Chapter 51: 4th Floor Hidden (2)

I stared at the Researchers while remaining in stealth. Their outfits felt quite modern. Is the 4th Floor a world where civilization and technology are much more advanced than other Floors? I walked down the hallway, looking around. Besides the two who just passed by, other Researchers were sporadically walking down the hallway. My presence would be too alien among these people in white coats, so I couldn’t break my stealth. The situation was different from the 3rd Floor. Here, I was inside a Building called a Workshop. If people spotted me, wouldn’t they naturally perceive me as an intruder?

‘I can’t maintain stealth forever, though…’ But what am I supposed to do now? I’ve found people, so shouldn’t the story progress on its own? The basics of a hidden Strategy Guide is understanding the background setting. For now, I’m listening closely to the Conversation of the passing Researchers. However, since it was all either incomprehensible experiment talk or everyday chatter about what to eat for lunch later, I wasn’t making any real progress.

Suddenly, the surrounding Researchers bowed their heads. An Old Man in a white coat, wearing a Monocle over one eye, was walking towards this direction. Two people in Mecha-mecha (Mechanical) suits followed behind the Old Man. Are they the Guards? In any case, he had the aura of a high-ranking person. I stepped aside into the hallway so we wouldn’t bump into each other. Just then, the Old Man suddenly stopped walking. Then, he stared intently at where I was standing.

‘…?’ …What is it? Our eyes met. I’m in stealth right now? Have I been caught?

“Is something wrong, Sir Isca?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The Old Man withdrew his gaze from me and continued on his way. I tilted my head and watched him leave. We definitely made eye contact…? Ah. Getting a certain feeling, I followed behind the Old Man. If he let it slide even though I was caught, it probably means he isn’t an enemy. And if he isn’t an enemy? Based on my hidden experiences so far, he is a necessary character for progressing the Strategy Guide.

‘But how did he actually know?’ Diul’s stealth ability had never been seen through before. And I don’t know why he pretended not to notice me, either. Following the Old Man, we reached a door at the end of the hallway. The two Guard members bowed to the Old Man and left for another location. That left just the two of us: me, still in stealth, and the Old Man…

“Come in.” The Old Man said while opening the door, without even looking back.

I really was caught. I followed the Old Man into the room, raising my guard even higher. There is no Certainty that he is an ally yet. I had to be ready to respond immediately if things got dangerous.

Click. The room was half like an office space and half like a laboratory space. I slightly distanced myself from the Old Man as he closed and locked the door. The Old Man stared at me intently.

“Are you going to stay like that?”

I canceled my stealth. There was no reason to waste my strength maintaining stealth when he could see my Body anyway.

“…” So… I wonder what this situation is. According to my Sixth Sense, there was no hostility felt from the Old Man for now.

The Old Man spoke again. “Where do you come from? The Northern Resistance? The Twilight Order? Or the Shadow Sword?”

…I’m sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Knowing nothing, I kept my mouth shut.

“You must be curious about the reason why I pretended not to see you.”

I nodded. I am indeed curious about that.

The Old Man pulled a cigarette out of his desk drawer, lit it, and smoked. Smoke drifted upward. “I do not know what purpose brought you to infiltrate this place… but it surely isn’t with good intentions. I won’t ask about anything else, so just answer two questions for me. Are you an enemy of the Workshop?”

“…” …How am I supposed to answer this. Yes? No?

The Old Man is definitely someone belonging to this Workshop, yet he was showing a strange attitude. Hiding an intruder like me, having a Conversation. Even the words he is saying now make it seem like he wants me to be an enemy of the Workshop. No, he was already looking at me as one. I slowly nodded my head.

The Old Man also nodded and asked again. “If so, if this Workshop were to be blown up entirely… would that also align with your objective?”

…Blown up? The Workshop? The atmosphere basically forced a predetermined answer, so I nodded again.

The Old Man took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, and said. “If so, we can help each other. Because I plan on blowing up this Workshop.”

“…”

“I am Isca, the head Researcher of this Floating Workshop. What do you say, will you cooperate with me?”

Floating Workshop? Only then did I open my mouth and ask. “…Why are you trying to blow up the Workshop when you are a Researcher?”

