ushernet Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Jo Seohui spat out harsh words.
The player who had asked the question flinched and closed his mouth.
“......”
Jo Seohui stood at the podium and scanned the players.
Her expression was similar to the one she had when dividing passers and non-passers earlier.
I swallowed hard.
How much would it fall to me?
‘If it were up to me, I’d want all of it. That would be the most efficient way to use the points.’
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
What could I say if Jo Seohui asked why she should give it all to me?
‘Unless I uncover the skill tooltip error, that’s absolutely out of the question.’
From Jo Seohui’s perspective, the Error Player was just another player who had acquired good skills.
I had shown my worth to some extent.
While it was possible to give me more than others, betting all 100 points was...
To be honest, it was impossible.
Still, I held onto hope.
[1st Floor, Distribute]
Ascender Jo Seohui has completed the distribution of points.
Check the points granted to you.
How much did I receive?
‘Just 10 points?’
My brows furrowed.
「If you have complaints, come out.」
The crowd began to murmur.
But no one stepped forward.
They merely huddled together and grumbled.
“Why didn’t I get anything?”
“Only 1 point? What am I supposed to do with that?”
“Why did you say to reduce it by half if you’re just going to give this little? People died for nothing.”
There were well over a thousand survivors left in the auditorium.
Even after halving the numbers, this many remained.
With so many people, there were just as many who hadn’t received points.
If each of them voiced their complaints, that’d add up to roughly a thousand complaints.
It was bound to be noisy.
「If you have complaints, come forward.」
Jo Seohui growled harshly.
The gaze she cast upon the players felt like facing a ferocious beast, sending shivers down my spine.
‘So this is an ascender...’
Could I block Jo Seohui’s attack?
‘Even if I used 철포삼공, I would undoubtedly die instantly.’
I shook my head firmly.
There was a reason ascenders were ascenders.
‘Someone who has been treated like a bug and has climbed to the 50th floor isn’t ordinary.’
She might be even more of a monster than I was.
Regardless of what others murmured, I kept my mouth shut.
「There’s a lot of discontent. Well, I understand. Points are as precious as life.」
“How many people have I killed! You told me to kill them! And now you give me nothing?!」 「...You want an explanation?」
The mad Elder Dragon, Blinky Liu Creamscale.
She had shown an odd interest in the Error Player alone.
She didn’t seem particularly concerned about Jo Seohui.
『They say a tiger appears when you mention one.』
The voice that echoed in her mind receded.
Jo Seohui faced Blinky, who was standing in front of her room.
Unlike before, she felt uneasy in this situation, as if Blinky had done something sneaky.
“Hello, Seohui!”
Blinky greeted her cheerfully.
Even after getting into trouble with players from her home dimension, she acted as if everything was perfectly fine.
“...What is it?”
“You sound really tense! Do you not like me?!”
“Of course not. It doesn’t matter either way.”
Jo Seohui responded calmly, her voice devoid of any tremor.
She, too, was a seasoned player in the Tower of Struggle.
She had laid down thousands of layers of iron plates on her face by now.
“I’m glad! I thought Seohui didn’t like me!”
“...I’m tired and want to rest. What do you want? Hurry up and tell me.”
“Aah, I see! Got it!”
What kind of trick was Blinky about to pull?
Was she going to try to interfere with the scheme that she and her brother had concocted?
Jo Seohui watched Blinky with great tension.
“I liked what Seohui was trying to do! So I wanted to help too!”
“.......”
She seemed to have known everything.
It felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Jo Seohui prepared to flee at any moment.
Blinky blocked her escape.
“You’re trying to make the Error Player a candidate, right? I don’t know if he’ll qualify and become an ascender, but having more challengers is always better! Right?”
“.......”
“I want to help too!”
Did she think it was ridiculous for Earthlings to struggle in vain?
Her reaction only angered Jo Seohui further.
“Give this to the Error Player!”
Blinky handed Jo Seohui two artifacts.
They were the lowest-grade artifacts that were useless to ascenders.
“Yuhui added such a ‘setting’ to them. If you give them as a gift, he’ll probably be surprised and pleased.”
Blinky couldn’t hold back her giggles, finding it amusing.
Facing the crazy dragon, Jo Seohui struggled to decide how to respond.
In a whisper, Blinky said to her.
“Giving just 10 points was a very good choice. If you’d given too many, it might have ruined the Error Player’s fun.”
“...Fun?”
“10 points is just right. The justification you mentioned would sound plausible, and the Error Player would have liked it. It’s perfect.”
Blinky said this and turned away.
“Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll let your brother, who is leeching off the master of the 1st floor, live.”
“......!”
“Be careful next time. I’m a very merciful dragon, so I can forgive you, but I don’t know how other administrators will react.”
As Jo Seohui watched Blinky’s slowly receding back, she found herself at a loss for words.
“Ah. And please refrain from interfering in the trials. That’s my prerogative. It’s uncomfortable for me to secretly leech off the master’s will to control the trials.”