Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: It's Just My Luck (6)
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This was an opportunity.
“You said the Blue Tower is a place where different worlds are stacked layer by layer. So, what floor is this?”
I wanted to ask how many floors the Blue Tower had in total, but I forced myself to hold back.
It might arouse unnecessary suspicion.
“The 178th floor.”
Fortunately, the servant answered my question immediately, showing no signs of suspicion.
“Is that high up?”
“While the Star of Gluttony isn't particularly interested in building a reputation, he's certainly not of a station to reside on the lower floors.”
I diligently organized the servant's answer in my head.
I couldn't discern the exact standing of each floor's master.
Still, it didn't seem like just anyone could be in charge of a floor.
I set a rough standard.
Assuming only a Madosa, or a high-ranking magician of equivalent skill, could become the master of a floor.
‘The tower is not a single space. It is a place where tens, hundreds of different worlds, each with its own master, are stacked layer by layer. That is the tower.’
Combining what I'd just heard with his current words, there was no chance this was the top floor.
That meant the Blue Tower possessed a force of at least one hundred seventy-eight Madosa-level individuals.
“Wow. That's incredible.”
With this much power, excluding the Gaznae family, which had the Black Knights, none of the Eight Families could face the Blue Tower alone.
The lower-ranked of the Eight Families would need at least three of their houses combined. The middle or higher-ranked ones would need at least two to stand a chance.
To think that the Blue Tower, considered far inferior to the Red and Black Towers, possessed this much strength.
My mind, which had unknowingly relaxed amidst the luxurious lifestyle, tensed up.
Only after steeling myself did things I hadn't seen before begin to appear.
The servant, who had seemed ordinary at first glance, now appeared unsettling for some reason.
My brow furrowed on its own.
“…?”
Ignoring the servant's quizzical gaze, I took in the world beyond the window.
The village and fields stretching out below the lavish mansion looked like a painting.
A merchant shouting to attract customers from his stall.
Women carrying laundry baskets, heading somewhere.
Children giggling as they chased a small white dog, overjoyed about something.
An old man, trying to avoid them, yelping as he face-planted in a mud puddle.
In the distant fields, men sowing seeds, beads of sweat glistening on their brows.
It was a scene of rare peace, a sight that until recently would have filled my heart with contentment just by looking at it.
But now, my heart felt strangely suffocated.
“Is something bothering you?”
The servant's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“No. It's nothing.”
I mumbled a vague reply and spoke again.
I asked about the Star-Eating Madosa's position within the Blue Tower.
The structure of this place and any information about other floors.
The number of resident magicians and the scale of their forces.
And various other details about the Blue Tower, phrasing my questions indirectly.
The servant answered diligently within the scope of his knowledge, but unfortunately, there was little useful information.
Considering he was just a servant and not a magician, it was to be expected.
Still, I didn't give up and kept asking, eventually managing to glean a few more useful pieces of information.
I mulled over every piece of information I obtained, no matter how trivial, and crammed it all into my head.
It might prove useful someday.
The next day.
“Yawn.”
Normally, I would have gone for a walk to relieve my boredom, but since my conversation with the servant yesterday, this place had begun to feel ominous. I spent my time sitting in my room, gazing out the window.
“Hmm.”
The village was as peaceful today as it was yesterday.
The feeling of suffocation didn't fade.
If anything, it grew worse with time.
After sitting by the window and watching the village for a long while, I flinched.
It was strangely familiar.
I narrowed my eyes and studied the village.
“Huh?”
And I was startled.
The merchant engrossed in hawking his wares, the women heading out of the village with their laundry.
Everything was exactly as I had seen it yesterday.
Even the old man avoiding the children chasing the dog and falling face-first into the mud—it was all identical to yesterday.
I shot up from my seat and left the room.
A servant appeared from somewhere and fell in behind me.
Ignoring him, I was about to head out of the mansion when I overheard the servants' voices.
“Ugh. This work never ends. It just never ends.”
“Quit your whining. The others would kill to work in this section.”
The complaint was identical, down to the last syllable, to one I had overheard before.
I felt as if I were bewitched.
“My god…”
Only then did I realize.
