The Reason I Kill a God Today

Alright! Decision made—time to move fast!

“Woof!”

After a solid night’s sleep and full recovery, I stepped straight into the Tower. I’d already eaten the Count’s combat rations while holding the wave on the fourth floor, so I wasn’t hungry at all.

The safe zone before Floor 5 began had no time limit and featured a separate start button, unlike the other floors. Large-scale stages from Floor 1 onward could link with other channels to gather more challengers. Of course, on Impossible difficulty I was the only climber, so it didn’t matter.

Before starting Floor 5, I casually checked the Transcendent Gallery. I expected nothing but useless spam, but an unexpected issue had blown up.

MartialGod kept spamming the board, completely derailed. The usually dignified old man had latched onto the word “god” and was losing his mind.

Since MartialGod showed no signs of calming down, I left the Transcendent Gallery. Separately, I had also wondered if the boss of Floor 5 might be the main body of that abyssal monster.

Logically an apostle should appear after the priest and its creation, but when had Impossible difficulty ever followed logic?

Still, I had my reasons for judging the boss to be an apostle.

“If a lesser god appears on Floor 5, it’s basically telling me to die.”

“Woof!”

“You think you can win? Even if there were thousands of Poppies…”

“Woof woof woof!!!”

A lesser god was an existence that could not be defeated by normal means at this point. Depending on its abilities, even with favorable matchups the odds of victory were less than one percent.

“There’s no way a lesser god is the boss, right? Even on Impossible difficulty, I cleared Floors 1 through 4!”

“Woof?”

“Honestly I’m nervous too, but there’s no choice anyway.”

Even if I earned points from the expedition, it wouldn’t change the fact that I couldn’t face a lesser god right now.

Unless I planned to give up on climbing the Tower, I would eventually have to challenge Floor 5. Rather than clinging to the slightest margin of safety, I decided to aim for the highest point.

“Let’s go. Besides… I have a hunch about something.”

The fact that it couldn’t be defeated by normal means meant it could be defeated by unconventional ones. If my guess was correct, there was definitely a chance of victory.

The moment I pressed the button to begin Floor 5, the safe zone blurred and the noble’s bedroom from Floor 4 appeared. I immediately jumped out the window and headed for the garden.

“Master Haram, breakfast is…”

Once again a voice called from behind, but that wasn’t important right now. I saw the shattered fountain and the severed tree stumps.

“Poppy! Up there!”

“Woof!”

I rode Poppy up onto the inner castle wall. The white curtain that had divided the forest and city was nowhere to be seen. The forest and city stages that began on Floor 1 had merged together on the boss stage of Floor 5.

In that case, were the legions I had left behind on Floors 2 and 3 somewhere out there?

The Transcendents’ answers were no.

That was why the people in the Tower were called NPCs. Most Tower natives could not remember what happened on previous floors. Important NPCs like the Count or Sebastian retained their memories, but ordinary extras did not.

Easy difficulty users who had the leisure to do so would visit NPCs they had grown attached to after clearing Floor 4, only to fall into despair when they realized those NPCs had forgotten them.

I had naturally assumed the city scenery would have been reset.

“The Void Ponds… are still here?”

The Void Pond I created in front of the inner castle and the one on the beach. Both had grown far larger than when I cleared Floor 4. According to the Tower’s laws as I understood them, those Void Ponds should have disappeared.

And the ruined buildings and Void Hounds running around every corner of the city.

“Max, come here!”

“Woof!”

Children were playing with Void Hounds while adults fed them.

“Oh God, please grant my daughter a safe birth.”

People had gathered at the Void Pond in front of the inner castle, throwing food from afar and clasping their hands in prayer. The scene was completely different from what I expected.

When I examined the vast forest, entire sections looked as if a storm had torn through, leaving no trees. The location where Floor 2 had taken place was on the other side of the mountain so it wouldn’t be visible, but this was probably the trace of the Void Pond from Floor 3.

“Wait… then…”

Just in case, I checked my legion status.

The number was slightly higher than I expected. After blocking the final wave on Floor 4, I had been given one hour. During that time I rapidly produced troops until the count dropped to around ten thousand.

The children remaining at the very end of Floor 4’s closure numbered around fifteen thousand. Could the children I had produced on Floors 2 and 3 still be somewhere in that forest? Or had only traces remained and they had vanished?

Suddenly I remembered Poppy’s new skill.

