Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Episode 79. Sailing Out
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The path from the 41st to the 50th floor.
Climbers receive a single ship as a gift from the tower.
The size of the vessel is determined in proportion to the number of party members and their strength, judged by the apostle known as the lord of this sea.
"To the right, no no, turn a bit more to the right meow!"
Brunhilt shouted from atop Berddin's head.
"This way?"
Berddin turned the ship's rudder in the direction she indicated.
Srrrrk—
"Yeah, that's it. Right there, right there. See how the water color darkens just a bit here? Follow this path straight ahead."
"Until when?"
"Until I tell you to stop."
Originally, the bow of the ship provided by the tower comes equipped with a guide for the next floor.
But rather than a person giving verbal directions, it's just a mermaid statue that shoots beams of light from its eyes toward the destination.
Cynthia looked at Berddin and Brunhilt with uneasy eyes.
"Are we really okay trusting that cat?"
Rox, who had been lying on the deck, glanced at Berddin with half-lidded eyes, then turned his back as if her question annoyed him and replied.
"We're this far in, and you're asking that? You still don't trust Din?"
"No, I trust Berddin. It's just... sailing by that cat's instincts instead of the tower's guide? It's hard to believe."
"Then go tell Berddin yourself. Say you can't trust the cat's directions, so let's follow the light from that fish head on the bow."
Cynthia's face flushed red like a ripe fruit.
Her lips trembled, her expression one of fury that seemed ready to erupt into curses with just a little more prodding.
Even with his back turned, Rox sensed her killing intent and continued in a voice that seemed to shrink into the floor.
"If you can't say it, I can ask for you."
"Forget it."
"Fine, whatever."
"Yeah, I hate you. I really hate you!"
Cynthia shot up from her spot.
At the same time, Rox pretended to scratch the back of his head, covering it as he raised his upper body.
The two stared in opposite directions, avoiding each other's gaze.
In the battlefield, such a close yet distant relationship was called "bow and flesh."
'They look together but end up farthest apart.'
They were like sworn enemies whose rift wouldn't narrow, yet bound together like bow and arrow, forced to endure for mutual survival.
Watching this, Alfredo gripped the railing and burst into laughter.
-Kuhahaha!
"You two are just like dogs and cats. Can't stand each other!"
Cynthia twitched her eyebrows in irritation and yanked his beard.
"Having fun, Alfredo?"
"No, I just thought you were playing around... Sorry."
"This is a battlefield right now. Knights don't play on the battlefield. Focus."
"...Got it."
If Judah had been there, he might have been in that position. With him absent, Alfredo had no choice but to become the sacrificial lamb.
Cynthia steadied her breathing and approached Berddin.
Huu—
"Berddin."
"Don't worry. The voyage is going smoothly."
Berddin continued before she could even part her lips fully.
"This cat here has the ability to read special energies we can't perceive. Something imperceptible and invisible to human senses. It's the faint aura emanating from the tower's floor."
"Such a thing exists?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"I read about it in the library at Pablos Ruines Academy."
This wasn't a lie.
All the information about reaching the 80th floor of the tower was documented there.
Of course, only a limited few could read those texts, and even knowing them, scarcely any adventurers could execute it until I completed my growth and assembled a party meeting all conditions.
'Of course.'
This only applied to my previous life.
This time, with many unforeseen events and the flow of causality drastically altered from before.
Soon, a party capable of climbing the tower differently from back then might emerge.
'But not yet.'
Berddin pointed to a distant island and continued.
"That's the 43rd floor."
"The 43rd? That island?"
"Yes, as I explained earlier. From the 41st to the 50th, each floor is an island. You wouldn't feel it since we're sailing over water, but beneath us, in depths too deep to see, there are stairs laid out."
"So we're sailing over the stairs?"
"Exactly. And we've already passed two floors. No need for scouting or combat to move to the next island. We're progressing safely and swiftly."
In the future, those who first came to this sea and traveled with Berddin would remember the ascent as far too easy. They'd reach the final floor without enduring the grueling trials required at every island crossing.
A feast of absurd monsters rare outside the tower, outbreaks of unidentified plagues.
Moreover, competition among mid-floor adventurers never ceased, so nine out of ten died before the last floor.
But Berddin's party members had no way of knowing this.
They simply followed the cat's guidance, riding the wind peacefully and smoothly.
'Already the 45th floor.'