I understood the source of my unease and discomfort.
The village, its people, and the servants coming and going from the mansion were all repeating the exact same actions.
It was as if skilled actors were repeating yesterday's performance today.
Of course, they weren't actors, and this situation was no play or performance.
“Idiot!”
There were hints everywhere, yet I couldn't understand why it had taken me so long to notice.
“You were like this yesterday, too. Is something bothering you today as well?”
It was this guy right in front of me.
“Are you really alright?”
The only living, moving being in a world that endlessly repeated the same day.
“Perhaps it would be best if you just rested in your room today.”
It was because of the servant, who was looking at me with feigned concern.
“You're not just a servant, are you.”
The servant tilted his head at my question.
“I'm afraid I'm too dull to understand what you mean.”
At a glance, he truly looked as if he didn't know what I was talking about.
But to my eyes, now aware of the true nature of this chilling space, he no longer looked that way.
Because no ordinary human could possibly remain sane in a world of such endless repetition.
“This won't do. Allow me to escort you to your room.”
The servant grabbed my hand and pulled.
But his grip was immense.
So strong that even I, with all my training, couldn't easily shake it off.
“Warm tea is excellent for calming the mind and body.”
He forced me onto the bed, then poured a cup of tea from the table and offered it to me.
Having accepted and eaten everything they'd given me so far, it felt a bit late to be making a fuss, but I had no intention of drinking this unidentified beverage.
“Mmph.”
But the servant's strength was beyond imagination, and in the end, I was forced to swallow a few sips of the tea.
The moment the cold tea went down my throat, my mind calmed as if by magic.
My aversion to this false world and my wariness of the unknown servant melted away like snow.
I had to struggle just to maintain a shred of tension.
“How is it? Don't you feel calmer?”
“…You said it was warm tea. It's cold.”
That was all I could manage—a few grumbled words.
A wave of drowsiness washed over me.
I yawned, and my eyes grew heavy.
“After a good nap, your cluttered mind will be cleared…”
The servant's voice grew fainter and fainter until I could no longer hear it at all.
And so, I closed my eyes.
“Gasp!”
I startled awake.
The servant was nowhere to be seen.
I twisted my body, leaning over the edge of the bed.
Then I stuck my fingers down my throat.
“Blech.”
And I threw up everything in my stomach.
I emptied my stomach again and again, until nothing but sour liquid came up.
I roughly wiped my mouth with my sleeve and brushed away the tears.
Lying back on the bed, I gasped for breath.
The unnatural tranquility brought on by the mysterious liquid vanished as I purged it, and I returned to my normal state.
“Ha. I was really being treated like livestock.”
It was absurd.
No wonder the Star-Eating Madosa had left me, someone who tried to escape at every opportunity, alone for so long. I knew something was strange.
Even when I explored the village, none of the townspeople would meet my gaze, except for the few magicians I happened to encounter.
At the time, I thought they were avoiding me because of that grand title, the successor to the Star of Gluttony or whatever it was.
Looking back now, that wasn't it at all.
It was simply because I was a character who didn't exist in their repeating daily routine.
Everything about it was strange.
And yet, the reason I hadn't noticed at all must have been because of whatever they fed me.
“Now what do I do?”
A person can't live without eating or drinking.
“So it works by calming the mind and body.”
After taking Gaecheondan and going through various ordeals, my body has developed a resistance to most poisons.
The fact that my body didn't filter it out meant it wasn't harmful.
As long as I ate only what was necessary and avoided any useless snacks, I figured I could manage somehow.
“Hmm.”
I considered my options.
If I was going to escape, now was the perfect time, while the Star-Eating Madosa was away.
My deliberation wasn't long.
I had gathered as much information as I could for now, even if it wasn't enough.
Just getting a glimpse of the Blue Tower's true nature was a significant gain.
On top of that, I'd also gotten a rough idea of the Blue Magicians' strength.
There was no reason to linger here any longer.
Stealthily.
I checked for any presence outside the door.
Not far beyond it, I sensed a single, unmoving presence.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be paying any attention to me.
It seemed they trusted the effects of that unnaturally calming tea.
I carefully packed my things and placed them within reach.
