Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Oh Gallery Master, My Gallery Master
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...That's why I told you. To be careful."
After the recovery team's report went up on the Tower Climbing Gallery.
Astromeria clamped her lips shut.
"I told you over and over, my mouth went dry saying it—the [Fidelity Statue Knight] might not be just a simple object."
"We had no choice but to let our guard down. He'd been completely still through over fifty clears."
Maid Loretta was back to her usual refined speech this time.
Fitting for a butler-like demeanor.
She wouldn't keep up the concept even in a moment like this.
So Idmari only asked her.
"Miss Maid, what is the [Fidelity Statue Knight]?"
"An object in the 0th layer boss room."
Object.
A specific item memorable to climbers.
Or slang for a key攻略 item.
Loretta displayed a photo in the gallery.
"It's just an ice statue kneeling and praying beside the boss monster, the orc chieftain."
"Why is it called an object?"
"Because it holds mana at the mid-layer boss monster level."
That was it.
Not needed for攻略, doesn't even attack.
Just immense mana.
That alone stirred up mystery around the statue.
Climbers called it the [Fidelity Statue Knight].
Astromeria, listening in, spoke up.
"When the tower first appeared in the 0th layer, a man called the Great Sorcerer challenged it. He was skilled enough to handle the mid-layers smoothly, from what I hear."
"Really? Even though he was from the 0th layer?"
"Must've been a true genius."
Usually, major layers match the攻略 level.
The peaceful 0th layer.
To reach mid-layer level through nothing but research and training there?
He could've aimed for floor 70 or higher.
"But for some reason, he never returned to the 0th layer, and everyone thought he'd advanced to the next major layer."
"That makes sense."
Push through the boss room and climb to the next major layer.
Perfectly ordinary.
But the moment a climber passes the boss room like that.
They can't return to their previous major layer.
No.
More precisely, their level gets shaved down the moment they do.
That's the tower's rule.
"For a mid-layer level expert, dropping more than half their level to return to a lower layer would've been tough."
"Yeah. But I don't think that's what happened."
"Huh?"
"I'm from the 0th layer too."
Astromeria looked away from the gallery.
"My teacher wasn't the type to hold back from returning to his hometown just because he didn't want to lose power."
"I know. That's why Lumi became a climber too."
Loretta nodded.
The Pseudo-Dragon攻略 Team had known each other for nearly ten years.
They knew the backstory.
It had to be that way.
Loretta's friend had never reunited with her master.
"I thought about it. If my teacher climbed the tower, he wouldn't have left without a single trace."
Her master wouldn't have gone up to the 1st major layer.
If he had, some clue would've been found.
Especially now that they'd reached the 7th major layer.
But there were no traces of her teacher anywhere.
So then?
"He was killed by the [Fidelity Statue Knight]."
Astromeria ground her teeth.
"No one believed me, and I had no proof, so I couldn't push it. But that's the truth."
"Now the truth has come out."
"Yeah. The [Fidelity Statue Knight] must be a condition-triggered irregular."
The challenger's corpse defeated by the orc chieftain.
Not some twisted hobby statue.
A-rank conditional irregular.
That was the [Fidelity Statue Knight]'s true nature.
'Team C's survival... is impossible.'
So Astromeria hadn't reached out either.
What good would reporting the situation do?
No way to rescue them.
'They'd just get pissed, like I'm mocking a dying man.'
Even Astromeria would.
What kind of report is this when death is twenty minutes away.
Lucky if they don't snap back asking what you're gonna do about it.
'Being able to leave last words might be a blessing.'
And that was all thanks to this nameless Gallery Master.
A meager consolation not worth rejoicing over.
Maybe that's why.
When that Gallery Master messaged her.
Astromeria's breath caught unconsciously.
This armband had always lived up to Lumi's expectations.
She had to give him a kiss on the cheek if they met on an upper floor.
Astromeria steadied her loosened expression.
Then she hugged the pillow she always carried.
This sleepyhead's habit when focusing.
The recovery team that helped them materially and morally.
To save their lives,
she could lick Gallery Master's toe jam if needed.
"Isn't this mess because of the main body?"
Right after seeing the photo of the ice knight.
The [Fidelity Statue Knight].
