I’m Alone on the 100th Floor Episode 042
13. Slave No. 148 (3)
“okay.”
Eugene, who answered yes to Rasil’s question, checked the small horn once more. “It seems right.”
I remember hearing a story about the ‘delivery boy’ of the tower when I was on the top floor.
Those horns… … .
If the antlers poking out from behind the tree were those of a deer, and if what the climbers had just been talking about was true, I couldn’t just pass them by.
〈What are you going to do?〉
Rasil asked with an anxious expression.
The flame burning brightly in the hand of the wizard climber seemed to be a source of excitement.
〈In my case, I wish the hero would step in before the fire starts.〉
As someone who hates seeing plants suffer, it would have been natural for Rasil to want to prioritize them, but getting involved in a tense situation was not a good idea.
‘What should I do?’
The baby deer hiding behind the tree was shivering with fear.
‘Should I sneak some bossam and run away?’
Actually, at this point, that was the easiest way.
There was no need to get involved in a fight that seemed to have complicated circumstances, so I could just sneak out and it would be over.
‘Is that the pet the guy on the right had? The one on the left looks like he came to steal it…
The two opposing sides seemed to belong to different guilds… and the atmosphere on both sides was so tense that it was difficult to judge the ‘line’.
‘Hmm, both of them seem to be fairly large guilds… If I sneak them out and run away, I’ll definitely be caught later, right?’
If either was going to be a hassle, I should have chosen the one that was a little less bothersome.
‘I’m sure I’d attract attention if I took him with me anyway… Ugh, it would have been easier if I had a guide.’
Eugene, who was hiding in the bushes, frowned as if he was uncomfortable.
If Serin had been here with me, I might have found a way to get away with something cleaner than stealing.
“I’m sorry, Rasil, but I can’t put out the fire. It would be best to just grab what you need and run away while they’re still arguing.” “Ugh!” Rasil’s face darkened at the thought of the forest catching fire again, but this time he didn’t throw a tantrum.
The importance of that deer was also something that Rasil sympathized with to some extent.
〈I’ll keep my eyes closed because my deer friend is cute. I think it would be less painful for the forest if it were set on fire rather than the hero running wild.〉
Rasil, who had been explaining why he agreed with his opinion, closed his eyes tightly.
〈Black… … .>
“I’m not that ignorant.”
Eugene, who denied Rasil’s words, began to circle around the bushes.
Perhaps thanks to Rasil, the bushes that covered his body were not making any rustling sounds.
‘I have to grab them and get them out before those kids finish their work.’
Eugene, who had been slowly and stealthily walking back, instantly increased his speed when he heard the loud sound of burning.
Rustle!
For a moment, the bushes shook violently, but the two struggling climbers were completely oblivious to Eugene’s presence.
“Is this all there is to the gift-giving prank? You must be at the level of your guild!”
“I wonder if the Force cubs, with only their mouths alive, can still talk even if their snouts are burned.”
They were having fun.
‘I hope you’re not scared of me…
As Eugene succeeded in approaching the wooden lantern, the deer that was chained up and trembling suddenly turned its head!
‘I have a good feeling.’
It seemed like he had noticed Eugene’s presence even though he was still hiding in the bushes.
rustling
Eugene carefully made his way out of the bushes and locked eyes with a tiny baby deer.
“Uh… hello?”
Eugene raised his right hand with an awkward expression, but the deer froze and did not move.
Even though he simply raised his hand, for some reason his eyes were filled with fear.
‘Why is it like this?’
Instead, Eugene, who was embarrassed, tried to lower his right hand and discovered the marks carved all over his small body.
“Hero, this child… … .” Rasil, who had been tightly shut, opened his eyes squintingly and muttered as he discovered the deer’s wound marks.
〈I was… badly hurt.〉
A body bound in chains, black whip marks left behind, eyes losing their life… You could tell just by looking at him that he was badly injured.
Eugene, who noticed Rasil’s muttering, answered with silence.
This was because Eugene also noticed that what the World Tree wanted to say was not just visible wounds.
‘If you’re that scared just by raising your hand, then you know how badly you were treated.’
It’s a little baby deer.
Although it is said to be an animal and not a human, it is still a living being… It is difficult to believe that the whip marks visible to the eye were swung at a living being.
〈This must have been done by a human… right?〉
The World Tree, which cared more for nature than humans, was several times more angry than Eugene.
‘I’ll apologize on your behalf. Right now, saving this child comes first.’
Eugene, who decided that it was a priority to relieve her fear, slowly… carefully knelt down on one knee.
“are you okay.”
Then, Eugene looked straight into the deer’s eyes and held out his hand.
“I didn’t come here to hurt you.”
As Eugene’s height decreased, the deer, which had been frozen in fear, twitched its small nose.
〈…Come here.〉
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The baby deer, who had been wary of Eugene’s voice, began to blink when he noticed the dwarf sitting on his shoulder.
As Rasil stretched out his hands in front of him like Eugene, his legs, which had been reluctant to move, began to move slowly.
〈Chain… It must have hurt a lot.〉
Rasil, who was looking at the approaching deer, could not help but start to cry.
As Rasil shed tears from her small face, tears also flowed from the eyes of the deer that came close to Eugene… The World Tree shared its pain with its forest friend.
I was in the process of doing it.
〈Please… break this chain quickly.〉
When Rasil, who was looking at the deer with pity, asked Eugene, Eugene glared at the piece of iron connecting the deer’s neck and legs.
