Chapter 88: 6th Floor Hidden Route (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88: 6th Floor Hidden Route (2)
First, I stopped time.
- “Just as you said, things are going smoothly, khahaha. What are you waiting for? Get undressed.”
The Demon King’s jeering voice echoed in my head. I ignored him and sank into deep contemplation.
Haaa…
I was utterly bewildered. So bewildered, in fact, that my head was spinning.
I stared at the princess, frozen before me. Three eyes, gray skin, abnormally long limbs—a physique completely different from a human’s.
This was insane. The alien princess seemed to be a pervert with some seriously strange tastes. How could anyone feel desire when our appearances were so drastically different?
Seriously, this couldn’t be right. It would be unsettling even with a normal person, but my partner was an alien. It was impossible, both ethically and physiologically. Even if it was for the sake of clearing the floor, I had to wonder if this was really the right way.
And damn, something felt off. The Tower was always a pain in the ass, but this kind of progression? Was this really the correct route?
There was a strange sense of dissonance. Was it my gut feeling… or was I just trying to run from reality? Either way, no matter how many times I thought it over, it was impossible.
- “What’s wrong? No confidence? Want me to do it for you?”
‘Shut up.’
For now, I would try to persuade her in a different way. My mind made up, I released the time stop.
“What are you dawdling for? If you’re worried about my guard, pay him no mind,” the princess said.
“Your Highness, I apologize, but I cannot do that.”
“…Cannot do that?” The princess sat up, her gaze turning icy. “Are you mocking me?”
“Not at all. I am already a married man. I cannot betray my wife.”
The princess’s expression screamed, So what?
I knew it. There was no way that would work. I was a slave, and she was royalty. She probably just thought this pathetic slave was putting up some pointless resistance.
“The truth is!” Seeing her expression souring in real time, I hastily moved to Plan B. “I’m afraid I’m not functional in that department.”
“…What?”
“It is embarrassing, but that is the honest truth. You have given me a glorious opportunity, Your Highness, but even if I wanted to, I could not…”
I could hear the Demon King dying of laughter in my head. I had no choice. An alien was just too much!
“Anything else, I would gladly—”
“Ha.” The princess let out a short, sharp laugh. “Enough. You’ve ruined the mood.”
Oh? That’s a relief.
“Get him out of my sight. How dare this lowly slave humiliate me.”
Not a relief.
The princess was absolutely furious.
Shing.
The bodyguard, who had been standing motionlessly in the corner, drew his sword.
Shit… so it’s come to this?
I stopped time. Now what?
- “What else can you do but kill them all?” the Demon King said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
My attempts to persuade the princess had failed completely. It seemed I was out of options. All that was left was to go on a rampage and see what happened.
My Sixth Sense told me the bodyguard was weaker than me. The princess, of course, was even weaker than him. So, first, I’d take down the guard, then subdue the princess and take her hostage. After that, maybe I could stage a protest and demand the release of all the slaves?
Maybe that was the real answer.
‘Okay. Let’s give it a shot.’
I organized my thoughts and used Mental Focus. Then, I teleported behind the guard. I stopped time again and focused my mind.
Swish!
Activating my Sword of Light, I lopped off the guard’s head before he even had a chance to react.
“Kyaaah…!”
The princess’s scream echoed through the room. I was about to take her hostage when—
[Failed to clear the Nightmare Difficulty 6th Floor Hidden. (1/3)]
[You will be ejected from the Tower.]
A message appeared before my eyes. Just like that, I was kicked out.
“…Goddammit.”
Why now? Did I fail because I killed the knight? I guess going on a rampage wasn’t the answer after all.
“See? I told you it wouldn’t work,” I said to the Demon King, only to be met with a sneer.
In any case, I had one chance left. I crossed my arms and fell into thought. Did I really have to just do as the princess said? Was that truly the answer?
Something about it felt wrong. Let’s think.
First, the condition for clearing the floor was probably to save both races. If I was wrong about that from the start, there was no way I could clear it with only one chance left. So, let’s assume that was a given.
Was there another way besides the princess’s route?
Come to think of it, I had been wondering what the prince would do, but then I’d just let the princess make the choice. The initial authority to decide whether to spare the slaves or not lay with the prince.
Didn’t that mean I just needed the prince to make a firm decision right then and there? In other words, I had to persuade the prince to make the situation unfold that way. My request for a different reward instead of citizenship had worked before. If I could just talk a little smoother, it didn’t seem impossible.
[Would you like to enter the 6th Floor on Nightmare Difficulty?]
Well, I had to try. I entered for my last attempt.
[…The match is over! An overwhelming victory for No. 199!]
After going through the same routine, the final match ended with my victory, and the prince stepped forward.
“I, Patoum, Third Prince of the Kalundi Empire, commend you on your victory. No. 199, what is your name?”
“It is Turo.”
He went on about the reward again. “As the victor, is there anything you wish to say?”
I gave the same answer as before. “Instead of citizenship, could you grant me a different reward?”
“A different reward? What is it that you desire?”
“I wish for you to show mercy and allow the people on the opposing side to live. That is the reward I desire in place of citizenship.”
“…You wish for the survival of the opposing race as well?”
The prince stroked his chin, looking just as conflicted as before. “Compared to citizenship, it is a trivial reward, but it goes against the great premise of this match—that only one race survives… Hmmm.”
This was my chance. Before the prince could ask the princess for her opinion, I spoke again.
“In that case, how about I fight another match, Your Highness?”
“…?”
“My last opponent was too weak. The audience also seems disappointed that the final match ended so anticlimactically. I will fight again, against a stronger opponent.”
Ooooooh…!
