Orc Waves and the Blessing of Greed

The second wave begins.

The number of orcs was the same as the first assault.

The difference lay in the quality of their equipment.

Instead of rusted weapons, they gripped well-maintained glaives, and the armor covering their bodies gleamed with a faint light.

“Kueeeek!!”

Orcs made for excellent experience.

The moment I absorbed the essence, my entire body trembled.

It was the effect of Surging Strength.

My muscles repeatedly contracted and relaxed, growing tougher.

A short sigh escaped me.

“Damn, that hurts.”

—If it hurts, why are you smiling?

“Feels good.”

—So that’s your preference. I shall take note for future reference.

“……What exactly are you taking note of?”

Nyx ignored my question and gazed off into the distance.

Oh? An additional effect on Giant Strength too.

It seemed the shared concept of “strength” had triggered a synergy.

Thirty orcs on the third wave, fifteen on each side.

The fourth wave brought heavily armored orcs, but they were easily repelled.

During the fourth wave both gates shook, so I had to intervene alternately.

Thanks to that I earned kill points, but the fortress durability steadily decreased.

“Hehehe, it was worth answering the customer’s call.”

Mors was already dismantling the orc corpses and collecting items on the spot.

Stripping orc hides was on a completely different difficulty level from extracting poison sacs.

It was a shame I couldn’t earn money, but getting CP, the Tower’s currency, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was still better.

“Leave some for yourself.”

“Whatever do you mean……”

“Only take enough to raise your merchant rank.”

“Ahem.”

Mors cleared his throat and looked away.

Merchants operating under the Midron Merchant Alliance’s name rose in rank according to their transaction records.

Higher ranks brought greater benefits and access to rarer goods, and reaching the highest rank freed them from the Tower’s restrictions.

That was probably what Mors dreamed of.

Even before my regression he had worked frantically to obtain his freedom.

If his rank rose, it would benefit me as well.

I was willing to let him profit as long as he didn’t cross the line.

After all, I had no intention of buying consumables limited to this mission, so I might as well let him fill his pockets this way.

The fourth-floor mission was nearing its end.

Mors stopped skinning the orc and climbed up onto the fortress.

“Customer, good luck again this time!”

—That child is truly frivolous.

“He may not die, but he still feels pain.”

Merchants were immortal under the Babel Tower system.

They literally could not be killed by any means.

Yet even if they could not die, they still felt pain.

That meant even if an orc beat him to a pulp, the pain would not be nullified.

“Kurruk!”

The characteristic nasal sound of orcs echoed in my ears.

—Hohoho, let us finish the mission quickly and go eat cotton candy.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I answered half-heartedly.

* * *

There were thirty-two orcs in total.

Two orc mages wearing shabby robes had been added.

Despite appearances, they were treated as boss monsters.

The moment the two mages saw me, they pointed their staffs.

Magic circles formed at the tips of their staffs.

“Earth Spike.”

Rumble!

The ground split left and right.

Large and small stone spears shot up from the fissures.

They were as sharp as well-honed blades, and their momentum was extraordinary.

Stronger than Fireball.

I extended my hand straight ahead.

“Mud Trap.”

The ground turned into a swamp and seized the orc mages’ mana.

“Kurk. Why can’t I move forward?”

“Kurrr. Human. Mana. Strong.”

The orc mages trembled while clutching their staffs.

“Lucky for you.”

I grinned.

—What trick did you use?

“Those spells require concentration to maintain.”

Earth Spike was powerful, but it was a channeling skill that would immediately cancel if concentration broke.

To hit me they had to keep supplying mana.

By adding Greed’s Blessing to Mud Trap, I had trapped the orc mages’ mana.

—So Greed’s Blessing can be used that way as well.

“I didn’t expect it to work either, but it did.”

Dark-red mana spread like a net.

Greed’s Blessing wrapped around the large and small rocks that had risen from the ground.

It interfered with the mages’ mana.

If they recklessly canceled the spell, it would damage their mana circles and minds.

