Ch.165The End of Malice?

# 165. The End of Malice?

There was no convenient development like “I woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling” or “when I woke up, everything had been taken care of.”

I should have been in a state where being unconscious for a full day wouldn’t have been strange at all, but the excruciating pain throughout my body forced me back to consciousness… and I was still lying where I had fought that giant eyeball monster.

“Ugh, fuck…”

“[Cursing as soon as you wake up?]”

“Ah, ugh…”

I heard Danya’s incredibly exhausted voice in front of me and simultaneously felt her soft body. She must have been stuck right next to me the entire time I was unconscious.

Multiple unpleasant sensations attacked me simultaneously—my body twisting, being crushed, breath stopping, dizziness, nausea—but knowing this wasn’t a situation where I could just lie still, I somehow managed to raise my upper body. Only then did I see Danya’s face, showing unmistakable deep fatigue and pain.

“How are the raid members?”

“[Their limbs are intact, and if breathing counts as being fine, then everyone’s fine.]”

“Ah.”

For a moment my heart sank, but I quickly calmed down thinking that if something had really happened to anyone, Danya wouldn’t be speaking so calmly.

‘Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.’

Pain could be healed and recovered from. What was particularly fortunate was that since none of us had been lost, we could minimize worrying about mental trauma.

‘But wait… we cleared the floor, so why aren’t we in the reward room?’

Surely this doesn’t mean we haven’t cleared it yet?

No, that can’t be right.

“Danya. Do you know how long I’ve been out?”

“[Don’t know. The feeling here is too strange to guess well. But not extremely long.]”

“Ah. Are you okay, Danya?”

“[Yeah. Well, by the standard I just mentioned, I’m doing quite well.]”

I decided to first gather all the raid members who were sprawled or collapsed randomly into one place.

Standing up brought a wave of pain incomparably worse than raising my upper body, but I thought of the others who must have been in much more pain than me. Objectively speaking, I had arrived late, just shouted once to snap everyone back to their senses, and used one buff. Even setting aside the fact that using that buff was a huge burden both mentally and physically.

‘Despite what she says, Danya seems to be in worse shape than me.’

So despite my groaning, I managed to gather all the raid members in one place and lay them down neatly. It was a real struggle.

But at that moment.

[You have successfully thwarted the conspiracy of the Magicant Tower, which attempted and executed the forbidden magic of artificially creating demons beyond the worst incident of demon summoning. Although Magicant suffered great damage from the aftermath of the demon summoning incident, you defeated the summoned demon, and while you altered the terrain of some areas of Magicant, you cleaned up the corrupted wizards at once, burying an incident that could have changed the continent’s landscape within Magicant itself.]

[Evaluation in progress.]

A rather long clear and evaluation message appeared. The moments of hardship flashed before me like a panorama, briefly making me emotional, but I immediately gritted my teeth at the thought that the bastard writing this message had deliberately targeted us.

‘That’s not the system. 100% intentional, 100%!’

Was it annoyed that the raid leader just used a buff and then passed out?

I was slightly pissed off, but since the clear was confirmed, I took a breather.

[Grade – A]

“A… you say?”

Of course, I got pissed off again seeing the grade, but there was no way to appeal like in a trial. As if telling us to quietly accept our reward, immediately afterward we were all transferred to the reward room.

Fucking terrible game.

**

“Just thinking about that time still makes my legs go weak, you know?”

“How many times is this bastard going to repeat this story? Hey, are you drunk from eating this?”

“How would I get drunk from this?”

In a room at Animus, a tavern in Edenguard, a few people were gathered as usual at the end of the day, sharing cheap drinks, snacks, and stories.

“It’s just, when I go through this shitty day thinking of it as just going to work with an empty head, drinking afterward, I can’t help but think about that raid group sometimes.”

“Right. So what’s your point today?”

“Sometimes I feel so fucking pathetic.”

A man took a swig straight from the bottle.

“There, we were just people playing the same game, but here, seeing some doing solo plays and others gathering raid members to go on killing sprees… sigh.”

“Hehe, if you’re jealous, you should have done the first clear.”

