If You Call Earnestly, It Shall Answer #4
"Rigged, rigged..."
Suddenly bombarded with 'polluted information,' the being who had been scrolling through the community rubbed her eyes.
"This place keeps spitting out unheard-of nonsense..."
Every time, these irrational claims popped up from unexpected corners, tormenting the being today as well.
— BackroomSage.
Having given up conquering the Tower at a certain level, she stayed in the lower floors to pursue her own goals—
And right now, she was deeply interested in the 'climber' making waves in the community and this Waiting Room.
— Clunk.
Having spent the day in the library as usual—
"Mm...?"
She turned her attention to the figure who had abruptly entered the library.
"The promising rookie kid's back again?"
"...?"
Kid?
The intruding being tilted her head.
Truth be told.
The real kid label fit her much better, being significantly shorter than the being herself.
"What? That glare's super unfriendly."
"...No, it's not."
"It totally is."
Ahem.
Though she briefly showed displeasure, the being soon lightened the mood and eyed the uninvited guest.
"Sure, my self-imposed restriction makes me this short... but in terms of experience, I'm your senior, got it?"
"...I know."
"Good, good. Let's get along. So... why're you here?"
At that question, the red-haired Dragonoid—Carmia—looked at the library's resident fixture.
"I have something to ask."
"What is it?"
"I want to know about the 'hidden piece' residing in this stratum."
"Hidden piece..."
At those words, the being pondered for a moment.
Information was value, was money.
Moreover, info held by a mid-to-upper climber like herself—
In the lower floors, it was worth whatever you named.
"Tell her or not..."
"..."
"Eh, she's a promising rookie asking. Gotta answer~ Otherwise, how can I snag some scraps later when you grow up?"
Flashing a sly grin, the being—using the nickname BackroomSage—opened her mouth.
"We just clear quests handed to us and climb... but personally, I'm hooked on this stratum, so I've dug around a bit."
"Then..."
"Saintess. And Saint."
BackroomSage revealed the info she'd scouted.
The incredibly powerful 'principle' dominating this stratum was searching for a saintess and saint to resolve their grudges, for some reason.
"Timing's perfect, right? Those two rolling in Apocalypse right now."
She'd need more details on their exact situation, but since they'd encountered the 'hidden piece'—
They'd learn this info whether they liked it or not.
"The stratum seeks the Saint. And the Saintess to aid him."
"...?"
"Two climbing Apocalypse right now, two the stratum seeks? Wow... talk about perfect coincidence."
"What on earth are you..."
Unable to grasp the meaning, Carmia opened her mouth to ask for more details—
— Pam-pam-pahm!
"...!"
Suddenly, a clear notification chime seeped into her ears.
'Saint' and 'Nameless Saintess' have fulfilled the conditions.
The 'Event' now begins.
"...?"
Event?
Carmia's gaze instinctively turned to her trusted senior at the unfamiliar window.
"Uh... this is new to me too? Total wildcard."
"...Ah."
But even her reliable acquaintance betrayed her hopes.
"What the hell are they up to...?"
BackroomSage rarely looked flustered as she began dissecting the anomaly.
..
...
....
Entering Floor 4.
Before I knew it, we'd reached Floor 4.
"Clear this, and it's the Waiting Room, right?"
"Yeah."
Lisha answered my words right away.
Then I'll smash this quick and finally meet that friend I haven't seen yet.
'Hope they're doing well.'
The star among promising rookies, the red-haired Dragonoid woman.
And our Carmia, who kindly explained everything at the start.
"Woojin?"
"Yeah, yeah. Time to go?"
At Lisha's call snapping me from my thoughts, we moved to clear the quest dominating Floor 4.
▶ Collect objects related to 【The Apostate】 (2/5)
In the stage we were treading—
There were three hidden objects total.
"Where do you think they are?"
"...This way."
When I asked, Lisha pointed one direction without hesitation, as if familiar with the space.
"Memory again?"
"Yeah, faintly..."
Whether immersed in the Nameless Saintess role, Lisha gazed around the stage with a distant expression.
"Hope there's no weird side effects later."
I asked out of needless worry, but Lisha shook her head at me.
"It's fine. Feels like... it's not out to harm me."
"Good, then."
Still, something to watch slowly.
With that thought, I followed Lisha's lead across the stage.
A half-abandoned ruin.
A barren streetscape devoid of life, under a pale sky—it all seemed to embody the unchanging despair and curse settled over this stage.
But.
'Going the standard route?'
I pondered as I walked with Lisha.
No field mobs lunging at us made my mind wander more.
"Probably clustered around the objects."
"...Yeah, I think so too."
Seemed like it'd play out similar to past experiences.
Then—
"Ah, there."
"Found one?"
Lisha—the object hunter, no, the Nameless Saintess—halted at a spot, sensing an eerie aura emanating from it.
"Ooh, this land shall find salvation..."
And the humanoid 'somethings' gathered around it.
"Talking now too?"
"...?"
As I marveled aloud, the dolls in the midst of their ritual turned their gazes toward us one by one.
Impossible to ID them precisely with those cultish hoods covering even their faces, but no need anyway.
"...!"
The ones scanning us flinched in sudden horror.
"Foul, foul aura...!"
"Worshippers of false light...!"
"Pardon? Us?"
Like how in the one-eyed village, two-eyed folks get called crazy—
Was this that vibe?
The fanatics spasming, raising daggers.
"Time to start."
"...Yeah, probably. One object's on that altar."
"Okay."
Leaving Lisha, I stepped toward them.
— Swish.
Holy Sword of Light in my right hand.
Skill window in my left.
Combined, they deserved the name Saint's miracle.
"While you can talk, mind telling me where your boss is."
"We tell a cult heretic nothing...!"
"AI's scary as hell."
How advanced was the tech to recreate field mobs this lifelike?
Anyway.
"Die!!"
"True faith is the path to salvation...!"
"Heh, talks broken down."
With dialogue failing, I cast the skill, a bit regretfully.
Predator's Domain (Lv.4) cast.
— Shhh...
Mana began swirling slowly within the domain's range.
Just advance, and it'd wrap up easy.
'No.'
But I wanted something else.
"Lisha, I'll handle this solo."
"...?"
"Got something I wanna try."
The Faded Holy Sword evolved to Holy Sword of Light.
It hummed, begging to be used—oughta oblige, right?
"..."
Focus for a sec, weaken the output.
Feeling the noticeably subdued domain aura, I decided to charge in on foot this time.
"Dieee!"
The lead fanatic swung his dagger.
Even weakened, couldn't ignore it completely.
His once-white robe soaked red with his own blood—
Torn up everywhere, staggering to reach me, barely moving—
Still flailing his ragged arm to inflict damage.
"Tenacious bunch."
Admiring their fanaticism, I swung the holy sword in kind.
— Shaaak...!
The smooth slash cleaved through air, straight into the cultist's upper body.
Behind the effortless stroke, only a clean cross-section remained.
"Guhk...!"
Foam spilling from under the mask, the fanatic corpse crumpled.
"...!"
Ignoring the shocked reactions of the others.
One sword swing shook off the blood; I turned to the rest.
'Not enough yet?'
My skill hadn't triggered.
Meant proficiency wasn't stacked sufficiently.
"Good. Plenty left."
"Wh-what..."
The cultists reacted to my words.
"Hey, you lot. Shut up."
"...?"
"No talking till my skill pops."
Can't end it here.
Facing the ones backpedaling one by one, I charged into their midst—
Holy sword in hand.