Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Tower Conquest Complete
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‘Dragon… Slayer…?’
A familiar title.
The title of Dragon Slayer was a common one in any fantasy world.
But at the Academy of Epiris, only one person came to mind when you heard it.
I turned my head to look at Siegfried approaching me.
“I knew you could do it, Ken.”
He gazed at me with proud eyes and lightly patted my shoulder.
‘Is this really okay…?’
Originally, Siegfried was the one who earned the Dragon Slayer title, using it as the catalyst to make his name as the kingdom's Sword Saint.
But was it fine for me to claim it first…?
“Hey, Ken…! Are you even listening to me?”
Rafne wrapped her arms around my neck, puffing out her cheeks.
Before I could even think of how to respond, she pressed her face close and interrogated me.
“Who’s that girl? Why’s she hugging you? And with that totally female expression on her face?”
“Ah, ‘female’ isn’t the right word, Rafne…”
As I racked my brain for an explanation, Emily stepped in to help—she was used to these situations.
“Then you should stop clinging to Ken too.”
“Eek…! Let gooo!”
Emily grabbed the back of Rafne’s neck, and she slipped away from me with a slither.
Rafne was clearly stronger, but for some reason, she always lost to Emily.
Was it because they shared the same fate?
Or maybe because Emily had given her a harsh lesson at the end of their first year.
“Doesn’t Emily bother you? She just popped out yelling ‘Master!’ and you two looked super close!”
“Th-that’s…”
Emily’s eyes flicked toward me, silently agreeing with Rafne’s words.
But when our gazes met, she startled and looked away.
‘Maybe because Emily’s one of the few people she’s opened her heart to.’
For some reason, Rafne got along surprisingly well with Emily and Mary.
Maybe she yielded a step because they were the closest things she had to friends.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. That was just the magic sword earlier.”
Once Mary joined in, exchanging glances full of curiosity about Tirpione, I explained the full situation.
They all nodded in understanding once they heard it was the spirit of Ego Sword.
“Still makes me mad.”
They understood, but that didn’t mean they were over it.
“…Why, exactly? It’s just a sword, Rafne.”
“But it felt like she saw your face and just grinned like an idiot. I can’t accept a girl like that.”
Emily’s shoulders twitched beside us as she overheard.
It seemed Rafne had her own strict criteria for acceptance.
After a brief chat and some rest, we set about processing Tarros’s massive corpse, which lay like a mountain in the wide plaza.
Monster corpses were valuable.
Especially if it was the body of a legendary ancient dragon.
We each took sections, skinning it, dismantling bones, and extracting the dragon’s precious parts.
And among those treasures, one in particular made our mouths water.
“…Is this the Dragon Heart?”
Mary murmured beside me as we worked on the disassembly.
Even for a magic specialist like her, the dragon’s most awe-inspiring material.
The Dragon Heart.
It was the core material for Aspetra’s hidden card orb for me.
An essential item for top-tier magic tools and spell components.
Of course, coming from the ancient dragon Tarros, its quality was leagues beyond.
I carefully extracted the gem-like organ next to the heart from Tarros’s chest.
The name Dragon Heart didn’t come from the actual heart itself, but from the mana crystal near it.
The heart as an organ was still hugely valuable, so I dismantled it carefully and stored it in my subspace pouch.
Skin, wings, tail, and the dragon bones perfect for my main sword.
I hadn’t decided exactly what to use them for yet, but just thinking about it made my mouth water.
As a creator, this was like a treasure trove from a dreamland paradise.
“Phew… Finally done…!”
Emily flopped to the floor as the last material went into the pouch, signaling the end of the Tarros conquest.
As if responding to her voice, another message appeared before my eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Congratulations. You are the first to conquer Tarros's Tower. The tower announces internally that it has been conquered. Clear rewards will be granted. Conquering Tarros’s Tower itself was a first, but the messages were similar to other labyrinths.
Especially the part about announcing the first clear within the labyrinth.
‘…How exactly does it announce that?’
There was no way others could see status windows like mine.
I pondered that curiosity for a moment.
But soon, something caught my eye, halting my thoughts.
Something sparkling slowly descended from the ceiling light source illuminating us.
“This must be…”
Adrian stared at it in wonder, murmuring beside me.
Descending from the heavens.
It resembled a religious symbol—a decorative ornament.
A simple design of a circle crossed vertically by a rod.
