Chapter 34 - The Summons (2)
“This isn’t a joke.”
Such words were dropped.
It was the first reaction in the auditorium, which had been filled with silence since Seo Ah-in and I showed up.
When I raised my head toward the sound of the laughter-mixed voice, the girl holding the staff was fiddling with her pink hair.
Her overall appearance gave a very delicate impression, but her voice carried a hostility that contrasted with such softness.
Ah, right.
She was someone I knew too.
Lee Si-yeong.
The only mage among the ‘main characters’.
And in one way or another… she was someone I would have a lot to do with in the future.
Though her personality was a bit twisted.
As I was thinking that, Lee Si-yeong immediately continued.
“Both of those people are F-rank. I don’t want to babysit on the 11th floor of the Tower, you know?”
“…Mage-nim. I understand your feelings, but if you would please choose your words a little more carefully-”
The person from the Association tried to stop her with a voice that was nothing short of troubled, but she continued to speak without batting an eye.
“In the first place, it’s ridiculous to believe something as suspicious as a prophecy, but you want us to bring in some shady cult official and do everything they say? Does the Climber Association always handle things this way?”
“…Wait. Watch your mouth.”
Seo Hye-in stopped Lee Si-yeong with a sharp voice.
“Gusegyo has a track record of accurately predicting the events related to the 1st Floor of the Tower. They are probably the most suitable place to ask for help in the current situation.”
“A track record, you say. You said that well.”
Lee Si-yeong leaned forward over the table.
Her posture, with her chin propped on the table and her legs crossed, and her eyes narrowing into a gentle curve, was quite provocative.
“Then explain it to me in a way I can understand. Why do those two F-rank Climbers with no such ‘track record’ have to participate in the expedition?”
“…”
Seo Hye-in shut her mouth.
She had realized that her own position was not good for answering this question.
Probably, her perception of me was ‘her hidden trump card’.
She felt uncomfortable revealing information about such a person here and there, and besides.
Her own sister was involved.
She couldn't just blabber on recklessly.
“…Shouldn’t we go back now? Please?”
I smirked at Seo Ah-in, who was muttering with unfocused pupils.
No way.
Why do you think I’ve been taking you around all this time?
It’s all to make good use of you in this main quest.
“Me, you, or even that blonde punk over there, we all have reasons and track records to participate in this expedition. But those people don’t, do they?”
While Jeong Min-woo was grumbling, “Who are you calling a blonde punk-”, Seo Hye-in kept her mouth firmly shut.
Well.
It's not good to just be on the receiving end like this.
I opened my mouth to provide some support.
To be precise, I was about to.
“I will explain the reason.”
If Darien hadn't interjected with a calm voice, I certainly would have.
It was only natural that everyone's attention would turn to her as she, who had been silent until now, suddenly opened her mouth.
“Explain it, will you? I don’t know if you can say anything that makes sense.”
As Lee Si-yeong said that indifferently, Darien walked up to Lee Si-yeong and bowed her head slightly.
Her face was all smiles, but.
“Ah. That man over there is more benevolent than anyone.”
The sentences she poured out were laced with poison.
“Enough to look after even a clueless bug like you.”
In an instant.
A chill descended upon the auditorium, as if the temperature had dropped by several degrees.
If gazes had physical force, it wouldn't have been strange for sparks to fly between Darien and Lee Si-yeong right now.
While the person from the Association’s jaw dropped in shock, Seo Hye-in was flustered, and Jeong Min-woo whistled as if the situation was getting interesting.
Lee Si-yeong, who had her eyes wide open for a moment, sighed and opened her mouth.
“…Is it because you’re a cultist? Your manners are at a fitting level.”
Lee Si-yeong said, lightly brushing her hair back.
On the outside, she looked relatively calm, but the chill seeping from beneath her eyes seemed to explain her current state.
If a 3rd-rank mage from the Magic Tower showed such an attitude, anyone would be intimidated.
But Darien, on the contrary, deepened the smile on her face and replied.
“Ms. Lee Si-yeong. The Savior is more omnipotent than you think.”
“What nonsense are you suddenly spouting-”
“What I mean is, He also knows that you’re not opposing their inclusion just because they ‘lack a track record’.”
“…What?”
“July 19th.”
Lee Si-yeong’s expression slightly twisted.
Ah, so that’s it.
If she closed the distance that much, Darien could read everything the other person wanted to hide.
She was probably threatening to reveal all the ‘secrets’ that Lee Si-yeong was hiding in her subconscious.
“October 21st. November 30th. December 11th. Shall I tell you what you were doing on these days?”
“…You, what on earth-”
“Or should I go all the way back to what happened in your family 10 years ago-”
It was a fact known to everyone in this room, but mages, even among the Climbers who were like walking weapons, were guys whose instantaneous firepower was hard to find a comparison for.
So if mana suddenly gathered on the staff of a 3rd-rank mage, it was a natural sequence for a chaotic scene to follow.
While a blue flame rose from Seo Hye-in’s hand, Jeong Min-woo’s mana circuit also deployed, and the person from the Association ducked his head in fright.
A white flash shot out.
“…Huh?”
The first one to react was Seo Ah-in.
All she did was let out a dazed voice, but that alone was enough to say she was the most conscious.
The rest seemed to have not even noticed what had happened.
Seo Hye-in, Jeong Min-woo, and Lee Si-yeong.
The skills they were all about to activate had all ‘evaporated’ at once.
The mana gathered on Lee Si-yeong’s staff, the blue flame that bloomed from Seo Hye-in’s hand, and the mana circuit that was about to be imbued in Jeong Min-woo’s gun had all disappeared.
“…”
“…”
In the silent auditorium, I was the only one letting out a chuckle.
Well, personally, I was quite satisfied.
Even with an ‘unfinished’ skill, I was able to instantly neutralize the mana woven by several A-rank Climbers.
[ Beholder / NPC - Seo Hye-in’s Innate Ability: Enhancement Stage 1 ]
[ Once a day, you can temporarily sever the flow of mana within your line of sight. The flow of a place you directly touch is permanently severed. ]
This one.
It was an additional effect I got by using points after unlocking the enhancement trait before.
The cooldown being so ridiculously long that I could only use it once a day was a drawback, but that was a problem that could be covered by its overwhelming ease of use and versatility.
And the option of permanently severing mana on contact that I originally had was still intact.
“Hey.”
And in the silent surroundings, my voice fell.
“Why is everyone so angry? We’re supposed to be working together from now on.”
When I said that in an indifferent tone, Lee Si-yeong, who had been staring at her staff with wide eyes, turned her head to look at me blankly.
“That just now… you… how?”
Seeing her reaction, it seemed she was shocked enough to even forget the atmosphere of wanting to eat me alive a moment ago.
I understand.
For a mage, having their spell dispelled is a more fatal blow than a swordsman’s sword breaking.
At the very least, an opponent’s mana vacuum needed to make at least some contact to be effective, but I had just scattered their skills from a distance.
“Trade secret.”
“…”
I smirked at Lee Si-yeong, who couldn't even answer and was just rolling her eyes, and continued.
“So, what were you saying about track records earlier.”
I said that and pointed to her completely mana-drained staff with my chin.
“I may be F-rank, but I can do this much. Is it still not enough?”
“…”
Hmm.
Someone chuckled, someone sighed, and someone clutched their head.
But one thing was certain.
There was no one in this room who could look down on me like before.
So it would be a good time to bring this up.
“In that respect, I have a proposal.”
I said with a grin.
“If we go up together, give me the authority to move alone.”
“…You’ve got some nerve.”
Lee Si-yeong said with an empty laugh.
“I get that you’re not an ordinary F-rank Climber. But do you think you have the standing to propose something to us? And not just simply accompanying us, but a proposal like that?”
Of course, she was right.
No matter what kind of mysterious feat I just pulled off, these guys were on a different level from me in terms of accumulated experience and achievements.
Putting aside whether it was a situation where I could request something from people with such a large gap in status, the content of the proposal itself was perfect for giving the impression of breaking teamwork.
