Chapter 33
Three days had passed since the 11th Floor opened.
Monster corpses covered the surroundings.
A particularly large middle-aged man looked around in frustration.
“Hey, he isn’t here?”
He scratched his head.
“The location definitely showed him around here.”
He sighed.
“Where the hell did that bastard run?”
Another Player frowned.
“Nothing again?”
He clicked his tongue.
“Ha. That weakened bastard keeps running around somehow.”
He waved his hand.
“Let’s head back!”
The group returned to camp empty-handed.
The middle-aged man approached a young man sitting beside the fire.
Then he dropped down beside him.
“Heave-ho.”
He looked at him.
“Juhwan.”
He asked casually,
“Did your group find any clues?”
The young man shook his head.
“We were the same.”
He smiled faintly.
“The location appeared, so we went there.”
He shrugged.
“There was nothing.”
Then his expression darkened.
“Only monsters.”
He sighed.
“A few more people died because of that.”
The middle-aged man groaned.
“Haah.”
He looked around.
“What’s the point of telling us the general location?”
He pointed toward the forest.
“If it says ‘eastern forest,’ how the hell are we supposed to know where?”
He clicked his tongue.
“This land is ridiculously huge.”
Juhwan laughed.
“Haha. True.”
He poked the fire.
“But if we keep looking, we’ll eventually find him.”
His eyes remained calm.
“He has to be hiding somewhere on the 11th Floor.”
Someone shouted from the huts.
“Hey! What are you doing over there?!”
The middle-aged man flinched.
“Stop slacking and come report!”
The voice continued yelling.
“Seriously! Some people work while others just sit around!”
The man sighed.
“Ugh. That bastard’s nagging again.”
He stood.
“I should go.”
Then he looked at Juhwan.
“You suffer too.”
Juhwan smiled.
“Haha. Yes. See you later.”
Night came.
The camp’s security became loose.
Juhwan quietly slipped outside.
Leon suddenly appeared nearby.
He looked bored.
[How long are we going to keep doing this, nya?]
He crossed his arms.
[At this rate, you won’t plant a single Flag.]
Then he looked Juhwan up and down.
[And that appearance doesn’t suit you at all, nya!]
The truth was...
Juhwan was Lee Suhyeok.
Suhyeok had infiltrated the camp under that identity.
It had become possible after synthesizing the Disguise Artist and Speaker Traits.
[Trait Synthesis successful.]
[Trait ‘Clown (A)’ acquired.]
[Trait - Clown (A)]
·
Can freely disguise the user.
·
·
Can perfectly imitate the personality, habits, and appearance of a copied target.
·
·
Appearance can be saved.
·
·
Can use up to 30% of the transformed target’s abilities.
·
Suhyeok looked at Leon.
“Forget that.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What happened with the task I gave you?”
Leon groaned.
[Ugh. Stop making me do dangerous things like this, nya.]
He looked nervous.
[If I get caught, we’re seriously in trouble, nya.]
The 11th Floor was divided into eight regions.
Each region was controlled by a faction calling itself a guild.
The place Suhyeok had infiltrated...
The central eastern forest...
Belonged to the Taesan Guild.
Leon sighed.
[I delivered everything to all three of them, nya.]
He folded his arms.
[They should have checked your messages.]
Then Leon frowned.
[Do you have any idea how difficult that was? Avoiding Uji’s eyes while moving around was exhausting, nya.]
During the past three days...
Suhyeok had ordered Leon to deliver instructions to Taesu, Yumi, and Hyuna.
All three had remained where they were.
And currently...
Each of them was positioned close to a Guild Master.
Suhyeok nodded.
“Everything is going according to plan.”
Leon had not even turned on the broadcast.
Most Constellations had probably gathered in Uji’s channel instead.
Since only Suhyeok’s rough location was being revealed...
Finding him was extremely difficult.
Suhyeok opened his Status Window.
[Status]
Name: Lee Suhyeok
Age: 28
Level: 37
HP: 71 → (15)
Strength: 70 → (15)
Agility: 73 → (15)
Internal Energy: 70 (Peak) → (15)
Mana: 70 → (15)
Remaining Points: 45
Traits:
Trait Plunder (EX)
Sword and Self as One (S)
Ruler of Madness (S)
Death Energy (S)
Synthesis (A)
Clown (A)
Crude Dagger Technique (D)
Agnes-Style Swordsmanship (S)
Skills: None
In his current condition...
