Chapter 41: The Second Floor is Too Suspicious (2)

Chapter 41: The Second Floor is Too Suspicious (2)

“You know very well what I want.”

“...”

“The mark. Hand it over. After all, you can get another quest since you have the ability, right?”

The men continued to threaten the woman.

Looking quickly over the situation and summarizing the gathered information...

First, that woman has obtained a gold-rank mark.

How do I know? Something is flashing gold above her head. It’d be foolish not to notice. Seems like when you get a mark, it comes with an automatic advertising feature.

And second, one shouldn’t resort to violence in this place.

I’m not sure of the exact definition of violence here, and I don’t know the consequences if one resort to it, but that woman was hesitating to push the men aside and move on.

However, one thing I was curious about is... Why doesn’t she just jump over them?

Being naturally curious, I couldn’t resist but ask. Approaching the trio blocking the path, I addressed the man in the middle.

“Excuse me.”

“...What?”

Hearing a voice from behind, the man reflexively tried to push me away but managed to stop himself just in time.

“Why doesn’t that woman just jump over you guys?”

“What?”

“I mean... even if you guys are blocking the way, can’t she just quickly hop over you?”

“Ha. You just got here, didn’t you? Stop being a nuisance and get lost.”

Without giving a proper answer, the man returned his gaze to the front.

Hmm. If he won’t tell me... I’ll have to find out for myself.

“So annoying...”

According to my online search, the world record for a standing jump is 155cm. But, with the boosted stats from my achievement levels and the effects of the Berserker’s pill, my physical abilities must surpass that. I’ve gone beyond the limits of a normal human, after all.

I contracted my leg muscles fully, releasing the built-up energy in an instant. The moment my feet left the ground, my surroundings seemed to blur due to the rapid ascent of my body.

Woah! This is the point of view of a superhuman. This is the world in which a superhuman lives.

Yes, this is what I must get accustomed to...

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, there was a flash before my eyes, followed by intense pain in my neck and the back of my head, and my vision tilted forward.

“What the?”

“Did that bastard just jump?”

The moment the startled men turned around upon hearing the noise my head made, I saw the woman seize the opportunity. She slipped through the gap between the men and sprinted towards the angel.

You’ve been injured. You’ll regress to the moment you first entered the 2nd floor.

***

“...Okay.”

Who would have thought they physically blocked the ceiling?

Had I known this, I would have tried to jump a bit more gently. What’s unfair to me is that even though I raised my arms above my head when I jumped, it’s my head that hit something.

I mean, the arms passed through the invisible barrier... but the head didn’t. It felt a bit unfair.

I took off one of my leather shoes and threw it above my head; the shoe bounced back at around 3 meters.

“Hey, buddy...”

Before the noisy man could speak to me, I walked over to the angel who was passionately explaining something beside the fountain.

“You’ll also get rewards according to the rank...”

“Excuse me, Angel.”

2nd Floor -Clearance Condition: Earn the recognition of the city residents and bring the mark of acknowledgment to clear the floor. However, you cannot leave the city area. Climbers, please get along with each other!

“For example... If you bake a loaf of bread, the owner will give you a silver mark. Of course, the owner will provide the ingredients.”

“...Is it that easy?”

“There are even easier ones.”

This time, the resident took me to a beggar lying in front of a small alleyway.

“This man will give you a bronze mark for any food you give him. Even the failed products from the bakery we passed by would do.”

“...”

“Don’t look at me like that. There are no limits to the number of marks you can give... and there is nothing we lose by giving more or less.”

The resident shrugged his shoulders. If his words were true, receiving rewards of silver or bronze grade seemed as easy as lying down and eating rice cakes.

However, my questions were not yet answered.

“How can one receive gold or platinum marks?”

“Um...”

The resident tried to keep as expressionless a face as possible, but he couldn’t prevent a slight crease from forming between his eyebrows.

“Can you look over there?”

Following his direction, at the end of the extended road, a lavish mansion came into view.

“That’s where the ‘so-called nobles’ live. They are the idiots who still maintain their ‘dignity’ and make a fuss about it.”

“...Ah, I see.”

“You can receive a gold mark if you gain their recognition. They say they even give a platinum mark if they really like you, but unlike the other marks with no quantity limits, one noble can only give three platinum marks.”

“Oh...”

“However... I do not recommend aiming for a gold mark. Those people are really unbearable. If it were me, I would just get a silver mark and be done with it. Tsk.”

The resident spat on the ground, disgusted even by the mere thought.

“Ah... Thank you for your kind guidance.”

After parting ways with the resident, I started walking, looking around the street.

I saw players mixed in here and there. But there were many more residents.

And they all could give bronze or silver marks...

“Hmm...”

My mind was cluttered.

The first thing that came to mind was ‘Can I repeat the quests given by the residents? Can I take multiple marks?’

And the second question that arose was the enormous gap between silver grade and gold grade.

Obtaining a silver grade mark was too easy. It was practically given away.

It seemed like someone was pushing anyone who wants to survive in this tower, or anyone who wants to become stronger, to try for the gold grade.

Is this intended? Or is the mind of the angel who designed the second floor in la-la land?

And the third thing; is the conflict between the residents who give bronze and silver marks and the residents who give gold ones.

It seemed like there was some backstory to this.

However, more than the above three questions, there was an even bigger question gnawing at my mind.

“Suspicious... too suspicious...”

Is it because I am an avid web novel reader... or is it because this tower induces flexible thinking? I am not sure.

But the rewards stopping exactly at platinum grade personally seemed unreasonable.

“...No matter how I think about it, it seems like it should exist.”

A diamond-grade reward. Or, a hidden reward that can only be obtained once.

Considering the structure of this floor... it would be strange if there weren’t any hidden rewards.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

[ TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: /HappyCat60 ]