“Just as I ask nothing about you, I believe you have no need to ask about that.”

He meant he wouldn’t tell me.

“Do you doubt the true intention of my words? Am I not proving it by hiding an intruder like you in this manner? Just know that I have absolutely no other reason to do so.”

“No, I understand. I will cooperate.”

I accepted the proposal. Blowing up the Workshop, I’m still not sure if this is the correct progression… Anyway, he was the only character I could interact with right now. And I felt like if I refused, he might just call the Guards.

“How exactly should I cooperate?”

Isca stubbed out his finished cigarette in the ashtray and said. “There is something called a Master Code. You just need to bring that to me.”

To summarize Isca’s Explanation. Simply put, the Master Code is the Workshop’s highest authority code. This Workshop is divided into zones from Sector 1 to Sector 10, and it’s said that there’s a room in Sector 1 where the Master Code is kept. He was asking me to go there and copy the Master Code for him.

“The only one who can enter the Master Code Room is the Master of the Workshop. More accurately, the Master Key he possesses is required. Therefore, the sequence is to first snatch the Master Key from the Master of the Workshop, and then move to the Master Code Room.”

…Doesn’t that Difficulty sound considerably high? Still, hearing him say that gave me a bit more Certainty that I was progressing correctly. Because having a lot of Explanation as if a game story was progressing was exactly the feeling I got when tackling the hidden Strategy Guides so far.

“You use an unknown power that isn’t even Mana. I’m suggesting this because I think it might be possible for someone with the ability to infiltrate this floating Workshop without causing any disturbance… What do you say?”

Is he talking about Diul’s ability? I asked. “By the way, how did you recognize my stealth?”

Isca tapped the lens of his Monocle. “I just have a slightly special eye. Aside from me, there will be no one inside this Workshop who can see through your ability, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Isca took something out from his pocket and handed it to me. It was an object like a small USB.

“It’s a tool to copy the code. Once you enter the Master Code Room, there will probably be a device that looks like a capsule in the middle of the room. Touch this tool to it. When the tool lights up blue, it means the copying is complete.”

I accepted the tool and asked. “How should I snatch the Master of the Workshop’s Master Key?”

“The Master Key is always carried on the Master of the Workshop’s Body. He is usually in Sector 1, so find him and take it.”

“…Is that it?”

“Just be careful of the Master of the Workshop’s exclusive Guard. He’s a Monster who even served as an Imperial Executioner. Snatch the key secretly so you don’t get caught.”

No, that’s not what I meant. Isn’t there a more detailed method? Isca’s words just ended with: the Master of the Workshop has the key, so just figure out how to steal it secretly on your own~.

Isca went further into the office and brought out a white coat and something like a card, handing them to me.

“It’s the ID card of my disciple Researcher. You won’t be suspected even if you walk around the Workshop without hiding your Body.”

He even gave me a fake identity. Perhaps the 4th Floor hidden theme is some sort of espionage stealth action. I put the tool and the card in my pocket and put on the coat.

“The Master Code is renewed every hour on the hour. So, if you copied the code at 1:20, you must bring the code to me before it strikes exactly 2:00. Do you understand?”

“Yes… for now.”

Finally, I received an object that looked like a smartphone containing the internal map of the Workshop.

“You may go then. It doesn’t matter how much Time it takes.”

I was practically pushed out of Isca’s office. I put my hands in my coat pockets and walked down the hallway feeling a bit awkward. The Researchers wandering the hallway passed by without any interest in me.

I received the quest for now, but… Hmm. Well, I’ll know once I try it. There were broadly two missions. Stealing the Master of the Workshop’s key, and taking it to the Master Code Room to copy the code. And the entire process seemed to be at my discretion. First, I decided to check the location of the Master Code Room. The Master Code Room was in Sector 1, and the place I was currently located in was Sector 6. Getting out of here was the priority.

Suddenly remembering, I opened the shop window.

‘It still works.’ I tried buying Magic damage, and the purchase went through. Can I continue to use this while I’m on the 4th Floor? That was one piece of good news.

Anyway, why is it so spacious… Checking the factory’s internal map, I struggled to find my way. It took a long Time just to find the way out of the Building.

