Chapter 56
Clearing the 23rd floor went quickly.
I avoided every trap without so much as a scratch.
The Constellations watching couldn't hide their amazement.
Wait, is he actually going to clear this?
Was this place always this easy...?
This makes no sense ;;
It seriously feels like watching some stunt performance lol
(covering his eyes with cloth while biting his nails) Truly impressive. B-But... may I open my eyes now...?
LMAOOOOOOOO
What a lunatic lol
The higher I climbed, the more the traps became impossible to simply avoid.
Stone statues wielding spears launched merciless attacks.
Molten lava flooded narrow corridors.
And from the 23rd floor onward, even moving became difficult because of the crushing gravity pressing down on my shoulders.
I repeatedly opened and closed my fist.
...It feels at least three times heavier than before.
No. Maybe four.
My gaze naturally dropped.
Leon was dangling from my chest, making as much of a fuss as humanly possible.
Yank.
I grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him away.
"I was wondering why it felt even heavier. So it was because of you. Get off."
[ I-I'm dying, nya...! J-Just a little, let's rest for just a little while, nya...!! Can't you see how messed up my fur is?! Don't you feel even a little sorry for me...?! ]
Why is he acting like that? He can't die anyway, right?
Yeah. Why's he making such a big deal out of it ;;
Scary fact) He won't die. But it still hurts enough to feel like dying. And he can't even be healed.
That's... not actually that scary.
Ruthless bastard ㄷㄷ
Leon desperately tried to cling on, but I forcibly peeled him away from my chest.
He complained with an indignant expression, but I ignored him and kept walking.
Only a few steps later, I found myself standing before the portal to the 25th floor.
Near the portal was an empty fountain.
Normally, it would contain healing spring water, acting as a kind of save point where Players could recover before entering the next floor.
But that only existed on difficulties below Hell.
Leon glanced at me with a worried expression.
[ By the way, the others are safe, right, nya? It'd be troublesome if they got hurt or died for no reason, nya. ]
The three of them were probably on Hard difficulty.
There had been exactly forty Players assigned to it at the start.
I immediately checked the remaining numbers.
Hell: 1 Player
Hard: 18 Players
Normal: 98 Players
Easy: 459 Players
The lower the difficulty, the more people had died.
Even Hard had already lost twenty-two Players.
That alone showed how fierce the struggle for survival was.
I wasn't worried about the three of them in terms of skill.
Kim Hyuna and Lee Yumi were growing at a speed even I had never seen before my regression.
The same went for Taesu.
But problems always began with small things.
Their unnecessary sympathy could become a weakness.
Especially for someone as softhearted as Taesu.
...There's nothing I can do for them from here anyway.
I'll have to trust that they'll survive.
For now, finding the Forgotten Temple comes first.
Flash.
[You have arrived on the 25th floor.]
"...?"
A gloomy forest stretched before me.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't a labyrinth.
In fact, it wasn't even a place I had ever seen before my regression.
Far in the distance stood a worn-down temple.
[You have discovered the ‘Forgotten Temple’.]
[All entities are forced to reveal their physical forms.]
"H-Huh? Dad...?"
Seong-a suddenly materialized against her will and looked around in confusion.
Leon was just as startled when his concealment vanished.
[This area prohibits broadcasting.]
[The broadcast is forcibly terminated.]
"Th-The broadcast got cut off too, nya. Just where is this place...?"
Trying to summon Sylph did nothing.
It felt as though the mana connecting me to the spirit had been severed.
Almost as if this entire space rejected outside connections.
Step. Step.
I flinched.
Footsteps echoed nearby.
A woman with long green hair soon appeared.
She bowed politely.
"I have been waiting for you, Player Lee Suhyeok."
"...You know me?"
"Of course."
She answered calmly.
"I have been waiting for you since before you ever arrived here."
She wore a neat nun's habit.
Her expression was calm to the point of being emotionless.
There were plenty of reasons to remain wary.
Yet I couldn't sense any threatening presence from her.
Not even the warmth that a living person should possess.
"...Introduce yourself first."
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
She bowed again.
"My name is Peridot. I am a humble servant attending the Forgotten Constellation."
"I was ordered to personally guide you here."
She turned away.
"Please follow me."
Without even waiting to hear my answer, she started walking toward the temple.
Leon immediately pointed at her with absolute certainty.
[ Th-That one is suspicious, nya! Completely suspicious! She gives off the exact smell of someone we definitely shouldn't follow, nya! ]
Seong-a looked up at me.
"Dad, what are you going to do? Are you going to follow that unni?"
Nothing was certain yet.
The temple itself could be a trap.
Eliminating her here might even be the safer choice.
"..."
But one thing bothered me.
Her final words.
She had clearly said the Forgotten Constellation was waiting for me.
And Lie Detection had confirmed that everything she said was true.
Killing her wouldn't guarantee I could leave this place.
Besides...
I had come here specifically to find the Forgotten Constellation.
Following her was currently the best option.
[ Tsk, tsk. Follow her? What nonsense, nya! This is exactly how kidnappings happen, nya! Just trust me and let's leave this place right no... Huh? Wait! Where are you two going?! Didn't you hear anything I just said, nya?! ]
We continued onward.
Soon, we entered the temple.
Unlike its shabby exterior, the inside was surprisingly spacious.
A long carpeted corridor stretched ahead.
It had nearly everything one would expect from a proper temple.
Meanwhile, Leon kept grumbling with a deeply offended expression.
[ Hmph! This is definitely a trap, nya! Look over there! A temple with cobwebs, nya! And this wall! It's cracked everywhere because no one's even maintaining the place! So we should turn around right no... mmph! ]
"Shh. Be quiet, kitty."
Seong-a hugged Leon and covered his mouth.
He struggled for a while, but when it did nothing, he finally quieted down.
"I have a question."
Peridot briefly stopped.
After a short silence, she resumed walking.
"Yes. Of course. I will answer anything within my ability."
"Are you human?"
That was the source of the strange feeling I'd had from the beginning.
I couldn't sense the presence of a living being from her.
She felt more like Leon or Seong-a.
Something with a human shell, but no true life inside.
"I exist only through His power."
