Chapter 28: The Autumn Rain Is Blood (1)

Chapter 28: The Autumn Rain Is Blood (1)

The Guardian and I went silent. The Demon King’s reward would send me to the ninety-ninth floor right away. I read the reward description over and over, and it kept circling in my head.

—It’s a trap. Zombie, it’s gotta be a trap. Don’t fall for it, the Guardian firmly said, trying to stop me from getting any ideas about it.

I...know. It’s definitely a trap. For sure... I mumbled in my head.

It was obvious.

There’s no way the Fucker wouldn’t have chosen the Demon King’s reward. He’s the type of person who doesn’t have a problem killing other Hunters. But...he only got to the fortieth floor, not the ninety-ninth floor, which means...

I had a great example named Yoo Soo-Ha, the Fire Emperor and the psychopath of the century. I calmly analyzed what I knew.

...The Demon King’s reward is definitely a trap. The Fucker would have probably chosen the Demon King’s reward the first time, but he regressed after realizing that it was a trap. I’m not sure what kind of trap it is exactly...

However, my heart was still pounding.

...It’s so tempting. This is the chance to get the Skill of the ninety-ninth floor’s boss monster.

Even if the Demon King’s reward was a trap, there was one big difference between the Fire Emperor and I. Unlike him, I didn’t have to defeat the boss monster. I benefited if I just walked in and got killed by it.

The ninety-ninth floor’s boss monster would be the strongest, aside from the hundredth floor’s...

I would be lying if I wasn’t feeling greedy.

Ninety-ninth floor...

If I used conventional methods, how long would it take me to get to the ninety-ninth floor? One year? Five years? A decade? It would take a lot longer than that. Even the Fire Emperor, who had been butchering people like a psychopath, had taken a decade to reach the fortieth floor. However, the reward was saying that I could skip all the waiting.

—Gong-Ja. Don’t do it.

The Guardian locked eyes with me. He sounded nothing like he usually did.

—Look at me. I’m the Sword Emperor. I actually got to the ninety-ninth floor on my own before I failed, and I’m telling you that this is a trap. It’s a disgusting, nasty trap. You’ll likely fail to kill all ten High Rankers. Even if you pull it off, you’ll still have problems. You’ll never surmount the ninety-ninth floor’s wall. Give up on that reward and don’t ever think about it again.

I felt silent. The Guardian was very persuasive; he was the only one in this Tower who had gotten to the ninety-ninth floor.

Is that how strong the ninety-ninth floor’s boss monster is? I asked the Guardian.

—There isn’t one. The Guardian frowned.

Pardon?

—There is no boss monster on the ninety-ninth floor. It’s much more— Ah, fuck. That suddenly reminds me of the old years. Anyhow, it’s a trap! The Guardian sat with his back to me, like a sulky child who didn’t get to eat his candy.

I was a bit perplexed. What in the world is waiting on the ninety-ninth floor? You’re scaring me. This is the first time I’ve seen you react like this. Is there a Demon God or something?

—Hmph, I’m not telling you!

I stood corrected. He was a child.

—I don’t want to admit it, but you’re doing a good job, Kim Zombie. Keep it up and you’ll clear the ninety-ninth floor eventually.

I fell into contemplation. My hand unconsciously moved to the grip of the dagger on my belt. It had helped me when I had been killing myself over four thousand times. I had also used it at the time I had killed Yoo Soo-Ha. It was a cheap dagger, but feeling it helped me calm down.

Alright, I decided. I’ll ditch this try.

—You will? The Guardian furtively looked back at me.

Yes, I’m going to choose the safest route by giving up both rewards. I’ll use this try to see how things turn out.

—Give up both rewards...? Wait, you aren’t even going to receive the goddess’s reward? Why? Aren’t you playing it too safe?

It’s okay. It’s a strategic retreat to guarantee my victory.

As they said, haste makes waste.

“Excuse me, everyone,” I slowly said, gathering the attention of all of the Hunters in the audience chamber. “I have a system window about the eleventh floor’s rewards in front of me right now.”

“Is that so? That’s good,” the Black Witch responded. Perhaps she hadn’t seen what the rewards of the goddess and the Demon King were. Her expression was blank, as usual. “I was starting to get bored waiting for the quest to arrive. Once you choose your reward, we’ll also get to pick our reward in the order of our rankings for clearing this stage. Take your time.”

“Yes, I already made up my mind. I won’t choose any reward,” I declared in front of the High Rankers.

The Inquisitor and the Viper—who had been playing cards—looked up. The chamber was utterly silent for one, two, three seconds...

The Black Witch frowned. “What?”

It was already too late though.

[You haven’t chosen any stage reward.]

[You will be unable to choose from the twelfth floor’s special classes.]

[If you give up on your reward, you can choose a special class only after your arrival on the thirteenth floor.]

[Are you certain about your choice?]

My mind was set.

“Yes; I, Hunter Kim Gong-Ja, will not choose a reward.”

The system windows in front of me shattered. A divine voice spoke in my head, then a gloomy one.

[The Goddess of Protection questions your choice.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain laughs quietly.]

The Hunters were dumbstruck.

“Mr. Kim Gong-Ja? What in the world did you do...?”

