Only My Skill Tooltip Is Strange

Chapter 86

Every person has a different personality. Some people think it’s better to kill their enemy than to die themselves, while others can’t bring themselves to harm anyone, no matter what.

It wouldn’t be too strange if Jung Suyeon spoke in a way that aligned with the greater good. I had seen similar people on the lower floors.

“20 years? So, you’ve only been able to reach the 5th floor for 20 years?”

“I’ve only been on the 5th floor for 10 years. I spent a long time on the 3rd floor.”

Most players can’t break through the 2nd and 3rd floors. The 2nd floor requires decent skill, and the 3rd floor is more about luck.

‘I barely got through the 2nd floor, but facing the 3rd floor… Honestly, it’s hard not to lose motivation.’

But I can’t die, so I try. I struggle.

Most of the dropouts on the 5th floor spent their time there. When they reached the 5th floor?

They gave up climbing. The 5th floor was relatively livable compared to the other floors since it’s closer to the modern era.

No Earthling would stake their life on climbing if they didn’t know what kind of environment the 6th floor held.

‘I probably would have given up on climbing the 5th floor too if there hadn’t been a tooltip error.’

It would have been an absolute certainty.

“20 years…”

I stared at Jung Suyeon. No matter how I looked at her, she seemed to be in her late twenties, so how could she have spent 20 years here?

“Were you summoned when you were in elementary school?”

“No. I was summoned at twenty, right before I entered university. I had an accident.”

She was summoned at twenty and had spent 20 years here. And yet, she still looked like she was in her twenties.

“Forty years old? You look young.”

“…In the Tower of Struggle, you don’t age. Judging from your reaction, it seems like you haven’t been summoned here for long.”

“Don’t age?”

“More accurately, it’s possible to adjust your appearance. The longer you survive in the Tower, the more you can adjust it.”

I see.

No one knows how long they’ll stay on a floor. For races with short lifespans, that alone is a penalty, so it seems the Soul System interferes to counter that.

“So, I shouldn’t judge just by appearances.”

“Martial artists often say that. Be cautious of the old, children, and women.”

“…That sounds about right. I also find male martial artists the easiest to deal with.”

She still spoke casually, not bothering to be formal just because she knew my age.

“I didn’t expect you to not betray me… Hm.”

“I never planned on betraying you in the first place. Why would I betray you? That kind of mindset is totally from another dimension.”

……

Another dimension mindset...

At this moment, I vaguely thought that it might actually be better to be from another dimension.

Whether to blatantly ignore or to be friendly, at least it felt simpler that way.

But Earthlings were different. Earthlings hid their true feelings. They had to assume the other person was stronger than them, so they would approach with caution, trying to get closer.

‘I was the same outside the Tower of Struggle.’

Many people approached me.

Those who approached based solely on looks were easier to deal with.

You could trust what you saw.

Not those women, though.

It was those who approached after seeing my abilities that were the problem. Anyone who showed interest in my future or talents disappeared right after the accident. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

If they had simply distanced themselves, I wouldn’t say anything. There are so many fleeting encounters that it’s impossible to care about all of them.

But they didn’t just disappear quietly. They lingered around me, gossiping and badmouthing me behind my back.

Mocking and laughing.

That kind of look annoyed me so much.

I’d experienced similar things in the Tower of Struggle.

‘Other race players had no purpose, but Earthlings always had a goal.’

A hungry person looks for food, and a bored person looks for entertainment.

Earthlings targeted the backs of other Earthlings. It was the easiest way to get stronger.

‘Right. Like Jung Suyeon said, not all Earthlings will betray and do that.’

If Earthlings had climbed together, they might not understand my feelings. But players who’ve been backstabbed by Earthlings like I have, they would understand me.

“I think I’ve been too negative. The problem is the 3rd floor.”

There were many players who committed evil deeds in pirate factions. Following Abella, seeing the worst of humanity, I had unknowingly started distrusting humans.

The situation on the 5th floor confirmed it. The more dropouts there were, the bigger the problem became.

I had rationalized that PKing for strength was understandable. But I still couldn’t understand murder for pleasure.

Could I ever understand that? Probably never.

Jung Suyeon spoke.

“The 3rd floor is pretty bad. If they just worked together, it wouldn’t be an issue, but those pirates are everywhere, looting and causing chaos.”

“Do you remember?”

“…It hasn’t been that long. Only about 10 years.”

She had spoken first about betrayal. Then I observed her reaction.

Nothing really changed.

She spoke as though she wanted to prove she wasn’t planning on betraying me.

What I had been expecting and waiting for now felt foolish.

I looked at David and Jung Suyeon, thinking of a skill.

Hero of the Race.

If I change my race using the Illusionary Tome, the race would receive stat bonuses.

Not everyone could get it. My skill rank was too low for that.

It was a perk I could offer to a few players.

It was only possible for me.

Other races’ heroes wouldn’t have the same performance.

‘Still not giving it out yet.’

The stat boost was absurd. There was nothing good about letting others know about it.

Should I give it to Jung Suyeon?

I shook my head. It didn’t seem like a good choice.

‘For now, I’ll hold off.’

I wrapped up my meal with David and kept completing missions to clean up the 5th-floor criminals.

With so many players, a few times wouldn’t be enough to clean up everything.

After the existence of the secret police was revealed, those who were guilty started to become cautious, making it harder.

Then the A-rank mission opened up.

Alice had sent me a message.

I accepted the A-rank mission.

