By the time I reached the 5th floor, I was pretty much adapted.
There was no one who didn’t know how the Tower of Struggle works.

‘The atmosphere of the floor... What should I call it?’

Theme?
Dimension?

Everyone knew who decided this.
‘The owner of the 5th floor is a human from the modern age.’

Dimensions with this level of technology are mostly ruled by humans.
Earthlings, Citizens, and those with superpowers.

It’s extremely unlikely, practically impossible, for an Earthling to be the owner of a floor, and even Citizens will eventually hit a ceiling due to the limitations of cybernetic equipment.

The answer to which human from which dimension is the owner of the 5th floor is clear.

[Administrator] ─ Players who have ascended to the 5th floor today will be assigned jobs. Police and Thieves.

The police catch the thieves, and the thieves avoid the police to steal treasures.

[Administrator] ─ The number of thieves is small. The police are naturally in the majority. If you consider difficulty, the police are much easier.

However, the rewards are smaller.
The police are essentially guaranteed to just climb the Tower.

‘For weaker players, choosing the police is better.’

But for someone like me, it’s not an attractive option.

[Administrator] ─ Of course, you’ll be paid. It’s not much, but it’s enough so that life on the 5th floor isn’t uncomfortable.
[Administrator] ─ That’s why so many players stay on the 5th floor. There are even those who gave up on climbing and settled down as dropouts.
[Administrator] ─ The 5th floor doesn’t expel such dropouts. The ‘Chief’ insists that they should be embraced!

Each message has a different tone.
It seems like multiple administrators are using the same account.

[Administrator] ─ An even more unbelievable fact!
[Administrator] ─ On the 5th floor, you won’t die even if you fail the mission. You can try again.

It’s said that the de-escalation option from the 2nd floor Colosseum is applied as a basic option.
If you fail, you just leave the field and try again.

‘No wonder so many players end up staying on the 5th floor.’

The city’s infrastructure isn’t bad either.
Honestly, is there anywhere better than here?

But the trial structure is also player-friendly.
It’s understandable why players with average skills would give up on going further.

‘Can I handle this?’

The burden of so many players falls on the floor owner.
There’s no way it’s going to come without compensation.

[Administrator] ─ Please check your smartphones. An app should have been downloaded. What’s the app, you ask?

Modern humans freely handle smartphones.
At least they don’t get lost.

The problem is with other-dimensional beings.
They have no idea what the app means.

The administrator explained for them.
Even illiterates could follow along slowly.

[Police and Thieves]

That was the name of the app.

‘Was I a police officer in a past life?’

Judging by the situation on the 5th floor, I don’t think I was a thief.

‘Is the choice up to the individual?’

Players can choose between the police and the thieves.
I wonder if it’s possible to change. I’d like to know that.

‘Where can I ask...?’

Messages are one-way.
I can’t send messages to the administrator; I can only receive information.

I have to find the information I need on my own.

“……”

Everyone was looking at their smartphones.
But there were a few players who looked relaxed here and there.

‘Players who ascended earlier than me.’

I don’t need to get all my information from the administrator.
Players who experienced the 5th floor first probably have some information.

[Administrator] ─ Please choose your faction. Players who make their choice can participate in the mission. Mission rewards vary based on difficulty.
[Administrator] ─ By the way, the police reward is fixed. Unless you’re taking bribes, the police are just salaried workers in the end!

I found a player who wasn’t looking at their smartphone.
Humans were more comfortable than other races.

Among humans, Earthlings were more preferable.
They weren’t easy to find, but they weren’t nonexistent either.

Earthlings were far more numerous than I had imagined.
Middle-worlders, Murim, and so on.
Other species couldn’t match the reproductive power of Earth.

Citizens and superhumans were even more numerous than Earthlings.
That neighborhood had both the power and the reproductive advantage, so it was a natural result.

I entered a cafe.
Naturally, there was a part-time worker.

It could’ve been processed at a kiosk, but a human was working there.

‘I saw a lot of staff at the airport-like place earlier.’

I had an inkling of how the 5th floor worked.

“I have a question.”
“…Yes?”

The woman scanned me from head to toe.
Her gaze was slightly wary, but it quickly softened.
The wariness passed in an instant.

“What is it?”

She gave off the vibe of a newbie.
I showed her the message I had just received from the administrator, in a clear and definite manner.

“I need to choose a faction. I was wondering if it’s possible to change.”
“…Ah.”

The woman’s face flushed slightly.
She coughed a couple of times, then answered my question.

“…It’s better to choose the police if you can.”
She didn’t seem to be lying.
She was genuinely giving me advice.

I could feel emotions in her eyes.
It might have been an act, but that’s how it appeared to me.

‘This is more comfortable. Definitely better than the Goblin body.’

My current appearance was the same as when I had just ascended from the 3rd floor.
I was wearing simple clothes, but I wasn’t far from being a Murim person.

I had shaved and washed up on the 9th island, so I looked neat.
It was obvious I was an Earthling.

It was easier to draw out emotions from others.
Be it disdain or sympathy.

‘When I was a Goblin, it was easier to act like I was strong. Now, I can’t do that.’

I had deliberately pushed things to the limit before.
At that time, no one would have known my true identity.

But now, I couldn’t do that after regaining my original form.
Facing the majority wasn’t exactly an attractive option.
Unless there was no other choice.

“…Why do you recommend the police faction?”
“Because they’re in the majority. You know enough about the lower floors to understand.”

It’s easier to belong to the majority.
I realized that by combining skills, even the strongest could be defeated.

‘It’s similar to herbivores banding together.’

The Soul System equipped herbivores with unique weapons.
If they worked together, they could easily take on lions or tigers.

There was no reason for them not to group up.

‘You’re just telling me the obvious.’

This is a conclusion I could easily have reached on my own.
What I was curious about was the information the administrator wasn’t telling me.

‘The administrator said there’s a difference in the number of people in each faction.’

It was a blatant answer, not as subtle as I expected.

Did my expression reveal something?
The woman nodded as if she understood.

“You’ll get similar answers if you ask others.”
“….”

Why?
Is the information I’m asking about that important?

‘This is information a new player on the 5th floor would be curious about.’

Can you change factions?
What are the advantages of choosing the Thieves faction?

If I compare it to the 3rd floor, it’s like asking how to build a boat.
Basic information.

‘Can’t they just tell me?’

Why hide it?

‘On the 3rd floor, on the 4th floor, they were all friendly to newcomers.’

The uncooperative ones had their reasons.
To protect their cartels, to turn newcomers into slaves.
In the end, it was all connected to their own interests.

But the cafe worker in front of me was different.
There was no obvious motive.

‘…She seems to be afraid of something.’

Who?
The administrator hiding information?
The player who is hesitant to speak?

If I had to point to someone, it’s the administrator.
Players may lie, but they have no reason to be afraid of speaking.

‘How bad is the Thieves faction?’

They’re at a disadvantage because they’re a minority.
That’s straightforward.

Looking at the administrator’s message, the floor’s owner is likely someone who was a police officer in a past life.
The main mission clearly involves police and thieves.

‘But they intentionally pointed out the disadvantages of the police faction.’

The police faction doesn’t gain anything by clearing missions.
At best, they just get the right to climb and some living expenses.

I glanced at the woman, trying to probe gently.

“The Thieves faction must have some merit. Maybe they offer rewards?”
As soon as I mentioned the Thieves, the woman shook her head.
It wasn’t a denial, it was a rejection.

“…Please don’t talk about the Thieves faction.”
The woman looked outside the cafe.
She seemed to be wary of someone.

She gave me the answer not with words but with her actions.

“…So, there’s a penalty in the Thieves faction. Besides just being outnumbered.”

The experiences I had on the 1st and 2nd floors helped me quite a bit.

‘I don’t know what the penalty is, but it’s probably an element that fills the gap in plausibility.’

Plausibility is a balance of pluses and minuses.
For everything given to a player, something is taken away.

‘The penalty of the Thieves faction... Could it threaten my life?’

The Tower of Struggle is a place where you fight for your life, but that’s only within the missions.

The woman seemed to be feeling fear even outside the mission.

‘This city isn’t being maintained for free.’

This is enough for now.

‘Let’s not choose a faction yet.’
I doubt they would block me from doing anything just because I delayed my choice, like they did on the 2nd floor.

“…You’re not ordering?”
“I just ascended, so I don’t have money.”
“Then leave. There are other customers now.”
“….”