A Score That Should Not Exist
A soft hiss of steel.
Laktusha raised his sword. Now that they had met in this place, one of them would have to die. There was no other way.
Lord Solbaren.
Master of the First Domain and guardian of the Tower, he existed to dye every challenger in despair. Armed with every variety of invincibility skill imaginable, he was an iron wall that could not be breached. On top of that, he possessed a growth trait that made him stronger with every blow he absorbed. To say that no one in this domain could defeat him was hardly an exaggeration.
As dull as ever.
The first party's challenge. They had been reasonably strong, yet they had not managed so much as a proper scratch. They had failed to pierce his iron wall. Realizing it early and fleeing had been the wise choice — if they had forced the issue, they would only have made Lord Solbaren stronger.
I have slept for so long. And still there is no one who can satisfy me?
He had spent uncountable ages within the Rift. Before he earned the title of Lord, he had faced the Rift's denizens without number and, at last, won the Tower's recognition. After that, Solbaren had waited for the next challengers — and waited, and waited again.
And this was the reward for all that waiting? So far beneath his expectations that he nearly yawned.
I even told them how to weaken me.
Once a party's total score exceeded five hundred, every additional ten points reduced Solbaren's combat power by one percent. Combat power was, in essence, Solbaren's martial might itself — the sum of his level, equipment, skills, and everything else, compressed into a single measure.
I almost wish those first challengers would come back.
They had fled, yes, but their combat power had been impressive. The strongest among them had exceeded four hundred thousand. They had only retreated because they could not solve his invincibility skills. If they raised their scores a little and tried again, it might actually be entertaining.
Not that they would ever break my iron wall.
Raising one's score had hard limits, though. Points could only be earned within the level band assigned to each challenger, and once the domain bosses were cleared, there was no further way to gain them. The only remaining method was to kill other challengers in the same level range — and even then, slaughtering fellow challengers would never be enough to defeat Lord Solbaren.
Come, then. Challenge me. Who will be next?
The bringer of despair. Lord Solbaren smiled at the thought of drowning yet another party in hopelessness. The image of them crumbling before him filled him with pure delight.
How long did he wait?
The next party challenges Lord Solbaren.
Party total score: 1,520.
Lord Solbaren's combat power is reduced by 99.9%.
……?
"……?"
For a moment, Lord Solbaren's thoughts simply stopped.
Authority over the first-floor domain belonged to him alone. He had fractured the levels himself, and the absolute ceiling on total obtainable points was one thousand — a limit he had set with his own hands. A score beyond that could not exist. Must not exist.
One thousand five hundred and twenty?
Then what was this? A score that soared clean past the range he had configured? A bug? A misreading?
Combat power reduction by total score begins.
Combat power of 999,999 reduced to the minimum value of 1,000.
To sustain existence, physical size is reduced.
Lord Solbaren looked down at his own body. The iron-clad lord of the iron wall — that massive, powerfully built frame — began to shrink, bit by bit. With his combat power gutted, he no longer had the strength to support his own bulk.
This is……
Something was wrong. He was not a creature that dreamed, and yet this had to be a dream. Nothing else could explain so sudden a collapse of combat power. That score made even less sense.
And it was not only his size that changed.
Iron armor vanishes — a Weakness is exposed.
Iron shield vanishes — a Weakness is exposed.
Iron helm vanishes — a Weakness is exposed.
Skill level of Iron Wall Solbaren plummets.
Skill level of Invincible Solbaren plummets.
All stats fall drastically.
Insane. Everything was falling apart — the iron armor, the iron wall, even the invincibility skills.
What remained of Solbaren was pitiful beyond words. A body shrunk to less than half its former size, every weakness laid bare on naked flesh. He barely recognized himself. A stiff breeze looked ready to blow him away.
This is…… something has gone terribly wrong.
Wrong was an understatement. Who had punched through his settings and staged a situation like this?
Did they butcher every challenger in the domain?
A five-person party. Even if every one of them had slaughtered every other challenger in their respective domains, one thousand five hundred and twenty points still made no sense — but it was the only possibility that even approached an explanation. And if that was truly what they had done——
Then they still cannot kill me.
Lord Solbaren drew a steady breath. Yes. In that case, they could not kill him. If they gave up and left, he would simply reorganize.
A low, resonant hum filled the air. Warp gates bloomed open before his eyes. Lord Solbaren glared, determined to see just how formidable these challengers really were.
"We came because we said we'd challenge you, but…… hmm."
The first through the warp was a priest.
【31,050】
Combat power in the thirty-thousand range at best. Pathetic. And a priest, no less — practically useless in a real fight. However they had managed to kill other challengers, it was laughable.
"Brother! I've arrived! Where are you?"
Next came a dryad — a High Dryad, by the look of her, and one blessed by the verdant green at that.
【98,700】
Compared to the priest, her combat power was certainly higher. And yet the puzzle remained. Had this combination truly reached one thousand five hundred and twenty points?
"This is the place? Ah — is that ogre-looking fellow Solbaren? He looks truly wretched."
A knight in silver plate.
【115,600】
The first to break one hundred thousand. Still far weaker than the first challenger party, though.
The remaining two warps shuddered and flared.
"Ah! So you were all here."
A spearman appeared.
【74,800~?】
Hmm……? This one was a little ambiguous — the type that grew stronger under certain conditions, most likely. Judging by the displayed number alone, still unimpressive.
This is absurd. What is going on?
A Tower error, perhaps? Creatures of this caliber had earned that score? It defied explanation. If it was not an error, he had no idea how to account for it.
Then, at last, one final man stepped through.
"Ah! Lord Randolph!"
"We have been waiting for you!"
So this was the party's leader? Lord Solbaren's eyes lit with interest.
【217,400~?】
Hmm. This one was somewhat strong — clearly superior to the rest. He at least had the qualifications of a leader. Still nowhere near the first party, of course.
And then——
What?
Solbaren's brow furrowed. The numbers floating above the man's head began to erase themselves, one digit at a time.
【??????】
Every last one replaced by a question mark. He no longer understood any of this. The only certainty was that this man was the architect of the entire catastrophe.
"Even with my 'Weaknesses' exposed, you cannot kill me."
Lord Solbaren declared it with absolute confidence. The reason they could not kill him was simple. To slay Lord Solbaren, five separate Weaknesses had to be dismantled — and dismantling those Weaknesses required one critical condition. Until they discovered it, and even if they did…… they still could not kill him.
That was when the priest smiled, thin and knowing.
"From the look of things, it seems you cannot be cleared so long as bad karma remains."
Oh-ho. A priest of considerable insight, to read that much from a glance. But even knowing the condition would not help them. There was no way to erase bad karma. If they had slaughtered challengers across the domains, their karma would be mountainous — and that was precisely why Lord Solbaren could call himself invincible. If they had figured it out, they should despair all the more. Admit they could never kill him, and give up.
Lord Solbaren smiled.
In that instant——
"……Behold, Successor. Did I not tell you that you would need me?"
A brilliant surge of light erupted from the priest's hands as Indulgences began to copy themselves without end.
Settlement Time
Indulgences.
They could be issued only by ordained priests of the Goddess Sect — three times in an entire lifetime, each one erasing a fixed measure of bad karma. Even the Pope was bound by the same limit. And no matter how holy an Indulgence might be, a handful of them could never wipe away a multitude of sins.
If they butchered every challenger in the domain, a few Indulgences would not even begin to cover it.
When the first Indulgence sprang from the priest's hand, Solbaren thought: so, a priest of the Goddess Sect. Mild interest, nothing more. When the second appeared, then the third——
A priest who has never issued a single Indulgence in his life?
And he meant to burn them all here? Still, Solbaren remained at ease. Bad karma had to be zero before anyone could strike his Weaknesses — and that zero applied not to an individual, but to the entire party. Could three slips of paper zero out every member?
A radiant whoosh of light.
……
Another surge, brighter still.
……
A roaring cascade of holy brilliance.
Sacred, dazzling light poured endlessly from the priest's hands. Indulgences spilled forth as if they were being printed without limit. Already more than ten were visible to the naked eye, and with each one used, the party's bad karma was scrubbed away piece by piece. Watching it, Solbaren almost felt his own karma being cleansed.
Was it not always three, and no more? Even for the Pope?
Every scrap of knowledge the Rift had absorbed lived inside his mind. He was certain: not even the Pope could produce more than three Indulgences. Then what was this priest? He was working a miracle beyond the Pope himself. Was he truly an apostle of the gods?
This is…… this is something I never accounted for. Something that should not be possible.
The first floor of the Tower. The fractured level domains. Everything here had been configured by Lord Solbaren's own hand. Parties could challenge him at five hundred points, and every ten points beyond that would shave one percent from his combat power. But to exceed five hundred, a party had no choice but to kill fellow challengers in the same domain and steal their points — which automatically piled on bad karma and rendered any attempt to clear Lord Solbaren meaningless. Challengers would be trapped in the Tower until they died.
It is not as though I left no method of clearing me. I set that as well.
There was another way — perhaps the only true way to defeat him. Every party would have to hit exactly five hundred points, then challenge him again and again like steel being tempered on the anvil. Every challenger bound by fellowship, volunteering sacrifice, hammering at him without end in a heart of unyielding iron.
If I were to die that way, I would gladly open the gate.
Lord Solbaren. He had wanted to die with honor — as a Lord should.
……But a method like this had never once entered his imagination. Challenging him with a score he had never conceived of, then copying Indulgences to force a clear——