A Long Ti Ago — The Hidden Floor
At the mont Hoaquin's group escaped—
[KRAAAAAAH!]
"Well now… this isn't sothing I ever saw in the original. Still, I've stalled long enough."
Slash—!
At last, the Sworn Enemy Hoaquin's chest was pierced straight through by Leviathan.
Zahard's data violently swung his arm, completely erasing him, then imdiately turned to pursue the real Hoaquin riding atop the giant cobra's head.
Even in that mont, there were eight who were desperately trying to shatter the full restraints binding their bodies.
As Zahard's data moved farther away from them, the crushing pressure suppressing them weakened bit by bit—until finally—
All eight data of the Ten Great Families overca it.
The data of the Lo Po Bia Family Head, who had lent Hwarang the Giant Odd-Eyed Cobra, shouted joyfully:
"It worked! I can move again!"
Everyone rushed outside at once, and Hon urged Eduan urgently.
"Hurry—let's get to the kids, Eduan!"
"Yeah, yeah—I know!"
Pajijijik—!
The other Family Head data gathered around Eduan, and in the next instant, Eduan's body transford into living lightning, carrying himself and his companions through a bolt of blue thunder.
KRAAAASH—!
"Hah… I can finally move."
Riding Eduan's lightning, they crossed the distance in an instant and cut off Zahard's data.
"Get out of here. We'll hold this fake back."
[Move aside!]
"Snap out of it, you fake!"
Whatever had caused Zahard's data to change so drastically, stopping him here took priority.
The mont Zahard's data tried to charge toward Hoaquin, all eight Family Head data blocked him at once.
"We need to have a talk, Zahard."
Just as Zahard's data was about to reach Hoaquin, Yurin grabbed his ankle and hurled him far away—
And at last, the children escaped the Hidden Floor safely.
What remained was only one thing: bringing their distorted friend back.
When Zahard had been absent, V had served as their leader—but now, neither of them could.
In the end, the wisest among the Ten Great Families, Gustang, assud temporary command.
"Blossom, Eduan! Handle Zahard from range—I'll support!"
With Tperie absent, Gustang had no choice but to deploy a lighthouse himself.
Though inferior to Tperie, he was still an exceptional Light Bearer.
Arie Hon, Ari Han, and Ha Yurin needed no instructions—they were already doing their part, clinging relentlessly to Zahard's data to restrain his movents.
Whenever allies were injured, Yeon Hana healed them with the Fla of Life, while Traurei mounted the cobra that had carried Hoaquin's group away and charged Zahard head-on.
Zahard's data regenerated endlessly.
aning—cruel as it was among friends—there was no need to hold back.
No matter how much Zahard's data strengthened or unleashed Leviathan, there was no way he could gain the upper hand against eight allies fighting in perfect coordination.
[GRAAAAAAH!]
Cracks began to form in the red horns covering Zahard's data—and even when his body regenerated, the cracks remained.
The Ten Great Family data did not miss this.
Hon, Eduan, Blossom, Gustang, Hana, Han, and Traurei—seven of them charged together, completely sealing Zahard's movents.
In that opening, the one with the greatest single-strike power rushed in.
"HRAAAAAAH—!"
Ha Yurin–style Martial Art: Tsar Bomba
Her full-powered punch smashed straight into Zahard.
The red horns finally shattered completely.
Zahard's data was slamd deep into the ground.
The monstrous form he had taken slowly reverted back into Zahard's original appearance.
What remained now was cleanup.
Gustang used a contingency item he had prepared just in case—a Hidden Floor Restoration Pill—to restore the stage that had been in the process of deletion, and everyone exited safely.
When Zahard's data awakened, he rembered only that he had lost to Hoaquin.
Unlike the other Family Head data, he entered an even more deeply hidden Hidden Floor and lived there alone.
Eduan and Hon worried whether the Zahard outside the Hidden Floor had noticed Hoaquin—but Gustang reassured them.
The outside Zahard had rely planted a strange seed within the data; he knew nothing about what truly happened inside the Hidden Floor.
And so, the incident ca to a close.
A very long ti passed.
.....
Much Later
The eight Ten Great Family data gathered together again after a long absence.
They sat in a circle, staring at one another.
Walking around them while writing sothing down was a white-haired boy—.
Hoaquin.
More precisely, the data left behind by the outside .
I had told them to remain in the Hidden Floor because V's son would eventually arrive—but waiting that long was still unbearably dull.
So I searched for ways to pass the ti here.
And one of those ways was this.
…The Finger-Folding Ga.
"Alright, starting with ten fingers?"
"Call."
All the Family Head data agreed, holding out both hands with all ten fingers raised.
The turn order, decided by rock-paper-scissors, was:
→ Eduan → Hon → Yurin → Gustang → Blossom → Hana → Traurei → Han
Everyone nodded, and I went first.
"Everyone with children outside, fold your fingers."
