Chapter 171
Chapter 171
Chapter 171
[D-don't jump to conclusions! The circulation of spirit power is going very smoothly under my control!]
Vivian, who fell for Seo-jin's probing and was now hopping mad with indignation.
Even an idiot could tell from how her transparent wings turned red.
That there was definitely a problem with the spirit power circulation.
Austin also noticed this fact and carefully asked Seo-jin.
"What grounds do you have for making that prediction? I didn't notice anything strange."
"It's nothing impressive."
Though there are differences between each floor, environmental management of each floor is basically the administrator's responsibility.
However, on floors with many spirits, the spirits often oversee that system.
What's utilized then is the circulation of spirit power.
Just as rain that moistens the earth gathers into the sea and evaporates again to become clouds, spirit power also circulates throughout the entire floor, forming a system.
The clusters of light they saw earlier were also part of that system.
Lower spirits that have completed their tasks lose their strength and become clusters of light containing only thoughts, waiting to be deployed into the system again at the call of a higher spirit.
But it seems there's a problem with that circulation system.
'The evidence for that would be the clusters of light we saw earlier.'
The concentration of thoughts was markedly different from when Seo-jin before his regression visited the lake.
The clusters of thought-light that should have been deployed to their next tasks without rest were gathered in droves near the palace—that was the first evidence.
And Vivian trying to seize control of Austin's spirit could be considered the second evidence.
Since a supreme-grade spirit contracted with him would be of great help in maintaining the system.
She must have been trying to deploy it, albeit inadequately, for the circulation of spirit power.
The third evidence, the reason for avoiding outsiders—this was closer to just speculation.
It could be that she didn't want outsiders caught up in this abnormal phenomenon, or perhaps she wanted to hide her weakness.
It depends on how you think about it.
Though considering Vivian's personality, both probably applied.
Seo-jin finally recalled information about the 50th floor World Quest that Choi Gang-hyeon had told him before his regression.
'He said it was a World Quest to beat down a giant monster sleeping at the bottom of the lake.'
That monster is probably the culprit behind this situation.
The fact that the clusters of thought-light couldn't become spirits and were gathered in droves near the palace was also that monster's fault.
It was strange, if you thought about it, that Vivian, an existence close to being a Spirit King, couldn't even catch one measly monster.
'I heard that monster wasn't an ordinary monster.'
The strategy team also had tremendous difficulty beating down that monster.
It seemed he'd need to hear an explanation from Vivian or see that monster directly to know more details.
Seo-jin appropriately edited out the information about the final monster and answered Austin.
"Ah, so spirit power circulates in that way to maintain the world's system. But how did you know information that even I, a spiritualist, didn't know?"
"......I learned it from my master."
When he sold his master's name, Austin was quickly convinced.
"If it's that person, well, I understand."
Since if he learned it from Circe, one of the Great Beings and an elder of Pandemonium, there was nothing strange about it.
At times like this, his master is really good for name-dropping.
He's always grateful.
After hearing the explanation, Austin bowed his head politely and asked again.
"Pardon me, but Your Majesty, if the information I've heard is correct, I think our leader's speculation has merit, but is there really no problem with the spirit power circulation?"
At Austin's question, Vivian confidently crossed her arms and answered.
[That's right! There's no need to borrow you outsiders' help! I can solve it myself!]
And Seo-jin immediately pointed that out.
"Saying you can solve something means there's definitely a problem."
[Ah.]
As if Seo-jin's point hit the mark, Vivian froze in place like a statue.
"In the end, she admitted it with her own mouth."
"I kind of thought it would be something like that."
So-yul and Francesca whispered to each other while looking at Vivian.
Her face beet red, Vivian couldn't even argue with Seo-jin's group and began picking on Pickle for no reason.
[You brat! Where did you bring such ill-mannered human fellows all the way to my palace! Huh?]
[I-I'm sorry!]
Seo-jin watched Pickle getting his bottom smacked by Vivian with a satisfied look before opening his mouth.
