Pri...vate Residence (2)
Pri...vate Residence (2)
The misunderstanding was resolved, and the sobbing had stopped.
I had also heard shocking news.
I wanted to fly over there right this instant and confirm the truth, but...
- Grumble!
"......"
[...Please wait a moment.]
Daera... the senior disciple seemed to be extremely hungry.
She had said the reason she left her spot in the first place was to hunt edible monsters, so it made sense.
When I set out a meal for her, Senior Daera's eyes sparkled like stars and she devoured the food.
"Mmm... so good...! Sniff! You're a good cook too, Junior Disciple..."
[There's more than enough for you to finish, so please eat slowly.]
"This is the best soup I've ever had. Ah, the meat is delicious too. Wow, the seasoning is insane... sniff."
For the one who had prepared the meal, it was a scene of such complete absorption that I felt full just watching.
I gave an awkward smile at the sight of her eating with tears welling up in her eyes, then pulled some clothes out of my Subspace and placed them beside her.
"Whoa... proper clothes, and they're so soft...!"
Senior Daera's eyes sparkled again as she stroked the fabric.
[Senior Disciple, first, how about eating... Oh, you're done.]
I was about to stop her and tell her to eat first, but surprisingly, the food had already been wiped out.
It was lightning fast, as befitting a lightning attribute user.
While I was gaping at the incredible speed, Senior Daera, who had been fiddling with the clothes, suddenly stripped off in one swift motion.
What she had been wearing barely qualified as clothes—it was more like scraps of leather—but at the sudden act of exposing her bare skin, I turned my body away.
Of course, it meant nothing to me, but still, there were appearances to keep up.
"Ah, sorry, Junior Disciple. Being alone for so long has made me insensitive about this kind of thing."
[It's okay... but please be more careful from now on.]
"Got it~ Anyway, Junior Disciple, why have you had your eyes closed this whole time?"
At Senior Daera's playful question as she changed into the new clothes, I shrugged and stroked my eyelids.
[It's a long story. Ah, but identifying things isn't a problem at all. My unique ability is a detection type, and its performance is excellent.]
"Oh... sorry."
[Really, there's no injury, no pain, no problem. I can also see under certain conditions, so please don't worry.]
Despite my defense, the crestfallen Senior Daera ended up dressing herself hesitantly.
"Ooooh...!"
A moment later, Senior Daera looked down at her own body and let out a happy sound.
"It's comfortable... and incredibly warm..."
Loose clothes that were easy to move around in. A sturdy coat that could even be used as armor.
Gloves and shoes I had set aside separately, and even a belt strung with fully-stocked subspace pockets.
Seeing herself in proper attire, utterly unlike those leather rags, Senior Daera's face was filled with emotion.
[Is it too small or anything?]
"No, it's a truly perfect fit."
[That's a relief. No discomfort at all?]
"It's like you took my measurements."
[......]
"What's with that silence."
Chuckling, the senior disciple stood up abruptly, plopped down next to me, pulled me in, and hugged me tight to her chest.
"Aah... so good... I ate something tasty, I'm full, it's warm, you smell nice... really, it's like a dream."
Senior Daera murmured each thing one by one, then buried her face in my hair and nuzzled me before asking cautiously.
"Junior Disciple, I know this might be a rude question, but did you lose an arm too?"
The senior disciple's left hand was already stroking my left hand. It was the Proof of Protection, wrapped in a glove and arm sleeves.
[It just happened that way.]
"Ahaha, what. So the master's two disciples both nicely lost a right arm and a left arm?"
[I did cause the master some heartache because of that...]
"Ah, seriously. How can I face our master? I must have given her way more grief than you did."
[But you still want to see her.]
"Of course."
The senior disciple answered immediately and buried her face in my hair again.
"...Junior Disciple, this isn't a dream, right?"
A small murmur scattered through my hair.
"No, let's say it's reality... I can really get out, right?"
[Yes. How do you think I got in here? Of course we can get out.]
"Huh, Junior Disciple. The voice from that necklace is incredibly reassuring. Your voice too... you must have your own circumstances."
When I nodded firmly at the voice trembling with anxiety, Senior Daera laughed softly and tightened her arms around me.
"That core? Is finding the core location part of that too? Do we have to go near there to get out?"
