Chapter 42
An Arrow That Left the Bow (1)
“Holy crap.”
The moment I arrived on the 51st floor, I muttered in a daze.
A village lined with wooden buildings bearing old signs—inns, restaurants, taverns, and the like.
Knights in armor and exhausted-looking residents moved back and forth. No matter how you looked at it, this was clearly human territory.
First pull gacha success without a single reroll!
But before that, let me make one thing clear—I’m absolutely not a narrow-minded, species-discriminating racist.
That said, I never expected seeing people without animal ears or tails to move me this much.
Since I’m human and they’re human too, gathering information about the Tower of Babel should be way easier.
Just thinking that things would be on easy mode from here on out made me feel refreshed.
I fiddled with the outer surface of my mask while searching for someone who looked easy to talk to.
For reference, the mask I was wearing now wasn’t my usual veil-attached one, but a half mask that covered only half my face.
Wearing a veil mask in a place like this would basically be advertising, “I’m suspicious!”
Perfect timing—a young woman in medieval attire passed by my side.
I quickly pushed back the hood of my robe and asked,
“Excuse me, where is this place?”
“……You don’t know where you are? This is Casabl.”
“Casabl?”
The woman tilted her head, frowning as if I were strange.
Crap, did I sound way too excited and suspicious?
I quickly scanned the surroundings.
Compared to Kona, the beastfolk territory, this place felt much more familiar to me—though the people looked far more worn down.
Looks like beastfolk really do have better recovery abilities than humans.
I scratched the back of my head and smiled awkwardly.
“I was carried in half-dead and only recently recovered, haha…”
The woman nodded, looking like she understood.
“So you went to the front lines, even though you’re a woman. But it looks like you recovered pretty fast?”
“Ah, yes. I was logistics support, so I wasn’t badly hurt. And everyone took good care of me.”
“Well, this is relatively deep in the rear, so the wounded are treated decently here.”
Seems I guessed right.
Her wariness eased, and before I knew it, she was even patting my shoulder.
Okay. I’m going with the ‘rear-evacuated supply soldier’ concept.
I smiled gratefully and asked casually,
“Right? That must be why I was brought here. By the way, is there a good place nearby to eat?”
My plan was to start information gathering at a restaurant.
Old men drinking soju at long-established taverns always talk the most honestly about society.
And in fantasy worlds, the saying ‘Walls have ears’ doesn’t really apply.
All secrets circulate at the back tables.
Unaware of my dark intentions, the woman kindly pointed in one direction.
“There’s a place called Traveler’s Footprints over there. Their stew is good. Since you just got discharged, something warm would be good for your stomach.”
In the direction she pointed was a small restaurant with a sign that looked like it could fall apart at any moment.
Exactly the image I had in mind.
“Sounds great. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. May Oerisa’s blessing be with you.”
With a warm smile and an unfamiliar phrase, she walked away.
“Oerisa…?”
A god in this world?
The one who created a sanctuary called Prolovel, yet failed to protect anything while black fog engulfed the continent?
Not a bad name to remember, so I nodded to myself.
Anyway—this is a good start!
Ding!
[Title Job Quest (7)
Do not interfere with the scenario.
Reward: ???]
…At least, it was—until something suspicious popped up in front of my eyes.
“What the hell is this?”
I narrowed my eyes and reread it carefully.
Title job quests always make weird demands at the worst timing, but this one was especially strange.
It was called a Title Job Quest, yet had nothing to do with the market.
And what the hell does ‘don’t interfere with the scenario’ mean?
Shaking my head, I summoned the helper I’d almost forgotten about.
“Sammy, this is weird. Is this really a title job quest?”
[⁕ Yes. Title job quests are distributed under Babel’s judgment system.]
The answer was so bureaucratic it only made things worse.
I decided to go full punk.
“Hey. Smile.”
[⁕ :)]
Unbelievable.
Is this teenage rebellion or what?
I clicked my tongue, shifting my weight to one leg.
Up until now, it had always answered cleanly without complaints. Was this irritation just my personality problem?
By “track record,” I meant my past of selling 49th-floor speed-run packages and clearing scenarios.
Sure, from the world’s perspective, it was a praiseworthy achievement.
But from Babel’s perspective, I probably looked like a cheater exploiting bugs to break sealed routes.
Still—doesn’t clearing it mean clearing it?
So now they’re blocking me because “the process matters”?
The Tower of Babel is definitely a stubborn old man.
And a quest that forces me to just sit still?
It’s like a petty boss excluding me from work because he doesn’t like me.
The fact that the reward was a question mark made it even more unsettling—but…
“……Fine. Let’s ask later and double down for now.”
Adjusting my mask, I slowly headed toward Traveler’s Footprints.
In my experience, nothing’s more useless than obsessing over one thing and killing time.
Losing sight of your goal over a suspicious quest isn’t very mature.
My purpose for coming to the 51st floor was clear—no reason to hesitate.
I’ll try turning off the Merchant’s Mark first.
Since this is human territory, I shouldn’t be attacked, and knowing the scenario would help in emergencies.
Honestly, curiosity played a big part too.
Just what kind of scenario made Seo Jaehyuk surrender with both hands raised?
Sammy, turn off Merchant’s Mark.
