Chapter 5 – The Heavyweight (2)

Ｒｅａｄ ｏ​ｎ​ Ｋａｔ​Ｒｅ​ａｄｉｎｇＣａｆｅ

When I finally made the decision to go back to the 30th floor to find a new path, I couldn’t check the mood of the community right away.

It was still too early to sleep, and I didn’t feel like taking a nap just to check the community.

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[Strength: 316, Stamina: 240, Perception: 170, Durability: 120, Magic: 370, Agility: 156, Resistance: 112, Insight: 150, Spirit: 220]

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The air already feels heavy. This is because I’ve been penalized with an 80% stat reduction for descending to a lower floor.

Floors 1 to 29 are a kind of newbie protection zone, so even with reduced stats, I can’t go there. That makes the 30th floor the lowest I can go.

Of course, even with this penalty, my traits and titles are still active, and all my stats are in the triple digits, so I’m still much stronger than the locals.

“It’s been a while.”

Beyond my sunglasses, a familiar yet long-forgotten landscape unfolded.

From the 30th to the 60th floor, the Tower is filled with tall reinforced concrete buildings and asphalt roads, surprisingly similar to modern Earth.

This space was modeled after Earth, which had been chosen as part of the Tower.

Because of this, climbers from Earth often came down here when they missed their hometown.

Even though it wasn’t exactly the same, it was close enough to evoke similar feelings.

I was no exception, even though I’m not from Earth. People from other worlds also came here to soothe their homesickness or bond with others from their own worlds.

‘There are so many people.’

The central square I landed in was much larger than Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, which I had visited many times in my past life.

With a population several times larger than the upper floors, the place was bustling with a lively, noisy atmosphere that could only be felt here.

The mix of a modern city and various non-human races created a strangely fascinating scene.

“I heard a few rankers died in the 150th-floor raid?”

“Is the 150th floor the problem? Even the 100th-floor raid is completely blocked. All I hear is bad news.”

Moreover, the central square was filled with large screens and billboards broadcasting various news and information in real-time.

The information spread by the journalists roaming around was being disseminated instantly.

‘I need to hurry.’

Even on the 30th floor, you can hear about what’s happening above.

As I stared blankly at the billboard, I suddenly remembered the press conference I had with Edmond and other upper-floor journalists. I quickly put on a cap and left the area.

If my video appeared on that billboard, I’d be swarmed with attention.

Fortunately, it seemed the news hadn’t spread yet, as no one recognized me.

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[Reina clearly had her own philosophy compared to other newbies, no matter what she was doing in her original world. That’s why she made bold choices and got this far. The synergy from those choices is significant.]

[But as she climbed higher, things started to get a bit messy. Maybe she thinks she has to do too much.]

ㄴ“This hits the nail on the head. It’s a common issue around the mid-100s to the final 200th floor.”

ㄴ“I also feel a bit disappointed. Balancing offense and defense is good, but sometimes going all-in is much easier.”

ㄴ“Wasn’t Reina a knight in her original world?”

ㄴ“That’s just a rumor. For some reason, she never talks about her past.”

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The user with the nickname Renatu, who had left a long feedback post suggesting I should start over from the 30th floor.

I don’t know their true identity, but they seem to have some expertise in swordsmanship. Given that they’re active in this community, they must have reached the end of the Tower.

They slowly reviewed my journey and pointed out the problems, and the comments generally agreed with their analysis.

‘Ha… they’re spot on.’

I couldn’t deny that analysis.

From the moment I was transported here, I decided to follow in Jung Chan-soo’s footsteps. Almost everything I knew was tied to the protagonist, Jung Chan-soo, so it was inevitable.

But that didn’t mean I could do everything like Jung Chan-soo.

If I took something Jung Chan-soo needed, I might have been killed by him.

In the end, my path was similar to Jung Chan-soo’s but different. I monopolized rewards that were mentioned in the story but unnecessary for Jung Chan-soo, positioning myself in a unique spot without overlapping with him.

The problem was that this strategy, which had worked well for a while, started to falter as both Jung Chan-soo and I grew stronger.

When I was weak, I just followed the story, but as I grew stronger, I started to get greedy.

Could I do more? If I just fixed a few shortcomings, could I achieve something?

Forgetting my place and acting on my own desires, I started to deviate from my original path.

“L-Lady Reina. It’s confirmed.”

“Just to be clear, don’t go around spreading this.”

While checking into a luxury hotel in the bustling area for the night, a female employee recognized me and covered her mouth with trembling hands.

I lowered my sunglasses slightly and gave her a wry smile, warning her.

Not that I expect much.

‘Well, how about this?’

If it were the usual me, I would’ve taken advantage of the modern Earth-style amenities in the hotel.

I would’ve gotten a massage, soaked in a fragrant bubble bath to relieve fatigue, and enjoyed a glass of fine, rare wine.

But today, I quickly lay down on the bed. Instead of indulging in things I’ve already done many times, it’s clearly more fun and beneficial to browse the community.

I’m curious about the mood now that I’ve actually come to the 30th floor.

