank Soldier and higher.

Fist's obsession with her had lessened somewhat.

Anyway, there was a reason Sword had come to Floor 41 hunting Crimson Rain.

[Title: DO. NOT. GO. TO. FLOOR. 41.]

[Author: Coward]

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Everyone knows Crimson Rain has been moving upward floor by floor since Floor 21, right? Floor 40 was just completely wiped. Floor 41 is next. Do not go there.

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[Comments: 4,820]

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I was about to clear Floor 41. What am I supposed to do?

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┗Just take a week off. It's not like today's your last chance.

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This is terrifying. All this over Contribution Points... sigh.

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┗You should collect points too. I'm telling you now, you'll regret it later if you don't.

┗People farming Contribution Points = psychopaths.

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Then don't collect them lol. Nobody's forcing you.

· 

┗This is something people should be forced to collect... too many idiots.

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Okay, packing my gear and going straight to Floor 41 lololol

· 

┗Another suicide applicant.

Sword didn't normally take HunVen posts seriously.

But this time, Coward was right.

Crimson Rain will definitely come here.

The reason was simple.

Starting from lower floors is the most efficient way to farm Contribution Points.

When everyone was Low-Rank Soldier, he massacred beginners and collected points.

Then, once people's ranks rose enough to create meaningful differences, he moved upward and hunted Mid-Rank and High-Rank Soldiers.

He's cunning.

That was also why Crimson Rain had apparently stopped simply pouring down his famous "rain."

He was selecting the most delicious prey.

Crimson Rain instinctively knew the most efficient way to hunt.

That was Sword's conclusion.

So Sword decided to become bait herself.

"There's a High-Rank NCO here. If you're not a coward, show yourself, Crimson Rain."

I'll devour you.

Then I'll stand at the top of the new order.

Tower of Fate, Floor 41.

Graveyard of the Dead.

"Creepy."

An endless cemetery filled with tombstones.

Thick fog.

It felt like undead hands would burst from the graves at any moment.

That's always what happens in movies.

Walking was even harder than on Floor 25.

I still wasn't used to moving around inside the Tower personally.

My grip on Shadow Dagger kept tightening.

I didn't know how to use a knife properly.

Still, holding one made me feel safer.

I looked upward for no particular reason.

[Third-Class Officer]

The words floated above my head.

That's attracting too much attention.

I carefully muttered.

"Can I hide this?"

[Rank display disabled.]

[However, rank display will automatically activate upon entering PvP state.]

The [Third-Class Officer] text disappeared.

I looked around again.

Scary.

Fine.

I'll admit it.

Walking alone was frightening.

Then...

"Excuse me!"

Someone approached while happily waving.

A person...!

I never imagined I'd be this happy to see a stranger.

He wore light armor.

"Yes?"

"You're here to leech the Floor 41 clear too, right?"

The man's eyes narrowed.

"Leech?"

"Yeah, leeching. Don't tell me you don't know what that means."

"Oh, that kind of leeching?"

"Yes, yes! That. Haha."

Leeching?

Of course I know.

In MMORPGs, people sometimes hung around parties fighting Bosses, landed one hit, then collected clear rewards.

Those people were called leeches.

I don't know the exact origin of the Korean term.

Maybe it came from saying, "Let me get a bite too!"

"You can do that here?"

"Of course. Wait until people gather and start fighting the Boss, hit it once, then hide."

"One hit?"

"Yep! Then the Tower counts it as a clear."

"Wow."

So that actually worked.

Koreans really were masters of finding loopholes.

Isn't that system way too loose?

Then I thought about it.

There's probably no reason to prevent it.

As floors rose, difficulty would increase naturally.

Eventually, anyone who couldn't even land one hit would return to floors appropriate for their level.

Maybe my impressed reaction made him happy.

The man puffed out his chest and offered me his hand.

"I'm actually here to leech too. Want to travel together? It's dangerous alone. Crimson Rain might appear."

"Crimson Rain?"

"Ah! You don't know Crimson Rain!"

