I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 9

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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 9. First Conquest (1)
Before the barrier surrounding The Tower.
A black carriage rolled into the clearing, now crowded with soldiers and adventurers who had gathered since early morning.
The captain of the guard was the first to move.
Despite her frame being twice the size of ordinary men—a testament to her orc heritage—she practically flew across the ground and positioned herself before the carriage.
The Adventurer Guild Master hurried after her in a fluster.
Unlike the two tense figures, I revealed myself only after everyone had disembarked from the carriage, taking my time.
My gaze swept across the soldiers standing in formation and the adventurers, tracing a semicircle through their ranks.
‘Is there something displeasing about the arrangements?’
The captain of the guard wiped her clammy palms on her trousers, watching carefully for my reaction.
Fortunately, finding no major issues, I smiled gently and tapped her forearm.
“You’ve done well, Tarrak.”
‘The lord knows my name…?’
Captain Tarrak was flustered, but she quickly bowed her head out of habit.
“It is only my duty.”
Unlike her, who had received praise, the Adventurer Guild Master received only reproach.
“I see disrespectful eyes mixed among them. Is this the competence you boasted of?”
“No! Absolutely not! I will discipline them thoroughly!”
He had begged earnestly for this opportunity—needing neither payment nor reward, only asking to serve the Territory—and had barely obtained it.
As the terrified Adventurer Guild Master bowed repeatedly, the adventurers in the Defense Squad hastily averted their eyes.
Without even causing an incident, merely showing a hint of defiance, the expulsion card had been drawn immediately.
Had they pushed further, they might have been banished not just from the Territory, but from this world entirely.
‘I only wanted to join the Infiltration Squad, but how did things come to this…?’
‘Damn it, what kind of lord bothers with such trivial matters?’
The adventurers in the Infiltration Squad glared at them fiercely.
The contract fee or reward mattered little to them.
But the thought that they might have failed to recruit comrades and been cast out instead was unforgivable.
‘The atmosphere is favorable.’
I observed the subtle tension drifting among the adventurers and felt satisfied.
Whether driven by fear or the need to prove themselves different from those incompetent fools, they seemed ready to work diligently at whatever I commanded.
This was worth attempting.
“We will advance immediately once preparations are complete. Check your equipment.”
Not long after, the sun rose.
It was time for the nocturnal monsters—goblins and nol—to sleep.
Standing before the opaque barrier, I spoke.
“Open it.”
The mages chanted their spells with tense expressions, dispelling part of the barrier and creating a small doorway.
Rohengrin, the tank, entered first, followed by Netanel, the healer, then myself and Jehar.
I immediately activated the map interface.
Since it was unexplored territory, only my location was marked while everything else remained dark, but that posed no problem.
‘I’ve already memorized the entire map anyway.’
She swiftly marked the roaming positions of Nol Lord Nepitata and the Goblin King on the black map with her marker, then issued her orders.
“We move. Rohengrin, head north.”
Rohengrin began moving without hesitation.
Even as we traveled in close formation, I issued quiet commands.
‘Turn at the wall.’ ‘Left.’ ‘Wait here.’
Each time, we miraculously evaded monster swarms or slipped away to safety.
Though I’d layered perception-reduction magic quite thickly, it still felt almost too easy.
Netanel couldn’t help but whisper directly into my ear.
“Employer, do you perhaps possess precognition magic as well?”
Truth be told, I was surprised myself.
I hadn’t realized I’d memorized the paths and monster locations so perfectly.
It wasn’t something I had to consciously recall either. It simply happened as naturally as breathing.
It was the state of perfect unity that comes from playing a game far too long and far too much.
‘Could I have just infiltrated without all this?’
I felt a twinge of regret, but a lord does not dwell on the past.
Just then, I spotted my target—Nol Lord Nepitata.
Like all Nol, the lord resembled a walking hyena.
As befitted a named monster, it stood nearly three meters tall, its head crowned with a dented horn helmet.
As if conducting reconnaissance, it trudged forward, occasionally glancing about.
‘Alone, as expected.’
Unlike the Goblin King, who always stayed at the center of his pack, Nol Lord Nepitata preferred to move alone.
With the ‘diurnal’ trait, it wandered for quite long stretches even during the day when most monsters slept.
