Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Illness Amidst the Flames - 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
【12th Floor Gate】
- Would you like to challenge the 12th floor?
· Condition - Subjugate the Sealed Demon (1/1)
Rien had defeated the demon and completed the conquest of the 11th floor.
She could ride the gate to the 12th floor if she wanted, but the plan prioritized returning to the 1st floor first.
She remembered her senior promising to share more information that would help with future conquests once she finished the 11th floor and came back.
The problem had arisen on Fria's side.
In a way, the cause lay with Rien, but if she had to make excuses, there had been no malice.
"No dice, huh. Well, you didn't even get any experience points."
"I'm sorry..."
"Did you think it'd go down in one hit? At that level of weakness, it's an insult to call it a demon."
The knight and priest waiting outside the door were also astonished, saying they'd never seen anyone clear it so quickly among the unskilled challengers.
"Or maybe you've gotten strong enough to exceed expectations. There's no way the monster tied to the conquest condition would be that weak."
"Still, this is a big problem. At this rate, Fria can't go to the 12th floor..."
The demon had been subdued by Rien's single strike before Fria could even lift a finger.
In the process, Rien had handled the shares of both the knight and the priest on her own.
Since Fria hadn't contributed to the battle, by the tower's judgment, she hadn't fulfilled the 11th floor conquest condition of 'Subjugate the Sealed Demon.'
They'd come to check at the gate, but as feared, the message floating before Fria's eyes displayed an unmet condition blocking her path.
'Is she okay...?'
Given her usual reactions, it wouldn't be strange if Fria exploded in rage.
Whenever her intended monster was snatched, she took a hit to the back of the head, or suffered any kind of loss, the concept of patience vanished from her mind.
Not only would she charge at the opponent like she wanted to kill them, but she'd also try to flip the entire surroundings upside down, and they'd often barely managed to stop her.
Fria literally became a different person.
"I have to waste a week here? Haah..."
She let out a deep sigh, but fortunately, she wasn't rampaging like before.
She must have understood it was an unintended accident, or perhaps the short time they'd climbed the tower together had served as an emotional breakwater.
"—So, that means we have to climb back up in a week."
"Fria's still stuck on the 11th floor, then. We could go ahead simply, but are you planning to wait and challenge it together next week?"
"I'm not that heartless. No matter what, we should tackle the 12th floor together."
Both of them had climbed without belonging to any guild, showing no signs of hindrance.
It was surprising that Rien had taken down the demon in one strike, but the more they heard, the more it became clear that Fria was a promising talent.
As Sua had mentioned—
A fitting owner of a Unique-grade trait.
There was a reason Sua wanted to slot Fria into her guild.
She showed unstable tendencies, but they were worth the risk.
"At least we seem to have gained a good alliance. That's fortunate."
"It feels half like I'm freeloading, so it's not entirely pleasant... Honestly, she makes me feel a bit inferior. She's so strong."
"Well, every group has someone who charges ahead."
"I wish that someone were me."
Being fast in the tower wasn't always the right answer.
Not getting stuck was far more important.
You could rush to the 300th floor in one go, only to rot there for life starting at the 301st. That was climbing.
Of course, survival was the prerequisite.
"Still, it's a relief she's stuck on the 11th floor for the week. The village is so big, there's plenty to explore."
"It might not be the most efficient, but wandering the village spots could yield growth that makes the week worthwhile."
"That's part of it, but actually, I needed time to head back to the 11th floor, so I was wondering if I'd have to ask Fria's permission."
"..."
"In a way, this worked out better."
It was true, but not something to say to Fria's face.
That aside, it was time to dissect the important details one by one.
First, the enchant.
"Can I take a closer look at your sword?"
"Here."
As expected, nothing was visible.
Not even the enhanced values.
Just a bunch of question marks, simply.
"It gained a modifier in the name like an enchanted weapon, but I didn't expect even that to be a question mark."
"I don't know the numbers, but the felt performance has definitely changed."
"Evidence being that you took down the demon in one hit?"
