Only My Skill Tooltip Is Strange

Chapter 44

44 – 2nd Floor, Score Duel.

Is it because Lunacolis is strong that I get extra stat points?

Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.

The corners of my mouth twitched.

Apart from the victory, a thrilling sensation wrapped around my body.

【Strength 10 (+1.04)】

The strength stat, which I had painstakingly accumulated below the decimal point, finally exceeded 1.

It was the result of killing dozens.

But there was no guilt.

‘Better than me dying.’

Is killing people hard?

Then would you rather die instead?

To that question, I shook my head firmly.

“……”

Luna looked at me.

She had a blank face as if she hadn’t expected me to refuse.

‘Why did she think I would yield the final blow?’

Luna’s past.

It’s a sufficiently tragic story.

But it wasn’t enough to make me give up on my growth.

There wasn’t that much interaction between us.

Even Kim Min-sung, whom I’ve known since the first floor, shouldn’t make such a request.

If he did, I would have been immediately put off.

Luna mumbled.

It was close to self-justification.

“…You’re strong. Nothing would change anyway….”

Listening to her, I can understand why she came up with such a shameless idea.

‘A starving pauper would desperately crave even a single bean, but a full rich man wouldn’t have much attachment to a single bean.’

It’s a misunderstanding.

I’m neither rich nor anything else.

Rather, I’m an earthling bug who desperately craves a single bean as much as Luna does.

I couldn’t give up 0.03 of my stats.

In that regard, Luna’s calculation was wrong.

“It’s your past. You have to overcome it.”

Did she forget that the person she’s asking for help is an earthling bug?

‘It’s not like I’m in a position to say this, as I’m lucky to have obtained and exploited a bug….’

Luna’s shoulders drooped.

She must have wanted to kill Lunacolis and break the knot in her heart, but it was unfortunate.

“The Scarlet Team wins. Congratulations.”

Daimus ended the match.

Lunacolis’s corpse was transported somewhere.

“How did you win this!”

“Who is that guy! Was he a martial artist, not an earthling!”

“Take off your helmet! Let us see your face!”

The cheers of the crowd filled the stadium.

If it weren’t for the loudspeaker, Daimus’s words wouldn’t have been heard properly.

“We will guide you individually regarding the rewards.”

We also moved to the waiting room.

Having traveled through the portal a few times, I wasn’t too flustered.

“…What about the other team members?”

“They should be receiving their rewards.”

If you manage to survive a life-threatening match without the elimination prevention option, you receive additional rewards besides the prize money.

A typical example is victory points.

“You can also take the money or equipment the opponent had.”

“Doesn’t the Colosseum retrieve them?”

“Exceptionally valuable equipment or artifacts go through a retrieval process. But players with such equipment are extremely rare. At least on the second floor, you can say there are none.”

In matches with the elimination prevention option, all you could earn was Nero Cooper.

But a life-threatening battle was different.

The rewards were incredibly sweet.

“…Why did you call me here?”

Is there something you want to give me?

I waited for Daimus to speak.

Daimus spoke with a serious expression.

“I will help you with the procedures to move up to the third floor.”

“……”

An unexpected topic came up.

‘I thought they might give me some decent equipment. What the hell is this nonsense?’

Equipment like a golden dagger or an equivalent artifact.

I had moderate expectations.

But Daimus’s story was entirely different.

I tried my best to manage my expression, not to show my confusion.

The moment when I was called by two senior girls from a nearby high school and forced to make a choice in middle school helped quite a bit.

As I remained silent, Daimus continued.

“I think the second floor is too small a space for a player like you. So…”

“So you want me to go to the third floor. Because it’s inconvenient.”

“…That’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand.”

It’s not a bad proposal.

‘It’s not like it’s an incredibly attractive offer.’

There was no reason to accept this proposal.

‘From my perspective, if I stay on the second floor and compete, my abilities get copied, so why go up?’

Killing just twenty Lunacolises, which are about as strong as Necher Per, increases my ability by 1.

The exchange rate is so sweet it’s almost tooth-melting.

And yet, they want me to give this up and go up.

Does that even make sense?

“I don’t see the need to do that.”

I crossed my arms and sat with my legs crossed.

Maybe it was because of my habit of pretending to be a dragon, but I unconsciously took on a haughty posture.