It was difficult to openly face the others.
No matter how many monsters he killed...
His stats did not rise.
Naturally...
Death Energy was useless too.
But there was an even bigger problem.
[Ego Sword ‘Seong-a’ has entered a sleep state.]
[Potential is about to manifest.]
The moment they reached the 11th Floor...
Seong-a had fallen asleep without warning.
She would not even come out of her sheath.
For now...
Suhyeok had no choice but to remain hidden beneath the surface until the right opportunity appeared.
“...Let’s go.”
Early the next morning...
All search teams gathered in one place.
“Everyone, begin the search again!”
The leader shouted.
“Join your assigned groups!”
Suhyeok had been assigned to Search Team Two.
Their search range extended farther away from the camp.
The entire area was covered in gloomy forest.
One man spat.
“Ugh! Ptoo.”
The leader of Search Team Two...
Kim Changseok.
He casually carried a thick club over his shoulder.
“Where the hell is our lottery ticket?”
He grinned.
“I really want to scratch it already.”
The others sighed in agreement.
“Haah. Seriously.”
One laughed.
“That bastard’s going to die anyway.”
He shrugged.
“Couldn’t he at least die to us?”
They walked for a long time.
Then...
Trees suddenly shattered beside them.
A monster appeared.
“Ugh! Urgh!”
A man was impaled through the shoulder on the monster’s horn.
“P-Please save me!!”
Meeeeeh!!
The creature looked like a grotesque mountain goat.
Kim Changseok grinned.
“Oh?”
He laughed.
“I told you to watch where you’re going.”
His smile widened.
“Hehehe.”
He looked at the trapped man.
“I don’t particularly want to kill you, but...”
BOOM!
[Player has died.]
[Half of the target’s Coins have been absorbed.]
Kim Changseok smiled.
“Hehehe.”
He pocketed the reward.
“I’ll put your Coins to good use.”
He had killed his own team member along with the monster without hesitation.
The others acted as though it were normal.
One man laughed.
“Damn, I’m jealous, leader.”
He scratched his cheek.
“That guy looked like he had a decent number of Coins.”
He sighed.
“Maybe I should’ve killed him first.”
Kim Changseok glared.
“Hey.”
He pointed at himself.
“You’ve never heard of respecting your elders?”
Then he grinned.
“If anyone gets to kill him first, it’s me.”
Taesan.
Myth.
Glory.
Purgatory.
Seven Stars.
These five factions would later become known as the Five Great Guilds.
They ruled over other Players to protect their authority and profits.
Kim Changseok laughed.
“This is why being in a guild is great.”
He tapped his club against his shoulder.
“Look at this.”
His grin widened.
“We can even earn Coins while pretending monsters killed them.”
He laughed.
“And if something goes wrong, the guild protects us.”
There were currently eight guilds on the 11th Floor.
Three of them would eventually disappear after losing the power struggle.
The reason?
They chose to focus on climbing the Tower.
If Suhyeok left things alone...
The Five Great Guilds would repeat the same atrocities.
He needed to eliminate them here.
Kim Changseok suddenly turned toward him.
“Hey.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Your name was Juhwan, right?”
He laughed.
“Looks like we’ll be walking around all day again.”
Kim Changseok grinned.
“Show us a talent.”
He waved his hand.
“Sing or something.”
In one week...
The Guild Meeting would be held at the Central Portal.
That meeting was the true reason Suhyeok had obtained the Clown Trait.
The person he planned to disguise himself as...
Was none other than the Taesan Guild Master.
Another man glared at Suhyeok.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
He sneered.
“The leader gave you an order.”
His expression twisted.
“Why are you suddenly acting stupid?”
Suhyeok said nothing.
To reach the Guild Master easily...
He needed to become someone close enough to approach him naturally.
A search-team leader was good enough.
Suhyeok laughed awkwardly.
“...Haha. Sorry.”
He scratched his head.
“I was just worried I might end up like that guy.”
Then he smiled.
“But if the leader wants entertainment, I’ll perform a song.”
Kim Changseok laughed.
“Hehehe!”
He looked pleased.
“This is why I like Juhwan.”
He slapped his thigh.
“He may look stupid, but he knows how to move quickly.”
A message appeared.
