Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Purpose (2)
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This was a story I'd never even considered, and I was completely taken aback.
The fact that they were also outsiders was a shock, but I couldn't for the life of me understand why the angels were after the Orb of Wishes.
“Don't you buy the Orb of Wishes from the Summoner Shop?”
“That's right.”
“Aren't the angels the ones who manage the Summoner Shop?”
“Even someone as perceptive as you didn't know that. They are not.”
They're not?
“Have you ever seen an angel in the Summoner Shop?”
“No, but there are helpers, aren't there? Aren't they the angels' lackeys?”
The helpers who push you to buy things.
“It's not that they're completely unrelated, but not exactly. They are a race called the Beled who have been helpers in the Summoner Shop for a long time.”
“Then why…”
“I understand that the Beled chieftain made some sort of agreement with the angels. So they can exert some influence, but it means the angels aren't the administrators.”
When I asked how he knew, for the source of the information, he said it was something he found out after befriending a helper during his time as a summoner.
“So the chieftain is on the angels' side…”
“Among the Beled, the chieftain doesn't hold absolute authority. They are respected, but it's not a relationship of command and obedience.”
“Oh…”
“If you get close to a helper, they'll actually hide your information instead of reporting it, so it's best to be as friendly as possible with them.”
And here I was, being incredibly wary of them, thinking they were the angels' puppets…
I couldn't help it. When I used the Orb of Wishes, they acted suspiciously, saying they had to ask their superiors.
Should I start being nice to them now…?
They say they like it when you buy a lot of things, so I should try to spend a bit more jewels from now on.
“There's not much time left. Do you have any more questions?”
“Ah, just a moment.”
I looked at the paper I had written on last night and asked questions one by one.
I couldn't even ask half of my questions, only managing about three, but thankfully, the lord answered the ones I did ask clearly and without hesitation.
It was a little disappointing, but the information I learned today was by no means worthless.
Besides, the lord said we would have another session like this as soon as the Blue Stone was ready.
“Our time is up.”
As soon as the lord finished speaking, the aura that had enveloped the air vanished.
We exchanged a few more light words before parting ways.
“Well then, I should be going.”
“Leaving already?”
“I still have so much to do. And there are people waiting for me.”
“Right. Then you should go. Ah, and also… never mind.”
“Is there something else you wanted to say?”
The lord shook his head and said no again.
He clearly looked like he had more to say, which left me feeling a bit uneasy, but I left the lord's castle.
I stopped by the nearby Mage Tower to visit the VIP shop, then went to the central plaza.
My companions had said they were going sightseeing here with Ha-young, and the plaza was packed with a crowd just as large as on a Labyrinth day.
“Go for his leg, Jeong-min!”
“Yoon-seo, focus! You've almost won!”
The cheering was incredibly fervent.
It started in the morning, so I thought it would have been over by now, but the participant waiting area next to the central arena was still bustling with people.
To be honest, the prize money for this martial arts tournament wasn't that large.
I heard first place was only about 30 gold.
It wasn't a small amount, but it was money a high-level summoner could earn anytime.
It seemed everyone was more interested in the entry ticket to the main tournament, awarded to the first-place winner, than the prize money.
That's because the summoner who wins the preliminaries is granted the right to participate in the main Imperial Martial Arts Tournament held during the next rest period, allowing them to go to the capital.
If I hadn't received a seeded spot, I would have definitely participated too.
After pushing through the crowd and wandering for about ten minutes, I ran into a member of the Golden Lion Guild and was able to find Ha-young and my companions.
“Oh? Hyeon-ung!”
“Mister, are you done with your business?”
“Yeah.”
“My dad is up next!”
So Tae-soo was competing too.
That's unexpected.
I'd heard that the hidden class, Field Maestro, could provide large-scale buffs but had slightly weaker direct combat abilities.
“Who's his opponent?”
“It's Uncle Chil-seong.”
Ack.
Of all things, a fight between family. His tournament draw was the worst.
Besides, Chil-seong was the Golden Lion Guild's main tank and one of the strongest contenders to win.
“That's some bad luck.”
“Are you on Uncle Chil-seong's side? My dad is the guild master and he's the vice master, you know?”
Tae-soo's rank might be higher, but…
“Honestly, I think it'll be tough for him.”
The guild master title doesn't come with a physical defense option, after all.
The match was set in the arena, and Tae-soo and Chil-seong stepped up.
“““One, two, three, go Lee Tae-soo!”””
The Golden Lion Guild members nearby cheered for him in unison.
“Our guild master is so cool!”
“The vice master is better looking!”
“Go Yoon Chil-seong!”
“Vice Master, I bet on you as the favorite! You can't go easy on him just because he's the guild master!”
There were quite a few members cheering for Chil-seong, too.
“Go Dad! Aren't you going to cheer?”
Ha-young shot me a sharp glare, so I reluctantly shouted.
“Tae-soo, don't push yourself too hard!”
Ha-young and a few other Golden Lion members glared at me.
“Hey? You call that cheering?”
“…You don't want him to get hurt.”
They gathered in the center of the arena, bowed, and then created distance between them.
A knight in the center raised and lowered a flag to start the duel, but neither of them moved rashly.
Being as inseparable as a needle and thread, they seemed to know each other's skills all too well.
In the end, it was Tae-soo who moved first.
For someone who usually commanded from the rear, his movements were quite fluid, but Chil-seong seemed to have a clear advantage in power and speed.
Clang—
He easily blocked the attack and, keeping their swords locked, pushed Tae-soo back, forcing him to the edge of the arena in one go.