Baal was one thing, but why was Ares making such a fuss?

He was burning with jealousy.

I swallowed my laughter.

Seeing me handle Baal’s blessing so skillfully must have stung.

If he was so displeased, he could have given me one of his own blessings.

Yet he attached conditions. How stingy.

“Constellations, stop fighting here and go handle your own business.”

I waved my hand as if shooing flies.

—Contractor, is it all right to speak to the constellations that way?

“I talk casually to you too, Goddess.”

—I am generous. Those constellations, however, know nothing of tolerance or forgiveness.

“My value is high enough that it’s fine.”

Two Chief God-level constellations and one S-rank constellation.

Countless others were also watching me.

Ares was openly courting me, while Baal and the Evil of the Sky were drooling over my performance.

As long as I didn’t cross the line too far, it would be fine.

“Besides, you’re a little different, Goddess.”

—What do you mean?

“We’re in this together, after all.”

I grew stronger, and Nyx regained her power.

We were companions traveling toward our respective goals.

Well, Nyx was also surprisingly pure and easygoing for a conceptual goddess.

—W-We are companions ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bound by fate?!

Nyx cried out in a trembling voice and flew far away.

She didn’t seem angry……

Had I said something wrong?

“Kurrk. I can’t recover my mana.”

“Kurk. Crush them with magic.”

Their mana continued to drain.

Because the orc mages maintained Earth Spike, their mana reserves rapidly diminished.

How foolish.

“Challenging me to a battle of mana reserves.”

The orc mages’ gamble worked in my favor.

Thanks to the skill Dragon Heart obtained from the essence of the dragon soldiers, my mana recovery rate was vastly superior.

I didn’t even need to form hand seals or chant incantations to maintain the spell.

“Kurk. Human. Kill!”

One of the orc mages shouted.

Apart from the mages, the force composition was identical to the fourth wave.

The result was no different from before.

“Kurk, how……”

The mages glared at me with bloodshot eyes until the moment the orc horde was annihilated.

They hadn’t even been able to twitch their staffs.

“You should have canceled the spell even if it hurt.”

Their mistake had been trying to win through mana quantity.

I slit the throats of the defenseless orc mages.

Because they were treated as special entities, I obtained the skill after devouring just one.

A staff lay on the ground.

On a whim, I absorbed the essence of the other mage as well.

Each individual seemed to be grouped under the category “Orc Mage.”

When I looked away from the bodies turning to dust—

“The mage dropped its staff.”

Mors pointed at the staff lying on the ground.

I checked its options.

“I’ll sell it.”

“Hehe, to me?”

“How much will you give?”

“150 CP for a Magic-grade item?”

“Not selling.”

Those merchant bastards. Even after regression, they were still highway robbers.

At that price I might as well auction it at the general market.

“Come on, customer. Don’t be so cold……”

“Just do your job.”

After wiping out the orcs that had rushed both the left and right gates, the mission ended.

The players gathered in the center.

“I thought Yu Jinho was overrated.”

“At this point, isn’t he actually underrated?”

“No wonder he mentioned a hundred billion.”

“We lost some CP, but we rode his coattails through the mission.”

“It’s still a profit.”

Flattering remarks spilled out amid the awkward atmosphere.

CP was automatically settled according to the Tower Contract.

After deducting the contract fee, I had earned 240 CP.

—Compared to the reward for completing the mission, it is a small amount.

“Many a little makes a mickle, as they say.”

It wasn’t bad as incidental income.

Unlike Beginner’s Luck, this was a blessing with limited uses rather than a permanent effect.

It would be useful when tackling the Tower’s hidden elements.

“Wow, we got so much CP.”

“Is it real that my name is on the Hall of Fame?”

“We really got lucky.”

The players looked at me with envious eyes.

Just like on the first floor, there were plenty of people riding for free.

I had squeezed a little CP out of them using the contract as an excuse, but I had obtained an even greater reward.

Out of 262 orcs, I had hunted 247.

Naturally, I had also broken the record for most orcs slain.