[No, I already know where the entrance is, so we can exit through there.]
Senior Daera's face visibly brightened.
"Really? Then we can just leave right away?"
[Yes, I'll get you out as fast as possible for now.]
It had taken days to get here from the hole in the Reverse Side, but that was because I had been focusing on detection.
If I ignored detection and increased my speed, I could cover it in less than a single heartbeat.
[Once we're outside, the Association people will be preparing a defense perimeter, but I'll go out with you and explain things. Then an Association agent will guide you to safety.]
"...Huh? Junior Disciple, something about what you're saying is weird."
Senior Daera tilted her head.
"'Go out with you'? 'An agent will guide you'? What about you?"
[I'll be coming back in.]
"What? What kind of... nonsense is that?"
At my words, Senior Daera physically jumped back.
She was about to yell for a second but then glanced around, and with a careful hand, shook me gently back and forth.
[Euuuugh.]
[I'm dizzy.]
"No, Junior Disciple, that's not the point...! What other business could you possibly have here? Is it because of that Tower thing from earlier?"
[No, I had something I needed to do from the start. I told you I came here on purpose.]
Of course, now that I had confirmed the Tower's existence, I would definitely go and check it out.
But my objective, above all else, was to destroy the Reverse Side's core and halve the damage from inside here.
Finding Senior Daera was a truly valuable achievement, but I couldn't forget my original goal.
"No, what business could you possibly have in this shitty place..."
Senior Daera, who had been blinking at my answer, let out a deep sigh and slumped back onto the floor.
"Hoo, then I'll stay too."
[What?]
That was an answer I hadn't hoped for. When I asked back, startled, Senior Daera just shrugged her shoulders.
"What are you so surprised about? My junior disciple says he's staying in this shithole, and you want me, as his senior disciple, to leave alone?"
[No, that's... it's really dangerous work.]
"That's exactly the problem. Leave a junior disciple who's doing dangerous work all alone? I don't want to do that, and if I did, what kind of look do you think I'd get from our master after a dramatic reunion?"
[Our master... she would welcome you with tears of joy.]
"Yeah, that's true, but then what face would I have to show our master?"
Senior Daera pressed her chin firmly onto the top of my head.
"Or maybe you think I'd be a hindrance? I did get beaten up and knocked down by you, but still, I'm pretty strong for my level, aren't I?"
I couldn't deny it. Senior Daera was that strong.
Easily subduing Senior Daera in hand-to-hand combat? Honestly, that was largely thanks to the Observation Authority.
She was so fast and strong that if I hadn't read several moves ahead with the Observation Authority, it would have been difficult to counter her.
Her lightning in particular was so dangerous that one wrong hit could have sent me to the grave.
If Senior Daera had gone crazy blasting lightning everywhere without worrying about attracting monsters, subduing her would have been far trickier.
Was it because she had survived on the line between life and death for several years? Senior Daera's strength was incredible.
But separate from that...
"Right? I'm telling you, once I get outside, I'm a pretty hot shot now. So I'll help you."
Senior Daera vigorously ruffled my hair and smiled proudly.
But in my observation, I could clearly read the signs that she wanted to leave right this instant.
That was only natural.
In this hellish place, without any warmth or affection, she had endured for years while swallowing fear and loneliness.
For me, it was a nightmarish stretch of time I didn't even want to imagine.
She must want to spit on the Reverse Side, so thickly saturated with nightmares, and leave immediately.
And yet, despite all that, she was saying she would stay here in the Reverse Side and help me...
[Touched.]
"Huh? Pfft, hehe... There, there. Be more touched by this senior of yours."
[Thank you...]
Suppressing the Confession Necklace as it was about to start chattering, I hugged the senior disciple tightly around the waist.
The blinking Senior Daera also chuckled and patted me on the back.
As expected, Senior Daera, the master's disciple, was a kind person too.
[But at the very end, I really do have to be alone. So, would you be willing to guide me just as far as the Tower?]
"Mmm... I don't know! Well, let's head to the Tower first for now. It's been a while, so my memory is fuzzy."
[Senior Disciple...]
Senior Daera changed the subject and stood up.
.
.
.
Anyway, for that reason, we decided to travel together as far as the Tower first.
"Junior Disciple, weren't you a martial artist?"
