Chapter 54 …
I and Noe couldn’t hide our shock at the question Rei had posed.
And it was inevitable—we had hit the blind spot perfectly.
As Rei said, it was highly unlikely that all 20 of them had been exposed to the virus on the 90th floor in the first place.
A virus that could infect through eating, drinking, breathing—every conceivable route.
If they had been exposed on the 90th floor, there was no way only 20 people would have turned into monsters.
In other words, these 20 must have been exposed somewhere else before arriving on the 90th floor.
“The only plausible possibility… is that they were infected while completing quests on other floors. And after a few days, the symptoms progressed, and they eventually mutated.”
“Could it be that the 20 were a group who cleared the same quest together?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know all 20 of them personally. But I do remember that of those who showed early infection symptoms, around five or six were survivors from the 86th floor. They kept boasting about what happened there as if it were a heroic tale.”
Five or six survivors from the 86th floor?
It could not have been a coincidence that those same five or six people showed early infection symptoms.
The probability that the remaining individuals contracted the virus on other floors and then spread it to others on the 90th floor, and that all of them just happened to have come from the 86th floor?
Impossible.
This wasn’t a matter of probability where one person overlaps five or six times among the 20.
Wasn’t it in the second report?
That early symptoms weren’t contagious, like a cold.
If that’s true, then the speculation that only one or two of the five or six people from the 86th floor were infected and then spread it doesn’t hold either.
In other words, those six people likely contracted the virus through a shared route on the 86th floor.
If that’s the case, then what exactly was the infection route?
I began recalling the events on the 86th floor from the start.
It was raining heavily outside, and every shop sold different kinds of food. Regardless of shop type, the testers probably ate whatever food came out of the shops.
Almost no one had brought their own food.
Even I, at the time, avoided touching the food I had brought and mostly survived on hamburgers.
I knew well that I couldn’t guarantee when I’d get spare food.
‘I don’t know. Everything seems suspicious.’
The virus could infect not just through ingestion, but also through breathing and skin absorption.
That meant every potential vector—from the rain falling from the sky to hamburgers and even the air itself—was a candidate.
It was time for elimination.
But even trying to use elimination, there were no clear clues.
“Is there even a suspected infection route on the 86th floor?”
“There are too many, which is the problem. I wanted to narrow it down, but I don’t think there are any clues that allow that.”
Noe crossed her arms, appeared deep in thought for a moment, then pulled out her notebook and pen.
“Do you remember anything that left an impression? Anything at all—ordinary or unusual?”
“…?”
“Every event has a cause. That cause could be something seemingly insignificant, or something unusual. The only difference is whether we noticed the clue within it or not.”
Something memorable or striking?
There was.
The declaration made by that guy right after blowing up the quest-target shop employee.
Speaking of that declaration—
There was something very significant in what he said at the time.
He roughly mentioned death falling from the sky… that it would take away what we hold dear.
I thought about it after some time had passed. I felt it wasn’t just idle words and had an unusually ominous tone. But at the time, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t grasp the exact meaning, so I let it slide, thinking I’d understand it later.
“It sounded ridiculous. The only thing falling from the sky was rain, yet he said death was falling.”
“…What if the death from the sky was literally referring to that rain?”
“You mean the rain itself was death?”
“If that rain was the infection route, the infected would turn into monsters and, ‘as humans,’ would face death. Then calling it death falling would be accurate. Just my speculation, though.”
She assumed that the rain was set as the system’s infection route, and the declaration acted as a trigger.
She added that once the trigger activated, the virus would be injected into the person in the capsule in reality.
“Wait. If the rain really was the infection route, then the precious things taken….”
“Would likely be life itself. It could include humanity, memories, broken relationships—everything that counts as precious.”
The conversation not only resolved the doubts I had but also connected them to new questions.
For example, the high fever I experienced while fighting the monster hag on the 86th floor.
I had forgotten about it when I first read the second report, but recalling past events, it matched a peculiar detail in that report.
The problem was, there were no further details, so I couldn’t learn more.
Was that peculiarity a positive thing or a negative one?
Even though the same five or six people were clearly infected by the rain, their mutations didn’t progress further.
At least, they didn’t physically become monsters. And seeing mentions of cases like mine hinted there might be clues for a vaccine. Positive, perhaps?
I’d need another report to know for sure.
But one thing was clear: going through that peculiarity, I gained mutation traits, which helped me survive the monster hag.
‘Going back further, it probably started from the special quest where mutation rates increased and I dodged attacks from monsters behind me using only my senses.’
At the time, Noe and I had discussed mutation rates. I had guessed my changes were related to mutation rates—and indeed, that’s how it had turned out.
