Open vs Closed
The Tau city of Tauria had been built to the scale of its inhabitants, whose average height approached four meters, and so everything about it looked like a nation of giants.
The city Taus couldn't help themselves at the sight of the unfamiliar traveler Steak's bare, muscular torso, and every last one of them used me as an excuse to come over and talk. I felt like a bait puppy being taken out for a walk.
You know the type — take a cute, pretty dog out for a stroll and women come flocking to strike up a conversation. Of course, in this case, the ones coming over were Tau warriors with their upper bodies stripped bare to show off their muscles.
"What kind of creature is that white thing?"
"It's a rare specimen I captured. Mind your own business."
"Hey, hey, nobody's trying to eat it. Come on, let's have a proper chat about that small, white, cute little creature."
A fist to the face.
Then a brawl.
"I acknowledge your strength!"
As befitting the Tau commander who had been the 8th Floor's boss monster, Steak possessed a strength on a completely different level from the ordinary city-mob Taus.
Wandering the city like that — buying Tauria's famous fruit skewers, drinking Tau whiskey at a Tau tavern — I uncovered a surprising fact.
"This fighting tournament can be seen as a dueling ground between two factions: the Open Faction and the Isolationists."
According to the Tau bartender, the Open Faction — composed mainly of young Taus — and the Isolationist Faction — composed mainly of old Taus — were going to settle things once and for all under the pretext of the tournament. The Open Faction believed they needed to join forces with other races to strengthen themselves. The Isolationists insisted on Tau blood purity.
If the Open Faction won, an alliance with other races?
So there were open-minded Taus after all. I could recruit them and load them onto the ship.
"Alright. Ask how to enter."
I asked in Korean, and Steak spoke in Tau.
"Can I enter too, barkeep?"
"Any healthy Tau can challenge. There's an entry fee, though, to keep the riffraff out."
The entry fee was 30 points. A pretty modest amount.
And so Steak entered the Tau Colosseum.
The Greatest Tau Under Heaven Tournament — preliminaries. With too many participants, the preliminaries became a one-versus-forty-nine survival match: shove each other out of the arena to eliminate them. The match would continue until four or fewer Taus remained standing.
"Hey pal. Showing up with a pet riding on your neck — have you lost your mind?"
There wasn't a decent place for me to wait, so I rode on Steak's neck. His neck was as thick as a horse's waist, so it wasn't a bad seat, surprisingly.
"Shut it. If you think I'm an easy mark, come at me first."
If this had been any other race, a many-versus-one pile-on would have started immediately. But Taus lived and died by honor, so they all started one-on-one battles with whoever caught their eye.
Steak instantly sent the one who'd picked a fight flying, then started shoving other Taus off the arena.
"You bastard! Interfering in a sacred one-on-one! And you call yourself a Tau?!"
"The rules are one versus all, aren't they? I don't have time to watch small fry play among themselves."
Steak was unstoppable. He grabbed whoever was nearest and hurled them out of the arena, and even those who came to complain got thrown into the wall. He threw and threw and threw some more, until only four Taus remained.
"Group D match over!"
Steak advanced to the round of sixteen.
The sixteen remaining fighters gathered in the Colosseum waiting room. Steak was the only outsider, and the rest all seemed to know each other — a peculiar tension hung in the air.
Then Steak's eyes met those of a young Tau. The young Tau approached.
Another fight?
"I am Gangtau, Prince of Tauria. I don't know how an outsider ended up in this tournament."
"I heard any Tau can enter?"
"Haha. That's true, originally. However."
Gangtau swallowed the rest of his words. Was Steak not yet qualified to hear it?
Soon it was Steak's turn to fight. This time I stood beside the arena, and only Steak climbed onto it. Earlier I'd ridden on his neck only because there were so many Taus, as a precaution against unforeseen danger.
"Hmm. A traveler from outside the city? As for me, I was born and raised in this city's back alleys, fighting since I was a child—"
"Your intro's too long!"
Steak's uppercut. The opponent was knocked out cold. Steak won the round of sixteen as well.
"The winner is the traveler Tau from foreign lands! Steak!"
We returned to the waiting room. And soon Gangtau, who had likewise won his round of sixteen, spoke.
"The truth is, the long-cherished wishes of the Open Faction and the Isolationists hang on this tournament. Tauria has agreed to follow the will of whichever side wins. And I am the leader of the Open Faction."
