Chapter 170 - Between Master and Friend (3)

3

We chatted quietly about the stage we had just cleared, the thirty-second floor. How everyone had escaped Slimepolis. Whether they had shaken off their pursuers safely...

Of course, we also talked behind someone's back.

“We really have to do something about that Inquisitor!”

The Black Dragon leader snapped, utterly fed up.

“I don't know what he's thinking. No, I do know. And that makes me even angrier! Normal people don't take things that far.”

“Well, he's not normal. That's probably why.”

Viper spoke listlessly. His expression was far from pleasant. Ever since learning that the Inquisitor had reigned alone for two hundred years, he had looked as though he had eaten shit.

“He's lived that way his whole life. You think he's going to change now?”

“... There's something more important than that.”

I spoke up.

“Our rewards, everyone.”

“Huh? Rewards?”

“Yes. None of you have received your rewards for clearing the thirty-first floor yet, right? They said we'd get those on the thirty-second floor, but now they're saying we'll get the thirty-second-floor rewards on the thirty-third. The payout we're owed keeps getting deferred.”

“... Hmm.”

The Count rested the tip of her fan against her chin, her eyes gleaming. Among the top-ranked hunters, she was particularly sensitive to matters of money and rewards.

“Quite true. As I recall, the Tower has never owed hunters anything before. Surely it isn't deferring our rewards because it has nothing to give us...”

“Yep! Of course not!”

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages manifests.]

POP!

The princess appeared with a ridiculous sound. And it wasn't just the sound that was strange, but where she appeared, too. Her face poked up through the floor like a mole's. Viper, who was standing nearby, jumped in fright.

“Whoa! You scared the hell out of me!”

“Sorry, sorry. I had some business upstairs, so I'm a little late getting back. Whew, being competent is such a pain. Everyone keeps calling you over. That's why you should only be moderately capable.”

With a little heave, the princess crawled out of the hole beneath her. Once her body was out, the floor returned to its spotless white.

“You had business [upstairs]?”

“Yep. Believe it or not, I'm pretty high up the ladder. I have to help manage the Tower. Anyway, we were talking about rewards, right?”

The princess dusted off her knees.

“It's not that we're being stingy with your rewards. We were simply going to give them to you all at once after you cleared the fortieth floor.”

“Oh?” The Count raised her eyebrows.

“So you intend to bundle ten floors together and settle the rewards as a single unit?”

“Yep. There's a reason we have to do it that way, but you'll find out later.”

The princess looked at me, the constellation's eyes crinkling in a smile.

“Though it looks like someone has already guessed.”

“...”

“Well, I'd feel bad if I insisted on keeping everything secret. Even if I can't give you your [Stage Clear Rewards] right now, I'll share out a few odds and ends. Ahem, I do have that much discretion!”

The princess proudly puffed out her chest.

“Let's see. If I split up Inqui's Race Points into nice, neat portions... Yep, this should do it!”

SHRRR!

Messages appeared before our eyes.

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages settles the points.]

[You have obtained 9,160 Race Points!]

[Your current total Race Points: 9,160.]

For a moment, silence settled over us.

“... What?”

The Black Dragon leader murmured blankly.

“9,160? Isn't that a mistake? ...9,160 points?”

My companions were stunned.

'That's more than I expected.'

I was just as surprised. Judging by the Black Dragon leader's reaction, it seemed we had each received 9,160 points.

“That's right.”

The princess readily confirmed it.

“I'm not giving you special treatment. Inqui was eliminated, remember? I simply split his points six ways among you. Favoring the winners over the loser is an ironclad rule!”

“Wait... Then you're saying the Inquisitor had sixty thousand points?”

“54,964 points, to be exact. There were four points left over, so I just gave those to Sword Gramps. Think of it as a little consideration for the number-one rank.”

“...”

We were speechless.

“Hm? What's wrong?”

The princess tilted her head.

“Inqui had the stage all to himself for two hundred years, six months, and twenty-one days. Of course he'd rack up at least this many points. You can just be happy about it!”

“Now, then,” the princess said, clapping her hands.

“We're about to begin the thirty-third-floor stage. Before I speed up time in that world, does anyone want to spend their points in advance?”