"In any case, stop being stubborn and hand over the World Quest. We don't have time."
Since she had admitted it with her own mouth, he planned to receive the World Quest as is and go search for Excalibur's blueprint.
However, Vivian maintained her pride until the end.
[I don't need help from outsiders like you...... It's dangerous too.]
"If you didn't need it, why did you try to steal this friend's spirit?"
If Vivian truly didn't need outsiders' help, she shouldn't have tried to steal Austin's spirit.
"And if you were really concerned about our safety, you shouldn't have let us into the palace."
Regardless of Seo-jin summoning Glize or Pickle's guidance, if Vivian had used her power to stop them, the Reverse Heaven Society would never have reached the palace.
When Seo-jin pointed out this contradiction, Vivian wriggled her fingers and mumbled.
[That's true, but...... I was curious what kind of species humans were. And honestly, it's fascinating, isn't it? A spiritualist who commands four supreme-grade spirits and a being who commands an irregular spirit that hates my contractor!]
Seo-jin looked at the fumbling Vivian and sighed inwardly.
"......"
Well.
This 50th floor was a primordial land where no intelligent life forms other than spirits lived.
It was an uncommon occurrence for beings that spoke and thought like Seo-jin's group to visit such a place.
Only Great Beings and their followers, or irregular native climbers who had escaped the Tower's laws, probably visited occasionally.
So while at first she tried to drive Seo-jin's group away, in the end she let them in this far, unable to overcome her curiosity.
Vivian let out a deep sigh and waved her hand.
[First, I'll think a bit more about what to do. Until then, you may stay here.]
Vivian instructed Pickle, who was standing with both hands raised, to treat Seo-jin's group.
[Pickle, guide them to lodgings and serve them a meal.]
***
What was assigned to Seo-jin's group was a large guest room in the Crystal Palace.
Many rooms were all connected to a large central living room.
The ceiling was also very high, so it felt open and the interior was splendid, giving the feeling of staying in an old-fashioned European castle.
"But the food is really not good."
The lodgings were very nice, but as Nam-gung Cheon said, the food tasted terrible.
It seemed to be because the spirits had no concept of eating in the first place.
In the end, the group ate their fill with food they had separately stored in their inventories and gathered in the living room to hold a brief meeting.
"After all that, we succeeded in receiving the quest."
Vivian's letter delivered through Pickle after dinner.
Along with a handwritten letter appointing the Reverse Heaven Society as [Special Envoys Plenipotentiary], a World Quest was given.
But as with all World Quests, one can't reach the core of the problem right away.
It was a progression method where they had to clear requests or quests given by spirits near the lake while accumulating 'contribution points' for the next quest to unlock.
Think of it as similar to the previous Achievement Points system.
Nam-gung Cheon looked over Vivian's handwritten letter this way and that before tossing it onto the table.
"But we're not diplomats or anything, so what's this Special Envoys Plenipotentiary?"
"She must have heard it somewhere and thought it sounded plausible."
Seo-jin chuckled while looking at Vivian's handwritten letter filled with crooked Tower common language.
"Still, she has a cute side, our queen. Writing and sending a letter herself."
"She acts strong on the outside, but her heart seems tender. We should serve her well."
Members each making a comment while looking at Vivian's letter.
Seo-jin stopped the chatter and got to the main point.
"Stop teasing her, and let's do what we need to do."
Seo-jin opened the World Quest window and pointed to the contribution points section.
"First, you all will clear quests and gather contribution points like before. It's a World Quest progression method we've encountered often, so there shouldn't be any problems. If you obtain information about Excalibur's blueprint while progressing the quest, report it immediately."
"You talk like you're not going to do it?"
"Right. I have something else to do. I'm leaving this one to you."
While the other team members accumulated contribution points, Seo-jin planned to move separately and search for the sword's original.
He also planned to look into the fundamental cause of the 50th floor's problem.