The Sword Star narrowed his sharp eyes; they were scanning something in the air. In terms of the ranking for clearing the eleventh floor, I was in first place, and the Sword Star was next. It was the Sword Star’s turn to learn about the rewards of the goddess and the Demon King.

“...I see. I understand. You made the safest choice.” The Sword Star eyed me. “But did you have to give up your reward, young man? I’m pretty sure I’m worried about nothing, but I can’t help myself to tell you this. Being too cautious might hold you back instead.”

“Thank you for your concern. However, I don’t regret it.”

“Well. That’s good to hear...” the Sword Star grunted.

The other Hunters watched our conversation with confusion. Without seeing the rewards themselves, they didn’t understand a single thing.

“...I still think it’s too passive to give up the rewards. I’m sorry, young man.” He shook his head. “I’ll choose the goddess’ reward and pick the role of the Aegim Empire’s imperial knight commander.”

“You fools...! I told you not to choose the Demon King’s reward, but...some idiot still chose it!”

The Black Witch radiated bloodlust. Her expression was not so dry now; her face was painted with hatred, contempt, and anger. She glared at the crowd, her face twisted into a vicious rictus.

“Well, there’s no talking sense into an idiot. Fine! As the leader of the Black Dragon Guild, I promise you that although I may not know who dared to betray us yet, I promise I will bring them the most painful death imaginable.”

“I’m surprised.” The Inquisitor stroked his chin. “The game is extremely disadvantageous for the traitor, but someone chose the Demon King’s reward anyway... The Black Dragon Master is right. It’s a very foolish choice! Haha, it also makes the choice so very human.”

“Ah...fuck.” The Viper scratched the back of his head. “I remember. I remember it now. The tension. The air. This feels just like the time we cleared the lower floors of the Tower... Yeah, I feel a chill running down my back. People are going to die today.”

“I agree. It feels like the time when the Five Guilds were the Ten Guilds.” The Countess fanned herself. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes were as cold as a lion’s. “Many people died at the time, didn’t they?”

“Everyone, shut up! This isn’t time to get sentimental,” the Witch snapped. “Paladin!”

“Yeah.”

“Interrogate everyone with Lie Detector right now. All of you! I’ll kill anyone who refuses to answer or doesn’t answer her questions on the spot!”

Everyone knew that the Black Witch meant what she said. Her aura billowed with bloodlust, staining it pitch black. Its color seemed to reject all light.

The Paladin nodded. “I was planning on it even if you didn’t ask,” she agreed. “First of all, let me begin by saying that I’m not the traitor.”

The Paladin turned and approached...me.

“Mr. Kim Gong-Ja,” she said.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t choose a reward, so you aren’t a suspect. It may not be necessary to question you at all, but I’ll still ask. Did you choose the Demon King’s reward?”

“No.” I shook my head.

All the Hunters watched us. After a few seconds of silence, the Paladin nodded again. “It’s true.”

Sighs of relief were heard across the chamber. Meanwhile, the Paladin went on to the next person on her list.

The audience chamber’s floor was marble, so each footstep sounded unnaturally loud.

“Sword Star.”

“Go on.” The Sword Star gestured to the Paladin.

“Did you choose the Demon King’s reward?”

The Sword Star crossed his arms. “I swear on my honor that it was not me. Never.”

“It’s true.”

Tap.

“Inquisitor.”

“Yes! Ask me anything!” the Inquisitor cheerfully answered.

“Are you the one who chose the Demon King’s reward?”

“I’m sorry.” The Inquisitor let out laughter where no one did. There was something slippery about his laughter. It slid down the marble floor and bounced back from the armor of the knights and generals. “But it’s not me! I don’t want to get killed by the Black Dragon Master just yet!”

“It’s true.”

Tap.

“Viper. Are you the one who chose the Demon King’s reward?”

“Fuck no!”

“...It’s true.”

Tap.

“Countess, did you choose the Demon King’s reward?”

“...I didn’t choose it either.”

“It’s true.”

Tap.

The sighs of relief when the Hunters found out that I wasn’t the traitor were replaced with terse silence when the Hunters were declared to be honest one after another. The silence was slowly suffocating us like water filling up the chamber.

The Paladin faced the Black Witch. All of the other Hunters had already been questioned except for her. She was the last one. The Paladin took a deep breath before she began questioning the second strongest Hunter and the leader of the strongest guild in the Tower.

“Black Dragon Master.”

“...Yes.”

“Did you choose the Demon King’s reward?”

The Witch was silent for a brief moment.

“No... it wasn’t me.”

The silence stretched until the Paladin slowly said, “...It’s true.”

Total silence fell over the chamber—we practically choked on it.

“What...? Wait... Then what?” The Viper looked around. “Who the fuck is it then?”

The Sword Star looked at the Black Witch, who turned to the Inquisitor. However, his eyes were on the Countess, while hers were on the Viper, who gave a desperate look to the Paladin. She, however, looked at me in silence.

Everyone was watching everyone else.

“Why is everyone saying no...?”

But no one answered.

“Who the fuck betrayed us!” the Viper screamed.

No one.

1. A party game based on deception, also known as werewolf or The Town of Salem. Similar concept to Among Us. ☜