Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: The Blind Regressor's Gambit
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"Kihhehehehe. Then I'll really be heading back now."
With the goblin truly gone this time, I turned my gaze to Isoha, who was already munching on the Amrita.
Isoha. She had to be the singularity the goblin mentioned.
However, I had no intention of sharing this information with anyone else.
I recalled the reason I'd come here in the first place.
I'd come as Isoha's sponsor, not to let her die.
"It's even more amazing than I imagined!"
So, protect our fragile regressor at all costs.
Of course, after consuming the fake Amrita, she'd already pulled far ahead of the other 0th-floor climbers in both physical abilities and combat experience. Still, it never hurt to be cautious.
'But there's one thing that's bothering me.'
Why had the goblin told Isoha earlier that there was something wrong with her body?
She didn't look any different on the surface.
"Cough! Cough!"
Isoha, perhaps overwhelmed by the Amrita's effects, suddenly clutched her chest and coughed.
I quickly conjured a bottle of cool spring water and sent it to her as sponsorship.
Zzzzt.
A sharp, tingling pain coursed through my entire body the moment the sponsorship went through.
The goblin had said that when constellations sponsor, they gauge the item's rank and apply penalties accordingly.
But this much penalty for just sending plain water?
Well, this was the 0th floor, after all.
Since constellations couldn't intervene directly on the 0th floor, they probably factored that in too.
When I'd sent the fake Amrita before, I'd nearly screamed—it wasn't an exaggeration.
Well, seeing her eat it up and grow so vigorously made it feel less wasteful.
Thud.
Ah, perfect—the water landed right in front of Isoha.
The Amrita had been the same.
Isoha let the item materialize before her drop to the ground without catching it immediately.
Only after the sound of it hitting the floor did her body twitch in reaction, which felt blatantly off to me watching on the screen.
Strange?
-Her face is pretty enough, but to think you'd fancy a frail human with health issues.
Was this the problem the goblin mentioned?
I recalled Isoha's past behaviors—the inexplicable reactions I'd overlooked.
Ignoring me no matter how much I spoke.
Reacting only after hearing the sound of something hitting the ground.
Groping around on the floor instead of picking up the item right away.
And finally, reacting to the cow-headed guide's words directed at the screen I was watching.
If so, had she been keeping her eyes closed all this time because she couldn't see?
I'd thought she was just doing it as a half-closed sleepy character gimmick, but it turned out not to be the case.
Why had it taken me this long to realize?
A regular Amrita, let alone a fake one, wouldn't heal Isoha's eyes.
The other elixirs here wouldn't either.
But that didn't mean there was no way at all.
Zzzzt.
Alright then... Securing stability and crafting it properly would take some time.
I just hoped nothing happened to her until then.
With that, I watched Isoha and began channeling the power of creation.
Vmmm.
"Incredible."
Isoha let out an exclamation as she absorbed the mana gained from consuming the fake Amrita.
She'd only taken in 60% of the mana it held, and it was already this much.
By her estimate, this level of mana would let her breeze through to the 4th floor using just magic.
"I was planning to grit my teeth and move extra carefully until the 2nd floor where you get mana, but this changes everything."
The mana spreading out from Isoha began relaying surrounding information to her.
Well, there wasn't much in this spot, so mana detection didn't pick up anything right now. But once she started seriously climbing the tower, nothing would be as efficient.
Plus, thanks to this, she wouldn't trip over random stuff anymore—and it even enabled her to fight.
'This will save me a ton of time.'
She'd originally planned to spend time here honing her ability to sense presences and react to monsters, but mana detection made wasting time unnecessary.
"Thank you so much, Constellation!"
"Um... Constellation. There's something I really need to tell you."
Gulp.
Alright, time to go for it.
She'd eaten the elixir and gained even more mana than expected.
Now, all that was left was to cook up a deal with the unknown constellation waiting to contract!
"The truth is, I can't see!"
"So I can't see your messages either!"
"That's why... I want to contract with you, but I can't proceed because I can't see."
Now, how would it react?
Isoha swallowed dryly, wondering if the constellation would get angry or hear her out more.
'Good, it wants to hear more.'
After about 10 seconds with no change, she smirked inwardly and spoke again.
"But even so, I can't betray this grace. So, I'll share the most important information. You might already know, Constellation, but I have a very special secret."
If the other side wanted to hear more, it was time for a tantalizing offer.
And to seal the deal, she'd reveal her biggest secret.
"I'm a regressor."
Of course, she couldn't predict how her words would land—no regressor could foresee that.
Watching her, the Imoogi writhed as if thinking, 'What to do with our loose-lipped regressor!' But since Isoha couldn't see the messages, she just felt proud of baring her honest heart.
"I know information from the future!"
"If there's any info you're curious about, Constellation, send over a sponsored climber. I'll tell them right away."
"Don't let appearances fool you—I climbed to the 9th floor before regressing. I'm confident I can be of great help to you."
The tower had a total of 10 floors.
And she was a veteran climber who'd cleared up to the 9th, with just the 10th left.
The knowledge in her head was valuable enough to tempt not just fellow climbers, but constellations too.
'Perfect.'
With her piece delivered, Isoha clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky.
Now, what choice would the constellation make?
"Mooo? What are you doing right now?"
"You..."
But before the constellation could respond, mana detection picked up a presence, and a very familiar voice sounded from behind her.
"You've already gained mana in that short time? Did the Constellation give you an elixir or something, mooo?!"
Isoha ground her teeth inwardly at Umo's question.
Even if she owed her mana to that cow, it had caused her far more headaches with the Constellation—naturally, she was annoyed.
"Moooo! For such a special Constellation, this is nothing!"
"Tch."
Look at it bootlicking.
"Moo?"
"M-Mooo! I'll relay it right away!"
Umo shuddered under the sudden chill gaze and solemnly relayed the Constellation's words to Isoha.
"The Constellation says there's no need for that."
"What? The Constellation said that?"
"Yes, mooo..."
"A-And it warns you never to tell that secret to anyone else, moo. The Constellation is warning you, so be careful."
Wait, why was it making him relay this?
It could just send it directly to her.
Having dealt with countless climbers, Umo had forgotten about Isoha's issue and tilted its head in confusion but brushed it off, figuring there must be a reason.
'Mooo. As always, it's easier to just accept a Constellation's will without questioning.'
Getting curious could lead to trouble.
Especially since this Constellation was exceptionally special compared to others, or so he'd heard.