NoveLight ™
Each floor is akin to a world of its own.
With countless players, myriad intricate relationships are formed.
Among these, the most important thing to consider is the clan.
“Do not offend the heart of Draconia.”
There are ranks even among ascenders.
While Daimus might flaunt his status against new players, he couldn’t hold his head high among the dragon ascenders.
They are particularly strong beings among ascenders.
Thus, he apologized.
It was shameful and unpleasant, but what could he do?
The only option given to him was to bow his head.
“…….”
He did as desired.
Yet, the Error Player remained silent.
‘Is there some dissatisfaction?’
He said nothing.
The thick silence lingering in the room was quite uncomfortable.
Daimus tried not to show it on the outside.
Since it was his fault, he did his best to wait patiently.
‘Can I clear up this misunderstanding?’
The misunderstanding that he had obstructed the ascent of a dragon as a new player because of his status as an ascender.
That was the problem.
If this misunderstanding reached the ears of the Draconian clan through the Error Player, he would face a backlash that one mere ascender could not withstand.
‘Absolutely not.’
While the dragons, who valued their territories, wouldn’t get overtly involved in this matter…
Honestly, from Daimus’s standpoint, there was nothing to gain by falling out of favor with them.
“Hmm.”
The Error Player opened his mouth.
“I will accept your apology. I’ll consider it a ‘mistake’ that occurred during the summoning process.”
The Error Player spoke in a low voice, rising from his seat.
Walking out slowly, Daimus stared blankly at his retreating figure, trying to say something but closing his mouth instead.
‘If it ends like this, it wouldn’t be bad….’
A complacent thought.
At the end of it came a realization that struck like lightning.
‘Ah, no! I can’t let him go like this.’
Even if the Error Player forgave him, other dragons might not be so generous.
‘Why did I think he would forgive me? A dragon forgiving?’
His tall appearance.
Compared to that, his clumsy manner of speaking.
His appearance, which looked just like a real Earthling, made Daimus let his guard down.
Yet, the energy that was subtly oozing out was undoubtedly that of a dragon.
‘…A frightening dragon indeed.’
As he doubted and watched, it felt like he was sensing the trap the Error Player had laid.
‘Forgiving and calling it a mistake? Hah….’
He might forgive.
But what might happen afterward was something Daimus would have to handle himself.
Chills ran down his spine.
‘Now that I think about it, there’s an Elder Dragon manager on the first floor. He must have heard about Draconia already.’
He was filled with frustration over why this trial had come upon him.
Yet he couldn’t just sit idly by.
Daimus gritted his teeth and searched for a way out.
He decided to handle it in a way that would prevent the members of Draconia from speaking out.
“Error Player. Can you wait a moment?”
“…Huh?”
“I feel I need to make proper compensation for that ‘mistake’ that caused you an unpleasant experience as a manager.”
Dragons have strong pride.
If they ever spoke out about this issue, it would be because their pride was hurt.
‘If I can prevent them from even mentioning it, that’s ideal.’
Is the causality assigned by the Emperor sufficient?
If it’s lacking, he could fill in part of it himself.
“How about this?”
Daimus grinned and presented an appropriate compensation plan.
The moment the Error Player looked at the compensation.
[The rank of the soul grows.]
[‘Dwarven Intuition Lv.9’ increases to ‘Dwarven Intuition Lv.10’.]
[Intelligence increases by 20.]
[Wisdom increases by 20.]
A message appeared in Daimus's field of vision.
‘…That’s the answer.’
Only then did Daimus manage to shake off his anxiety.
He wanted to flee quickly.
Facing the gaze of an ascender directly was honestly not an easy task.
But things were going oddly.
Daimus had unexpectedly stopped him, saying he would give him compensation.
“…….”
For now, he made a suitable reply and brought it up.
Then he was struck by a big shock.
[Golden Dagger (blue)][C]
Type: Dagger
Stats▼
【Attack Power: ＋41】
【Durability: 100/100】
Options ▼
【Crafting Lv.6】
【Dagger Mastery Lv.3】
【Automatic Recovery Lv.3】
It was a bizarre-looking helmet that he obtained by paying 1,000 gold on the first floor.
Yet as soon as he ascended to the second floor, he received a dagger that looked absurdly precious.
‘What a windfall.’
The stats themselves were ordinary.
On par with the helmet.
What caught my eye was its usefulness.
I was pleased that it looked much better than the odd helmet.
‘It’s a pity that it’s a dagger, but well, it’s better than having nothing.’
He placed the compensation in his inventory and walked down the hallway.
