Floor 36: Preliminary Preparations (2)
"H-here! I surrender!"
The captain hadn't put up his pride for nothing, nor had he kept pestering me needlessly from that position.
He'd simply seen the dagger at the back of his neck and raised both hands. A quick, wise decision. And since I detected no lingering will to resist, I released him right away.
"From this moment on, this airship's destination is Deleil. Bring me the map."
Even so, I asked for the map in case he got any clever ideas midway. I needed to verify the route. Well, if he didn't have one, so be it.
The captain nodded his head frantically.
"Y-yes, sir! The map? I'll get it right away."
"Cecilia?"
"Yes, I'll go along with him."
Cecilia followed close behind the captain as he headed into the ship's interior.
Hmm, seeing this, I suppose bringing the climbers along really was a good call.
Whether it was because the captain was meek or not, things wrapped up far more simply than I'd expected. With the destination reset, it was now time to open the portal.
Standing at the center of the deck, I opened a portal to the plain where the climbers were gathered. A golden portal tore through the empty air.
Within seconds, climbers began crossing over. They looked around the deck with bewildered expressions before letting out gasps of admiration.
"Whoa, so this is the airship Kwon Suhyeok told us about."
"Wow, this is incredible."
In an instant, more than fifty climbers were roaming the deck, wide-eyed and drinking it all in. Watching them, I couldn't help but laugh—it was like looking at myself back on Floor 31. I'd been pretty awestruck by my first airship ride too.
If this was their reaction to an airship, I wondered how they'd take the sight of a sky whale.
While I was musing on this, one of the climbers approached.
"Kwon Suhyeok, three more climbers have joined us."
"Hmm, not as many as I thought."
"No, sir. The climbers in the surrounding area had already joined by then."
"Can't be helped. Good work."
That's what I said, but privately I considered it a relief. Too many new climbers wouldn't be ideal either—I couldn't exactly drag all of them around with me.
We were still talking when the captain and Cecilia returned.
"H-here's the map."
I spread the map out on the spot and had the captain walk me through it.
Two days' travel to Deleil. I'd expected it to take three or more if luck turned against us, so this was a relief. The map even showed the surrounding terrain in detail, so it didn't look like a lie. Well, the captain was so terrified out of his wits that he probably wouldn't have dared lie anyway.
I tucked the map into my pack. I planned to check it now and then to make sure we were on course.
"Ah, right. I'll also need to learn how to operate the airship—"
"Operating the airship, you say?"
"Yes."
"Um..."
At my nod, the captain's demeanor shifted noticeably. His pupils shook violently, unable to find focus. Hmm, no—on closer look, he wasn't so much flustered as trembling with fear.
When I furrowed my brow in thought, he hurried to fill the silence.
"Y-yes! O-of course. If you desire it, it's only right that I teach you!"
The captain's voice shook like a leaf as he spoke. Ah. After a moment's thought, I thought I understood what was going on with him.
"We have no intention of harming you once we've learned to fly this thing, so don't worry."
"Th-thank you!"
He'd apparently been worried that once we could pilot the airship ourselves, they'd become useless—and dead men. Not that I'd ever intended anything of the sort. Airship operation belonged in the hands of a practiced crew. I only wanted to learn for the future.
I would practice during the trip to Deleil, of course, but still.
Just then, Cecilia sent me a whisper.
"Excuse me, Kwon Suhyeok. There's something that's been nagging at me."
"Yes, go ahead."
"You mentioned it before, but can we really be sure it's Deleil?"
She was talking about our destination. I knew from Ha Heijeong that the council of kings was being held in Deleil, but from the other climbers' perspective, the doubt was fair.
After putting some distance between us and the captain, I lowered my voice.
"I understand your concern, but try not to worry too much. From what I heard on the individual floor, Deleil is the capital of the strongest kingdom out there. Right?"
I deliberately raised my voice on that last part so the captain would hear it too. When I pressed him, he nodded quickly.
"Y-yes! That's correct."
Turning my gaze back to Cecilia, I gestured with my eyes.
"You heard him? Its location is dead center of the human territories—the perfect spot for humanity to unite. The kings will move there too."
"That may be true, but couldn't it have already been attacked? A place that important would surely be a target for the elves. And there's a chance the kings might gather somewhere else entirely."
"Cecilia."
Her reasoning was sound on its face, but if we thought that way, we'd never be able to act at all. Frustration threatened to draw a sigh out of me, but I held it in.
"I understand the worry. But shouldn't we go to the most likely place first? If it's not Deleil, there's nowhere else to go."
"...You're right. I worried too much."
Cecilia nodded, admitting her error. In truth, I had no better plan than the one I'd already conceived. An awkward silence settled over us for a moment.
Come to think of it, Cecilia was a mage too. A decently ranked one at that.
"Ah, actually—I'm going to learn how to operate the airship. Would you like to learn with me?"
"The operation method?"
"Yes. It might prove necessary down the line."
"Hmm, I'd be glad to!"
Did she see it as a chance to earn my approval? Cecilia's eyes sparkled. I approached the captain and learned the controls from him.
Maybe Floor 36 would end by the time we reached Deleil. We'd already crossed two floors, and up to Floor 39, there was still plenty of time. First, though, I wanted to master the basics of airship piloting.
