Jo Seohui spat out harsh words.
The player who had asked the question flinched and closed his mouth.

“……”

Jo Seohui stood at the podium and scanned the players.
Her expression was similar to the one she had when dividing passers and non-passers earlier.

I swallowed hard.
How much would it fall to me?

‘If it were up to me, I’d want all of it. That would be the most efficient way to use the points.’

But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
What could I say if Jo Seohui asked why she should give it all to me?

‘Unless I uncover the skill tooltip error, that’s absolutely out of the question.’

From Jo Seohui’s perspective, the Error Player was just another player who had acquired good skills.
I had shown my worth to some extent.
While it was possible to give me more than others, betting all 100 points was…
To be honest, it was impossible.

Still, I held onto hope.

[1st Floor, Distribute]
Ascender Jo Seohui has completed the distribution of points.
Check the points granted to you.

How much did I receive?

‘Just 10 points?’

My brows furrowed.

「If you have complaints, come out.」

The crowd began to murmur.
But no one stepped forward.

They merely huddled together and grumbled.

“Why didn’t I get anything?”
“Only 1 point? What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Why did you say to reduce it by half if you’re just going to give this little? People died for nothing.”

There were well over a thousand survivors left in the auditorium.
Even after halving the numbers, this many remained.

With so many people, there were just as many who hadn’t received points.
If each of them voiced their complaints, that’d add up to roughly a thousand complaints.
It was bound to be noisy.

「If you have complaints, come forward.」

Jo Seohui growled harshly.
The gaze she cast upon the players felt like facing a ferocious beast, sending shivers down my spine.

‘So this is an ascender…’

Could I block Jo Seohui’s attack?

‘Even if I used 철포삼공, I would undoubtedly die instantly.’

I shook my head firmly.
There was a reason ascenders were ascenders.

‘Someone who has been treated like a bug and has climbed to the 50th floor isn’t ordinary.’

She might be even more of a monster than I was.
Regardless of what others murmured, I kept my mouth shut.

「There’s a lot of discontent. Well, I understand. Points are as precious as life.」

“How many people have I killed! You told me to kill them! And now you give me nothing?!」 「…You want an explanation?」

No one would accept an explanation.
This was not a matter of reason, but of emotion.

‘I would feel the same. If I hadn’t received points, I would have been enraged like those people.’

Looking at the player who wore an expression of injustice, Jo Seohui spoke.

「First. I prioritized adaptability and decisiveness. I gave 1 point to those who showed outstanding reactions.」
“……”
「Second. Regardless of how we are treated, there must be players challenging the seat. I gave 1 point to those who showed fighting spirit, hoping it would help them.」
“……”
「Third.」

Jo Seohui pointed at me as she continued speaking.

「Rather than distributing points to those who are ambiguous, I thought it would benefit Earthling survival rates to concentrate them on the Error Player.」
“…Is that really why…?”
「Then let me ask you one thing.」

The spotlight shifted to the middle-aged man venting his frustration.
He seemed uncomfortable with being the center of attention, glancing around nervously.

「Are you willing to help Earthlings as you climb this damn Tower of Struggle?」
“Of course! Helping my hometown people is something I must do as a human….”

Jo Seohui’s gaze was intense.
The middle-aged man, who had been in a defensive stance, fell silent under her glare.

「Most Earthlings are prey for players from other dimensions. They have zero potential, weak willpower, but a lot of greed, which leads to trouble.」
“……”
「From the perspective of other dimensional beings, we are no different from pigs that eat up resources. We are even uglier than the farm pigs who just eat because we stab our teammates in the back.」

Jo Seohui shook her head in dismay and sighed.
In that moment, her face was filled with regret.

「Other-dimensional beings don’t trust us. It’s only natural given the karma built over hundreds of years. But we can’t give up. We don’t know who will seize the seat, but summoning will continue.」
“……”
「It would be nice to have a pillar to rely on for the Earthlings who survive and climb. That’s why I thought concentrating points on the promising Error Player rather than distributing them to many pathetic bugs would be better.」
“You… you call me a bug? You think I’m some kid who’s just barely made it!”
「You can’t ignore someone based on their appearance. By the way, I’ve climbed this tower for longer than you’ve been alive. Even if I look like your daughter’s age, I’m not actually your peer. So let’s be careful with our words. I’m only letting you off this time because we’re both Earthlings. There won’t be a second chance. Remember that.」

The murmurs among the crowd faded to silence.
They felt that no amount of spitting at Jo Seohui would overturn her decision, which they sensed with their very skin.