Then I lay quietly on the bed, waiting for night to fall.
A wave of sleepiness hit me, perhaps due to the lingering effects of the drug, but I pinched my thigh to stay awake.
I don't know how much time passed.
A servant came in and out a few times to check on me, and finally, night arrived.
I slung the backpack I'd prepared over my shoulder and moved to the window.
I tied bedsheets and blankets together, securing one end firmly to the bedpost.
Standing by the window, I scanned the surroundings.
It was a moonless, pitch-black night.
There was no sign of anyone.
I threw the makeshift rope out the window.
Then, I carefully climbed down the rope.
*Thud.*
The moment my feet touched the ground, I melted into the shadows.
I paused to check my surroundings, but there were no unusual signs.
But it wasn't time to relax yet.
I didn't know when that sinister servant would discover my escape.
I followed the path I had memorized during my previous excursions and headed away from the mansion.
*Phew.*
Having left the mansion without much trouble, I retraced my steps, relying on my memory from when I first arrived.
*Rustle, rustle.*
Moving from shadow to shadow.
I passed through the center and finally reached the edge of the village.
Stealthily.
And just as I was carefully about to pass through the entrance.
*Squish.*
My foot stepped on something strange.
“Gah.”
Startled, I looked down at my feet.
A carelessly strewn burlap sack.
A grimy hand was sticking out from under it.
*Swoosh.*
The owner of the hand pushed the sack aside.
A filthy face was revealed from underneath.
I cursed inwardly.
Of all things, why did this fake world have to replicate a beggar?
Meanwhile, the beggar was slowly getting to his feet.
“My bladder's gonna burst. It's gonna burst.”
Staggering to his feet, the beggar lowered his trousers.
“Ahh. That's a relief.”
The beggar, shivering with relief, didn't even glance in my direction, though I was right beside him.
This, too, seemed to be another scene from the repeating world.
Finally relieved, I glanced at the beggar and was about to take another step.
*Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.*
An eerie flute sound came from the direction of the mansion.
In that instant.
*Creeeeak.*
The beggar, who had been endlessly relieving himself, snapped his head around.
His head turned with a creak.
*Swivel.*
His eyeballs rolled in their sockets.
The beggar's gaze locked directly onto me.
The groggy, half-asleep beggar was no more.
Only a puppet staring at me with a blank face remained.
The beggar reached a hand toward me.
“Hah!”
I drew Baegya and swung it fiercely.
*Slice.*
The filthy hand rolled across the ground.
But the beggar didn't even scream.
He simply staggered, raising his remaining hand.
I swung Baegya once more, then turned and began to run.
*Thump, thump.*
Behind me, I heard the thunder of footsteps.
A moment later, an ominous energy surged from deeper within the village, from the direction of the mansion.
It was clearly the magicians.
Without breaking stride, I sheathed Baegya and drew Barisada.
I had already set the bolt before my escape, so there was no need to load it.
I bolted out of the village.
“Find him! If you fail, *He* will not let us off easy!”
“As long as he's breathing, it's fine to cut off a limb or two!”
Hearing the bloodthirsty shouts of the magicians, I kept running.
I don't know how long I ran.
Suddenly, a hazy white wall appeared before me.
The space made of mist that I had passed through to enter this place.
I stepped into the mist without hesitation.
And after just a few steps, I was back where I started.
I tried several times, but the result was always the same.
The reason the mansion's security had been so lax in the first place was because of this mist.
But I had a way.
*Hoo.*
I took a deep breath and brought a hand to my face.
*Swoosh.*
I removed the eyepatch, so familiar that I'd stopped noticing it was even there.
And in that very moment.
*Fwoosh.*
The world beyond the hazy mist came into sharp focus.
Just as I was about to throw myself into the mist once more.
*BOOM!*
The mansion suddenly exploded.
Faint shouts followed.
They were clearly the voices of the magicians.
“…!”
“…!”
I couldn't make out exactly what they were shouting.
Not that it was any of my business.
“I've eaten well and rested well, so now, farewell.”
I resumed my steps.
And so, toward the outside world that lay beyond the mist.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
I left the tremendous roar behind me.