6. Floor 2 Trial(2)
"D, did we make it?"
Hoo......
The players who had succeeded in taking shelter somewhere safe let out sighs of relief.
"Um......"
"Thank you. Truly."
A great many of the players offered Lee Jin-hyeok their thanks.
"I'm glad you're all unharmed."
Lee Jin-hyeok accepted their thanks as well.
The Star Decrees and the points may have been his aim, but the fact that he had saved these people's lives was true all the same.
"You are magnificent."
Someone approached Lee Jin-hyeok and extended a hand as though asking for a handshake.
There was no particular reason to refuse, so Lee Jin-hyeok took his hand as well.
"Yes."
"My name is Eike. Eike."
In the middle of the handshake, Lee Jin-hyeok ended up seeing it.
A vivid emblem on one corner of Eike's armor.
[Constellation <King of Muspell> rubs its eyes and checks the other party's identity.]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> tilts its head.]
[Constellation <Dawn King of Zhonghua> begins to guffaw.]
'A hammer and a sun crossed? Don't tell me?'
Looking again, it was unmistakable.
'The imperial family of <Gigantic Punk>. And on the dwarf side, at that? What is he doing here?'
Tower Floor 15, <Gigantic Punk>.
A world where 'dwarves' lived, developed around enormous machines, blacksmiths, inventors, and the like.
The armor Eike wore, and the emblem carved at its center, was without question the emblem symbolizing the imperial family that ruled <Gigantic Punk>.
'If he's imperial family he should be a pureblood dwarf. Isn't he a little......a lot tall for a dwarf?'
Lee Jin-hyeok's body, made as a Constellation's vessel for maximum efficiency, stood at about two meters.
Eike stood about a hand's span taller than even that.
It was an enormous frame, not only for a dwarf but for a human as well.
'If he were this distinctive a figure, there's no way I wouldn't have known of him before the regression. Did he die young?'
If so, that explained it.
Before the regression, the Lee Jin-hyeok of this period had taken the Floor 1 trial and then stayed in <El Land> for a full two years, gripped by fear.
'I don't know what his circumstances are, but this one is definitely imperial family.'
The reason was simple.
Because anyone who was not imperial family and took hold of an item bearing that emblem had a kill order and a curse laid on them at once.
'If he weren't genuine imperial family, he'd have died before he ever got here.'
"Master Jin-hyeok? Is something the matter......?"
"It's nothing."
This being a low floor, it seemed few players knew about that emblem.
Lee Jin-hyeok too feigned ignorance of it and simply carried on the conversation with him.
"I thought I was fairly strong myself...... but I never expected to be carried like that."
Eike scratched the back of his head as though embarrassed.
"The world really is wide."
His intentions were not bad, and the outcome had not been bad, so there was no reason to think ill of him.
"In any case. Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life."
Lee Jin-hyeok nodded.
'He is a good sort.'
When stragglers appeared, the first to run to them had been Eike.
To do that out of nothing but simple goodwill, on an individual-event Floor 2, with no objective like a Star Decree behind it.
His nature seemed to be enormously good.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> marvels at Eike's spirit of sacrifice.]
In any case, he was glad the connection had formed this way.
More important was the fact that the man was useful to Lee Jin-hyeok right now.
'He is by no means a weak player.'
He knew it because he had observed his surroundings in the middle of the fighting.
Eike had not fallen behind.
He had dropped away from the group because he was looking after the other stragglers.
Lee Jin-hyeok had already confirmed that the man fought quite well against the undead.
'Of course he fights well. Every item he has on is Epic grade at minimum.'
The armor he wore, in particular, was Heroic grade.
A higher grade than even <Eternal Frost>.
It was gear worthy of the imperial family of <Gigantic Punk>, the world where more than 70% of the Tower's items were produced.
'By disposition and by ability alike, I can trust him with something.'
Having made that judgment, Lee Jin-hyeok spoke to Eike.
"Master Eike. I have a favor to ask."
"Yes. Consider it repaying a debt. I will hear anything. Please, say it."
"I will block all the other undead, but from time to time some may slip past me. I would be grateful if you could help each time that happens."
Putting the imperial family of <Gigantic Punk> to work was a luxury he had only ever imagined even in his days as the first-ranked player.
