I’m Alone on the 100th Floor Episode 008
3. The Stinky Shortcut (2)
“If you use the shortcut you asked about earlier, you can go from the 16th floor to the 10th floor in one go.”
Since we had already reached the safety zone on the 16th floor, in conclusion, we had moved from the 15th floor to the 10th floor… a total of five floors.
At that level, it was a level worth choosing even if it meant taking on some level of risk.
“Do you know about the hidden floor of the tower?”
Among the floors that climbers could pass through in the Tower of Trials, there were floors that were called by adding decimal points. These were the tower’s hidden secret spaces… aka ‘hidden floors’.
“I know.”
“The shortcut we’ll be using is on the 15.5th floor, which was also posted on the bulletin board.”
“okay?”
Eugene opened the community window by moving his finger at Serin’s words and immediately used the bulletin board to search for ‘15.5th floor’.
[Title: 15.5th floor, up or down?]
[Author: Lee Seong-tae]
[If you choose one of the benefits from the 15.5th floor, you won’t be able to survive, but no matter what you do, you can’t survive?]
Eugene, who had checked the top row of posts that were found, frowned as he scanned the comments included below.
[Comments (126)]
[It’s just a waste of time.]
[Just don’t go. You crazy fairy bastard, I won’t let you go up unless you choose the poison.]
[Even if you get one trait there, it blocks the way up. In the end, you have to choose between dying or retreating.]
[Isn’t the fairy baby pretty? It’s my style.]
[Wow, you crazy kid… Let’s see what your taste is.]
[You think a fairy who laughs at someone who took poison and vomited is pretty?]
[??….]
[??….]
There were only comments that made no sense at all.
“This alone is ambiguous. Do you need a more detailed explanation?”
Seorin nodded at Eugene’s request and gave a brief explanation about the 15.5th floor.
“The trials on the 15.5th floor are hit or miss.”
“Blessed or not?”
“I don’t know if you could call it an ordeal, but there are five choices… and you have to pick one of them before the stairs to the next floor appear.”
“Oh, so it’s a hit or miss?”
“yes.”
Then, Serin continued her explanation by showing three fingers with her right hand and two fingers with her left hand.
“There are three winners and two losers in the selection… If you choose losers, things won’t end well.”
“Well, that’s why people were leaving comments like it was poison or something?”
Serin nodded and continued speaking.
“The problem is that even if you’re lucky enough to pick a winning ticket… the moment you try to go to the next floor, the fairy in charge of that floor appears and blocks your way.”
“fairy?”
“The climbers couldn’t touch it at all… I think it’s the tower manager, similar to the Answerer.”
“As an administrator… So there are comments saying it’s better to go back?”
Eugene, who was continuing to look at the comments about the 15.5th floor, nodded and asked.
“So, no one has ever passed through here?”
“No. There wasn’t none.”
“okay?”
“The condition for passing the 15.5th floor was not to choose the safe option, but to meet all five options.”
” entire?”
“Do you know what I mean?”
Eugene muttered quietly, noticing what she was trying to say.
“It’s a real hit or miss… Is this a floor that can only be used if you form a party of five and see two people drop out?”
“Yes. If that condition is met, the fairy will appear and not block the path. In other words, it is a floor that can only be passed if one or two people die.”
In the early days when the tower was first built… Serin added that three rankers who successfully passed this shortcut are currently active on the front lines of the tower.
“I guess the trait I got by winning was quite good. But two people died in return.”
Eugene, who was watching her bitter expression, asked her what he was curious about.
“Is there a limit on the number of people who can pass through that floor?”
“The maximum is five people. If there are more than five people on that floor, entry is not possible.”
“Minimum?” “Well? Probably one person. But no one has ever gone up to the 15.5th floor alone. Either they’d be stopped by the fairies or they’d drink the poison and die… one of the two.”
“Hmm??????
Eugene, who had memorized her explanation, asked one last time.
“What about multiple selections?”