The Sword Star raised his hand.

“I have a question.”

“Sure, Sword Gramps. Go ahead.”

“What do you mean by spending them in advance?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. That world is still... Ugh. It's annoying to talk about when it doesn't have a name. Anyway, the world of the races you're intervening in is currently stopped. Paused, you might say? If you buy items now, they'll influence its future history.”

The princess swept her index finger through the air, inscribing purple letters in midair.

+

[Invent a Brass-Tier Technology (Random Draw)] - 1,000p

[Invent a Sacred Silver-Tier Technology (Random Draw)] - 3,000p

[Invent a Platinum-Tier Technology (Random Draw)] - 6,000p

+

“If you use items like these now, they'll be incorporated into history, and you'll see the results in the next stage. The downside is that you can't control history in real time. But, well, from your perspective, the items will take effect the instant you use them. Not bad, right?”

“... I see.”

The Sword Star stroked his beard.

“Though we cannot determine history, we can guide its course to some extent. Last time, we skipped straight to the next stage without such an opportunity...”

“Ahh, yeah. I felt bad for you after Inqui pulled that trick.”

The princess sighed.

“All Inqui did was exploit a loophole in the system. A large part of the blame lies with me for exposing it in the first place. Honestly, the Death King does it too. You people just won't leave the system alone.”

“Hmm.”

While the princess grumbled, my companions began opening the [Civilization Shop] one by one and browsing its items. Watching her and the others, I sank into thought.

'... She quietly sidestepped the issue of stage rewards.'

My companions didn't seem to find anything particularly strange, but having experienced the future once, I knew. The very fact that our rewards kept being deferred was a kind of [hint].

The moment I mentioned it, the princess appeared and changed the subject.

'I was trying to give the others a hint naturally... Was she deliberately keeping me in check?'

My eyes met the constellation's. The princess smiled brightly and waved. There was no hostility in her face, but neither could I read what she was thinking.

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages asks for your understanding.]

My understanding, huh.

'Fair enough.'

I looked at the princess and nodded silently.

'If I explain everything from beginning to end, I'll rob my companions of the chance to grow.'

Until now, I had led my companions by drawing on my experiences before regressing. I had made use of the privilege of knowing the future.

But that privilege would expire before long.

'The Flame Emperor only cleared up to the fortieth floor.'

Beyond that lay unknown territory.

I knew what [theme] the fortieth through forty-ninth floors followed. I also knew that the fiftieth floor opened a stage shared by the Towers of every world. But that was all.

From the fifty-first floor onward, even I would be entering an unknown world.

'Then... I can't have them become subordinates who only act on what I tell them. I absolutely need companions who can cover the things I haven't thought of and the dangers I haven't prepared for.'

Keeping everything for oneself. Keeping all knowledge to oneself.

Monopolizing knowledge was just as harmful as monopolizing gains.

It might get us past the immediate obstacle, but in the bigger picture, it would eat away at [our Tower]'s strength.

'I can't follow in Yoo Suha's footsteps.'

I accepted the princess's request for understanding.

I would leave my companions to discover the truth themselves.

They had all struggled as I had, and they were finer people than me. Surely they would figure it out on their own.

'More importantly, the question is where to invest my remaining points... '

I carefully examined the [Civilization Shop].

In truth, I had already decided what to buy.

'There was a reason I invested every spare point I earned on the thirty-second floor.'

I read the item description.

+

[Race Evolution]

Rank: Undetermined

Effect: Certain races possess evolved forms. In worlds where aura or magical power exists, ecosystems are extremely complex, resulting in exceptionally dramatic evolution! Aura is the power to give will tangible form, and changes driven by will occur far faster than evolution through natural selection.

There is no guarantee that evolution will lead in a favorable direction. A race may will the wrong things. A race that wills destruction may degenerate into one that does nothing but slaughter, while a race that wills seclusion may become entirely isolated from the world. Choose carefully!

Cost: 8,900 Race Points (Currently, 1,100 points have been invested, including interest...)

Unlock Condition: Your race must acquire at least three identities.

