Chapter 29: "There isn’t any."

“There isn’t any.”

Kirikiri replied with a face smeared with whipped cream.

Many times has Kirikiri’s advices provide great help in pa.s.sing through the 2nd floor, and each time I have told myself to speak my appreciation to her.

So, the moment I met her, along with a word of thanks, I bought a whipped cream cake from the shop as a present.

An expensive cake, almost the same price as my leather armour.

Spending so much points on a cake felt like a waste, but that thought disappeared soon after.

The cake was amaizing.

Really.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been eating just jerkies, riceb.a.l.l.s, water and my own blood and flesh for the last 2 months.

The sweetness of the cake was enought to make a culinary revolution.

Kirikiri was scouring through the cake next to me without a break, smearing the cream all over her mouth, but I could understand completely.

Because it’s that delicious!.

And it looks cute to watch.

“What did you say again?”

“There isn’t any.”

“What?”

I had just asked Kirikiri for advices on the 3rd floor.

I was hoping for an asnwer akin to the advices on the status effect potions for the 2nd floor.

I asked for just about any advice that can help, but the answer was.

“Ah, THERE IS NONE.”

Hey, what happened to your speech.

Were you always like this?

“There isn’t any advice? What do you mean?”

“It’s because you grew too fast. I can give advices, but as for advices that will help you, doesn’t exist.”

Kirikiri put her hands on the side of her waist and smiled brightly, proud of her self that she managed to explain it so well.

Hm… if that’s the case I’ve not no complaints.

It seems I’ll be able to pa.s.s through 3rd floor without much dangers.

I was quickly convinced, as I knew how fast my growth has been aswell.

“Hm… then, can you tell me what happened to the people in the 1st floor that entered the h.e.l.l difficulty on Round 2?”

Kirikiri crouched and thought for a moment at my question.

“It’s close. Maybe if you use all of your quota?”

Does quota mean opportunity to ask a question?

It seems it isn’t the number of questions that are limited, but each question has a price.

“Let’s drop it then. I’ll ask something else.”

Just what happened in the 1st floor, that after not a single reply, everyone would get wiped out.

I’m curious.

But, that’s it.

They are strangers to me.

And have nothing to do with me.

Maybe I’ll ask when I have so much quota that it’s just rotting away.

There are more curious, and important questions out there.

“Hm… then can you explain to me what Blink Emblem skill is?”

“Yep!”

Kirikiri replied confidnetly, crouched on the spot, and began to think.

Then,

She started to hop away to somewhere else.

That stupid idiot, she’s doing it again.

“Kirikiri! Play after you explain first!”

With those words, Kirikiri turned around, and hopped back toward me.

“Yep! I’ll explain it!”

Yes, please…

“Blink Emblem is a power bestowed by the G.o.d of Slowness! Challengers you achieve greater result than a certain threshold can recieve these gifts from G.o.ds instead of additional rewards!”

“And?”

“Also, all G.o.ds have only 1 chance to gift their powers to the challengers! This information is a bonus!”

But that’s not what I asked.

Oh well it’s still useful. Nice service.

That G.o.d of Slowness has used her one and only chance to give me her powers.

I’m starting to understand the description on the skill.

There are too many things I don’t know about the relationship between G.o.ds and Challengers.

What do the G.o.ds want from the Challengers, and what do the Challengers give back in return.

This information takes utmost priority when I have enough quota saved up to ask about G.o.ds.

“Kirikiri, what I want is the explanation of the effect Blink Emblem has. With a thorough explanation.”

“Yep!”

With a loud reply, Kirikiri showed off her trademark smile filled with pride.

“… I said, explain it.”

“I’ve made it so you can read it on Status window when you return to 3rd Floor Waiting Room!”

Really.

“Really?”

“Yep!”

I’m worried.

“Just making sure. If I go to the 3rd Floor Waiting Room, I will have a detailed explanation of it’s effect right?”

“Yep!”

“Huuh… then can I also get a detailed explanation for the Wind Spirit’s Blessings?”

“Yep! Got it.”

I’m getting worried, she’s replying way too fast.

Well, I’ll just trust her for now.

“If I don’t get a good explanation for either of them, the next time I see you, I’ll buy 2 cakes, and eat both of them without sharing alright?”

“No! Don’t!”

Kirikiri screamed as she jumped at me.

I quickly try to pull her away as she try to grab onto me.

She acts no different from my nephew when he was young.

You’re gonna smear the cream on me.

She was easily pulled away, but she continued to run at me many times.