Sunlight streamed down.
He gazed out the window.
The scenery of the second floor unfolded.
“…Where is this?”
The first floor had a structure similar to modern styles, making it easier to adapt.
But the second floor was far too unfamiliar.
It felt odd since the Colosseum.
Who would have thought it would resemble Rome outside?
Yet it wasn’t a complete imitation of ancient Rome.
Traces of timeless technological prowess were visible everywhere.
“I heard there weren’t many Earthlings coming up this time.”
“Hmm. Competition must be fierce. That’s unfortunate.”
The existence of other dimensional beings wandering around reminded him that this place was not truly ancient Rome.
Though it wasn’t fitting to say,
I felt like I had entered a theme park.
“…….”
Walking aimlessly, I suddenly stopped in the middle of the street.
‘…It’s strange.’
I felt like I was missing something.
I quickly realized the source of this feeling.
‘Why is no one coming?’
The atmosphere was different from the first floor.
Should I say it felt more free?
On the first floor, the managers actively assisted the players wandering around.
But as soon as I reached the second floor, I was almost left to my own devices.
It seemed to say that I had to figure things out myself.
‘They’re done with teaching me like I’m a child.’
Though it was named a tutorial on the zero floor, in reality, it was up to the first floor.
You could say it was basic education for new players.
From now on, each player had to survive on their own.
Whether climbing the tower or doing anything else, each was responsible for themselves.
I walked through the streets, searching for humans.
Since humans were abundant, asking for help wasn’t difficult.
“Did you just arrive on the second floor?”
“Yes.”
I asked a human merchant of Asian descent who was selling fruit.
He scanned me from top to bottom, nodding as if this question was familiar.
“Which dimensional human are you? Since you’re traveling alone… are you from the Murim?”
East Asians are broadly divided into three categories.
Earthlings, Murim people, and psychics.
The ratio of Earthlings to Murim people is overwhelmingly high, so if you randomly choose one of the two, you’ll likely be correct.
“I’m from Murim.”
“I thought so. But you’re not wearing martial attire. Murim people often wear their sect’s martial attire until the end.”
“…….”
Baeksong from the Hwasan faction.
Eun Seoryeong from the Jeomchang faction.
Both wore their sect uniforms on the first floor.
‘I thought it was because they were familiar clothes, but maybe not.’
The merchant chuckled.
“So you’re from the unorthodox sect?”
“…Why do you think that?”
“Black and Murim people don’t particularly insist on wearing martial attire. They feel less of a sense of belonging.”
“…….”
I didn’t want to be seen as from the orthodox sect, but it felt strange to be misunderstood as from the unorthodox.
“I’m not trying to say anything negative about you regarding the Central Plains. I was just curious, like you might be curious about me.”
“Is that so?”
“In fact, I don’t even know much about the Central Plains.”
An East Asian who doesn’t know about the Central Plains?
‘Is he an Earthling?’
Could he be reading my thoughts?
The merchant waved his hand.
“I’m not an Earthling. Nor am I a Murim person.”
“…Then are you a psychic?”
“No. I’m a resident of the tower. I was born and raised here.”
“……?”
The merchant, looking at my face, chuckled and continued speaking.
“Did you think everyone here is a player?”
“Since I climbed up from the first floor, that’s obviously….”
“Well, if you think simply, that could be the case. But it’s not.”
I never imagined there would be residents born and raised in the tower.
“So what’s your question? You don’t know what to do right now?”
“Yes.”
The merchant pointed far away.
“See that Colosseum over there? Just go there. Apply for the match you want and accumulate victory points.”
“…Victory points?”
“Players on the second floor need to accumulate victory points at the Colosseum. You can ascend to the third floor by paying 10 points.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you for the information.”
I bowed my head and turned my steps.
I walked and walked towards the Colosseum.
It looked close, but in reality, it wasn’t.
‘…It’s huge.’
The Colosseum was so enormous that it felt closer than it was.
People crowded at the entrance of the Colosseum.
Some were entering, while others were lined up.
[Gladiator Registration]
I quickly realized what the long line meant.
Players in the same situation as me were waiting for their turn.
I immediately stood at the back of the line.
There was no benefit in hesitating.
My turn came quickly.
“What brings you here?”
“…I’d like to register.”
“I’ll assist you with the gladiator registration.”
As the elf staff gestured, a cheerful sound accompanied a message that appeared.
Ding!
[Colosseum Gladiator]
The message contained shocking content.
“…What? Slave?”
“If you want to register, please manipulate the Soul System to register.”
I needed a moment to consider this.