Only My Skill Tooltip Is Strange

33 – 2nd Floor, Griffin Hunt.

The sun is slowly setting.

From the first floor to the second floor, quite a bit of time has been wasted in the city’s streets.

A time when it’s awkward to do anything more.

Just then, someone spoke to me.

There was no reason not to respond.

“This way.”

I followed the woman into a certain tavern.

Roughly placed round tables, surrounded by wooden barrel chairs, different races drunkenly chattering.

The atmosphere was different.

As if she had been here more than once, the woman naturally brought over some beer.

The price was two beers for a single coin.

I was taken aback by the unexpectedly exorbitant price.

“What’s your name?”

“Oryuin.”

“Oryuin? That’s unusual. I’m Lee Seol-ah.”

Lee Seol-ah smiled and handed me a beer.

“You just registered as a gladiator, right? Then you must be very hungry.”

“A little. I am hungry.”

“……”

Lee Seol-ah’s eyes trembled.

It was fleeting, but she couldn’t avoid my gaze.

‘You spoke first.’

Not from another dimension.

I didn’t feel the need to bow down to a fellow Earthling.

Lee Seol-ah quickly composed herself and led me to a seat.

“…I don’t usually buy drinks for just anyone. It’s not easy to get gold.”

Lee Seol-ah skillfully ordered the meal.

She glanced at the menu.

Nothing looked particularly appetizing.

“…….”

The shabby facilities compared to other restaurants, the appearance of the customers using the place.

After scanning everything, she quickly realized it was a bar for lower-tier players.

A restaurant that used cheap prices as its weapon.

The quality of the food was naturally not good.

It was only at a level worth eating when you were really hungry and needed to fill your stomach or when you couldn’t stand it anymore after just drinking beer and ordered some snacks.

‘Is this the average lifestyle of Earthlings?’

That didn’t mean there were only Earthlings in the bar.

There were other species too.

There were more players who cared about the price rather than the taste than she thought.

That meant it was tough to survive on the second floor.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I’m on a diet.”

“…….”

She confidently said she would buy it, but it seemed like a big expense.

I broke the bread in half and handed it to Lee Seol-ah.

“We can share it.”

“Not very hungry?”

“I’m on a diet too.”

Lee Seol-ah did not refuse my consideration.

While sharing a piece of bread, I waited for Lee Seol-ah to speak.

There must be a reason she approached me.

“You seemed to be paying attention to the recruitment notice earlier.”

As expected, Lee Seol-ah started the conversation first.

I answered while chewing the bread.

“I couldn’t just sit still. So I was looking into the competition.”

“…You’re quite decisive, aren’t you? Most people know it in their heads but can’t make the decision easily.”

“Is that so?”

“Usually, they starve and sleep rough for a day. After about two days, they register as gladiators. They keep postponing it.”

Lee Seol-ah took a sip of beer.

“People like you survive longer.”

“Get to the point.”

“……”

I didn’t want to drag the conversation out.

‘Relying on your looks, huh.’

When I cut her off sharply, Lee Seol-ah stammered, seemingly flustered.

She forced her expression back to normal.

“Okay. I’ll get to the point. You seemed interested in the griffin hunt on the bulletin board earlier. Am I right?”

“I was just looking around. It’s good to know what kind of matches there are. I don’t plan on participating right away. It’s dangerous.”

“What’s the point of knowing that? Earthlings can only participate in limited matches.”

“Limited?”

“You’re only going to apply for matches with the elimination prevention option anyway, aren’t you?”

For those who valued their lives, the elimination prevention option was like rain during a drought, light, and salt.

‘Not for me, though.’

As long as the opponent wasn’t too dangerous, I could win with my skills.

So I was confident even if I had to fight for my life.

I didn’t plan to overdo it, but I also didn’t plan to run away blindly.

“Well… I do need the elimination prevention option.”

I didn’t bother to deny Lee Seol-ah’s words.

It was too bothersome to explain everything.

The reason I was listening to her now was to repay the meal I had received.

It wasn’t to reveal everything about myself.

“I have a good idea. You might not know this since you’re a new player who just reached the second floor today, but you can apply for Colosseum matches as a team. Especially, Bestiarii prefer team play.”

Lee Seol-ah continued.

In summary, she was suggesting that I join her team and challenge the griffin hunt.

“Our team leader has an amazing skill. It’s even D-rank.”

A confident expression appeared on Lee Seol-ah’s face as she spoke.

