Ch. 56 Unwanted Proof (2)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 56 – Unwanted Proof (2)
“You want to… explore the dungeon together?”
I couldn’t find the words easily. It was just that shocking.
Wondering if something like this had happened in the original story was meaningless.
After all, I, as a person, didn’t exist in the original work.
“We can’t stop training to improve our strength while preparing for the 151st floor conquest. Since you’ve been to the lower floors, I thought you’d understand.”
Unlike me, who was deep in thought, Diana seemed calm.
As a top-ranked 7th ranker, she was genuinely dedicated to training and achieving accomplishments. It was only natural for her to challenge the sub-dungeons on the 151st floor to improve her skills in her spare time.
‘I can’t just turn her away.’
I really wanted to check the community right now.
I wondered how the users there were reacting.
In the original work, Diana’s past was exposed through her encounter with the unicorn, but that drama happened outside the story. Still, you never know.
Among the constellations supporting her, there might be those who dislike her past.
But since that incident wasn’t entirely bad for Diana, I was conflicted.
The burden she had been carrying in her heart, hidden from everyone, had been an obstacle and shackle holding her back.
If she could shed that and achieve true liberation, awakening even greater strength and contributing to the tower’s conquest, it might not be such a bad thing.
“Did he approve this?”
“Of course.”
I asked just in case, but as expected, Jung Chan-soo knew about this.
At Diana’s unwavering answer, I let out a small sigh and eventually nodded.
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[Ugh, they’re getting tangled up with Jung Chan-soo’s faction again. I don’t like it.]
ㄴ“What can you do? Most of the top rankers are already on that side.”
ㄴ“As I always say, their fandom is the real problem, not the challengers themselves.”
ㄴ“They’re not going to demand the leader position just because they asked to join, right?”
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Whenever I had time, I slept and immediately logged into Fate Road.
As expected, the gallery was buzzing about what had happened earlier in the day. However, there was no one vehemently opposing or angry.
Before we were rivals, we were also the few comrades aiming for the top of the tower.
That was an undeniable fact, so they acknowledged that I would inevitably keep getting involved with Jung Chan-soo’s faction.
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ㄴ“I kind of like Diana.”
ㄴ“Now that I think about it, she’s the only one from that side who doesn’t get talked about much. What does she even do?”
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Diana’s lukewarm public opinion also played a role.
If it had been Lee Se-jin, whose reputation wasn’t great due to her extreme fandom, or Sylvia, who was disliked for her role as the action leader, things might have heated up. But Diana had a relatively low presence in our gallery.
‘That’s just how she is.’
I smiled bitterly, recalling the character Diana from the original work and the real Diana I had observed.
Of course, in reality, she showed a slightly different side, but her fundamental nature was the same as the character in the story.
Quiet and reserved. A calm, cool beauty who was diligent in her tasks and never stepped forward unnecessarily—a heroine with an older sister vibe.
She was also the heroine who felt the most distant from Jung Chan-soo.
Of course, knowing the reason behind her personality, I couldn’t just think positively about it.
‘I need to check the public opinion on her side.’
In the original work, the episode dealing with Diana’s past naturally didn’t show the reactions on Fate Road.
I needed to find out how her fandom viewed her past.
Recalling the original story, it didn’t seem like her past caused any major issues among the constellations, but you never know.
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[What’s the atmosphere or tendency in Diana’s gallery? I’m worried it might get messy again.]
——————————————————————————————————————————
I posted a question as naturally as possible.
And before long, comments started pouring in.
***
“It’s your first time talking to Reina-nim, right?”
“…Yeah. We haven’t had any reason to interact before.”
In fact, the formation of this 151st-floor sub-dungeon subjugation party wasn’t just surprising to Reina.
It was also a rather novel attempt for Diana herself.
Until now, Diana had only acted within Jung Chan-soo’s faction.
This was the first time she had teamed up with someone outside since joining Jung Chan-soo’s group.
‘No wonder he’s been paying attention to her. She’s an outstanding warrior with a sharp gaze.’
Diana still vividly remembered her meeting with Reina earlier.
While others, including Lee Se-jin, had gone to the 40th floor to watch, Diana had stayed behind at headquarters to train, so she didn’t know much about Reina.
