Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Silence continued in the darkness.

"..."

"..."

Neither the mascot nor I spoke.

Maybe saying we couldn't speak was more accurate.

Slowly, I stood and approached the door.

Nothing in the guide I'd read earlier specifically covered this.

It wasn't something newly added.

There wasn't anyone standing there either.

Still...

Walking in recklessly didn't feel like a great idea.

I exchanged a glance with the mascot.

Then I stepped toward the doorway.

Either way, this was Floor 0.5.

If any floor could be called safe, it should be this one.

Maybe there was a different line in the guide I needed to pay more attention to.

I pulled the guide from my pocket.

[6. There are many other hidden elements as well. Please enjoy discovering them one by one. They will be of great help.]

Hidden elements.

Discover them one by one and enjoy them.

Maybe this was one of those.

"You're coming with me, right?"

"!"

The mascot nodded rapidly.

It always followed me no matter what.

I really was grateful for that.

I slowly stepped through the doorway.

A brief wave of dizziness passed over me.

Then...

"...Huh?"

I was suddenly standing inside a brightly lit room.

A strange room.

Under bright incandescent lights were three glass display cases.

Each held one item.

Above them were sheets of paper with crude handwriting.

[Warning: If you purchase even one of the three items, the items inside all cases will change.]

[The shop opens every time you visit Floor 0.5.]

A shop.

Then the items for sale...

Were probably things that would help me climb this place.

I slowly looked toward the display cases.

The first case.

A long telescope.

The kind of one-eyed telescope a pirate captain might use in a cartoon.

Looking closer, there was a description beneath it.

[Eye No. 1. You can see no matter how far away something is.]

Below that was a hole exactly the same size and shape as the pyramid ornament I had.

Apparently, inserting the ornament would open the case.

But I only had one pyramid-shaped ornament.

Meaning I could only obtain one of these three items.

Right?

Maybe?

Then again...

There was always a chance this was a trap.

Countless thoughts passed through my head.

But endlessly doubting everything in a place this insane wouldn't get me anywhere.

By that logic, I should question the very fact I was here.

The mascot was staring at the glass case with fascination.

I looked back at the description.

"..."

[You can see no matter how far away something is.]

Was it like clairvoyance?

It didn't sound bad.

But when I thought about what I could actually gain from seeing far away in a place like this...

No obvious answer came to mind.

Let's move on.

The second case.

A yellow flashlight.

Nothing special about its appearance.

Let's read the description.

[Light No. 89. It shines brightly even within darkness that consumes light.]

This one also required a single pyramid ornament.

Lastly...

The third case.

A flip phone.

"..."

A flip phone?

I hadn't properly seen one since elementary school.

The description said...

[Once per floor, you will receive an anonymous call that helps you. It will always be of great assistance.]

"...Oh..."

An anonymous call that helped me?

And it would always be of great assistance?

That sounded good.

Then I looked down.

"...Hmm."

Unlike the others, this one had two slots.

"..."

Meaning I needed one more ornament to get it.

Understood.

I could buy the first or second item right now.

The third item wasn't available yet.

The problem was where to get more ornaments.

"Do you know where I can get these?"

I looked at the mascot, which had been silently standing there.

It tilted its head.

Then it raised two fingers.

"!"

What was it trying to say?

It alternated between pointing at the two fingers and the ornament in my hand.

Ah.

I understood.

"So you're saying I get one each time I clear enough floors to visit Floor 0.5?"

"!"

The mascot nodded hard and raised a thumb.

"Hmm."

So I couldn't obtain the third item yet.

I'd have to invest toward the future.

Good.

I leaned against the wall and thought.

Let's organize the pros and cons of each item.

The telescope.

It could see anything, no matter how far away.

But if it could only see things far away...

Didn't that mean it couldn't see through obstacles?

Clairvoyance without X-ray vision.

The more I thought about it, the less useful it sounded.

Then the second item.

The flashlight.

This one...

"..."

[It shines brightly even within darkness that consumes light.]

I stared at the description.

Would I ever need a flashlight that could shine even within darkness that devoured light?

No.

Think about it in reverse.

That description meant I would eventually encounter darkness capable of swallowing light.

Was this something meant to prepare me for that?

But would carrying a flashlight for some unknown future darkness really help me?

It was definitely special.

But if the question was whether it had broad usefulness right now...

It seemed too limited.

I tilted my head and moved to the last item.

The flip phone.

A scratched, old black flip phone.

The description was:

[Once per floor, you will receive an anonymous call that helps you. It will always be of great assistance.]

Honestly, this was the one I wanted most.

An anonymous call guaranteed to be of great help.

I didn't know what counted as "great help."

But if the system itself described it that way, it had to be useful.

And once per floor.

For everyone else, that meant receiving one crucial piece of advice.

But not for me.

For me...

Every time I failed and regressed, I could receive another helpful call.

If there was a floor that could only be cleared through repeated deaths, I could use this phone far more effectively than anyone else.

It had only one drawback.

It required two ornaments.

Meaning I wouldn't be able to obtain it until after clearing the fourth floor.