“Do you have a D-rank skill? You don’t, right? I wonder if you even have an E-rank skill.”

“……”

E-rank skill.

Doesn’t everyone bring at least one?

Suddenly, Blinky’s words, complaining about how much he was giving, came to mind.

‘…It was really a privilege.’

Thanks to Lee Seol-ah, Blinky’s mini-game was just a bonus game born out of whim.

A privilege that players from other batches couldn’t enjoy.

‘Only the ones who died in the 3v3 team battle were unfortunate.’

Originally, there was no 3v3 team battle.

That means they died needlessly when they didn’t have to.

But on the other hand, those who survived gained that much advantage to strive for survival.

‘Should I consider that fortunate?’

The hearts of the dead are broken.

“It’s better for those from Earth to stick together. You can’t trust players from other dimensions. They look down on us.”

Lee Seol-ah ground her teeth.

It seemed she had been badly hurt by players from other dimensions.

Forming a team.

That hell came to mind.

‘If you go through something like that on the first floor, it’s practically impossible to end it well.’

Even Buddha would find it difficult.

But that didn’t mean he was going to accept the proposal.

They just met today, after all.

Would they keep loyalty just because they were from Earth?

“I think I need some time to think.”

He slurped the soup and emptied the plate.

He was ready to leave at any moment.

“…Do you need to think about it? Just team up with us.”

Lee Seol-ah asked back with a surprised look, as if she didn’t expect a refusal.

“Just join the griffin hunting game and collect the prize money. Once a week is a bit dangerous, so let’s do it every four days. That way, we can save money and live comfortably. No need to become slaves.”

“……”

Honestly?

Your face looks quite ominous?

Joo Sohee told me.

The reason Earthlings are ostracized by players from other dimensions.

‘They hit you in the back of the head without hesitation, so why would other players like them?’

The only way for Earthlings to become stronger is by absorbing the souls of others.

Receiving bonus points is an extremely rare case, so let’s exclude that.

Earthlings, driven into a corner, inevitably resort to betrayal.

You, me, everyone, at least once.

─ Imagine how many times that happens on a dimensional scale. What do you think the reputation of Earthlings would be?

They’re already so weak that they’re not very useful as team members, and with an Earthling around, everyone has to watch their backs.

Naturally, their treatment gets worse.

‘Do you think they won’t hit you in the back just because they’re fellow Earthlings?’

They would betray even more easily.

In a 3-on-3 team battle, when deciding the opponent.

To survive, you had to somehow arrange a fight with a weaker team.

I watched with my own eyes as the loyalty built up over a week collapsed in less than ten minutes.

‘And you want to team up with a girl you met today?’

I’d rather cosplay as a dragon and play alone.

I wouldn’t do something that stupid.

‘And if I were to team up with Earthlings, it would be with the people who came up from the first floor with me.’

For example, Kim Minseong and Lee Sujeong.

Since I know their faces, there’s less resistance.

Lee Seol-ah looked at me with a surprised face, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“…You want to reject the proposal? Why? I don’t understand.”

“It’s not a rejection. I just need time to think.”

“That’s a rejection.”

Lee Seol-ah’s tone suddenly became sharp.

The situation wasn’t going as planned, and it seemed to be frustrating.

“It’s not a bad offer for you. It’s not a loss at all, really.”

“Whether it’s a loss or not is for me to decide.”

Seeing Lee Seol-ah’s face turn vicious, I couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Tsk tsk. I’m refusing to save you guys.’

Joo So-hee had asked.

If possible, help the Earthlings.

It’s not a request with a sense of responsibility.

If there’s no need to kill, don’t kill, and if you can save them, save them.

Draw the line in advance so there’s no reason to kill.

In another sense, I’m fulfilling Joo So-hee’s request.

‘Not knowing my heart.’

Behind Lee Seol-ah, a man appeared.

He was obviously the team leader.

“Lee Seol-ah. Haven’t you persuaded them yet?”

“…No.”

“You useless b*tch. Get lost.”

The man roughly pushed Lee Seol-ah aside and took her place.

Lee Seol-ah couldn’t say anything and was driven out.

‘The atmosphere just got a lot gloomier.’

No matter what, it’s much better to sit across from a pretty girl.

Rather than being with a guy who hasn’t even shaved properly.

He said,

“Let me be blunt. Join my team.”

His eyes were blazing.

He glared at me with a coercive expression that said he wouldn’t hesitate to use violence if I didn’t join the team.