chapter 14
14 – Floor 1, Battle for the Enrollment Ticket.
An empty waiting room.
The administrators who had gathered to show their faces had dispersed.
“Heehee, heehee. This is fun!”
Blinky manipulated the pad to watch the battle for the enrollment ticket.
Unlike other administrators who only had to educate players from their home dimension, she had to oversee the entire exam as the chief examiner.
“Blinky. Why did you call me?”
Joo Sohee, an administrator from Earth, approached her.
“You’re here?”
Whether there were newcomers or not, her act of being cute never stopped.
Having gotten used to it while staying on the first floor, it was bearable, but otherwise, it would have been annoying.
Blinky asked bluntly.
“Do you know the player named Oryuin?”
“Not really.”
“But you used the Sage’s Eye.”
The skill to view an opponent’s status window is extremely rare, even in the Tower of Struggle.
Out of tens of millions, maybe one or two might have it.
‘It’s hard to acquire, but even harder to use.’
It’s practically impossible for Earthlings to use it.
Without a racial specialization bonus, the penalty is significant.
Joo Sohee couldn’t hide her displeasure.
The subtle disdain for Earthlings was irritating.
“…I can use it. Are you questioning me right now?”
“I’m not questioning you.”
In the same position as a dropout who gave up on the tower and settled in the lower floors, so what.
Blinky didn’t particularly look down on Joo Sohee.
In the eyes of an Elder Dragon like her, all races were equally inferior.
“Sometimes, you run into connections from outside the Tower of Struggle.”
Blinky was curious about something else.
Whether Joo Sohee and Oryuin knew each other.
If she used the Sage’s Eye, she must know him, Blinky thought.
Joo Sohee shook her head firmly.
“…I know him, but not in the way you think.”
“You know him?”
“…I saw him on the news.”
It had to be a peculiar name.
‘Oryuin. How could I forget that name.’
I remember he was quite famous, even though he didn’t win a medal.
In Korea, where a handsome third place gets more attention than an ugly first place, he was the youngest national representative and quite tall, so he couldn’t help but be famous.
‘What happened to him.’
I heard he had a major car accident and had to quit sports.
It was unfortunate in many ways.
“Really?”
Blinkie stared intently at Joo Sohee.
The emotion in the dragon’s eyes was clearer than ever before: interest.
‘…Why is it interested?’
From Joo Sohee’s perspective, it was hard to understand.
A dragon said to have lived for thousands of years, why?
In a mere human from Earth?
Reading the sincerity in Joo Sohee’s eyes, Blinkie shouted as if it were impossible.
“Someone Sohee knew before being invited to the Tower of Struggle? That’s nonsense!”
“Do you know them too?”
“No, but anyway, it’s nonsense. Impossible.”
Oryuin is a dragon.
A dragon that enjoys games.
But a human from Earth knows him?
‘Unless it’s a dimensional shift, it’s impossible.’
Even an Elder Dragon can’t do a dimensional shift.
‘…Could it be that Oryuin is not a dragon?!’
That’s not it.
The scent felt from his soul was that of a dragon.
When using the Dragon’s Eye, Blinkie activated a skill from the Soul System, not his own power.
On purpose.
Just in case.
No matter how noble the being, they couldn’t block an SS-rank skill right after being invited as a player.
Therefore, the information Blinkie saw was true.
It couldn’t be manipulated.
‘Oryuin is a high-dimensional dragon who committed a dimensional shift that even I can’t do.’
Blinkie, deceived by the illusory ancient book, created a conclusion and arbitrarily filled in the gaps.
‘Oryuin is a dragon that controls space-time!’
A dragon that has reached a realm even Elder Dragons can’t touch.
What should he be called?
‘Is it the Divine Dragon?’
Wow!
To think I can witness the play of the Divine Dragon with my own eyes!
‘Oh my goodness!’
Blinky’s expression suddenly brightened.
‘I knew it was out of its mind… but this is really something else.’
Joo So-hee couldn’t even guess what that dragon was thinking.
‘Should I just quit?’
There are plenty of managerial positions on other floors too.
It seems I need to think about it.
* * *
[1st Floor, Seize the Opportunity.]
The journey to claim the seat is never smooth.
Countless paths, countless opportunities.
Nothing falls from the sky.
When the course ticket was snatched, the Tower of Struggle displayed a message as if it had been waiting.
The timing was so perfect that it made me laugh.
‘The other one can wait.’
Once I secure Omega, it’s over.
No need to rush.
‘Wait for the Hatchling Breath cooldown…’
I hid with all my might.
But I was discovered soon enough.
“Found you.”
It seemed I wasn’t particularly talented in concealment.
I thought I was hiding well, but I was caught too easily.
“How did you find me?”
“There’s a convenient thing called a skill.”
The opponent was a martial artist.
‘The martial arts style itself seems similar. Is it the difference in people? It feels so different.’
I haven’t met many martial artists, but now I have a rough idea.
The bad guys belonging to the dark sect exuded a unique aura.
Like the tattoos of gangsters.
‘Is it because I’m comparing them to Eun Seoryeong and Baek Song, who are neatly dressed?’
Every time I encountered them, I felt a strong sense of repulsion.
‘Well, it also reduces the repulsion I feel when I beat them to death.’
The guy pointed his sword at me and approached.
There was no fear in his bold steps.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“You, on the other hand.”
The corners of his mouth twitched violently.
“Don’t you recognize me, Yang Ji-wang, one of the Yunnan Twin Ghosts?”
