Chapter 180: 180: Holy War 5
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The event monster on the 35th floor was easily defeated to the point of being anticlimactic.
However, what came after were far from insignificant.
The most dramatic change was the complete purification of the 35th floor.
For other gamers, this event might have been a challenging quest, but for Han Se-ah, it was a walk in the park.
Consequently, the 35th floor transformed into a safe zone, devoid of any monsters.
Common belief held that the Tower was a sacred space, untouched by the Goddess's blessing.
Thus, the purification of an entire floor set the world abuzz.
In light of this, the Magic Tower entered the fray for research, while merchants, driven by profit motives, hired adventurers to brave their way to the 35th floor.
Both groups, deeply committed to their respective causes, wasted no time setting up tents and getting down to business.
"Wow, are these all requests for the 35th floor?"
"Thanks to the temple, the mages are in a frenzy. And now, with the merchant guild jumping in, the situation is intense. It seems like soon, there'll be more requests for high-level adventurers than for the lower or intermediate-level ones."
Underneath Ellis's eyes, darkened from listening to our heroic tales, I could see the fatigue.
The battle might have been easily won, but the guild staff were still buried under a mountain of paperwork.
Now, an entire floor of the Tower had been purified.
Although not certain, it seemed likely that the Adventurers' Guild, the Magic Tower, the temple, and the nobles were negotiating fiercely over this newly available land.
The temple was the main agent of purification, and I, as an adventurer, assisted.
However, this doesnt mean that the kingdom's nobility within the Tower could be completely disregarded.
"There are so many requests that I can't even pick out the good ones for you. Want to scoop up all the profitable ones like you used to? If you choose wisely, you could potentially handle over ten at once."
"No, those days of frantic money-making are behind me."
"That Roland? ...Well, that makes sense, considering you started from the lower floors again."
Ellis, remembering my past as a wanderer of the kingdom, hoarding wealth, subtly hinted at the opportunity.
However, with Han Se-ah accompanying me in climbing the Tower, there was no need to accept every request for the sake of gold farming.
We are not stuck, nor are we strapped for cash.
Making money can wait.
For now, its better to head straight to the 36th floor rather than getting bogged down with trivial requests related to the 35th floor.
"Ellis, any issues with the 36th floor?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Nothing much, just the monsters have turned into undead. Its pretty much the same as the 34th floor."
"These requests are more like hiring construction workers than adventurers. Shoveling dirt, compacting the ground, covering swamps, filling poison pits"
While Han Se-ah asked about the situation on the 36th floor, Katie seemed to be curious as she began examining the stack of requests Ellis was holding.
She lists off tasks that hardly seem befitting of a high-level adventurer.
With a monster-free floor now in existence, they appear to be contemplating going beyond mere tents or shacks, possibly solidifying the ground to build a village.
"Well, if you're not interested in the 35th floor requests, I recommend these. After the recent commotion, a heap of requests have come in from the Magic Tower, not just for the 35th floor."
"Really? Thanks."
Ellis, swamped with work, grabs a bunch of requests and casually places them on the table.
Even in the midst of this, she seems to have sorted them somewhat, as none of the requests laid out on the table involve manual labor.
The requests, explicitly marked as above the 35th floor, involve gathering materials and hunting undead on the 36th floor and above, to investigate if they're related to the anomaly on the 35th floor.
Most requests are usually grouped in ten-floor intervals, but these specify the exact floor.
"If we're only taking materials from the 36th floor, we won't need to gather anything on the way up."
"With the temple occupying floors 30 to 35, hunting below the 35th floor is going to be tough, right?"
"That's a good point. When we went up yesterday, they were just clearing everything with divine energy."
We sit at what has now become our semi-regular party table, chatting and going through the requests.
Tasks like collecting soil and poison from the 36th floor, gathering bark, and acquiring mana stones from the 36th floor - each specifying the precise floor number.
Nevertheless, the essence of these tasks doesn't really change.
As usual, we just need to gather materials and hunt monsters to retrieve mana stones.
"But how do we prove that the mana stones are specifically from the 36th floor?"
"That's not verifiable, so I guess if anyone's caught scamming, they'll be severely punished."
Thus, after a day's rest, we looked over the requests once more then set off for the 36th floor.
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Raei Translations
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Traveling from the 30th floor to the 36th through the gate didn't even take a day.
