Chapter 41
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Old Comrade
Rox gathered the sticky mana in both hands and swung them through the air.
Ssssh...
The goblin marionettes he had brought from the tower's lower levels shifted formations in response to his hand movements and engaged in battle.
"Kieeeek!"
Rox's marionettes fought not only the humans in the village but also the goblins.
This was to observe the adventurers' battles earlier and learn how to defeat them.
Of course, judging by the results alone, it was an unwinnable fight. The humans and goblins who had become tower residents kept reviving even after death.
But it was an important battle for Rox. Before it began, Berddin had said,
'It's a precious battle you won't easily experience outside. Learn how to handle multiple enemies using your Guardian Spirit and its abilities.'
Rox knew it too.
Outside, battles with this many casualties only happened in major wars between nations.
And in such massive battles, the odds of losing your life were extremely high.
"Enchant Fire."
As Rox whispered the incantation,
Shiiiik—.
Fire-attribute magic enveloped the weapons of the goblins he controlled, and their blades began to glow red-hot.
Fwoosh.
"Success."
Rox clenched his fist with a joyful expression. The clown Guardian Spirit floating above his head danced around gleefully and asked,
"Ooh! How many times is this that you've succeeded with Enchant?"
"Three."
"How many attempts?"
"Five."
"Three successes out of five attempts? Not bad at all. Good, very good!"
Rox smirked, wiping the tip of his nose.
"Feels nice to get praised. But man, this guzzles mana. One use and I'm already sleepy."
"You have to endure that much? You're enchanting a hundred goblins at once."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah!"
"I didn't know. I practiced like crazy because Din said I had to master this level to tag along with him. First time trying it on a hundred at once."
"...That guy's standards are way too high."
Instantly casting the intermediate spell Enchant a hundred times. Rox had no idea how impressive that was.
Even senior mages from the Glazer family couldn't do it without maxed-out mana capacity.
Clap clap clap clap!
Cynthia's party member, the ponytail glasses girl watching the scene, clapped her hands.
"Amazing, truly amazing. Not only using mana from the Strange family, but casting magic at such a high level!"
"Hey, I think there's a misunderstanding. I'm not from Strange."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm not Strange. My name is Rox. Rox von Glazer. Glazer, not Strange."
Thud, thud, thud.
Someone approached from behind the goblin champion. Gregory flinched and slowly turned to check.
"...Father?!"
Gregory froze solid.
His father, dead long ago, slowly stepped forward and stroked his cheek.
It looked as if time had stopped.
Neither moved a muscle.
They couldn't believe the situation.
Gregory couldn't believe his father had returned to life; his father couldn't fathom why he himself had revived.
They stared at each other in silence until, after a long while, Gregory broke the quiet.
"A-Are you really Father?"
"Yes."
"How... how..."
"I don't know either. I just closed my eyes and opened them, and here I was."
Gregory glanced at me warily, clenching his fists tightly.
"Don't tell me you're deceiving me with an illusion."
I shook my head slightly.
"No. This bet was mine to win anyway, no tricks needed."
"Th-Then how is Father—"
"I asked a friend. To let you see your father, even if just for a moment."
"...Why?"
"A gift."
"A gift?"
"Yeah, a gift. Or maybe a bribe? Our fight ends here. I want to join hands."
"Join hands?"
"We'll talk about that after you and your father finish speaking."
"......"
"Time's short, so talk fast."
Gregory couldn't read my intentions.
Why would an adventurer let him see his father? All sorts of suspicions must have raced through his mind.
But he didn't dwell on it.
He had desperately wanted to see his father, real or not.
"Understood."
I nodded toward his father.
"I'll wait."
"Right."
With that, we paused the battle. Gregory closed his eyes briefly, as if thinking, then walked toward his father in front of the church.
They embraced tightly with bright smiles and began talking.
Too far to hear, but Gregory waved his hands in the air, laughing, crying, getting angry, then laughing again.
Probably reminiscing about the past and catching up.
His father nodded with a kind smile. Gregory had so much to say he barely paused.
Ssssh...
Gregory's body began shrinking bit by bit. From middle-aged, he regressed backward through time to his youthful form.
