Ch.316316 – Shortcut 2

<316 – Shortcut 2>

The mansion on the third island of the Cuerania Archipelago, known to students as <Chairman’s Mansion>, was actually the <Training Tower> where butlers lived and trained like their own home.

Jona entered the control room, the fifth special facility on the Training Tower, after a long time.

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Chairman’s Mansion (Training Tower)

50F – Control Room

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Control Room: You can check the challenge status and number of people staying on floors you’ve climbed.

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2F (Wooden Doll Floor) – Morb (48 min), Zaku (44 min)

3F (Arrow Rain Floor) – Ppyoi (1 hour 5 min)

…

9F (Shooting Floor) – Zigoku (1 hour 22 min) Arcadia (37 min)

10F (Dormitory) – 27 users

…

20F (Dining Hall) – 15 users

21F (Rock Floor) – Son Ocheon (55 min)

…

…

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Perhaps because they had spent a semester at the academy with its many eccentric facilities.

Students had begun to use the facilities cleverly.

They spent time aiming to earn special rewards by surviving for more than 30 minutes, or even an hour, on floors where they could leverage their specialties.

There were two types of rewards in the Training Tower.

A reward befitting the highest floor one conquered when leaving the tower.

And special rewards that upgraded every 30 minutes on each floor.

‘This tower doesn’t easily allow shortcuts.’

If one tried to climb just one floor each time they entered the tower to get rewards from all floors, they would have to climb the tower only once a month.

Once you leave the tower and receive a reward, the next reward is only given a month later.

“How about it? Since you’re here at the tower after a long time, why not try climbing? Doesn’t your body itch for it?”

It had been at least two years since Jona last entered the tower, well over a month ago.

Perhaps now he could break through the dreaded 65th floor.

Considering that ordinary butlers barely managed to climb to the 50th floor, Jona was certainly a special butler.

“I appreciate the thought. But I cannot take my eyes off the control mana board for my lady’s remote protection.”

What meaning would there be if his desire to enjoy that specialness took away his opportunity to help his lady?

Jona did not succumb to the temptation of improving his skills by acquiring excellent magical tools at his stagnant level.

The Chairman smiled as if disappointed.

He has always had bad hobbies.

He likes to shake people’s hearts with seemingly beneficial offers and trap them in pitfalls that break them.

Knowing the Chairman’s methods, Jona cleanly shook off even the last bit of temptation in his heart.

He had enough power.

What saddened him was not his lack of strength, but his own rashness that failed to protect his lady.

“Haha. You’ve learned a great lesson. You don’t show openings as easily as before, so I guess you’ve finally adapted to the butler profession.”

Ignoring the Chairman’s provocation, Jona scanned the mana board.

Where could his lady be?

As the floors increased, the number of noticeable names and students and foundation members staying decreased.

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30F (Exhibition Hall) – Giselle, Massgakki

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In the exhibition hall, the special facility on the 30th floor following the dormitory on the 10th floor and the dining hall on the 20th floor, only Princess Massgakki and the shadow merchant Giselle remained.

Whether they shared the same hobby as the Chairman or there was something that connected wealthy people, the two were clearly showing emotions of admiration and fear, that is, awe.

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39F (Silence Floor) – Sing, Oknodie

40F (Special Training Room) – Yufi, Irene

…

45F (Curse Floor) – Zhang

…

49F (Lion Floor) – Ishtar

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Found her.

His lady was staying on the 39th floor.

The 39th floor is special.

No, every floor ending with 9 is special.

They are barriers blocking access to special facilities at 10-floor intervals.

Without special strength, it’s difficult to overcome these barriers of the number nine.

“Switch control monitor. 39F. Target designation Oknodie.”

Seeing the video directly, he could tell.

Oknodie had only come to meet Sing.

She had no interest in climbing the tower at all.

“Isn’t it strange? A child who usually loves to play so much shows such a lackluster performance when given an obvious playground.”

“She might have noticed that we are observing. My lady doesn’t like to reveal her abilities because she enjoys ‘hiding’.”

Perhaps she’s pretending to hide her skills.

While thinking there was some truth to Jona’s words, the Chairman let out a shallow sigh.

