386 - Nobles of the Tower 1
TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/Week Mon-fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The gimmick on the 51st floor was a type of offense. A ti attack offense, to be precise. If you failed the ti attack, a random NPC would vanish into the tower's darkness - an incredibly vicious penalty.
The Empire's appearance didn't just abnormally increase the number of ordinary peasants. Peasants, hunters, adventurers, rcenaries, soldiers, knights, and nobles all increased about fivefold across the board. This wasn't a modern society where the entire population was tracked and counted, so it could be even more, but certainly no less.
Well, they were advancing through that vast landmass, breaking through monster waves, so the numbers had to be staggering.
And now all those countless rcenaries, adventurers, and soldiers had entered the tower, causing problems.
"We should check other safe zones too."
"Shouldn't we talk to the Magic Tower first?"
"Surely it won't trigger randomly just from people entering?"
With numbers increased at least fivefold from before Season 2 started, plus all sorts of adventurers and rcenaries specially hired by the kingdom and empire's upper echelons due to anxiety.
They'd long since departed for unknown spaces, and most adventurers tended to pack plenty of food for long-term exploration at tis like this.
Even I only rested about once every two months when exploring the swamp with the Rebecca rcenaries.
Even if we told returning adventurers resupplying food about the fake safe zones, it would take at least one to two months. This wasn't a world where you could just send a quick ssage on KakaoTalk or sothing.
"...So then, I can't do anything but pray? I have to beg 'please, please' hoping important NPCs for scenario progression don't get taken away?"
-What the fuck, how can there be a gimmick like this lololololololol
-What if by sheer luck the Empire's Emperor or the Kingdom's King gets yeeted into the tower? Does it move on to the 'continent is fucked' episode?
-Shouldn't we try resetting for real? If important figures get taken, we should reset and change it, right?
-Is this really a gimmick? It just seems to annoy like crazy
-But since it's spatial movent, won't the Magic Tower mages research and co up with sothing?
"No, what is this, no way..."
Ridiculously, there was nothing we could do. We could urgently gather mages and ask them to research the safe zones, but even that wouldn't yield imdiate results.
As Han Se-ah's dumbfounded expression showed, all we could do was pray that important NPCs wouldn't disappear. Our last hope was believing BB Gas was a ga company with common sense and decency.
For example, NPCs crucial to the story wouldn't be taken, and only average mid to low-ranking troops or civilians would be dragged in to beco shackles for the players. It was a cruel story in a way, but wasn't it more beneficial continentally and for gars if so poor farr died rather than a military commander dying and the Empire getting breached by monster waves?
"Um, why are you acting like that?"
"Lukius, do you know anything about these fake safe zones without flowers?"
"No? I just found out there were places with nothing in the center and ca back right away."
As I thought that, Lukius, who had no clue why we were depressed and reacting so seriously. True to his na as the 'Lucky One', it seed he ca back leisurely without triggering any fake safe zones.
He knew fake safe zones existed, but didn't know they kidnapped people. That ant he must have wandered around the tower interior before rumors and money spread throughout the industry.
Still, befitting an advanced rcenary, his brain seed to work quite well. After a brief explanation, his face contorted with shock. Well, it was no wonder he was surprised to hear he could be thrown into so prairie sowhere if he closed his eyes while drinking leisurely outside.
"Then... I guess I'll have to camp in tents on the plains of the first floor for a while. Thanks for the information, Sir Hero."
"...Huh? That works?"
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Raei Translations
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The world began to stir again over a piece of information that leaked from the tower.
The hero chosen by the Goddess had uncovered the reason people were being dragged into the tower in just one day.
In truth, the 'Lucky One' Lukius had luckily discovered the peculiarity of the fake safe zones, luckily didn't trigger the gimmick, luckily returned to a real safe zone and imdiately t the hero's party, and luckily tried to create an atmosphere like he made so amazing discovery hoping to earn so pocket money, which turned out to actually be crucial information. But such backstories weren't politically important.