[⁕ Disabling the ‘Merchant’s Mark’ skill at your current location is not recommended. Do you wish to proceed?]
Why is it being so strict today?
With an irritated expression, I nodded sharply.
After a few seconds—
[Awakener Lee Haewon – Open Market Administrator (EX)
> New Notification
– Skill ‘Merchant’s Mark’ has been deactivated.]
Along with the long-awaited Merchant’s Mark OFF—
[Main Scenario: ‘Such a Desperate Peace’
(Region – Prolovel I | Dimension – Ganasia)]
For a thousand years, the beastfolk and human races of Ganasia have waged a blood-soaked war.
After countless sacrifices, the Cantana Peace Accord was signed, allowing the two races to coexist for the next hundred years.
However, ten years ago, the sudden spread of Agemore’s Corrosion began to slowly consume the continent.
Once-green plains turned into gray wastelands, and clear rivers rotted black.
Land where life could thrive continues to shrink by the moment.
Over the last surviving land—the sanctuary Prolovel—the two races have drawn their swords once more.
Peace became a luxury. Survival became the only truth.
Scenario Objective:
Facilitate a meeting between the two races and stop Agemore’s Corrosion.
Scenario Hints:
Agemore’s Corrosion affects Awakeners as well.
A gatekeeper is required to revive the ancient oath.
An unfading sprout exists.
The main scenario I’d been so curious about.
[■ Babel System > 49th Floor Notice
– Opening delayed due to insufficient scenario participants. (1/10)]**
[■ Babel System > Scenario Notice
– Assigned participants for ‘Such a Desperate Peace’: 10
– From the 51st floor onward, scenarios do not reset upon clearing. The number of cleared floors varies depending on scenario progression.
– Withdrawal from scenarios is impossible from the 51st floor onward.
– We recommend assigning Awakeners with appropriate abilities per floor.]**
Additional windows filled my vision.
Such a Desperate Peace.
That was the name Cha Geundam had mentioned when trying to recruit me. Seeing the details myself felt oddly emotional.
Come to think of it, this was my first time properly viewing a scenario window.
Before, I’d just ninja-sold items from floor to floor.
Selling Vita100 was the good old days…
Reading the scenario like a clueless beginner, I clicked my tongue.
“No wonder Seo Jaehyuk panicked.”
Every scenario revealed through media so far had been one-off.
Even the long-stagnant 49th-floor Falcon Kingdom scenario was difficult mainly because of its complex sub-quests.
This is on another level.
Such detailed background explanation means the lore actually matters.
No scenario before had required that.
Even if Aegis—the first guild to reach the 51st floor—had gone ahead, how were they supposed to reconcile two races that had been killing each other for centuries?
And there was barely any hint about stopping the black smoke that killed Echo’s parents.
The scenario hints must be the key, right?
Was the ancient oath the fuse that shattered their unity?
“And what the hell is an unfading sprout?”
I ground my teeth at the flood of metaphors that showed zero support for Awakeners trying to clear this.
It already looked high-difficulty—would it kill them to be more direct?!
The possibilities were endless, stretching across dimensions.
Ms. Oerisa, if you’re still watching, how about helping a bit?
That was when—
“Hey.”
“Huh? Yes?”
A hand grabbed my shoulder, making me jump as I turned around.
A knight, smaller than Alexandro but far larger than me, glared down with a grim expression.
Could this be Oerisa’s divine help in disguise—
“You’re someone I’ve never seen around here. Remove your mask and state your name and affiliation.”
…Yeah, no.
He clearly stopped me because I looked suspicious.
Glancing back, I saw the woman who recommended the restaurant staring at me with her arms crossed.
I shut my eyes tightly, feeling betrayed.
You smiled warmly at me earlier, didn’t you, unni…!
Wasn’t that a blood oath to overlook things even if I looked suspicious?!
“Hey.”
The soldier tightened his grip on my shoulder.
“Ah, well, you see—I spilled boiling medicine on my face while brewing it, so I have burns. I’m still being treated, so taking off the mask is kind of—”
“A spy?”
“No?!”
Why did you turn the wheel so hard?!
Even the beastfolk weren’t this hostile—what’s with humans?
I kept my panic hidden and thought fast.
The smell of dirt, blood, and medicine wafted from his rusted armor.
I hurriedly spoke,
“I—I’m a pharmacist, the daughter of a merchant who lived near the newly formed tower. I came looking for my father after hearing he went to the front lines and never returned.”
“Your father?”
“Yes! Yes!”
Family stories really are universal—even across dimensions!
I added in a sorrowful voice,
“I couldn’t contact him, so I came myself. His health wasn’t good to begin with, and it’s time he’d have finished the medicine I prepared. If he’s dead… could I at least recover his body?”
“Which unit was your father assigned to?”
“……Uh, I don’t think he ever told me.”
I hesitated, glancing up at the knight’s face.
A dark smile was spreading across it.
Green light!
“So the area near the tower is in ruins from the war. How did you come from there?”
Damn it—no, it wasn’t.
I answered reflexively,
“Ah.”
“Ah?”
The knight smiled even brighter.
Then, without hesitation, he ordered the soldiers lined up beside him.
“Throw her in.”
Ah.
I’m screwed again.