‘There’s even an Elevator.’ After transferring Elevators several times and coming down, I finally came outside the Building of Sector 6.

As soon as I came outside, a strong wind blew against me.

“…?”

The surrounding fog… is it not? A Cloud? Surprised by the unimaginable scenery, I moved towards the outskirts of the Workshop.

“Wow…” What is this. Since it was called the Floating Workshop earlier, I thought it was just the name of the Workshop. That wasn’t it. It was a genuinely floating Workshop. The scenery spread around was entirely the sky. Like a small island, the entire Workshop was flying through the sky.

“It’s dangerous if you stay there.” A passing Guard spoke to me.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Fortunately, it seemed I didn’t raise much suspicion as the Guard continued on his way. I also stopped sightseeing and started moving towards my destination again. But there’s a bit of romance to this. A Workshop floating in the sky.

Hiss-! Just then, a small airship landed on the ground nearby. As a strong wind blew, a Researcher walking towards me from the opposite direction dropped a pile of documents they were holding.

“Ah…!”

I helped the flustered Researcher and picked up the documents together.

“Ah, thank you!” The Researcher, who had gathered all the documents, smiled brightly and repeatedly expressed their gratitude. “Thank you so much. To think there’s someone so kind.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Are you a Researcher from Sector 6? I’m Celona from Sector 3. The Researchers in our Sector don’t even pretend to notice each other when something like this happens. I’m jealous~ I guess Sector 6 doesn’t have such a bleak atmosphere.”

Ah, shouldn’t I have helped? While I was awkwardly smiling and caught by the Researcher who suddenly started small talk, people disembarked from the airship that had just landed. Naturally, our gazes also turned that way. People looking like prisoners in handcuffs.

“Stop dawdling and walk!” A Guard member ruthlessly kicked a child who had fallen and was in pain. The child, looking completely terrified, limped along following the procession. Unlike me, who watched the scene with a stiff face because it was not normal behavior by a modern person’s ethical standards, the Researcher spoke in a still cheerful tone.

“It looks like this month’s fuel has arrived.”

“…Fuel?”

“Anyway, couldn’t they land a bit further away from the Building? All my documents almost flew away.” The Researcher grumbled. “Ah, have I been holding up a busy person? I’m sorry. Let’s see each other again later if we get the chance~.”

The Researcher left with a smile. I alternately looked at the airship leaving again and the procession of people who had disembarked.

Fuel…? It’s only people who got off? Don’t tell me those people are? ‘Romance canceled.’ Was this perhaps a dystopian world setting. I tore my gaze away from them and resumed my path. Let’s just focus on the Strategy Guide.

Following the path connecting the Sectors, I arrived at Sector 1. Reaching the vicinity of the Master Code Room while checking the internal map, I looked around and activated stealth. Hmm… surprisingly, there are no Guards?

Following the incredibly long hallway to the end, there was a large door. Next to the door, I found a complex circuit pattern that looked like an identification device. I figured that scanning the Master of the Workshop’s Master Key here would open the door.

‘It might be easier than I thought?’ Since there was no one around, it seemed like the rest would be easy if I just got the Master Key. Of course, how difficult it would be to get the Master Key was the problem…

A thought suddenly occurred to me. But couldn’t I just go in with Teleportation? Teleportation allowed for movement as long as the destination was an empty space, even if the space in between was blocked. Also, even if the destination wasn’t visible, it could be used just by setting the direction. It meant that this door wouldn’t be an obstacle at all. There’s no way the door is over 10 Meters thick, right?

I activated Time Stop and maintained Concentration. Excited by the thought of getting an easy win, I immediately used Teleportation…

Bzzzt! Sparks flew, and with the shock of colliding into something blocking the way, the Teleportation failed, and my Body bounced backward.

“…??” What the.

While I was panicking, the hallway suddenly turned red, and a siren blared.

– Intrusion attempt detected. Incinerate.

The entire ceiling of the long hallway rattled open. At the same Time, my Sixth Sense loudly sounded the alarm, screaming death, death, death!

‘Ehei…’ I’m screwed.

I’ll retry. I immediately pressed the emergency escape button and slipped out.