"First of all, I would like you to take charge of leading those people."
But Lee Jin-hyeok had no qualms about it.
The premise was that he 'did not know' the other man was imperial family anyway.
"On my own...... it seems impossible to drag every one of the wounded all the way to the finish line."
[Constellation <King of Muspell> bursts out laughing at the sight of you.]
[Constellation <Fire That Killed the Mother God> wears a meaningful smile.]
'I know he's imperial family too. You lot.'
The Constellations would never imagine it, but he was putting the man to work knowing full well.
"My god......"
Eike, however, did not so much as consider that he was being put to work.
"Not for your own gain...... but asking for help to protect other people......"
As though struck by a wave of emotion, he even dropped the shield he was holding.
"......."
"I thought you were merely strong, but your character is tremendous as well."
Seeing that, Lee Jin-hyeok was lost for words.
'I'm doing it to earn a lot of points.'
With Eike helping, he would be able to save every straggler.
That was the only reason he had asked for cooperation, and yet the other man seemed to see him as something like a hero.
He appeared to be under some enormous misunderstanding, but Lee Jin-hyeok left it alone.
No, if anything, he fanned the flames.
"There ought to be players like us too, don't you think? First we save those people, then we worry about the rest."
There was nothing to lose by managing his image.
"Ohhh......"
"Wow......"
"What kind of character is that?"
"His face looks like it's giving off light."
The other players who heard Lee Jin-hyeok's words were moved as well.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"If we pass the Floor 2 trial, we'll repay you somehow!"
Eike and the other players offered him thanks again and again.
They knew it too.
That abandoning them, the stragglers, and moving on was far better for one's own gain.
But Lee Jin-hyeok had thrown away his personal gain.
Even knowing that a trial once taken can never be taken again, he was looking after the lives of strangers over his own advantage.
Light.
To those who had been cast aside, Lee Jin-hyeok was simply a light-like savior.
"Not at all. I am only doing what I can do."
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> marvels at your attitude!]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> sponsors you with 1,000 points.]
[Constellation <Flame of the Southeast> sponsors you with 500 points.]
'This really isn't like me, though......'
After the players' reactions and then the Constellations' as well, Lee Jin-hyeok could only smile awkwardly.
'This is how they'll trust me and follow me all the more.'
***
[Time remaining: 2 hours 29 minutes]
A mere two hours or so remaining.
The Floor 2 trial was approaching its final stretch.
[Constellation <King of Muspell> looks at you with contempt.]
[Constellation <Blood-Red Hair> anticipates your ingenuity.]
Lee Jin-hyeok still had not crossed the finish line.
So <King of Muspell> and many other Constellations did not hide their displeasure.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> cheers you on.]
<Eternal Flame> and the Constellations with it, by contrast, cheered Lee Jin-hyeok to the very end.
"I see it!"
"That's the finish line!"
"Finally......!"
A ruined temple at last came into view, and at its center a red line and a fissure.
Go out through there and the Floor 2 trial was cleared immediately, with rewards granted.
"He really is magnificent."
"No arguing that."
"How was he able to save all those people?"
Leading the stragglers, he had succeeded in arriving right in front of the finish line.
Nor had he brought only the players he saved at the start.
On the way to the finish line, he had succeeded in saving the players who fell behind along the way as well.
"Let's go in now. All of you."
At Lee Jin-hyeok's word, the players threw themselves one by one into the red fissure.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
"I will repay this kindness without fail."
With the quest cleared, their bodies were being moved to Floor 2.
[Time remaining: 22 minutes]
There were a fair number of them, and the distance was considerable, so getting them in took quite a while, but the remaining time was ample.
Now only Lee Jin-hyeok and Eike were left here.
'To stay and confirm that the remaining players all get in.'
Was a truly good man, or a hero, not exactly what one called someone like Eike?
-was the thought that came to him.
"Master Jin-hyeok."
Standing before the red fissure, Eike spoke.
"Thank you. Truly."
"Thanks are unnecessary. I did it because it was something I could do. And without you, Master Eike, it would have been impossible."
That was not a lie.
There had been more stragglers than expected, and thanks to that it had nearly been impossible to save them all.
But thanks to Eike's support and help, the people had been able to move faster.