"Hmm…"
Everyone folded their fingers—
Except Yeon Hana.
All Yeon Family children belonged to her wet nurse, Yeon Ilarde.
Hana herself was a virgin.
Eduan glared at .
"You could've had kids outside too. It's been ages since then."
"Haha, no way. There's no proof yet, right? Don't push it—just fold your fingers."
Grit.
"We're verifying that later. For sure."
Grinding his teeth, Eduan folded his fingers.
Next was Eduan's turn.
He stared at in particular and said:
"Everyone who's ever been electrocuted by —fold."
"…? What kind of nonsense—"
PAJIIIJIK—!
Blue lightning exploded outward like Pikachu's million-volt Thunderbolt—And most of it hit .
Seriously, what a grudge.
Sitting so close together, everyone except Blossom got electrocuted.
"Alright. Everyone except Blossom—fold."
"..."
"That bastard—!"
No real damage, since he'd held back—but Eduan's lawless behavior left everyone speechless.
Yurin nearly started a fight with him before we stopped her.
Maybe staying in the Hidden Floor too long had made him even more hysterical.
Next was Hon.
"Anyone worse with a sword than —fold."
"Wow. That's cheap, Hon."
"The world of competition is cruel."
Everyone had no choice but to fold—except .
"..."
"..."
"Son. Shall we verify that right now—"
"…I'll fold."
If only data didn't stop growing… damn it.
Next was Yurin.
"Anyone weaker than —fold."
Hon and Eduan didn't fold.
Yurin looked at them with disdain.
"Hooh…"
An arm-wrestling match was held on the spot.
Yurin won decisively.
Hon and Eduan ground their teeth and folded their fingers.
"Puhahaha! And you call yourselves workers? Don't go bragging about strength—especially you, Eduan!"
"Hah. You think strength is everything? Wanna go?"
"What? Speak up. Sounded like your neck didn't have any power."
"Seriously, stop trying to fight every ti!"
After I diated, the two finally sat back down.
Like cats and dogs.
Then Gustang spoke.
"Anyone without a spouse—fold."
Those who didn't fold were Gustang, Blossom, Yurin, and Han—married couples.
"Tch, married n bragging—"
"How is marrying colleagues 'internal marriage'?"
Eduan kept interrupting, veins popping on Gustang's forehead—but he let it slide.
Blossom's turn.
She was asleep.
Gustang woke her up—nearly getting his data erased in the process, but details aside.
"Anyone with an average sleep ti under twenty-two hours—fold."
"..."
No one argued.
Even Eduan stayed quiet.
ss with her sleep, and she was scarier than Yurin.
Finally, Yeon Hana smiled mischievously.
"Anyone with a worse personality than —please fold."
"..."
A brief silence followed.
Not because of Hana's condition—but because Eduan hadn't folded a finger.
"…What? Why not?"
"Wow. Seriously?"
"That's just shaless."
"Even I admit I've got a trash personality."
"Eduan, aren't you embarrassed?"
Eduan desperately insisted that the one with the bad personality was his outside self, not him, but from my perspective… yeah, no.
In the end, he was more or less forced to fold a finger.
That said, Eduan wasn't the only one who hadn't folded.
, Blossom, Hon, Han, and Traurei were still untouched, so the decision was left to Hana.
Hana—who was secretly soft-hearted about things like this—ended up burning all five of us as having personalities as good as hers.
Given that she still showed no rcy to Eduan, well… that says a lot.
"Wait a second. Forget the others—Hon and Traurei, you two should fold right now."
"Eduan, are you displeased that your personality collapse has been officially acknowledged by your peers?"
"Picking a fight with Hon out of nowhere… truly last place behavior."
"I refuse to accept this! Let's vote—everyone close your eyes!"
"I can no longer bear my friend's shabbiness. I shall fold my finger myself."
With that, Hon—who had instantly turned Eduan into a petty man—folded his finger with a satisfied expression.
Eduan still looked unhappy, but could only grit his teeth and stay silent.
Next up was Traurei.
"Uh—"
"Pet talk is way too cliché."
Eduan interrupted before he could even start, and Traurei glared at him.
"My pet saved Hoaquin and the kids, you know?"
"So what?"
"...…"
Eduan's personality was especially foul today.
Well, that was nothing new.
Man… when is Bam going to show up?
Urek Mazino had already entered long ago—and I'd t him.
I'd thought about warning him not to smash the mirror on his way out, but there was no way he'd listen. Besides, that was how it went in the original story.
Sure enough, I'd heard he shattered the mirror and left without hesitation.
Ignoring Eduan's provocation, Traurei stubbornly stuck with the pet the—Though the smug smile he cast at Gustang suggested he had an ulterior motive.
"Alright then. Anyone dumber than 'Arrogance'—fold."
Everyone tilted their heads and looked at Traurei's shoulder.
At so point, an octopus had climbed up there, wriggling its tentacles.
