Chapter 189: Cooperative Operation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: Cooperative Operation
I entered the reception room on the 4th floor of the Magic Tower, bringing the borrowed Black Iron Golems with me.
It was time to bring my fallen comrades back to life.
I still needed their help.
"Are you awake?"
"Whoa...! A mechanical body!"
Joshua, the first to wake up, shouted as he stared at his hands.
"This is better than I thought!"
"I'm glad you're satisfied."
"The finger joints are incredibly well-implemented. With this, I think I can bring out about eighty percent of my true skill with the lute."
Setting everything else aside, he repeatedly praised the Black Iron Golem, marveling at how wonderful the articulation of the fingers was.
Meanwhile, Maximus, the second to wake up, grabbed me by the collar the moment he saw me and roared.
"Damn it! Hey, Sion! Why the hell did you kill me?!"
"Gah! Maximus! Stop!"
"That cursed Soul Chain!! Argh! I'll kill you! You killed me, so I'm going to kill you too!!! Get over here, Sion!!"
I quickly yanked the Soul Chain, forcing Maximus back into his seat.
Maximus thrashed and struggled, trying to break free from the chain's grip.
To be honest, while the others had agreed to let me kill them to escape the Snake Nest once they realized there was no hope, I had essentially killed Maximus without even asking for his opinion.
"Stop it. There was no other choice. You were going to die anyway, Maximus. Don't get so worked up."
Chloe, the third to wake up, calmed the raging Maximus down.
Maximus was the type who rarely listened to anyone, but he did listen to his older brother.
"Dammit! If I had just recovered properly, we would've had a chance! I could've killed all those bastards!"
"No, brother. There was an Undead among them. From the looks of it, all three were far from the typical monsters found on the 7th floor."
"But still!! In the end, it wasn't those monsters who killed me, it was this guy! He didn't trust me! I trusted you! But you didn't trust me! That's what makes me so pissed. It pisses me off that a comrade didn't believe in me!"
I had nothing to say to Maximus's outburst.
He was right. I had overconfidently relied on their skills, and the moment that faith wavered, I gave up on them immediately.
It was my fault.
I should have trusted them a little more.
"Don't be too hard on Sion. I understand you might feel betrayed, but fighting amongst ourselves won't solve anything. Besides, being able to make a bold decision when defeat is certain is also a quality of a leader. It's not just Sion's fault for not trusting us. Don't forget it was also our fault for being weak."
"...Damn it. I know, old man. I know all that. It's just... it's just so frustrating. I'm mad at myself for getting knocked out by a single surprise attack. Fuck. Those goddamn monster bastards."
Only after Ulysses stepped in to mediate did Maximus finally seem to suppress his anger.
"Still, Captain. Trust me more next time. I'm your comrade. If you don't trust me, who will?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Maximus."
"Fine. Don't apologize. The real problem is those freaks that came up from the 7th floor. Bastards. I'm definitely killing them next time. I'll tear them apart."
Maximus redirected his rage toward the monsters from the 7th floor.
He had a temper, but he wasn't someone you couldn't talk to at all.
It seemed he was simply angry at the situation where defeat was inevitable, and at his own weakness that made his comrade lose faith in him.
"Maximus, if you really want to tear those guys apart... I have something to give you."
"Something to give me?"
"I brought an Ability to bestow upon you."
"What? An Ability for me?"
"Yes. It's this."
I handed over the Crushing Sword I had received from Sasaro to Maximus.
It was only right to give it to the one fighting on the front lines.
Besides, I already had too many other Abilities, making it difficult to acquire more.
I had intended to give the Crushing Sword to Maximus from the start.
"Crushing Sword. With this, I really could rip those enemies to shreds."
"Well? Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied? No. I won't be satisfied until I've ground their skulls to dust. Thanks for the Ability. I'll use this to pulverize every last one of those monster shits."
Maximus clenched and unclenched his fists, his fighting spirit flaring.
After receiving the Crushing Sword, he showed even greater enthusiasm.
He looked like he was itching to get back into the fight.
It was a relief. I was glad he wasn't cowering or afraid.
Maximus was certainly an aggressive person, but I liked that about him—he had no mercy for enemies and no fear.
'I wonder if the others will be jealous.'
Worried they might feel discriminated against, I spoke to the rest of the group.
"Chloe, and the rest of you, I'll give you suitable Abilities once I obtain them."
"I'll be grateful for whatever you give me."
"I'd like something related to music!"
"Anything is fine with me."
None of the three seemed to envy or begrudge Maximus for receiving an Ability.
If anything, they looked happy at the prospect of receiving one themselves later.
"Now that we've resurrected you all as a temporary measure, let's try again. This time, the others are coming with us. Let's get proper revenge."
This time, we had two proper mages, the best healer in humanity, and Rosier, a front-liner capable of healing.
I headed toward the Underground City with my comrades in their golem bodies to meet up with the rest of the party who had gone ahead.
"You already know Rosier. And Marle, these are the ones. The comrades I told you about."
Rosier had already met the Platinum Badges I'd taken as comrades a few times.
However, since it was Marle's first time meeting them, I introduced them separately.