Daimus didn’t say anything even after seeing me like that.

‘But I’m still curious.’

To go up to the third floor, you need 10 victory points.

With this victory, I barely managed to gather 1 point.

‘But how?’

Daimus answered.

“The player’s ascent is controlled at the administrator’s discretion. If the player is deemed to have proven their worth, they can be sent up even without meeting the conditions.”

“…So, the 10 victory points rule isn’t absolute?”

“Yes. Do you remember the warning you saw when you registered as a gladiator? That’s the rule set by the owner of the floor. Other than that, the administrator can adjust it.”

You compete once a week.

If you can’t, you become the emperor’s slave.

If you win, you get 1 point.

“There really isn’t anything about climbing mentioned anywhere.”

“Whether it’s 1 point or 10 points, it’s the administrator’s authority. I’m trying to send you up to the third floor with my authority as an error player.”

I knew what I had to say.

“…I’m not really interested.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“Why?”

I can never say.

If they find out the dirty inner thoughts unique to Earthlings, who knows what might happen.

He closed his mouth.

Silence is golden.

He passed the problem onto the other party.

‘What did I do, that they’re already trying to send me up?’

It’s not like I bullied the newcomers like the other Earthlings.

Nor did I gather my teammates to pick on the weak ones.

Honestly, it’s unfair.

“To be honest, there are no more opponents for the erroneous player on the second floor.”

“……”

I was startled.

They pointed out the most crucial condition in my plan, the part related to my opponent who would die to me.

‘There were too many spectators.’

If they each said a word?

The rumors would spread uncontrollably.

‘They’ll whisper to avoid matches with the erroneous one.’

Far from growing my stats through soul absorption, even having a proper match would be difficult.

There was no choice.

Except to go up to a floor where they didn’t know me.

‘……’

Something felt off.

I stared intently at Daimus.

‘There were too many spectators, you say.’

No matter how life-threatening the match, does it make sense to fill the seats?

For it to be as popular as Earthling massacre entertainment….

Daimus’s eyes twitched.

I didn’t miss that fleeting reaction.

‘This b*stard. He wants to send me away.’

From noble mtl dot com

Thinking that way, everything seems to fit together perfectly.

The conflict with Lunacolis.

The manager who appeared just in time to propose a match.

He wet his lips and opened his mouth.

“…This is absurd.”

“Yes?”

“Did you really think you could control a dragon as you please?”

“…!”

I have to go up to the third floor.

I will accept that reality.

‘I can’t go there nicely.’

He racked his brain.

During the Earthling entertainment.

Daimus himself admitted his mistake and gifted me a golden dagger.

Isn’t there a plausible word?

Two days ago, I thought of Kim Min-sung.

The way he persuaded the Scarlet team with his nonsensical words.

“I must have looked quite ridiculous too.”

“….”

“Even though I was under the ‘Golden Rule’, I didn’t expect anyone to try to control me.”

“No, that’s not what I meant at all…!”

The Tower of Struggle is vast.

Not all ascendants know everything.

Blinky, Joo So-hee, and Daimus.

They didn’t know about the skill bug either.

Even Daimus misunderstood my strength.

‘If I can just say anything in front of him, wouldn’t it become very persuasive?’

That was the answer.

A look of bewilderment appeared on Daimus’s face.

“I understand what you mean, but your underlying intention is very unpleasant.”

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

Daimus hurriedly bowed his head.

It was different from the apology he made during the Earthling entertainment.

‘Was that apology a restrained one back then?’

If that was an apology, this time it was closer to a plea for forgiveness.

I did not accept Daimus’s plea.

I intended to keep my mouth shut until he showed sincerity.

Did he read that intention in my eyes?

Daimus took something out of his inventory.

“I thought the erroneous player might be displeased, so I prepared a gift. I should have given this to you in advance and explained, but I made a mistake.”

“……”

It sounds different.

If I had gone up quietly without saying anything, he would have just gobbled this up.

‘This is why a person’s image is important.’

What Daimus handed over was a fragment.

It was originally part of something that seemed like a pure white crystal.

[White Dragon Heart (5%)][B]

Category: Collectible Artifact

Stats▼

【Intelligence: ＋10】

【Durability: ∞ (Indestructible)】

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