Anyone else would probably pick Item 1 or Item 2 without hesitation.

But I was different.

Because I had my ability.

Coming back no matter how many times I died meant that eventually, I should be able to clear almost anything.

In gaming terms...

My worst-case outcome had a floor beneath it.

I might fail.

But I wouldn't truly lose.

"..."

This was difficult.

If I narrowed it down, the choice was between the telescope and the flip phone.

Do I take the telescope now?

Or save everything for the flip phone?

"..."

I rested my hand on my chin and thought for a moment.

Then I called the mascot.

"Hey."

"?"

It tilted its head and walked over.

"I want your opinion too."

"!"

The mascot drew an X across its mouth with its finger.

"Yes, I know you can't talk. Please use nonverbal communication."

"..."

The mascot lowered its hand and carefully examined the glass cases.

It put a hand to its chin.

Tapped the glass with its fist.

Then it looked at me.

"!"

It shrugged.

"So you don't know either?"

The mascot nodded.

Right.

This was probably something I had to choose myself.

After a little more thought, I turned away.

For now...

I wouldn't buy anything.

I should make maximum use of the weapon I already had.

Regression.

In a place where one mistake could kill me, being able to die and return was something only I could exploit.

Thinking that, I threw myself onto the bed.

"Ouch."

This time, something softer pressed against my back.

I turned on the light and slowly looked beneath me.

Something familiar was there.

"...The notebook?"

It was the notebook.

I didn't remember bringing it in.

Thinking that, I slowly opened it.

The familiar earlier entries.

The ones I'd read on the second floor.

And...

As though possessed, I turned to the later pages.

Sure enough, more numbers had appeared.

[151. No. 150's tip definitely helped... barely survived...]

[152. Without that, we seriously would've all died, wouldn't we?]

[153. All my hair burned off...]

.

.

.

[161. Anyway, thanks to No. 150, the survival rate for the people after him went up a lot. Looks like nearly three times higher.]

"..."

People had left more messages.

"I didn't really do that much for them."

"..."

The mascot placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Still, being praised feels pretty good."

And so...

I simply kept reading the notebook.

Again and again.

Examining every single word.

I rested properly for two days.

I did almost nothing except sleep.

While awake, I exercised and prepared.

"You really don't know anything, right?"

The mascot nodded at my question.

I wished it knew something about the third floor.

Unfortunately, no matter how much I questioned it, it only kept shaking its head as if it genuinely knew nothing.

Whether it truly didn't know...

Or was pretending...

I couldn't tell.

Still, I had mentally prepared myself.

There wasn't much else I could do anyway.

I looked at the timer.

The clock that had once shown 48 hours was now down to three minutes.

I'd rested enough.

Time to go.

I really didn't want to.

I sighed and looked toward the elevator.

As though it had been waiting, the doors opened.

"Let's go."

"!"

The mascot nodded.

Together, we stepped into the elevator.

Thud.

The doors closed.

The elevator began rising again.

"Like I said, the first thing we do this time is check the notebook."

"!"

Every floor had a notebook.

The first thing to do was always check the information inside it.

"And if some monster attacks, you'll help me, right?"

"!"

The mascot nodded.

While exercising together on Floor 0.5, I'd discovered something.

The mascot's strength was ridiculous.

Calling it monstrous didn't feel right, but...

If I had to compare it, it was stronger than most athletes.

At the very least, I had no confidence I could beat it in a fight.

It was literally made of stuffing.

Where the hell did that strength come from?

Anyway, the mascot had agreed to act as my bodyguard if necessary.

Lastly...

"What was the signal for calling me again?"

"!!"

The mascot stomped twice.

Originally, I'd thought about giving it paper on Floor 0.5 and making it write things down.

But this mascot...

Couldn't write.

It couldn't write Korean.

I tried English.

It couldn't write that either.

When I asked it to use whatever language it knew, it only shook its head.

So in the end, we'd standardized a few nonverbal signals.

"Two stomps means call me. One stomp means you found something. And what do you do if there's danger?"

"!!!"

"Urk!"

Before I'd even finished asking, the mascot violently yanked my arm.

I thought it was going to dislocate my shoulder.

"Good."

The mascot nodded.

I looked at it.

"Let's just remember those three signals for now."

Too many would only confuse us.

We could slowly build up more over time.

While I was thinking that...

Ding.

The elevator display changed to:

[3]

Third floor.

With a creak, the doors began opening.

Before they were even fully open, I instinctively reached out.

Sure enough, my hand immediately found a notebook.

I quickly opened it.

The very first entry read:

[9. STOP READING AND GET OUT AND RUN!!!]

At the same time, terrifying strength seized my arm.

I raised my head.

CRASH!

An enormous wave came crashing toward us.

"Uwaagh!"

I screamed as the mascot dragged me away.

I didn't even know how we broke through a wave as large as a house.

I coughed up water and looked around.

Only then did the scenery finally come into focus.

"..."

We weren't inside a building.

The crashing sound of waves.

The sharp smell of salt.

And towering cliffs.

"...What... is this...?"

I was standing on a coast.