When people were met with a wall, they would instinctively start inspecting the area around it, hoping to find some kind of mechanism that would make the hole passableâsomething like a hole they could crawl through.
However, Seo Jun-Ho threw away such foolish assumptions without a second thought and went back to the beginning.
[The 5.5th Floor, âArcade Centerâ, has opened.]
[âArcade Centerâ will be available for two weeks.]
[All Players may enter âArcade Centerâ.]
[It will be difficult, but we hope that as many people as possible would enter this Floor.]
Keen Intuition had told him that the secret was hidden in the System logs.
âAre you sure that itâs hidden in here?â
- I have a strong feeling that it is there.
At first, he was uncertain. However, after reading over the message logs a few times, he was finally sure about it.
âYou were right.â
Keen Intuitionâs words struck true. The hints were hidden in the System logs.
âEven entering the Floor is a game⌠This is just like a real arcade.â
When he snorted, Rahmadat knocked on his chest a few times. âStop snickering to yourself and tell us. What is the so-called truth?â
âAh, donât be in such a rush. Just listen to me.â Seo Jun-Ho calmed the others down. âWhen do you guys think the first Dimensional Elevator was made?â
âHistorically, itâs widely accepted that Elisha Otis installed the first Dimensional Elevator ever in the Howard building back in 1857.â
âOf course, you know that, Skaya. Thatâs the answer.â
âSo what is the truth, Jun-Ho?â Gilberto pressed. He finally seemed interested.
âYou still donât get it? In other words, it has been less than two hundred years since the Dimensional Elevators appeared in human society.â
â...!â
At that, the entire party seemed to have realized something at the same time.
âYes, thatâs possible,â Gilberto mused.
âSo there was no need to complicate things. It turns out that it was just a riddle,â Skaya said.
âOh! Then perhaps the SystemâŚâ
âYouâre right, Miss Si-Eun.â Seo Jun-Ho nodded.
The System said so itself.
[It will be difficult, but we hope that as many people as possible would enter this Floor.]
âIt will be diffiicultâ was a huge hint.[1]
Without hesitation, Seo Jun-Ho pressed the Elevatorâs âopenâ button.
âAlright, letâs go.â
They went to the stairway. They ran up the stairs of the Korean Player Association all the way to the 5th Floor and passed right through the steps between the 5th and 6th floors.
â...I knew it.â
Seo Jun-Ho grinned. There was a magic door waiting for them, leading to somewhere.
âEvery building in the world should have a set of emergency stairs,â he said.
The way to enter the 5.5th Floor was simple. All they had to do was use the stairs in any building until they were halfway through the 5th and 6th Floors. That was all.
âLetâs go.â
Without further ado, the party walked into the door. When they did, a message appeared before them.
[Congratulations! You are the first to enter âArcade Centerâ.]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
A reward for being the first ones to enter the 5.5th Floor. That was already enough to make them happy, but an extra message appeared before Seo Jun-Ho.
[Bringer of Springâs effect has been activated. All stats increased by 30.]
âOoh!â Even though he hadnât taken the Dimensional Elevator, this was proof that heâd entered the new 5.5th Floor from the 5th Floor. Otherwise, Bringer of Spring wouldnât have been activated, and his stats would have remained the same.
âHm, this place isâŚâ
âItâs actually an arcade.â
The party members looked around, unable to hide their awe. It wasnât a metaphor. The 5.5th FloorâArcade Centerâreally was a giant arcade.
âHm. Do we just need to go around and play games?â
âI donât know. As usual, Iâm pretty sure the System is about to give us a message with instructions on what to do.â
Bingo. Right on time, system messages appeared before them.
[Here are the instructions to use the Arcade Center.]
[Play the games installed around the arcade to set and record your records.]
[The first and last Players who reach 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will get a big point bonus.]
[You may exchange your points at any time for rewards in the shop.]
[We hope you get good scores by using your Skills to the fullest extent.]
[Perpetrators of assault, murder, interfering and cheating on games will be severely punished upon being caught.]
[The System aims to create a happy and healthy game environment.]
