Chapter 102: For Richer or Poorer (1)

Five kids stood by the entrance to the rented house.

Now, the only thing left to do was to fully gear up before entering the second floor.

Mirabelle was the only one left out.

To her, though, she knew they'd only be gone for an hour, so she didn't feel particularly lonely.

Otto and Ramesthes had already given each of them a debriefing of what to expect, as well as doled out all the potions, pills, and arrays they could hold in their spatial storage rings.

Actually, thinking about it now, Otto wasn't certain of exactly how many of these items they would actually be able to use by the time they arrived on the floor.

...The second floor was somewhat restrictive in its rules.

Otto quickly [Analyzed] them one by one.

From right after they'd cleared the first floor, until now, each of them had undergone a stunning transformation.

[Jeremy Smalls]

Floor Cleared: First Floor

Class: Invisible Acrobat

Race: Enhanced Human II

Profession 1: None

Profession 2: None

Profession 3: None

Profession 4: None

Health: 320 —] 1013/1013 (0.17 —] 1.38/minute)

Stamina: 400 —] 760/760 (2.5 —] 7.5/minute)

Energy: 140 —] 720/720 (1.2 —] 4.8/minute)

[Attributes]

Strength 35

Agility 66

Stamina 30

Sturdiness 23

Energy Pool 36

Comprehension 32

Energy Compression 35

Regeneration 48

AP: 0

He'd also gotten a new racial trait from the [Evolution Bead] which was now, sadly, scrap after its uses were consumed.

[Racial Trait]

[Double Jump]

Every jump off the ground will allow you to jump once more when both feet tap the air simultaneously.

Jeremy's racial trait further improved his mobility by allowing him to bounce on the air one time if needed.

It was an excellent trait because it didn't have a cooldown. Nor did it require any energy to use.

Otto [Analyzed] Elliott next.

[Elliott Lastermann]

Floor Cleared: First Floor

Class: Mage of the Storm

Race: Enhanced Human II

Profession 1: None

Profession 2: None

Profession 3: None

Profession 4: None

Health: 195 —] 663/663 (0.14 —] 1.14/minute)

Stamina: 185 —] 408/408 (1.3 —] 4.5/minute)

Mana: 600 —] 1,160/1,160 (4.0 —] 11.20/minute)

[Attributes]

Strength 11 —] 15

Speed 18 —] 24

Stamina 13 —] 18

Sturdiness 14 —] 19

Mana Pool 30 —] 58

Intuition 32 —] 54

Magic Power 12 —] 36

Regeneration 20 —] 56

AP: 0

Elliott's trait improved his 'soul strength.'

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Otto didn't know what that meant until Elliott told him that his innate trait could be active for slightly longer before becoming unusable.

Meaning that Elliott's main bonus here was that he received an additional few hours to use [Survivor's Intuition]!

[Racial Trait]

[Strong Soul Foundation]

Soul strength rises by 10%.

Finally, Otto turned to Julia.

[Julia Nilsen]

Floor Cleared: First Floor

Class: Killer Vanguard

Race: Enhanced Human II

Profession 1: None

Profession 2: None

Profession 3: None

Profession 4: None

Health: 375 —] 1,113/1,113 (1.25 —] 9.0/minute)

Stamina: 375 —] 696/696 (5.0 —] 14.5/minute)

Energy: 100 —] 560/560 (0.25 —] 1.7/minute)

[Attributes]

Strength 25 —] 29

Speed 30 —] 35

Stamina 25 —] 29

Sturdiness 25 —] 30

Energy Pool 5 —] 28

Comprehension 5 —] 14

Energy Compression 5 —] 25

Regeneration 5 —] 34

AP: 0

[Racial Trait]

[The Art of the Blunt]

Blunt weapons and equipment are 20% stronger in your hands.

To Otto, her trait might actually be the best of the bunch.

It essentially improved everything about her combat style.

Since both the hammer AND the shield were considered 'blunt' tools.