Two days passed.
Floor 36's trial ended and Floor 37's began, and in the meantime we made it to the outskirts of Deleil. We encountered quite a few other airships along the way, but we slipped past them safely using the Shadow Monarch skill.
Before I knew it, operating the airship had grown fairly familiar. It was harder than driving a car, but not so difficult as all that. I still hadn't attempted a takeoff or landing, but I'd certainly learned the theory, so it shouldn't be a major problem later.
"We'll reach Deleil soon. What would you like to do?"
"A little distance is fine, so put us down somewhere the airship can stay hidden."
"Yes, as you command..."
Humans were in a state of hostility toward us. We couldn't just waltz into Deleil out in the open. Better to park it nearby and move alone.
Not long after that conversation, the captain turned the airship and landed it beneath a gorge. It certainly looked unlikely to catch anyone's eye unless they stumbled right onto it.
Well, I'd cast Shadow Veil over it anyway, so nothing should come of it.
As I checked my equipment for the journey to Deleil, the climbers approached, Cecilia at their head.
"Will you be all right on your own?"
"Yes. I need to reach the royal castle, so moving alone will be easier."
"Even so..."
I'd explained it before, but they clearly still had lingering regrets. I could understand why—contributing even a little meant a bigger reward. But this was a situation where speed mattered. I couldn't drag them along, especially since my Shadow Veil had been stripped away once before.
If I got cornered inside the city, I wouldn't be able to look after the other climbers too.
"You could all be putting yourselves in danger. Please guard Dobi well while I'm gone."
"...Understood. Return safely."
At my firm words, the climbers didn't press further. But desire still glimmered in their eyes. They weren't even asking me to hand over what I'd fished out of the water, but still... it left a sour taste in my mouth. Without me, they'd have sat there sucking their thumbs.
I deliberately looked away and ignored it. This was one of the headaches that came with bringing climbers along. Well, nothing to be done about it.
After exchanging brief farewells with the group, I leapt off the airship.
My task in Deleil was simple: enter the royal castle at the heart of the city, and come back out.
The portal, as a rule, could only take me to places I'd been before. That made this step essential if I was to kidnap the elf leader and then use the portal to negotiate with the kings immediately after.
I pushed power into my running feet. The sooner I stopped the war between elves and humans, the bigger my reward would be. I needed to pick up the pace.
Deleil was the most prosperous city in this world. Maybe that was why it felt markedly different from the cities I'd seen before. Neatly ordered streets. Despite the terror attack, citizens strolled the roads freely, and strangely designed automobiles rolled past. Beyond them, the massive furnace at the city's center glowed a deep red.
With Shadow Veil active, nothing stood between me and free movement. Once again, I realized just how invaluable the Shadow Monarch skill truly was. If I hadn't acquired it on Floor 15... I doubted half the things I'd accomplished up to now would have been possible. Offense and stealth—its versatility had paid for itself too many times to count.
And it was all thanks to Ha Heijeong. She wasn't here, but I was grateful to her all the same.
Those people...
As I moved along, I spotted a crowd gathered in one corner of the city—climbers alongside people in wretched condition. Probably survivors from the city that had been attacked. Not my concern, in any case.
I passed them by and headed for the royal castle.
Almost there.
By the time the thought crossed my mind, the castle was right in front of me. A castle beside the great furnace. I'd heard about it beforehand, but the reality still stunned me—because the castle didn't touch the ground at all. The castle itself was enormous, and beneath it sat massive wheels.
A mobile castle. They said that once a full-scale war broke out, the castle itself would be deployed as a weapon.
Still, the security isn't as tight as I expected.
Perhaps because of the heavy foot traffic, the guards kept their discipline but lacked any real tension. Or maybe it was confidence—the kind that came from trusting their own strength absolutely. Hmm, getting this far was fine and all, but I figured my best bet was to slip inside the castle and back out.
Finding the council chamber inside would be ideal.
Better safe than sorry.
According to Ha Heijeong, the human faction had its own masters. The elves' answer to Roxanne—humans capable of commanding Spirit Kings, though not as powerful as one. Probably because the elves ended up half-dead after summoning a Spirit King. Their human counterparts didn't pay that price.
They say they're weaker than a Spirit King, but I shouldn't run into one for nothing.
The Shadow Monarch wasn't omnipotent. Anyone strong enough beyond a certain point could see through the skill. It hid my appearance, but my presence didn't vanish entirely. There was no reason to brush up against the masters and blow everything wide open. A little pride stirred in me, but I'd be meeting them eventually anyway. And even if we didn't have to fight right now, we could always spar later as training.
So where on earth am I?
For all its size, the castle's interior was vast beyond measure. Unlike Earth's buildings, nothing politely announced what was on which floor. I'd been trying to locate something like the council chamber, but at this rate it looked like I'd be searching all day. For all that I wasn't bad with directions, I simply couldn't get my bearings.
As I wandered the castle, the people in the corridors gradually thinned out.
Something tells me I've taken a wrong turn.
This seemed to be a passage leading to somewhere important. Somewhere the king resided, perhaps. In that case, the odds of the council chamber being here were slim.
The instant I moved to turn back, a sound of someone stirred at the end of the corridor.
"Hey, you little rat. Hold it right there."