Chapter 56
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 8th Floor - Lv. 159 Brigade Headquarters (1)
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"Do we really have to go this far?"
"Of course."
"Ugh, ugh."
At first, I thought her mentality was shaken by the aftermath of the dark attribute, but it seemed her natural disposition was just like this.
There are people like that. Their mental state shatters easily, but it recovers just as quickly.
They bawl their eyes out, but once they let it all out, they smile brightly again.
The angel was exactly like that.
"You said you were originally a berserker, right? Then why do something like that if your heart is so soft?"
"That's why I do it! With [Berserk], I can't see anything..."
Wow, what a cowardly but spot-on rebuttal.
"Fine, just go already."
"Eekyaaah!"
Her flying off after being shoved looked precarious. She said she'd never experienced a race capable of free flight.
No wonder they struggled even after capturing such a cheat-tier race.
If this one had even tried a harpy before, our party might have been the one wiped out here.
She zigzagged across the ice sea under 50x gravity like a broken fly.
Even if she messed up and fell, she wouldn't die or get hurt, but it'd be freezing cold.
An angel or not, her pain receptors weren't much different from a human's.
That actually made her easier to drill during training.
She felt pain like anyone else but never died or got injured.
As an instructor, what more could you want?
Beyond that, I ran her through plenty of drills to get her used to being an angel.
She didn't tire, so I kept her going even while handling other tasks.
I also drilled in the key content she could practice solo.
She needed to master it before reaching the kingdom.
Just being an angel would draw endless attention.
And a flood of scouting offers, but since she'd chosen my line, she'd have to reject them all and make it on her own.
I wasn't even asking her to build a faction or anything.
If she just secured a house and established a solid position in the kingdom as one of the more useful exiles, that'd be a win.
She wasn't a 'Challenger,' but 47 years of experience didn't just vanish.
Her mental state was immature, but the ingrained knowledge and savvy shone through.
Once she adapted to being an angel, she wouldn't fall short.
Naturally, I'd converted her too.
The Goddess had no angel experience, but demons were a free-flight race as well.
Afterward, she kept asking for tips here and there, pretending to grumble while grinning ear to ear.
Seemed she was dissatisfied having no followers beyond us, her only view into the world. But good was good.
It took a full extra day until I felt she'd been trained enough.
Mastery couldn't happen overnight. But I'd taught her exactly how to practice and build her skills.
I also made her memorize mind map corrections varying by race.
The Goddess would offer occasional advice afterward, so no issues there.
Honestly, layers capable of killing an angel before the kingdom were rare.
Worst case, she'd survive to the next floor.
Her original goal was to live cushy like nobility as an 'angel' in the kingdom anyway. She'd manage while advancing.
I wasn't worried about that part.
"Alright, if anything happens, tell on them to the Goddess."
"Yep!"
Her crisp salute reminded me of that elf archer's pint-sized mage. They shared that fragile vibe.
Wonder how that group was doing.
No sign of their corpses or sightings among discovered bodies or parties.
They'd passed the 7th floor or were still on the 6th.
Hard to say for sure. They might've retired early, body dumped in the sea.
"Hey, before you go, lie face-down."
"Pardon?"
I called over the Girl and Hunter.
"Pluck some feathers."
"Eeeeh?"
She could go, but we'd take what we could.
Angel feathers were premium material. Offering them to the Goddess would rack up faith points, and crafting them into earrings or such added killer options.
Mostly agility warrior buffs and faith bonuses—perfect for the padding we'd already secured.
"Hic, eek, keeee."
The Hunter pitied her but couldn't hold back laughs, while the Girl plucked mercilessly.
"Won't these explode or something? Weren't they super tough?"
"They channel holy power in combat, that's why. Not normally."
Normally, they were just fluffy feathers full of air, as they appeared.
And while the party plucked, what was I doing?
"Hey, no turning your head. Keep it still and cry."
I collected the tears trickling from her pained eyes into a vial.
Angel tears—even the name screamed value.
And they were genuinely rare.
In magic circles, alchemy experts used them for all sorts of reagents and potions.
Couldn't waste this.
"Hold still even if it hurts. Drop. No, keep dropping. Cry more. Yeah?"
"Save meee."
"Think of your future. Riches and glory. Happy, peaceful life. Handsome husband, bunny-like kids."
"Sniff, riches and glory..."
No fancy vial needed—just a potion bottle.
Afterward, I patched her up spotless with the last healing potion.
Body fine, but mentally shaken, so I let her rest a bit.
Meanwhile, time to send the others off.
"Thank you!"
No clue why I felt like some revered teacher.
Painless death methods were major intel for exiles.
The students had capped off with a practical on painless suicide.
Sheesh.
The Girl clasped her hands and chanted over it.
Half-right, half-wrong.
I just patted her head.
She perked up smiling right away, easing my worries.
"Alright, let's tally up. One anti-materiel rifle, three assault rifles. Ammo left?"
