The Story is Told to the Protagonist.

Beep!

[You have inflicted harm on others in the safe zone. A penalty will be imposed.]
[Your movement will be restricted for 1 hour.]

“What?”

The bodies of the opposing team members, including the man, froze. A chain-shaped icon appeared in front of their eyes.

“That’s why you should have read the guidance mesTranscendent carefully at the beginning.”

From the 5th level, control is usually carried out by Transcendents, but the lower levels are different.

The lower levels, with too many climbers, are automated under the system’s management. That’s why I can walk around so confidently.

In other words, if you know in advance, you can use such loopholes.

‘No one else would know this in advance except me.’

I assessed the atmosphere.
At the sight created by the situation, my teammates and the enemy team were confused, unable to grasp the situation.

Those watching our commotion also closely observed this anomaly.

It became quite an appropriate setting to set an example for competitors.

The psycho was the first to come to his senses.

“You bastard! You deliberately put your neck out, didn’t you!? Once this is lifted, I’ll kill you first!”

He’s even shouting loudly. He’s like a mad dog, but he’s not just rampaging thoughtlessly.
He knows that I can’t harm him either.

‘Sorry, but that’s a miscalculation.’

Well, he’ll find out soon enough.

The leader still pondered with a troubled face.

“What should we do about that? If we fight again, we’ll end up like that too.”

“Just wait. It’s not time yet.”

“…You seem to have a plan, both now and earlier.”

Of course. I haven’t given them the ‘real’ penalty yet.

Their fate will be decided when the trial begins.

Before that…

“Hey, you guys.”

I called out to the two from the enemy team who didn’t receive the penalty behind the three who were frozen.

“Y-yes?”

“These guys are going to die by our hands. Are you going to join in?”

“No! We’ll look for another team!”

And they ran away before I could even say I’d let them go.

The psycho, unable to turn his head, got furious.

“Hey, you bastards! You’re betraying the team? I’ll kill you too! I won’t let you get away!”

They were people who had no will to fight from the beginning, so they also avoided the penalty.

The system is meticulous in imposing such penalties, considering even ‘intent’ to carefully filter out the perpetrators.

That’s why the butts of kings are heavy.

“Shouldn’t we teach those guys a lesson too?”

“No. If the system filtered them out, we can let them go.”

And so, the situation entered a temporary lull.

However, Ein, watching from afar, approached and asked.

“Did you know in advance?”

“Huh?”

…What does she mean?

I was momentarily flustered by her meaningful question.

“You acted as if you knew about the system’s control beforehand.”

The question itself isn’t surprising. But given my situation, I’m just a bit oversensitive.

Before answering, I briefly recalled what just happened.

‘Was it strange?’

It’s impossible to know about the trials in advance. Should I consider that ‘trial’ to include the system’s regulations just now?

I’m not sure. It’s an ambiguous area, and I couldn’t make a clear judgment.

But they don’t know either way.

“…There’s a Transcendent in my family. I’ve heard a few things.”

From now on, information about ‘system regulations’ is something that can be naturally encountered even outside the Tower.
Anyway, no one knows if it’s actually like that.

“I see.”

Ein nodded and stepped back.

‘Phew….’

That was a bit chilling just now.

Is this perhaps that? The moment of suspicion that Ga-ram, who knew the future, used to suffer from Ein.

‘So this is what it felt like to be described as having good intuition.’

Hearing it now, I realized it might seem strange from their perspective. It was obvious to me who set it up, so I think I acted a bit carelessly.

I’m not sure if she asked out of real suspicion, but I should be careful. There’s no harm in being cautious.

The leader, who heard the conversation, came over and made a fuss.

“Noah, you have a Transcendent in your family? Are you a child of a noble family? Perhaps a space aristocrat?”

“…No, it’s just that there’s one among my relatives.”

“Hmm… I see.”

He’s visibly disappointed.
This, I’m drawing too much attention just by standing out a bit. I need to be careful.

The leader’s questions didn’t end there.

“Ahem, ahem. So… Noah. Why didn’t you go to that team?”

Ah, was that what he was curious about?
Ein also joined in, seemingly puzzled.

“They even have a mage. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Oh my, Eindynak! It’s not that big of a deal! Ahem!”

The leader shouted in surprise at the blunt question but was still curious, glancing at me occasionally. It was quite a comical sight to see the thick man sweating nervously.

“Well…”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I just like the atmosphere here.”

“Ooh…! Noah!!”

“Ugh!”

As if deeply moved, the leader hugged me tightly with a rather creepy face.
This guy, what’s his strength stat?

While peeling the leader off, I inwardly answered Ein.

‘How could I go somewhere else when you’re here?’

If I’m with you, I’ll meet Ga-ram soon, and there’s no chance of betrayal since you’re a protagonist, and being on the protagonist’s team guarantees abilities. How could I leave you behind, fool?

‘Besides, passing through the 2nd level safely is the urgent priority.’

Physical ranged DPS is important for the 2nd level.

As I managed to pry the leader off and catch my breath, someone else grabbed my collar from behind.

“Ex-excuse me!”

But this time, the emotion in the voice was different.

The voice of a girl desperately looking for someone.

“You! You’re from Earth, right!?”

Before I could answer, my body turned around like lightning.

Did I turn too hastily? The girl flinched.

But regardless of that, disappointment washed over me.

‘Ah….’

It’s not her.

It wasn’t the person I was looking for, but a white woman with reddish-brown hair.

As soon as I confirmed who it was, I realized my mistake and checked my surroundings. Fortunately, it seems no one heard the word ‘Earthling.’

