Chapter 71

Chapter 21. 1st Floor (3)

[You have connected to the Obelisk.]

[This is the waiting area of the 1st floor. Please wait here until all the necessary members for the trial have gathered.]

As Yenu and the Pant siblings walked down the corridor after opening the door, they suddenly felt the scenery around them change.

What was revealed was a grand hall.

The hall was entirely made of pure white marble. A chandelier that emitted soft lighting hung from the ceiling, and various sofas and comfortable furniture were placed on the floor.

At both ends of the hall, long corridors led to several doors installed along the walls.

Yenu had a rough idea of where they were.

‘The waiting area.’

Starting from the 11th floor, where long-term missions began, many players lived in settlements and villages on the floors.

However, the beginner section below the 10th floor, where short-term missions were carried out, usually had a designated waiting area, and the trial would only begin once a certain number of people had gathered.

Among these, the waiting area on the 1st floor was commonly known as the 'Start Zone' and was a very important place.

It was the first and last place where those who wished to climb the tower could rest.

The facilities were also quite well-equipped.

If desired, players could meditate or train within the waiting area. Sometimes, a mysterious merchant would visit, allowing for the purchase of basic items.

It was a place that players had to pass through before undertaking a mission, commonly referred to as a 'trial' in the tower.

Here, players would often bond with each other and sometimes engage in team-to-team trades.

The waiting area was already filled with players.

There were about 50 people.

"You're here."

"…As expected. You're here again."

The players, who had been chatting among themselves, suddenly stopped their conversation.

They all looked at Yenu and the Pant siblings with wary eyes, mixed with a sense of disillusionment and irritation.

Yenu tilted his head slightly, wondering what was going on.

Since he didn't recognize any of them, there was no particular reason for their wariness.

Then, he realized where their gazes were directed and chuckled.

‘They were looking at these guys.’

The Pant siblings paid no attention to the players' gazes.

"Let's see. It should have been around here. It was quite delicious."

"Don't even think about drinking. Do you want to cause a commotion like last time?"

"Hehe. One drink won't hurt, right?"

"No."

Pant rummaged through the display case, looking for any leftover alcohol, while Edora, after trying to stop him and getting annoyed, sat in a corner and started reading a book she had brought.

It was as if they were isolated from the rest of the players in this vast waiting area.

‘Well, they were always like this.’

Although the Pant siblings had been following him recently, they were usually treated as exceptions even in the tutorial.

The royal family of the Unicorn Clan, the strongest clan, were 'chosen ones' who were born with exceptional talent, trained in top-tier martial arts, and learned the etiquette, dignity, and virtues befitting royalty.

Naturally, they were perceived as people from a completely different world by ordinary players.

An invisible wall prevented anyone from approaching them, or even from mustering the courage to do so.

And.

Yenu felt that he was receiving similar wary gazes.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah. The monopolizer."

"Damn. Does this mean the trial for this round is already doomed?"

"Maybe we can hitch a ride."

"Will they let us do that?"

It seemed that the news of Yenu's participation in this round had already spread among the players in the lower sections.

Yenu thought it was for the best.

He had no intention of building any camaraderie with them anyway.

In fact, he had only ended up moving with the Pant siblings due to the situation.

If they were a hindrance, as he had mentioned outside, he would just leave them behind.

Straightforward.

Yenu had no intention of pausing his strategy until he finished the 10th floor.

‘Within ten days, no, at most nine days, I will pass through the beginner section. It won't be as easy as it sounds.’

He had to do this to obtain the key to Hades.

Moreover.

There was another secret hidden in the beginner section.

‘I also need to find the hidden keys on each floor.’

One key in the tutorial, one in the beginner section.

That meant there were 10 keys left to complete the key to Olympus.

These 10 keys were each hidden on a different floor and existed as hidden pieces.

Sometimes they were hidden in unexpected places, and sometimes they required completing a hidden quest different from the trial.

In other words, Yenu had to endure the double burden of completing ten trials while quickly passing through the floors and finding ten hidden pieces separately.

‘The key hidden on the 1st floor was the key of Hera, right?’

Yenu recalled the method to create the key of Hera in his mind and lightly rubbed his temples with his index and thumb.

‘I'm already feeling tired.’

While cursing the administrators who had designed such an unreasonable system, Yenu found a spot and closed his eyes.

Hum-

The magic circuit began to rotate gently.

As he meditated, he meticulously observed the movement of the magic circuit. The subtle movements of his muscles and bones were also clearly sensed.

In fact, despite feeling tired, he had not even considered the possibility of failure.

He had accumulated stats and skills, and obtained artifacts.

He also had the eye of Gyes attached to his body.

“...”

Hum-

The magic flowed faster.

* * *

"Welcome. I am Aaron, the administrator who will guide you through the 1st floor trial this time."

Unlike Evke, Aaron was over 190 centimeters tall, with pale skin and a pair of fangs protruding from his red lips, making a strong impression.

‘A vampire.’