But after meeting her in person and having a concrete conversation today, Diana sensed something familiar in Reina.
That she was similar to herself in some way.
‘There’s no known information about her past.’
Unlike her impressive track record since entering the tower, there was almost no information about what kind of person Reina was before entering. A quick search revealed that much.
Communication with the outside world wasn’t impossible.
Those who became famous in the tower inevitably had their pasts revealed.
Their hometown, acquaintances, family—their personal information was inevitably exposed.
Jung Chan-soo, Lee Se-jin, Kim Ji-eun—they were all like that.
Most of them were just ordinary people with nothing to hide, but hiding one’s past wasn’t easy.
So, those who hid their pasts were interpreted as desperately trying to conceal something.
‘Are you hiding something too? Something that must never be revealed?’
A faint smile appeared on Diana’s lips.
Carrying a story you couldn’t tell anyone, not even your closest friend like Lee Se-jin, wasn’t easy.
She felt a sense of kinship, thinking there might be someone else in the same situation as her.
“It seems like a good choice. Thanks to you, Se-jin for persuading me.”
“Oh, it’s nothing…”
Diana, who had developed a curiosity to learn more about Reina, smiled at Lee Se-jin.
Lee Se-jin scratched her head in embarrassment.
In fact, it was Lee Se-jin who had pushed for this after hearing that Kim Ji-eun was recruiting a party to conquer the 151st-floor sub-dungeon.
Since she was close to Diana and had connections with Reina’s side, things moved quickly.
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ㄴ“The first plan seems to be a success. Se-jin will be entering the dungeon with that bitch Reina as planned.”
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However, the truth hidden behind the scenes was slightly different from what Lee Se-jin knew.
The constellation who had recommended them teaming up with Reina for growth was Adrabal, the Burning Eye of Negation.
He had gathered those who had previously conspired to hinder Reina on his private channel.
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ㄴ“How can we just watch that arrogant bitch keep causing trouble? We must take her down before she climbs the entire tower.”
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Adrabal didn’t hide his hatred for Reina.
At first, it was just a minor dislike.
A dislike so trivial it was almost laughable.
‘She’s so mediocre, yet she dares to act so arrogantly. A female challenger appearance poll for Tower 3445? Stirring up such nonsense.’
A minor dislike stemming from those who compared her to Lee Se-jin, whom he cherished and supported.
But as Reina gradually grew in strength and fandom, that dislike grew into a stronger rejection.
‘Trash fandom, how dare they climb so high!’
Reina, who wasn’t part of Jung Chan-soo’s harem but had her own faction and recognition, was a great topic of debate among Fate Road users who loved competition.
Especially for troublemakers who loved stirring up fights everywhere, Reina was a tool to provoke Jung Chan-soo’s fandom, and that soon solidified into a rivalry.
As Reina grew and truly took on the role of a rival, Adrabal’s hatred for her fandom grew.
‘That arrogant bitch, her trash fandom is just like their master.’
When Reina finally broke through the bloodline and began to grow even more, Adrabal’s hatred eventually shifted to Reina herself.
Her breaking through the assassination gallery’s schemes and destroying the obstacles he had spent significant points to set up felt like a declaration of war against him.
Since Reina had indeed acted with that intention, his feelings weren’t entirely misplaced.
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ㄴ“But didn’t we already spend too much on the last operation?”
ㄴ“That’s why we said we’d lay low and just watch for now.”
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Of course, they didn’t have an infinite supply of points, so some felt burdened by the idea of plotting another hindrance.
Adrabal smirked at those reactions.
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ㄴ“I anticipated that and gathered more allies.”
ㄴ“Welcome. I came as soon as I heard there were comrades who hate that bitch. Because of her, I was ignored by my contractor and reduced to just sucking my thumb and watching.”
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Adrabal introduced Cedus, who had been Shadis’s constellation but was now left out in the cold.
What had started as a small group was now evolving into a true anti-Reina fandom.
The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
Since Reina began peeking into Fate Road, her rise had been undeniable, and it was only natural that those who thrived in the shadows would grow stronger in response.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Let’s NTR diana! Oh yeah and I guess those 4chan wannabes exist too.
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