In other words, her shield defended 20% better, and her hammer hit 20% harder.

A free bonus with no cost!

Otto nodded in satisfaction and gave each of them a final once-over.

"Are you all ready to enter the second floor?"

"YES!"

"Gear up. Let's go."

Ramesthes bade them goodbye as they walked off towards the sunrise.

**************************************************************

Otto held a specially prepared glass of water in his hand as he walked through the portal to the 2nd Floor.

Right before he entered, he looked directly behind him.

All of the kids held glasses of 'water' in their hands as well.

Otto's lips curved up in satisfaction.

For normal floors, there was only one way to bring mundane items such as food, water, or clothing, items that were not recognized by the [Tower], into a floor.

A challenger had to use a spatial storage ring.

Then, the challenger would pay an exorbitant price by weight or by volume to bring all the goods in the ring inside.

However, this rule had quite a few different types of exceptions.

Moreover, this was no ordinary floor.

What he held was no ordinary water.

Otto stepped into the portal.

The view before his eyes shifted and distorted, before smoothing out.

Otto wasn't prompted to pay even a Pencet for bringing in his full glass.

The first thing that hit Otto like a truck after arriving on the second floor was the blinding brightness of the sun.

It was midday on the island planet of Yzmar and the sun glared down upon the ground as if it had an irreconcilable grudge with the entire planet.

Otto looked around.

There was not a single tree in sight.

He was out of the forest now.

Instead, what replaced the trees was sand.

Pale golden sand rolled across the ground for as far as the eye could see.

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It was astonishing in its…lack of features.

There was no color gradation whatsoever in the sand.

There were also no rocks, and no features by which to identify Otto's place of landing.

Not a single hill or any sort of protrusion from the ground could be found for as far as Otto could see.

With his new doubled agility, he could see pretty dang far, too.

He stood in the second ring of the island planet: the desert land.

However, Otto was surprised to find that there were no other Throskarts surrounding him.

Inwardly, he felt a bit confused.

What was the difference between the 2nd floor in this life and the 2nd floor in the last life?

He was in the same area.

...Was he not on the game show anymore?

At this thought, Otto's brows creased.

He felt a sense of alarm deep within.

If his knowledge was useless… yes, he'd be able to get by with the accumulated advantages he'd built up so far.

But it would by no means allow him to prepare nearly as much as he was able to currently.

Before Otto had the chance to ponder further, a message was sent to his brain.

A series of messages from the [Tower].

[Welcome to Floor 2.]

[You are once again transported to the island planet of Yzmar.]

[By passing the preliminaries, you have overcome your identity as an enemy slave, and are now an official member of the Throskart natural populace.]

[You have arrived at the second ring of the island.]

[Participate in the Qualifying Round.]

[The natives like to call it: The Desert Land.]

[A deadly game takes place in the desert.]

[Where the main goal can only be survival.]

[You have passed the Floor 1 Mission with a rating of [Extreme] or above.]

[Your story will not be reset.]

[…Analyzing…]

[Reforms were passed due to your actions in the preliminary round.]

[The game has celebrated increased 'fairness' to all participants.]

[...But not everyone is happy.]

[Storms continue to brew beneath the surface…]

[You are participating in this game for the second time. You have the identity of 'participant.']

Otto's jaw dropped.

His mouth remained wide open for a solid three seconds.

His story not being reset was an advantage (and a sort-of disadvantage) Otto was hoping he'd receive after he made such a big change on the first floor.

There was at least one other reward he knew of that was associated with this as well.

It was the second part that was shocking.

The identity of a 'participant' in the game?!!

Not an 'enemy' of the Throskarts?!

It was the first time Otto had ever heard of such a thing.

'Perhaps…'

Was this why he was all alone right now?

Was there something else that was supposed to happen before the game started?

Otto continued to read the [Tower's] notifications.

[Please choose your difficulty.]

[Basic]

[Low]

[Medium]

[High]

[Very High]

[Extreme]

[Calculating…detected a 'Qualification.']

