Chapter 23. Welcome, Heroes! (2)
Chapter 23. Welcome, Heroes! (2)
[Normal Stage Reward.]
[Blessing, the protection of the War God (戰神) descends upon you!]
[You can observe the map of the Tower from Floor 11 to Floor 20.]
Swish.
A translucent map appeared before my eyes. A kind of minimap, I suppose?
Red dots and blue dots tangled chaotically as they claimed the map. Judging by the terrain, the red dots seemed to represent monsters, and the blue dots the human forces.
-Tsk tsk... Oh, sure. I knew you'd get some broken perk!
The guardian spirit grumbled, scrunching up his face.
-While everyone else is crawling on the ground, you get to look down from the sky, is that it? Ugh, fine. Don't bother building up your skills properly, just keep scheming every single day. When you really look at it, this Tower is just the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The ones who've eaten keep eating, and the ones who are doing well just keep...
But the guardian spirit couldn't continue his old-man rant.
[Hidden Stage Reward.]
[Blessing, the protection of the Human God (人神) descends upon you!]
[You can observe the names, stats, and locations of all NPCs from Floor 11 to Floor 20.]
-...Huh?
Because the perk notifications didn't end there.
[Hidden Stage Reward.]
[Blessing, the protection of the Merchant God (商神) descends upon you!]
[Select and possess one item among those existing from Floor 11 to Floor 20.]
Rustle!
Lists appeared in a row beside the minimap. One was a list of NPC names and stats written out in a long column. The other was a list laying bare the names and effects of items.
"......"
-......
We were at a loss for words.
"Kill them! Push them back, stay calm!"
"Kyaaah! Th-the goblins are throwing spears!"
At the front lines ahead, hunters were fighting fiercely. Orcs howled, and human soldiers bled. Amid the clamor of the battlefield, silence sank only between the guardian spirit and myself.
The silence soon broke.
"Ah, a skill-based game where skill actually matters......"
-I've never seen such a bullshit luck-based game in my life!
With admiration and a scream that were complete opposites.
3
Theme.
The Tower has a theme set for each floor.
It might be easier to understand if I called it a genre instead of a theme.
Floors 1 through 10 are literally the [Tutorial].
Hunting grounds are prepared, and there's even a city where you can rest as much as you want. You can consider it the stage where beginners get accustomed to the Tower.
And Floors 11 through 20 are......
'A demon king invasion story.'
Or a demon king and hero story.
Since it's about defending the human empire, you could also call it a defense story.
'We fight off the demon king's army that swarms in like a pack of dogs.'
Anyway, the important thing is that the nature of combat changes from here on.
Monsters no longer wander around one by one like they did in the beginner hunting grounds. They form packs. They organize units. They build armies.
To defeat a monster army, there are only two methods.
'Either become a one-man legion powerful enough to chew up an army alone......'
I stared at the front lines.
The Sword Saint was scattering blue aura as he slaughtered monsters.
'...Or lead an army of our own and fight.'
I grinned.
'The path I'll choose this time is the latter.'
I'd received these perks, after all.
Wouldn't it be a waste to leave these incredible privileges sitting unused?
Of course, I had no talent for commanding an army. I'd never commanded one before, so that was only natural. But if I lacked a talent, I just had to make one.
I had all the confidence in the world that I could create a new talent.
"Status window."
Before throwing myself into the battlefield in earnest, I first checked my current situation.
+
Name: Kim Gong-ja
Rank: E-rank
Skills (5/5)
1. I Want to Be Like You (S+)
2. Regressor's Clockwork Watch (EX)
3. Sword Constellation (A+)
4. Goblin High Society (F)
5. Beware of Fire, Awake or Asleep (A)
※The protection of the War God (戰神) is active.
※The protection of the Human God (人神) is active.
※The protection of the Merchant God (商神) is active.
+
Good.
I spoke with a smile on my lips.
"Hey there, Sword Emperor, sir. Did you call it a bullshit luck-based game earlier?"
-Yeah, I did! You shitty zombie!
"Let me show you why I called it a skill-based game where skill actually matters."
First, I pulled up the NPC list.
Following the protection of the Human God, countless NPCs lined up in a long column.
+
[Enju] Status: Conscript / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
[Karia] Status: Regular Soldier / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
[Sort] Status: Serf / Location: Floor 13 Barony of Panbasa
[Rafa Casabella] Status: Non-Commissioned Officer / Location: Floor 14 Barrier Canyon Horome
[Dopf] Status: Blacksmith / Location: Floor 12 Imperial Capital Hakamnia
.
.
.
+
A list of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, appeared.
For now, it was nothing but a jumbled mess of chaos.
But.
"Display only NPCs located on Floor 11."
As if understanding my command, the list began to move on its own.
The countless small names vanished as if deleted, and only the NPCs located on Floor 11—the ones I'd requested—remained on the list, rising anew.
+
[Enju] Status: Conscript / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
[Karia] Status: Regular Soldier / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
[Kort] Status: Non-Commissioned Officer / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
[Amalgam] Status: Conscript / Location: Floor 11 Port City Kungur
.
.
.
+
I spoke without pause.
"Sort by highest-ranked skills. Top 100 only."
-Hup.
The guardian spirit let out a short click of his tongue. He must have caught on to my intent. If the spirit had merely been sulking until now, his expression turned genuinely urgent.
The guardian spirit hastily tried to stop me.
-Hold on! Zombie! This isn't right. Let's please get stronger step by step and fight. Huh? Train step by step, build up your skills, learn swordsmanship—isn't that nice?