His tone immediately became that of someone delighted to explain something I didn't know.

"He's a terrifying monster who's been climbing from Floor 20 while massacring thousands of Hunters. He's probably around Floor 41 by now."

"Gasp."

What kind of terrifying bastard was that?

Scraps seemed satisfied with my reaction.

"But if you think about it, it's actually an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"Yeah. Crimson Rain kills all the monsters on floors he passes through, but he never takes the drops. If you pick them up afterward and sell them, it's surprisingly profitable."

"Oh...!"

Crimson Rain...

Maybe he was actually a nice guy?

"Let's focus on clearing the floor. If Crimson Rain appears, we'll hide. Then we can pick up some items afterward. Sound good?"

"Sounds great!"

That was exactly what I'd been waiting to hear.

I tightly shook the hand he offered.

What a nice guy!

"My nickname is Scraps. Nice to meet you."

"Scraps?"

"Yeah. My HunVen nickname."

Apparently people used nicknames more often than real names inside the Tower.

"Ah. I'm DivineMan."

I had no particular reason to hide it.

"Oh, you're a newbie Hunter. That explains it."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Do you know the way?"

"No."

I'd read a guide, but following Scraps seemed easier.

"Then just follow me. I know this floor perfectly."

"I'm counting on you, Scraps."

"Hahaha."

It was a strange nickname, but I didn't ask.

There was only one reason I'd decided to follow him.

Not because I'm scared.

I was curious how strong Floor 41 Hunters were.

Until now, I'd never actually partied with others.

I always fought by myself.

More accurately, I stuck a weapon barrel through a Gate and fired.

Except Floor 25.

And Laser No. 1 had done everything there too.

This was basically my first time fighting in person.

I wanted to know how normal Hunters fought.

I quietly followed Scraps.

But the man kept glancing backward at me.

What's wrong with him?

B-rank Hunter Scraps suddenly turned around.

He said he'd follow me, but I can't hear him. What's he doing?

Then...

He's still there?

There were no footsteps.

No sense of another person behind him.

Yet DivineMan was following just fine.

Strange.

Maybe it's because we're on Floor 41.

The atmosphere itself was creepy.

Truthfully, Scraps was so tense that every hair on his body stood up.

This place is terrifying.

Still, he didn't want to look scared in front of an obvious beginner who openly called himself "DivineMan."

That newbie had probably reached Floor 41 through leeching too.

Scraps was certain.

Why?

He looks exactly like a newbie.

The awkward way he held the dagger.

The way he kept looking around after entering.

Everything about him screamed "inexperienced."

Scraps grinned.

Guys like him are perfect.

Scraps' specialty wasn't hunting.

More precisely, other people hunted.

He picked up the scraps.

That was why his nickname was Scraps.

Leeching.

That was his secret to climbing.

He joined stronger parties during Boss fights.

Stole the final hit if possible.

Secretly picked up any dropped items people missed.

That was his specialty.

Recently, he'd gained another specialty too.

I'll wait for a good opening during the Boss fight and stab him in the back. Become Contribution Points for me, newbie. Hehehe.

[Current Contribution Points: 23,900]

[Total Contribution Points: 23,900]

[Current Rank: Low-Rank Soldier]

Scraps had already earned 23,900 points by luring naïve rookies and backstabbing them.

Only 1,100 more until he could buy a ring.

A tiger growing wings!

Today's a great day.

There was a simple reason.

The HunVen post.

[Title: DO. NOT. GO. TO. FLOOR. 41.]

If Crimson Rain massacres everyone here...

Scraps only needed to hide.

Then, during the chaos, sneak in and take a little piece.

Finish off weakened survivors.

Kill weakened monsters.

Easy money.

This guy is just a bonus.

Scraps glanced backward and laughed internally.

One thing bothered him.

There was no [Low-Rank Soldier] tag over DivineMan's head.

But the newbie's clumsy behavior offered an obvious explanation.

The Tower probably thinks he's such trash that it isn't even interested in him. Hehehe.

It was common knowledge among Hunters that the Tower treated people differently depending on ability quality.