Are all the administrators monsters?

The vampire, like Evke, wore a neat tuxedo and greeted them elegantly.

Aaron appeared about four days after Yenu entered the tower.

The waiting area provided hundreds of rooms.

Each room was designed so that no one could enter without the owner's permission.

Thanks to this, Yenu had spent his time inspecting artifacts and meditating.

The official 'time record' only started when the 1st floor trial began, so there was no need to worry.

During this time, the number of players steadily increased, and the number of residents in the waiting area reached almost 100.

During this process, Yenu noticed that the players were overly wary of the Pant siblings.

Even more so than himself, who had become known in the tutorial.

No, he felt that the players were wary of him because he often associated with the Pant siblings.

‘Now that I think about it, they said they had already experienced the 1st floor. Did something happen?’

It was hard to imagine that Pant and Edora, who were so capable, had failed the 1st floor trial.

If they had failed, it was likely due to something going wrong during the trial or conflicts among team members.

Yenu thought the latter was more likely.

Considering Pant's reckless personality.

And if most of the players in the waiting area had failed the trial because of Pant,

‘I should ask them about it later to avoid any unnecessary trouble this time.’

While Yenu was thinking about these things,

Aaron gathered the 100 players and began to explain various things.

Most of it was about what was needed before starting the tower's official strategy and what to keep in mind.

Since Yenu had already learned these things from the diary, he didn't pay much attention.

After the speech,

"Among those present, some of you may have seen me before and already know the content, but I think there are more first-timers, so I will explain the trial in detail."

Aaron smiled.

"However, the explanation will only be given once, so please pay attention."

Snap!

Aaron clapped his hands lightly.

The space around Yenu and the players wobbled and was transported to a new area.

Suddenly.

Whoosh-

"Ugh."

"Whoa!"

A strong wind suddenly blew.

To maintain their balance, the players either crouched low or channeled magic to their feet, barely managing to keep their balance.

They cursed at the scenery around them.

They were standing on a towering cliff.

The surroundings were a deep canyon, so deep that the bottom was invisible.

If they were swept away by the wind and fell, they would surely not leave a trace.

On the opposite side, another cliff of the same shape stood.

Three cloud bridges were neatly laid between the two cliffs.

The cloud bridges looked extremely dangerous.

They were made of wooden planks and ropes, with no reinforcement, and swayed violently in the wind.

This was the

‘Stage of the 1st floor.’

Yenu's eyes sparkled as he saw the stage he had only seen in the diary.

At that moment,

A giant message window opened in the sky.

[This is the 1st floor, the Pass of Twin Cliffs.]

[The 1st floor trial is about to begin.]

Then, five palm-sized blue crystals appeared, enveloped in light.

The message continued.

[Trial: There are two large cliffs here. Each cliff has a team of 100 members, and each team is given 5 crystals.

Defend your cliff from the enemy and protect your team's crystals. Attack the enemy's cliff to steal or destroy their crystals.

The team that destroys or steals more crystals within the set time wins.]

When the message ended, the five crystals fell onto Aaron's palm.

Aaron smiled and began to provide additional explanations.

"As the message states, the other cliff also has a team of 100 members. They have just been given red crystals. So, let's call this side the Blue Team and the other side the Red Team."

Aaron looked around at the players, whose eyes were fixed on the crystals, and continued.

"Protecting the crystals can be done in any way you like. You can hide them in an unknown place or have the strongest person carry them. However, while protecting them, you should also think about how to invade the other side."

The players turned their gaze to the opposite cliff where the Red Team was located and frowned.

There were only three cloud bridges connecting the cliffs.

Even these swayed due to the wind blowing through the canyon.

Fight up there?

It would be fortunate if they didn't fall off the cliff while moving.

Moreover, the wooden planks and ropes forming the bridges looked very weak.

They would likely break with even a slight impact.

‘The difficulty is insane from the 1st floor.’

Yenu clicked his tongue.

The tutorial was already very difficult, but it was still possible to clear it solo.

However, the 1st floor trial blocked that possibility from the start.

A team of 100 strangers had to work together. They had to cross the dangerous cloud bridges to steal or destroy the enemy's crystals.

Negotiation skills, leadership, and teamwork were all required.

And for Yenu, who needed the key of Hera, there was an additional condition.

‘Obtain all 10 crystals, regardless of color, blue or red.’

There was a problem with the wording in the trial description.

It said that it was okay to steal or 'destroy' the crystals.

However, if even one crystal was destroyed, the key of Hera would be unobtainable.

Yenu was a bit annoyed but had no choice.

Negotiation? War?

Yenu didn't have time for such things.

‘I'll just overwhelm them with sheer power and push aside any obstacles.’

Yenu's eyes glinted coldly.

‘First, I need to get all the crystals on this side.’

Yenu fixed his gaze on the five blue crystals in Aaron's hand.

Aaron smiled and said,

"Then, let's start the trial. First, we'll distribute the crystals. Who will be the representative to receive them?"