※The Earth Spiritfolk currently meet the evolution requirements.

+

'I originally invested in this thinking I wouldn't be able to buy it until after the thirty-fourth floor... '

My eyes gleamed.

'But I can buy it right now.'

Race Evolution.

It was the reason the Earth Spiritfolk had been able to fight to the very end against the [High Elf] civilization the Flame Emperor had nurtured.

* * *

Before I regressed, the Flame Emperor, Yoo Suha, had chosen the fairy race.

Naturally gifted at responding to aura and sensing mana, the fairy race went from triumph to triumph under his protection.

The force that resisted their bowstrings to the very end was the Earth Spiritfolk.

Or, more precisely, the Earth Spiritfolk's [final evolved form].

“Huh?”

The attendant spirit sounded dumbfounded.

“What? There was all that behind it?”

'Of course. Did you think I chose the goblins for no reason?'

“You said you felt a kinship with them because they had so much in common with you.”

'I did. I still do. But I told you, didn't I? That these guys would soar someday. I meant it when I said the goblins would soar.'

“You actually meant that...?”

'Tsk, tsk. Surely you didn't think I was bullshitting you.'

“Your whole life is bullshit, you prophet bastard.”

Call it a white lie, would you?

“Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

“I'll buy this.”

I pointed to [Race Evolution]. The hologram wasn't visible to my companions, but apparently the constellation could see it. The princess let out an interested “Oh?”

“You really do make every point count, Death King. Doesn't it feel like a waste? You could draw several things like [Invent a Brass-Tier Technology] or [National-Tier General] instead.”

“No.”

Inventing a technology meant nothing if they couldn't use it properly.

Even if a gifted individual appeared, it would be equally meaningless if envy and jealousy kept them from getting ahead.

On the other hand, [Race Evolution], which benefited the entire Earth Spiritfolk race, was certain to have an effect.

“I'll take this.”

“No regrets?”

“None. Why do you keep asking? Are you hoping I'll choose something else instead?”

“... This is why players with cheats are such a pain.”

The princess let out a small sigh.

“Thanks for shopping.”

CLINK!

A sound effect rang out like a coin dropping.

[Purchasing 'Race Evolution'.]

[8,900 Race Points have been spent!]

[Your current Race Points: 260.]

Okay.

I used the item immediately.

[An epochal upheaval! The Earth Spiritfolk undergo evolution!]

[The Earth Spiritfolk's stats change.]

[You cannot view the Earth Spiritfolk's evolved form until you enter the next stage.]

I smiled in satisfaction.

'Okay. There's still one more stage before their final evolution, but we're closer to the goal.'

The day when the goblins would rise as masters of the world was not far off.

'Ah, knowing that the moment approaches when gork will echo in every corner of the world and everyone will chant kerk sets my barren chest aflame and makes even my cold heart race.'

“You crazy bastard...”

My companions bought items as well. Some spent every point they had. Others saved theirs for later. Still others divided them judiciously. Their shopping styles were all different.

“Everyone finished? Nothing else?”

The princess looked around and nodded.

“Good. No takebacks! I'll set that world's history in motion now. Let's see, let's see. How many centuries will pass this time...? Oh? Huh. Hmm?”

The princess blinked.

“Much more time has passed this time than last time. We're at a point six hundred and sixty years after Slimepolis fell to the slave rebellion.”

Six hundred and sixty years.

Compared to the era the Inquisitor had drastically compressed, time had certainly leaped forward.

“As for the Mountain Snailfolk, the losers of the previous era... Oh dear. Poor things.”

“What happened to the Mountain Snailfolk?”

“Mmm. Well, you'll find out when you go in and see for yourselves.”

The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages spread her arms wide.

“Then I'll open the thirty-third floor now!”

Light burst forth!

The now-familiar light blanketed our vision in white.

Even the sensation of my brain swirling inside my head was quite bearable by now.

“Raaaaaaah!”

The next instant, cheers that seemed to shake heaven and earth battered our eardrums.

“Kill them! Cut off those filthy snails' tentacles!”

“Charge! Charge! Don't let the enemy flank us! Stay on them to the end!”

We were standing in the middle of a battlefield.