Chapter 34 - My Death Is (1)

Yes. I was back again.

I had come to describe arriving here as coming “back.”

[Randomly copying a skill from the monster Demon King of Autumn Rain.]

The pit into which my consciousness fell. The Underworld.

My hell.

People called me a loser. And I was a loser. This was the very place that had given someone like me a chance. When I burned to death, engulfed in the blaze called the Flame Emperor, I hadn't let the Tower's final gift slip away.

Why?

[Forming a skill card.]

Why had the Tower given this chance to me, of all people?

It was the same question as “Why did it grant a psychopath like Yoo Suha that kind of power?” Why? Why give a chance like this to someone as worthless as me, someone who did nothing but trawl online communities and burn with envy?

"I've looked through all the skills," the attendant spirit said. "Want me to read them out now?"

'Yes, please.'

"Okay!"

Perhaps the Tower had felt something was missing.

As I listened to the attendant spirit recite the skills, I wondered whether the hunters' behavior had disappointed the Tower.

[Resentment Flows Like Rain]

Rank: S-

Effect: They do not look. They do not see. When people cannot see something before their eyes, they assume it does not exist. 'They have gone blind.' Indeed. 'They are ignorant.'

Then show them.

Show them, in all its starkness, how many lives have perished in their ignorance. For all the innocent blood spilled in this world, the sky will gladly send down red rain.

※However, only blood you personally witnessed spilling will fall as rain.

The Flame Emperor, Yoo Suha, had undoubtedly smashed the tenth-floor stage.

Not “smashed” in the sense of clearing it. The dolls' grudges, their cries of grievance, their resentment. He would have ignored it all and literally smashed them.

Wouldn't the Tower have regretted that?

Wouldn't it have been disappointed?

'What's the next skill?'

"This one," the attendant spirit said.

[The Heart Cries Out in Echoes]

Rank: A+

Effect: Strengthens your aura using your emotions as fuel. The stronger the emotion, the more your aura responds. Vengeance, hatred, sorrow, joy, anger, grief, pleasure. Any emotion will do. The flames will burn regardless of the firewood.

※However, you will become increasingly addicted to that emotion.

'...'

I took my time thinking it over.

Yes. The Tower must have been disappointed.

'Every floor has a hidden quest.'

Just as the Infernal Mansion had a quest to comfort the dolls.

Perhaps... there was a hidden quest on the twelfth floor, too.

Wanting to discover it, if nothing else, I listened closely to the attendant spirit.

[Summon a Hundred Ghosts]

Rank: SS

Effect: Summons those you personally killed as monsters. The dead do not retain the abilities they possessed in life. Nor do they retain their memories. They are merely summoned as monsters such as goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.

※However, you may summon them only once a week.

There were plenty of other minor skills.

But those three were the ones that weighed on my mind.

'... All right.'

I nodded.

'I've decided.'

Which skill to choose.

How to clear the twelfth floor—no.

How to clear the stages all the way to the twentieth floor.

'I'll take this one.'

"Huh?"

Had my choice surprised him?

The attendant spirit tilted his head.

"You're going with that? Hmm? I don't know about that."

'No. At least for clearing up through the twentieth floor, this should be the best.'

"I wonder... Well, whatever. Do what you want. I don't know what you're thinking, but you'll be cooking up some little scheme again anyway."

'Just you wait.'

Reaching toward the card, I added an “Oh, right.”

'Mr. Sword Emperor. You know the Sword Star's daily routine inside out, don't you?'

"Huh? Sure, I know it. Old Markus has a rigid schedule from when he gets up at dawn until he goes to bed at night. A total old man."

'Tell me his evening schedule. I have a use for it.'

"Sure, why not."

I grasped the card.

A voice echoed through the darkness.

[Selection complete. Copying the skill.]

[Regressing to 24 hours ago.]

And so I returned to the day before.

[Your current hunter rank is D.]

[A skill penalty is being applied.]

[Recreating the trauma of the enemy who killed you.]

Of course, there was a penalty.

I ended up witnessing the trauma of the one known as the Demon King of Autumn Rain...

But for now, it was time to deal with the twelfth floor first.

[Penalty depth: Medium.]

[Realm of Hungry Ghosts.]

Let's talk about that nightmare a little later.

The attendant spirit had taught me how to live a single second.

He'd said it was hard for a person to truly live even one second properly.

This time, I felt keenly just how true that was.

"... You're leaving already?"

The café.

The Witch looked up at me from her chair.

And she wasn't the only one. The leaders of the great guilds watched me with a variety of expressions. Even the Count, who had died from the Demon King's strike on the twelfth floor, smiled softly while fanning with a folding fan.

The café in the First-Floor City.

The place where I had made an agreement with the guild leaders.

That was where I had returned.

'One day.'

Once again, I realized just how vast a span twenty-four hours was.

It made my head spin.

