“…We’re here.”
The old man turned his head with a hearty laugh and looked at me. In front of him was another iron gate, different from the entrance to the 6th floor.
“But are you really going in alone?”
“I told you, it’s personal. Asking for more help here would make me feel a bit guilty.”
“Well… the things down there are practically half-dead corpses, so it’s not dangerous, but… it’s still strange. Who would have thought someone would know about the existence of the 7th floor and be curious about it?”
When I asked the old man for help earlier, I had added a little lie, asking him to guide me to the 7th floor.
‘This is a secret, but one of my clients is a weirdo who’s curious about the secrets of this place.’
‘Even if they have nothing better to do, why would anyone be curious about the secrets of a place like this?’
‘I don’t know what rich people think. They were so curious that they even knew about the existence of the 7th floor.’
‘The 7th floor…? They know about that place?’
‘They don’t know the details, just that it exists. So, about that…’
No matter what, I couldn’t tell the truth. Even though he’s friendly now, there’s no telling how he might react if I revealed the truth.
So, I added the setting that I had received a personal request from a wealthy client to go to the 7th floor.
“Are you sure I don’t need to go in with you?”
“It’s fine, really. And when I asked you to guide me, your subordinates were already going crazy. I wouldn’t dare bring them along.”
Especially that squad leader who fought with me earlier. He was the worst.
‘This brat got lucky once and now he’s all high and mighty!?’
‘Is the boss your lackey? How dare you ask the boss to be a guide!?’
‘Just take this!’
Wham!
In the end, the old man’s punch made them reluctantly agree, but they made it clear they wouldn’t let it slide if I harmed the boss. They were so intense, I thought my ears were bleeding.
“Ahem… I’m sorry about that. Hehe.”
The old man, knowing well how his subordinates act, awkwardly laughed and apologized.
“Anyway, go ahead. The subordinates might start rushing us again.”
With that, I passed the old man and headed toward the gate.
‘Ms. Narin, can you see it?’
-Yeah, I’ve been checking it out for a while now.
The gate leading to the 7th floor was similar to the iron gate on the 6th floor, but a bit more complicated. It wasn’t just about inserting a key; you had to solve an electronic code to open it.
‘Can you solve it?’
-Of course! This is even easier!
The path to the 7th floor and the information about it were heavily locked, which was the problem. I’ve been manipulating and hacking Tartarus’ information in real-time, so a code like this was no issue.
Beep. Beep.
-It’s done, Older Brother!
‘You solved it faster than I expected.’
-These old-fashioned codes are a piece of cake for a beauty hacker like me, Narin!
She seemed a bit hurt earlier when she couldn’t find the way here, but now she was back to her confident self, her ego soaring.
Click.
Just like before, I made a key that matched the gate’s shape, turned it, and the gate unlocked completely.
“Guest.”
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to open the gate and head down, the old man called out to me from behind.
“Old man, do you have something to say?”
“The kindness you’ve shown us has saved us all.”
“What?”
As I was puzzled, the old man bowed deeply. I was a bit taken aback.
What’s with this sudden behavior?
‘What kindness?’
Did I do something kind? I just sold some goods for money.
“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You sold us new goods at a low price, even though it was a trade. Honestly… yes, I admit it. You must have noticed, but the money we gave you initially was far less than what it should have been.”
The old man, without being asked, suddenly confessed that they had scammed me. And that the money was insufficient?
Even though I have a lot of money, I’m not completely out of touch with financial sense…
At this point, I’m starting to suspect that the original smugglers were exchanging daily necessities for gold.
“Our faction is strong in combat, but compared to other factions, we lack money and connections. We don’t have many followers outside, so we’re not exactly rich in supplies or money to exchange for them.”
If it were other smugglers, they wouldn’t have sold us these daily necessities at such a low price.
The old man stroked his beard and looked at me.
“In this situation, how could we not think that you were being considerate by selling us goods at a much lower price than their actual value?”
No, I really didn’t know.
It was just a mutually beneficial deal, and the old man had misunderstood.
“You’re jumping to conclusions, old man.”
“Modesty can be harmful if overdone. This old man, though I ended up here due to the recklessness of my youth, I’m not so shameless.”
Despite my denial, the old man stubbornly stuck to his belief. Calling himself “Gwakmo,” he then respectfully bowed.
