Chapter 111: The Unbearable Shallowness of Being
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 111: The Unbearable Shallowness of Being
“Hehehehe.”
Resin admired her newly reconstructed body in the full-length mirror.
Her physique was far more toned and elastic than before. She felt a surge of pride, noting that her curves could easily put Narupa’s to shame.
And then, there were her limbs—one arm and two legs, glowing a brilliant ruby red.
Though they boasted the hardness of the magic stone crystals they were forged from, she wasn’t entirely satisfied with their appearance. As if sensing her desire, faint networks of blood vessels and nerve bundles were slowly beginning to weave through the transparent limbs.
Resin didn’t want Alto to perceive her as a demon when he saw her.
Given his deep-seated grudge against demons, he would likely view her as an enemy and try to kill her.
She didn’t want that anymore.
She didn’t want Alto’s loathing, his hatred, or his hostility.
There was no other man like him.
No other man so magnificent.
A man stronger than a king.
The Kingdom had kept his identity and appearance strictly confidential because he refused to become their pawn. Resin had deduced that much in an instant.
She was right, and as she imagined a future where she was joined with him, she dreamed of how they would conquer and rule the world together.
“Hmm. It’s a shame my dream overlaps with Mirei’s, but I suppose I’ll have to clear all the other dungeons first. I’ll eliminate everything that poses a threat, and then I’ll bring the Kingdom and the Duchy to their knees. With Lord Alto’s power and mine, it won’t take five years—no, it won’t even take two.”
Her goals weren’t actually that different from the plans being hatched by Count Dakuus and Hus.
Yet, hearing Resin declare them made an inexplicable sense of absurdity well up.
“Oh?”
She felt a flickering life force within the Magic Tower.
“So, you’re still alive?”
That life force belonged to Adrian.
After absorbing Liras and Silone, Resin had stopped by the laboratory for a mid-process check, only to find the withered corpses of the two, their life force, mana, and demonic energy completely drained.
Surprisingly, Adrian’s reaction had been swift.
Swallowing her screams, she had sprinted toward the broadcasting room.
Resin, still in the middle of digesting her new power, had used her freshly acquired skills to manifest monsters inside the Magic Tower to hinder her, but Adrian had skillfully cut through them as she advanced.
I suppose being the Dean’s top disciple isn’t just for show, even if she is only the second one.
Just like me. I was the runner-up, ranked second.
“As your senior, I should teach you a lesson.”
Resin had attempted various methods to test her new strength.
She distorted the internal structure of the Magic Tower, spawned more monsters, and even attacked directly with mana and demonic energy.
Yet, Adrian continued to advance, parrying every blow.
She used simple spells with perfect timing to create openings.
Just like Narupa.
That fact irritated Resin immensely.
So, while Adrian was frantically making an announcement over the intercom, Resin had ruthlessly struck her in the ribs with her ruby arm.
She had felt a satisfying crack; at least a few ribs must have shattered.
She didn’t give a second thought to the pathetic junior who had been sent flying through a wall.
It was the confidence of knowing she could kill her at any time.
This wasn’t arrogance.
Rather, it was a form of consideration and mercy, granting her a few more minutes or hours of life.
The girl was now less than a mayfly to her.
Resin was looking for only two things.
One was Alto.
The man she wanted to be loved by.
The man she wanted to love.
He truly was incredible.
Even now, having obtained power rivaling that of the Four Heavenly Kings, she saw zero chance of victory when she recalled his previous battle.
“He’s the best…!”
She cupped her chin with both hands, her tongue lolling out as she drooled.
Ah, she could feel it.
His immense power.
As long as she was inside the Magic Tower, she could sense it.
It was tightly condensed, but if that power were to explode, it would be more than enough to sweep away the entire tower.
Yes, that magnificent strength!
To catch his eye, being merely beautiful or moderately strong wasn’t enough.
She had to possess specs that were impossible to ignore.
It was a self-evident truth, just as she herself could never escape the pull of his charm.
While reconstructing her body, she had also restored her virginity.
It was a natural step for her rebirth.
With this, she met all the criteria to be recognized by him: beauty, ability, and purity.
“Lord Alto.”
She clenched her fist and twisted it in the air.
Massive numbers of Wraith-type monsters, capable of mental attacks, were spawned along the main paths leading to the Dean’s office where she waited.
Those monsters ambushed the mages who had heard the broadcast but foolishly stayed behind, draining their mana.
However, a few of them were defeated by mages who actually knew how to fight.
They weren’t the caliber of monsters she had intended.
“Hmm, I still need more time to digest. Was three days not enough?”
While she could easily sense the location of someone as powerful as Alto, she wasn’t yet at the level where she could see every detail of the Magic Tower’s interior.
She could easily warp and change places she was familiar with, but for the areas she wasn’t, she had to stain them with her demonic energy and force them into submission.
The same went for summoning monsters.
Since this was originally a Magic Tower Dungeon created from Liras’s demonic energy, she would have to tame his aura before she could create monsters of the quality she desired.
“Mmm… it’s not enough. For someone claiming to be one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the total amount of power is lacking. At this rate, forget world conquest—I doubt I could even take the neighboring Duchy of Aztera…”
That was why obtaining Alto was essential.
But that would mean simply relying on a great husband.
She had to have the dignity befitting a refined lady, the wife of Lord Alto.