The Prince of Tauria — so this guy was the Open Faction's leader.
"For the Tau to become greater, we must join hands with other races and learn their techniques."
"I also support the Open Faction."
At Steak's answer, Gangtau grinned, then shook his head.
"Bad luck. Two of the Open Faction facing each other in the quarterfinals."
Just as he said, Gangtau's quarterfinal opponent was Steak.
"Separate from the Open Faction's cause, I cannot lose. As the prince of great Tauria, I will seize victory."
After a long stretch of time spent running through the rest of the round of sixteen, the showdown between the prince and Steak finally arrived. The two Taus climbed onto the arena and faced each other.
Steak was the 8th Floor's boss. And Gangtau was a 9th Floor named monster — not just any named, either, but a boss-tier named. No matter how I thought about it, the position of prince seemed stronger than a commander.
So I lent Steak the Necklace of Strength and the Belt. Originally they'd been worn by the 7th Floor's hidden Tau, but I'd had them resized for myself. As a result, Steak had to wear the necklace on his finger and the belt around his wrist. But the buffs would probably still apply properly.
And the duel began. It was a fierce, close-fought battle.
Jab punch jab punch jab punch hook.
Their fists flew with a vigor that somehow felt like it would help with a diet.
"Winner! Steak!"
Neither of them knew how to concede, so they fought until one of them passed out. The one who went down first was Gangtau.
The waiting room again. Then the arena.
"Thanks for that. Now I don't have to take down His Highness myself."
The semifinal opponent was an old Tau. He was Gangtau's master. The Isolationists had entered the tournament to defeat Gangtau, so now there was no longer any reason to continue.
"But I hear you support the Open Faction as well. I knew it from the moment you started carrying that white creature around. That you're friendly with other races."
"Taus can't do everything among themselves. We have to live mixed with other races. That's the future of the Tau."
Steak, who had brought down Prince Gangtau, had inherited the prince's will. He would defeat every Isolationist and make the Open Faction the champions. I'd come to recruit Taus in the first place.
"He's strong."
But Gangtau's master was stronger than Gangtau. The master who had trained the prince was definitely no ordinary guy. If it had been Gangtau standing here instead of Steak, this would have been a moving scene.
But I was starting to want to wrap up this floor and clear it already. So I launched a stealth fighter.
Remember? Around level 10, wasn't it? That's when the original carrier aircraft started increasing one by one. So now, besides the stealth fighter that had gone out to escort my little sister, I had one extra stealth fighter to spare.
"Julie. Shoot discreetly. Don't let anyone notice."
Pew.
"Gah!"
Gangtau's master suddenly dropped to his knees.
Pew.
"Impossible... A punch like lightning. I couldn't even see it."
Gangtau's master lost consciousness.
"The winner! Steak!"
And so Steak won the semifinals as well. He looked at me with resentful eyes.
"What are you looking at? If you wanted to win fair and square, you should've been stronger."
Fair and square had already gone out the window the moment he got buffed by the necklace and belt.
The final opponent was the King of Tauria. Gangtau's father.
"Falling one after another to an outsider from beyond the city! Pathetic! It's because you're this weak that you go around talking about borrowing the strength of other races!"
The 9th Floor boss, the King of Tauria, roared. And I sniped him with the stealth fighter again.
"Gah!"
The commentator was stunned.
"Incredibly fast! An attack you can't even see! Can this be happening?!"
Steak didn't move.
"What are you doing? Finish him."
I snapped my fingers to hurry him along. Steak reluctantly walked forward and brought down the King of Tauria.
With that, the 9th Floor was cleared.
In the winner's interview, Steak roared at the crowd.
"The age of being trapped in a world of Taus alone is over! We will go forth, join hands with other races, exchange, sometimes fight, and come to know one another! The king who trusted only in the Tau's innate might and neglected to know others has fallen by this unseen hand of mine!"
In place of the fallen Gangtau, a toast for the Open Faction!
"Those who wish to leave for the outside, step forward! Those who wish to know the world, step forward! The path to becoming stronger lies there!"
Hot-blooded Taus leaped from the stands into the arena and came flooding in.
Tau Race Contribution +200
When encountering the Tau race in the Tower, the probability of gaining favorability increases.
Okay. Tau recruitment complete.
I wonder what kind of talents these guys have. It'll be a problem if they're just strong and nothing else.