Mountain Lord’s Call. Cooldown: 24 hours. Poppy emits a roar on a frequency only legions can hear. It issues commands to all legions within a 100-kilometer radius…

The location used as the background for Floor 2 couldn’t be more than 100 kilometers away no matter how far it was. The moment I was about to order Poppy to use the skill—

Rumble…

A massive vibration swept over the city. When I turned toward the direction of the tremor, I saw the plain where the Royal Knights had charged from. An open plain with no obstacles. The ground there suddenly sank, and a colossal column of water shot toward the sky.

“Ah, the Floor 5 mission!”

Unlike other floors, the goal of a boss stage could only be seen after the floor began. I immediately checked the main objective for Floor 5 in the system window.

“Ugh, I wasn’t expecting much anyway.”

The boss monster of Floor 5 was indeed a lesser god. But something else bothered me more.

Once again, Floor 5 was a tutorial for first-time boss stage challengers. Naturally, survival could not be the only goal.

“On other difficulties there would be contribution points in the sub objectives…”

Boss stages were where NPCs stole contribution points. The key was how actively you helped the NPCs to accumulate contribution. On the tutorial floor of Floor 5, even if the climber did nothing the NPCs would defeat the boss monster themselves.

“So the real message is that I’m not supposed to kill it, huh?”

There was no message telling me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to kill the boss monster or to accumulate contribution. Moments later, the Count and the Royal Knights, startled by the vibration, burst out of the mansion. When they spotted me on the castle wall they quickly climbed the stairs.

“Miss Haram! What in the world is happening!”

The Count shouted at me as if he had found a savior. But this time even I had no idea what was going on. I quietly stretched my arm forward and pointed at what had once been the plain.

A massive hole had appeared where the wide plain used to be. Water was rapidly filling that hole. It was so enormous that the Void Ponds I had created looked like tiny puddles in comparison. Water surged from the hole as gigantic tentacles burst out and stretched toward the ground.

“What the…”

The Count standing beside me let out a groan. Each tentacle was nearly the size of a building. A monster that made the mini krakens I met on Floor 3 seem truly mini emerged from the water and approached the city.

Familiar sea monsters followed in the Kraken Lord’s wake. Dozens of the mini krakens from Floor 3. Over a dozen humanoid sperm whales from Floor 4. And dozens of obviously commander-class creatures—ten-meter giant crabs and four-legged sharks.

Just the confirmed commander-class monsters exceeded a hundred, and the number of smaller ones was beyond counting.

“Run.”

“Father?!”

The Count placed a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder.

“Their speed isn’t that fast. You, the Royal Knights, and even this little one should be able to escape.”

The Count’s gaze turned to me.

“What will you do, Count?”

“How can a lord abandon his own territory? I must evacuate the people. I can handle it alone.”

“We are sorry, Count.”

The Royal Knights who had bowed to the Count descended the castle wall.

“Father, I will stay.”

“My foolish son. My foolish son who has reached that age and still hasn’t married.”

“T-that’s…”

“It is filial duty for you to survive and continue the bloodline. So get lost.”

“…”

“Do you intend to remain unfilial until the very end?”

Sebastian eventually lowered his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head. Some of the departing Royal Knights returned, grabbed the hesitating Sebastian, and dragged him away. Watching the scene, I felt a sense of discomfort.

The reason Tower natives were called NPCs was clear. Their behavior simply didn’t feel human. Due to the Tower’s nature, climbers repeatedly disappeared and reappeared, yet the NPCs never noticed.

Even if asked about such questions they could not give logical answers and would dodge the subject. Therefore the Count should not have been able to answer this question either.

“Count.”

“What is it?”

“Three days ago when we left the forest.”

At the end of Floor 3 the Count and his party had definitely parted from me and entered the white portal. On Floor 4 I had woken up inside the Count’s mansion bedroom.

“At that time, after I parted from you, how did we meet again?”

Therefore the process of our reunion was a missing link. As an NPC, the Count should not have been able to answer this part.

“What are you suddenly talking about? Didn’t you leave the other children in the forest and come to the city alone? When I asked what reward you wanted, you said you were tired and went to sleep, so I lent you the guest room.”

“And after that?”

“You slept all day, then suddenly the next morning you turned the garden into a wasteland.”

“Then what about Poppy? Was Poppy not there?”

“Hm? Isn’t Poppy your summon who was in the spirit realm?”

Come to think of it, it was strange. Tower NPCs were beings that acted according to fixed rules. Input A always produced output B. On Floor 4 the Count’s sudden actions—raising the citizens’ morale and persuading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Void Hounds to let people ride them—had been far too fluid.

“After Floor 4 ended… no, after the Royal Knights arrived?”