Less than half a day, and they'd reached the 45th.
At this pace, they could arrive at the final pre-layer where his father waited before nightfall. In the past, it had taken over a year and countless comrades' lives to get there, but knowing the method made it a breeze.
'Back then, soldiers sacrificed for me numbered more than a few, but these guys have much better luck now.'
Berddin looked at Rox and Alfredo alternately with pitiful eyes. Moments ago awake, they now snored away as if nothing had happened.
"Should I wake them?"
Cynthia asked, clenching her fists.
Berddin glanced at her, lips curling slightly, and shook his head.
"No, let them rest. They need to be sharp for the fight when we arrive."
"And you?"
"I'm fine. Lady Terezsia is with us anyway, so stamina isn't an issue."
"...Okay. Call if you need help."
She walked to one side of the ship, leaned against it, and lay down. Sleep evaded her; she kept opening and closing her eyes.
Her gaze showed impatience and anxiety, but not enough to worry greatly—she'd overcome it on her own.
Berddin thought so and sailed quietly until arrival.
Not everything in the world goes according to my will.
I realized this upon arriving at the 49th floor, the island where my father resided.
'The battle's over.'
A tall castle loomed in the island's center.
And rising from it, gray smoke.
This signaled the victors burning corpses or notifying allies of occupation.
Either way, the defenders had clearly lost.
'Which means.'
Roys de Strange, called the world's strongest swordsman.
I witnessed with my own eyes his defeat by the enemy.
"Damn it."
I walked slowly through the forest, organizing my thoughts.
Those who felled my father—stronger than me—now held that castle.
So, no rash charges driven by emotion. I needed to compare our strengths and assess odds.
My current body hadn't reached the Sword King level of my past life, so even with powerful aura, caution was key.
Huu—
I steadied my breath.
Then examined the novel animal-soldier corpses strewn along the path to the castle.
Beings radiating the same aura as the monkey from Ruines Academy days ago. I couldn't confirm identity, but they definitely used the same ability.
'Then.'
Could it infuse its power into living beings?
No—Toni said the monkey ate him, so parasitizing the enemy's body fits better.
'Appearance aside.'
Powerful abilities come with conditions.
Thus, it used animal bodies. Otherwise, it'd consume strong adventurers, not beasts.
'Which means.'
It can't consume me.
Whatever the constraint, it's certain.
I checked the smoke's direction from the castle.
"Cynthia, Alfredo. You two protect Lady Terezsia and advance slowly. Rox and I will head to the castle first to assess the situation."
I issued orders to the entire party.
No lengthy explanations needed.
Battlefield veterans, they understood and acted on simple commands.
Cynthia and Alfredo flanked Terezsia. Rox and I sprinted full speed to the castle.
Thud thud thud—
'Still fighting?'
Clang! Clang clang! Clang!
Metallic echoes rang widely from afar. Not sword-on-sword, but like blunt weapons striking armor. The thin, broad reverberation ruled out blades. If so, only enemies used such weapons.
'Battle not over.'
Then Father might still live.
I channeled aura into my legs, accelerating.
"Rox, I'll go ahead. Clean up the surroundings as you follow."
"Clean up? Ah! Aaa—got it!"
Rox thumbed up, eyeing the scattered corpses.
The Strange Family had long been called the continent's premier swordsmanship house and strongest military force.
An indisputable fact, etched even in snot-nosed kids' minds.
Wherever their name passed, golden-cross-emblazoned banners fluttered—the family symbol.
But today, an event shook the era's flow.
The Glazer Family, self-proclaimed world's eyes with dragon-eye flags, pinnacle of this world's mages.
Their family head, 'Hagen von Glazer,' had prepared to declare war on Strange.
"Your Majesty, Roys didn't just kill Pierre Marquis, heir to imperial blood. He also schemed against Your Majesty's sister and his own wife, Duchess Katarina. Shouldn't he face due punishment?"
The aged emperor bowed his head and replied.
"...How could I punish him? The Strange Family has striven for continental peace until now."
"And us? Have we not fought for peace while you idled?"
Hagen pressed with a sly smile.
"Grant the order to execute the traitor. The justification for war is ironclad, and I've prepared the means to topple them."
The emperor fell silent.
Hagen ended the talk with an ultimatum and departed.
"If Your Majesty but commands, I shall bring Roys's head by tonight."