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[But is that analysis even reliable?]

[Reina really went to the 30th floor!!!]

[Did she actually read our analytic posts?]

[Real-time sightings of Reina descending to the 30th floor]

[Reina spotted carrying a single backpack]

[Reina arrived at the square, checked the board, and ran away. Was she scared of us? lol]

[Where’s the holy post?]

[Wait, did she really go? Wasn’t she just whining to Kim Ji-eun about whether to go or not?]

[She actually went. This isn’t a vacation.]

[She must’ve been really shocked by the failure this time.]

[Calm down, guys. If she goes and messes around, she’s just wasting time.]

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‘Huh.’

I had expected it to some extent, but the explosive atmosphere was more than I imagined. I swallowed dryly.

Well, even when I was lying in the hospital, they would discuss every little thing I did.

They’re the type to create hot topics even if there isn’t one, so from their perspective, a huge topic just dropped.

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[We should reset everything from scratch.]

ㄴ“This is nonsense. Do you think that’s easy? Reina isn’t a machine that follows a set plan.”

ㄴ“This is something the Constellations need to handle.”

ㄴ“It’s impossible to throw away all the titles, traits, and achievements she’s earned. At best, she can adjust her direction.”

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[She needs to go all-in on DPS. Ditch the mediocre defense stats and skills and focus purely on attack power.]

[That’s nonsense. She needs to balance things even more perfectly.]

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The posts were flying up so fast it looked like chaos.

Everyone was pouring out their opinions about my journey, future, and next steps, and some were even fighting in the comments or clashing with opposing posts.

Meanwhile, I, the person in question, was just sitting there dumbfounded. There was so much information flowing in that it was overwhelming to process.

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[What’s the guy who first suggested going back to the 30th floor doing now?]

ㄴ“I’m rewriting it now. Just wait.”

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Even the user who first suggested I go back to the 30th floor had returned to join the fray.

Watching this felt like observing countless brain cells doing the hard thinking for me.

They were unraveling things I could never do on my own, based on their experiences and vast amounts of information.

They were even running simulations and arguing fiercely.

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[Reina’s trait, Radiance, is a kind of magic conversion enhancer. It’s versatile and has great synergy. That’s why she should definitely learn Gale Sword!]

ㄴ“Oh, shut up about Gale Sword. She should go for Crushing Sword! Don’t you know what kind of results that would have with Radiance?”

ㄴ“In the end, it’s either Gale Sword or Crushing Sword. I’ll admit that.”

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In the process, terms I could barely understand started pouring out.

The core of the debate seemed to be Gale Sword vs. Crushing Sword, fiercely argued by users who seemed to be swordsmen.

There were some explanatory posts for non-swordsmen, but even those were written at a Constellation-level, making them hard to understand.

It felt like I was back to being a student trying to understand a professor’s thesis. As a transmigrator who thought I knew most things, this was a blow to my pride.

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[Alright, I’ve set up the board. Go play there.]

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Finally, Serpina, the admin, created a notice post and herded the arguing swordsmen into the comments section.

They continued their heated debate there, rapidly increasing the comment count.

‘I’m curious. I’m so curious it’s driving me crazy.’

As I watched the comments, I fidgeted with my fingers.

Until now, just observing was enough, but not anymore.

To get more accurate information, the information I wanted, I needed to ask them directly.

[Create Post]

So, I finally reached out.

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[I’ve never used a sword, so I don’t really understand. What’s the exact difference between the two sword styles?]

• Riverstone

-“I’d appreciate it if you could explain.”

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I tried to be as natural as possible, as if it were perfectly normal.

In fact, with so many question posts flooding in, I was worried my post would get buried.

ㄴ“No formal language here. If you don’t like it, leave.”

“Oh, right.”

Someone pointed out that I had forgotten the board’s rule about no formal language. My heart sank as I quickly edited the post to use informal language.

I tried to convince myself that the people in front of me were just ordinary internet users, not Constellations.

ㄴ“You want an explanation from the start? Lol, this is going to take a while… But since when did a newbie with zero posts get to just drop a question like this? Are you trying to copy-paste my explanation for easy points?”

‘You bastard…’

But the next reply wasn’t friendly either.

I don’t know where they learned it, or if it’s just how it’s translated for me, but the raw internet slang in that reply made my head hot. But I held back. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Even though this is a gallery about me, they have their own culture… I can’t dare to go against it.

‘What can I offer them?’

For a moment, I snapped back to reality and sat on the bed, staring blankly at the full-length mirror beside me.

A silver-haired beauty with crimson eyes looked back at me with a troubled expression.

Thanks to my natural looks and the power of my trait, Radiance, my body always maintains its elegance.

Not having to wash because waste and impurities don’t stick to my body is a huge advantage.

「Fate Road user confirmed. Function activated. Photography is possible in the current state.」

“Huh?”

But at that moment, something resembling the community interface I saw in my dreams appeared before my eyes.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for your support!!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Offer them feet pics and create OF!

Maybe not… actually.