Kapitel 21: Ch 21: I am not getting ripped off by the shopkeeper [pt1]
"Are you the administrator?"
Soma's question was met with silence.
The administrator's room was a special place that only the administrator and the one who invited him could enter.
However, Soma should not know that information as a 'new player.'
So, his question and surprise made his expression look more genuine.
"All floor administrators are given their private chambers where they control and maintain the order of the floor. The only people allowed in here are the ones the administrator approves of. Now that you know it, do you know who I am?"
The administrator did not say that he was the administrator outright.
Soma noticed the subtle moments the administrator made to attract his attention.
The twitch of his hand, the tilt of his head - everything had a purpose.
'Ah, so he wants to appear mysterious in front of me. It is a good way to intimidate low-ranking players.'
Soma remained calm on the outside, but he was analysing everything on the inside.
[You have successfully resisted the status effect: Fear]
Soma was not surprised at the prompt he got.
All high-ranking players had a skill or two to intimidate their opponents.
It was a useful skill when you went up against someone else since it could make the other side lose their stepping and create an opening.
The administrator must not have considered Soma someone important enough or strong enough to use his skill to the highest degree.
"Causing trouble on my turf by going around and completing solo missions and killing additional bosses. We have a greedy lecher among the participants this time."
The administrator of the last tutorial could have sounded happier and more impressed with what Soma was doing.
"I am doing what I need to complete the tutorial. I don't think I broke any rules during the tutorials."
Soma carefully navigated his way around this conversation.
"That's true. You did not break any rules, but your level is too high for this tutorial to gauge your abilities properly. So, I will make you an offer."
"I will pass you and let you head toward the next floor. I recommend you attend our guild for the best treatment and advancement training possible. Now get going and-"
Soma had thought about what he would do if he were approached by a guild during the tutorial stages, but he had yet to come up with anything.
So, Soma spoke out reflexively.
"No, I will not join your guild. I want to participate in this tutorial and clear it. I will look at my options after that."
The administrative looked stunned at Soma's blunt refusal.
Soma did not know the guild the administrator was from, but it must be a decent guild for this man to react like this.
"Are you serious? Are you rejecting an invitation from my guild? Do you know which guild I am a part of? I am from 'Heavenly Justice,' kid! The Heavenly Justice! You will not find a better guild anywhere else."
The administrator stressed his words.
'Ah, so he's from that clown show. No wonder he is so outspoken.'
Soma would have sighed if he could.
How could he not know Heavenly Justice?
Their guild was a joke among the people of the tower, and it would not be long before they were annihilated due to their superiority complex.
Heavenly Justice was a medium-sized guild that had a nasty reputation for letting anyone join and never taking responsibility for the actions their members did.
If someone went too far, they were kept from the guild to maintain its hassle-free stance.
In terms of guilds, it was not the worst, but it was also far from the best.
'I am lucky since I have an excuse not to know his guild name.'
"Should I know about your guild or something? What even is a guild?"
Soma asked the question with clenched teeth.
It hurt his pride to ask such basic questions, but he needed to maintain his cover as a 'new' player for the tutorial stages.
"Ah, yes! I completely forgot that you are a new player from a world without a tower. Since you are new, I can overlook your rudeness this time and tell you what a guild is-"
Soma tuned out the administrator while he ranted.
He was forced to endure a lecture about things he already knew for about 20 minutes before the administrator stopped speaking.
"So, do you understand what a guild is now and why it is so important? You should join mine right now and-"
"I still cannot do that. As I said, I want to finish the tutorial stage and be rewarded. The system also said I will get an additional reward for my efforts."
Soma reminded the administrator, causing the man's mood to sour.
The administrator likely wanted to smite Soma but held their desire back.
"Not bad, kid. Most people would have succumbed to my pressure by now. You have potential, so I am willing to wait for your tutorial to end."
"As a token of respect and goodwill, I will give you a skill you like."
The administrator promised and held his hand out.
Soma took that hand and shook it to get the skill.
[You have unlocked the skill 'hell's fire']
[Hells fire: Flames that scorch the land and burn everything in its way. Be careful not to get in their way.]
The skill looked incredible initially, but it could have been a more high-level skill.
Still, Soma was happy to increase his weapons arsenal before facing the bigger threats.
"Go and try out your new skill. I hope to see you during our next guild meeting."
The administrator laughed a little and sounded delighted.
He likely thought that Soma had made his decision already.
Any other new player would have been over the moon if they got the same treatment.
But Soma was neither a new player nor a gullible fool who would fall for such obvious tricks.
"Yeah! I will see you in the future…"
Soma did not promise the man that he would join his guild, but Soma did have a new skill he wanted to try.
The administrator's room faded, and Soma was dropped into the frozen room he had initially been in.
He walked toward the control panel, and it was frozen.
A solid layer of ice covered its surface, making it impossible to thwart the first switch out.
Soma bit his lip in agitation and took out his sword to try and break the ice.
[Warning: the ice has 300% resistance against physical force]
Soma looked at the message with a tired sigh.
Now he understood why the administrator had given him the fire spell.
'The administrator knew this was going to happen, so he tried to make a good impression on me by giving me what I would need beforehand.'
Any other naive fool would have thought this was a coincidence and vibed with it.
But Soma was different from other fools.
He knew the skill he had been bribed with was given to him with bad intentions, but Soma would not deny its usefulness.
[Hells flame has activated]
The fire burned brightly, a beautiful shade of blue and black.
It burned hot, and the ice began to melt away slowly.
Soon, the control panel appeared, and Soma opened it to check what was inside.
And that was where he ran into his first problem - how to operate this switch.
"Oh fuck! I need to cut one of these wires, but which one was it again? I guess I have no choice but to ask the shop for help. Fuck! This sucks."
Soma could have sat down and tried different combinations to work his way out.
But he needed to have the luxury of time.
If Soma cuts the wrong wire, it takes time for the room to reset.
He would also have to remelt the ice, which was too much work.
It took three days during the last cycle to open these codes…or Soma had heard from the people involved in this part of the tutorial.
Soma had been involved in the defence team, so he had not seen the process of cutting the wires or activating the twitch.
And now he regrets not paying attention.
"My dear customer! Do you want to buy something from my shop? I sensed your desperation, and I came to look."
The fairy shopkeeper was here without Soma having to call it.
'The shopkeeper must have been watching me because I have a lot of money.'
Soma was sure that the shopkeeper would try to rob him, but he still decided to hear him out.
"I want to buy an information guide about these panels. How much will it cost me?"
"50,000 coins without tax."
The fairy sounded severe without a hint of ridiculousness in its eyes.
Soma looked at it, stood up and walked toward the panel.
He would rather take his chances than get ripped off like this.
At most, getting the combination right would take 3-4 days, and Soma did have that much time on his hands…hopefully.
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein