Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Terraforming.
"From the gods' perspective, having one more Demon King would be problematic, but if a Demon King stronger than that Baal were to be born, they'd hate it even more, right? What do you think they would have done?"
They said that gods and Demon Kings aren't omnipotent beings. If they couldn't identify who would become the strongest Demon King, there was only one method they could take.
"They would have told people from other worlds who made Constellation contracts to kill the Earthlings. And if they were Earthlings already under their command, it would have been even easier to kill them."
The answer had already been clear from the moment I regressed.
"That's right. They even offered rewards saying they'd grant new divine powers if you killed a certain number of Earthlings, so there were even those who waited on the 11th floor and killed Earthlings as soon as they came up."
Waiting in areas where newbies come over and preying on them is something that gets cursed at even in games, but seeing them do it in reality, you could tell what kind of character these other worlders had.
"They even went as far as to say there was an event supporting Earthlings with artifacts, making people who just came up to the 11th floor come looking for them on their own."
Baek Ran added a word from the side. If what she said was true, the other worlders had even built an automatic hunting system.
They just had to kill the Earthlings who came looking for them on their own. They were just like Adolf Eichmann.
It was no wonder that in just one year, all Earthlings except for 10 were massacred.
When all those who serve gods as Constellations are trying to kill Earthlings like catching mice, surviving would be stranger.
"I absolutely have to stop it."
I have no intention of letting the second round flow the same way.
The person who would have become the strongest Demon King definitely wouldn't have been me, but as a fellow Earthling, I had no intention of just watching that tragedy when my compatriots were massacred.
"That's what we should do, but... I don't know if it's possible. There were too many enemies. Each one's strength was also above that of Earthlings."
Yoo So-eun's worry was valid.
Since those guys from other worlds who had been developing techniques to handle mana were also numerous, it would have felt like an absolutely insurmountable wall.
"Don't worry. The situation is different from the first round."
Back then I wasn't there, and now I am.
'I need to stir up some proper chaos.'
From humanity's overall perspective, adding one Hamonry martial artist? It might not be much.
But what if that's not an ordinary Hamonry martial artist but Han Yeong-min? And if outstanding comrades with knowledge of the future are added to that?
The lofty gods in heaven will learn that a butterfly's small wingbeat can bring about a storm.
"First, tell me about the power structure of the Tower."
I don't think my abilities are lacking.
Just as Estelle believed in me, I also believe in everything I've built up over 50 years.
What I lacked was only information.
Since I didn't enter the Tower in the first round, there was too much information I didn't know despite having regressed.
'It's okay. I'm not alone.'
The lack of information can be sufficiently filled by my comrades. And I will create results of mutual benefit, filling in the abilities they don't have.
"There are roughly three major forces in the Tower. The first is the force that serves gods as Constellations, their scale is the largest and they're organically connected to each other. They're the force that contributed most to the Earthling massacre."
It was the force we had to stop first.
Of course, if we could not just stop them but weaken the force or make them come out favorably toward me, it could be a great help when the prophecy drops later.
If I could just plant thoughts like 'This Earthling named Han Yeong-min helped us a lot, so can we really massacre his people carelessly?', I could buy a lot of time.
Of course, it's not a fundamental solution, so I need to be more active in other areas.
"Even among the same divine forces, their tendencies would split according to interests and affiliations, right? Tell me which forces were active in the Earthling massacre, or if there were any passive forces."
The more information, the better. I have to utilize everything I can.
"First, the Olympus and Asgard lineage gods were most active in the Earthling massacre. Since their power was very strong, most gods also joined the flow."
Originally, when there are big brothers leading the way, the younger ones easily follow.
"They say gods have a thorough senior-junior relationship. Junior gods follow senior gods, and senior gods pull up junior gods. If you don't fit into this flow, you get left behind."
The outline is gradually becoming clear. How the society of gods flows.
"As you expected, there were also gods who were passive about the Earthling massacre. Typically the Heaven lineage gods - the gods led by Yahweh and Buddha didn't oppose the Earthling massacre but didn't actively step forward either."
If I could win these over, or at least make them completely neutral, it would be a great help for the journey ahead.
"That was essential information. Thank you."
I smiled and expressed my gratitude to her. Thanks to her, I was getting such quality information even without entering the Tower.
"What's there to thank each other for something like this? If you're grateful, just make the food you promised to make later taste better."
"Okay. Accepted."
I'll have to put more care into making it. And perhaps jealous of that sight, Baek Ran raised her hand and spoke.
"I'll tell you next! The second largest force in the Tower is the force that serves Demon Kings as Constellations. Since the Demon Kings' power is strong, their followers' force is also more powerful than the gods' force."
It was welcome news to hear. If such beings existed, they would be a great help in checking the gods' forces.
"Instead, they say Demon Kings are extremely individualistic. The Demon King forces also have the same tendency, so they don't cooperate well with each other. You should consider that three or more forces joining together almost never happens."
If there was just a focal point to bind them together, a huge force to oppose the gods' forces would be born.
The plan was gradually becoming more concrete.
"Very good information. Thanks. If you haven't eaten yet, should I cook for you too?"
Come to think of it, I'd never cooked for Baek Ran either.
I started walking the path of All-Master in earnest only after creating the Dawn Divine Art.
"To think the day would come when I eat Han Yeong-min's cooking. Good."
That's how one more meal to make increased. Next, Baek Ryeon stepped forward.
"I'll tell you next. The third largest force in the Tower consists of those who don't serve any Constellation - it's a neutral force. Typically there's the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Black Magic Tower."
