​Chapter 132

 

“…”

 

One robbery. Two murders. It’d be odd if the dwarves weren’t enraged. They were living peacefully until the players barged in and caused all this mess—no wonder they’d be upset.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

 

I tapped my thigh with my fingertips, lost in thought. 

 

How should I resolve this? How did things get this tangled up? There’s still far too little information to draw definitive conclusions, but I’ve managed to sketch out the general picture.

 

To fill in the gaps, I locked eyes with Anael.

 

“First, I want to get a rough idea of the value of money here.”

 

Bronze, silver, gold—it doesn’t quite click for me. In typical novels, a single gold coin could supposedly support a common family for a month, but from a modern perspective, “support” is too vague a term. Barely surviving on instant noodles and convenience store snacks is still “living,” and so is fine dining at a luxury restaurant every day.

 

Hearing my question, Anael nodded.

 

“When the 11th floor was first designed, I heard it was assumed that players would earn about 1 gold per day!”

 

The forest on the 11th floor is an artificially created environment. Rare mushrooms, various minerals, and even unique wildlife are found here. Collecting and submitting these to Anael earns money equivalent to their value.

 

“Of course, the more expensive items are harder to obtain! That’s the principle of capitalism!”

 

Anael waved a placard enthusiastically, his(or her) voice lively enough to end every sentence with an exclamation mark.

 

“But because the players currently on the 11th floor are so exceptional, they earn at least 5 gold, and up to 20 gold a day! On average, I’d say they make around 10 gold daily!”

 

“…How much is a Transit Stone?”

 

“50 gold! Oh, and for reference, a well-made masterpiece sword costs about 20 gold! Lodging is 30 silver a day! And 100 silver equals 1 gold!”

 

“Hmm…”

 

For top-tier players, clearing the 11th floor would take about five days. Buying weapons and other supplies could extend that stay.

 

If I were an impatient psychopath, stealing dwarven goods would seem like an attractive option. Killing them, though… that I can’t comprehend.

 

Then, a sudden thought struck me.

 

“…Didn’t the first player finish in three days?”

 

“That’s because that person was extraordinary! Perhaps not as much as you, Jun-ho, but close!”

 

If they earned 20 gold a day, took just enough for the Transit Stone, and left, it makes sense. But if they grabbed everything they could and still finished in three days, they must be a monster.

 

Anyway, I now had a rough idea of the value of money. The next issue was the crime.

 

“Is there any punishment for crimes here? Like on the 2nd floor?”

 

The 2nd floor also had a city from another world. There, committing a crime would summon the city’s owner, who would pulverize the offender into dust. I wondered if a similar system existed on the 11th floor.

 

“Well… there is something, but it’s not as much of a deterrent as on the 2nd floor!”

 

According to Anael, there are penalties for crimes on the 11th floor. If a player commits an unethical act, a debuff that reduces their status window stats is applied, depending on the severity of the crime. On paper, this sounds severe, but…

 

“The debuff only applies while they’re on the 11th floor!”

 

Once a player leaves the floor, the debuff vanishes. Moreover, since dwarves aren’t particularly strong in combat, a powerful player could easily overpower them even with the debuff.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Could the debuff be why the criminals fled the 11th floor in such a hurry?

 

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the archangel orchestrated this situation. Committing a crime and escaping led to no risk and high rewards. For criminals, it was a tempting proposition.

 

It’s like placing a precariously balanced Jenga tower in the middle of a busy street and saying, “If this collapses, you’re all doomed, haha.” Sure, nothing happens if you leave it alone, but the odds of it toppling are very high.

 

“…”

 

I realized then that when Archangel Raphael said, “I am favorable toward climbers,” he wasn’t lying. He’s shown how easy it is to design unfair floors while pretending to be impartial.

 

“But this is just what I heard from other angels! Since the angel is currently under disciplinary action, some details might differ from the truth!”

 

Of course, this was all second-hand information.

 

“…Who’s the dwarves’ representative?”

 

It seemed necessary to speak with the dwarves. Assuming they were willing to talk, that is.

 

**

 

“Hello.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s nice to see you again.”

 

Surprisingly, the representative of the dwarves turned out to be none other than the shopkeeper of the Transit Stones. Fortunately, though incredibly rude, he was at least willing to engage in conversation.

 

“…Why are you here? Have you already gathered a billion gold?”

 

The shopkeeper, who had been inspecting a Transit Stone through an eyeglass, set both the stone and eyeglass down and looked at us.

 

“I wanted to discuss the current situation.”

 

“I have nothing to say.”

 

“Don’t be like that.”

 

“What do you mean, ‘don’t be like that’? I said I’ve got nothing to say.”

 

He spat out his words bluntly, picking up the Transit Stone he had just set down.

 

This wasn’t going anywhere. After exchanging a glance with Choi Ji-won, I decided to cut to the chase.

 

“Murder.”

 

“…”

 

A pause. His hand froze mid-air, holding the Transit Stone.

 

“…Are you sure it was the players who did it?”

 

“…”

 

The shopkeeper chewed over my words for a moment.

 

Bang!!!

 

“You sons of bitches!!!”

 

His face turned beet red as he slammed his fist into the glass display case.

 

“I don’t know where you heard that nonsense, but what? You’re asking if it was really the climbers who did it?”

 

The shopkeeper leaped over the shattered display case, lunging for my collar.

 

Thwack.

 

“Stop it.”