"As expected of the hero...!"
"Thanks to this, we can minimize the damage."
"Hmm... I'd like to experience it myself, but that would be troubleso during research. Did they say the 11th floor's research lab was empty?"
"I'll pay any amount, so secure lodgings in the harpy city or the stone dwarves' underground city!"
The important thing was the last words 'Lucky One' Lukius mumbled without thinking.
He'd stay on the first floor for a while since getting dragged to the 50th floor was scary. The first floor was still inside the tower and a plains, but it was a very peaceful space where even goblins were hard to find.
As long as you didn't get lost, the only threats were horned rabbits and horned foxes that tried to stab people.
Co to think of it, the tower had many other safe places, easily accessible thanks to the gates the hero had opened.
At most, there was the plains layer with only goblins and occasional wolves as dangers, the forest layer where they built palisades in safe zones and created research labs for mages, the poison swamp layer where mages filled in the marshes with earth magic and the temple purified the poison, and the high mountain layer full of stone dwarf underground cities and harpy cities.
Except for the cave layer where the dead-end narrow path was the safe zone, there were surprisingly many places for people to stay inside the tower.
"So this is how it flows. Should I have bought so land sowhere?"
-I didn't expect that serious atmosphere to suddenly flow into a real estate speculation competition
-The mansion land prices on the 50th floor Harpy Archipelago must have skyrocketed lolololololol This is fucking ridiculous
-So if you have money and ability, you evacuate to the tower? Well, if you don't want to die, that's what you gotta do
-Even if so people can't escape, it seems everyone avoids it if possible?
-If there's a drink with a 0.01% chance of killing you when you drink it, of course you shouldn't drink it lol
Who would consu it just because the probability is low?
Naturally, the nobles of the adventurer city were the first to start. Those who held only noble titles and rights to the city without territories to rule.
With just one gate, they could go back and forth to their mansions in 5 minutes, so evacuating to the tower interior was a very easy thing.
Next were the wealthy rchants passing through the adventurer city, then the nobles of nearby territories...
The high and mighty concerned for their safety flocked to the tower en masse. It wasn't like Lukius spread the story, I guess everyone thought similarly.
The idea that you weren't safe even in the northern Empire if you were outside the tower, so you might as well be in a safe zone inside the tower, occurred to everyone.
"The space untouched by the Goddess's will has beco a space blocking the Demon King's malice. Seeing it like this, it feels nostalgic, like our efforts have borne fruit."
"You could think of it that way. Still, not everyone can flee to the tower, so we need to resolve the tower's anomaly as soon as possible."
From what I heard at the Adventurers Guild, tent villages for rchants had sprung up on the plains. Mages who didn't want their research disturbed had poured into the forest, high-ranking temple officials trying to visit the tower directly and start pilgrimages in this opportunity had visited the swamp clearings, and wealthy nobles had purchased mansions in the stone dwarves' underground cities and harpy nations.
As Irene said, the areas conquered by Han Se-ah as the player hero had beco spaces safer for people than the outside. In adventurer terms, they'd beco real safe zones.
anwhile, not everyone was sitting idle. We couldn't do anything about the adventurers and rcenaries who had already left for far-off places in the plains, but the information Lukius discovered spread to those who departed later or returned with good timing.
"The ratio of fake safe zones is higher than expected... should I say? 5 out of 12 is almost 40%. It's nearly half that are fake, they really made it viciously."
-But I still don't get why they made kidnapping a gimmick
-It's just to shackle the players, what else. If you carelessly choose a safe zone, you get a burden to protect
-By the way, won't gates between the Kingdom and Empire open when that's resolved?
-I don't know about anything else, but Empire travel will be convenient, gotta make so progress so things happen
-Tower travel without breaking through will be convenient for sure, Kingdom tours alone take years
That's why we also headed to the plains of the 52nd floor after minimal preparations at the mansion on the 50th floor. The nobles, royalty, and temples would have to deal with adventurers who might trigger fake safe zones without knowing.
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