"The temple is really serious about conquering the tower..."
"Are the priests and nuns still there?"
This was due to the priests and nuns who roamed the floors from 31 to 34 with an intense zeal to eradicate every monster.
While the fewer temple knights guarded the miniature temples, hundreds of priests and nuns inside the tower moved in groups, dissolving the undead with their divine energy.
Usually, a floor might have a handful of high-level adventurers, but with hundreds of them using divine magic, it's no wonder that the undead had no chance.
It's like a newly opened RPG game where players outnumber the monsters.
Furthermore, the paths cleared with divine energy were more extensive than I had expected.
The tower is essentially a space where you wander a barren expanse to find the doorway to the next level.
But now, Ambrosio and hundreds of priests have plowed a straight path between the doorways leading to each level with their divine energy.
There was no need to make wide detours around poison ponds or get stuck in paralyzing swamps.
Just step out from the passage on the 31st floor, walk on the cleansed ground, and the passage to the 32nd floor is directly ahead.
"So, from the 31st to the 34th floor, they're practically safe zones now?"
"I didn't expect to see more priests and nuns than monsters."
"My brothers and sisters are all zealously completing their duties. We should hurry up too..."
The path from the 32nd to the 33rd floor, from the 33rd to the 34th, and from the 34th to the 35th was the same.
The land purified by divine energy was not narrow, but wide enough for hundreds to move in groups.
Walking forward as if on a leisurely stroll, greeting the passing priests with a nod, we soon reached the 35th floor.
And now, the 35th floor had become a safe zone in its entirety.
"Wow, they're already putting up pillars. No wonder the northern traders click their tongues when talking about the southern merchants."
"There might be fewer adventurers, but why are they building such luxurious buildings? What kind of business are they planning?"
"Well, those adventurers are all high-level. Selling drinks to someone like Rebecca could make a good profit."
"True, high-level adventurers might be fewer in number, but they definitely have deep pockets."
As we observe the construction, which seems to be preparing roads as well, groups of workers from the architectural guild, dozens strong, bustle around - a sight not commonly seen in the tower.
Maybe it's because there are no monsters from the 30th to the 35th floor, but there are a remarkable number of fragile workers who can't use mana.
Given the stonemasons mobilized for the temple construction have also set up camp, the headcount is massive.
-Watching the construction industry boom in a fantasy game is quite a sight.
-This isn't even a redevelopment zone.
-But the way the world changes due to the players is amazingly well implemented, right?
-True, it's spot-on, especially with adventurers getting kidnapped due to mana stone prices.
-So, players with lighter wallets just work construction on the 35th floor to fill them up?
"There are so many construction requests because of the sheer number of people. It seems they're targeting the top-tier adventurers above the 40th floor.
No, it's not just speculation... The shops here are significantly larger and more luxurious than those in the village. They seem to be blatantly planning to rip people off by selling luxury items, don't they?"
You can even see people hastily setting up large tents to sell alcohol.
Tables spread out in front of the tents, and waitresses moved busily between them.
The short skirts, revealing the waitresses' behinds, make it clear they're offering more than just food.
It looks like they're targeting top-tier adventurers who are conquering the late 30s and early 40s floors.
Essentially, it's like a branch of the 'Lucky Scoundrel' inn.
Given that top and elite adventurers are known for having lots of money and a higher risk of dying young, it's natural that they're the target of prostitutes, jokingly called prime husband material.
"But isn't it convenient for players to have such a large market here? Normally, they have to leave the tower just for groceries, but if they can stock their inventory here, it would make conquering the tower much easier. As for the requests... I bet an Adventurers' Guild branch will pop up here eventually?"
-But there are gates every ten floors, right?
-Maybe it's not so easy to climb from the 40th floor?
-No, it's just that Han Se-ah clears levels too quickly.
-Exactly. Normal players take days to climb just one floor from the 20th level
-It makes climbing the tower look easy
"Didn't I say it before? If you're jealous, just go recruit a 6 companion and play the game... That's as far as I'll go."
The amusing gap between the map balance designed for average players and Han Se-ah, with a naturally born 6, effortlessly breaking through.
I overheard this conversation while passing the massive construction site that the 35th floor has become.
The goal is the 36th floor, now to hunt the undead monsters that have become hard to find.
...So what about the troll bombs?
Should we guide the creation of them in preparation for the 40th-floor boss?
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