At my words, a stir went through the crowd, and cheers erupted. The prince raised his hand, and the arena fell silent once more.
“You’ll fight again, against a stronger opponent?”
“Yes.”
“How amusing. But where would we find a stronger opponent? The two of you were the ones who defeated all the other slaves to reach the finals.”
I glanced around the spectator seats before answering. “I do not mind if my opponent is not human.”
“…?”
“I will fight a warrior of the Kalundi. Please choose an opponent for me, Your Highness.”
The arena went quiet. The atmosphere turned heavy.
“Khahahahahaha…!” The prince shattered the silence with a booming laugh. “Did you just say you would fight a Kalundi warrior? You, a human slave?”
The prince looked like he was about to die from amusement. The Kalundi had conquered the world with their overwhelming power; they were, on average, naturally far stronger than humans. For a human like me to offer to fight a Kalundi, this reaction was expected.
However, I had my own confidence. If the princess’s guard was at that level, I doubted an opponent much stronger than him would appear.
The prince stopped laughing and nodded. “Arrogant, but you have excellent spirit. Are you truly confident?”
“I will do my best.”
“Very well. Then, as you wish, we shall hold another match.”
Cheers erupted from the stands. The prince ordered a servant standing beside him to do something, and the servant departed.
Fwoosh!
After a short wait, a new portal appeared in the arena. Knights appeared, took the man from the opposing side, and went back through the portal. One knight remained. He had a completely different air about him than the others.
“This is your opponent. An elite knight from the Imperial Direct Strike Force,” the prince said. “If you, Turo, are victorious, not only will all the slaves be spared, but I will also grant you citizenship. If you can defeat an elite knight of the Kalundi, you will have certainly earned that right.”
The prince looked down at me with a cold gaze. “However, if you are defeated, all the slaves will die. This is the price for your arrogance before me, Patoum. Prove your confidence.”
Clank. Clank.
The opposing knight began to remove all his armor. Then, like me, he stood bare-chested with only a sword in hand. Was he trying to have a fair fight? His eyes, however, were filled with contempt.
Before the match began, I spoke to the prince. “There is something I would like to ask you, Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
“Am I permitted to use any ability other than swordsmanship?”
The prince chuckled. “I don’t care what methods you use. Give it your all.”
“Then I have one more question. Do I have permission to kill my opponent?”
At my words, the opposing knight snorted and glared at me. The prince, too, answered as if he found it absurd. “By all means, if you can.”
As if signaling the start of the match, the opposing side’s shattered Core regenerated. The announcer’s voice boomed.
[…Now, let us begin the final, final match! The slave warrior, Turo of number 199! His opponent is the elite knight of the Imperial Direct Strike Force, Sir Kadatop! The rule is the same: the first to destroy their opponent’s Core wins!]
Waaaaaah!
A roar of cheers filled the arena.
“Sir Kadatop, don’t end it too quickly!”
“Show that arrogant slave the difference in class!”
It seemed no one thought I would win. The knight named Kadatop leisurely pointed his sword at me. “Go on. Struggle all you like.”
The Demon King spoke to me. “Think you can win? Just give me your body, and I’ll grind him to dust.”
I could feel it with my Sixth Sense. My opponent was undoubtedly strong. He was probably slightly stronger than me. Well, it would all be over if I could just land one Destruction Ray.
Still, I couldn’t just use it recklessly. Just as the Workshop Master’s guard had dodged my Destruction Ray mid-air on the 4th Floor Hidden Route, there was a chance this guy could dodge it too. He certainly felt fast enough.
But my opponent knew nothing about my abilities. Therefore, I had a plan to land a direct hit he couldn't possibly avoid.
I pointed my own sword at my opponent and gave it a little flick. “I’ll grant you the first move.”
At my provocation, the knight’s expression twisted. “You dare, slave.”
The knight strode toward me. Once the distance between us had closed enough, he kicked off the ground and lunged. Incredible speed.
‘Diul!’
I immediately unleashed the Pitch-Black Fog.
Fwoooosh!
Pitch-black darkness enveloped both me and the knight.
“…!”
The knight, still in mid-charge, lost all his senses and tumbled to the ground. I stopped time. And then, I cast a fully charged Destruction Ray.
The ray struck the knight directly. It was over. The knight was completely annihilated. This was the guaranteed hit that even an opponent stronger than me couldn't avoid. It worked like a charm.
“Tsk, using all sorts of strange little tricks,” the Demon King clicked his tongue, as if disappointed.
The fog cleared. The cheers from the crowd gradually died down. The knight was gone, and only I remained, standing alone. I trudged over to the opponent’s Core and, with no one left to guard it, tapped it.
Soon, the Core was destroyed. The match was over.
The arena was silent. Only then did the announcer’s bewildered voice ring out.
[…No. 199 has destroyed his opponent’s Core. Uh, what could have happened? Where has Sir Kadatop disappeared to?]
I looked up at the prince, who was staring down at me with a look of utter shock, and said, “It is my victory, Your Highness.”
“…What happened to your opponent?”
“He’s dead.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. After a moment of silence, the prince let out a dry laugh and began to clap.
“…Brilliant. The victory is yours, Turo. As promised, all the slaves will live, and I shall bestow upon you 2nd Class Citizenship.”
As the prince clapped, the crowd soon joined in with a thunderous round of applause.
[You have successfully cleared the Nightmare Difficulty 6th Floor Hidden.]
Phew, I did it.
On reflex, I glanced over to where the princess was. She was licking her lips as she stared down at me.
‘That psycho…’
Let’s never meet again.
[Completely absorbing the power of the floor.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Moving to the Reward Room.]