Scraps had heard that the Tower even spoke politely to S-rank Hunters.

He had no way to confirm it.

He was only B-rank.

Anyway, Scraps looked at the naïve newbie following him and smiled.

"I think the Boss room is this way. Shall we go?"

"Sounds good! Lead the way."

The cheerful newbie followed him.

When they reached the Boss room entrance, Scraps explained.

"We wait here until others start the Boss fight. Then land exactly one hit."

"I see."

It sounded like a good plan.

But then...

"What are you two doing here?"

"..."

A woman's voice.

She had approached so close without Scraps noticing.

Cold sweat ran down his back.

Because...

"H-High-Rank NCO...!"

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Scraps' jaw trembled.

His teeth knocked together.

The High-Rank NCO, Sword, looked at him with a complicated expression.

In the past, men and women of all ages would've desperately tried to speak with her.

Now, a single title, [High-Rank NCO], made her terrifying.

"I asked what you're doing."

"A-Ah! We're just here to leech the Boss clear..."

"Leech?"

"Y-Yes! C-Could we just hit the Boss one time? Hehehe."

Scraps dropped down and bowed repeatedly.

He shot DivineMan a desperate look.

You idiot! What are you doing?! Get down and beg if you don't want to die!

Sword moved her blade slightly toward DivineMan.

"Wait. Why don't you have a rank?"

"A-Ah! He's just a complete newbie. The lowest of the low. Don't worry about him!"

Panicking, Scraps grabbed DivineMan by the back of the neck and forced him down.

"Please let us hit the Boss once!"

Sword tilted her head.

Could someone like this really be... No.

His missing rank was suspicious.

But after seeing how pathetic he looked, she lowered her sword.

Or tried to.

Then she noticed DivineMan's extended hand.

More precisely...

The ring on his finger.

"That ring... could it be?"

"...Gasp."

She recognized it.

As expected of a Ranker.

If that's the case...!

Then...

"There you are, High-Rank NCO."

"Fist...!"

Sword looked up in surprise.

Fist dropped from the sky with his fist extended.

BOOOOM!

Sword immediately blocked with her blade.

A shockwave spread everywhere.

Graves exploded.

It looked impossible that such destruction came from a human fist striking a sword.

The wind was so strong it was hard to keep my eyes open.

"S-rank Hunters...!"

I looked at them after hearing Scraps mutter.

"Those two are S-rank?"

"Yeah. The woman is probably Yoo Seorin, and the man should be Fist, if the rumors are right."

Yoo Seorin!

I remembered seeing her on the news.

No wonder she looked familiar.

Floor 41 was extremely dark.

And she looked nothing like the bright celebrity photos I'd seen in the news.

The Yoo Seorin in front of me looked like a wild beast.

But that man...

His nickname was Fist.

"That's an amazing nickname... How much could it sell for?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. More importantly, let's run."

"Y-Yeah! Let's go!"

Scraps quickly ran away and glanced backward.

They don't look like they have time to chase us. Thank God.

A fight between S-rank Hunters was complete chaos.

The ground cratered.

Stone walls split apart.

Then Scraps grinned and pulled out his dagger.

"But I'm going to continue alone."

"Huh?"

"Die."

Scraps suddenly stabbed me in the back.

"Ow!"

It stung.

"...Ow?"

Scraps stared at me blankly.

"I definitely stabbed you with everything I had..."

Was something wrong?

I'm a B-rank Assassin.

He glanced at his message log.

[Stealth Critical Hit!]

Assassins received huge critical-rate and damage bonuses when attacking an unsuspecting target from behind.

A Stealth Critical from a B-rank Assassin could leave even an A-rank Hunter near death.

Yet my reaction was only "Ow"?

Impossible!

This time, Scraps stabbed me in the stomach with all his strength.

"Ah!"

A little sting.

"W-What...?"

Scraps began panicking.

Then...

[PvP state entered.]

[Rank display activated.]

Four words appeared clearly above my head.

[Third-Class Officer]

Third-Class Officer...?