Plain at first glance, but intricate carvings and embedded gems gave it an air of luxury.
This was the artifact of legend: the ‘Past Revision’.
The very reason we challenged this tower.
I gazed at it in awe and grasped it in my hand.
I turned to Rafne, who watched beside me.
Our eyes met, and she smiled brightly.
‘…Finally, with this.’
We could finally erase that bastard’s prophecy.
The root reason Rafne was targeted by the demon army.
The biggest cause of Ken Fine Stein’s death in the future war.
I fiddled carefully with the artifact in my hand.
The system window immediately displayed its description.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Token of Trials: Reward given to those who clear Tarros's Tower. Activate by channeling mana. Upon activation, you can change any desired past event, as if making a wish. *Caution: Changing the past will alter the present. The new present may become an unexpected reality. The final caution caught my eye.
Even the system deemed it important enough to warn about.
Changing the past was that serious. After all, altering the past meant changing the present and future too.
“What’s wrong? Use it already.”
Adrian, even more eager than me to change the past, urged me on with a puzzled look.
But I shook my head and replied calmly.
“Let’s head back to the academy first. We’ll use it there.”
Of course, using it right now would be ideal.
But that nagging final warning made me hesitate to activate it immediately.
What if changing the past suddenly relocated us somewhere?
The academy was the one predictable safe spot.
To avoid chaos, I made that call.
“…If that’s what you want, no choice.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“You earned the biggest credit here. I wouldn’t dare interfere with your decision.”
Despite his royal status, Adrian yielded to me here.
The biggest credit.
Probably referring to me diving into the trap and risking my life for the shortcut.
The others nodded in agreement with Adrian.
“Shall we head back, then?”
Everyone smiled wearily at my words and nodded.
And so, we had conquered Tarros’s Tower.
A short while later.
In the waiting room next to the boss chamber.
We found a new portal and, after a quick check, stepped through.
The shortcut we’d entered through was sealed, the portal gone.
So the only visible portal besides the stairs down to floor 99 was this new one.
We concluded it led back to floor 1.
After all, the system had just announced the clear.
As expected, entering the portal brought a dizzying sensation, and my vision shifted.
The new scenery was the familiar ruin area.
But our arrival spot was a bit disorienting.
“Ooooh━!! They’re here━!! The party that cleared the tower━!!”
Someone’s shout rang out as we emerged on floor 1, followed by cheers.
We’d arrived in a plaza like a stage.
Adventurers of all kinds surrounded it from the ruin buildings nearby.
They clapped, whistled, and shouted at us.
It was like the hero’s welcome an Olympic gold medal team gets at the airport.
“Hey━!! You guys are amazing━!!”
“Grr━!! Never thought I’d see the tower conquered in my lifetime━!”
“Damn! Congrats, you bastards!!”
Some smiled joyfully, others with tears in their eyes.
Amid the varied reactions, a shout rang out.
“Ah━! It’s Ken Fine Stein’s party━!”
My name, from somewhere in the crowd.
I was momentarily flustered at how they knew our party, but then I remembered the street vendor at the border.
Probably some adventurer who remembered my name from then.
“Ken Fine Stein?”
“I’ve heard of him! Top blacksmith adventurer in the Lillias Kingdom, right?”
“Bl-blacksmith? A blacksmith cleared the tower?”
“…Wait, where’s Ken? …Don’t tell me he got kicked out?”
Conversations about our party buzzed everywhere.
Even some who knew my old self sounded confused that I wasn’t visible.
‘…So this is what it means to announce the clear.’
I ducked my head in inexplicable embarrassment.
Probably some signal informed everyone the tower was cleared, and the conquerors would appear here.
As all eyes suddenly focused on us and my name echoed, I tried to slip away.
“Wh-what? S-Siegfried?”
“This is a moment to be proud of. Chest out, Ken.”
My master beamed with unprecedented pride and grabbed my arm.
He raised it high, unleashing a torrent of cheers from the crowd.
“That’s him━! The party leader━!!”
“Woo━! Woo━!”
“Ken Fine Stein! Ken Fine Stein!”
“What the hell, he’s ridiculously handsome━!!”
“Kyaaah! Look this way━!”
“…What? That’s not the Ken I know…? But the vibe…”
We endured the rightful fanfare as tower conquerors amid the colorful reactions.
I’d seen similar responses in games for unconquered labyrinth clears.
But being at the center was mortifying.
‘…I wanna go home already.’