âThis reminds me of the old days,â Gilberto said. The brim of his cowboy hat was slightly lowered, and he had a nostalgic smile on his face. When he was a child, his parents would hold his hand and take him to game centers. Even if he played there all day, the magical place always made him look back at it when he had to go home.
âUnfortunately, Gilbe, weâre adults now,â Seo Jun-Ho said. He placed a hand on Gilbertoâs shoulder before saying, âApparently, the first and last Players to reach 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will get a big point bonus.â
âI know.â
The mood in the air changed. They were the first party to enter the Arcade Center, so it was clear what they needed to do.
âOkay, guys! Lesssgo!â Skaya exclaimed.
They immediately separated into six different directions and started playing all kinds of games.
The games were a little different from the ones on Earth. There was a game that tested how far they could throw a ball, there were ones where they had to guess which dice had a higher number, along with shooting games as well as games that tested their reflexes. Obviously, a Player would have to use their Skills in the majority of the games, but luck was also necessary.
[Congratulations! You are the first one to reach 3rd place in âBall Throwâ!]
[You have received 100 points as a reward.]
[Congratulations! You are the first one to reach 2nd place in âBall Throwâ!]
[You have received 250 points as a reward.]
[Congratulations! You are the first one to reach 1st place in âBall Throwâ!]
[You have received 500 points as a reward.]
Indeed, they had a monopoly here, and they just had to collect points blindly.
However, the fun times ended earlier than they had expected.
âHm.â
It was all because there werenât many games that allowed them to set their own personal records. There were only about thirty of those games in total. The majority of the games required people to play against one another.
âIn other words, weâll have to play against each other now,â Skaya said. She narrowed her eyes and turned to the others. âIf we want to rig the results, it would be very easy to do so⌠Can you guys lose on purpose?â
âNo.â
âWhy would I?â
âIf I actually try, Iâll win all of them anyway.â
âGeez, I knew this would happen,â she sighed.
All friends were like that. They would have good times together, but they would also compete against each other. However, Skaya actually wanted them to lose on purpose?
âWe canât have that. Come at me, Rahmadat,â Seo Jun-Ho taunted.
âHa! Are you sure you want to challenge me?â Rahmadat snickered and stepped toward Seo Jun-Ho. âAre you sure you can win? Iâm the King of Destruction, Rahmadat.â
âYeah, and Iâm Specter~â
âYou guys are so immature,â Skaya said, annoyed. It made her roll her eyes. However, she was also excited to watch the match because the game they chose was âArm Wrestlingâ.
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âAll I know is that you canât beat me when it comes to strength. Canât you see these beefy muscles?â
âYeah, theyâre all flimsy. On the other hand, my muscles were sculpted from battle.â
They bickered like children. However, the mood abruptly changed once they clasped each otherâs hands. Even the amused looks on the other party membersâ faces turned vanished as they looked on with serious expressions.
âOverclocking.â
Seo Jun-Ho mustered his magic and strengthened his body.
âWow, youâre using magic?â Rahmadat scoffed.
âDidnât you see the System message? It said to use our Skills to the fullest extent.â
It didnât mention any kind of restrictions. In other words, Arcade Center fully supported Players using their Skills.
âAlright. If we use magic, thereâs no way Iâll lose.â
Rahmadat also mustered his magic. When he did, the pressure on Seo Jun-Hoâs hand grew unimaginably heavy.
âShoot.â Seo Jun-Ho maintained a straight face, but he was far from calm inside. âHeâs stupidly strong.â
In an arm wrestling match, one could tell how strong oneâs opponent was just from how oneâs opponent clasped oneâs hand. In that case, Rahmadat was like steel, not just stone.
âI canât believe Iâm struggling this much even though my strength stat is 787.â
What would have happened if Bringer of Spring hadnât activated when they entered the 5.5th Floor? And what if he didnât use Overclocking?
Seo Jun-Ho couldnât help but gulp.
Afterward, he made sure to be extra focused. He could feel that he would lose the instant he let his guard down.
[Before the game begins, please set the number of points you will bet.]
âBet?â Jun-Ho said aloud.
âHm. I see. It seems that people can steal each othersâ points when they play against each other.â
âWhat do you want to do?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
âAll in,â Rahmadat said confidently. âIâm betting all 7,550 points in this game.â
âAlright. Iâll bet the same amount, then.â
[The winner of this match will gain 15,100 points.]
[Begin!]
When the match started, the tense air between the two started heating up the area around them.
âGilbe, what do you think?â Skaya asked.
âHm. Jun-Ho is strong, but if we consider it in terms of pure strength, Rahmadat has a major advantage,â he muttered.
He was right. Seo Jun-Hoâs arm was slowly tilting to the right.
âHehehe. Hehehehe!â Rahmadat couldnât hold back his laughter when he thought about how he was going to tease Seo Jun-Ho for the rest of his life after winning this match.
However, Jun-Ho didnât just stand by and watch.
Crackle!
â...!â
Rahmadatâs arm started to freeze over. The extreme cold froze not only Rahmadatâs muscles but his cells as well.
âHey! Itâs not fair to use that in a battle of strengthâŚ!â
âI donât recall agreeing to have a battle of strength.â
It wasnât possible for Rahmadatâs frozen arm to withstand Seo Jun-Hoâs strength when the former couldnât even lift it anymore. As such, Rahmadatâs hand tilted over just like that, and a message appeared in front of them.
[Congratulations! You are the first one to reach 1st place in âArm Wrestling!]
[You have received 500 points as a reward.]
Seo Jun-Ho shook off his tingling hand and grinned. âI told you that your muscles are flimsy.â
***
Three hours after Seo Jun-Ho and his party arrived at the Arcade Center, throngs of Players descended upon the Arcade Center as if they were in an amusement park opening.
âDammit! We were too late!â
âYouâre saying that weâre not the first ones here?â
âHmph.â
They looked at the rankings on each game and sighed.
âLook at that. The 5 Heroes and the Saintess swept them all up.â
âEven though weâre late, letâs still try.â
âYeah. Every time someone plays a game, the scores will get higher.â
âAnd someone will break the record eventually.â
They were wrong. Despite the Playersâ wishes, the 5 Heroesâ scores were too big of a wall for them to cross.
âDammit! How am I supposed to beat Gilberto Greenâs record in a shooting game?â
âItâs the same with Ball Throw. I donât think anyone can beat Rahmadatâs record.â
âIs the Reflexes Test game broken? No matter how hard I try, I canât make more than half of Seo Jun-Hoâs score.â
âThis is crazy. Thereâs no way you can play the Healing Test game if you donât have a healing Skill!â
In the end, the average Player only gained a trivial amount of points from the games.
However, not every Player came here to collect points.
âThis is a total scoop! Look at the arm wrestling match between the King of Destruction and Specter! Specter won!â
âThereâs a Swordplay Test game here, too! I bet the match between the former Sword Saint Tenmei Mio and the current Sword Saint Kim Woo-Joong will be totally worth watching.â
There were Players working as reporters among the crowd, and they came here to look for exclusive scoops rather than play games like the other Players. Those Players could only roam the 1st and 2nd Floors because of their low levels, so they were thirsty for scoops lately. For them, the 5.5th Floor was an oasis for their starving bodies. In fact, they were actually the ones who published articles about how to enter the 5th Floor.
âThis is amazing. I will probably get promoted after this.â
âIâm telling you, the public loves seeing comparisons between the Heroes.â
âYeah, this Floor is the perfect place for that.â
While tens of thousands of Players were enjoying the games at Arcade Center, an announcement appeared before them for the first time.
[In 1 hour, Players in the 10th percentile of points will be forcefully sent to the âUnderground Octagonâ.]
[If you lose in the âUnderground Octagon,â you will receive the Title âLoserâ[2] and be expelled from Arcade Center.]
1. The word for âdifficultâ can also be read as âtiringâ. â
2. This term means âloserâ in the literal sense. Itâs not an insult. â