Have you ever been famous?
I have.
Waking up to a mountain of messages.
Countless people had followed my social media accounts.
The reason was simple.
A single video had spread across social media, and my face was now known nationwide.
I ignored the messages for now and checked the original video.
There were three people in the video.
Not only were they not pixelated, but it was in 4K, so their faces were crystal clear.
["You truly have wretched taste in men. That is probably your only flaw."]
["Know your place. If my brother weren't here, your tongue would have been cut out."]
Famous idol leader A, making a pathetic fuss after failing a public confession.
And ordinary citizen B, hurling scathing remarks at him.
Finally, person C, who stood quietly by the side.
That’s right.
It was what happened yesterday on the subway.
I thought it would be buried under the news of the 1st Floor changing,
but a single post uploaded at dawn brought it back to the surface.
["This is Park Sihyeok. I am the person from the subway incident."]
["First, I would like to apologize to those who were surprised by the articles about me."]
Yeah, since his face was already plastered everywhere, I understood him stepping up first.
Better to face the music first, right?
["I fell in love at first sight, so I didn’t want to regret it. Even if I could go back to that moment, I would have made the same choice."]
["My pants were wet because the orange juice in my pocket spilled. I hope you do not misunderstand."]
["Lastly, just in case, please refrain from slandering the woman I loved, if only for a short while."]
- Any hot-blooded man in his twenties would do the same. I support you.
- Don't lose your spirit, Oppa!! Us Gunpil Sonyeodan will be with you!
- Don't go on hiatus over this. Even people who gambled and drove drunk are still active, so why should you reflect on yourself?
- I support you.
- I support you.
Thanks to that, the reactions toward Park Sihyeok weren't bad at all.
No, you could even say they were good.
Not a single malicious comment—only supportive ones filled the comment section.
- Unnie, you were so pretty.
- You need to look like that for an idol to confess first. Yep.
There were no malicious comments about Rachel, either.
But there were hate comments about me.
Fuck.
- Wow, she rejected a celebrity's confession to walk around with someone who looks like that?
- Is he rich? Or maybe a promising Hunter who Awakened with an amazing ability... If not, the answer is a hypnosis app.
- What a waste of a woman. The guy's probably some womanizing premature-ejaculating bastard.
- I'm classmates with him. He's SSS-rank, but trash with all stats at 1. One light tap and he'd cross the Jordan River, lmao.
Is it right to curse me out while ignoring the actual parties involved?
I was just standing next to her.
Originally, I hadn't particularly cared whether Rachel accepted the confession or not.
But with how the situation developed, even I got angry—I'm only human.
"Saying I'm a womanizer and a premature ejaculator is a bit much."
I can't even show her this, and it's frustrating.
I sighed and turned off my phone.
At the same time, Rachel, who had been peeking at me from the side, asked a question.
"Orabeoni, what does 'womanizer and premature ejaculator' mean?"
"There is such a thing. It's a swear word you should never say to a man."
A gaze full of pure curiosity.
How could I explain the meaning of that to a kid like her in detail?
It was a different context, but I felt like I understood why Rachel had explained an Executioner as simply an Executioner.
Ah, right.
Speaking of Executioners reminded me.
"What were you talking about with Adel back then?"
A sudden noise had occurred, so I couldn't hear the conversation properly.
Judging from the bits and pieces I had caught,
"It seemed like you were talking about your family."
"...Are you sure it's okay to hear it? You were struggling so much, Orabeoni."
Rachel hardened her expression.
Definitely...
The moment I heard it, a headache started, and a nosebleed came out.
My personality even changed.
The noise that had occurred was like that, too.
And the scenery I had never seen before being projected was like that, too.
That was definitely the trigger.
"Well, it's probably a coincidence."
Since I might recall something if I heard it, I wanted to listen carefully.
But Rachel shook her head.
"The timing was too perfect to say that so definitively. I was so startled when you suddenly collapsed then!"
"I won't collapse this time."
"No! I can't stand seeing Orabeoni in pain."
"If I can't hear it, I think my heart will hurt?"
"B-but... *sniff*..."
Had she hated seeing me in pain that much?
Her eyes welled up with tears as she grabbed my sleeve, but I couldn't bring myself to ask her to tell me about it.
It had indeed hurt terribly then,
and if I passed out here, it would just be a waste of time...
In the end, I decided to put off hearing this story.
"If I still seem fine after hearing it, then tell me."
"*Sniff*...! Y-yes...! I understand...!"
"Don't cry. If you keep crying, I'll unsummon you."
"...*Hic*. Yes!"
Startled, Rachel forcibly swallowed her tears.
"I-I'm not crying now, so please don't unsummon me... I want to stay by Orabeoni's side..."
Does she like me that much?
I felt sorry for no reason.
"Why would I unsummon you, Rachel? You're so helpful to me."
"...Hehe, really?"
What a simple girl.
One compliment, and she was smiling from ear to ear.