"I can do that later."
-Ack! No matter how much of a slimy bastard you are, this is really crossing the line! You bear the name Gong-ja—have you no shame!
"Hmm. No, I don't?"
Whatever the guardian spirit said, the list moved according to my words. Rustle. The letters scattered one by one in the air, then gathered and reassembled.
When the assembly finished, a newly updated list appeared.
+
[Rohan Panbasa] Status: Commander of the Panbasa Knights
[Sarbast Aegim] Status: Commander of the Kungur Front
[Jeshua Kamancha] Status: Senior Knight of the Imperial Knights
[Tomund] Status: Senior Enlisted Soldier of the Shield Unit
.
.
.
+
Done. Almost there now.
Ignoring the guardian spirit as he threw a fit, I shouted.
"Display NPCs with unit command skills! Top 3 only!"
-Aack! Aaaack!
Right.
I had no talent for commanding a military unit.
But what's the problem?
If I don't have the talent, I can just steal it from another NPC!
+
[Sarbast Aegim] Status: Commander of the Kungur Front
[Rohan Panbasa] Status: Commander of the Panbasa Knights
[Sain Kamen] Status: Regimental Commander of the Shield Unit
+
The list that had reached hundreds of thousands had now dwindled to three names.
I issued my final command to the list.
"Mark the locations of these three on the map."
-You scammer bastard!
The names displayed through [Protection of the Human God] scattered. They turned into green lights and slipped into the minimap projected by [Protection of the War God]. It was perfect. The locations of NPCs with command skills were now marked on the map.
"Okay. Mark my current location!"
And finally, my own location.
"See, a skill-based game where skill actually matters. Look, if a person just has basic adaptability, they can turn a decent perk into an incredible perk, right? This is all thanks to me living by using my head."
-Using your head, my ass! You're just running your schemes nonstop!
"Heh heh. Scheming is a skill too."
Preparation complete. There was no reason to hesitate now.
I found the nearest NPC on the map and ran over quickly. Fortunately, he was right nearby. The general who had greeted the hunters with "Heroes!" when they were all summoned at once. That man was the NPC with the best command skill.
"General Sarbast Aegim."
"Hm? Oh! Hero from another world. What brings you here?"
The general turned toward me, pausing mid-order to his adjutants. His mustache was impressive. His skills were probably impressive too.
-Dodge!
The guardian spirit howled.
-Dodge, you clueless NPC bastard! This guy isn't a hero, he's a hero-scalper! If he gets his hooks in you, he'll suck you dry down to your bones!
A hero-scalper, huh.
This ghost's been living with me for a few days and now he's gone full Korean.
"Since the general believes me to be a hero, I have a request."
"Speak! Thanks to all of you, hope has begun to appear in a battle that had no chance of victory. If it is within my power, I will gladly grant it."
"Please kill me."
The general's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?"
"...Actually, I have a trump card. A kind of self-destruction. If I end my own life, a divine blessing descends upon the entire battlefield. Once the blessing activates, the Empire is guaranteed victory."
I put on the most solemn expression I could manage. Surprisingly, acting solemn was simple. If I recalled the moment I burned to death at the hands of that Flame Emperor bastard, my face stiffened and my voice turned grave on its own.
-Ack! It's a lie! This zombie bastard doesn't have any self-destruction skill like that!
Huh.
Let's keep it down, you loser ghost who died in the Tower with only Floor 100 left to go.
"S-such a blessing... No, but to take the life of a hero. I cannot do it!"
"General Sarbast Aegim. Think about what matters more. Whether you draw your sword or not, I'm going to kill myself. Because this is the surest way to help the Empire."
I spoke with a solemn face.
"I'm making a request of you, General."
"A request......?"
"You are the commander bearing the weight of this port. More than anyone, you're in a position to yearn for the Empire's victory. Rather than killing myself with my own hands or dying at the hands of wicked monsters, I want to entrust my life to you, the one responsible for this battle."
"......"
"There's no time. Hurry!"
The general's face turned wretched.
"No matter how much we must seek the Empire's survival, to have to take the life of one who came all this way from another world......"
-Hey, hey! He believes it? Ugh, shit! He believes this? There's not a single person in the universe worth believing in, and he has to believe this Kim Zombie bastard? For real?
"Oh, our world is surely cursed. The arrival of the Demon King who existed only in legends, the endless swarms of monsters, and now even having to take the life of a hero—all of it must be a curse......"
-The only cursed thing here is the level of your brain!
"Ah, O God. Do not forgive our sins......"
The general lamented like the protagonist of a tragedy, then grasped the hilt of his sword. Shing. A blade that looked quite expensive was revealed.
"...At the very least, I will send you off in a single stroke, without pain."
"Thank you."
I was genuinely grateful.
Dying was fine, but I hated pain.
"Please, tell me your name."
"Kim Gong-ja."
"Kim Gong-ja...... Thank you on behalf of the Empire. You are a true hero!"
Slice.
As promised, the general delivered a clean decapitation. The aura-infused blade cut through my neck in a single stroke.
[You have died.]
[Randomly copying a skill from NPC Sarbast Aegim.]
As expected, copying skills from NPCs was possible too.
As my neck was severed and my consciousness darkened in an instant, I heard the guardian spirit scream.
-Stop dying already, you bastard! You think it's great to get skills for free?!
I answered in my heart.
'Confucius say: it's sweet as hell!'
The exciting day repeated itself.