Tales Beyond the Tower, Part 1

After dealing with the 30th-floor boss monster, we found ourselves on a semi-forced break. The mages needed time to create a gate so they could haul the golem and the boss's corpse out without damaging them.

Well, thanks to the game system's blessing, the vacation wouldn't last more than three days at most — but rest was still rest. No matter how full of a sense of mission the party members were, they weren't worker units grinding for money. Keep adventuring without a break and something was bound to break down.

"So, what did we decide about the golems?"

"Like we discussed, the Knight-type Golem goes north, and the Magic Tower is buying the other three. Since the Rock Golems' mana stones aren't infinite, they seem to want to take them apart for research."

We still had to settle the rewards from the 30th-floor adventure, so the party gathered around a guild table. I filled them in on the negotiations Charlotte had conducted with the Magic Tower.

The golems were sent north and to the Magic Tower as planned. Just as orc warriors and orc shamans had stopped appearing after the 20th-floor orc chieftain died and the altar was destroyed, the Rock Golems had vanished. Without Rock Golem mana stones to use as fuel, the piloted golems were ultimately all show and no substance.

Apparently, Vivi Games didn't want players continuously using these massive piloted golems. To get them out of the clearing, the mages would have to dissect them — and even if you got them out, there'd be no fuel.

…Well, thanks to that, we managed to sell the remaining mana stones to the Magic Tower at a premium. Given how many we'd used, selling everything left only barely covered our costs.

"And, uh, about Miss Katie. The Grand Duke of the North is coming to the Magic Tower."

"…What?"

At what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was, in some ways, more important news than the boss's corpse or the piloted golems, Katie's vacant eyes snapped wide open. Of course a runaway girl would be shocked when her parents were being summoned. Grace, still somewhat awkward around her, also lit up with interest at the juicy story.

A taciturn man who'd been a party member turned out to be the cross-dressing daughter of the Grand Duke of the North, and a great noble whose face commoners would never see in their entire lives was coming all the way from the north to the central region to find her — how could anyone not be curious?

"W-why?!"

"Because the mages saw your face."

Similar to Charlotte Cavendish's case, many mages were nobles. People born into nobility with their family's generous support tended to discover early whether their talent lay in swordsmanship or magic.

In this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠medieval fantasy land where words like "equal opportunity" and "human rights" had been dumped in a back-alley trash can, it was only natural that wealthy, high-status nobles got more educational opportunities. And those mages weren't about to fail to recognize a silver-haired, blue-eyed princess.

"Plus, we brought up the northern magical tools because of the Knight-type Golem in the first place."

"Urgh…!"

A refined silver-haired, blue-eyed woman who possessed a magical tool called a treasure of the north. That woman suggesting the Knight-type Golem's ownership be transferred to the Grand Duke of the North's personal knight order? Anyone with half a brain would immediately realize Katie was the rumored second daughter.

Watching Irene naturally soothe Katie, who looked ready to slam her head into the table, I continued.

"We sold off the rights to the otherworldly golems and their maintenance facilities. We should get at least several hundred gold coins."

"S-several hundred?"

"Oh my…"

According to Charlotte, it looked like several hundred gold coins per person — thousands of gold coins for the party as a whole. Grace and Irene gaped at the enormous sum, unable to fully grasp it, but I was more worried than anything.

When you're playing a horror game and it suddenly auto-saves while dumping bullets and healing items on you like crazy, it means an extremely difficult boss is coming next.

Rewards from the 30th floor that put the 20th to shame, a 30th floor fused with another world destroyed by the Demon King. That made me worry about just how hellish the swamp zone from floors 31 to 40 might have become. The environment was already so harsh we'd come down from the 37th floor — if it had gotten even more vicious from there…?

"Anyway, big money's coming in, so think about upgrading your gear further. With several hundred gold coins, you could commission custom work from the Magic Tower…"

"Roland? …Ah, what. Were you in the middle of something important?"

Just as the conversation was wrapping up, a familiar voice came from behind me.

