Chapter 36 - 11th Floor (2)
The boy being chased by Demonic Beasts was an incredibly silent person.
It was hard to even see his expression since his entire body was tightly wrapped in thick clothes, and on top of that, he was so quiet that he felt like something in the shape of a human.
He didn't even say a word of thanks or complain about the pain when I treated his injuries with the potion from my hip flask.
“...Why is that kid carrying a potion around like a drink? Looking at the effect, it's not a low-grade one either, is it?”
“He’s always like that…”
“Hey, do you think you can just say ‘he’s always like that’ and get away with it whenever something happens?”
“But what can I do if he’s really always like that?”
“…”
I decided to ignore Lee Si-yeong and Seo Ah-in's chatter from the sidelines.
“All done. You should have no trouble moving.”
I said, confirming that the wounds visible through his clothes were healing.
Anyone with a keen eye would have quickly realized that this boy was no ordinary ‘human’ just by looking at what was visible through the slightly torn clothes.
A part of a complex diagram that ran across his entire body was slightly visible through the gap.
“…Hmph.”
I heard Lee Si-yeong snort from behind me.
Mages were a race that, beyond just honing powerful techniques, accumulated knowledge about symbols and diagrams.
After all, the sources of the techniques they used were mostly based on an understanding of such things.
In that respect.
“He's a really dangerous one, that guy.”
As for what the pattern engraved on this boy's body meant, even if the others didn't know, this one would have figured it out just by glancing at it.
And what it 'symbolically' implied.
Hearing her mutter, I let out a smirk.
“I agree.”
As if he had heard me, the boy who had been silent until now opened his mouth in a gloomy voice.
His voice, cracked and hoarse, seemed to eloquently reveal the immense hardship he had endured.
“Nothing good will come from sticking with me.”
“…I'm not so sure. That's not a pleasant thing to hear, coming from the one whose life I just saved,” Seo Hye-in replied dubiously.
The boy just shrugged and pointed to the side.
“If you go straight this way, you'll find a village where people live. You should be safe there. It's not a place that shuns people.”
“…A village?” Seo Hye-in asked back in a bewildered voice.
I could see why.
Just a moment ago, she had confirmed there was a sky inside a building, and now she was being told there was a place where people lived together.
For Climbers who had thought the Tower was simply a space where Demonic Beasts appeared, this must have been a fresh shock.
“…It feels like I've entered some other world, not the Tower.”
Hearing Seo Hye-in mutter that, I chuckled.
That was a surprisingly accurate observation.
[ Wolf and Sheep / Main Quest: 2nd Floor ]
[ Quest details are currently unavailable. ]
[ Clear Condition (1st): Enter the ‘Wolf's Village’. ]
Basically, the Tower never strayed from the grand premise that Demonic Beasts appeared and Climbers hunted them, but the story changed a little, at least on floors where a ‘Main Quest’ was involved.
And by saving this guy just now, something must have been added.
[ The prerequisite for 'Achievement: Shepherd' has been unlocked. ]
Something like this.
As I was checking those things, Seo Hye-in opened her mouth in a puzzled voice.
“But if there is such a village, wouldn't it be better for you to seek refuge there as well?”
Hearing that, the boy silently turned to look at Seo Hye-in.
The movement was simple, but the gloom contained within it was enough to crush the person looking.
Well, what Seo Hye-in said was a valid point.
But from my perspective, I knew very well how nonsensical that was.
I mean, the quest name was ‘Wolf and Sheep’.
The place we had to go to now was the ‘Wolf's Village’.
And the name of the achievement whose prerequisite I just unlocked by saving this guy was ‘Shepherd’.
“…”
Even a fool would know what this meant.
This boy.
He must never go near that village.
“Well, let's leave it at that. That's absolutely out of the question.”
So, I cut off Seo Hye-in's sentence by saying that.
“For now, you head to the village. No matter how you look at it, that's the first thing you need to do. I'll join you later.”
“You said 'you', Mr. Kim Gyu-sik. Does that mean you have something else to do?”
“Do you remember what I said when we first came up here?”
I had definitely said that I would go alone when necessary.
And now was that time.
Seeing Seo Hye-in flinch, it seemed she understood what I was saying.
“No, but isn't it too dangerous to go alone when so many Demonic Beasts have been confirmed? It's much safer to go with us…”
Seo Hye-in, who was about to say that, immediately shut her mouth.
The face of Seo Ah-in, who was smirking next to her, must have entered her line of sight, but more than that, my widely smiling face must have left a deep impression.
“It'll probably be much safer if I go alone.”
I continued speaking to the wondering Seo Hye-in with a smile on my face.
“For you, that is.”
“…”
***
A strange silence hung over the Conquest Team.
There were many reasons, but the biggest one would be the sort of ‘phenomenon’ that was happening before them even now.
Similar to before, a large pack of wolf-like Demonic Beasts was passing in front of them.