[A new difficulty has opened for you.]

[Please choose your difficulty.]

[Basic]

[Low]

[Medium]

[High]

[Very High]

[Extreme]

[Titled I]

Of course, Otto didn't hesitate.

He selected 'Titled I.'

[You will receive your mission in due course.]

Then, the notifications disappeared.

Otto raised an eyebrow, breathed deeply and briefly began to meditate standing up while he waited for the beloved 'Game Master' to give instructions.

He wasn't disappointed.

A booming voice soon echoed, it seemed, throughout the entire world.

[Hehehe, hello dear participants!]

[I really have to congratulate you all on passing our favorite preliminary game the [Winning Token].]

Suddenly, his voice sharpened.

His tone was practically oozing venom.

[I shall specially congratulate our favorite human who gave us a little helping hand, shall we say, in changing the rules.]

He sighed exaggeratedly and then his tone was lighthearted once more.

[Well, we'd never want our lovely contestants to feel that their lives were unfair! Oh, dear me!]

[All 1,000,000 contestants have now entered the qualifying round located within the second ring of our beautiful island planet Yzmar.]

[Now, for our audience back home, you'd better prepare, because soon it will be HOT in here!]

[And I mean that literally, ladies and gentleman!]

[Because this game takes place in a desert.]

[It might be a good idea for our contestants to show off some skin…hehehe]

[Although I'm afraid I have to be the bearer of bad news today *sob*.]

Otto felt the brain holes he'd thought were behind him from the first floor beginning to creep up on him once more after being forced to listen to the game master's terrible theatrics.

[Unfortunately, our audience will not be allowed to directly participate in this qualifying round, for…fairness reasons.]

[Well, don't you worry, my dear audience. I'm sure the game will be… hehe… plenty entertaining without your votes.]

[This game is one we like to call [For Richer or Poorer]. It's a new game for you AND for us this year, and we're biting our lips...]

Otto's brow twitched as a loud moan filled the atmosphere.

[…mmm…in great anticipation of its result.]

[Since the last round was a bit freewheeling, this game is rather more structured in style.]

[You will be put into fairly large groups of 100 contestants each.]

[The goal of the game is very simple.]

[All you need to do is survive!]

[That's right, contestants, as long as you live past the 10th day, you will have passed this round.]

His voice abruptly turned sinister.

[Although that might not be so easy…]

The chipper tone returned as if the other was just a lie.

Otto found himself genuinely curious. Did the game master have two personalities?

[Well, except for a few with additional requirements…but you folks will know who you are in just a bit… hehehe]

[Now, we all know the biggest problem with living in a desert, hmm?]

[That's right, it's water!]

[Fortunately for our precious contestants, we the game masters have been kind enough to provide all of you with *plenty* of water.]

[Every night, there will be four structures from which you may drink.]

[Large mansions, small homes, large water stations, and small water stations will all be set up for your group of 100 at the end of each day.]

[Well, hehe, nothing in life is free~]

[Sadly, this desert has been invaded by monsters! *gasp*]

[Contestants! You will need to earn your keep by fighting invading monsters under the hot sun.]

[The more you fight, the more you earn.]

[Killing one monster will give you one merit.]

[Different structures require different amounts of merit to use each evening.]

[Be careful not to fight amongst yourselves now…there are only so many monsters each day… hehehehe]

[Alas, for this game, your wealth depends only on your own hard work! Stealing merits and hurting each other are absolutely not allowed.]

[Violators of this rule will be summarily expelled and killed.]

Even Otto felt a small shiver run down his spine at the complete nonchalance the game master uttered such a statement with.

He listened quietly as the game master expounded upon the precise rules of the game and the specifics of the goals, taking care to interject with many needless hysterics.

Otto assumed it was the strategy to keep the viewers entertained throughout the lengthy explanation.

Truthfully, the game itself sounded pretty easy.

If it weren't for the traps hidden within.

Hehe.

Otto knew them all already…

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