“If you ever need help, please come to us anytime. Even though I’m just an old man rotting away in this back room, just as you extended a helping hand to us first. If you wish, this Gwakmoocheon and my subordinates will assist you.”
“…Alright. If you say so, I’ll let you know if I need anything, old man Gwak.”
“Thank you.”
It seemed like a waste of time to keep denying, so I roughly agreed and opened the gate.
“Ah, right. I’ll return this translator.”
“Please consider it a gift. I can afford to give one as a gift.”
Really? Then I’ll take it.
I waved my hand and gave a casual farewell to the old man.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“May you achieve what you desire.”
Unexpectedly, I’ve gained another useful ally.
‘It’s good for me if I have more to use.’
Leaving the unexpected gain behind, I moved forward.
“Let’s finish this quickly and rest.”
More than anything, I desperately needed a break.
Tartarus is an underground prison for criminals.
They divided it into seven floors, with each floor housing criminals of increasing severity and danger as you go deeper.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors hold minor ability-user criminals.
The 4th and 5th floors hold serious criminals, but ones that the prison guards can handle.
The 6th floor is where they keep the strong criminals that the guards can’t handle.
Then, what about the 7th floor?
Shudder
-Wh-what is that…? Is that a person?
If I had to define the 7th floor in one word, it would be this.
Things that are not human.
I briefly recited the information I remembered about them to Narin, who was startled.
“It could be a person, or not a person, or maybe it was a person but isn’t anymore.”
-What does that mean!? Is it a person or not!?
“I don’t know either.”
It’s just that the original work described it that way.
I stared for a moment at the strange black liquid, weakly sloshing behind the iron bars.
All I knew was that it was a precursor to something.
‘Since it still has no strength, it seems there’s plenty of time to prepare.’
The black liquid, which seemed viscous at times, soon became runny again. For some reason, its movements, similar to the tentacles I often use, made me feel uneasy.
“This is the 7th floor.”
A space where non-human things are imprisoned.
A room filled with all sorts of bizarre phenomena and traces of mysticism beyond human comprehension.
-You could say it’s sealed away…?
“Sealed is a bit of an exaggeration. It’s more like they’ve hidden it in a corner where no one can see.”
I walked forward slowly.
“I’ll turn off the camera just in case.”
-Why?
“I’m not sure how it would look through the camera, but seeing them directly might affect you.”
I couldn’t look around.
Among the things on the 7th floor, there are traces of mysticism that can hypnotize, cause illusions, or hallucinations just by being seen.
‘Come here, you’ll be happy if you come here~’
‘Aren’t you tired? Why not take a little break?’
They’re openly tempting me to come over. Would you go if you were me?
‘Oh my, there’s even a glowing transforming robot T-Rex right next to you!’
Gasp*
That’s a bit tempting.
-…Older Brother?
“It’s nothing.”
For a moment, I was tempted, but Narin’s anxious voice calling me brought me back to my senses.
‘Come here…’
‘Take a little break…’
The voices of the traces echoed even when I covered my ears.
To distract myself, I kept talking to Narin as I headed toward my destination.
-By the way, the traces of mysticism can talk too?
“Usually, it’s when the lingering thoughts of the mysticism are strong, or the mysticism itself has special properties.”
Right before mysticism leaves a trace, if it had strong lingering thoughts or if the ability itself was special.
And in rare cases, the spiritual entity of the mysticism itself moves into the trace.
‘Of course, traces of mysticism are rare, so dividing them like this might not mean much.’
Anyway, I ignored the traces of mysticism that kept tempting me and continued talking to Narin.
-But wasn’t our target a person? Is there a reason we came to this floor?
“It is a person. A definite, living person here.”
At my words, Narin made a sound of surprise and started asking again.
-But you said the 7th floor is where they keep non-human things.
“There are always exceptions.”
-What does that mean!?
Listening to Narin grumbling about how arbitrary it was, I finally reached the end of the 7th floor.
‘I can see it now.’
Huge chains stretched out from afar.
“……”
They were restraining only one being.
“Hello?”
The 7th floor.
A space for those who are not human.
A space for those filled with malice toward humans.
Even among the traces of mysticism that actively spread evil to drive people insane within a day or two, there was a monster who had stayed sane for decades.
“I am Alpha, an S-class hero.”
I’ve come to make a deal with you.