Their number was overwhelming enough to make the ground tremble, but the pressure they exuded felt like less than half of what the previous horde of Demonic Beasts had exerted.
“Are they passing by us again?” Jeong Woo-jin said with a hollow laugh.
Indeed, just as he said, the pack of Demonic Beasts before them now showed no interest in them, unlike before when they had displayed ferocious hostility.
This wasn't the first or second time something like this had happened either.
They had lost count of how many times they had encountered a pack of Demonic Beasts while heading towards the village according to what the unidentified boy had said.
And everyone was guessing the same thing about where they were headed.
“That's definitely the place where that F-class disappeared, right?”
“It… was. Definitely.”
To Lee Si-yeong's words, uttered with a sigh, Seo Hye-in also agreed with a look that said her head was throbbing.
The thought that my words about it being safer for them if I went alone meant this was dawning on everyone.
“…Hah, my goodness. I've seen all sorts of things in my life…”
As Lee Si-yeong scratched her head and said that, Seo Ah-in, who had been walking silently beside her, tilted her head and replied.
“But you don't seem to have many complaints this time?”
“Huh? What?”
“No, I was just thinking that until now, you always had your lips pouting out to your ears whenever Mr. Kim Gyu-sik tried to do anything.”
“…What do you mean, pouting out to my ears? First of all, let me tell you, I'm a 3rd-grade mage. Normally, an F-class Climber like you wouldn't even be able to speak to me properly.”
Lee Si-yeong grumbled like that, but she still kindly added an explanation of the situation.
“That little boy that the F-class insisted on saving. I also agree that he's dangerous.”
At her words, everyone present turned their heads.
Come to think of it, hadn't this woman seemed like she knew something on her own earlier?
“What do you mean?”
“You all saw it, right? The tattoos all over his body.”
“We saw… we all saw it together, right?”
“Those are symbols related to the divine. Shamans and high priests of the Demi-humans mainly use them… anyway, they're religiously very important.”
Lee Si-yeong shrugged and continued.
The words she brought up were by no means light.
“If we had let him die in front of us, or even just let him be chased, a calamity might have been passed on to us.”
“A calamity?”
“Religiously cursed, so something bad would have happened. I guess everyone would have died or at least been knocked unconscious.”
“…”
A heavy silence fell over the Conquest Team.
In their minds, the images of people who had entered the 2nd floor before them and were either carried out covered in blood or had become corpses were vividly replaying.
Seeing this, Lee Si-yeong chuckled and opened her mouth again.
“I don't know how he knew that beforehand. But thanks to him, we're all alive now. It's truly amazing, really.”
So if a guy like that decided he needed to go alone, there must have been a reason. Was there any reason to object?
Seeing Lee Si-yeong end with that, the entire Conquest Team quietly nodded.
That was, until Seo Ah-in suddenly opened her mouth as if she had thought of something.
“Wait a minute. You said he's a religiously important figure, right? Why is someone like that being chased around outside instead of staying in the village?”
“How would I know? I'm a mage, not a religious expert.”
Lee Si-yeong said bluntly and pulled her robe over her head.
Though she seemed to quickly become flustered upon seeing Seo Ah-in's dejected look.
The way her words came out in a rush seemed to reinforce that feeling.
“I can offer a hypothesis. Assuming the Demonic Beasts are only chasing him, there has traditionally been a figure who played a similar role. Someone who had to be chased and tormented to the extreme.”
“What is that?”
A chill came over Lee Si-yeong's face.
So the word that followed sounded just as terrifying.
“A sacrifice.”
***
“…So if you're with me, you die.”
I heard those words from behind me.
They came as I was cooling down the smoke rising from the Vanquisher I had borrowed from Jeong Woo-jin.
After shooting down the relentlessly crawling wolves, this thing was also starting to show signs of overheating.
“What?”
“Like I said before, nothing good will come from getting involved with me.”
“I agree with that, but we're already involved, aren't we?”
I replied with a smirk.
“Won't the others get angry if I don't protect you?”
“…”
Seeing the boy look at me with surprised eyes, I let out a hollow laugh.
Just as I said, if I didn't save this guy, a sacrifice being chased by something, the curse would pass on to others.
‘In Conqueror, this guy's nickname was…’
The bomb of the 2nd floor.
If left alone, it would trigger a specific event and turn the 2nd floor's conquest difficulty into hellfire.
But if I went looking for him myself, I would be forced to protect him upon meeting him.
But, in exchange.
The effect that was displayed when all those complicated conditions were met.
“…”
It was a return that was more than enough to cover all those risks.
It wasn't for nothing that I had pinpointed this guy as the key to conquering this floor.
“So, you.”
I turned my head towards the boy crouching behind me.
“I get that you're in a pretty shitty situation.”
“…You know? You?”
“Even if you give off a 'how could someone like you know-' nuance, it doesn't make what I know unknown.”
“…”
I smirked at the boy who shut his mouth.
“So, I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
Yes.
I prepared one he couldn't refuse.