Thanks to this, we encountered it at a perfectly opportune location.
I gestured to Jehar, who stood behind me.
I heard the soft murmur of an incantation, and a curse took effect.
Its effects: reduced movement speed, all resistances lowered.
As I flicked my hand again, this time Netanel unleashed a miracle.
All resistances lowered against evil lifeforms.
[Grrrrr?]
Sensing something amiss, Nol Lord Nepitata’s head whipped about frantically.
But by then, it was far too late.
“Beast, look at me.”
I dropped the perception-reduction magic shrouding me and stepped before Nol Lord Nepitata. Then I activated ‘Domination’.
“From this moment on, your enemy and the enemy of your kind is the Goblin. Slaughter every last one of them.”
[‘Camilia Lord’ uses ‘Domination’ on ‘Nol Lord Nepitata’.]
Success: 8
Thanks to the debuffs I’d applied beforehand, shredding its resistances to an absurd degree, the success rate was impossibly high.
The outcome was already determined before the dice even rolled, so I calmly withdrew from before Nol Lord Nepitata.
[Grrrrk… Grrrrk… KRAAAAAAAGH!]
Before long, driven into a frenzy by ‘Domination’, Nol Lord Nepitata came thundering toward the goblin encampment.
Camilia gestured to her companions.
“Follow.”
Using ‘Domination’ on the Goblin King proved even easier.
The Nol Lord’s literal rampage had softened the ground beneath their feet.
The creature, roused from sleep only to face calamity, fell under domination before it could even mount a counterattack.
[Kiiiek! Kiiit!]
[Kraaaagh!]
Both dragged their subordinates along, fighting with the fury of the possessed.
Everything unfolded according to plan.
The only unexpected variable was that my stamina proved far more abysmal than anticipated.
‘Hah, this is exhausting….’
Even with blessings channeled at full intensity, my reserves plummeted after mere sprints.
I managed to suppress the trembling in my legs through sheer willpower, but the cold sweat streaming down my face was beyond my control.
Zehar, flustered and uncertain, produced a mint-scented handkerchief and dabbed the perspiration from my brow.
“My Lord, are you certain you’re well?”
“…I’m fine.”
In truth, I wasn’t, but there was no time to rest.
While Domination bound the monsters in place, I had to enter the Tower and tend to the seal.
“Once you judge that enough monsters have emerged from within the Tower, contact the Infiltration Squad.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Have them prioritize reconnaissance of the locations I specified.”
“Yes.”
It seemed I could rescue far more adventurers than initially expected.
Once those trapped in the middle floors descended and joined our ranks, the task would become considerably easier.
We’re nearly there. Once the seal is handled, it’s finished.
Several hours later.
The Nol and the Goblin King, their heads burning with the heat of battle, began summoning their allies from within the Tower.
As the flood of creatures pouring out began to thin, Zehar swiftly activated messenger magic.
Shortly after, the adventurers who entered through the opened barrier were startled to witness the monsters battling one another.
‘So magic that makes monsters fight each other truly exists?’
‘It’s somewhat terrifying, but… still remarkable.’
When the operation was explained, they’d harbored doubts, yet such magic genuinely existed.
Thanks to the creatures pummeling only each other, the adventurers approached the Tower’s vicinity without impediment.
Camilia, who had been waiting, dispelled her concealment magic and revealed herself.
“Enter immediately.”
“Yes…!”
The gate, which should have glowed blue, now churned in sickly crimson due to the broken seal, yet the adventurers charged into the Tower without hesitation.
I hoped the adventurers who entered first would handle the remaining monsters well.
With that thought, I issued my command.
“Let’s head in as well.”
The party members entered the gate without hesitation.
Camilia pushed her body through the gate after them, its surface rippling with crimson light.
A peculiar luminescence enveloped her, and a holographic window materialized before her eyes.
[Loading… 34%]
[Tip: The Tower is a place brimming with danger and mystery. Do not linger here for too long.
If you gaze too deeply into The Tower, the ‘Reaper’ will also be able to see you….]
‘Do I really have to endure this tedious loading bar here too?’
My exasperation was short-lived.
Light flashed brilliantly once before fading, and a colossal underground passage materialized.
Tower 1st Floor.

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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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