"As expected...... your mindset is different from the start. You are incredibly humble."
If Lee Jin-hyeok had come to feel about as much as goodwill toward Eike, Eike thought of Lee Jin-hyeok as a hero.
The splendid sight of him handling fire, and his strength.
The sword he swung without the slightest fear against the undead.
And the desperate way he refused to let a single straggler be left behind, all while maintaining a constantly humble attitude.
Lee Jin-hyeok was light itself, a hero among heroes.
"Please take this."
[You have acquired the item <Token of the Machine>.]
<Token of the Machine>
Grade: ??
Category: Miscellaneous Item
▶A token holding the power and proof of machines.
A hammer and a sun crossed.
It was the <Token of the Machine>, said to be given by the imperial family of <Gigantic Punk> only to their benefactors or sworn friends.
"It is a token of my gratitude for all of it. If, and only if, you ever have need of a dwarf, show this token."
"Thank you. I will keep it safe."
Knowing how precious it was, Lee Jin-hyeok did not refuse.
"Then I will see you on Floor 2."
FLASH!
And with that, Eike too passed the finish line and moved his body into the fissure.
[You have satisfied the objective of a <Star Decree>.]
[Player <Lee Jin-hyeok> has rescued a total of 42 stragglers.]
[You have acquired 1,000 points.] x42
What he obtained as a reward came to 42,000 points in total.
It was thanks to the Constellations all piling on points, every last one of them.
'Good. A massive win.'
For a condition attached to 'each person,' 1,000 points was an enormous sum.
[Constellation <King of Muspell> is disappointed in you for coming in last instead of first.]
[Constellation <Dawn King of Zhonghua> grumbles that this is not so bad in its own way.]
"There's no one left now."
Lee Jin-hyeok looked around him.
"I saved every straggler, so I'm probably the only one left in the Floor 2 trial grounds."
[A number of Constellations are puzzled by your actions.]
The Constellations would be wondering.
Why this one, standing here, was not simply crossing the finish line.
"There is still a <Star Decree> left, is there not?"
Lee Jin-hyeok pointed at a hologram window.
<Star Decree>
▶Objective: Pass the Floor 2 trial in first place
▶Reward: 50,000 points
A Star Decree piled up to 50,000 points.
Seeing it, Lee Jin-hyeok smiled.
"I will take the Floor 2 trial again after the seven days of cleaning."
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> guesses your intent and is astonished.]
[Constellation <Flame of the Southeast> tries to dissuade you, saying it is far too dangerous an idea.]
[Constellation <Fire That Killed the Mother God> shifts into a better seated position.]
[Constellation <King of Muspell> begins laughing madly.]
"If I hold out here for seven days, I can pass the next trial in first place. And if I do."
Swish.
"I can take all those points piled up over there as well."
And that was not all.
If he simply held out, he could take the trial rewards for coming in first too.
He only had to wait at the finish line and then step across.
In theory he could clear the Floor 2 trial in one second.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> warns that the 'Cleaner' is no easy being, and tells you to flee.]
[Constellation <King of Muspell> laughs, saying no being has ever faced the 'Cleaner' and survived, and calling you reckless.]
'Of course it's no easy being.'
After checking over what he had one more time, Lee Jin-hyeok settled himself near the prayer room at the center of the ruined temple.
CRACKLE......
The red fissure slowly thinned away.
[A number of Constellations worry about your recklessness!]
[A number of Constellations are wild with excitement at your challenge!]
[A number of Constellations pray for your soul!]
The closer the moment came, the more heated and violent the Constellations' reactions grew.
[The <Floor 2 Trial> is now over!]
[You have failed to clear the Main Quest <Undead Race>!]
[You cannot move to Tower Floor 2.]
[From this moment, 'cleaning' will proceed for seven days.]
[Time remaining: 7 days]
RRRRUMBLE......!
Along with a great many hologram windows, the ruined temple at the finish line began to shake.
[*Warning! The Floor 2 Cleaner <Odusasa> opens its eyes.]
[To clean everything away, a deadly poison mist begins to pour out.]
Before long, along with the mist, something began to reveal itself.
GRRRRR......
An enormous snake with five heads, no less.
When its mouths opened, poison mixed into the air itself, and the whole atmosphere changed.