Chapter 38 – 150th Floor (2)

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ㄴ“Who are you?”

I couldn’t help but be a little wary. Given my status, it was only natural.

Moreover, this private message was something only administrators could use.

In other words, this unknown user was a high-ranking member of another gallery.

ㄴ“You don’t know me. I’m currently the administrator of the Lee Se-jin gallery.”

“Lee Se-jin…”

I flinched upon hearing the three-syllable Korean name.

Who is Lee Se-jin? In the story, she is one of the first talented individuals Jung Chan-soo approached and one of the key heroines.

Beautiful looks, overwhelming talent, and the fact that she was a high school student when she entered the Tower, giving her a youthful charm, and an upright, righteous personality—unlike Jung Chan-soo, who is dark inside.

She was a popular heroine in the story, but her popularity in reality was even greater.

Jung Chan-soo’s heroines were the ones who absorbed the fandom he couldn’t fully capture, forming a massive united fandom, and Lee Se-jin was at the forefront of that.

ㄴ“Why would someone like you contact me?”

ㄴ“Actually, I was wondering if you’d consider switching sides. I’ve been watching your photos for quite a while, Riverstone.”

This crazy administrator didn’t hide their intentions.

Or should I say they were just being honest?

I froze at the question of whether I’d consider switching sides, my eyes blinking rapidly.

ㄴ“Se-jin has a charm similar to Reina’s. It’s not for nothing that she’s second in the fan gallery rankings. Once you get to know her, you’ll definitely feel it, but words alone probably aren’t enough, right?”

I don’t know how they interpreted my brief pause in responding, but they kept sending messages.

ㄴ“You might not know this, but galleries above a certain rank receive operational points. Our main administrator said they could take care of you.”

They were trying to buy me with money.

They made it sound like no big deal, but I was quite shocked. First Serpina, and now this—do I really have that much value?

‘Should I consider it?’

It felt strange to think this way right after posting a bunch of selfies, but I couldn’t help but feel a chill.

With so many Constellations possessing all sorts of abilities, it’s easy to assume things, but if someone were to question my abilities, my true identity might be exposed.

ㄴ“I’m not interested. Sorry.”

I quickly ended the conversation and closed the message.

My heart was pounding from the shock.

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[Calling an Administrator]

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‘This is it.’

After the unexpected storm passed, I took a moment to collect myself and entered a post where I could call Serpina, the administrator.

The Lee Se-jin gallery administrator didn’t contact me again, but I couldn’t shake the thought that something like this might happen again in the future.

‘Damn, this is why I never made an ID or anything like that before…’

Using a fixed nickname wasn’t really my style.

I’ve seen users sniping and fighting with each other more than once or twice.

But Fate Road required all users to have their own accounts, and I was in a position where I had to stick with the nickname I had chosen.

ㄴ“What’s going on? Please don’t tell me it’s another Draco clan fanart raid, for crying out loud.”

“Huh?”

But the administrator who responded to my call was Perbas, the sub-administrator.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

I wanted to talk to Serpina, but Perbas was also my contracted Constellation, a gallery administrator, and an avid activist.

He was just rough-mouthed and unrestrained in his actions.

ㄴ“Ha! Those damn Se-jin stans are at it again!”

As expected, Perbas reacted quite strongly upon hearing my report.

ㄴ“Half of Jung Chan-soo’s fans are just power stans. But the Se-jin stans are a concentrated group of hardcore fans. No matter what happens, it’s always “our Se-jin, our Se-jin.” I can’t tell if they’re stanning a challenger or just roleplaying their own OCs…”

ㄴ“I just mentioned it in case.”

Having been burned by the Se-jin fandom, known as “Se-moms,” a few too many times, Perbas was relentless in his angry ranting.

Listening to him made me feel dizzy, so I cut him off before he could finish.

I couldn’t believe this was the same great warrior who had taught me what wildness and fighting spirit were.

ㄴ“Well, thanks for telling me right away. You’re not switching sides, right? Are you going to abandon Reina?”

ㄴ“I’m not abandoning her. I’m just not interested.”

I let out a bitter laugh at the question of whether I would abandon myself.

I have no particular feelings toward Lee Se-jin. No, if anything, I like her more.

Lee Se-jin was a heroine I already liked, and unlike Sylvia, she still greeted me warmly and treated me like an acquaintance.

If Lee Se-jin were in danger during a raid, I would gladly save her.

But…using the power I have in Fate Road for her sake was a completely different matter.

In reality, we are companions for climbing the Tower and comrades in the same situation, but in Fate Road, we are competitors who must gather more fans.

“Sigh.”

I woke up briefly and opened another bottle of alcohol, sipping it alone.

I wanted to borrow the slight buzz to avoid looking at the forums and just sleep deeply.