As I was dismantling the Mage's Workshop we had been staying in, Senior Daera, who was beside me blinking, asked the question.
[I learned magic because they said it would be convenient. Everything you're wearing, Senior, are magic tools I crafted. If anything needs adjustment, let me know. I'll fix it right away.]
"...So you're good at magic too, Junior? Mm... and fighting too?"
[I still have far to go.]
"If you say that, then I turn into the sorry hag who got gut-punched and floored by that still-lacking junior..."
[No, that's not what I meant...]
"Heh heh, I know, just teasing."
Listening to Senior Daera's mischievous joke, I collected the Mage's Workshop and stored it within the Authority of Knowledge.
Then I moved without hesitation.
I gauged the dungeon core's position with my spatial perception, while Senior Daera retraced her memories toward the place where she had witnessed the Tower.
"To think a day would come when I'd run through here so freely. Ugh, at first I was crawling along, holding my mouth shut with one hand."
On the way to the destination.
Once I applied a presence-blocking spell, Senior Daera brightened and started talking freely.
Most of it was stories about her own past, and complaints about how utterly fucked the Reverse Side was.
"The sheer shitload of monsters was insane enough, but the copycat bastards were the most fucked. I once greeted one thinking it was a person, and nearly got my belly ripped open, you know?"
[Are you talking about the shadow-like monsters?]
"Yeah. They turned into every damn shape, made things hell. That's why I mistook you for a monster at first. Thought you were another copycat."
[I see.]
"Of course, even if you were human, I probably would've still smacked you first anyway."
Senior Daera looked around and spoke in a serious voice.
"Lately, I think someone else has come in besides you and me. Not certain, though. Could be a copycat... It seemed like they were tracking me, so I've been on the run."
[They're bastards I know.]
"Huh? Really?"
Another reason to kill those miserable motherfuckers.
"But Junior, are you hurt...?"
While I was wriggling my fingers and steeling my hostility, Senior Daera looked at my complexion and wore a worried expression. I wiped the cold sweat running down my cheek and shook my head.
[No, I'm fine. The Reverse Side's reverse correction is just a bit strong.]
"Huh? Reverse correction? Well... I'm under it too, but is it bad enough for you to struggle that much?"
[It seems the reverse correction is being applied much more heavily on me.]
"What? Why?"
[I'm not sure...]
Feeling the oppression crushing down on me, I shrugged.
The Reverse Side especially hates me.
When I measured with Observation, the degree of suppression applied to Senior Daera and myself was completely different.
The reason was easy to guess.
A dungeon's fundamental will is persistence and expansiveness.
I'd come here planning to deny both of those head-on, so it's only natural that the will called the Reverse Side wants to crush me dead right this instant.
"There it is. You have no idea how shocked I was when I first saw that."
Senior Daera's guidance came to an end. She sent her gaze far ahead.
As expected, now that we'd come this close, even my narrowed Observation could easily capture it.
I shut my mouth and approached the towering structure.
'A Tower.'
An object of such majestic scale it seemed to have descended from beyond the sky and been driven into the earth.
Its surface was mostly a deep green. A color that drew full attention in a world painted only black and grey.
"What do you think? Is this the core you're looking for, Junior?"
[No. Still, let me check it for a moment.]
As I approached slowly, I felt a massive presence settled into the space.
A sensation of shrinking back, as if an entire world had been compressed before me.
It was similar to the Towers I'd encountered so far. Without a doubt, a real Tower.
'Why the fuck is this here.'
Cursing came out on reflex.
I'd come to make the Reverse Side rampage, and found an Unconquered Tower planted right in its depths.
Frowning at the headache that felt like someone was savagely kneading my brain, I stroked the Tower's surface.
'When the Reverse Side rampages, what happens to this?'
The Reverse Side flows backward through the hole, turning part of the world into a demon realm and fixing it in place.
As the expression 'flows backward' suggests, you can assume everything inside gets vomited out.
'Then this Tower? Where does it go?'
In the original story, after the Reverse Side rampage, in the land turned into a demon realm, no such green Unconquered Tower was ever discovered.
...Maybe that knowledge can't apply.
Not only had no one ever entered the Reverse Side in the original story, but now I was going to trigger an intentional rampage, not a natural one.