Back to the Gregory from before he lost his father, in those happy days.
And time came for them to part. His father, revived by marionette power, slumped and said,
"Looks like this is the end."
"The end? What do you mean, Father?"
"Time to return to the gods, it seems."
"T-To the gods?"
"Yes."
His father looked up at me wearily, with a grateful smile, as if thanking me for this moment.
"When I go, serve that young master well. Without him, we wouldn't have met like this."
"...Father."
"I'm glad I could see you, even like this. If there's a next time, I'll bring fun stories to tell you."
With that, his father began dissolving into smoke. Gregory reached out desperately, but it was futile.
"Father!"
Even as he faded, his father stroked Gregory's head with a benevolent smile.
Swaaaa—.
"Forget the past and live for the future."
Those were his last words as he vanished completely.
'It's over.'
The guy clasped his hands and prayed for a long time, then abruptly stood and bowed deeply before me, forehead to the ground.
Thud!
"Thank you, adventurer. I'll guide you to the path to the next floor."
Flash!
At that moment, the goblin champion's horn glowed.
'Success.'
A third path on the 10th floor, unknown to those just climbing the tower.
Find his father hidden in the village graveyard and meet Gregory, the trial's master.
A secret route conquerable only by those with special abilities like Rox's 'Marionette'.
"I won't refuse."
A white pillar of light descended from the tower's ceiling.
Boom!
The gods' response signaling the trial's end: 'Day Respawn'.
Normally, those who complete the tower's trials receive one of seven colors.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
Rewards match the performance, in order.
'White this time.'
The moment it confirmed I'd obtained the hidden piece.
The bald martial artist, Alfred, threw his hands up and shouted.
"Woooaaah!"
The ponytail glasses girl danced beside him and said to Cynthia,
"W-We did it! We can go to the next floor at last!"
Cynthia said coolly to the two,
"Don't touch anything there yet."
"Wh-Why?"
"Our shares aren't decided."
"What? It's 7:3, we take our 3, right?"
"10 isn't set, so don't take even 3."
"...Huh? What does that mean?"
Cynthia nodded toward where the humans gathered.
Berddin was talking with the goblin champion, now in child form.
"You can take only one from these. I'll give you plenty of time, so choose carefully."
Berddin picked up the smallest wooden box from the piled treasures and replied,
"This one."
Cynthia and her group jumped in shock.
Choosing a wooden box the size of a child's palm amid glittering treasures?
What madness, with gold and jewels right there!
But none dared complain.
'No choice but to endure.'
What could they say to Berddin and the goblin champion, overwhelmingly stronger?
Gregory rested his chin, thought deeply, sighed, and replied,
"You know what that box is, don't you?"
I smiled faintly.
"Who knows."
"Doesn't matter what you know. Once chosen, it can't be undone."
Gregory swung his hand grandly through the air. Aura warped space, sending the remaining treasures elsewhere.
Shaaak.
"You're the first to take this box, it seems."
"How did you know?"
If he knew its contents, he'd have tried to stop me at all costs.
"Just did."
"Just?"
"Yeah. Felt like it."
"...Boring guy. Well, you're the first to take that box, as you said. There was one other who saw the white light."
Gregory scowled and continued,
"But that fool took no reward."
"Who was it?"
"Don't know the name. But his party called him 'Red Falcon'."
"Red Falcon?"
"Yeah, Red Falcon."
First I'd heard of it.
Not a name, a nickname?
Never heard it in my past or current life.
Who could it be?
"Thanks for telling me."
"No big deal. If you need money, take some gear from the church. Plenty looted from adventurers over time."
I shrugged.
"Don't need it. Already got more money than I can spend."
"That much money? Haha, so you're nobility from a famed house."
"Yeah."
"Mind sharing the family name? If your kids come for the trial later, I'll let them pass."
"Just pass them?"
"Yeah. For your family, spe-cial treat-ment."
Was his offer a gain or loss? Based on the future I knew, both, but gain outweighed loss.
I swept back my cloak, revealing the cross engraved on my armor.
"Strange. My name is Berddin de Strange. The youngest son of the Strange family, called the continent's greatest swordsmanship noble house."