‘I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye to Dingdongi.’
The last image of Dingdongi in my sight was of it hopping around nearby, as if it couldn’t even imagine I was about to disappear.
Would Dingdongi be able to live well on its own without me?
Before I even had time to grieve my sudden farewell with Dingdongi, I was startled by the sound of murmuring and looked around.
I was in a plaza where several people, including myself, had gathered. Around the outskirts, I could see buildings in a medieval European style.
I didn’t need to look closely to tell what state the people were in.
Some were simply gasping for breath, some were retching on the ground, and some had abrasions all over their bodies.
There were even people drenched head to toe in blood, or bleeding profusely from severe wounds on their thighs.
‘All I did was spend time fooling around with a slime.’
It seemed everyone else besides me had fought a major battle on the first floor.
Clap, clap.
At the sudden sound of applause, I turned my head.
To my surprise, there was a man floating in the sky.
That applause just now must have been from the man above, trying to draw our attention.
But was I the only one who had noticed the man in the sky?
Around me, there were only people groaning in pain, or people who had already formed factions among themselves and were chatting noisily.
The man looking down at us from the sky frowned, apparently displeased that his attempt to gather attention had failed.
I didn’t know what to do, so I was just looking around awkwardly, trying to read the room, when—
Clap, clap.
The applause was far louder than before.
If I had to put it into words, it felt as if the sound of the clapping had penetrated right into my head.
The noise that had filled the plaza until just moments ago died down as if cold water had been poured over it, and everyone looked at the man.
“Greetings, everyone. It seems this batch has several times more survivors than usual.”
The man, who gave a slightly awkward smile, continued speaking.
“I am Ligor, the administrator who will assist you in climbing the Tower. First, before I begin my explanation, I will help treat the injured. From now on, I will be in charge of any injuries sustained during your climb, so there is no need to worry.”
With the sound of Ligor snapping his fingers, I saw people’s wounds begin to heal.
‘I wasn’t expecting it, but my gender isn’t going back to normal.’
My hope that my gender swap might be considered an injury and I’d return to being male went up in smoke, and I focused on the administrator’s explanation.
He gave a dull explanation about how we could sleep in the inn rooms with our names on them, how meals would be provided daily in the dining hall, and where the various facilities were located. Then—
“Next, I will explain contribution points. Contribution points are calculated based on how much influence your actions had during the process of climbing the Tower. They are a currency that can be used at convenience facilities such as the shop, so please keep that in mind. For reference, if you shout [Status Window] in your mind, you can check the contribution points you currently possess.”
The people around me were marveling at the status windows that had appeared before their eyes.
‘A status window is practically a law of nature in tower-climbing stories, but seeing them so amazed, I guess they must have lived their lives completely cut off from subculture.’
For a brief moment, I felt proud that while others were studying English or Spanish, I had stayed home alone reading tower-climbing stories.
Then, going along with the atmosphere of everyone checking their status windows, I checked mine as well.
[Status Window]
Name: Jeong Seha
Gender: Female
Age: 10
Health: 10 Durability: 2 Strength: 3 Agility: 4 Mana: 0 (+1)
Skills: -
Achievements: ⬛⬛
Contribution Points: 3620
The only thing added to the status window that hadn’t changed since a month ago was the contribution points.
‘Four digits in contribution points just for playing with Dingdongi for a month? Is it because I picked easy mode that they’re giving me a lot?’
“In any case, that concludes my explanation. For reference, the scheduled time to enter the second floor is noon three days from now. Are there any points you are curious about, or any questions you would like to ask?”
“…”
After a brief silence, a large man raised his hand while glancing around nervously.
“Um… Lord Legor…”
“It is not Legor, but Ligor.”
“Ah! I’m sorry. Lord Ligor!”
‘For someone who looks like he could be the protagonist of Crime City, he sure is timid.’
Even taking into account that I’d become shorter, the sight of a sturdy young man who easily looked over 180 centimeters tall fidgeting like that was beyond frustrating.
“May I ask how we can leave the Tower? I have sick parents at home…”
“The complete resolution of the Tower. That is the only way for all of you to escape the Tower.”
Just as I thought the explanation was far too unkind, Ligor, who had paused after cutting himself off, began speaking again.
“Ordinarily, the contribution points obtainable on the first floor would limit the answers I can give, but perhaps because this batch has many people, it seems I can add a little more. Escaping the Tower requires contribution points.”
Ligor, who had been explaining to us with a gentle smile, had at some point begun turning translucent.
“It seems it is about time for me to bid you farewell. The next opportunity you will have to see me will be immediately after clearing the second floor. I sincerely hope that many of you will still be alive then.”