***

“Guild Master, we’ve received word from Se-jin. She’s finally obtained the S-grade engraving, ‘Dance of a Thousand Blades.’”

“That’s a relief.”

Here, there was another person drinking alone.

Jung Chan-soo, who had set down his glass with ice still melting in it, was also staying on the 55th floor.

After all, this place was the closest to his hometown.

“Se-jin, and the others, have all grown stronger. The 150th-floor raid is a sure success.”

“I think so too.”

Jung Chan-soo also believed the 150th floor was a sure success.

Of course, just because he thought it was certain didn’t mean he would let his guard down.

“As foretold, the background changes from the 151st floor onward.”

Up until now, the Tower’s floors had been based on worlds from the Tower’s appearance, but from the 150th floor onward, things would change slightly.

While everyone was still guessing what that background would be, Jung Chan-soo already knew what it would be like up to the 190th floor, the final 10 floors.

‘Another possibility, the Alternative World… From there, my knowledge also ends.’

His brow twitched as he looked down at his glass.

A regressor’s knowledge has its limits. After all, if he hadn’t failed, he wouldn’t have regressed in the first place.

The moment he had been worried about since his first regression was approaching. The moment he would step into an unknown possibility.

‘Has her heart changed?’

One of the few Earth-based items available only on Earth-themed floors—a smartphone.

Unlike Earth in reality, the Tower’s system didn’t supply many of these, making them hard to come by.

Staring blankly at it, he pulled up a photo of someone.

It was a photo of Reina walking arm-in-arm with Kim Ji-eun. Though it was a high-end restaurant where not just anyone could enter, Reina’s face wasn’t hidden by sunglasses or a hat, which was unusual.

But there was another reason why the person who sent this photo had excitedly forwarded it to Jung Chan-soo.

It was because Reina was wearing skinny jeans instead of the baggy tracksuit she always wore, whether in public or private, except when she was in armor for battle.

‘You’re an unpredictable existence. Ever since the moment I first met you.’

He wasn’t focused on her long, slender legs but on the fact that she had changed from her usual self. He stared at the photo for a while.

Unlike the people around him, whose personalities and tendencies he knew inside out, Jung Chan-soo still didn’t fully understand what kind of person Reina was.

Noble light, unyielding fighting spirit, radiant brilliance.

These were the things that came to mind when Jung Chan-soo thought of Reina.

He couldn’t shake the thought that perhaps the person who would illuminate the uncertain future he was about to face was none other than Reina, who was uncertainty itself.

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[Looks like the Constellation tipped her off.]
[She’s been acting all cool and warrior-like, but now she’s trying to gain popularity by acting like a bitch? Next, she’ll strip naked, huh?]
[Sometimes it’s frustrating. If Jung Chan-soo had been a woman-crazy lunatic, maybe it would’ve been better.]
[Her gallery’s grown ridiculously large. She’s only moved up one rank to 14th, but her fan gallery is consistently in the top 5…]

——————————————————————————————————————————

However, Jung Chan-soo’s fandom viewed Reina’s changes negatively.

There was no other reason than the fact that Reina’s recent actions were gaining popularity in Fate Road and increasing her fanbase.

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ㄴ“The Reina stans have been going wild lately.”
ㄴ“What happened? Did they reject it?”
ㄴ“They said they weren’t interested. They’re still a newbie who doesn’t know the value of points yet.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

Some of them had infiltrated Reina’s fan gallery to spy, or even approached a few users.

The Lee Se-jin gallery administrator who had approached Reina while she was lurking on the forums was one of them.

——————————————————————————————————————————

ㄴ“The best scenario would be if Reina just collapsed and crumbled on her own… But seeing how she’s been acting lately, it doesn’t seem easy.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

The biggest justification for fandom wars was ultimately the performance of the challengers they supported.

No matter how small a fandom was, if their ranking was higher, they could yell at and intimidate more opposing fandoms.

After all, the most important thing in the Tower was climbing it.

——————————————————————————————————————————

ㄴ“What if that bitch makes a mistake during the 150th-floor raid? All we need is one excuse to crush her.”

——————————————————————————————————————————

Reina’s recent rise in status had made her a target of restraint for some hardcore users.

She was no longer just a sandbag for them to punch when they were bored but a real competitor threatening their position.

Thanks to that, they had become a perfect anti-Reina fandom.

——————————————————————————————————————————

ㄴLet’s not openly plot, so everyone check your private messages.

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Knowing that just as they lurked in Reina’s gallery, others could do the same, and that even within the Jung Chan-soo united fandom, opinions could diverge, they didn’t speak openly.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
If they wanted to pull someone down, couldn’t they use a less sloppy way? Smh…

Also nice job saying that they should hide their plans, is what I’d say if they didn’t openly say that they will hide their plans… 

What a noob.