Chapter 17: Sir

The Tower of Labyrinth, 3rd floor.

On the path to the temple in the centre, dozens of players formed a phalanx, facing the oncoming horde of monsters.

“Will you be defeated by those lowly republic scum? Show the greatness of the Empire! Prove the imperial spirit that the first emperor demonstrated!”

“We cannot lose to the Empire! Let’s show the power of freedom!”

As their battle raged on.

Ding

[The 66th Pandemonium on the 3rd floor of the Tower of Labyrinth has been cleared by player ‘Ahenobarbus’ and three others.]

“……?”

“Sigh… Are we too late again?”

The notification of the clear, which appeared before the players’ eyes, sapped their will to fight.

[The ownership of the 66th Pandemonium is granted to player ‘Ahenobarbus’ who made the greatest contribution to the main quest.]

“Ahenobarbus………? Ha. There’s a person daring to impersonate the name of our great first emperor?”

“Ha, that’s funny. So, this much-vaunted lineage and nobility can be so easily ignored and trampled upon.”

“What? You dare to speak like that?”

“I said it all, didn’t I?”

“Fine, I’ll personally show the lowly republic scum the nobility of blue blood here!”

“An outdated old man should experience the freedom of the new age.”

Just as Count Schmidt and Executor Leighton were about to clash.

Ding

[Due to player ‘Ahenobarbus’ decision, all maps within the 66th Pandemonium will be closed to players.]

[The expulsion of currently logged-in players will begin.]

[5]

[4]

[3]

“What? Expulsion?”

“………It seems that this race’s winner, unlike the Demihuman King, is not merciful.”

[2]

[1]

Flash

As the countdown ended, all players connected to that floor were expelled to the 1st floor of the Tower of Labyrinth in a burst of white light.

Only one player remained on the 3rd floor.

“I can’t let anyone else interfere with my and my master’s sanctuary.”

The new master of the 3rd floor dismissed the interface screen floating in the air.

“Not only have you reminded me of my master, but you’ve also handed over an entire dimension where I can be alone with my master who can’t escape this world. How can I repay this grace?”

Ahenobarbus turned and walked toward the room where his master was waiting.

“I praise you. My god.”

***

Creak

Near the dormitory, at a restaurant, I took a table with Wald to have breakfast and ordered two bowls of soup.

The food arrived, but Wald, unlike his usual self, was listlessly stirring his soup.

Well, I could somewhat understand why he was feeling down.

“……Hey, my friend.”

“What.”

“What do we do.”

“What do you mean, what do we do? We wait for 3 days.”

“Ugh, how do I wait! How can I endure 3 days without Rudera!”

Wald clutched his head with both hands and screamed.

Death in Rudera imposes penalties on players.

Since having no penalties for death would ruin the game, I implemented a system inspired by virtual reality games from my previous life.

Generally, upon death, there’s a slight decrease in experience points and a 24-hour login restriction.

If you die with a high chaotic score, additional penalties apply.

And since the Tower of Labyrinth is endgame content in Rudera, those penalties are harsher.

Dying there results in a 3-day ban from accessing Rudera.

When the first emperor, Balbari, ambushed and killed Wald, it caused him to be unable to access Rudera for 3 days.

“Ah, I want to play Rudera!”

“Don’t shout, you idiot.”

“Ugh…”

Seeing the penalty first-hand, Wald was reduced to this pitiful state.

I thought he was obsessively attached to Rudera, but being unable to play it for just a few days broke him.

“I’m gonna kill that bastard! I didn’t even do anything!”

Killing, huh.

It was quite an extreme statement, but it probably meant PK (player killing) within the game.

Well, even if it’s within the game, killing the first emperor is impossible.

A level above 500 signifies a fully formed divinity.

Although it’s a level achievable only within Rudera that I created, the last time I saw Balbari, he had obtained the perfect power of a god.

Even his master, Carthesia, would be no match for him, as she was still confined to the limits of mortality.

Even the Demon King and Dragon Lord fall short of his power.

Wald, who hasn’t even surpassed level 100, the Master’s barrier, stands no chance against him.