The Hunter lined up the checked magazines.
"Maybe 300 rounds. Shame."
"Eh, surviving the 6th with assault rifles is luck enough. Ah, should've told 'em to conserve. Looks like 500 gone here."
"She said they grabbed one half-full box and bolted, so that tracks."
"Had to limit that angel's mobility somehow, even with her smarts. Didn't expect her to fly like that."
"Normal folks wouldn't know, I'd think..."
5.56mm for the rifles was one thing, but .50 BMG was low too.
"One mag left."
"Damn, why'd I go so hard on that halfwit angel?"
"Haha, I thought it showed the leader's human side. Nice."
Unsure of odd-layer influences, confirming an angel meant going all-out.
If only even-layers repeated, it'd be necessary.
But this was still normal luck territory.
Could happen.
Truck accidents? Daily somewhere on Earth.
Time to rethink. Excluding Provence, it hadn't exceeded plausible exile events.
No real influence, probably.
'Even layers' before the kingdom were technically parts of a living continent staging exile spawns.
Difficulty boiled down to how risky the stair opens and map limits.
If that's the extent, it scaled right.
Fit the devs' philosophy: suffer hard, reap sweet rewards.
They loved pointless realism to torment players.
Their hobby, really.
Approaching it that way, even the Girl's irregularity seemed tame.
Time to track the Luck God's connections. Though as a supreme god sans suffix, meeting him was iffy...
Abyss gods with altars were the easy ones.
'The Luck God? I'd love to meet him too, sorry I'm such a mess.'
'What, the Nature God buddies with the Luck God or something?'
'Nah, supremes stay silent as ever.'
Undetectable without temples. No messages even for followers.
Truly aloof 'gods.'
Wonder if they were exiles originally.
Devs kept that secret from me too.
I stabbed the tightly shut-eyed angel in the back, sending her to the abyss.
One orb in Akasha's eye lost its glow.
No regrets.
Still one shot left.
Whatever came, I could abyss it. Perfect.
Best saved for the 10th. Even boss layer. Sigh.
Now the map held only our four-man party.
A thud effect sound, and stairs appeared.
They always spawned before the party leader.
"Angel feather padding warm?"
"You bet. This bad boy's unique-tier."
Item from game days. Loot from padded exile, synthesize with feathers.
Now, physically gutted the padding, yanked duck fluff, stuffed feathers.
Sewing? Basic tool from any theme.
"Tears for what?"
"Curious?"
"Kinda pitied her after. Should use for something good, right?"
"Is that heart kind? Or bad?"
"Uh, kind-bad?"
No cartoon floods from humans or angels.
Despite wringing her dry, barely a puddle at the vial's bottom.
"Easier to dissect and harvest the tear glands, honestly."
The Girl shuddered.
"No, I didn't."
"Scary... Got immersed for a sec."
"Not easy anyway, couldn't here."
Post-kingdom, angels swarmed main dungeons like pigeons.
Harvesting was inevitable then.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
The Girl bellowed for the group.
She looked thrilled. Good.
The maknae prayed unchanging to the Goddess and stepped onto the stairs.
Floating shift enveloped us as layers changed.
Wide maps denote layers far larger than usual. Normal layers offer localized experiences, but wide maps let you interfere in broader situations. Still, take care not to earn the ire of the continent's residents.
Wide map? The type you hunt down in the kingdom—not pre-kingdom spawn.
At this point, a wide map.
Pops up once you tangle in [Racial Mainstreams] and such.
Causal maps like that were predictable.
Yeah... Greenskin ties were near 100%.
Yet theme still snowfield.
Only bad omens now.
Braving the blizzard again, we barely reached the village.
Season had shifted slightly. Unlike recent thawed ground, now solidly frozen.
Guess: At least months passed.
Max: Over a year.
"Why back here?"
"The War God must be pretty pissed."
Gods lacked that level of interference. But we'd clearly face his wrath if we slipped now.
The dwarf village was surprised but welcomed us warmly.
No big changes.
I sighed in relief.
The chief—elementary height, middle-school face—greeted me with rock dwarf stoicism.
"Chief, how long since we left?"
"Three months. Winter returns, and old ties revisit."
Hinting at coming troubles.
"Gonna impose for a bit."
"With debts owed, how could we refuse? Stay as you like."
That much was sincere. Rock dwarves were like grove fairies among fairies—more kind than cunning artisans.
"Fairies gone south, I bet?"
The Girl asked wistfully.
"Headed south fast after your last visit, far as I know."
Needed more thought.
Wide map meant vastly broader area open to us than before.
As an encounter-type, stairs had no special conditions.
Just no clue how far or how dangerous.
If it stretched to human or fairy lands, better options.
Last time, three Barbaroi clansmen had died nearby.
Others likely close too.
Priority: Find vampires somehow, hand over necks, ditch humans first.