"Of course. It must have some cheat-like effect. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense."
Of course, the weapon's growth was part of the reason, but the demon they'd faced directly wasn't much different from the past.
The sealed demon on the 11th floor accumulated power if left unchecked.
The priests of the Salvation Church bound it with chains of holy power so it couldn't even twitch a finger, but they estimated the limit at about a week.
Adventurers had to periodically confront the demon to prevent power buildup.
Adventurers challenged it solo or in parties.
The knight guided them to the deepest point, and the priest partially released the seals on the demon matching the number of adventurers.
The difference lay in the amount of seal released.
Compare the number of adventurers back when I was active and now.
I've never seen fewer than three, but it's at least ten times more now.
Naturally, more adventurers challenged the 11th floor, and more re-participated in demon subjugation for experience and rewards.
The city no longer struggled to drain the demon's power.
"Slicing the demon in one swing with this sword. Should I name it Excalibur? What if it one-shots the 12th floor boss too?"
"Cut the nonsense."
"Why? Your trait is the lowest grade, so you should at least enjoy the thrill of a cheat weapon."
Since Rien and Fria faced it alone, the priest had released seals for two people.
But the amount for the current two was less than what one person faced in the past.
Contrary to Rien's description, the sealed demon in my memory used its wings intact.
The demon's first attack wasn't a close-range swing but creating a spear for ranged strikes.
'When there were few adventurers, the burden per person was high, but with more adventurers, they reduced the seal release accordingly.'
There was a reason the 11th floor count grew bored with the peace.
The demon wasn't building power; it was left ragged like a corpse amid the line of adventurers.
If it weren't a tower, would such peace exist?
Because it was a tower, this level of dull peace was possible.
If the village had this excess manpower before Mariel joined demon subjugations, would they have called for the enchanter?
If so, then Harman...
"Ha, what am I supposed to do with this weapon? The sword's weight is beyond what I can handle...!"
'She's excited.'
After hitting the 11th floor, her personality had gotten even more cheeky.
"Don't rely on the weapon. It feels good now, but eventually, gear performance alone won't—"
"Senior, are you jealous of my sword?"
"...What?"
"I get it. Your sword is Epic grade, but mine slaughters demons in one hit. Of course you'd be jealous!"
The grade was hidden anyway, so she'd decided to treat it as Legendary.
Her tone made it seem like she'd cleared the 100th floor or something.
"Still, Senior, if you ask nicely, I'll lend it to you a few times."
Special treatment was appreciated, but I wasn't one to take it lying down.
"Keep talking like that, and no more info from now on. You won't find the 13th floor easy without this."
"Ah, aa! I'm kidding, kidding! Just a joke!"
The higher the floor, the less world-shaking info was accessible to Rien currently.
Most growth paths were already uncovered by guilds, and the tower excluded elements unfit for the height.
For now, it was just supplementing her lacks and pointing ways to catch up a bit to those ahead.
Real stuff started past the 40th floor.
From then on, knowing versus not knowing would be the line between crossing walls.
"...Senior? You're not really withholding it, right?"
"Who knows. I'm just a guy wielding a mere Epic sword, so maybe it's useless."
"No, no! I really need it! Please!"
If this was her reaction just for mentioning one enhancement spot, there'd be motivation to teach more ahead.
Lynet and Theo.
Next up after the enchant and demon: talking about them.
Honestly, there's nothing much to say about the two directly.
They were the children born between Harman and Mariel; no other info.
Even Mariel tried describing them, but her memories of Lynet and Theo were still locked 30 years ago.
However, in this situation where she couldn't properly describe the subjects, we'd gained additional info.
'She described her last remembered children's height as around her waist.'
30 years ago, both Lynet and Theo were short-statured minors.
This meant Mariel's physical age at the time was around her 30s, maybe 40s at most.
No one has late twins like that.
Thus, trapped in the tower for 30 years, Mariel's physical age appearing at least 60+ doesn't add up.
The contradictory time gap between Mariel and Harman.
30 years and 6 years.
'The contradiction lies with Mariel.'