Cleanup, Part 1

Once the 40th-floor boss monster — the Lich — had been dealt with, a mountain of cleanup work piled up in its wake.

The ownerless staff was snatched up by Charlotte Cavendish, who had scrambled up from the 35th floor on the Temple forces' coattails. She offered a donation to the Temple and compensation to us in the Magic Tower's name, then snapped it up without hesitation. As for the skull that had lost both its staff and its body, it was hauled off to the Temple with its jaw still clacking.

Reduced to nothing but a head, the Lich had become a magic tool capable of maintaining a holy barrier indefinitely. Apparently it couldn't attack while its invincibility gimmick was active — which meant it had turned into a black mage who couldn't use black magic: holy-attribute, restores HP and MP.

Put simply, it was basically a Holy Grail that spurted out HP and MP potions whenever Temple folk prayed. You could even call it a sacred relic.

"What do you intend to do with this?"

"We'll plate it in blessed gold and leave it inside a holy barrier. If it serves for eternity — for the Goddess, for life — that wicked soul may one day repent."

"Ah… yes."

Condolences to the creature that could no longer even die freely, destined to be enshrined deep within the Temple as a holy relic. An undead black mage and fallen alchemist who had set out to defile the Goddess would now spend eternity pumping out life force in her name.

So the staff had been sold off as gate material, and the captured boss as enhancement material for the Temple forces. But there was still plenty left to sort out.

In particular, I had a lot to think about regarding the quest window that was monitoring me in real time.

The fortunate part was that this transcendent being seemed well-disposed toward me. The way it had hurriedly slapped a skill onto me the moment the invincibility bug triggered made it clear it had no intention of obstructing the Tower climb. Far from obstructing — it looked eager to shove me up the Tower from behind…

And it was remarkably kind. Soft-hearted, even.

I was a helpless human whose soul had been yanked across dimensions. The other party was a divine being that knew how to jam a human soul into a virtual reality game. No matter how sturdy and powerful my innate 6-star body was, how could I possibly contend with a god that handled souls?

Yet the penalty the hologram window handed me was nothing more than an internet usage time limit. And it didn't even strip the hologram window away — just capped it at two hours a day.

Honestly, even if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it stole my body, I would have had no way to resist. Beyond taking my body, it could have tortured my soul, imposed horrific restrictions, or made me lose control so my body moved on its own whenever I used a skill — and what could I have done about any of that?

But the unknown existence beyond the hologram window did none of those things.

What it used to push me forward wasn't a whip. It was closer to a gentle mother's hand, patting a child's backside. And it even pressed candy into my palm as it nudged me along, so I wouldn't fail.

Was it the Goddess who called me after all?

That alone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swept away the anxiety that had been pressing down on one corner of my chest. Because this divine being showed no intention whatsoever of treating me as an enemy, forcing me, or tormenting me.

"Sir Roland! Or rather — Hero now, aren't you!"

"…Excuse me?"

But what the hell was this about.

Defeating a boss monster that appeared every ten floors meant one chapter of the main scenario had come to a close.

By defeating the Full Moon Wolf, we had made our names known to the city's citizens.

By defeating the Orc Chieftain, we had gained connections with the kingdom's knight order.

By defeating the Giant Serpent, the Magic Tower and the northerners had entered the stage.

As a single-player, highly realistic VR game, other players might experience differences — but every ten floors, a major faction got woven into the story. So on the 40th floor, as the game's difficulty rose, the mighty Temple extended its hand to the player.

"Hero… party?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

It extended that hand a little too far.

The Fragment of Memory received as a discovery reward, then again as a defeat reward. When we tried to visit the Temple to examine it, strange things started happening. The Temple knights, who had always been polite, went beyond politeness and began treating us with the utmost deference and formality.

Han Se-ah came to settle her quests as a player. Irene came to hear the news as a Temple-affiliated nun. I came to check the Fragment of Memory the hologram window had pressed into my hand like candy.

For various reasons we visited the Temple before the Magic Tower — and a thoroughly burdensome scene unfolded. Temple knights in pure white armor saw us, split cleanly to either side, and raised their palms to their helmets in crisp, disciplined salutes.

"Wh-why are you doing this, Brothers…?"

"We welcome Sister Irene of the Hero's party!"

"Um, B-Brother?"

"Yes! Do you have orders for us?"

Even Irene, a Candidate Saint, had never heard of this — her golden eyes went round and rolled about in bewilderment. She had come to ask if there was anything she could help with purifying the 40th-floor pit with Holy Power, only to suddenly be called a member of a Hero's party. Of course she was shocked.

And Irene wasn't the only one.

When the Temple joined forces and the 40th-floor boss was defeated, the player was recognized as a Hero.

Wasn't that exactly the kind of information that would set the hearts of players who hadn't even reached the 30th floor on fire? Information that would make even people who never climbed the Tower want to start climbing. Thanks to that, the viewers who had been wailing about missing the holy sword summoning scene found their attention thoroughly diverted.

As for me, I was just glad that embarrassing, childish chant hadn't been immortalized on stream.

"Ah, I said I was sorry, okay? I thought if I wasn't the chosen one and the one-on-one situation with Roland and the boss wasn't recreated exactly the same way, I wouldn't get the holy sword and Roland would get weaker! Honestly, even if I rewound just for those three minutes, there's no guarantee Roland would awaken the same way!"

Meanwhile Han Se-ah looked like she was eating every curse word a person could hear in a lifetime, all because she had briefly turned the camera away. Well — a streamer doing a game playthrough who turned off the screen during an event scene… even if it was because of a monster ambush, she was bound to get flamed.

Han Se-ah seemed to know it, too. She didn't swing a knife at the chat spamming complaints and just quietly bowed her head. It was only three minutes, and they had seen me swinging massive aura — but missing the beginning was inexcusable for a streamer.

Thanks to her lying completely flat like that, the viewers gradually seemed to come around. After all, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠full day had passed. If someone was still whining after twenty-four hours, wasn't the one nitpicking more annoying than the person who made the mistake?

"Alright, alright — let's drop this for now and hear about the Hero stuff first. I'm really sorry I couldn't show the opening of the awakening event… but looking at it, it's a twenty-four-hour cooldown awakening skill? Honestly, if I just ask, we can watch it every single day, so cut the complaints here. We need to progress the story."

Having spent a full day lying completely flat, Han Se-ah strode confidently toward the Temple.

"We greet Miss Hanna, the Hero!"

"…Me? Why?"

She was stopped after just one step.

Well — I had beaten up the black mage, but the protagonist and player was Han Se-ah, wasn't she? So while she had been crawling around soothing her viewers, I had already had a little talk with the Temple.

That Irene, the Candidate Saint preparing for promotion, and Roland, the Sword of the Holy Crusade who had summoned the holy sword, were both companions the genius mage Hanna had gathered into her party. Since it was Hanna who had received the Goddess's oracle to climb the Tower through mana wedges — the minimap — inventory, and various magics, the Hero should be her, not me.

A genius mage who gathered a holy-sword-wielding warrior and an oracle-receiving nun into one party. Could any situation suit the name "Hero" better?

"No, hey, hey! I didn't just steal Roland-sensei's achievements! Because I'm the player! Because I'm the player, the Hero title just got stuck on me, right? Right?"

Of course, for the viewers, it was just another excuse to riot all over again.