 

“…Shit, shit…”

 

Choi Ji-won restrained him with one hand, and he pulled back roughly, retreating a couple of steps. I could have handled it, but…

 

Regardless, with the shopkeeper calmed down for the moment, I continued.

 

“Well, if you think about it, isn’t it possible? A dwarf was killed, and the next day, players fled the 11th floor. That’s just circumstantial evidence, isn’t it? Of course, I agree it looks suspicious… but considering the various creatures living in the forest on the 11th floor, couldn’t they have done it?”

 

“…You know quite a bit for someone who just entered the 11th floor.”

 

The shopkeeper jumped back slightly, perching on the edge of the broken glass display case. His expression seemed calmer now as if he had regained his composure.

 

“Sure, some thought that at first. Maybe he fell into a pit or got dragged off by a monster. Do you think we didn’t consider that?”

 

“…”

 

“But the wounds were clearly from a blade, and the weapon used to cut him was discarded right next to the body. And the second murder? They were smashed into pulp with a hammer. Animals don’t kill their prey like that.”

 

The certainty in his voice made it clear that the murdered dwarves had indeed been killed by weapons. Damn it. Some truly despicable poeple had come through here.

 

Time for Plan B—warn them of the real threats that could arise.

 

“…I sincerely apologize on their behalf. I’m deeply sorry that this happened. But if you push this too hard, it could backfire. At the very least, you need to lower the price of the Transit Stones.”

 

Cornered rats bite cats, after all. When people have no way out, they resort to extreme measures.

 

“There are people stuck on the 11th floor for a week now, with no hope of escaping. What about them? They didn’t commit any crimes.”

 

“…”

 

“They’re holding on for now… but if they grow desperate and lose their minds, they might turn on you. You need to consider that possibility…”

 

“Let them try.”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

“Let them try to kill us.”

 

The shopkeeper’s face flushed red again.

 

“Let them stab, burn, or crush us. Whatever they want. My brothers and sisters would rather die than live in humiliation. We haven’t even been able to honor the spirits of the unjustly slain, and now you’re warning us they might hurt us? Bring it on. We’ll take a few climbers with us when we go.”

 

“…”

 

Standing face to face with him, I could tell. This wasn’t a bluff—it was his absolute, unshakable truth.

 

“…We have nothing left to lose. You say you’re cornered? So are we. Go ahead, try. You won’t get what you want.”

 

A rational person wouldn’t make such an irrational declaration. But the dwarves weren’t in a rational state of mind.

 

You could say they were consumed by fury. Or perhaps it was their characteristic stubbornness shining through. Either way, they weren’t afraid of death.

 

“…Of course, we understand this situation can’t go on indefinitely. Maybe you’re just as unfortunate victims as we are.”

 

The shopkeeper’s heated tone gradually softened. It seemed even he realized that his intense reaction wasn’t helping.

 

“That’s why we’re discussing countermeasures of our own.”

 

“…Countermeasures?”

 

“For the time being, we’ll only sell Transit Stones at designated times. After checking that all our kin are accounted for, we’ll distribute them. The price… will be set at 10 silver. And don’t ask us to sell weapons. That would be an insult to our race.”

 

Ten silver. True, handing out Transit Stones at such a low price could yield short-term results. For climbers just trying to clear the tower, they’d miss out on equipment and consumables but could still breeze through the 11th floor.

 

However, this was merely a stopgap. There would still be those who commit crimes and feign ignorance. And from the dwarves’ perspective, they lacked a proper means to punish the criminals.

 

“That’s why, ultimately, our goal is to relocate. To abandon this fortress entirely and move far, far away.”

 

Thus, the dwarves’ ultimate goal was to relocate to a place entirely beyond humanity’s influence. For the dwarves to live as dwarves and the players to live as players—that was their utopia.

 

“…Then what are the players supposed to do?”

 

In this scenario, purchasing Transit Stones would become impossible. Without them, there would be no way to clear the 11th floor.

 

“Don’t the players need Transit Stones?”

 

The shopkeeper picked up a blue Transit Stone and twirled it in his fingers.

 

“I’m the one who makes these Transit Stones. I’ll stay behind alone. That’ll solve the problem.”

 

“…You make them yourself?”

 

“What, did you think they just fell from the sky? These are designed to counteract magical pressure. They’re the pinnacle of magical engineering.”

 

Placing the stone down with a thunk, the shopkeeper stared directly at me and Choi Ji-won.

 

“We want only one thing.”

 

His eyes didn’t burn with anger, nor were they drenched in sorrow. They simply looked… overwhelmingly tired.

 

“A life free from threats. And right now, you climbers are that threat.”

 

“…”

 

“Tell them to wait three days. We’ll resume selling the stones after that. Give us time to honor the dead and hold their funerals.”

 

With that, he dismissed us, telling us to pass on the conversation to the others as we saw fit.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Choi Ji-won and I were kicked out of the shop and stood staring blankly at the sky.

 

“Jun-ho, if…”

 

“Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.”

 

If.

 

If by some terrible chance, the shopkeeper were killed by some lunatic…

 

The players might be fine for now with the stones already made. But for future players, the means to clear the 11th floor would vanish forever.

 

And as soon as we stepped out of the fortress, a stranger approached us and said,

 

“Choi Ji-won, right? I’ve got a proposal. Let’s wipe out the dwarf village. What do you think?”

 

It felt like we had just boarded an express train to that grim future.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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