Chapter 191: Big Guy and Little Guy 1
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The party unanimously decided to speed towards the 40th floor.
"Honestly, it was disgusting to see."
"We need to sort this out quickly, before more brothers fall into corruption."
"Honestly, there's no point in fighting these creatures that don't even drop mana stones. They just leave behind corpses instead of stones..."
Even for residents of a fantasy world who are indifferent to death, r*pe is something that cannot be overlooked.
Or should I call it monster breeding...?
Of course, we've only encountered such sexually explicit things once, but that doesn't mean they are the only ones these kind of things can happen to.
It seemed like Grace, Irene, and Katie advocated for rushing to the 40th floor for that reason, while Han Se-ah had a slightly different reason for wanting to go there directly.
"If BB Games had any sense, they wouldn't replicate players. At most, they might copy our companions. Why? Hey, how would you feel if a virtual reality game used your physical data to make and distribute r*pe p*rn?"
-A global game company or not, using real-life figures for such things is no different from deepfake p*rn lol.
-Yeah, they wouldn't dare use user data unless they're crazy.
-Even celebrities play virtual reality games and post about it on social media, but lawsuits are not the issue.
-Deepfakes are just about the face, this is the whole body lol. If it was abroad, it would almost be self-defense to shoot up the place.
-So, are there no player clones?
"Maybe they'll just brush it off as 'players are special, chosen by the goddess~' What would you choose? Alter the story or face a future being sued by millions of female players and celebrities from every country?"
[Tough Guy Nomu donated 10,000 won!]
If the stream gets suspended before we reach the 40th floor, you get another 10,000 won.
"We need to move past these scenes quickly if they keep happening. I thought this was an undead floor, not a sexual crime floor. Nomu, I'll remember you and take that as consolation money if we get suspended. I'm writing down your real ID."
The game company wouldn't be crazy enough to do something like that, but it's a huge hindrance anyway to the stream, so let's hurry past it.
Her words made sense, something I hadn't thought of.
I don't know how virtual reality games are made, but I know that Han Se-ah in the game and outside the game look the same, scanned through a capsule.
For some reason, the game doesn't allow players to customize their physical appearance.
It's been a while since I read a game fantasy novel, so the clich settings are a bit hazy.
Most of the novels made players use their own faces for the game...
Ah, that's because, unlike Heroes Chronicle, they were online multiplayer games, right?
Anyway, unless the game company is a gathering of real psychopaths, it's unthinkable that they would replicate players' physical data to create scenarios where they are r*ped.
"Then let's aim to ascend to the 40th floor as quickly as possible. Instead of seeking the origin of the Demon King's creations, it's better to handle whatever appears on the 40th floor, just like we've done so far."
"Full Moon Wolves on the 10th floor, Orc Chieftains on the 20th, and Giant Serpents on the 30th. Indeed, is there some mystical significance to these powerful creatures appearing every ten floors?"
I quickened my pace to keep up with the group.
We found the passage from the 36th to the 37th floor quickly, thanks to Grace's keen perception.
It's been 10 years since I started living as an adventurer in this world.
Adapting to a medieval fantasy life where human rights don't exist and getting used to killing took some time.
Though I've traveled extensively outside the tower to earn money... still, the highest I've explored in these 10 years is the 37th floor.
But now, having joined a player, in just over half a year, we're already at the 37th floor.
"Roland? Something on your mind?"
"No, it's just a strange feeling being back on the 37th floor again."
"Ah, right, you turned back at the 37th floor, didn't you?"
Noticing my distraction, Grace sticks close to me, using the narrow dirt path as an excuse.
Seeing her immaculate beauty inside the tower, I can't help but feel the drastic change.
They say ten years can turn rivers and mountains, but who would have thought the tower would change this much.
I thought I'd be leisurely living in a mansion decorated with magical tools 10 years later, just idly enjoying life.
But here I am, the first NPC companion of a player, heading to the top of the tower with a party of beautiful ladies.
"Back then, this place wasn't tainted by undead, but it was just as dreadful. Now, theres a gate from the Magic Tower on the 30th floor, and even the temple has started providing support. But it wasn't like that before."
"Indeed, thinking about walking up from the 1st floor, it does seem daunting. To think, every time we explored, we would have had to find and climb 36 passages?"