The Tower was a mass of threats itself, where the entire team had to be in sync at every moment.
To say you would go alone in such a place would be almost a declaration of suicide.
On the surface, yes.
“Decide by majority vote, then.”
“What?”
“There are three of you, so each of you state your opinion. How about it? That’s reasonable enough, right?”
Lee Si-yeong let out a laugh as if she was dumbfounded.
She seemed confident that something like this would never pass.
“…Fine. Be that way. I’m against it. You’re against it too, right?”
Seo Hye-in hesitated for a moment at the arrow of the question aimed at her.
She seemed to be contemplating whether she should accept such a proposal in the first place, and what kind of ulterior motive I had.
But soon, as if she had decided something, she turned her head.
“…Climber Seo Ah-in.”
Seo Ah-in flinched as if she had been struck by lightning.
The fact that her older sister had spoken to her first was written all over her face with an expression of disbelief.
“Yes, uh…”
She was about to call her 'sister', but realizing she had been called ‘Climber-nim’, her voice trailed off with difficulty.
“…Yes. Climber Seo Hye-in.”
“What is your opinion.”
“My opinion, you say…”
She cautiously looked back at me.
She seemed to be choosing what to say.
But with this one, what she would say was already decided.
“It’s fine if it’s this person. I think he’d be fine with even more.”
“Then I’m in favor too.”
Lee Si-yeong’s mouth fell open at Seo Hye-in’s immediate answer.
She looked almost dumbfounded.
“…Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Lee Si-yeong, who had ruffled her hair several times with an expression of great annoyance, finally turned her head to look at Jeong Min-woo.
“Smoker, what about you? Do you agree with this nonsense too?”
It was a question filled with the thought that he would surely oppose it.
But you see.
If it goes according to the ‘setting’ of his that I know.
A slightly different answer would come out.
“Well. If you ask me which side I’m on.”
Jeong Min-woo, who tapped the frame of his sunglasses, grinned and looked back at me.
“Rationally, it’s nonsense, that’s right. But.”
“…What?”
“Doesn’t it look too fun to oppose?”
“…”
Lee Si-yeong covered her face with an expression of having lost her words.
***
After that, the process proceeded in a flash.
It took less than a day to pack the necessary supplies for the conquest, complete various administrative procedures, and for all the personnel designated by Darien to gather at the entrance to the 11th Floor.
“…Stop trembling.”
I said to Seo Ah-in, who was shivering all over as if she were vibrating.
“How many times do I have to tell you that you’ll do well.”
“…On what grounds?”
“Because you’ll die if you don’t.”
“…”
I chuckled at Seo Ah-in, whose face turned pale.
Seriously.
It's about time to fix that demonic beast anxiety of hers.
You're going to shine brightly this time.
You can trust my words.
“If everyone is ready, let’s go up.”
Seo Hye-in said so and stood in front of the portal.
To this, everyone nodded and stood in a circle near Seo Hye-in.
I was included among them.
Even if I said I would go alone, my basic stance was to accompany them.
I just needed to go separately when necessary.
“By the way, if you’re going to go with us like that, why did you say you’d go alone?”
Seo Ah-in, who was stuck next to me, asked in a whispering voice.
Well, that.
“You know. Do you know why even those who were a cut above the rest all failed to conquer the 11th Floor?”
“That’s because it’s a new environment, so it’s natural that they don’t know the conquest method.”
“Wrong.”
“…Huh?”
From the 11th Floor onwards.
As I've said repeatedly, it’s the section where the main scenario officially begins.
It’s no exaggeration to say that this place above is a completely different world from below.
It means that it’s impossible to break through without the perfect ‘solution’ for each floor.
“The reason they failed was.”
I grinned at Seo Ah-in, who was staring at me blankly.
“Because I wasn't there.”
“…”
The reason I had to go alone was simple.
For important parts, it was much faster for me to do it alone, so having other guys around would just be baggage.
From here on up, it was my stage.
Just quietly ride the bus, you guys.
I'll carry you.