“Multiple selection?”
“Like Russian roulette, can one person choose multiple options?”
“I’m not sure about that… No way?”
Eugene shrugged his shoulders at Serin’s frowning expression, unable to finish asking.
“Well, let’s go for now. If a U-turn is possible, I’ll have to see it myself and make a decision.”
Serin nodded at Eugene’s words, swallowed hard, and asked.
“Hey, are you good at swimming?”
“swimming?”
“In order to get from the 16th floor to the 15.5th floor, you have to jump over there.” What Serin pointed to with a disgusted expression was the wastewater flowing even in the safe area of the 16th floor.
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“Are the stairs down there?”
“Yes. It’s not that deep, but because the water is polluted, visibility is not easy.”
“Oh, then. So the climbers who passed the 15.5th floor must have started by pouring poison on themselves as soon as they got up?”
“I guess so. So no one tried to go down there. They either went down normally, one floor at a time, or they went down a little further through another hidden floor… usually one of the two options.”
Eugene, who started warming up by jumping on the spot as if he was going to jump into sewage at any moment, looked at Serin, who was standing there blankly.
“what’s the matter?”
“Ha, this is why I hated it.”
“Can’t you swim?”
“Yes. It’s a beer bottle.”
Not only was she unable to swim, but jumping directly into the contaminated wastewater that caused status effects was also a huge risk for her.
Her poison resistance was still only level 2, which was by no means safe compared to Eugene, who had complete immunity to poison.
“No underwater breathing properties?”
When Eugene tilted his head and asked, Seorin’s face crumpled.
“There’s no such thing! Even if there was! It’s impossible to jump in there with poison resistance level 2!”
Serin, who didn’t want to get soaked in sewage, shouted, “Bam!” and tried to persuade Eugene once again.
“Maybe it would be better to just go down one floor at a time?”
Eugene, who lightly ignored Seorin’s persuasion, slowly stretched out his right arm and grabbed Seorin’s waist.
“What, what are you doing?”
“Close your eyes tightly. Jump in.”
“Huh? Oh, wait… …!!”
“Tsk!” I heard the sound of the ground being kicked, and before I could even move, the sound of “Slap!” followed.
‘Let’s see… …
It wasn’t that difficult for Eugene to swim through the 16th floor of dirty water and find the stairs leading to the 15.5th floor.
This was because it possessed the characteristics of being able to breathe underwater and securing visibility no matter how dark the surroundings were.
‘Oh, is that it?’
Eugene, who had found the hole in the bottom of the well and the place with the stairs, went down while holding onto Serin’s side.
[Current increase: 15.5 increase] The number indicating the current floor of the two people changed from 16th floor to 15.5th floor.
“???Phuha!”
“…Waek!”
Serin, who was tied to Eugene’s right arm and forcibly lowered down, was vomiting spectacularly as soon as she got out of the sewage.
“Just kidding… doesn’t it smell that bad underwater?”
“It smells… eww! The smell isn’t the problem!”
I’m starting to get tired of seeing her throw up
Jin Yu-jin turned his head to check the path he had just taken.
There was a large door on the stairs connecting the 16th floor and the 15.5th floor… It seemed like this door was blocking the sewage from the 16th floor from passing through.
“Wow… I kind of expected something like this to happen, but it’s still amazing to see it in person.”
“I find that more interesting.”
Serin, who had turned pale, approached with her face covered in sewage water.
“Thank goodness this isn’t underwater.”
Eugene wiped the mud stuck to Serin’s forehead with his hand and continued talking while looking around the scenery on the 15.5th floor.
“Is it a forest?”
The background of the 15.5th floor was a forest.
One thing that was a bit unusual was that the forest was completely black, as if the god who created the tower had forgotten to color it.
The grass on the ground, the bushes… the trees, the fruits, the flowers… they were all painted in shades of gray or black.
“This place, what is it? It reminds me of the 98th floor.”
“Was the 98th floor like this?” asked Serin, frowning at the stains on her clothes.