“…What’s Yunnan Twin Ghosts?”
“Khehehe.”
The opponent burst into laughter.
“There’s no use pretending you don’t know anything. It’s already too late.”
He stomped his foot and charged at me.
‘I can see him.’
I can respond lightly to his movements.
‘Is this the average martial artist?’
He wasn’t particularly fast.
A bit better than the ones I killed during team formation.
‘Compared to that person…’
A middle-aged white man presumed to be from the intermediate world.
He moved almost like he was flying with a single step.
I couldn’t even think of catching up.
‘But this level…’
Even a player from Earth could manage these movements.
So I don’t understand.
Why are only players from Earth being ignored?
Clang-!
I raised my sword to block the opponent’s blade.
Of course, it was wrapped in a powerful strike.
“…My, life force?”
The moment our swords clashed, Yang Ji-wang’s expression hardened.
“W-What is this…!”
Realizing the reality and trying to burst into anger, he soon collapsed helplessly.
The criteria for an attack are quite ambiguous.
From the opponent’s perspective, they must have thought they were attacking, but the Soul System judged that an attack was exchanged.
Is that all?
Life force is a law that goes against the natural order.
When life force reaches zero, the player cannot escape death.
[Absorbing the soul of Yang Ji-wang (Martial Artist).]
[Strength increases by 0.01.]
Watching the futile death, the Soul System’s skill feels even more like a scam.
‘My power linked with the skill too.’
Can I consider it as power?
I took Yang Ji-wang’s admission ticket.
It happened to be an Alpha Part.
‘I can change it later if needed.’
There must be a player with two Omegas.
I moved to another place.
I heard a commotion in the distance, but I didn’t get close.
I’m not invincible.
If surrounded by numerous enemies, it’s the end.
I never do anything that could be dangerous.
It was my own survival principle.
“Hey, hey!”
Someone shouted.
“…Oh, Mr. Error!”
He was calling out to me specifically.
‘The man I saw in the waiting room.’
The man who asked about the class voucher competition while being berated by the woman.
I thought I’d better pretend not to hear and walk past, as dealing with him would likely lead to no good.
“Taekwondo! National team!”
His urgent shout stopped me in my tracks.
“Tsk.”
I frowned and waited for him.
The man came running towards me, gasping for breath.
“Huff, huff. Th-thank you. Thank you.”
While he caught his breath, I assessed his condition.
‘He’s armed.’
A spear.
The weapon most people say is the easiest to handle.
‘Was I the only one who had a weird tutorial?’
Because of Jihoon Park and Mori, I ended up with an unwanted longsword.
‘If it had been a spear? Or at least a shield?’
It would have been much more stable in many ways.
Putting my regrets behind, I waited for the man.
“…Taekwondo, South Korea national team, Oh Ryoo In.”
The man clung to me with a desperate face.
“Please help me.”
What a thing to say out of the blue.
Still, I held back and asked.
“What do you need help with?”
“…A class voucher…”
The man couldn’t even meet my eyes, knowing it was an unreasonable request.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue, unable to hold back any longer.
“I’m weak too.”
“…I know it’s a lie. Mr. Oruin, you have an amazing skill, don’t you? The one where you breathe fire.”
How does he know?
‘Did he see the Hatchling Breath?’
The man, who had been watching me closely, continued speaking.
“The manager showed it to me in the waiting room. On the screen.”
“……”
I had a rough idea.
I didn’t expect the situation where I used the Hatchling Breath to be broadcasted.
“I can’t use it because it has a cooldown. You know what a cooldown is, right?”
The Soul System has a structure similar to Earth’s games.
So I didn’t need to explain in detail.
“Please… Mr. Oruin, you can get a course ticket. Sujeong and I can’t get one.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
“If you thought you couldn’t get one, you shouldn’t have participated in the competition.”
“…But that would be a loss. Everyone else gets a bonus, but if we don’t get one…”
Everyone understood the underlying message in the Dragon Manager’s words.
Whether strong or weak, we couldn’t give up on this competition.
We were pushed into participating.
But when it came to actually taking the course ticket, it felt suffocating.
‘In the midst of all this, they found me…’
We came this far.
‘Just go.’
I had a reason.
A reason to participate.
But this man had no reason.
Unless he wanted to die, he should never have participated.
“I can’t do anything for you.”
Just as I said that and was about to abandon the man,
He shouted urgently.
“If you help me find the course ticket! I’ll give you all the rewards that come from it!”
“……?”
As I seemed to show interest, the man began to speak rapidly like a machine gun.
“The administrator said it, right? That there are course tickets hidden all over the field. There’s a box, you know? It contains pieces of course tickets and bonus rewards. I found one….”
The man took out a piece of a course ticket from his pocket.
Two Omega Parts.
Considering this man’s level.
Having extra Omega Parts was definite proof that he had succeeded in the treasure hunt.
“…I got a skill there. It might not be as good as the Breath that Mr. Oh has, but still…!”
“…….”
Somehow, it feels uncomfortable, as if he’s saying he would yield.
‘Is it an inferiority complex from being constantly ignored as an Earthling?’
If I think about it carefully, it wasn’t such a bad proposal.
‘In case of an emergency, I could use him as bait….’
Still, I don’t like it.
It feels like I would lose more than I gain by being with this man.
Did he sense my hesitation?
The man spoke as if revealing his trump card.
“…A skill. I got a search skill. I can roughly sense where the boxes are….”
“Oh.”
The balance of profit and loss tilted sharply.
At least towards the side of profit.