Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Self-Reflection
After that, I spent a while listening to the Doctor explain the "common sense of climbers."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Then I'll go train, Ron. Contact me if anything comes up.] "Sure."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You got it! You have to contact me before you cause any trouble, right?] "I'm not a kid. Don't worry too much."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [......Sigh, fine.]
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Oh, right. This is the master key that controls the entire building. I've set it so only you can use it. Take good care of it.] "Got it. Thank you."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Okay, I'm really going now, so no causing trouble?]
Afterward, the Doctor still looked like he had more to say, but he shot me a glare as if to say talking more would just hurt his mouth and headed back to the mansion.
I spent a good while after he left, mulling over our conversation and lost in thought.
'...I do have a lot of problems, don't I?'
Actually, I'd planned to have a serious talk with the Doctor about the four major guilds today.
But looking back, now wasn't the time for that.
I'd awakened as a climber. The Doctor had picked me up. And just recently, I'd even cured my mental illness.
So I thought I could finally do whatever I wanted and live happily ever after! ...Or so I'd believed.
But reality was harsher than I'd imagined, and a climber's life was far from easy.
Still, I'd done my best over the past few days to understand what it meant to be a climber.
I'd thought I'd become a proper climber and stepped into the industry like throwing down the gauntlet in the martial world.
But what was this?
From what the Doctor said, my life over the past few days had been far from that of an ordinary climber.
And the things I'd learned over my 23 years of life before that? They weren't helpful at all.
Think about it.
What use would random subculture knowledge, dealing with crazy customers from my convenience store job, or spamming out generic resumes be?
'...I was just a frog in a well.'
That's right. I was nothing but a foolish frog who thought the well was the entire world.
Except that well was made of solid gold, and the stagnant water inside was filled with sewage mixed with filth.
What kind of nonsense is that?
In short, I had no middle ground.
My life had been so extremely skewed to one side that I lacked even basic common sense.
This was perhaps a natural outcome.
Someone like me, who'd lived a bottom-tier life my whole existence, suddenly gaining absurd powers and awakening to use them at 100%? That didn't make sense.
It was impossible.
Until now, I'd upgraded my hardware (body) through various elixirs and fixed a major bug (mental illness) in the process.
But the problem was that the software (mind) running on that hardware hadn't changed.
In fact, even elixirs couldn't fix that.
It was the first evening after Tabula appeared.
Right before falling asleep, I remembered something the now-vanished Alter had said and tried an intelligence-boosting elixir...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have consumed the Intelligence Boost Elixir.] "Hm... Did I actually get smarter?"
<Do you know what 5639 x 8562 is?> "...48,281,118?"
<Correct!>
...As a result, my brain got sharper, and my thinking speed became ridiculously fast.
But that didn't make my actions smarter.
Consuming an intelligence-boosting elixir wouldn't change the life I'd lived for 23 years or my ingrained values.
Well, to be precise, creating an elixir that could alter one's personality to that degree might be possible.
...But would "I" after that change still really be "me"?
I thought seriously about it afterward, but it just felt wrong.
So I concluded that while I could improve the performance of the already-installed software (mind), resetting it was impossible.
Anyway, back to the present.
I'd made my own efforts, but this was how I'd lived, and there was no changing that.
I'd turned a deaf ear and looked the other way, pretending not to know, but now I felt the need to change at the root.
"I need to have some basic common sense."
No matter what, if I planned to become the head of a guild, I couldn't be an incompetent leader who didn't even know what his guild members needed.
So from now on, I'd visit Changseong Central Tower once a day to understand the climber industry.
It was pointless to pester the Doctor to teach me one by one when I didn't even know what I didn't know.
In cases like this, jumping into the field, meeting various climbers, and rubbing shoulders with them would teach me things I couldn't avoid learning.
In that sense.
It might be good to solidify a clear concept. But what would fit?
Ideally, someone with the upright personality that I, as a future guild master, should emulate.
And from a subordinate's perspective, the perfect boss.
"Hmm...!!!"
After pondering for quite a while.
A certain figure suddenly popped into my head.
"...My goal is to be an ideal boss like Frieza."
Yeah, that's right. Better than clumsily imitating some stranger I barely know.
At least in a field I know well, aiming to become the best—like the one praised as the greatest boss—makes sense.
'I am Frieza... I am a true leader... I have 530,000 power level... I am the best boss....'
...Done. Self-hypnosis complete.
I don't know if this is a lingering effect of my mental illness or thanks to the intelligence elixir.
But now I could act like a true leader anytime, anywhere I wanted.
<But Father, Frieza isn't a real person, is he?> "Heh heh heh, Tabula. That doesn't matter. What matters is the results we achieve through it."
Hm, my daughter was born not long ago, so she doesn't know much yet.