“Well, it was similar.”
It would be more accurate to say that the 98th floor was not simply painted but blackened and rotted away, but Eugene didn’t say that.
“So? We came down backwards, so do we see the fairy first? Or from the choices first?”
Serin tilted her head.
“Well? Actually, this is my first time coming down like this, so I don’t know. If I look for the stairs leading to the 10th floor, I think it will come out.”
Eugene nodded at Serin’s explanation and started walking first.
“This time, I’ll take the lead.”
Eugene, who had Serin behind him, tried to maintain the tension as much as possible.
Even if you started going down from the 100th floor and survived until the 77th floor, you can never be complacent.
‘A few traits and slightly higher abilities than others… That’s all I have right now. If the opponent is the tower manager, I don’t think I need to go all out.’
Eugene, who once again recalled his strengths and weaknesses, took a step forward and raised his head.
“ah……
Seorin, who was walking behind Eugene, also raised her head and flinched.
〈Hmm?〉
There existed a ‘fairy’, a dwarf the size of a human palm, floating in the sky with butterfly wings attached to its back.
〈Huh? You’re human?〉
The fairy’s eyes, filled with a question mark as if surprised at being approached from behind, looked back and forth between Eugene and Serin.
〈Wow! This is the first time I’ve seen a human coming from behind! Nice to meet you! I’m Nena, the fairy of this forest!〉
A lively voice, a bright expression… I still didn’t feel any hostility from the fairy.
‘Didn’t you say it was a double-edged sword?’
Eugene muttered to himself and answered with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Nena.”
Eugene, who responded to the greeting, immediately explained why he had come here.
“We have to go through this forest
“Have you? Is it okay?”
Nena, the fairy on the 15.5th floor, flapped her wings.
〈Aha! Of course!〉
For a split second, the corners of the fairy’s mouth curved in a strange, evil manner, then returned to a bright expression.
〈However, if you want to pass through this forest, you must take my gift with you. Otherwise, you will not be able to pass.〉
Eugene shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to see the evil smile he had briefly seen, and looked back at Serin.
‘Are you really going to do it?’
When Serin looked at him with worried eyes, Eugene read her eyes and nodded as if it was okay and answered the fairy.
“Okay. If a pretty fairy gives you a gift, it’s rude not to accept it.”
〈Oh my gosh!〉
“What is the gift?”
〈This is the gift!〉
As Nena, who was floating in the air, waved her hand horizontally, a long table appeared in front of Eugene and Seo Rin.
“What is this?” There were five glass cups on the table, all containing the same colored liquid.
〈I can’t remember what’s what because the order is mixed up… but these are drinks called ‘cola, coffee, herbal medicine, soy sauce, and poison’!〉
The color of the liquid was black.
〈There are three winning drinks here! And two losing drinks! Can you tell me which one is the winning one?〉
Nena smiled brightly and asked me to check the identity of the liquids.
“Umm, if I drink this, will it make me pass?”
Eugene, who was scanning the black liquid, asked Nena.
〈Yes! Of course!〉
‘You left out any mention of having to drink it all or just one… You’re speaking vaguely.’
〈How about you?〉
Nena answered brightly while hiding her evilness, and continued speaking while looking at Serin who was standing behind her.
“Me?” 〈Yes! Pretty human woman! If you want, you two can challenge together!〉
Seo Rin, who was glaring at the fairy with caution, started to tease her.
“Of the five you just mentioned, there were some that weren’t drinks?”
〈What a pity! It’s a delicious drink! A drink!〉
The sight of the fairy puffing out her cheeks with her arms crossed was certainly cute, but to Eugene, it was a nauseating sight.
“I have one last question, but I want to get to the point,” said Eugene, smiling.
“Isn’t there a need to choose just one drink?”
Perhaps it was the first time a human had asked something like this, but Ne Naga tilted his head, not yet understanding the question.
“I’m a little thirsty.”
