I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 6

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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 6. We Can Leave Once the Healer Arrives
“I might not recognize a rat creeping through fence gaps, but how could I fail to notice a fox loitering about the walls? Especially one with such unnecessarily lustrous fur.”
Camilia accepted the words at her leisure, driving home the boy’s identity like a wedge.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Netanel Fragma.”
The boy Netanel’s smile deepened.
“You still consider me a fox, then? I’m honored.”
The Young Attendant’s dull hair color gradually transformed into brilliant gold.
His murky brown eyes also shifted, becoming bright like polished gold coins worn smooth by time.
The rounded tips of his ears grew slightly pointed, and his featureless face transformed into that of a charming young boy with a fox-like smile.
Everyone watching, including the Adventurer Guild Master, gasped in astonishment.
Rohengreen was startled as well, tensing up and pressing close to my side. She looked ready to throw her body in front of me at a moment’s notice.
‘Calm down, Rohen. He’s not a bad person—just has strict recruitment conditions.’
If there are characters who agree to become companions the moment you meet them, then the opposite must exist as well.
There are companions who cannot be recruited unless specific conditions are met.
Netanel Fragma belonged to the latter category.
The recruitment quest only appeared after hiring every single team within the Adventurer Guild using the adventurer employment feature.
Even after the quest appeared, recruitment wasn’t immediate. I had to complete a grueling chain of 32 consecutive quests before I could bring him into my party.
But in exchange, his performance was exceptional.
Other priests and healers had to resort to physical combat once their holy power and miracle uses were exhausted, but Netanel was different.
As the favored child of the Golden Scales, the deity of commerce and trade, he could expend wealth to perform miracles instead.
‘In other words, with enough money, miracles become infinitely renewable!’
Managing loyalty and affection was also straightforward.
True to his role as an apostle of the Scales, Netanel held contracts sacred. As long as I honored the terms written in our agreement and provided fair compensation, he would never betray me.
Even if he witnessed me brainwashing someone right before his eyes, a generous donation would earn me a gentle smile and a cheerful “Is something the matter?”
‘No matter how I think about it, you’re the only one for this, Netanel.’
The ability to shower healing and buffs whenever needed.
The audacity of a high priest who doesn’t concern himself with mental magic.
Even the various useful background details that come from being a long-lived half-elf.
I wanted to declare that no matter what happens, you’re mine—but the timing wasn’t right yet.
In a dark fantasy world like this, there are countless people who’ll actually disembowel you if you so much as mention starvation.
Getting greedy with fraudulent recruitment invites complications.
‘But a temporary party invitation should be possible.’
If this was the Netanel I knew, there was over a 99% chance he’d accept.
The 1% uncertainty of reality made me somewhat anxious, but showing desperation would only mark me as an easy target.
Camilia maintained an air of casual confidence, as if she had nothing to lose.
“I have no interest in answering the same question twice, so I’d like to hear your answer now. Or does your god refuse to speak?”
Netanel’s expression became subtle.
I prayed with an anxious heart.
Will he agree? He has to agree, right? Please! We can leave once the healer arrives!
Whether it was my earnest plea or the pressure of my Charm stat at 18, the boy finally raised both hands with a smiling face.
“…I suppose there’s no helping it. An unfair contract is still a contract, after all.”
‘Exactly!’
Camilia fired off mental fireworks of celebration while maintaining an impassive facade.
“Don’t worry yourself. Just as one cannot demand a shepherd’s life from a fox, I harbor no grand expectations of you.”
Once the sealing problem of The Tower is resolved, the contract terminates.
Until then, if you serve faithfully, I shall overlook the transgression of infiltrating my Territory without permission and bestow upon you a reward befitting your efforts.
It was, by any measure, an extraordinary arrangement.
“My, what a generous employer you are. I’m quite moved to tears.”
The golden fox wiped at her eyes in mock emotion, her smile crooked with amusement.
“Then, brief though our time may be, I look forward to serving you well, my Lord.”
“Indeed. I trust you’ll prove your worth.”
[Netanel Fragma’s favorability has increased.]
[Netanel Fragma has pledged herself to your service!]
Duration: One week
Loyalty: 0/100
Favorability: 35/100(…)
Camilia’s brow furrowed slightly.
Netanel wasn’t the type of character whose favorability rose this easily.
I opened the details—the (…)—on the holographic window with a glance to examine the reasons for the favorability increase, and the results were quite something.
-Lord precisely identified the loopholes in the contract and established an unfair agreement +20
-Made a favorable transaction with the Lord +10
-The employment terms proposed by the Lord are excellent +5
She was pleased about being subjected to an unjust contract.
Extraordinarily pleased, in fact.