‘This doesn’t smell like gunpowder. It doesn’t look like a black magician tattooed it on…
To prepare for the unexpected, to find out who the human was that swung the whip at this deer… Eugene looked at the chains closely and came to a conclusion.
‘It’s not the drug side.’ A chain that wouldn’t explode even if you forcibly pulled on it… In other words, it was a chain of inferior quality to the chain I had seen in the prison on the 7th floor.
“Racil.”
When Eugene, holding the chain, called out to the World Tree, the World Tree noticed what he was asking and looked forward.
“What, what is it? Why are there vines all of a sudden?”
The commotion was over, as the flame-wielding wizard from among the two struggling climbers walked over to me.
“Huh, shit! What is this?”
The wizard, annoyed by the vines blocking his path, began preparing a fire spell to create a path.
〈???3 minutes.〉
“It won’t even take a minute.”
As the tendons on the back of Eugene’s hands grew, the heavy chains that had been wrapped around the deer’s neck and legs were ripped off like cotton candy.
Urgh… As the human he was seeing for the first time grabbed the chain and ripped it, the deer looked at Eugene with wide eyes.
“I didn’t come here to hurt you.”
Then, Eugene, who was carrying the baby deer on his side, asked Rasil.
“What about the stairs going up?”
〈Go straight to the right.〉
Although it was a maze-like forest, finding the way wasn’t that difficult for Eugene, who had the World Tree as his partner.
“Okay, let’s jump right in.”
Not long after Eugene bent his knees and flew, the vines blocking his path began to glow red.
“Damn it! Was the 12th floor such a trial? Why are there vines all of a sudden… …
The wizard walked forward, burning the plants, and waved his right hand to clear the smoke that was clinging to his face.
“Hmm?”
The wizard’s brow furrowed as he checked his surroundings while clearing the smoke.
He is a fire wizard.
Since it was a common occurrence for smoke to sting my eyes, I had to assume that it was rare for my eyes to sting and I would frown.
“what?”
It was good that we burned the opposing climber, but the target, ‘Slave No. 148’, had disappeared without a trace.
“Where did he go?”
I’m sure I saw them move it here.
I also saw a small horn sticking out this way… I couldn’t believe that I had missed my target in that short amount of time.
“.?.This?” I couldn’t believe it.
“What the hell!!”
The fragments of chain lying on the floor were evidence of this.
[Current floor: 14th floor]
“I think it’s okay now.”
Thanks to the guidance of the World Tree and the footwork that was adjusted by his ability, Eugene passed through two floors in no time.
“First of all, let’s put it down… …
Eugene put down the deer he was carrying at his side and began to look around the scenery on the 14th floor.
As expected, the 14th floor was still in the middle of the forest.
Most of the stairs we passed were made of plants, so it was somewhat predictable, but it wasn’t a very pleasant floor.
〈Hero! I broke three branches on my way here, and trampled fifty sprouts. Please take responsibility for this!〉
like this.
It was because Rasil was whining.
“I’ll plant that much outside the tower.”
Eugene took a short breath and bent his knees once more to lock eyes with the baby deer.
“They were calling him a slave or something… Is that what they called him?”
I couldn’t understand why they called an animal that, not a person.
“Can you… speak?”
Eugene, who had not yet developed the ability to talk to animals, asked cautiously, but received no answer.
He was just looking at Eugene with bright eyes.
“Well… there’s no way you can communicate with animals, right?”
When Eugene turned his head and asked Rasil, who was sitting on his shoulder, Rasil shrugged.
〈Hey, there are monsters like you, hero… Isn’t there at least one person who can communicate with animals?〉
“Hey, I told you I’m not a monster.”
“Ugh.” When Rasil covered his mouth to hide his slip of the tongue, Eugene, who had been holding back his anger by gritting his teeth, looked at the deer again.
“What’s your name… Oh, right. We didn’t communicate.”
There was no name or level displayed on the deer’s head like there was on the climbers or trials.
“Umm, what should I call you?”
Eugene, who was thinking about a name for his little friend, quietly reached out his hand.
It was because I thought that if I stroked his head, we would be able to communicate with each other.
“… ah?”
Her bright, affectionate eyes closed tightly as she noticed Eugene’s hand.
“Hey, that’s weird? Didn’t we become close?”
How could he be scared when he saw his benefactor’s hand? Eugene, who had become a little gloomy, stretched out his hand again, which he had briefly pulled back.
“ah……
Now he was using his horns to push Eugene’s hand away.
‘Why is this happening?’ Just a moment ago, she was looking up at him with eyes that were filled with love… but somehow she felt disappointed.
‘Wait a minute, no way… …
Eugene, whose head was filled with an ominous feeling, tilted his upper body slightly to the side.
Her pretty eyes became bright and sparkling again.
As the small head moved back and forth along Eugene’s shoulder, the face of the World Tree sitting on his shoulder turned slightly red.
〈Oh my gosh!〉
〈It was me!〉
The scent of flowers wafted from his shoulders.
“No, I saved you… …
Eugene muttered in a timid voice, but her cute eyes seemed to have no interest in him.
〈Little friend! What’s your name?〉
The World Tree, blushing and embarrassed, asked the deer.
“Hmm, hmm…….” Unlike Eugene, Rasil nodded several times as if he understood the deer’s answer and introduced himself with a bright smile.
〈It’s number 148.〉
“Number 148?”
The deer, who had just glanced at Eugene, began to carve letters into the ground with its hoof.
148.
The number the deer wrote with its hoof was ‘148’.