Fortunately, Tae-soo managed to avoid falling off and narrowly escaped, but within a few minutes, Chil-seong claimed victory with a clean ring-out.
“That man, Chil-seong, is quite skilled.”
Hanna, who had been watching without taking her eyes off the fight, clapped in admiration.
As I nodded, Ha-young suddenly chimed in.
“Hanna, how was my dad?”
“Huh? Oh… he certainly tried hard.”
Ha-young glared at her with a very disappointed expression, but Hanna was the type who couldn't say things she didn't mean.
“I hate you, Hanna! If I bring snacks tonight, you're not getting any.”
“No, I meant that he did a good job trying…”
“Hmph! Forget it.”
When Ha-young turned her head away, Hanna looked as if her whole world had collapsed.
“I don't think that was the case.”
Oh, it seems Rina, being the older one, was trying to comfort Ha-young.
“You're the best, Rina! Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Huh? No, if they were in the Labyrinth, forget our Mister, I think even Alpen could take them. Right, Alpen?”
“Haha…”
Alpen gave an awkward laugh, trying to brush it off.
“Why aren't you answering? Mister, don't you think so too?”
I couldn't help but laugh as well.
Because Ha-young's expression had turned terrifying.
“I hate you the most, Rina!”
****
The first day of the preliminaries ended, and we returned to Kabisa.
Originally, it was supposed to be a two-day event where the winners of the first day would draw lots and fight on the second, but due to the large number of participants, it was extended to five days.
Thanks to that, many summoners were apparently taking a break from the Labyrinth.
The Golden Lion Guild said they were resting, and I heard that other guilds in the coalition were also skipping it because many of their members were participating in the tournament.
Besides, many guilds tend to take a break when the rest period is short.
“So please, let me come with you this time. I even got permission from my dad.”
The Golden Lion Guild had decided to take a break, but when I said I was going to the Labyrinth, Ha-young started pestering me to take her along.
“Hyeon-ung, let's take Ha-young with us.”
“Yeah, Mister, let's go together!”
My companions were all for Ha-young joining us, but I wasn't too keen on the idea.
“Let's go next time. I'm just going to focus on training this time.”
“Why? We can just train you while you practice, like on the 34th floor.”
“Please…”
I still hadn't gotten the hang of the Living Sword at all, so I'd be continuing my training. It wouldn't be a huge problem right away, but…
The conversation I had with the lord earlier kept bothering me.
I had asked about floors before the 80th that were particularly difficult or had tricky conditions like the 65th, and I got some information.
After hearing all that, I asked if he knew anything about the floors beyond the 80th.
As expected, he was about to say he didn't know much, but then the lord said something suddenly came to mind and shared one piece of information.
****
“It seems those angel bastards did something to make me forget, but thanks to the Blue Stone, I remember now. I didn't hear it directly, but there was something left behind by a friend of mine, the Pioneer of my generation.”
“You mean the one who hasn't been heard from since the 95th floor?”
“I heard he left two warnings before he disappeared.”
“Two warnings? What are they?”
“First, do not come above the 80th floor if you don't want to die. Second, do not make companions.”
“Companions?”
Was he trying to monopolize the Orb of Wishes for himself?
“Do you perhaps think my Pioneer friend was trying to monopolize the Orb of Wishes?”
It was as if the lord had read my mind.
“No, it's just that even the angels covet it, so I thought it was a possibility…”
“He was never the type of person to do that. Hmm, yes, you're close with Lee Tae-soo, the master of the Golden Lion Guild, aren't you?”
“Ah, yes, I am.”
“Like that summoner, he was an excellent leader who comforted, encouraged, and gave courage to others, saying they should all return together.”
Hearing the lord speak of him like this, he must have been a very decent person.
“After he passed the 80th floor, I would occasionally hear news of my Pioneer friend, but I never once heard anything about his other friends.”
“What? Then Misha…”
“She wasn't in our guild. She went to the 81st floor much later.”
“I see. So what you're trying to say is…”
“Isn't it strange? You hear news of the Pioneer, but not of the other guild members who went to the 81st floor with him.”
Thinking about it now, it was strange, considering the contents of the letter from the previous Pioneer's box.
The letter clearly stated that the restriction preventing one from going outside until a floor was cleared only started on the 90th floor.
Before the 90th floor, there shouldn't have been such a restriction…
“I believe that everyone except for my Pioneer friend died.”
“It seems the difficulty must spike from the 81st floor.”
“I wonder. Was the difficulty really the problem? You are remarkable, but he was a Pioneer, and he too was an extraordinary man. Isn't it strange that someone like him couldn't save a single one of the guild members he cherished?”
Now that he mentioned it, he was right.
Could it be that from the 81st floor onward, solo play is enforced, regardless of guild?
“Isn't it a format where even if you ascend together, you have to break through individually to reach the next floor?”
“That's possible. But my thoughts at the time were a little different. The Labyrinth is by no means a kind place to summoners.”
“What?”
“Not simply solo play, but forcing them to fight each other. Until only one summoner remains alive. I can't be certain it's the 81st floor, but I had a feeling a floor like that existed.”
****
The lord's theory could be wrong.
After all, I had only just cleared the 65th floor.
According to Bio, the difficulty increases exponentially the deeper you go, so reaching the 81st floor would probably take more time than I've spent in Elsia so far.
But that was the problem.
Considering Ha-young's overpowered traits and her rate of growth, she could become as strong as me within that time…
I wondered if I could explain the situation and work something out, but it was impossible.
I had tried several times to tell both Tae-soo and Ha-young about this, but the words just wouldn't come out.
“No. And I'm heading out for a bit.”