I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 64
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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 64. Soul and Qualification
Camilia felt cold sweat beading down her back.
The Lord couldn’t activate the magic circle?
‘Are they talking about the Previous Lord? No, it makes sense he couldn’t open it. He’s a fake.’
The monster farm… the Crown of Creation—just from the name alone, one could infer it was a place where the core technology necessary for homunculus creation lay hidden.
Naturally, it was designed so that only the First Lord could enter.
There was no way a fake lord created to fill the void of the true one could open the doors here.
‘Wait, hold on.’
Camilia suddenly realized something.
‘Then how did I open it?’
If the Previous Lord couldn’t open it, then I shouldn’t have been able to either.
After all, I was merely a vessel—a fake in my own right.
‘No, wait. In the game, the new lord succeeded in opening the door too.’
That’s because the protagonist, the new lord, was created from the First Lord’s soul—specifically, the largest fragment of it.
‘Wait… does that mean I…?’
In that instant, light flashed brilliantly, completely obscuring my vision.
When my sight returned to normal, I was no longer standing in the Workshop. Instead, my eyes fell upon a vast space lined with numerous large iron cages, as if in some grotesque menagerie.
I had been transported to the Crown of Creation.
As if to prove we were in a different space, the air here was slightly more humid than in the Workshop, and the light filtering down from the ceiling was subdued and gentle.
But I had no time to survey my surroundings.
My mind was on the verge of shattering from the flood of information that had suddenly crashed down upon me.
“My Lord?”
Zehar Al Rashid called out to me in confusion.
I hoped my mind’s eye was functioning properly as I opened my mouth.
“…I feel a bit dizzy. I’ll rest for a moment before moving. Zehar, go check if the apparatus is operating normally.”
“What? Are you unwell, my Lord?”
Despite my command, Zehar Al Rashid didn’t leave his post. Unable to hide his concern, he actually moved closer.
Realizing I had no choice, I pressed my hand to my chest and spoke.
“It’s nothing to worry about. Something swept through me the moment I passed through the magic circle—it felt as though something inside me had been emptied out… but no, it’s probably just my imagination.”
I must be dizzy because my soul has been depleted so much.
Who could have done this to me?
If Zehar stays here any longer, I might remember exactly who it was.
I looked at him with that general meaning in mind.
Whether he felt guilty or sensed that I wanted him to leave, Zehar Al Rashid obediently lowered his gaze.
“In that case, it would be best for you to rest. I shall go check on the cultivation apparatus.”
Even after he left, I stood motionless in that spot for a long while.
I needed time to organize my thoughts.
I also had to figure out what to tell Rohengreen Ashen.
‘How did it go in the game? I was exposed then too, wasn’t I?’
As the main story progressed, the fact that the Previous Lord was a fake would eventually be revealed.
It was right before I broke through the upper floors and saw the ending.
At that time, Rohengreen Ashen had witnessed every event with Lord Camilia and filled his loyalty to a perfect 100.
Perhaps because of that, even when the truth was revealed, he merely hesitated for a moment before brushing it off with something like, “Would that really be a problem?”
The truth surfaced through several other routes as well, but I’d never been caught during the early stages of building trust like this.
In fact, it should have been impossible to get caught.
‘Because that route didn’t exist!’
Getting caught while unlocking something like a monster farm—if this were a game, I would’ve slammed the keyboard thinking, “This isn’t even a mass-produced game. What kind of story progression is this? It’s pathetically bad.”
Even if I were caught, why would I be caught over something so trivial? How was I supposed to prepare for this?
Since it seemed I’d be endlessly racking my brains at this rate, I finally opened my mouth.
“Rohengreen Ashen.”
He faltered slightly but responded naturally.
“…Yes, Lord Camilia.”
“Are you feeling alright? Since it’s been so long since the seal was opened, there could be aftereffects.”
“I’m fine.”
His demeanor was unchanged from usual. His complexion had already returned to normal.
But his loyalty had dropped by a full 10 points—not just 1 or 2.
Since his base loyalty was so high, I was still in the safe zone, but it was too early to be relieved.
If he’d started suspecting me, it could drop another time, and then another.
‘This is really troublesome. And lately his loyalty hasn’t been rising at all… wait?’
When had Rohengreen Ashen’s loyalty stopped increasing?
In the early days, his loyalty would surge with nearly everything he said, making the notifications so loud it was annoying.
‘It rose well until before I cleared Floor 1. He hit 80 back then, and after that… never once… huh?’
I stared quietly at the knight standing with a rigid expression.
I would’ve liked to hear something through mind reading, but Rohengreen Ashen’s thoughts were remarkably silent.
As if his earlier agitation had been nothing but a lie.
Or as if such agitation were familiar to him.
Realization struck like lightning.
‘…Has he been suspecting me all along?’
It would’ve been strange not to suspect. After all, I was clearly different from the Previous Lord.
But then why hadn’t he said anything until now?
Escapism? Or did he lack certainty?
‘Then shouldn’t his affection have dropped too? Why is his affection perfectly fine?’
My mind spun frantically, yet no answer emerged that I could call the truth.
‘If it comes to this, I’ll use domination to make him reveal his true feelings, then erase his memory…’
Anxiety surged, and I was considering an extreme solution when Rohengreen Ashen spoke first.
“Are you feeling alright, Lord Camilia?”
‘Alright? Oh right. I said my condition wasn’t good too.’
I answered calmly.
“I’m fine as well. It was only a temporary issue.”
“I’m relieved. If something were to happen to your health, there would be more than one person worried about you.”
Relief settled across Rohengreen Ashen’s face.
It was a natural shift in expression, not something that could be feigned.
“If you’re feeling better, I’ll escort you to the Steward.”
He extended his hand with the same loyal demeanor he’d maintained all along.
What is he really thinking?
Despite my unease, I placed my hand over his outstretched palm.
The wound hadn’t fully healed, and a few drops of blood smeared across his skin.
“Ah… I apologize. I should have checked your wound first.”
He belatedly noticed and hurried to retrieve a potion, but I stopped him.
“Never mind. I’ll need blood to leave anyway, so just leave it.”
“Is that so?”
I walked ahead casually and asked offhandedly.
“You’ve been to the Workshop with my previous self before, haven’t you? Back then, you didn’t enter this far inside, did you?”
The previously quiet mental wavelength of Rohengreen Ashen rippled once more.
【…What should I say…?】
After a moment of deliberation, Rohengreen Ashen finally answered.
“I hadn’t entered back then. I didn’t even know it was a place one could travel through via blood. If I had known, I would have brought a needle instead of a dagger….”
“It’s the soul that’s verified to open the door, not blood. Blood is merely the medium.”
“Pardon?”
“Think about it logically. What significance would blood have for me, who undergoes rebirth through homunculi? The only constant is the soul. Of course the verification must be through the soul.”
I subtly appealed to the idea that only the genuine me could open the door.
But Rohengreen Ashen remained silent, offering no discernible response.
I was beginning to grow anxious.
‘Is Mind Reading actually active? Why can’t I sense his thoughts?’
Could he really be thinking of nothing at all?
That can’t be it, can it, Rohengreen?
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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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