A woman with glossy brown hair tied tightly into a single ponytail. A beauty with a slender figure and a long spear that left an impression — Lily Depp. I hadn't seen her much since she'd quit adventuring and come down from the 37th floor. What was going on?

At the appearance of a stranger, the heads of everyone seated at the table whipped around.

Thanks to the star rating's appearance buff, the brown-haired beauty who'd gone from puppy-faced to puppy-idol level approached me familiarly — and the first to react was Grace. Remembering how Lily Depp had flaunted her closeness with me at the last gathering of high-ranking adventurers, she quietly pressed herself against my side.

…I should probably pretend not to notice Han Se-ah gulping at the sight.

"Roland, I heard you came down after a big score. Sorry if you were planning to rest, but I'd like to give you a commission."

"A commission? From you to me?"

Regardless, Lily Depp pressed on, looking subtly urgent.

She was a natural 4★ and, as I recalled, had climbed to the 35th floor when I was still active. Why would she want to commission someone rather than handle it herself?

Even among 4★s, Lily Depp, who'd spent over eight years of real combat in the Tower, had far more experience — call it levels — than Katie Wellesley, who'd only been in the field a little over a year. Someone of her caliber should be able to handle anything alone unless a large-type monster suddenly appeared.

"One of our kids got into an accident. Or rather, I don't know if they caused it or got caught in one."

"…What?"

"With the gates that opened this time, we had some leftover mana stones, right? Horned Wolf and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Orc mana stones flooded the market, so we had some surplus stock. Our kids set out on a trade caravan to sell them out west, and we've lost contact."

But her following explanation made me nod despite myself. Her companions from eight years of adventuring were, naturally, of similar skill. Unless you joined a lower-ranked adventurer party to raise them like I did, it was only natural for adventurers of similar ability to group up.

What Lily Depp was saying was that a group of upper-grade adventurers operating around the 35th floor had gone missing — not in the Tower, but inside the kingdom. Upper-grade adventurers wouldn't steal orc mana stones and run off, so something bad must have happened to them.

Whether a large monster had appeared or they'd been hit by some unknown group of skilled fighters.

What a shitty fantasy world. Not even a traffic accident — I have to worry about crap like this?

It wasn't even that far — about a week's journey by carriage. A week by carriage sounds incredibly distant, but considering a carriage covers roughly fifty kilometers a day, it was about the distance from Seoul to Busan.

Someone from Seoul going to Busan on a business trip and getting mauled by a wild beast or cleaned out by a gang of bandits — of course it'd leave you sick with worry. This was exactly why I'd resolved to scrape together money and buy a peaceful territory to enjoy a retirement decked out with magical tools.

"Honestly, those guys aren't the type to vanish with a handful of orc mana stones just to screw me over."

"No reason for upper-grade adventurers to covet orc mana stones."

"Exactly. With the money they've saved up and the connections and reputation they've built in this city, there's no way they'd pull something like that over mid-to-low-grade mana stones."

Still, I felt like I should turn this down.

I was a tank, not a people-finding service. In a world without CCTV or national ID cards, go find some guy named Kim out in the western region of the kingdom? What kind of absurd commission was this? Even Lily Depp, who'd brought it up, was frowning as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she felt shameless and terribly sorry.

Yeah, I would have refused — if not for two little interjections.

"Uh, a sub quest…"

"…Th-then, Roland, maybe we should take this commission?"

Han Se-ah muttered in a voice only I could hear. She'd apparently been checking Lily Depp's character window and mumbled without thinking. Even with the stream off, the player filtering was solid — the party members hadn't heard, but I definitely had.

And then came Katie's hurried voice.

"You seem to know each other, so I think we should help. And I-I'm from the north, so I haven't been to the west yet either."

"Katie, you…"

Kind-hearted Irene looked at her like a proud parent, and Lily Depp stared at her with eyes that suggested she'd treat her like a benefactor for life — but I could tell. And Han Se-ah must have felt it too.

Our little northern runaway wanted to head west to escape her dad, who was coming to buy the golem.