“Hey, didn’t you see that guy take down a high demon in one blow? He’s on a different level. Plus, he conquered the 3rd floor of the Tower of Labyrinth. Just think of it as bad luck and forget about it.”

“But… but……!”

Wald’s eyes welled up with tears.

Ugh.

I don’t want to see the face of a guy, especially one with a golden face, crying like this.

“Albus⋯⋯⋯ aren’t you angry? You can’t play Rudera either, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

I answered while slightly averting my gaze.

Unlike him, I hadn’t died from the first emperor’s attack, so I could freely access Rudera.

Moreover, even if I had died, I could nullify the penalty with my authority.

However, to avoid Wald’s suspicion, I had claimed that I also died then, making him believe I couldn’t play Rudera either.

At the moment, though, I had more urgent matters than Rudera.

Buzz

I felt an alien force swirling in my hand.

Originally, the only power I could wield was magic.

That would have been my limit, but for some reason, after that incident yesterday, upon logging out, this strange energy began to manifest through my hands of its own accord.

It’s definitely coming from my body, but I can’t control it with my will.

Before logging into Rudera, I need to figure out what this power is.

“Here you are.”

That’s when Perizet appeared.

“Perizet ? Why are you here?”

“Did you get back safely last night?”

Wald asked her a question, but she ignored him and spoke to me.

“Uh… well, I just died and got kicked out.”

“I see. I also got expelled from that world after dying.”

Perizet nodded.

“Hey! Why are you ignoring me?”

“…Hm? Oh, the smelly human. You were here too.”

“It’s Wald! We went on an adventure together yesterday! How could you forget?”

“Albus. Unfortunately, yesterday’s pilgrimage was a failure. We were thrown to a completely different place during our journey and had a new adventure there. It must be the will of the GM. So I thought. Why did the GM guide us that way? Why did he allow us to experience such a death?”

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”

Wald kept shouting, but Perizet ignored him and continued speaking.

“And the answer came to my mind. Considering the GM’s omnipotence, it is clear that this is his will.”

‘Huh? What? Omnipotence? Me?’

This woman.

She’s seriously mistaken.

“Originally, our bond would have ended upon reaching the GM’s sanctuary. The fact that we were prevented from doing so means we were commanded to stay together.”

…?

No, how does that make sense?

“So, I look forward to working with you, Albus.”

Perizetextended her hand to me.

“Uh… sure.”

Before I knew it, I shook her hand in response.

With her powerful strength as a Sword Master and her status as a direct descendant of the Demihuman King, refusing her didn’t seem like a wise option.

There was no harm in getting along with her.

In fact, it would be advantageous.

As long as she doesn’t find out that I’m the GM, she’s the perfect ally to have.

Of course, she seems a bit mentally unstable, but considering most strong people are somewhat broken, she’s actually not that bad.

“Hah. The GM’s will? She’s just smitten with Albus and is making excuses to hang out with him… Ugh!”

Wald, who had been speaking nonchalantly with his arms crossed, suddenly grabbed his stomach and doubled over.

“Shut up.”

“Gah, violent… woman…!”

Judging by the pained expression on his face, Perizet must have struck Wald’s stomach swiftly while I wasn’t even aware.

Flap flap Perizet’s face turned red, and her ears began to twitch, indicating that she was quite angry.

Jingle

“Crazy…”

“Saint?”

“Why are you here?”

At that moment, there was a commotion near the restaurant’s entrance.

“What’s going on? Who came? This is the academy, so it must be someone significant to cause such a reaction.”

Wald turned his head, seemingly having recovered a bit.

And then he froze.

If even he was surprised, it must be a high-ranking noble.

Probably just a noble, nothing more.

Could they be more surprising than Perizet in front of me?

She’s the Demihuman king’s daughter.

As I thought this and turned my head.

“I found you!”

A holy, blonde beauty was looking at me with a bright smile.

“My beloved!”

…?

Cling

“I missed you, my beloved!”

Before I could realize it, I was enveloped in a warm, tender embrace.

A beautiful woman I had never seen before was hugging me.

Who, who are you?