Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Steel Tower (8)
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#46
You have defeated Rudel Asberg, a low-ranking executive of the Abyss!
The fight had been a mess, but death was clean.
Rudel's body, precisely bisected, crumpled to either side.
Steam rose lazily from the spilled guts at the cross-section.
Amazing feat! You have triumphed over an enemy far stronger than yourself!
You have overcome bone-chilling cold beyond your physical limits. Tenacity of the Weed activates!
All stats have increased!
Cold damage resistance growth rate has greatly increased!
Golden messages popped up one after another out of nowhere.
The rewards were generous, probably because he'd taken down an enemy way above his level.
The all-stats boost was always a mood-lifter.
And cold resistance was nearly as versatile as fire resistance.
'Just need lightning resistance now, and I'd be the spellcasters' worst nightmare.'
Bran's ultimate goal was immunity to all elemental damage.
Beyond mere poison immunity—total invulnerability to every element. Didn't that just make your heart race?
Anyway, with those intangible gains secured, it was time for the tangible loot.
"Old timer. I'll be taking this."
Truth be told, there was only one item worth taking from Rudel.
Bran bent down and slipped a ring off the middle finger of his left hand.
A ring embedded with a white gem at its center.
It exuded a chill, along with an indescribably ominous aura.
Caution! You have acquired equipment contaminated by the outer sea's energy.
Those without resistance will take continuous damage upon equipping it.
It was so foreboding that even a new type of warning popped up—one he'd never seen before.
Bran smacked his lips at the exact same phenomenon he'd gotten in the game.
'Hmm. Can't use it right away, huh?'
It needed purification.
Without resistance, it wouldn't perform at full potential anyway.
Of course, once that was done, it was a damn good item—worth keeping for sure.
Bran pocketed the ring with a satisfied cackle.
"Not bad at all."
Considering his conscience, they owed him at least this much.
Free-diving from hundreds of meters up wasn't enough—he'd had to duke it out with a psycho Santa Claus.
The tension finally easing, Bran let out a sigh.
"...I got lucky."
The Rudel fight had ended far quicker than expected.
Given his specs, it was practically a freebie.
Falling damage had been the MVP, as always.
With a cliff nearby and no wings on the enemy, shoving them off worked like a charm—his tried-and-true return load strategy.
Sure, he'd fallen too, but still.
'All that's left is that psycho bitch Silien.'
He was almost there—really almost.
Rudel had been too busy with his own survival to sound any alarms, apparently.
With the magical central control unit secured, Silien was the only objective remaining.
Take her out, rescue the hostages, and Valkeros would dodge a bullet.
Bran caught his breath briefly and was about to move on when—
"Bran! You there?! Say something if you're alive!"
"Eek! Bodies everywhere...!"
A familiar duet echoed from nearby.
Bran's eyes widened. Not far off.
Clattering footsteps grew closer.
Then Ilrak and Kael burst around the corner.
"Th-there! Found him!"
"Waaah! You're alive!"
"You guys."
Bran's eyes widened again.
Kael, tucked under Ilrak's arm like a sack, hit the ground in a frantic scramble.
Both were drenched head to toe in blood and oil.
Boom! Ilrak leaped over in one bound and crushed Bran in a bear hug.
"You bastard, you had us worried!"
"Gahk!"
"Y-you okay? Hurt anywhere?"
Kael grabbed Bran's face with both hands.
Such small hands. Hot tears melted the blood on his cheeks as they streamed down.
"I'm fine. Totally fine, but..."
Bran barely pried himself free from Ilrak's grip, flustered as he shot back.
"What are you doing here? What about the upper floors?"
"Wiped 'em out! Soon as you dropped with that old geezer, it felt like a weight lifted off us."
"L-Lady Raweina's power is mostly back too."
"...You took them all out?"
"Yeah! Not a rat left behind. Pretty badass, right?"
Ilrak grinned triumphantly.
Speechless, Bran just stared.
Even with Morning's Blessing normalized, this was too fast.
He hadn't even shut down the golems yet.
'Kinda scary. Did they level up or something?'
Their specs had clearly grown in the Steel Tower.
Come to think of it, they were probably getting stat boosts and skills just like him—no alerts, but same process.
Like when Kael learned Sanctuary.
Then Ilrak spotted Rudel's corpse and let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha, you really did it."
"In-incredible..."
Kael shuddered, shoulders hunched.
Genuine awe filled their eyes.
Bran tilted his head.
"What? You came without even knowing if it was Rudel?"
"Yeah... We were just so happy you were alive. That's all that mattered..."
"Me too. Didn't even know if you were here."
Ilrak shrugged.
It hit Bran hard.
After getting wrecked by Rudel, they'd still prioritized his safety.
Normally he'd chew them out—what if it was a trap? Where's your head at?—but that could wait.
No time to nitpick levels.
Bran slowly raised his arms and pulled them both into a hug.
"You did great."
And he meant it.
It was practically a miracle.
This party clearing floor 3 and the Rudel fight without a single casualty?
His player experience helped, but those two had carried the load.
"But we've got more ahead. Silien's way stronger than that old coot."
Too early to celebrate.
The strongest foe was still up top.
Ending the hug, Bran eyed them both.
"Remember the precautions I mentioned?"
"Yeah."
"Of course! I even took notes 'cause I'm not the sharpest."
Kael and Ilrak nodded in unison.
Their grim expressions said they were good to go.
With planning done, the three turned to the magical central control unit.
[Unit 11 in transit.]
[Unit 38 requires refueling.]
[Unit 44 minor damage.]
Even with the panel smashed, Silien's masterpiece ran smoothly.
Touch it, and the final boss of the Steel Tower awaited.
Honestly, the outlook sucked.
Win rate? Single digits, even optimistic.
But someone had to do it.
"Let's go."
Gripping his sword hilt, Bran stepped toward the controls.
"I can't accept that proposal."
Leodorn shook his head.
Cumulus clouds drifted past the window behind him.
He'd been hashing it out with Silien in the Steel Tower's summit conference room for hours.
"Ugh... You're so firm. I've gone along with everything you've said so far."
"That's different from this."
Until now, it'd been mostly Leodorn talking.
This was her first real counter, so he felt a twinge of guilt—but no choice.
What nonsense.
Silien tilted her head.
"Which part exactly doesn't sit right?"
"It's not about sitting right or wrong—it's flat-out impossible. Sending unmarked cargo across the Empire without knowing what's inside?"
Absurd on rethink.
Silien wanted to use the Silverpine Merchant Guild's network to ship specific cargo empire-wide.
No manifests, no inspections.
In exchange, double the usual fee.
"But the payment's solid, right? Chloe—the former exec—accepted without hesitation."
"She must've lost her mind. Blinded by gold, forgetting Silverpine's principles."
Leodorn stood.
"Money isn't everything. Without the trust of our drivers, the wagons don't move."
"You can't trust me?"
"Not at present."
Hard not to doubt.
He'd called out the suspicious influx to the Tower and Bran's weirdness post-meeting, but she just smiled it off.
Never pegged the renowned chief magic engineer for such scheming.
"Hing... That hurts. I wanted a good relationship with Silverpine."
"Same here. Whatever your circumstances, please stay on the straight path. Didn't the Great Blue Tower teach you better?"
"Great? Bunch of idiots, more like."
Silien muttered under her breath.
Leodorn raised a brow.
"Hm? What was that?"
"Nothing at all."
"Hmm... Must've misheard."
"Guess so. Anyway, rejecting my offer breaks my heart."
She sighed and pulled a bundle from under the table.
"At least take my gift?"
"...Hm?"
Something watermelon-sized, wrapped in fine silk.
Leodorn shook his head.
"No bribes."