"What's this sashimi-looking thing? Is it tasty?"
Eduan smacked his lips casually, and Traurei shot him a glare.
At the sa ti—
Grit—
The sound of teeth grinding echoed clearly enough that everyone turned to look.
Gustang, his brow deeply furrowed.
Traurei's eyes curved into a crescent, full of triumph.
"Oh my. Gustang? Why haven't you folded yet?"
"What? You're saying Gustang is dumber than that octopus?"
"Traurei, isn't that a bit much…?" Hana tilted her head—
And at that mont, Gustang snapped.
Like a machine gun with the safety off, words poured out of him at terrifying speed.
"I wholeheartedly agree with Hana. I rely lost a riddle contest to that creature, which cannot possibly be considered a valid tric of intelligence. As you well know, Traurei, intelligence is an extrely complex concept—there's no way it can be determined by a single maze puzzle. And let's be clear: I simply adjusted the riddle to suit your limited level, and while I do acknowledge that—yes—that octopus displayed unexpectedly high cognitive ability, that is beside the point. In the end, Traurei relied on a borderline-cheating application of collective intelligence and was further aided by absurd luck, allowing him to stumble upon a decisive hint extrely close to the correct answer. This does not an that either Traurei or that octopus surpasses intellectually. In fact, one could argue that Traurei, who did practically nothing and rely depended on his pet, should be the one folding a finger—what a laughable thing it is for a master to outsource intellect to a pet, whereas I, as everyone knows, am called the Sage of the Tower outside and established the foundational system of shinsu control—"
'So… he lost to an octopus?'
'He totally lost to an octopus.'
'Yep. Lost.'
'Honestly, speaking that fast without stopping is
impressive.'
The rest of us stared awkwardly at Auto-Recitation Doll Gustang.
Traurei looked imnsely satisfied, and as if sensing its master's emotions, the octopus happily waved its tentacles.
At this rate, forcing Gustang to fold a finger felt like it would escalate him from machine gun to rocket launcher, so we hurriedly shut him up and wrapped up Traurei's little stunt.
Of course, no one actually believed they were dumber than the so-called "Kraken of Arrogance", so no fingers were folded.
Finally, it was Ari Han's turn.
Looking at the remaining fingers:
(Hoaqin): 3
Eduan: 3
Hon: 3
Yurin: 4
Gustang: 3
Blossom: 6
Hana: 6
Traurei: 3
Han: 5
Since the ga was to determine first and last place, Blossom and Hana were currently contenders for first, while , Eduan, Hon, Gustang, and Traurei were contenders for last.
With so few fingers left, everyone focused on Ari Han.
He spoke gently.
"Anyone who can't drink as much as —fold."
"...…"
A brief silence.
No one folded.
"…I'm not folding for this."
" neither. Can't accept that."
"You're underestimating us, Han."
"What? Why hasn't anyone folded yet? Hurry up and fold!"
"We'll see once we try!"
Ari Han pulled out alcohol—and at the sa ti, Eduan and Hon did as well.
Unbelievable. These legends were really about to have a pointless drinking contest.
I'm definitely joining.
No way I was folding either.
And so, as if carried along by the flow of consciousness, an impromptu drinking bout began.
Wine, makgeolli, and sake piled up in front of us, and the battle of tolerance comnced imdiately.
.....
Snore—
Huff… puff…
"…Ugh… my head…"
At so point, bottles were stacked like a tower around us.
We must have drunk an absurd amount—Even for Ten Great Family data to get plastered like this.
My head felt like it was splitting open.
In the end, Ari Han won.
The ga stopped right after since everyone passed out.
That insane booze whale…
Ah… I was supposed to hang out with Maschenny tomorrow. What do I do about the alcohol sll?
Though I'd just woken up, the headache overwheld , and I flopped back down.
The beautiful ceiling of the data world filled my vision.
Enjoying the quiet of the night, I absentmindedly pulled out my Pocket.
The wallpaper showed a photo I'd taken with Maschenny.
And another—
A picture of my Arie friends, taken before I beca a Regular.
Had my outside self t them again, I wonder.
My Arie friends hadn't boarded the Hell Train, and they never entered the Hidden Floor.
My outside self could've at least told them to ride the Hell Train and leave so data behind—how cold.
Kuuuuung—!
"…?!"
While staring at the photos, I felt it.
A door opening.
Not heard—felt.
Soone had opened a door and entered the data world.
Of course, the Hidden Floor's door opens regularly before the Hell Train reaches the final station for data registration—
But this was different.
They didn't enter as data. They opened the door and ca in directly.
I could tell.
This wasn't data registration—they had used so other ans to enter the Hidden Floor in person.
Which ant—
A grin spread across my face.
So you're finally here.
Looks like I won't be bored for a while.
What do you look like in person, I wonder?
Did my outside self et you already?
I stood up and headed toward the Bard's Village.
"Well then… shall I go et the protagonist?"
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