“Ah, fine. I won’t do it.”

With those words, Kirikiri stopped her reckless charges.

I’ve read a thread about the manager’s powers in the Community.

It seems someone picked a fight against the managers in the 1st round.

He was suppressed by being beaten almost to death.

But why is she so weak?

Her strength is comparable to that of a normal person.

“Ah, Kirikiri. Is it true that you can exit to the real world if you clear 100th floor?”

I threw the most heated question in the Community at her.

Her reply was,

“Nope. I can’t tell you yet. Ask something else.”

I knew it.

I did ask about the skills just before.

“then, about the G.o.ds…”

“Nope. Information about the G.o.ds are expensive!”

Ah, is that so…

Nothing seems to be working out right now.

“Then about the ident.i.ty of the managers?”

She declined once more, explaining that I lack the quota to ask the question.

“Ah, what about that conquering the trial? Does it only apply to the last trial of the floor?”

“Nope. Conquering is just a mistake that was made during the creation of the trial.”

“Mistake? What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell that aswell. Heh.”

Just what can you tell right now, brat.

Since she told me to ask something else,

I must still have some quota left.

“Then what’s the colour of your underwear right now?”

“Kyaong!”

Kirikiri used Punch!

It wasn’t very effective!

“No privacy questions!”

“There are rules about that too? Do they value personal s.p.a.ce in here?”

“Yep! Privacy is very expensive!”

So you’ll tell me if I have enough quota saved up?

Then, what else do I have to ask.

A cheap, easy to answer question among the many informations I need.

“Kirikiri, at some point, my resistance skills stopped going up since Lvl 4. Why is that? Is there some sort of a limit to their levels?”

“Well. Yes. It’s also a mistake during the creation part. You could call it a level cap. But usually you would never see the level cap of the skill… but to see it in just 1 round…”

Kirikiri crossed her head as she sighed.

Her ears swinging left and right as she did left an impression on me.

She didn’t explain about the mistakes of the creation either.

“Do I have any quata left?”

“Nope. You’ve used it all. Can I eat that now?”

Looking at where Kirikiri was pointing, there was a cherry, left on top of a plate.

It seems she asked first, since it was the only cherry placed on the cake.

She’s like a good child that had been educated well.

Or, perhaps, she was thinking that I would give it to her since I stopped eating the cake, because I was full.

“No.”

Kirkiri ran at me immediately with a whine, struggling to get at it.

“Then let’s decide who gets to eat it with a rock paper scissors. You know how to play it right?”

“Yep!”

“Rock paper scissors!”

I lost.

That brat. She had been holding scissors from the start, so I thought she would change it just at the end.

But she just continued with that scissor.

“Best of three.”

Kirikiri jumped again, but I pushed the fact that since I bought the cake, I get to decide on the rules.

“Rock paper scissors!”

“Rock paper scissors.”

COME BACK!

There was no way for me to lose, since she would show what she was gonna throw even before the match.

Tears began to form on Kirikiri’s eyes, showing just how much she wanted that cherry.

Why didn’t you just eat it instead of asking if that’s the case.

As I stretch my arm and grab onto the cherry, the tears began to drop onto her cheeks.

Her pupils followed the cherry as I swing it left and right with a villanous face, with tears flowing like river.

Hm. It feels like taking candy from a child.

Isn’t that great?

Hahahaha.

It might be fun to just eat the cherry and see Kirikiri baul her eyes out, but being on her bad side may not be a good idea.

She clearly stated that the price for information is, potential for growth, achievement, and my amity with her.

Ahem.

“Now, since Kirikiri has given such good explanations, I will give this as a reward. You have to work hard from now on too ok.”

“Yep! I will!”

With a loud reply, she took the cherry like it was precious, and began to nip away at the cherry.

There wasn’t a hint of tears in her bright smiling face.

I smile at her cute, innocent look and stood up.

“Then, I’m off. See you later.”

As I say my farewells, Kirikiri replied as she was hopping about.

“Come back soon! Buy me another cake!”

Ah, was the cake your main objective.

“If those skill descriptions are done well, then maybe.”

“Yep. Good bye!”

It seems she’s rather confident about the skill description, considering the way she replied.

My doubt began to fade.

I couldn’t stop laughing, seeing how Kirikiri furiously waved her arms to send me off.

Is it because I have someone who can wish me farewell.

Or is it because she looks so cute doing that.

I was thinking whether I should tell her about the cream that’s smeared all over her bright smile,

but decided to waved farewell, and stepped onto the portal.