“You asked me to handle the aftermath, so I cleaned everything up nicely.”

“What did I do?!”

“Why are you shouting? My ears still work. You ran around the city excitedly and then went to sleep, didn’t you? You looked tired so I left you alone.”

I turned my gaze back to the status window.

About five thousand more than expected. If the Void Ponds had continued producing troops even after I left the Tower, that was probably the number that would have been created.

I turned my gaze back to the lesser god, the Kraken Lord.

The Kraken Lord’s army that had emerged from the water was already striding toward the city. At this rate they would reach it in ten minutes. Poppy and I could flee, but every person in the city would die.

And I was not the kind of fool who would throw away my life for others. Even if the NPCs in the Tower I was climbing were actually people, the most precious thing was still my own life.

“Count, the box we obtained in the forest. Where is it?”

“Hm? If it’s that, I already gave it to Knight Commander Bold.”

“The thing inside it is a holy relic, correct?”

“How did you…”

The only possible way for me to kill an evil god on Floor 5 was to borrow the power of another god. If I had a holy relic, the odds would not be zero. I had spent a long time as a non-awakened member of a guild alongside my comrades.

While they fought, I always hid and ran, watching my collapsing comrades. Inside dangerous gates my only role had been to avoid becoming baggage.

My comrades said my advice and commands were incredibly helpful, but I hated my powerless self.

And now an opportunity had come. The chance to climb the Tower and stop helplessly watching from the sidelines.

I left the Count behind and ran toward the Royal Knights who were leaving through the castle gate.

“Wait!”

“Hm? You’re the master of those monsters.”

Looking closely, a small jeweled box hung at the Knight Commander’s waist.

“You’re going to run away like this? Abandoning all the people here?”

“…Be quiet.”

“You’re knights. You have a duty to protect people.”

“Then what do you expect us to do! Die together?!”

The Knight Commander’s face reddened and veins bulged.

“Do you think it’s easy for me to abandon my little brother’s hometown and run?! We are the pillars of the kingdom! We cannot charge into a place where death is certain!”

“If you use the holy relic it might be worth a try.”

“My heart is about to burst… H-holy relic?”

All color drained from the Knight Commander’s face.

“T-this… cannot be used without His Majesty’s permission…”

I snatched the jeweled box from the Knight Commander’s waist. He did not resist my hand.

“If you haven’t reported it yet, we’ll say it never existed. If you have, we’ll say it was lost to the monsters, okay?”

“I haven’t reported it yet, but… as a knight I cannot lie…”

I ignored the Knight Commander and opened the jeweled box. Inside lay an index finger mummified to a brownish color like a tree branch. The moment I picked it up, a system message appeared.

There were two representative places where items could be obtained: gates and the Tower. Items from gates required an awakener with appraisal ability, but items from the Tower immediately revealed their effects.

“Poppy.”

“Woof!”

The single command Poppy gave was simple: follow me and carve a path. Void Hounds that had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been scattered throughout the city swarmed together.

“Woof! Woof woof!!”

“Where did all these numbers come from…”

When they had been spread across the city I hadn’t noticed, but gathered in one place the wave of Void Hounds seemed endless.

“How about it? Think you can manage?”

“Ahem… Royal Knights! We march!”

“Yes sir!”

“Our target! The slaying of the evil god!”

“Slay!”

“The gods will protect us!”

The castle gate opened and the evil god’s army became visible in the distance. I mounted Poppy’s back and took the very front as we left the gate.

Once the skill reached B-rank, its duration increased to one hour and the cooldown dropped to four hours.

“If you’re a climber on Impossible difficulty, shouldn’t you at least clear the stages they made to be impossible?”

“Woof!”

A boss stage deliberately designed so you would run instead of clearing it. I wondered what kind of reward would come when I cleared it anyway.

I turned to look at the city people gathered in front of the gate. They were stroking the departing Void Hounds and offering them food.

“Max! Let’s play again tomorrow!”

“Woof!”

A child waved at a Void Hound. The Void Hound wagged its tail and nodded at the child. There were still too many things that felt off to claim they were real people rather than NPCs. On the final part of Floor 3 enemies had kept pouring through the white curtain.

On Floor 4 they had invaded at exact thirty-minute intervals. Moreover, once a wave began on Floor 4 the enemies could no longer hide back in the sea. If this were a real existing dimension rather than a created world, those phenomena were far too artificial.

Therefore I could not know whether they were humans living in another dimension or simply created NPCs. Everything was for greater rewards and the growth of my legion.

The reason I kill a god today is simply that.