Even with her face covered in tears, she was disgustingly beautiful.
Emerald pupils stared at me.
I let out an awkward cough to break the unnecessary awkwardness. *Ahem!*
I cracked a joke to lighten the mood in this situation.
"Hey, if you cry and then laugh, you'll grow hair on your butt!"
"Really? Won't Orabeoni check for me?"
"...It's a joke."
"But I'm not joking."
But Rachel was an even more incredible person than I thought.
Who knew she had a knack for heating up the atmosphere?
She blushed as if embarrassed herself and stole glances at me; there was something impudent about that look.
"...Is that so?"
"Yes, you can do whatever you want, Orabeoni."
"That's what you're saying."
I slowly approached Rachel.
And raised my hand...
Smack!
I hit Rachel's forehead.
With my Strength stat at 1, it probably didn't hurt, but it was meant to knock some sense into her.
"Who do you think you're messing with? I won't do that stuff unless it's my first love."
Rachel's eyes widened as if she had been shocked by my answer.
"...Boohoo. I hate Orabeoni!"
"Yeah, hate me."
"No! I won't hate Orabeoni."
"Do whatever you want."
What does she want me to do?
"Does she think being pretty is everything?"
"Huh?"
"It's nothing."
"Can't you say it one more time?"
"Forget it. Wash up and get ready to go. We're already late."
"Aww, come on!"
As if she had already gotten over it, Rachel pouted and looped her arm through mine.
The sexual atmosphere that had filled the room only moments ago had long since vanished.
Whew.
I barely held back.
I had almost lost my grip on my reason without realizing it.
'It's all because it's just the two of us in this small room.'
I calmed my unnecessarily racing heart and opened the window.
I needed to either move out quickly or unsummon her—one or the other.
***
Popular celebrity A had said:
If you walk around boldly, people won't recognize you.
Sure enough, when I walked around with my head held high, no one pretended to know me.
Of course, I wore glasses and had a helmet pulled down low, but the effect was undeniable.
Even after taking public transportation and going near the Tower, where foot traffic was heavy, zero people recognized me.
Even with Rachel clinging right beside me, no one recognized her.
I had her wear a hat pulled down low, glasses, and the baggiest clothes possible.
Of course, even so, her beauty that leaked through stopped a few men in their tracks.
But that was all.
After what happened yesterday, they probably never thought I'd be strolling the streets like this.
Well, anyway.
The moment I entered the Tower, choices appeared before my eyes.
【Unlocked Floor: 2F】
【Where would you like to go?】
I naturally chose the 2nd Floor.
As I said yesterday, the 1st Floor was crowded with people, so there was a risk of my identity being exposed.
『STAGE 2. A Kingdom Occupied by Orcs』
『Difficulty: HELL』
『Mission: Subjugation』
『Remaining until Completion: 10,000』
『In HELL difficulty, mid-stage exit is impossible.』
Like the 1st Floor, the scenery changed in an instant.
Was it because I was experienced?
I nonchalantly picked up my axe and prepared for battle.
"...They really tore the place apart."
The first thing I saw was the collapsed castle wall.
Next was a long pole stretching high into the sky.
At its end, people's heads hung in clusters.
Had they not been dead for long?
Blood dripped down, and below were Orcs with their mouths open.
The skin around their mouths was bright red, as if they had been drinking red wine.
They were clearly massive, at least 5 meters tall.
Stacked even higher than that were piles of human corpses.
I didn't particularly feel any compassion.
Those people had no way of being saved anyway; they were merely part of the stage's background.
"Rachel, ready?"
"Yes!"
The only ones moving here were me, Rachel, and ten thousand Orcs.
For reference, in Hard difficulty, there are only 100.
So I should think of it as roughly 100 times as many.
While I was having such careless thoughts.
"KuoOOo!"
I raised my head at the roar echoing from atop the castle wall.
There was an Orc holding a staff and dressed in a shaman's outfit.
It looked about twice the size of the other Orcs.
When the bastard appeared, the other Orcs began prostrating themselves on the ground one by one.
"Kuo?"
Standing stiffly, the shaman Orc glared at us in anger.
It carried skulls on its staff like keyrings, and rotting human noses and ears hung around its neck.
"I think it's telling us to prostrate ourselves?"
"How dare it demand such a thing from Orabeoni. It's very arrogant."
My bodyguard Rachel swung her sword, and sword energy burst forth.
It was the same attack that had wiped out the Goblins before.
The extending sword energy slaughtered all the Orcs within its range.
But strangely, the sword energy couldn't reach the shaman Orc.
'This is only the 2nd Floor, and it blocked Rachel's attack?'
As I was bewildered, watching the attack disappear as if absorbed by something—
The shaman Orc struck its staff down in anger.
At the same time, black energy gathered from somewhere and covered the sun,
【Night has fallen. The beasts of the stage grow stronger.】
Suddenly, a pitch-black night arrived.