In one day, we had ushered in a new era, cleared the eleventh floor, and fought the Demon King on the twelfth. And yet, my God. All of it had happened in less than a day.

"... Yes. The eleventh floor opens soon."

My throat tightened a little.

I cleared it with a cough and said,

"I need to start preparing now if I don't want to fall behind everyone else."

"How will you prepare when you don't even know what sort of place the eleventh floor is?"

"..."

The eleventh floor poses no problem.

The problems start on the twelfth floor, where the Demon King intervenes.

That's where you split apart.

Someone betrays you, and that betrayal tears you apart.

People even die.

"... Kim Gongja?"

The Witch knitted her brows.

"Are you all right? Your expression suddenly changed. Is your stomach hurting?"

"Mm. I'm fine. You're all such impressive people, leading guilds and everything, and realizing I'm here with you made me a little emotional. I suppose it feels like a different lifetime."

I continued calmly.

The attendant spirit watched me in silence.

"Anyway, yes. That's right. Everyone, I know what the eleventh floor is like. Not only that, I know what its quest entails."

"...!"

The look in the guild leaders' eyes changed.

Information was as important as life itself. In effect, I had just told them that I knew a clue to a matter on which their lives depended. No wonder their expressions changed.

"They gave me information as a reward for clearing the tenth floor."

"... The reason you're choosing to reveal that here and now..."

The Witch parted her lips.

"May I take that to mean you're willing to share the information with us?"

"Of course."

I raised my index finger.

"But I have one condition."

"Go ahead. I'll gladly hear you out."

"If I ever ask you for a [favor], please grant it just once."

I looked at each hunter seated around the table in turn. They grew thoughtful at my words. A favor. Such a simple word, yet such a weighty one.

"What sort of favor?"

"I can't tell you now."

"..."

"But I can swear this right here. It will never be a favor that puts your lives at risk. I won't ask for money, either. Nor will I ask you to take anyone else's life. If you think it's impossible, you can simply refuse when the time comes."

"Hmm."

The Inquisitor stroked his chin.

With his right hand.

The hand that had been cut off by the Sword Star's blade in the previous run.

"That sounds reasonable to me. Frankly, the terms are extremely favorable! Aha. Information lets us prepare in advance, and with advance preparation, there are very few problems we cannot solve. I'm in favor!"

"Hmm. If we have the right to refuse... I am in favor as well."

The Inquisitor agreed, and the Count joined him.

After finishing their deliberations, the other hunters promised, one by one, to accept my condition.

'Okay.'

Step one cleared.

"Then let me explain. Floors eleven through twenty are set in another world called the Aegim Empire. It's under invasion by the Demon King, and the eleventh floor is a battlefield where they're fighting over a supply route..."

My quiet voice flowed through the café.

Once they had heard all the information about the eleventh floor, the guild leaders began murmuring among themselves.

"... I see. The first ten floors were the tutorial. From the eleventh onward, we'll be taking part in large-scale battles."

"Information worth a fortune."

"Yes! The nature of the fighting will change entirely!"

"We ought to pass some of this information along to our guild members. Whew. But our Union members have no talent for fighting at all..."

The hunters exchanged opinions eagerly.

I nodded.

'This will make clearing the eleventh floor much easier, too.'

Things were already changing.

This alone had already changed a great deal from the previous run.

But it still wasn't enough.

"Then I'll be going now... Oh. Paladin."

"Hm?"

The Paladin turned her head. She was drinking her third Americano through a straw.

"What is it?"

"You're the deputy leader of the Vigilantes, aren't you? Would you take a walk outside with me? There's something I'd like to consult you about."

"Hmm."

The Paladin glanced around and shrugged.

"Well, I was about to leave anyway. As long as the walk doesn't take too long..."

"It won't. About thirty minutes will be enough."

"Then that's fine with me."

The Paladin set down her coffee.

"I'll gladly accept your invitation to a date."

A city teeming with people.

In the plaza, on benches by the fountain, and in outdoor restaurants, hunters chatted about the tenth floor.

"I'm telling you, if there's still no announcement, some unknown rookie cleared it!"

"No way. The top guilds are probably just coordinating something among themselves."

"Who really cleared it...?"

"I want to clear a stage, too."

The murmur of voices filled the air.

For these people, whose tomorrow had been erased, the tenth floor's clearing had happened only moments ago.

It felt as if I alone was walking through time without having been erased.

"Hey, Zombie."

No, strictly speaking, I wasn't alone.

"He's following. He's following us."

I had the attendant spirit with me.

'Are you sure?'

"I'm sure. Don't turn around, though."

Two conditions were necessary to clear the twelfth floor safely.

One was cooperation from the leaders of the great guilds.

The other... was for the Sword Star not to be hostile toward me.

'Waiting until the twelfth floor to clear up his misunderstanding is too late.'

I'd learned that painfully in the previous run.

