Chapter 130

    “We entered the 11th floor a week ago.”

    The speaker was none other than Felix Hoffmann, Germany’s undisputed top player. As the eldest son of the prestigious Hoffmann family, Felix had been hailed as a prodigy since childhood, carrying the weight of his family’s expectations on his shoulders.

    While many so-called geniuses crumble under the immense pressure of such expectations, Felix Hoffmann was different. He graduated at the top of his class from university and immediately launched a big data-focused startup. With his sharp acumen, he propelled the company to the brink of becoming a conglomerate in less than five years, solidifying his reputation as a young entrepreneurial icon.

    “My teammates and I... were brimming with confidence. We were certain of our abilities and believed our preparations were flawless.”

    Felix’s team was no ordinary group. Among them were former special forces operatives, UFC champions, Olympic gold medalists—young prodigies who glimpsed a future in the Tower. They honed their skills through rigorous training, and Felix was proud to claim that his party was one of the best on Earth.

    “What’s the use of talent when it’s already too late?”

    Unfortunately, their timing was off when they entered the 11th floor. By the time they arrived, everything was already over.

    “The structure of the 11th floor is simple. You retrieve valuable items from the forest and sell them to the angels in exchange for currency.”

    Bronze, silver, and gold—a classic currency system. The design of the 11th floor was remarkably intuitive: explore the forest, acquire treasures, return to the fortress, and purchase transit stones.

    “Our party saw boundless possibilities on the 11th floor. There was no end to what could be gained here.”

    But that wasn’t all. The dwarves of the fortress didn’t just sell transit stones. True to their craft, they offered weapons, armor, magical artifacts, essentials, and even full camping sets. It was a treasure trove where everything was classified as “items” that could be used on other floors.

    The 11th floor was, in every sense, a foundation for the future—a stepping stone brimming with limitless potential for those who could utilize it effectively.

    “...If only we could buy things.”

    That is, assuming the dwarves were willing to sell.

    “I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps the scouting team before us caused some major incident, or maybe this is just how this floor operates...”No?v(el)B\\jnn

    Even when spoken to, the dwarves didn’t respond. Offering coins for purchases was met with cold indifference. The players couldn’t even rent rooms in the fortress, let alone purchase weapons. The dwarves had completely ostracized humanity.

    “...Ah.”

    The reason Germany’s pride, Felix Hoffmann, was in such a sorry state was simple: money was useless here.

    “...Are they refusing to sell transit stones as well?”

    “They are still selling them. It seems the Tower enforces their sale. However...”

    Felix trailed off with a grim expression.

    “...It’s better if you see it for yourselves.”

    Felix gestured toward the fortress, implying that experiencing it firsthand would explain more than words ever could.

    “...Understood.”

    With apprehensive looks, I and Choi Ji-won began walking toward the fortress.

    The side gate of the fortress was guarded, but the sentries didn’t stop us. They simply glared at us with discontent.

    “Wow.”

    Once we passed through the narrow gate and entered the fortress, what greeted us was a collection of quaint wooden buildings, as if straight out of a fairy tale. Despite knowing this wasn’t the time for admiration, I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation.

    “Don’t dwarves typically live in mountains?”

    In stories, dwarves usually lived underground, carving cities out of stone and rock. But reality often diverges from imagination.

    “Enough sightseeing.”

    “Ah, right...”

    Transit Stone [Unique] -Submit to an angel to clear the 11th floor.

    “Hmm...”

    We had a clear grasp of the current state of the 11th floor—it was utterly twisted.

    But the real problem lay in not knowing the cause. The dwarves couldn’t have always been this way. It was likely that the scouting team who cleared the floor before us had done something to provoke this reaction. Unfortunately, there was no one to explain what had happened.

    “We need to figure out the cause to address this...”

    The dwarves wouldn’t tell us anything, and the German players, including Felix, had entered the floor after the incident. With no one to ask, I was wracking my brain for ideas when—

    “Didn’t you say there’s an angel here?”

    Choi Ji-won offered a surprisingly simple solution.

    “The Transit Stone has to be submitted to an angel, right? And they’re the ones who handle trading... Can’t we just ask the angel?”

    She was right. The presence of an angel on the 11th floor was clearly established. If anyone were to know the full details of the situation, it would be an angel.

    “...Do you think the angel will tell us?”

    However, there was no guarantee the angel would cooperate. If it turned out to be the kind of angel that looked down on humans, we might just be mocked instead of helped—something along the lines of, “You pathetic humans, always proving your inferiority...”

    “Still, it’s worth a shot. The angel is supposed to be at the center of the fortress, right?”

    Since we had no alternative solutions, there was nothing to lose by trying. Who knew? If we approached the angel and made our case, it might be willing to help.

    With that hope, we headed toward the center of the fortress where the angel was said to be. Soon enough, a silhouette of a winged figure appeared in the distance.

    “...”

    “What’s wrong?”

    “No, it’s just... I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before...”

    The angel’s appearance felt oddly familiar, like running into an elementary school classmate on the street—a vague itch of recognition just out of reach.

    The closer we got to the angel, the more my eyes narrowed in suspicion. By the time we reached the angel, my jaw dropped in surprise.

    “W-what?”

    The angel seemed just as startled, its eyes wide as a rabbit’s.

    “You... from the 2nd floor...”

    “...Jun-ho nim?!”

    On the 2nd floor, I barely managed to defeat the city lord, only for Archangel Raphael to appear and intervene.

    Back then, Raphael had taken away the “Signpost Angel,” who had cowered in fear, saying it would be “punished.” I, feeling pity for the angel, had asked Raphael to leave it alone. It seemed like the Signpost Angel was just as much a pawn of the system as we players were.

    “Long time no see.”

    Indeed.

    The angel assigned to guide us on the 11th floor was none other than the Signpost Angel I had saved on the 2nd floor.

    – – – End of Chapter – – -

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