"Aw. At least peek? That's fine, right?"
"Sigh... Fine. Just a look, then..."
He couldn't very well refuse a guest gift.
Wouldn't do to offend the chief magic engineer.
Lifting the silk revealed a glass jar.
Filled with murky green liquid.
One glance at the contents, and Leodorn's eyes bulged.
"Wh-what?!"
Crash! His chair toppled.
Staggering up, he clutched his chest and backed away.
A pinkish brain bobbed inside.
"Ta-da."
Silien beamed.
After several deep breaths, Leodorn found his voice.
"Wh-what is this atrocity?! What madness possessed you to...!"
"Oh? Don't you recognize it? I heard you two were close before things soured."
"What do you...?"
Before he finished—
Silien elegantly twisted the jar, revealing the label.
[Chloe Zibitz]
The former Silverpine exec's name.
Leodorn's face drained white.
"Useless woman. We put in all that effort pulling her to our side, and she botches it, gets demoted."
"Th-that's Chloe? Wasn't she killed en route to prison?"
"Detoured her here on the way. Couldn't stomach her feasting in a cell. Spilled plenty before... this."
Post-threat, she'd become golem core fodder.
Pre-death Chloe had endured torments beyond human limits.
Child's play compared to Leodorn's ordeal.
Silien smiled.
"And from her intel, one gem: You're leagues more capable than her, Director Leodorn."
"Gasp... Gah..."
"Help us. We'll drown you in riches beyond imagination."
Mind control spells wouldn't stick here.
Too short-term for a thinker like him.
Better to flip him fully—no loose ends.
"I-I..."
Leodorn stammered.
Terrified to death, but his answer was set.
"Get lost" nearly escaped—
"S-Silien! Big trouble!"
Bang! The door flew open as a man burst in.
Tall middle-ager.
Casual address to Silien was shocking, but his face more so.
Leodorn's eyes went wide.
"My god. Lord Rohart?!"
Valkeros's lord himself.
Mannerisms and dress screamed commoner, but the face matched perfectly.
Silien squeezed her eyes shut.
"...Can't you see we're in a meeting?"
"E-emergency! Not here for nothing—you need to see this!"
"Haaa... Sorry, Director. Be right back."
Standing, Silien followed the fake lord, forehead vein throbbing.
Utterly useless.
End this mess, then kill him.
In the hall, the fake pointed out the window.
"Th-there! Down below!"
"What now...?"
Silien peered out—and froze.
"...Huh?"
New-model golems toppled one by one.
Nearby soldiers and passersby recoiled in horror.
"Agh! What the hell?!"
"W-watch out!"
All were slated for tomorrow's coup.
Silien's face twisted.
"H-how?!"
Screams echoed citywide, but trivial—mere "Whoa!" or "Scary, what's with this tin can?!"
Gazing down, she murmured.
"The lab."
Needed intel.
Only way to halt all golems: tampering with the secret lab's 4th-floor central control.
What the hell was Rudel doing?
Tsss...!
Mana gathered at her feet in rage.
Her robe fluttered without wind; the fake lord yelped.
"Eek."
Breathing hurt.
Silien Lua.
Abyss exec, once Blue Tower member.
No one in Steel Tower or Valkeros could match her.
"Contact the lab."
"G-got it!"
She strode off.
Nearest elevator: audience chamber.
Bang! Door flung open with a gesture, she reached the lord's private lift.
1F... 2F... 3F... Top floor.
The doors parted—
KABOOOOOM-!!!
A massive blast hurled Silien back.
"Ngh!"
Vision spun. She somersaulted after flying twenty paces, landing deftly.
Sight clearing, a familiar boy's silhouette emerged.
Silien's eyes bulged.
"...!"
"Not enough, huh."
Bran clicked his tongue.
A translucent silver barrier rippled around her.
Basic mage shield—not like Rudel's.
Silien's eyes narrowed.
"Your doing."
"Pretty much."