'I need to clear it up before climbing the Tower.'

The Sword Star was on very bad terms with the guild leaders.

If he pointed his sword at me, he would automatically put himself at odds with them, too. They were already at each other's throats—what if the bombshell of a Traitor landed on top of that?

A shortcut to disaster.

"Wow, he's seamless. Look at that tailing technique. Zombie, you probably wouldn't notice him even if you turned around. Old Markus has stealth skills, too."

'I get it, so just keep checking that he's following us.'

And so I was currently [fishing] for the Sword Star.

After hearing about his routine from the attendant spirit, I had deliberately made myself visible to him at the right time. The Sword Star spotted me while eating dinner at his usual outdoor restaurant. He stopped eating and immediately began tailing me.

Of course,

"Kim Gongja, where are we going?"

The Paladin walking beside me knew none of this.

"There's nothing but a rather gloomy neighborhood down this alley..."

"There's a shop I'd like to introduce you to."

"A shop?"

"Yes. It's run by an unknown apothecary, but she's really good. If her name got around a little, she'd be a huge success in no time, but she's struggling because it hasn't. Have a look, and if you like what you see, please help her business out."

"Hmm..."

As we walked side by side, the Paladin studied my face.

I knew what she was doing.

'She's activated Lie Detector.'

The Paladin spoke.

"Is what you just said true?"

"Yes, of course. Why would I lie to you?"

It wasn't a lie, since I really was going to introduce her to the apothecary's shop.

"I'm only asking out of caution, but you're not plotting anything suspicious, are you?"

"I'm trying to get your help. If anything dangerous happens, it'll be my life at risk, not yours. Please trust me."

"Hmm."

The Paladin nodded slowly.

It must have all registered as true.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled.

"I'm often told I'm far too suspicious. Let's keep going."

Okay. Passed.

We went through the alley and reached the apothecary's shop without incident. The apothecary was moving a heavy load, apparently having brought a new machine into her shop. Seeing the two of us approach, she tilted her head at first, then smiled brightly when she recognized my face.

"Oh! It's you!"

"Are you still open, ma'am?"

"Ahaha. Business hours are over, but I'll open for you anytime! You're my first regular customer. Heave-ho!"

The apothecary set down her load.

Only a few days earlier, her hair and clothes had been grubby, but now she looked completely transformed. She seemed to have visited a salon and bought new clothes. At last, she looked like a respectable shopkeeper.

"Whew. Oh, I'm sorry. Who is this with you...?"

"She's the deputy guild leader of the Vigilantes. You've heard of her, haven't you? Her title is Paladin."

"... What?"

The apothecary's eyes wavered behind her glasses.

"The d-deputy guild leader of the Vigilantes?"

"Yep."

"She's someone way, way above us!"

Right. For ordinary hunters, that was the normal reaction.

"Wh-what brings the deputy leader of the Vigilantes to our humble shop... Eek! Drugs? Is this a drug raid? I-I haven't made any drugs! I may do business in an alley like this, but drugs—no, not just drugs, I've never made any harmful medicine, not a single gram!"

"..."

"I've lived honestly! I'll keep living honestly! So please, just spare me an investigation!"

The apothecary prostrated herself flat on the ground.

That wasn't a normal reaction.

"Um..."

The Paladin looked perplexed. According to [Lie Detector], all of that would be true as well. She seemed to be debating whether to consider the apothecary before her an eccentric nutjob or an honest merchant.

"Now, now, ma'am. Don't worry."

I gave the apothecary a couple of pats on the shoulder.

"I didn't come here to rat you out to the Vigilantes. You're so skilled, and you have such a good heart."

"Then...?"

"Your shop gets far too little business for someone with your talent. I felt so bad about that, I came to introduce you to the deputy leader."

The apothecary raised her head, her mouth hanging open blankly.

"I-introduce me...?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Give her one of each kind of potion to try. Who knows? If she thinks they work well, she might sign an exclusive contract with you."

"..."

"Wouldn't supplying potions to the Vigilantes make life much easier for you?"

The apothecary blinked.

It seemed to take her a little while to understand my words.

Then she grabbed my hand.

"Y-you're an angel...!"

Not an angel. Lord Gongja.

"You helped me when I nearly had to sell the shop, and you placed a huge order, and, um, um, n-now you're even giving me a sales channel... Are you an angel...? How can I ever repay this kindness...?"

Just as the eyes of the shopkeeper who would one day be called the Alchemy Ministry Head lit up—

STEP.

Someone stepped into the quiet alley. The footstep was particularly heavy, so all of us—the Paladin, the apothecary, and I—turned to look.

"... You there."

The owner of those footsteps wore a black suit.

"Everyone leave, except for that man."

He stared coldly at me.

The Sword Star.

The old man of this run, who did not yet trust me.

The seasoned swordsman's low voice echoed through the alley.

"I would like a quiet word with him alone."

Good.