[15F, Genkelope’s Abandoned Vessel]

“Ugh, so tired.”

Out of all the NPCs that required stigma to unlock, I first rescued the [Grade 1 Captain – Horner], [Chief Technician – Matt], and [Chief Scientist – Davon]. I still needed to release 4 more chief rank NPCs, but ran out of stigma.

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

I spent 2 streaks for the captain, 1 streak for the technician, and the last one for the scientist. I couldn’t even answer their questions afterwards. Who would’ve thought I would deplete all my stigma outside of battle like this? I looked at them while laying on the floor. I had carefully created these NPCs even when the settings grew messier. They could clear all the quests on the 15th floor for me if I simply let them be.

“Is there something wrong with your body?”

“No, I’m okay. I slightly overworked myself trying to deactivate the hibernation.”

“Oh, I see.”

Horner, a promising captain in his early 30s, sighed in relief.

“Actually, we’re from the Genkelope Zone on the 16th floor.”

The NPC began to explain their story. Their crew had been sailing through the [Tower’s Void] to escape from the demons that took over the 16th floor when unidentified creatures attacked their vessel. They concentrated all their efforts on Area 3 and hibernated to wait for help from the future.

“Hmm. So all of you came from the 16th floor?”

“We originally lived on the 15th floor, but another floor came into existence after we placed our ship in the tower’s void. In any case, we’re the last survivors of Genkelope.”

“…”

I nodded. The Genkelope Zone used to be an old residential area, but the demons destroyed it. Demons also grew stronger the higher they climbed. Horner looked at me with big eyes and continued.

“In addition to Area 3, thousands...