Bewildering as it was, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
Netanel favored those who executed transactions and contracts with dexterity, and in the game, her favorability would rise whenever the party secured advantageous deals—whether through deception or otherwise.
‘Still, even so, she was the one wronged, yet she’s pleased about it…?’
I hadn’t realized the character was quite this unhinged.
But there’s no time to be bewildered by events that never occurred in the game, muttering “The Netanel I knew was never like this…!”
Clearing The Tower takes priority.
‘Tank is Rohen, DPS is Jehar, healer is Netanel. And I’ll be support. The party is complete.’
The longer we delayed on the first floor, the more disadvantageous our position became.
Once the adventurers and party members are ready, we move immediately.
‘I’ll head back right now and….’
As I turned to leave, a sharp pain shot up from my tailbone, forcing me to stop.
‘Damn this wretched body!’
I need to transition from sickly lord to merely delicate lord.
The moment I board the carriage, I’m ordering Netanel to cast a stamina blessing on me.
With that resolve, I brought the situation to a close with composure.
“I shall take my leave now. Master, see that the contract is delivered to the Castle by day’s end.”
“Yes? Of course, I’ll organize it right away.”
The Adventurer Guild Master, who had been staring blankly at our exchange like a man possessed by spirits, finally snapped back to attention and replied.
“We’ll divide into two groups—a defense squad to hold back monsters outside The Tower, and an infiltration squad to enter with me. Prepare the personnel in advance.”
“Yes, I’ll handle that as well. But, that is to say….”
The Adventurer Guild Master was a capable man, despite his appearance.
Yet even he found his curiosity difficult to suppress, and he finally broached the subject of Netanel Fragma.
“My Lord, how did you ever know that young—ahem, that person was here?”
Rather than answer that I’d invested thirty thousand hours into this game alone, I simply fixed him with a cold stare.
Interpreting that gaze as ‘How dare you ask such a pathetic question of one as omniscient as I?’, the Guild Master wisely closed his mouth and averted his eyes.
I was grateful the protagonist’s class was that of a lord—it made things considerably easier.
I turned sharply, bracing my tailbone against the pain as much as possible.
“Netanel Fragma, follow me.”
“Yes, my employer.”
“Blessing.”
Stamina +2.
“Golden Scales Exchange.”
HP recovery per turn +10.
“How do you feel?”
The moment we boarded the carriage, Netanel Fragma cast blessings in succession as I demanded, then asked with a bright smile.
Stamina 8 was ‘frail’ by this world’s standards.
In-game, it translated to roughly 20% slower HP recovery and status ailment recovery.
My condition had genuinely improved compared to before, though not perfectly.
My shoulders and neck still ached, and my knees throbbed.
I had a slight headache as well.
Yet rather than disappointed, I was moved to tears.
‘This is actually better than my old body?’
The ‘frail body’ of a dark fantasy world that had to constantly clash with monsters was far superior to the weak frame of a modern person who never exercised and spent all day gaming.
At this level, I could move through The Tower without significant difficulty.
“Excellent.”
When I offered genuine praise, Netanel Fragma thanked me with exaggerated gratitude.
“Your joy is my joy, my employer.”
She must have sensed my condition wasn’t normal, yet she showed no sign of it.
No questions about why an immortal lord’s body looked like this, or how it came to be this way.
‘She’s worth every coin.’
Quick-witted, skilled at her work. Truly, there was no healer quite like her.
I’d have to win her over during this temporary party arrangement and make her permanently bound to me somehow.
‘Right, I need to appease Rohengrin too.’
Just as introducing a second cat required careful handling, bringing new party members required caution.
The stress of party member integration was as dangerous as the stress a first cat experienced when a second arrived.
“Rohengrin.”
When Camilia called out to him, the man who had seemed lost in thought suddenly snapped back to attention and answered.
“Yes, my lord.”
“If something troubles you, you are welcome to speak of it. I grant you permission.”
“Ah….”
Rohengrin hesitated before asking his question.
“How did you come to know of the adventurer Ken?”
‘Not how you learned of Netanel Fragma, but him instead?’
It was somewhat absurd, but the question wasn’t difficult to answer.
“He’s a top-rank adventurer, is he not? It’s only natural that I keep watch over such individuals.”
“I see….”
He didn’t look entirely convinced, but what could he do about it? The lord had spoken.
“Is that all you wished to discuss?”
Rohengrin hesitated once more. It seemed he still had something on his mind.
“Do not worry. Whatever you say, I will not blame you for it.”
“I do not believe it is my place to offer counsel regarding whom you choose to employ, my lord. Surely you have your reasons for such decisions. However….”
Rohengrin pressed his dry lips together and then spoke with careful deliberation.
“The Steward may not share such understanding.”
Remarkably, his prediction proved to be entirely accurate.

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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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