Crossing plains, navigating forests, exploring caves to reach a marshland, and then a plateau?
What kind of hellish place is that? And to think, that's where I stubbornly earned my living in this world.
While focused on sharing my experiences with Grace clinging to my side and Katie listening intently behind me, something catches my eye.
Its like a spot-the-difference puzzle, something seems off, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
As I stop and blink, scanning the surroundings, the sharp-eyed scout Grace points in one direction.
"There, look at that!"
The subtle sense of unease I felt, along with 4 scout Grace's specialized exploration passive, led us to a discovery a huge gray tree.
Another tree, seriously? 𝗳r𝐞ew𝚎bn𝚘ve𝚕.c𝗼𝗺
Of course, it wasn't as massive as the skyscraper-sized one on the 35th floor, but more like the size of a reasonable villa.
While it was still incredibly large, it seemed almost quaint compared to the last tree we encountered, which was as big as the 63 Building.
"It seemed odd because seeing the tree alone is so different, right?"
"Ah, right. I didn't think much of it since the tree lacked those disgusting tentacles."
Pushing aside the trees was the story of the 35th floor.
On the 36th and 37th floors, the ashy trees were still ominously standing about, but without the divine-energy-draining pale vines, we hadn't paid them much attention.
So, we almost missed the large gray tree far off in the corner of our vision.
It was so distant that we had to cross several poison ponds and paralyzing swamps to get to it, yet it looked similar to the other trees from afar.
If the tree on the 35th floor felt like looking at the 63 Building or Lotte Tower from afar, then the tree over there felt like looking at an apartment complex from a neighboring building block.
My mind might be a bit muddled, but it's definitely larger than the other trees.
"Let's head that way. After what happened on the 35th floor, that huge tree definitely seems suspicious."
"You're right. By rough estimation, it seems at least five times larger than any other tree. We should check it out."
Han Se-ah also seems to think that tree is key to our quest, sparing no mana to create a direct path.
With a murmur of 'Earth Control,' a path of soil rises up, spanning over the poison ponds and paralyzing mud.
-Shining performance followed by (literally) solid support.
-Thats the power of a mage. A brute warrior would have just gone round and round.
-At this point, other streamers should also make their mage companions learn Earth Control, right?
Fortunately, no undead monsters jumped out from beside our earthen path.
The scarcity of undead monsters might not just be luck.
Landscapes gradually becoming visible seem to confirm our guess.
Though not as high as the 63 Building, the tree, tall as an apartment building, had its roots entwined with various undead.
Hanging low like weeping willow branches, at the tips were large amniotic sacs, dangling like fruits.
"What is that...?"
"Feeding on the undead, mimicking humans...?"
After a sickening squirming, the sac opens, releasing a viscous liquid to the ground.
Among the undead and the fluid, adventurers fall with a thud, cushioned by the entangled roots and the liquid below.
Crouched like children, each one was armored in leather, struggling and squirming on the ground.
All of them were similarly armed, suggesting that their armor and swords were part of the monster's body, produced en masse.
It wasn't an implausible scenario, considering living armors like sentient armor and sword-shaped monsters existed in this world.
"My goodness, there was still a sapling of that despicable tree!"
"Sapling... isnt that too big to be called that?"
"Definitely smaller than the tree on the 35th floor, but"
A tree that feeds on undead to give birth to humans.
The sight of the ashen tree, producing not just leather armor but various types of swords, bows, even quivers and arrows, left our party agape in astonishment.
Everyone except Han Se-ah and me, who were watching the stream, was shocked.
The party's trembling eyes shifted between Han Se-ah and me before letting out a deep sigh to compose themselves.
No matter how shocking the sight, the fact remained that this tree was a creation of the Demon King.
Our party, gripping their weapons and adopting a battle stance, began to advance menacingly.
One of the robbers, still covered in the not-yet-dry fluid, spat lewd comments at us from the ground.
"Heh, pretty ladies, huh? Let's kill the men and capture the beauties!"
"Ugh, disgusting."
"Roland, you might need to control your strength this time. If this is what's creating the Demon King's creatures, we need to share this information with the brothers at the temple and the Magic Tower."
Irene quickly interjected, worrying I might destroy this tree on the 37th floor as I had with the one on the 35th.
Whether she's overly concerned or overestimating my abilities, I'm not sure.
After all, I'm a tank