I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 82
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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 82. Jailer and Prisoner (2)
‘Why is he surrendering so quickly?’
I looked up at the slumped form of Calamariare, now deep in slumber, and clicked my tongue.
I’d intended to use this opportunity to dispose of the plague’s source and test out the summoning item I’d received as a reward.
Still, I was satisfied to confirm that the Sap-Poison Field worked even on boss monsters.
Either way, the boss strategy was complete.
“It’s finished. Both of you did well.”
The moment I made my declaration, the pair of knights who had been tensed and ready to charge at any second finally relaxed their shoulders.
I brushed back the soaked hair of Nashu Shumel, who looked like a drowned rat, and asked in a gentle tone.
“So, how was it fighting?”
Nashu Shumel, still flushed with excitement, cried out as if she’d been waiting for this question.
“It w-was so fun! I-I figured out that we could knock it down with the chains, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
“When I p-pulled it off! My heart was pounding so hard, and I f-felt amazing!”
I could genuinely understand her sentiment.
Finding the strategy by using the hints scattered throughout the boss arena, then taking it down on the first try—that really is incredibly fun.
I patted the head of this novice gamer who had just discovered the thrill of boss battles, then turned my gaze to Rohengreen Ashen.
“What about you, Rohengreen?”
The knight, wiping blood tangled in her long braided hair, paused thoughtfully before answering carefully.
“I felt that I still lack much. Had I coordinated with Shumel from the beginning, we might have subdued it faster, but I failed to consider that.”
Her reflection naturally led to a resolve to show better performance on the next floor, using today’s experience as a foundation.
It was a perfectly model-student answer, worthy of full marks.
Apparently realizing this, Nashu Shumel also belatedly clasped her hands respectfully.
“…N-now that I think about it, I s-should reflect too. Like you, Captain, I’ll d-do better next time.”
This dependable party member, who hadn’t lost spirit even after being swatted away by the tail and had charged back in spiritedly enough to shatter Calamariare’s life stone—what was she saying?
I chuckled and pulled three candies from my inventory, placing them on Nashu Shumel’s head.
They were butter scotch candies I’d bought from the Golden Fleece Trading Company for a steep price, so they’d be absolutely delicious.
Netanel Fragma, who had been watching Nashu Shumel scramble to collect the candies with an expression like a kindly neighborhood grandfather, quietly sidled up next to me.
“Don’t you want to ask me? Today’s battle left quite an impression on me as well.”
“Is there anything left to surprise one who has trudged through dungeons so tediously?”
“Now that I’m confessing, I’d always thought the old stories your lordship told about sealing all the world’s evils in the Tower were exaggerated.”
Netanel Fragma gazed at the sleeping Calamariare.
“A spirit that devours its own descendants… If we fail to re-seal the Tower within ten years, will such repulsive things pour out into the world?”
Ten years in name, but I can’t reveal yet that we won’t actually last that long.
As always, I gave an answer befitting a lord.
“Do I appear to you as one who cannot properly manage a single Tower of my own making?”
“Ha ha!”
Netanel Fragma laughed aloud with amusement and replied.
“Come to think of it, it’s about time for a real confession. Truth is, I’m most fond of you when you’re this confident—perhaps even a touch arrogant.”
“How disrespectful. I should dock your wages.”
“With all due respect, the Priest is a capable servant who benefits both your health and your Domain. Wouldn’t it be wise to forgive a single indiscretion?”
Camilia gently tugged his pointed ear and made her way toward the Altar.
Two knights naturally fell into step behind and ahead of her.
Nashu lifted his mace, apparently thinking we would kill the boss monster and reseal it as we had done before.
“W-we’re killing it and leaving now?”
“No. Not this time.”
Nashu asked in surprise.
“Really? B-but is that alright?”
“What jailer kills every prisoner one by one just to change the locks on a cell?”
Camilia explained it more simply, worried Nashu might not understand.
The Seal Chamber was like a prison, resealing was like changing the prison locks, and the prisoners—rather, the sealed evil—were the boss monsters.
“S-so you’re saying we can reseal it without killing the bad things trapped inside?”
“Exactly.”
The higher we climbed, the harder it became to find the sealing formations and the longer I had to endure standing upon them, but the system itself remained identical from Floor 1 to Floor 99.
All one needed to do was enter the Boss Room, place a hand upon the sealing formation, and wait.
‘In the most extreme case, you could sneak in as an assassin or thief, reseal it, and escape without a trace.’
Since such unconventional tactics weren’t easy to pull off, most people either killed the boss or neutralized it like this before resealing.
Alternatively, there was the method we’d used on Floor 1—driving the boss out of the Seal Chamber, sealing the door shut, and enduring until resealing was complete.
Because there were so many different ways to clear it, some users complained that you weren’t forced to just defeat the boss, saying it was too complicated.
Honestly, I thought it was the kind of ignorant complaint not worth taking seriously.
Would you wait for an unstable seal to break open, or would you take the risk and charge in?
Would you kill the boss and fill the void, keep it alive and bind it again, or push it outside and reseal it away?
During resealing, would you block monsters that overflowed and escaped the Tower with a barrier, or would you lure them outside and alter the environment around the Domain?
There was so much to consider, and the combinations made clearing the Tower endlessly varied and fun.
Though the diversity of strategies didn’t mean even a terrible player could clear it easily.
‘Still, teaching the children is going well, and I’m gradually finding my footing in real-time combat, so that’s encouraging.’
Camilia stood before the Altar, trying to focus on the positive aspects.
“My Lord, there may be danger.”
Rohengreen Ashen approached her side cautiously, worried about the effects of the poison field.
I’d taken preventative medicine and received a blessing of disease protection—there was no reason to fear danger.
Camilia gestured for him to step back and approached Calamariare.
More precisely, she approached the sealing formation that the creature’s body was covering.
She bent down and placed her hand upon the sealing formation. The crimson formation, which had seemed like a hairline fracture, began to emit brilliant light.
Soon, just as it had been on the lower floors, a vision appeared—one I’d seen dozens of times while gaming.
Within the vision were two figures: a woman in pure white robes and an assistant in black robes.
They watched Calamariare bound to the Altar and spoke to one another.
‘Is it truly the path to protecting humanity to steal spirits from the spirits’ children?’
‘Of course. Parents who kill and devour their own children are evil that deserves to vanish.’
‘You’re right. Such parents deserve to disappear. But leaving these lost children abandoned as they are is also wrong.’
‘Are you suggesting we bring new spirits? To bind those who’ve only just gained freedom under spirits once more?’
‘Why wouldn’t it work if there existed a righteous and virtuous spirit?’
The conversation carried an undercurrent of tension, though neither could quite pinpoint its source.
It was the First Lord who severed the exchange between them.
‘Determining such matters is not our burden. Our singular purpose remains unchanged: to saturate the Tower with ‘evil.’
‘Ah, the hallmark of dark fantasy—openly neglecting the dangerous discord brewing among one’s allies.’
As Camilia grumbled, the phantom rapidly dissipated. Then came the awaited notification.
[The seal on the 6th Floor has been restored.]
The conquest of the 6th Floor was complete.
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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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