Even if the process was a bit incomprehensible or bizarre, as long as we reached Seoul, it didn't matter the path.
<Tabula will support you to the best of her ability! What's on the schedule for today?> "Today's schedule, huh."
Hm... Assuming I climb the tower in the afternoon.
It was still too early to meet Park Hyun-su.
Right now, I had a bit of free time. If I used it efficiently...
Rumble-!
"Brother Ron. Good morning. I'm here to clean."
...Right on cue, Rin came in under the pretense of cleaning.
A great idea flashed into my mind.
"Tabula. Morning task is solidifying the home front."
<Home front?> "Yes. This father of yours picked up a lot of talented people with flaws, but never bothered to fix them. Now that I have time, let's fix that this time."
<Understood! How much do you plan to fix her?> "Hm... Let's see...?"
Thinking about it.
Rin had signed a contract like Karin, Rachel, or Park Hyun-su, but her case was a bit different.
The others had a slim chance of betraying me, risking the contract's massive penalties.
But Rin served the Shoddy True Ancestor, the Shoddy True Ancestor served Arin's main body, and I was called that main body's father.
In simple terms, she was bound more deeply than the others, in a way that made betrayal impossible.
This relationship was enough to dissolve one hesitation I'd always had.
"...Shall we go full power and fix her up?"
If I.
Gave Rin the full-power sincere elixir I'd never given anyone else, not even the Doctor, and made her strong.
What results would that bring?
#####
The first rule of a true leader.
Never skimp on support for competent subordinates.
Was I a good leader in that sense?
"No."
I wasn't.
I was always too scared of the effects of the elixirs I made.
I shied away from showing them to others.
The reason for this behavior was simple.
I feared the kindness I showed would be betrayed.
I thought acts of goodwill would come back as massive backlash later.
So I'd hide anything beyond spec, and until now, I hadn't shown my true capabilities.
But.
The situation was different now.
"Rin. Are you going to betray me?"
"No?"
"The Shoddy True Ancestor?"
"Hm... I don't know why the Supreme One is suddenly asking this, but she says she'd get erased if she did."
"I see."
At least Rin and the Shoddy True Ancestor had reasons not to betray me.
This was justification enough to create a "full-power elixir" I'd never shown anyone, pouring in my full sincerity.
"Rin, I trust you more than even the Doctor."
"Does that mean I'm the main wife now? Should I go wash up?"
Hm, that's odd.
We're speaking the same language, but why does "wash up" come out of nowhere?
Anyway, ignoring that weird reaction.
"You know I'm an alchemist, right?"
"I saw your status window last time."
"In that vein, I'm thinking of making an elixir just for you. Anything you need?"
"!"
Rin, who usually kept a blank expression, showed genuine surprise.
Hm, yeah, that's the right reaction.
She'd even looked at my status window, so she knew what a huge opportunity this was.
"An elixir just for me... Ah, the Supreme One wants to talk. Is that okay?"
"The Shoddy True Ancestor? Sure, why not."
Swish...!
"Ahmaya! What are you trying to make Rin do by saying that..."
Stretch-!!!
"Eeeek-!!! Wh-why are you suddenly pulling my cheeeks-!!!"
"True Ancestor, did you forget the awful things you made Rin do?"
"Ee...? ...Ah."
"That's right. For stealing my first kiss. And for ghosting me after. Take your punishment sweetly."
"J-just wai-!!!"
Stretch-!!!!!
"Hieeek-!!!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Ugh... It hurts... That's too much, Ahmaya..."
"Enough. Tell me quick what elixir you need."
"Ugh... Understood, milord... What Rin needs now are two things. First is an elixir to restore her stamina, weakened from long years of suffering."
Come to think of it, Rin had spent a long time in cryosleep.
Even a superhuman climber would have their stamina drop after that.
"Second?"
"An elixir to increase the amount of internal energy."
"Problem with internal energy too?"
"This lady descended and suppressed the explosions, but each time, a bit of internal energy was lost. Thanks to that, Rin's current internal energy is only about a tenth of its peak."
"I see?"
Even with the Shoddy True Ancestor descending to block it, there was that much damage.
I didn't know much since Arin's main body got one-shot, but that chaotic transcendent might have had considerable rank after all.
Anyway.
"Then an elixir that boosts stamina and internal energy will do. Tabula."
<Shoddy True Ancestor, before making the elixir, do you have a preferred ratio for stamina and internal energy?> "Ratio...? ...Ahmaya. This lady has lived for ages, but being asked about an elixir's effects and their ratio is a first."
"Our Tabula knows no impossibilities."
<Ahem!> "Is that so? If the young one says so, then it must be. If possible, 30% stamina and 70% internal energy. Stamina can be built through training, so I'd like it secondary."
<Received!> <Tabula will make a custom elixir just for Rin!>