Chapter 329: Draw (1)
Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro looked at the fairy and sneered flirtatiously.
"Fairy-shesh, you always show up at the most amazing timing."
"Look at you crying. It seems like everything that has accumulated so far is being released."
"Dumbass."
True to the triplets' words, the fairy was now howling ugly.
[ Wh at are you, why are you do ing th is to me, do you th ink yo u're go ing to get rid of me by eat ing me all ov er the pl ace ? ]
Vikir rested his chin for a moment.
Before his regression, he had read in the memoirs of great heroes that the relationship between Amdusias and the fairy of the Abyss was as follows.
The relationship between a department store and the brand name stores within it.
Amdusias expands and enlarges the interior space, drawing many people into the Hell Tree.
And the fairies take charge of managing sections within the tower and conduct various sales(?) against challengers.
... However, having been inside the tower myself, Vikir has a slightly different interpretation.
The relationship between the casino and the gamblers who work in it.
In other words, the Tower of Amdusias is a giant casino, and the fairies are professional gamblers who gamble inside it.
Like gamblers, fairies have to win every time they play.
Just as no casino in the world is designed to ensure that the customer ultimately wins money, the same is true for the stages and missions within the Tower.
The fairy is usually betting that the challenger will fail to complete the mission and die a miserable death.
This takes away the candy they have had since they were born.
To keep the game from being completely unbalanced, they set up cleverly designed traps so that the process of steadily and diligently growing and killing challengers doesn't feel unreasonable.
'For example, things like perfume and cosmetics are intentionally left in ruins, random boxes are mixed with Mimics, the Black Sea is non-buoyant, and drinking too much Hell Tree sap can lead to demonization....'
As challengers struggle and die in these traps, their reputation grows.
Occasionally, when compensation was given, they did not hesitate to steal a portion of it and embezzle it, thereby accumulating it illegally.
But. Vikir's suspicions and judgment saw through most of their traps.
This was partly due to the information he'd been hearing before his regression, but mostly due to his seasoned instincts and intuition.
Therefore, the fairy was now wailing in frustration like a casino dealer who had lost a series of bad bets.
[Ugh ah ah? Am I go ing to go bank rupt if I ke ep go ing li ke th is ? ]
One more challenger like Vikir and the fairy will probably go bankrupt.
Urrrrr-
Judging by the number of candies the fairy was spewing out of its mouth, anyone would have thought that.
-<Strange Candy> / Level / Golden
A candy that raises your level by 1.
Tastes sweet.
-Level +1
A golden candy that increases your level by 1. It is worth 300 regular candies.
Over two dozen such golden candies fell from the sky.
Vikir collected them all.
'I need to collect 100 golden candies before going to a certain stage section.'
The goal is to reach level 100 in one go. Until then, stay at level 1 and maximize the rewards.
With all six stats in bloom, it wasn't necessary to spin the candy gacha anymore.
'Now I need to collect golden candies and continue to improve my three primary stats.'
By doing so, Vikir would be able to make up for his 'lack of battle experience' once and for all, an experience that could only be gained by crossing countless lines.
[Only those who, having stepped into the realm of the supreme, continue to struggle with the same spirit as when they first grasped the sword, have anything to gain].
These are the "Eight Formulas of Baskerville," as CaneCorso called it.
A desperate need to survive, a lust for life, and extreme practical experience.
Vikir was on the seventh before entering the Abyss Tower, and was able to forge a small eighth tooth.
'...Technically, it would be 7.5 form.'
In fact, if it is 7, it is 7, and if it is 8, it is 8. It is a little strange that there is an intermediate stage.
There should be a 7.25 or a 7.75 if you want to go that route.
It's just a shame that there's no way to express this subtle lack of a number.
'If I were to max out my stats and levels and then leave the tower... I could probably get to a full 8th Form without the saint's buffs.'
After speaking with CaneCorso, he could definitely make the faint clues he'd been able to pick up his own.
Perhaps then he could one day reach the unattainable 9th Form.
... Right then.
-Ding!
A now familiar notification sound struck everyone's ears.
<Mission End> – Number of Survivors: 76
※ As soon as the late comer clears the mission, the first comers will be reverse summoned out of the tower.
※ Ship owners eligible for reverse summons are limited to those who have cleared the mission.
There's a subtle additional explanation that's a bit different from the previous one.
At the same time, a window popped up in front of everyone announcing the completion of the mission.
<Mission Complete> – Capture the Sap Pool!
※ Steal the sap gland from the scary ship owners and survive!
<Mission End> – Build a ship and cross the Black Sea!
※Avoid the 'Black Sea Shadowless King'!
<Mission Failure> – Kill all the living things!
-Survivor (0/77)
※What's the point of being a Majin if you don't go on a rampage? Let's prove how strong you've become! Oh, and the rewards are pretty good, right?
The mission window above is obviously for students of Colosseo Academy, but the ones below are a little different.
It seemed to be a mix of those of the Insectking race and those of Dogma, who had become a Majin.
The Insectking race wept tears of gratitude and turned to Vikir.
[Thank you, thank you, thank you, now we can go back to where we came from!]
They had been brought here for a very long time.
Their suffering was so great that all 50+ Insectking fell to the ground and kissed the backs of Vikir's hands and feet.
<The ship owners will be recalled>
<Do you agree to the reverse summons?>
Then, a message flashed before the Insectking' eyes.