Jeong-uk = clone couldn't help but say it.
"Looks like it."
"Pushing the High End layer didn't trigger this?"
"Ah, come on. Don't jinx it."
An ice statue that had been mere decoration for years.
Suddenly starts moving out of nowhere?
That would require an equally rare event.
For example?
'Something like S+ streak or conquering a High End layer.'
Shit.
No way, right~? But anxiety gnawed anyway.
The lack of certainty amplified the guilt.
That was why Jeong-uk was rushing.
Climbers on each floor.
And gather supplies from residents.
Meanwhile, contact the recovery team.
"Longest twenty minutes? More than enough."
Finish in ten minutes.
Give the recovery team the remaining ten to prepare.
Of course, to the recovery team hearing this, it was like a bolt from the blue.
In a good way.
"Rescue? Us?"
"How?"
They couldn't have imagined it.
A way to rescue prisoners from another floor.
If such a method existed, they'd have saved Sword Fairy first.
No, they should've.
Did stragglers like them.
Hold that much value for a recovery team that gave up climbing?
The god spoke.
Of course it's fine.
Your lives are worth it.
I've decided so.
Equipment, consumables.
Supplies for battle poured in.
From empty air, like a miracle.
'Am I dreaming?'
The recovery team nearly dislocated their jaws doubting their eyes.
And rightly so.
"You can send supplies to a floor mid-攻略?"
A miracle that upended the tower's common sense and structure.
Happening dozens of times over.
If not for the [Giftcon] precedent, they'd have fainted.
No, honestly.
They still felt like passing out.
Checking the gear only made it worse.
"That spear... it's that one?! The rare drop we left for repair at the 0th layer workshop!"
"Twenty flame magic scrolls!"
"This is the staff I use for 20th layer攻略! Huh? W-wait! Why is it SR? This is a lower floor drop!"
The team leader swallowed hard.
People say.
War is numbers.
What numbers do they mean?
Troop count?
That's a third-rate answer.
A second-rate commander like the team leader knew.
'War depends on supply volume.'
The god of logistics is the god of war.
And logistics hinges on communication.
In other words.
With a bit of exaggeration.
Gallery Master had become a true god.
This Red Tower where one proves oneself through battle.
The being dominating its communications and supplies.
The god of攻略.
"Team leader."
"Yeah."
The faces of his team, awaiting death, changed.
But the team leader wasn't surprised.
His own face must look the same.
"With gear like this, escape is worth attempting."
Victory is still a long shot.
But they could melt the ice blocking the path,
and hold the ice knight until then.
If they had this equipment.
Absurd.
Truly, words failed to describe how absurd.
'Damage at B rank.'
This was mid-layer攻略 gear level.
Meaning floor 30+.
Unenhanced gear, a floor 15 drop at that!
And moreover, what?
Flame attack skill and freeze resistance?
Against the chill-spewing [Fidelity Statue Knight]?
The team leader declared confidently.
'No better gear exists on this floor.'
Preparing and sending something like this.
Couldn't even imagine what great sorcery it took.
And all in just ten minutes.
Yet they'd bitched at such a person.
The team leader wiped his face.
"Idiot."
Causing this disaster through their own carelessness,
unable to recognize the lifeline dropped right in front of them?
And calling themselves team leader?
-Bang! Bang!
Self-recrimination was a luxury now.
Barrier down in three minutes max.
Hurry and equip, then.
The team leader hesitated before opening the gallery.
Wanted to apologize in advance.
Even if just empty words.
Who knew.
If they'd survive to repay this debt.
Naturally, Jeong-uk's face twitched.
If this irregular is really my fault, kill me.
Kill me with guilt.
That's how it sounded to the team leader, though.
"See? Even after all this help, Gallery Master still blames himself."
The team leader's eyes gleamed through his helmet.
"That's the kind of person he is. Can you even imagine how much he'd blame himself if we died?"
"Exactly!"
"More than enough."
"Right. So everyone, don't die. No matter what."
This wasn't an order.
Survival was now their duty.
Therefore.
"Charge! Secure the escape gate!"
Drop the barrier, face the [Fidelity Statue Knight].
The team leader's steps had never been surer.
"Recovery Squad C Team! Survive and repay Gallery Master──!"