He needed to find out whether this incident was simply caused by a monster under the lake, and whether there was any other method besides defeating it.
"So I'm counting on you from tomorrow."
***
A few days later.
A hot bath with steam rising from it.
Vivian lay comfortably in the bathtub and ordered Pickle beyond the curtain.
[Pickle, report the progress.]
[Yes, Your Majesty!]
Pickle, kneeling beyond the curtain, organized the information that came in yesterday and reported it to Vivian.
[Third day of quest progression. Currently, the Special Envoys Plenipotentiary's contribution point increase is going smoothly......]
Pickle thought while reporting the Reverse Heaven Society's achievements nearby.
When he first got his nose hooked by those bizarre humans, he thought it would be a disaster, but surprisingly, they were diligently clearing quests.
Thanks to them, many large and small problems that spirits residing near the lakeshore were experiencing were being resolved.
Now when Your Majesty's power is greatly weakened, they're becoming quite a great help.
Pickle looked at the silhouette of the queen relieving her fatigue while lying in the bathtub and sighed inwardly.
'The imbalance in spirit power circulation is a great burden on Your Majesty.'
Since there was a problem with a system that should be operating normally, the burden from that problem fell entirely on Your Majesty, who was at the apex of the system.
It was a situation where Your Majesty was forcibly operating the massive circulation system that should run according to natural order by using her own power.
Having finished his report, Pickle made a suggestion to the queen again.
[Your Majesty, how about temporarily stopping the circulation system and having a showdown with that thing?]
The unidentified monster life form occupying the bottom of the lake.
Because that thing was blocking the circulation point of magic power and devouring the thoughts of light, all the thoughts had evacuated near the Crystal Palace.
As long as this bottleneck state continued, maintaining the world with Your Majesty's power alone was unreasonable.
Rather than that, it might be better to temporarily halt the circulation system even at the cost of damage to the spirits and living creatures in this land, and use the enormous power that would take to have a showdown with the monster life form.
However,
[That won't do. The damage would be too great.]
Vivian slowly shook her head.
Complete stoppage of the circulation system literally brings catastrophe.
What if Earth's rotation stopped even for just a few seconds?
The aftermath might not end with just all life forms in the current ecosystem going extinct.
Of course, the circulation of this spirit world isn't that extreme, but the point that it accompanies tremendous damage is the same.
Vivian is forcibly continuing the circulation system while wearing down her own body out of concern for their damage.
[And there's no guarantee we'd win even if we did that.]
Bubble bubble-
Vivian made a frustrated expression and dunked her body below the surface.
Though she didn't know exactly what the identity of that thing sleeping at the bottom of the lake was, its power was enough to block the spirit power circulation, one of the world's systems.
There was no guarantee of victory even if she faced that thing head-on.
In the end, all Vivian could do was fundamentally block external intervention to eliminate variables, and use her authority to maintain the current system a little longer, a little more peacefully.
However,
Splash-
Vivian, who raised her body from the bathtub, said.
[The visit of these foreigners might become the key to breaking through this frustrating situation.]
Currently, this land is in a state where ordinary humans can't dare set foot.
Because to minimize the burden on Vivian's subordinates, she's maintaining the environment of this world only in the state most suitable for spirits.
Therefore, ordinary life forms suffer great hardship from hallucinations and auditory hallucinations from the tremendous pressure of spirit power, or their souls leave them, from the moment they set foot in this world.
But they were different.
From the moment they first set foot on this land until now, they experienced no rejection phenomena at all.
Moreover, an excellent spiritualist commanding supreme-grade spirits and a strange mage commanding an irregular spirit.
They ultimately reached her presence through their own power.
Vivian decided to place her expectations on them.
[If they can truly create the holy sword of the lake......]
The legendary sword Excalibur that even Vivian, who oversees this lake, had only heard of as legend.
If it's that sword, designed by the power of spirits but usable only by a chosen human.
[Defeating that thing wouldn't be impossible either.]