And for that, she needed the second thing.
“Narupa Diberuper.”
The difficult opponent who had pushed her to her limits, her greatest rival.
But foolishly, Narupa’s arrogance had resulted in Resin’s growth.
“I’ll admit it. Your magical skill, especially your delicate control, is beyond impressive—it’s practically art.”
But she, who had caught up to that, was the very essence of magical truth.
“As long as I have a catalyst, I can grow indefinitely.”
She gathered demonic energy in both hands and scattered it.
The main paths twisted and distorted.
“What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger!”
I apologize for misjudging you, Narupa Diberuper.
But in the end, you’re just a specialist in cheap tricks, aren’t you?
“A true mage should be able to end everything with a single blow.”
Even while spawning monsters and altering the structure, Resin was digesting the absorbed power and growing.
The more she used it, the more familiar it became.
Her total mana capacity increased, and by mixing it with demonic energy, she became even more powerful.
Could Narupa possibly defeat her now?
“Killing her would be fine, but hmm… it looks like she’s one of the bitches Lord Alto has fucked a few times, so I might let her live if he wishes.”
She acknowledged Narupa was good nourishment for her further advancement, but Narupa herself was nothing special.
However, the magitech group she owned would be useful.
Power was enough to conquer the world, but capital was needed to maintain it.
“If Lord Alto asks me to spare her, I will. Though she’ll have to live as my footstool.”
The mere thought made her laugh.
Ah, the moment of growth was always thrilling.
The scale of her growth was as boundless as the time she had spent stagnant.
How strong was she now?
How much stronger would her future self become?
How brilliant would the family and empire she built with Lord Alto be?
“A-hahahahahahaha!!!!”
She couldn’t even picture it.
It was too brilliant, too radiant!
It was so dazzling she couldn’t even draw it in her mind.
Is it really okay for my future to be this wonderful?
Not that her past struggles were easy.
They say those destined for greatness will find their way, but could one really rise this high in a single leap?
She asked herself, and she asked the world.
The answer was yes.
It was easy to say now that it was over, but she had faced death in the dungeon, against Yarismal, and against Narupa to get here.
It hadn’t been easy.
She had put her life on the line to reach this point.
Therefore, she was entitled.
She had the right!
“Kyahahahahahaha!!!!!”
She released another massive burst of demonic energy, packing every space with monsters.
Though she hadn’t mapped out the side paths yet, Resin was elated, stomping her feet in joy as she sabotaged every route she knew.
Like a child with a new toy.
“Come on! Lord Alto might be a different story, but there’s no way you lot, Narupa, can break through this dungeon. Adjusting the difficulty is quite hard, isn’t it? But don’t worry. This teacher will grade you very thoroughly…”
“Yeah, you don’t have to worry. It was an easy trip.”
“Heh…?”
A voice she could never forget drifted down to her as she laughed toward the ceiling.
“Is—is it magic? Communication magic?”
“What is wrong with you, Resin Luna? Get a grip.”
Only then did she lower her head to see Narupa and Rune’s party standing there, looking at her with expressions of pure pity.
“Uh… what?”
She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was definitely Narupa.
What’s more, not a single one of them had a scratch.
“You… you already broke through my dungeon and made it here?”
Narupa looked completely fed up at the dazed question.
“Resin Luna. To be honest, I don’t hate people like you that much. Because you pursue the orthodox, the royal road.”
“Hmph, I don’t necessarily loathe heretics like you either…”
“Because the more talentless a person is, the more they have to dig into the basics and the essence of things.”
“You bitch! How did you get here?! I bet you used more of your cheap tricks, didn’t you?!”
“See? It’s always the incompetent ones who blame others instead of themselves.”
Narupa shook her head and put on a pair of glasses. They were non-prescription fashion glasses.
“Didn’t I tell you not to forget the essence? It looks like you changed the dungeon structure and monster distribution all over the place, but in the end, the essence is us arriving where you are, right? No matter how noisily you set things up, it’s all useless. All we had to do was find the shortcut.”
“You mean that shortcut rumored to appear below the third floor? That’s nothing but a myth…”
“It’s not a myth.”
“It’s not?”
“Only three people have ever found that shortcut. The first was me, but it wasn’t very appealing, so I buried it again. The second was Silone, and the third was…”
Resin realized what had happened before Narupa could even finish.
Seeing this, Narupa gave a bitter smile.
“That’s right. The third was Adrian. You didn’t kill her properly, did you? And here, another ‘essence’ comes into play. Do you know what it is?”
Narupa casually waved her staff.
“It’s love. Specifically, a wounded love. You didn’t consider the essence of what a woman who has lost her beloved is capable of.”
“What does the love of such lowly creatures matter! Come at me, Narupa Diberuper! The essence of love? I am the very essence of pure devotion toward Lord Alto!”
“Whatever, you crazy bitch.”
Looking exasperated, Airune stepped forward, raising her shield.
“The bitch who was getting railed by another guy while obsessing over Alto. Oh, by the way, I heard the guy who was stuffing you became a eunuch? I heard some rumors—he’s still a male whore, but now he’s the one getting stuffed by men. Wow, gross. And you were moaning for a pathetic eunuch like that…”
“Shut up, you fucking cunt!”
Alto sighed as he watched the fireball fly toward them.
It seemed Rune’s trash-talking skills were the only thing improving day by day.