Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Old Comrade
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Marquis Pierre arrived at the castle with a scowl on his face.
"That little brat climbed the tower?"
He couldn't contain his rage and hurled his wine glass against the wall.
With a crash! the glass shattered, red liquid spilling from the bottom. A knight in armor, his body so fat it seemed ready to burst the metal, replied.
"Yes, that's correct."
Having witnessed such outbursts from Pierre many times before, he continued impassively.
"They say he bought a week's worth of food from the market and took it with him."
"When?"
"The food purchase was in the morning, and he left the mansion in the late afternoon, around dinnertime."
"Afternoon, huh..."
"We tried to track where he went afterward, but his trail vanished after leaving the mansion."
"Can't we just ask the tower's guard captain? About when that little punk entered."
"We went straight there after hearing the news, but the guard captain wouldn't talk..."
The tower's entrance was managed by the Imperial Army.
No matter how much Bourbon blood tied to the imperial family or their influence in the legion, they couldn't match the prestige of the emperor's direct troops, the Imperial Army.
"This is a problem. Once he's inside the tower, we can't touch him."
"Marquis Pierre, do you really intend to go to war with the Strange family?"
Pierre's hands trembled as he bellowed.
"Of course! Do you think I was speaking empty words?"
"Milord, our knight order isn't ready yet."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
"To be honest, we don't have the strength to face them head-on."
"What?"
"As you know, milord, the Strange family could wipe a single nation off the map overnight."
"...That's true."
"Do we really need to clash with forces strong enough to vie for continental hegemony using brute force?"
The fat knight slowly turned his head to look at the old vassal standing beside Pierre.
Receiving the glance, the vassal cleared his throat a few times before speaking cautiously.
"Even without fighting, there are plenty of ways to bring them down."
"Bring them down without fighting?"
"Yes, milord. Doesn't Bourbon handle most of the legion's trade?"
"Indeed."
"Among that, we supply all the high potions used by skilled knights. If we cut off even half the shipments to Strange right now, they'd suffer massive losses."
"......"
"They already have at least ten families to keep in check, and how many climbers are in the tower? Can they endure it?"
Pierre's lips twitched upward.
"True, without potions, they can't fight properly. But cutting trade might provoke them to strike back immediately."
"That's why we tighten the noose slowly, so they don't notice until it's too late to act."
"Is that feasible?"
"Of course. With your wisdom and my knowledge, how could we fail at something like this?"
"Hm..."
"First, choke their lifeline with potions. Then equipment, then food. Pressuring them in sequence will make them back down."
The vassal bowed deeply.
The fat knight lowered his head in the same manner, adding his agreement with a single word.
"As the old adage goes, 'victory without fighting is best.' I beseech you to postpone all-out war for now."
Pierre rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. But it didn't take long to reach a decision.
"Fine. Then let's devise a plan to squeeze the Stranges. I'll draw up some strategies."
The tower was bustling from the entrance.
Adventurers who had arrived before us were chatting inside the first floor.
-Kuhahaha! Finally, starting today, I can climb this tower. I'll conquer it within a year and become the continent's greatest knight!
One showing off his overflowing bravado to others.
-I have come here to carry out the will of the gods, so today I shall ascend high and proclaim His glory.
One carrying out the will of a revered being.
-E-Everyone, don't scatter! We don't know what might happen—let's grab the treasure and get out quick!
And one who was timid but came for riches.
They had come to the tower for all sorts of reasons. Of course, I too had my own purpose, no different from the other adventurers.
This time, I'll win no matter what.
Tower ruler, Red Dragon.
The moment I arrived on the tower's first floor, I took a deep breath.
Siiiip—Pha!
Moist air like deep underground, and the metallic tang of blood tickling my nose.
The interior resembled a rocky cave, and no matter how widely I looked, it was less than half the size of the Strange castle's training grounds.
Plip, plip, plip.
Droplets fell from above.
I shook them off lightly and began walking through the tower's interior.
"In the tower, not only monsters but other adventurers might attack, so don't let your guard down."
Rox gripped his mace handle tightly.
"Got it."
"Up to the ninth floor, there are no enemies we can't handle, so don't tense up too much."
"Yeah. So the tenth floor has something strong?"
"Well, in a certain sense."
"In a certain sense? What does that mean?"
"You'll see when we get there. The early floors don't take long to climb anyway."
"...You always say that. 'You'll know when you go,' 'You'll know when you try,' 'Experience it yourself.'"
That was the education I'd received from Siegfried so far.
And I believe it's the right way. Unless it's truly dangerous, you build experience solving problems by facing them head-on.
The tower isn't easy enough to climb without effort.
I've seen many who blindly follow others' paths, only to hit a dead end, fail the climb, fall into despair, and give up.
Siegfried nodded emphatically, arms crossed.
"Exactly. You're right, disciple. Following others' solutions won't let you forge new paths."
Brunhilt agreed.
"That's right, meow. I've been right up to the tower's summit, so I know. Here, you don't follow paths—you learn to make them."
No matter the profession, masters always say the same.
Master the basics and learn the fundamentals.
I agreed, so I repeated the same to Rox.
"You'll know when you go."
"Yeah, you're not mad?"
"Nope."
"Got it. But can you try not frowning so much? Thanks to the guardian spirit you introduced me to, I've brightened up a lot these past few years. But you seem gloomier than back then?"
"Like when you first came to our castle?"
Rox clamped his mouth shut.
With that, we slowly climbed the tower. Our goal today was lightly reaching the tenth floor, so no need to rush. I compared each floor's peculiarities to my past life's tower experiences.
Identical.
Not a single difference.
Even the treasure chest locations were the same. Of course, earlier climbers had looted them, but their presence alone was enough to compare past and present.
That meant the secret path to higher floors was open too.
I spotted a hidden passage nearby leading straight to the tenth floor, but I led Rox onward.
Reaching the upper floors quickly was easy, but my goal was to properly develop Rox.
I climbed from the first to ninth floors with Rox, checking every terrain.
As expected.
Rox was no ordinary human.
Tell him one thing, and he grasped two.
I'd only explained goblin types here and their weaknesses, yet he fully understood their combat tactics.
"That hobgoblin will hide behind that rock and strike adventurers from behind, right?"
Rox swung his mace wide at the rock.
Bam!
The rock and the hobgoblin's skull hiding there shattered with a gruesome sound.
"Hoo..."
Rox wiped blood from his face and asked.
"Din, this enough?"
Above his head, his guardian spirit danced gleefully, dragging the goblin corpse away.
"Yeah, sufficient."
From first to ninth floors, we'd collected 101 goblin bodies.
This should be plenty against the tenth floor guardian.
"But what for? They're weak and seem useless."
"You'll see on the tenth. There, numbers matter more than strength."
"Numbers?"
"Yeah. The enemies ahead can't be beaten by force alone. We need a proper strategy."
"Hm... Got it. But how do we get to the tenth? We've looped twice, no stairs."
"The tenth is hidden so not just anyone can reach it."
The path from first to ninth was straightforward, like strolling a cave.
But from now, it changes.
The tenth floor, guarded by an 'Apostle' called the tower's master, differed from prior ones.
I placed my hand on the ninth floor ground and channeled aura.
Shaaa...
Red aura flowed through ground cracks like spiderwebs, staining the wall.
"See the picture on that wall?"
An iron door painted with a massive goblin-like monster's face.
"Huh...? When did that get there?"
"It's been there since we arrived on nine."
"Really? How'd I miss it?"
"You didn't know how to look."
I pushed the wall lightly with my aura-infused hand. White smoke billowed out.
Shaaa—
A acrid smell like burning grass assaulted my nose—thick as in a slash-and-burn village.
As the smoke cleared slowly, my body floated, vision shifting to a ruined village.
A familiar village.
The unique monster that once trapped me on the tenth for a month.
'Goblin Champion.'
Finally, its domain.
"Wh-What is this?"
"Tower's tenth floor. Home to one of the tower's masters, an 'Apostle.'"
"Apostle?"
"Yeah. Apostles give trials to adventurers on divine orders."
"Ah... Din, look over there—those things?"
In the direction he pointed, countless statues of humans and goblins stood.
"I see them."
"Kinda creepy, right? The expressions look too lifelike."
"They are alive."
"...Alive?"
"Yes."
Rox wore a baffled expression, doubting my words. But it didn't take long to confirm.
Clack, clack, clack.
A white-haired goblin elder appeared.
He explained the village's secret to us.
"Welcome, adventurer."