“Then… are we to die like this without receiving points?”

Someone murmured.
A fire was about to ignite again.

Jo Seohui responded.

「If you’re a human who would die just because you didn’t get 1 point, then even if you received 1 point, you wouldn’t last long. So don’t whine.」

She looked at the Earthlings with a mix of contempt and empathy.
If that was duality, then it was duality indeed, but…
I understood Jo Seohui’s feelings to some extent.

‘I’ve felt the disdain toward Earthlings myself.’

Jo Seohui looked at me.

「I don’t expect much. What I want is simple. I want you to help Earthlings. I want you not to stab your fellow Earthlings in the back.」
“…Isn’t that two requests?”
「I have no intention of forcing this on you. Do as you please.」

With that, Jo Seohui stepped back.

「The education time under the guise of admission tickets is one week. You can rest here on the 1st floor for up to a week. So relax and prepare for the ascent.」
“……”
「If you have any questions, feel free to come to me.」

As Jo Seohui left the auditorium, a whisper from a certain presence invaded her mind.

『Why didn’t you concentrate them?』

It was a familiar tone.
I heard Korean, not the alien language translated by the Soul System.

Jo Seohui chuckled in response.

“I knew exactly what would happen if I did.”
『Then you wait for the next opportunity.』
“And what if you can’t gather your wits next time?”
『Then we’ll wait for the next.』

Jo Seohui shook her head.

“This is the best option. It’s the best way to sow seeds without getting caught by the master of the 1st floor.”
『How about Blinky? Do you think she has noticed?』
“…I can’t tell. Based on her reaction, it seems she might not know.”

The mad Elder Dragon, Blinky Liu Creamscale.

She had shown an odd interest in the Error Player alone.
She didn’t seem particularly concerned about Jo Seohui.

『They say a tiger appears when you mention one.』

The voice that echoed in her mind receded.

Jo Seohui faced Blinky, who was standing in front of her room.

Unlike before, she felt uneasy in this situation, as if Blinky had done something sneaky.

“Hello, Seohui!”

Blinky greeted her cheerfully.
Even after getting into trouble with players from her home dimension, she acted as if everything was perfectly fine.

“…What is it?”
“You sound really tense! Do you not like me?!”
“Of course not. It doesn’t matter either way.”

Jo Seohui responded calmly, her voice devoid of any tremor.

She, too, was a seasoned player in the Tower of Struggle.
She had laid down thousands of layers of iron plates on her face by now.

“I’m glad! I thought Seohui didn’t like me!”
“…I’m tired and want to rest. What do you want? Hurry up and tell me.”
“Aah, I see! Got it!”

What kind of trick was Blinky about to pull?
Was she going to try to interfere with the scheme that she and her brother had concocted?

Jo Seohui watched Blinky with great tension.

“I liked what Seohui was trying to do! So I wanted to help too!”
“…….”

She seemed to have known everything.

It felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Jo Seohui prepared to flee at any moment.

Blinky blocked her escape.

“You’re trying to make the Error Player a candidate, right? I don’t know if he’ll qualify and become an ascender, but having more challengers is always better! Right?”
“…….”
“I want to help too!”

Did she think it was ridiculous for Earthlings to struggle in vain?
Her reaction only angered Jo Seohui further.

“Give this to the Error Player!”

Blinky handed Jo Seohui two artifacts.
They were the lowest-grade artifacts that were useless to ascenders.

“Yuhui added such a ‘setting’ to them. If you give them as a gift, he’ll probably be surprised and pleased.”

Blinky couldn’t hold back her giggles, finding it amusing.

Facing the crazy dragon, Jo Seohui struggled to decide how to respond.
In a whisper, Blinky said to her.

“Giving just 10 points was a very good choice. If you’d given too many, it might have ruined the Error Player’s fun.”
“…Fun?”
“10 points is just right. The justification you mentioned would sound plausible, and the Error Player would have liked it. It’s perfect.”

Blinky said this and turned away.

“Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll let your brother, who is leeching off the master of the 1st floor, live.”
“……!”
“Be careful next time. I’m a very merciful dragon, so I can forgive you, but I don’t know how other administrators will react.”

As Jo Seohui watched Blinky’s slowly receding back, she found herself at a loss for words.

“Ah. And please refrain from interfering in the trials. That’s my prerogative. It’s uncomfortable for me to secretly leech off the master’s will to control the trials.”