"You look like a young mage, but you have quite an interesting ability."
"And you, Shaman, possess an Ability that borders on a curse."
"I suppose we're in the same boat, then."
Ulysses and Marle shared a cryptic conversation.
One specialized in Thorn Vines and the other in shadows; since both abilities focused on binding enemies and physical attacks, they seemed to find common ground.
"Let's get moving."
"Sion, don't you need to rest?"
"I'm fine."
I drank a bottle of the side-effect-free tonic I had received from the Alchemist Guild, not from Lafnel.
This was enough. I wasn't that tired yet, and I could keep fighting.
Furthermore, since Ulysses, the Gladiator Brothers, and Joshua now had mechanical bodies, they wouldn't run out of stamina as long as they had enough Magic Stones.
"I'm opening the door now."
"Let's go in!"
"I'm looking forward to this."
"Just like the Saintess said, I'm excited! It's time for a rematch! To think my whole body is a machine! I'll be able to use my Abilities without feeling any pain!!"
Leaving behind Joshua's shout—he seemed particularly fond of his mechanical body—I opened the door to the Snake Nest once again.
Then, Freya, who had been quietly checking the surroundings from the Bracelet of Growth, spoke up.
They were fighting again. Helena and Freya just couldn't be together without bickering.
'Let's finish this and get out before those two fight even more.'
The rough map was complete. All that remained was to hunt the enemies.
We would kill the Gorgon, the Serpent, and the Medusa, and then eliminate the 7th-floor monsters that had killed my party members.
The time had come to deliver revenge to those wretched monsters.
*
The first thing we did upon entering the Snake Nest was locate the Gorgon.
As expected, the Gorgon was still detecting the area, and by activating Predator's Sight the moment it found me, I was able to pinpoint its location.
At the same time, I could roughly observe the area around the Gorgon as well.
"They're all gathered together."
"The Gorgon and the Medusa?"
"All the snakes, including the Serpent, are gathered in the center. Probably... preparing for something."
It seemed the Gorgon, who had survived after I escaped the Snake Nest, had reunited with the master of the nest.
The Gorgon, the Serpent, and the Medusa were all in the same place, surrounded by nearly thousands of snake monsters.
It was as if they were bracing for an invasion.
"Maybe they're gathered to block those monsters from the 7th floor?"
"I'm thinking the same thing. If we go there, everything we need to kill will be in one place."
"Then let's come up with a plan."
There were two main forces we had to fight.
The indigenous species of the Snake Nest.
And the invaders from the 7th floor.
One fortunate thing was that the indigenous species and the 7th-floor invaders were hostile toward each other.
As long as they didn't team up against us, it was a winnable fight.
"The three monsters appeared to be an Alraune, an Undead Imp, and an evolved Insect-man."
"The only way to deal with an Undead is to seal it. They won't die even if you kill them. It's best to lock it away until we find a way to kill it for good."
As Rosier said, if we couldn't kill it, it was better to keep it confined until we could.
To that end, I had brought glass jars to trap it. It would be easier to seal if we cut its body into pieces and stored them separately.
Our primary goal was to slaughter the snakes, but that would inevitably turn into a chaotic melee, and the 7th-floor monsters would surely intervene. In preparation for that, we decided who would stall for time if the 7th-floor monsters interfered.
"I'll take the Imp. I'm going to grind it up. Then we can just put the pulverized bits into separate jars."
"Then let's make hunting the Imp the very last task."
The method of Maximus grinding the Undead and dividing it into jars was time-consuming and tedious.
In the middle of a chaotic battle, we wouldn't have time to be grinding and bottling it.
So, I thought it would be better to keep it tied down as much as possible and then process and collect it at the very end.
"The Alraune is a bad match for me. I would definitely lose."
As Ulysses said, since the Alraune could seize and use his primary skill, the Thorn Vines, it wasn't right to have him fight it.
"I will handle that monster."
"Will you be alright?"
"Well, I should be, shouldn't I?"
Marle volunteered to stall the Alraune. With his shadows, he should be able to block all of the Alraune's plant-based attacks.
"Then that just leaves the Insect-man."
"Insect-men are famous for being extremely fast. Shouldn't someone who can match that speed handle it?"
"Before that, do you know that insects are heavily affected by acoustic effects?"
Joshua spoke up, mimicking a butterfly with his hands.
"I think I can confuse it. With this mechanical body, it's possible! I'll be able to spam my finishing moves indefinitely without any pain!"
"Wait, that's actually possible?"
"Yes! By casting aside this human flesh, I have truly been perfected. My body has truly become an instrument, and I have become able to sing and dance. It's actually better this way. I think I can handle the Insect-man on my own!"
Joshua was brimming with confidence.
He claimed that his Ability was more suited for a golem body like this than a living body that felt pain.
"Alright. Then while you all handle the 7th-floor monsters, Rosier, Ulysses, Chloe, and I will focus on clearing out the snakes quickly."
"Sounds good. Since the Medusa will be raining down curses and the Serpent will be spitting poison anyway, it's right for Ulysses to join the snake hunt."
A rough plan was established.
We began to move once more.