“Um… Was I too rude? I’m sorry. I was just so happy to…”

“…It’s alright. I mistook you for someone else.”

After an awkward greeting, she hesitated momentarily before blurting out what she wanted to say.

“But, Earth… mmph!?”

I covered the white woman’s mouth.

“Phew….”

“Mmph, mmph!”

“…You shouldn’t say you’re from that planet.”

“?”

I explained the situation to her, who looked puzzled.

“What!? Why on earth are we…?”

“I don’t know the details either, but that’s how the situation has turned out. You’d better be careful.”

“I don’t quite understand… but thank you for telling me.”

However, while talking with her, I remembered something I had forgotten.

‘Wait.’

This means Ga-ram could be in danger too because she’s from Earth.

‘An unexpected variable.’

I need to meet Ga-ram as soon as possible, even more urgently than I thought. Indeed, I absolutely must not separate from Ein.

After organizing my thoughts, the reddish-brown-haired woman clarified her reason for seeking me out.

“So, you are from our planet, right? I barely recognized you because of your clothes!”

“Ah, um….”

“There are so many people here who look exactly like us even though they’re from different planets. Wow, but even though you’re Asian, the language is automatically…”

“Just a moment.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not from that planet.”

“Oh…..”

There’s no reason to reveal that I’m from Earth. It would only increase the risks.

And since I’m the original cause of the situation, I need to be especially careful.

‘It’s enough to reveal it only to Ga-ram.’

Of course, she was visibly disappointed.
Well, this person must be under a lot of mental stress after passing through the 1st level through various hardships.

“But… but, no matter how I look at it…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah…. Yes… I’m the one who should be sorry….”

She looked like she was about to cry.

‘I’m really happy to see an Earthling too.’

Feeling unnecessarily sorry and awkward, I tried to make some small talk. Even trivial conversation can be comforting in this situation.

“You’re from a first-time planet, aren’t you?”

“First-time planet?”

“Climbers from a planet where the Tower has just been established.”

“Ah, yes! That’s right! I was so surprised… How did you know?”

“Usually, people don’t come in with such light clothing, they come prepared for battle.”

“Clothes? But… um….”

She looks me up and down. Oh no.

“…I, I have my circumstances.”

“Ah, I see….”

…Did I cover that up properly?

But her eyes keep examining my outfit. Is she suspicious? Or is she just lingering because of regret?

‘I need to watch what I say, like earlier.’

I was happy too and talked for a bit longer. My teammates read the atmosphere and gave us space. There’s still some time before we start.

“Um, by the way….”

“Yes, go ahead.”

She seemed a bit more comfortable and carefully brought up another topic.

“Have you already formed a team? I don’t have a team yet….”

“A team?”

I put aside the previous happiness and pondered. These things need to be considered coolly. Use if useful, discard if not.

This woman must have some talent to have been selected and brought here.

I quickly looked her over. The first thing I noticed was a bow.

‘An Earthling with a bow?’

That’s an unusual choice. I guess her skill must have come out that way.

‘A physical ranged DPS? It wouldn’t hurt to have one for this level.’

She also has a gentle impression, doesn’t look like the type to stab you in the back.

Like the dutiful daughter of a small farm? Her gentle blue eyes, well-braided brown hair, and freckles give a strangely domestic feeling.

“What kind of skill did you receive?”

This would normally be a very rude question, but it’s okay since she’s an Earthling who doesn’t know anything. Plus, I’m in the position of accepting her.

However, she gave an unexpected answer.

“It’s [Keen Eye].”

“Let’s start with introductions to the team members.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your name?”

She was the number one recruit for the 2nd level.

“Di, did I make it? Ah, it’s Sierra.”

A physical ranged DPS with [Keen Eye]?

‘The 2nd level will be a free pass.’

With this, we could aim for the hidden piece and even go for the fastest clear time reward?

***

Time passed, and the trial content was revealed.

[The 2nd level trial will begin soon.
-Work with your team to collect points and pass through the portal.
-You can earn points by defeating Crystal Creatures.
-You can earn a large number of points by annihilating other teams.
-Portals will be generated in random locations according to time.]

“Let’s do our best! Noah, Sierra!”

We added the Earthling Sierra to the team.

The team members didn’t know the trial content, so they didn’t feel her necessity, but I persuaded them well. A healer can be this forceful.

Four people is not too many, so there wasn’t much resistance. There are also penalties for increasing the number of people on the second level beyond a certain number, but there was no need to tell them that.

“It looks like most of the other teams have formed too.”

“Yeah, the atmosphere is getting tingly!”

As we finished our mental preparations, the barrier disappeared.

[The 2nd level trial begins.]

And so, the second trial began.

The trapped teams scattered in all directions. Of course, there were no fools who immediately engaged in battle.

But we had a remaining task.

“Noah. What should we do with these guys?”

The psycho team was still frozen even though the trial had started. It hadn’t been an hour yet.

The system is cold. The penalty they receive is separate from the trial. There’s no such mercy as releasing them just because the trial has started.

“What else? Draw your weapons.”

At my words, the three frozen members of the psycho team flinched.

“The safe zone has been lifted. Now, we won’t get penalties for killing. The trial content also said we’d get points for annihilating a team. So now we have to deal with them.”

We’re going to earn some sweet points right from the start.

The woman who first contacted us turned pale and shouted urgently.

“W-wait a minute!”

“You bastard, you’re the one who put your neck out!”

“Brother, please shut up!!”