‘Things that seemed unrelated ended up being the connection. Just as predicted.’
I needed more information.
About myself, and about why this game orchestrated such events to gather data.
In any case, after concluding our discussion from Rei’s question and exchanging information, we moved on to survival planning.
“At this point, the only way is to clear all monsters on the 90th floor. To do that, our top priority should be to find and eliminate special entities that can hide their appearance.”
Summarizing her suggestion:
Complete the objective of eliminating all monsters on the 90th floor—a choice originally given by the operator.
Then negotiate with the operator.
She remembered that I had a radio obtained as part of the tutorial reward, which factored into her proposal.
“That does seem like the most realistic approach. There really isn’t another way.”
All the pillars of light were closed, and the Black Crow operator had shifted from indifference to neglect once most people on the 90th floor were nearly wiped out.
Such a shift required tangible results.
“So… we’re going to take out all the monsters on the 90th floor?”
“Rei, sorry, but I won’t be taking you along this time.”
“Eh?”
Only two special entities were known so far.
The one with stealth-like abilities was extremely dangerous, making it hard to track the number and location of normal entities.
“I can’t risk taking you along against that one.”
“…Alright. Instead, I’ll apply helpful effects through Arcana materialization for both of you.”
Leaving Rei in the room, Noe and I first headed to the information desk.
We needed to check the footage from the surveillance cameras installed yesterday.
After retrieving the cameras, we headed to the warehouse used as a shelter.
We didn’t want to be ambushed by monsters while checking footage in a poorly lit area.
“Let’s play it.”
The footage from last night began playing on a hologram window synced to my smartwatch.
What could have been captured?
“Wait a second.”
Noe’s comment made me pause the fast-forwarded video.
“Can you roll it back a bit? About 5–10 seconds?”
Following her instructions, I moved the playback bar to the indicated time.
“There’s a faint humanoid figure here. Can you see it?”
She pointed at the screen with her index finger.
Huh? That thing?
The awkwardly attached head on its neck, multiple heads held in one hand.
No doubt—it was the special entity that startled me at dawn.
“…That’s it.”
“That one? Could this be the other special entity Jin-young mentioned?”
“Yes.”
We watched the rest of the footage at normal speed.
The creature moved tirelessly from place to place.
What was it doing?
Due to the chandelier lighting and brief glimpses within the camera view, it was impossible to tell.
The footage was nearing the end.
Is this it?
…Then suddenly, it thrust its face right in front of the camera.
‘Ah! That scared me!’
Just like when we first met—it was a heart-stopping creature.
In a way, even more dangerous than the stealth entity.
“I know where the one that troubles you most is. I’ll be waiting at the 4th lounge.”
“…!”
It could even change its voice?!
Although we’d encountered talking monsters with varying language skills before, being invited in this way was confusing.
Noe seemed equally surprised.
Once the confusion subsided a bit, we could ponder whether the invitation was a trap.
In the end, we decided to accept it.
There was a chance of a trap, but the phrase “I know where the one that troubles you most is” lingered in our minds.
“By the way, do you know why some passages were blocked with beds, mattresses, and chandeliers?”
While moving to the 4th lounge using flashlights, I asked when seeing a passage blocked with a pile of beds.
“The monsters erased their appearance, sound, and presence, right? Leaving all paths open would be dangerous when facing monsters whose location is unknown. That’s why we blocked them.”
I nodded, realizing it was to limit monster movement and make countermeasures easier.
After traveling down the corridor for some time, we finally arrived at the 4th lounge.
‘This lounge is as messy as the others.’
“Welcome.”
As soon as we arrived, the creature appeared under flickering chandelier lights.
That appearance with a cheerful young female voice—it was jarring.
“Stop there. Any closer, and I’ll pull the trigger.”
Noe aimed her pistol at its head, about five meters away.
“Pointing a gun at the one who sent the invitation—that’s harsh.”
“What’s your purpose in inviting us?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I know where the one that troubles you most is.”
“You know who we find troublesome, and you say that…”
“The entity here that played a major role in killing people and has the ability to hide everything, isn’t it?”
“…!”
“…!”
Suddenly, its voice shifted to that of a young man.
“No need to be surprised. I’ve observed this place for a long time, so it’s natural I know. And—”
Now it was the voice of a middle-aged woman.
“The fact that you accepted the invitation proves that the entity I mentioned matches the one you’re looking for.”
The sight of the creature tossing one head in one hand and catching it with the other was grotesque.
Honestly, I was scared it might appear in my dreams.
“Why tell us the location? You’re a special entity too, doesn’t that mean betraying a companion?”
At that moment, the movement of the head being tossed suddenly froze.