[Finally! We're finally leaving this damned tower!]
[Oooh! It's all thanks to the Savior!]
[We will definitely repay this favor when we leave! Thank you!]
All the Insectking race chose to leave the tower.
And then.
...pasag!
A pillar of light suddenly fell from the sky and enveloped the more than 50 Insectking.
They literally disappeared in an instant.
The triplets mouths watered at the sight.
"Damn. I don't know if I envy them or not."
"Yes. After all, this tower is the land of opportunity."
"Still, I feel for those guys. It looks like they've been stuck here for a long time."
Then. Vikir walked forward.
"...."
Vikir began to stare at the ground where the Insectking had disappeared.
Then, Vikir picked something up off the sandbar.
It was a long strand of white hair.
It was probably a beard that had fallen off the bodies of the Elders.
The tip of the strand was burnt black.
"...Did they really leave the tower?"
Vikir's quiet muttering sends a chill down everyone's spine.
The pillar of light and noise that had just fallen were clearly far from the sound of moving through space.
Of course, it could be some other unknown type of teleportation magic, but....
"Temptation is everywhere, and unless it's earned with your own blood, it's best to be suspicious."
Vikir also spoke with an uneasy feeling.
Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro, who stood behind him, nodded with heavy expressions.
Then.
"Uh, over there...."
A creeping voice came from behind them.
Vikir turned to see a group of twenty or so Commoner students standing there, looking pale.
"Oh, we just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier...."
"We were just doing what Dogma told us to do...."
"We didn't mean any harm, really, we're sorry...."
Everyone looks at Vikir.
It's only natural.
He'd single-handedly defeated over 50 Insectking, slain a Majin, and even overturned an S-ranked jellyfish monster.
Even the fairies had to admit it. If they were to go up against Vikir, they would be bankrupt.
There was no way anyone could go against Vikir under these circumstances.
So the commoner students humbled themselves as if they were worms and begged for forgiveness.
However, Vikir's response was short and dry.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
"...?"
"I think the street number is wrong."
Vikir shrugged and turned away.
There stood the triplets, Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro.
"...hic."
The blood drained from the Commoner students' faces.
Forgiveness is reserved for the offended party.
Criminals usually apologize and show remorse only to those who have the power to decide their punishment, such as guards and judges.
But they never apologize to their victims. A contradiction in terms.
The students, who had never understood why criminals would grovel and repeat their apologies only in front of a judge, understood why when they found themselves in such a situation.
'At this point, we have no choice but to beg for our lives from Vikir.'
'There's no way the Highbro, Midbrw, and Lowbro will ever forgive us.'
'They'll kill us, and even if they make a thousand concessions and let us live, they'll cripple us.'
'...Let's go to Vikir and beg as much as we can.'
This is because they do not truly reflect and only worry about their own disadvantages.
Feelings of shame and self-loathing appeared on the faces of all the students who were newly aware of this fact.
They spoke to Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro in a croaking voice.
"I, I'm sorry, guys...."
"I will gladly accept any retaliation. sorry."
"I'm begging you. Please. End it with me. As for the family outside the tower...."
The Commoner students knelt down on the sandbar and buried their heads in their hands.
Then, Highbro stepped forward.
Everyone flinched with each step Highbro took.
Then, as Highbro stepped in front of the Commoners, he did something completely unexpected.
Shuffle.
Highbro bent down to one knee and stood at eye level with the Commoners.
"So far, I have a good understanding of what you have been subjected to by the aristocracy."
"...?"
"Our brothers, too, would have made you feel unknowingly wronged until they were trapped inside the tower."
At Highbro's words, the Commoner students' faces relaxed into a blank stare.
Next to him, Midbro and Lowbro walked over and dropped to one knee.
"But inside the tower, we must stand together."
"The opponent is a demon, and the distinction between aristocracy, barons, and commoners is irrelevant. There are only 'humans' left."
At the words of Midbro and Lowbro, the Commoner students stared blankly.
The Highbro finally concluded.
"I forgive you all for what you have done to us. Forgive us for what we did to you before you were locked in the tower."
At this point, several students burst into tears.
The others, who were not weeping, fell silent, shook their heads, and were speechless.
'So this is it. This is what Dogma couldn't get to the end.'
Everyone seemed to feel the same way. Though they couldn't quite put their finger on what it was.
Meanwhile. Vikir, who had been listening to the triplets in silence, nodded.
'...The mindset is in the right place.'
It wasn't some noble phrase like 'forgive the offender and be merciful'.
In a age of destruction, the distinction between noble and noble, commoner and commoner is meaningless.
Only demons and humans. Only two black and white logics remain.
The only way to survive against the demons is for humans to unite and work together.
The triplets had already realized this, if only vaguely.
It looked quite different from before Vikir's regression.
At that very moment.
[ Chall enger ?]
The fairy who had disappeared had suddenly sneaked up beside Vikir.
It began to make a strange suggestion.
[You ha ve be en rack ing up an impress ive li st of accomplish ments sin ce yo ur la st ga me, and you are so prodigi ously talent ed that yo ur mun dane m i s s i o n s are no long er fun ? ]
Vikir listened, wondering if it was some kind of trick.
Sure enough, the fairy began to make a strange, unheard-of deal.
[ Wh at I me an, can't you ju st dr aw all the ne xt flo ors bef ore us ?]
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