I had somewhat expected this since I heard that the Heavenly Demon hadn't made a Constellation contract.
"As if proving they climbed to high floors of the Tower without Constellation contracts, they're quite large and strong as individual forces. When they step forward, other forces can't easily ignore them."
That meant they were the top priority for recruitment.
They could turn at any time, yet they belonged to one of the Tower's three major forces with pure military power alone without serving gods or Demon Kings.
Recruiting neutral forces had only returns without risks, so not doing it would be foolish.
"About the Black Magic Tower, not much is known except that they mainly use necromancy, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is quite famous. They say the Heavenly Demon can't stand boredom and tedium, so it would be good to keep that in mind."
'There's a special remedy for such people.'
I need to learn more about the Black Magic Tower, but I got a rough idea of how to recruit the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
"Well done, Ryeon-ah. It seems like it'll be a great help."
After a long time, I placed my hand on top of Baek Ryeon's head and stroked it. She also entrusted herself to my touch as she always did.
"Doesn't seem like you've only done this once or twice? I'm a bit jealous."
"I wasn't the only one thinking that?"
Yoo So-eun and Baek Ran also threw out words one by one, appealing, so in the end I had to stroke all three of them evenly before I could go make food.
*'Fortunately there are ingredients.'*
I wondered if I'd have to buy ingredients from scratch, but there were quite a few food ingredients that Yoo So-eun had stocked in our house's refrigerator to cook for me.
This is why I told Estelle that Yoo So-eun was like a mother to me too.
Though I can't receive cooking skill corrections since it's before entering the tutorial, my skills don't disappear, so even with ordinary ingredients, food with very appetizing visuals came out.
The main menu was naturally a real man's food - pork bulgogi.
I set one for each at the table and made seasoned bean sprouts and soybean paste stew as side dishes.
Yoo So-eun seemed to reminisce about memories seeing the menu she used to make in the past, and Baek Ran seemed surprised seeing the cooking with visuals and aroma beyond expectations.
Baek Ryeon had eaten my cooking often, but since it had been a while, a smile was playing around her lips.
"Everyone eat well."
The three people lifted their spoons, took a bite of the pork bulgogi, made satisfied expressions, then as if they had planned it beforehand, simultaneously lifted their next spoons toward me.
""Ah-""
'No, I told you to eat, why are you doing that to me?'
I understand the heart wanting to share delicious things with me, but I didn't expect them to do it so simultaneously.
The three people's expressions were as if testing whose they would eat first.
I had no choice but to open my mouth very wide and eat all three at once.
As if they hadn't expected that, the three people let out small chuckles, and after finishing eating, I threw out a question to review the concrete plan.
"Is there anyone among us who's well-versed in magical contracts? Or has very outstanding magical abilities?"
The most fundamental way to prevent the Earthling massacre is not only increasing the number of allies, but also raising the level of all Earthlings.
I had countless ideas to try with that method, but it was impossible with my strength alone.
Though I learned magic and divine arts, I only focused on the basics and didn't go into advanced parts.
When Yoo So-eun and Baek Ran raised their hands, Baek Ryeon hung her head low as if disappointed.
Originally she had no particular talent in fields other than martial arts, and since her time in the Tower itself was short, it would have been stranger for her to handle magic at a high level too.
"I already knew So-eun was good at handling magic, but Ran, you're good at magic too? That's unexpected."
What I taught her was only martial arts, so I didn't know she could handle magic well too.
"I felt a wall with just martial arts alone. So I started learning magic, and it fit my aptitude better than I thought. So now I have higher achievement in magic."
You could call her a specialist - a mage who can even do close combat with high-level martial arts when enemies approach.
"I'm not extremely high in magical achievement, but I can sufficiently do the magical contracts you want. But why did you ask that?"
To answer Yoo So-eun's question right away was somewhat difficult. The question I asked first would only have meaning if my next questions passed.
"I'll tell you after asking a few more things. By any chance, what level are Heroic-grade equipment in the Tower? Also, are craftsmen who can make them common?"
Yoo So-eun shakes her head.
"Heroic-grade equipment can be used without problems up to the middle-upper floors of the Tower. There aren't many craftsmen who can make them either. So craftsmen who can make Heroic-grade or higher equipment belong to the top priority for recruitment by each force."
'As expected, blacksmiths are nobility. I did well learning Blacksmithing.'
Of course, I didn't just learn Blacksmithing and can actually perform all production job roles, so I could be considered priority 0 for recruitment.
I can even perform the role of a combatant too.
"Then if... Earthlings equipped full sets of Heroic-grade equipment and started climbing the Tower, how much do you think their survival rate would increase? Plus potions too."
Yoo So-eun has an expression asking why I'm asking such things, but surprise was evident in Baek Ran and Baek Ryeon's expressions.
Since they're people who know what I can do.
"Such a thing wouldn't be possible, but... if it were possible, assuming they went with some basics prepared, they would absolutely never die in the Tower's lower floors."
"Ah, really?"
That answer gave me certainty.
Certainty that I could raise the ratio of Earthlings climbing the Tower by dozens of times compared to the first round.
Perhaps terraforming the Tower with 8 billion Earthlings might be possible.
*'Gods, just wait. I'm coming.'*
The gods of the second round will clearly learn what kind of change one person named Han Yeong-min being added to all Earthlings brings.
They'll never know what I'll do to each force using those countless Earthlings.
*'Wait. Am I thinking too much like a Demon King?'*
I should restrain myself a bit. At this rate I might be mistaken for a Demon King.