I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 42. The Hidden Story
Camilia carefully traced the possible connections.
What if they had succeeded in their escape, but left a trail?
What if she had been harmed in the process of dragging Vlad back?
It was a leap in logic, but not entirely impossible.
‘That would mean… if I keep them with me, I could encounter an Assassination Unit tracker at the first-year festival?’
It was an unforeseen variable, yet it thrilled me more than it frightened me.
When climbing the Dark Tower, there were countless hostile factions to deal with, but the Assassination Unit was among the most valuable.
They possessed high-quality equipment and spellbooks, and their weaknesses were clear enough to exploit.
Most importantly.
‘Essential items for a Mind Sorcerer build! There’s an Assassination Unit NPC who has the essential items!’
With luck, I might be able to acquire the items without even reaching the Imperial Capital.
With that thought, Vlad’s presence suddenly seemed like an unexpected windfall.
‘These premium item summons… no, these beautiful things.’
I gazed at the boy and girl with warm affection.
【First, I’ll butter up the lord to learn their purpose, and if they ask me to create any dangerous drugs…】
【A lord would be wealthy, wouldn’t they? Could I eat blood sausage too…?】
Unlike Mina, whose mind was racing, Vlad was still lost in thought.
I chuckled to myself and made a decision.
Tonight’s special dinner would be blood sausage, no matter what.
Though an unexpected variable had emerged during recruitment and altered my plans slightly, I was a professional lord.
“You’ll provide an alchemy workshop? And let me enter the Tower?!”
“Mina, you’re happy? Then I’m happy too.”
Just as I had done when recruiting Nashu, I quickly handled the new companion’s loyalty metrics.
As a result, Mina Alkes’s affection and loyalty rose from rock bottom to 30.
But Vlad’s affection only increased by 5.
Even that much was thanks to the blood sausage.
‘So that’s the limit of what material things can raise? How troublesome.’
I considered calling him aside separately to apply brainwashing, but decided against it.
Unless it was when entering the Tower, overusing brainwashing outside would lose the trust of my other companions.
Even if uncertain, this level was manageable.
In any case, the first phase of loyalty management was complete.
Next came stress management for existing companions.
Most importantly, managing the loyalty of the mastermind.
“To think you would bring in people of such unclear origins…”
Zehar Al Rashid expressed his displeasure openly once again.
I gently caressed the back of his hand to soothe him.
“You know as well as I do. With an alchemist, we can greatly enhance the efficiency of that armor.”
“Even if she is an alchemist, her skills are hardly remarkable.”
He was right. Mina’s alchemy was only of the lowest grade.
“Having them together is far too dangerous.”
That was a fair point.
But I wanted to keep both of them with me if at all possible.
‘An alchemist can create elixirs that temporarily boost stats.’
Mina Alkes possessed three types of stat-boosting elixirs.
Among them, the Vitality +1 elixir could be crafted even in the early stages.
‘And Vlad de Vil truly has a talent for crafting!’
Now that he’d reached level 6, all three of his trait slots were filled.
Moreover, aside from the first slot’s ‘Leatherworking’, every other slot was devoted entirely to crafting-related traits.
One was ‘Magical Stitching’—it increased the success rate of magical item crafting.
The other was ‘Keen Ingenuity’—it granted the ability to designate specific stats when crafting equipment.
What did that mean?
‘If Vlad de Vil set his mind to it, he could create Vitality +1 equipment!’
Combined, their abilities yielded a staggering Vitality +2.
‘With Netanel Fragma’s blessing added to those two, I could transform from a frail lord into a proper one. How could I possibly resist?’
Of course, stat-enhancement elixirs fell into the category of rare potions, requiring an astronomical sum to craft.
Magical equipment crafting was no cheap endeavor either.
But the funds would be resolved in a single gold-farming session I’d soon undertake.
So I had to somehow persuade Zehar Al Rashid to accept both of them…
“…I would prefer not to admit such individuals into the Castle, but it cannot be helped. If my lord requires it.”
‘Huh?’
Unlike with Netanel Fragma, I’d been uncertain how to convince him since he wasn’t immediately useful, yet Zehar Al Rashid yielded his position far more readily than expected.
“For you to have personally come to recruit them, they must be absolutely essential to your plans, yes?”
“…Yes.”
Zehar Al Rashid exhaled softly.
“How could I possibly object when my lord has taken such care to devise a plan? I would be remiss not to assist.”
As though he’d never harbored any complaint, he lowered his eyes obediently, then hesitated before whispering softly.
“You already have so much to bear. I have no wish to trouble your mind for my own peace of heart. …I wish to remain your ally, always.”
This madman—when beauty won’t work, he resorts to an underhanded appeal through sincerity?
-Fools, have you still not grasped it? Zehar Al Rashid is the official consort, after all. Memorize it. I…
‘Tch!’
Before my resolve could waver, I shook off the suspicious whisper that crept into my mind and spoke with gravity.
“Do not worry. Both of them will surely prove useful.”
‘…Though they might not be, so I should verify them a bit.’
After finishing my accumulated duties, I lay in bed and scrolled down my companion list, opening the character windows for Mina Alkes and Vlad de Vil.
During the day, I’d only managed furtive glances due to prying eyes, so I needed to examine them properly now.
‘Let me start with Mina Alkes.’
I carefully reviewed her stats and traits, which I’d already seen once before, and read through her skills again thoroughly.
After checking her character story section, I raised my eyebrows slightly.
Her personal story had diverged from the game version.
Originally, her personal story began with: “Mina Alkes always lamented. ‘Why was I born as a calico cat instead of a black cat?’ But because she was a calico cat, she….” However, the personal story now displayed on the window differed somewhat from the setting Camilia held in her memory.
But the personal story now displayed on the window differed somewhat from the setting Camilia held in her memory.
[Mina Alkes’s homeland was burned by Hatona, the greatest alchemist.
“I will have my revenge someday!”
The small calico cat, gritting her teeth, became Hatona’s disciple while concealing her thirst for vengeance.
Even as her hands were scarred by medicinal herbs and she suffered side effects from poorly crafted potions, she never extinguished the small flame that slumbered within her, not for a single moment.
That is, until she encountered a small bat so utterly wretched and broken….
The small bat was being abused by his father.
Brutally so.
Yet he didn’t even know what was being done to him.
Mina Alkes could not bring herself to turn away from the small bat.
In the end, she surrendered to the turbulent winds within her instead of the flame of her own heart.
She abandoned her master, abandoned her revenge, and fled while gripping the small bat’s hand tightly….]
[Story 2: Unlocked by progressing Mina Alkes’s personal Quest.]
[Story 3: Unlocked by progressing Mina Alkes’s personal Quest.]
[Story 4: Unlocked by progressing Mina Alkes’s personal Quest.]
‘No, what am I supposed to do if it cuts off here?’
Camilia, who had been glaring at Story 2 and Story 3—where the information she most wanted to know surely lay—quickly opened Vlad’s character story window.
‘This one, surely this one has the information I need?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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