In the end, what would happen to this Tower was impossible to know.
'Shall I try going inside?'
A thought that flickered through my head. This Tower had an entrance too. When I sensed the spatial attraction acting within the pitch-black hole, entry was clearly possible.
'...No, that's too dangerous.'
After a moment's consideration, I shook my head.
Towers are dangerous. Everyone knows that, but I know it especially well.
Unconquered Towers are found mainly in the African Demon Realm.
Inside them exist numerous 3rd-Rank monsters, and even 2nd-Rank monsters coil within.
If I assume this Tower has comparable forces, the current me can't attempt to conquer it.
Especially not now, when I already have to handle the Reverse Side's core. I definitely shouldn't enter.
'Still, if it's just sensing from the outside.'
I pressed my palm to the Tower's surface and drew a deep breath.
Observation and Space Authorities. By blending the two appropriately, I thinly grasped at the interior's information.
Not aiming for a full analysis. Not planning to force the entrance open.
The barest minimum of information. Just a few scraps of simple data would do.
I perceived the spatial wall. I controlled the repulsion pushing back. Sweeping over the protective outer wall dividing inside from outside, I scraped out a portion of data.
— Whooo...
'Wind?'
I heard the sound of wind. A cool, faint breeze.
But an eerie chill scratched at my skin. It felt gentle on the surface, yet it was the trace of a storm that had once ground the world from a faraway place.
The moment I recognized that, my brow furrowed.
Flame, the Tower of Purgatory.
Water and ice, the Tower of Bitter Cold.
Earth and life-and-death, the Tower of the Dead.
Lightning, the lightning-attribute Tower whose existence was confirmed in the African Demon Realm.
'Wind.'
A Tower right in front of me, radiating wind attribute.
A total of five.
The number matched the five Towers assisting this side.
'......'
My thoughts naturally deepened, and for a moment, the words Sir Castia had handed me resurfaced in my mind.
To become a Tower Master, the conditions must align.
The 8th Iteration: the cycle that honed the lightning attribute to its limit.
He had advanced to the very brink of conquering an Unconquered Tower brimming with lightning attribute, but was forced to turn back due to the sudden invasion of the Tower Master of Bitter Cold.
The 11th Iteration: a cycle that, apart from martial power, never particularly mastered the Five Great Attributes.
He conquered an Unconquered Tower, but only obtained a Wish Ticket and could not become a Tower Master.
'At that time, the 8th Iteration...'
Did he fulfill the conditions?
— Crrrrack!
That was the moment my thoughts reached that point.
The ground split open.
No, the expression is wrong. The space below me split apart.
My body was sucked downward, into the gaping space.
It was a struggle to move. From beyond the pitch-black space, an attraction brimming with malice was dragging me in.
Amidst the sudden situation, my mind kept working.
'Can I avoid it?'
Generally, impossible. The attraction is too strong. But if I push myself, it's possible.
This side holds the Authority of Space. Even though this place belongs to the Reverse Side, I can certainly break free.
'...The core?'
The instant I tried to break free, a shudder ran through my body at the presence of the core I felt within that pitch-black space.
The core was there. The very core whose location had been impossible to even gauge was right nearby.
It felt like a trap, but put another way: no matter how I searched, this side was short on time, so I had to enter the trap.
If that's the case...
'Fine. Better to go in directly.'
There was no need to refuse.
Just shove my head in there, destroy the trap, and make the core rampage too.
That's all there is to it.
— Crackle!
"J-Junior...!"
[Ack! Senior?!]
Senior Daera, who had been lingering just outside the range, flew in like lightning and hugged me tightly to her chest.
My eyes went round.
I'd been debating whether to just layer some magic and leave her here, but she came charging in on her own.
In the end, we both plunged together into the gaping space.
...
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Daera Celeste
●●●●●●○○○○(61/100)
｢Senior｣ ｢Lightning｣ ｢Familiarity｣ ｢Pitifulness｣ ｢Compassion｣ ｢Patheticness｣
▽Change▽
●●●●●●○○○○(61▷65/100)
｢Senior｣ ｢Fondness｣ ｢Lightning｣ ｢Remarkable｣ ｢Familiarity｣ ｢Pitifulness｣ ｢Compassion｣ ｢Patheticness｣