Even in a tower full of handsome men and beautiful women, the Chairman’s sorrowful sigh stirred the hearts of many women and even made men question their sexual orientation.

Of course, the Chief of Staff standing behind the Chairman and Jona, who was receiving the gaze of both men, were not swayed by good looks.

That man’s true nature is a devil wearing an angel’s skin.

“She’s given up on climbing. It seems your game won’t be realized, Chairman.”

Jona smiled lightly.

An expression of joy at having scored against that vicious Chairman!

But his lady’s location information was strange.

25th floor.

20th floor.

15th floor.

She kept going down.

Up to that point, he could understand.

The 10th floor had dormitories.

Perhaps she wanted to sleep early today.

He could think that way.

She must be more tired than usual after using her brain so much on the deserted island and on the ship.

But it didn’t stop.

10th floor.

5th floor.

1st floor.

And then signal loss.

It meant she had left the tower.

“Hmm. Am I being disliked?”

“Consider what my lady experienced on the cruise ship. An ordinary child would have lost her original body and become part of a collective entity made up of 20 selves dwelling in a hero candidate’s body.”

“I never thought she would sulk this much. Being young is quite inconvenient. She clearly has potential, but she refuses obvious benefits and throws a tantrum.”

Who do you think this tower was prepared for?

The Chairman’s sigh deepened.

The 49th floor where the hero would be standing now is a barrier that determines butler-level strength, or instructor-level strength by academy standards.

Oknodie could easily climb up there.

She would get the tower’s rewards and realize the necessity of this tower.

Then she would want to visit the tower periodically to get rewards as she grows stronger, and willingly reveal her growth rate to the foundation.

The trap set by the Chairman to gauge the level of a child with many secrets ended up only fattening the hero and his friends.

While not a loss, the situation was disappointing as the original purpose was not achieved!

“…We have a problem. They say they can’t find Oknodie on the cruise ship.”

“Didn’t Jona say so? That child is good at hiding. Don’t just run detectors, send people.”

“We’ve already sent people. And confirmed. Oknodie is not currently on the cruise ship. The student named Sing who disappeared with her is also missing.”

It was a bizarre story.

She left the tower.

She didn’t return to the ship.

Did she disappear into thin air?

Spatial movement is impossible.

Because interference fields were plastered all over to prevent external intrusion.

Without using the <Teleportation Magic Circle> on the 60th floor, a special facility inside the tower, spatial movement is impossible.

“Search the island thoroughly.”

If not the tower or the cruise ship, she must be hiding somewhere on the island.

Butlers began searching around the island.

“Stop the search.”

“Chairman. If we search a little more, we might achieve results.”

“I understand your concern about losing your ‘lady’, but it’s unnecessary worry.”

The Chairman laughed as he looked at Jona, who was showing his fierce energy like a wounded beast.

“Our lady never left the tower in the first place. Look at this.”

A place not captured in Jona’s observation.

An area indicating above the 65th floor.

Information about the 69th floor appeared on the Chairman’s mana board.

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69F (Living Armor Floor) – Oknodie (5 min), Sing (5 min)

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Jona was surprised.

“69th floor? How did my lady…”

“It seems my child knows some secrets about the tower as well.”

The two finally reached the 70th floor after 30 minutes had passed.

The Chairman used the elevator to go straight up to the 70th floor.

“Ah, Papa!”

“Was there a shortcut?”

“You’re not trying to hear it for free, are you?”

“Let’s exchange it for one unique grade item.”

“There’s an underground floor! You can hide in the waste from each floor and be delivered directly to that floor. Of course, you need something like living armor that blocks visual observation, physical detection, and mana tracking of other targets if you don’t want to be killed as soon as you arrive!”

“Was it Destroyer? Did he tell you about the Training Tower too?”

Oknodie just shrugged her shoulders.

The Chairman laughed so widely that the inside of his mouth was visible.

It was such a big laugh that it wouldn’t be strange if he shed tears.

Pretense.

Social laughter.

The Chairman himself couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had laughed so purely, without any calculation or self-interest.

“Jona is waiting. Shall we go down to the dining hall together?”

“I want to use the special facility first since I’m here!”

The special facility on the 70th floor was the <Enhancement Room>.