He bowed his head and gave a courteous farewell, then disappeared with the short parting words, “May your choice not become recklessness.”
As soon as Ligor disappeared, the plaza quickly became disorderly.
Crowded atmospheres had never suited me to begin with, and meeting other people for the first time in a month made it feel even more uncomfortable.
Especially since about eighty percent of the people in this plaza were men, one little girl standing there naturally drew a great deal of attention from those nearby.
‘First, let’s go home and think.’
Leaving behind the gazes of people who couldn’t quite bring themselves to speak to me and were only glancing my way awkwardly, I hurried toward the inn.
***
‘Since they called it an inn, I thought it’d be about the size of a small motel room, but it’s much more proper than I expected.’
When I opened the door with the name Jeong Seha written on it, I was greeted by a cozy home.
I tossed aside the staff that had felt like luggage and hurried straight to the bed.
“Ahh~ Now this is the life.”
After spending a month living on the ground with nothing but leaves spread out beneath me, entrusting my body to a proper bed was nothing short of paradise.
When modern people talked about dopamine detoxing and reduced their social media use, I had lived without even a smartphone or proper meals, so of course it felt that way.
As I lay on the bed, closed my eyes, and slowly thought things over, a few questions about what had happened today arose.
Why had the first floor been cleared so suddenly? Why had I been perfectly fine while everyone else was covered in wounds, as if they had all gone through a brutal battle?
And lastly, the meaning of ‘Achievements: ⬛⬛.’
‘Is it because I chose easy mode?’
Since I had no information at all, thinking about it didn’t really solve any of my questions.
“Sigh. What’s the point of worrying with a fate like mine?”
I got up from the bed and looked around the house. The first thing that caught my eye was a mirror.
‘I think this is the first time I’ve looked at my face properly.’
On the first floor, I had lived alone on a grassland, so the only chance I’d had to see my face was the blurry reflection in the lake.
Aside from the fact that my hair was long and sky-blue, I knew nothing about myself.
“Huuup.”
I steadied my breathing, mentally prepared myself, and finally looked into the mirror.
My appearance was prettier than I had expected, to the point that I briefly forgot to breathe.
Or maybe “cute” suited it better than “pretty.”
In contrast to my messy, completely unmanaged hair, my firm, fair baby-like skin was enough to create a serious gap moe.
My delicate facial features were as distinct as those of a child actor—no, even more than that.
“Mm-hmm. So that’s why everyone in the plaza was staring at me. Hehe.”
Once I confirmed that I’d won first prize in the face lottery, even when I tried to hold back my laughter, little smirks kept leaking out.
Because my body had become like this, my dream of “reincarnating in another world and building a harem kingdom,” which I had long hoped for, was no longer possible. But with looks like these, maybe it wasn’t so bad.
“Grrrgle.”
Right on cue, my stomach clock rang out nicely.
The time was also six in the evening. The perfect time for dinner.
‘The old me would probably be waking up around now and boiling some ramen.’
Since I had obtained a new opportunity called the Tower, I decided to put an end to my hikikomori-like lifestyle and live a slightly more wholesome life as I headed for the dining hall.
***
‘Emergency!’
When I arrived at the dining hall, I was faced with a truly major problem.
The dining hall was buffet-style, just as Ligor had explained.
There was the minor issue that my arms had become short, so I couldn’t reach the food on the higher shelves, but that wasn’t the important part.
The problem was that there were no seats to sit in.
The dining hall’s maximum capacity was roughly 200 people.
And I estimated there were about 90 people in the dining hall right now.
Wait.
Then if there weren’t too few seats, why was it a problem?
The reason was that most of the buffet seats were tables for four.
There were some tables already packed with four people, perhaps because they had already recruited friendship parties, but most people were eating alone.
Thanks to that, there was only one empty table left.
I had been trotting over to secure the last remaining table, but even that was ultimately taken by someone else.
‘That was the seat I called dibs on first.’
After coming to the Tower, I had resolved to change from my previous hikikomori life, but as expected, talking to strangers was difficult.
If this were a game, it would be a problem solved with the three words, “This seat taken?” but for it to become this complicated!
In any case, due to this unfortunate turn of events, I ended up facing the situation of having received my food but being unable to eat it.
‘High school lunch time was better than this.’
Back when I was in high school, the teachers forced us to sit in the order we received our meals as a measure to prevent school violence.
Since students without friends felt burdened by eating alone, the system made everyone sit in order.
It felt like I had gotten advance training in military-style administration back in high school.
Of course, as someone who benefited from that system, I had no complaints.
Just as I was wasting time by moving around aimlessly, thinking I might fetch some water until a table opened up—
“Oh no!”
I had made a truly huge mistake.