“But you know what’s even more pathetic? If I ask myself whether I could have acted like that person if I had entered here first… the answer is no. Just because a hardcore gamer got stats and skills doesn’t mean they can charge ahead like a character, right? Right?”

“That’s true. That’s why we’re here.”

“Our entire future depends on that raid group, and honestly, I have no right to complain. But I’m so fucking hopeful. Maybe they can do it, maybe they’ll get us out of this shitty place someday! Even though I haven’t entrusted them with anything. Every night I pray that tomorrow all this will be just a bad dream, but without fail, the slightly stale tavern smell greets me instead. Then I feel disappointed for no reason, impatient for no reason, let down for no reason. That’s what’s most pathetic, fuck.”

The man tilted the bottle more but there was no alcohol left. His friends, who would normally have giggled and handed him a new bottle, sighed and put the remaining bottles into their inventory.

There’s no point in drinking to relieve the day’s fatigue and stress if drinking only makes things worse.

“Huh? What? We’re done already?”

“Yeah. Stop reeking of alcohol and wash your feet before going to bed. We’ve got to work our asses off tomorrow too.”

“Fuck, there are no weekends here, no Labor Day either. So don’t hide under your blanket tomorrow morning complaining about a headache or feeling embarrassed, just stop drinking, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Huh? Huuuh?”

Then they grabbed his arms from both sides, lifted him up, and threw him onto the bed.

After leaving the man’s room, the two went straight to the tavern’s backyard and lit cheap cigarettes. They simultaneously exhaled acrid smoke. The smoke billowed up and then quickly disappeared without a trace in the night breeze.

“Just like our situation.”

“…”

“I used to be an atheist, you know? But here, I pray every day.”

“To whom?”

“Just anyone. Begging and pleading to anyone who’ll listen.”

“The god who might have thrown us in here.”

“Could be. But wasn’t it established that it was Menscima’s doing? So I’m praying to the gods who were opposing each other in the game.”

Fresh smoke dissolved into the night sky again. The night sky remained completely unclouded.

“I regret it every day. If I had known it would be like this, I would have remained a light user who never even saw Menscima, or played a different game.”

“I postponed a date with a girl I liked to try for the first clear.”

“That story sounds crazy every time I hear it, you’re really insane.”

“She’s probably found another guy by now.”

*Inhale* *Exhale*

“Who knows. Maybe she’s waiting for you like the woman in the legend of the stone statue.”

“Fuck, if that’s true, I’ll propose to her the moment I get back.”

“Oh. Make sure to tell me how it goes.”

“I’ll send you a wedding invitation.”

“Hehe, you idiot.”

The cigarettes shortened, the smoke dispersed, and the night sky of this other world they had grown accustomed to.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“If we’re trapped here forever.”

“Are you trying to jinx us, asshole?”

“Do you think it’s possible to date NPCs? Since there’s a likability system, it should be possible, right?”

“You crazy bastard.”

The two men gradually let their comrade’s lamentations drift away.

**

[This is an announcement for all tower entrants in Edenguard.]

“Excuse me?”

“J-just a moment, please.”

The next morning.

Whether they were diligent ants who woke up earlier than anyone else to secure lucrative quests and build up some extra funds, or grasshoppers content with living day to day since they were just NPCs anyway, all Koreans staying in Edenguard stopped what they were doing and looked up at the void in unison at the sudden “announcement” message.

[The vast majority of tower entrants who were at the forefront of adventure have been staying long-term in Edenguard, the neutral zone of the first floor.]

From the first line, they froze like mice cornered by a cat, but the message continued to display regardless.

[Naturally, where some advance, others remain, and some fall behind. However, the tower entrants staying in Edenguard didn’t fall behind while advancing—they chose to fall behind from the beginning. The only step forward you have taken is one step from the starting room. Just one single step.]

“At least give us decent equipment and potions before spouting that nonsense! No guide, no basic equipment, but expect us to act the same? What kind of bastard is this!”

“H-hey, why are you suddenly like this?”

“Just a moment, please!”

[To the tower entrants of Edenguard who have lost their spirit of adventure, two options are presented.]

[1. Maintain your current status]

[2. Receive the rewards from all quests you have completed once more and leave Edenguard]

[You have 24 hours to make your choice.]

[Time remaining: 24:00:00]