That’s when a mission arrived from the administrator.

[Administrator] ? Remove Alice from the A-rank mission.

“….”

It took a while to start the A-rank mission.

The existence of the secret police and the difficulty were the two issues.

The thief faction wasn’t cooperating at all.

In this situation, a high-difficulty mission was almost like self-sabotage.

It was difficult to save someone.

If Alice wasn’t famous on the 5th floor, we wouldn’t have even been able to start.

?Thief Faction (5/5)? [Alice] ? Earthling Champion doesn’t need to worry. I’ll vouch for you.

Even rescuing the three was hard.

It would’ve been easier if there was a grand wizard.

‘Maybe I should have sabotaged it a little.’

I wasn’t regretting it. Just feeling a bit disappointed.

The mission content was simple.

The country had changed, but stealing the artifact was the same.

Thief players were confident in their skills, so they didn’t worry about being killed by police players.

All missions naturally favored thieves if they went smoothly.

‘Why do the administrators want to disqualify Alice?’

What was the purpose of the secret police?

Wasn’t it to stabilize the 5th floor?

‘Did Alice commit a crime?’

She said she had abandoned chivalry.

That doesn’t mean she became a criminal.

“Thief!”

Police players approached.

Just like the previous A-rank mission, mutual destruction was the basic stance.

But this time, the result was different.

Earthling Champion didn’t go crazy and cause chaos.

I only thoroughly subdued them.

Without using the golden dagger or skills, my attacks weren’t that strong, so I was able to handle it.

A flash of light.

Hikari appeared in front of me.

The most troublesome opponent.

A psychic who couldn’t be captured alive, just by existing, made the thief faction disadvantageous.

“What about playing your role as a secret police officer?”

“Role…?”

What was the secret police’s mission again?

Disqualify Alice.

It wasn’t just disqualification; it was essentially betrayal.

The administrators were pressuring me to betray her.

“…Even if I’m an Earthling, betrayal is a bit much.”

“It’s not betrayal. You’re just fulfilling your mission.”

……

I shook my head.

Should I give the race hero buff to Jung Suyeon and David? I thought about it while deliberating.

‘Tutorial contract. Hero of the Race… The structure is weird.’

Players who reach the 50th floor are called ascenders.

Ascenders can either continue climbing or give up.

‘I understand giving up after hitting a wall. But why become an administrator?’

I’d realized that the administrator’s influence was stronger than I thought as I climbed the previous floors.

Being a witness to privileges, I couldn’t say I didn’t know.

Administrators excessively favoring the same race.

Contracts that allowed interference with later players.

And the race hero skill representing the race.

? They wanted to help Earthlings.

Jo Seohui’s words flashed in my mind.

“There was an Earthling ascender on the 5th floor.”

“Really?”

Compared to other race ascenders, their numbers were small.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

They reached the 50th floor through a mix of chance, luck, and effort.

They might have spent years doing it.

They saw what was above the 50th floor and came back down.

“It’s a bit hard to say, but I think I have a rebellious streak. I get mad when I see people who look down on me.”

My mind was racing.

“I’ve never liked the administrators from the start. The moment they didn’t tell me who’s who and kept using different administrator nicknames…”

“Are you saying you won’t do the secret police mission?”

“Why would I?”

I pulled out the golden dagger from my inventory.

“I have my own beliefs too. I don’t just kill anyone.”

“…Really?”

“Didn’t you see my nickname? Earthling Champion.”

Either way, I hated being looked down on as an Earthling.

Since I was summoned to the Tower of Struggle, no Earthling would have clean hands, but...

It’s different from those who plunge into the river of blood for pleasure.

Honestly.

David and Jung Suyeon...

I didn’t think they were bad players.

They weren’t bad as players, and even more so as Earthlings. They probably lived a normal life back on Earth.

They wouldn’t think to stab someone in the back.

Probably, many Earthlings were like that.

“Did you think I would betray you just because you asked?”

Did Jung Suyeon feel the same way being suspected of betrayal?

‘This is kind of shitty.’

Being judged and mistreated just because I’m an Earthling sucked.

It felt similar to being treated like trash just because I’m an Earthling.

‘...I can’t kill the administrator, though.’

Hikari in front of me was annoying.

Dealing with it would help with the mission.

“So, do you plan to kill me? It’s still the mission, you know?”

“One’s enough.”

“You’re surprisingly firm. But you should know this. You won’t get me with the same trick twice.”

“Do as you wish.”

I aimed at Hikari and used Frozen Prison.

Tzzzz.

Hikari turned into light particles and dodged.

In an instant, she was behind me.

It happened in less than a second.

I anticipated and used Ground Slam.

Hikari didn’t deactivate her light transformation.

She maintained it while removing all my skills.

“Mana recovery is abnormal, but it seems cooldowns are affected.”

“You know well.”

“My main skills are Frozen Prison and Ground Slam. The rest are attack skills. There’s nothing that can threaten me right now.”

Hikari, moving like light, attacked me. I timed the strike and activated Ground Slam.

“Ah, no. What damage…”

[You have killed a ‘policeman’.] [Infamy rises.] [Alertness rises.]

I couldn’t select the option to capture Hikari.

How could I capture a psychic who turns into light?

‘Is there a commotion again?’

I checked my smartphone.

Thankfully, it was quiet.

[Alice] ? Did you take care of the psychic?

[Earthling Champion] ? Yeah.

[Alice] ? I thought so. Come over now. We need to deal with a cryomancer.