Chapter 25: Labyrinth Shop (1)
by fnovelpia
“High Above Rudera Central Continent”
“The Backroom, Accessible Only to the GM”
A flash of light.
Albus and Carthesia appeared.
“Are you alright, Lady Carthesia?”
Albus caught Carthesia as she collapsed forward, exhausted.
“Albus… was it you who brought us here?”
“Yes, it was.”
“I see…”
Carthesia bit her lip.
She had been utterly defeated.
Even though she had not fought in her true form, and had been protecting Albus, it was still disgraceful to lose to mere humans without ever gaining the upper hand.
If not for Albus, she would have collapsed pathetically right there.
Perhaps it was for the best.
‘It’s warm.’
She thought, nestled in Albus’s arms.
“Who is that woman, Albus?”
Albus explained everything that had happened to Carthesia: the story of the divine powers and the saintess, the existence of the nuclear warrior, and finally, the tale of the Empress of the Empire.
“I see.”
Carthesia nodded.
“So that’s what happened.”
It occurred to her that the Empire had such an Empress.
Her lack of recognition for the Empire’s guardian dragon and the ruler who led the Empire to its zenith spoke volumes about her disinterest in humans.
“I wanted to discuss these matters with you, Lady Carthesia.” Albus sighed.
He had initially intended just to ask Carthesia about the divine power, but so many unexpected events had occurred.
“The fortunate thing is that the Empress cannot leave the fourth floor of the Tower of Labyrinths.”
Lea had achieved a state of incomplete resurrection, existing as a spiritual entity.
Despite gaining the status of a player, she wasn’t properly registered in the system, making it impossible for her to use the internal warp of the Tower of Labyrinths.
Each dimension within the tower was independently existing; without warp, she couldn’t move between them.
Lea was effectively trapped within the Miracle Great Jungle.
“We need to investigate why she is interested in me, but that can wait. The more urgent issue is the nuclear warrior.”
“I’m unfamiliar with the concept of ‘nuclear,’ but if there’s a being interfering with Rudera at will, and it’s hard to track, why not set a trap?”
“A trap?”
Albus pondered.
The nuclear warrior’s objectives were still unclear.
Could they lure it into a trap without knowing what it wanted?
“How can we set a trap when we don’t know its identity or purpose?”
“A hunter never rushes. An unprepared hunter revises the bait in the traps repeatedly, driving the prey into them. We can modify the traps until we understand the nuclear warrior.”
“But that method takes too much time.”
“The ‘source’ that forms the core of Rudera exists in reality. Unless someone accesses that source, no one can alter your authority.”
“Then…”
After parting with Carthesia, Albus returned to reality and lay down on his bed.
The illusion magic forming Rudera was based on a real source.
According to Carthesia, unless someone tampered with that source, his authority as a GM couldn’t be altered.
If the nuclear warrior couldn’t affect his authority, then any actions it took could be dealt with later. It seemed less of an emergency than he initially thought.
“As long as my authority remains, the nuclear warrior is no longer an issue.”
If the nuclear warrior made new moves, they could capture it within those actions.
“A trap… What kind of trap would work?”
What would the nuclear warrior want if he were in its position?
He had altered Solaris’s memory to create the teacher the first emperor desired.
“Helping others achieve their dreams? That can’t be it.”
Albus’s head throbbed.
He set aside the nuclear warrior issue and recalled Carthesia’s explanation about divine power.
‘I have never possessed divine power, so I don’t know how to wield it. But I know it is a power that grants all that it desires.’
“Divine power.”
A white, glowing sphere of divine power formed in Albus’s palm.
‘The faith of believers gathers to form divine power. And that divine power accumulates to create a god. Congratulations, Albus. You are on the path to becoming a god.’
Though he had witnessed the first emperor ascend to godhood, it still felt unreal.
‘Is this due to the recent faith directed toward the GM? The more players love Rudera, the more divine power will gather within you.’
“The more successful Rudera is, the more divine power I gain?”
He had no desire to rule as a god.
He just wanted to enjoy his time.
Rudera was created to gather players and have fun.
If maintaining it increased his divine power, he was fine with that.
Albus lay back and pulled up the Rudera community screen in the air.
Checking the community posts has become a habit.
“The Labyrinth Shop… Oh, the fourth floor is cleared.”
The community was abuzz with talk of the Labyrinth Shop.
The Labyrinth Shop has additional content within the Tower of Labyrinths.
The tower’s winner-takes-all structure meant that only the top contributor on each floor received proper rewards.
To prevent this from discouraging lower-ranking players, the shop was created.
Players could use special coins earned through their contributions to the main story to buy items in the Labyrinth Shop.
These ranged from special consumables like the Miracle Spring Water, which removed debuffs, to rare equipment and class items.
The shop’s items had a secondary purpose: to test the influence of items acquired in Rudera on reality.
Unlike hidden classes or potions created with a command click, which had no effect in reality, items obtained through effort and trials did.
Albus sought to apply Rudera’s powers to himself.
If items bought with coins from the Labyrinth Shop worked in reality, he could gain power through the game.
Albus scrolled through the community, hoping to find an answer.
“Let’s see… Labyrinth Shop, Labyrinth Shop.”
It wasn’t hard to find.
The community was filled with discussions about the newly opened shop.
“Miracle… Spring Water. A cure for baldness?”
Did I put a hair growth tonic in the shop?
Gulp.
The emperor swallowed hard, staring at the vast horizon-spanning warehouse.
In comparison, the imperial treasury was like an ant’s nest.
The sheer magnitude of the divine warehouse left him frozen in awe.
“Welcome. How may I assist you?”
A neatly dressed lady approached the emperor.
“Uh?”
The emperor dumbly replied.
“Hoho. It’s quite large, isn’t it?” The lady chuckled.
“Ah, yes. It’s huge. I can’t see the end. How can such a place exist?” Even seeing it with his own eyes, the emperor found it unbelievable.
“All of this is thanks to the omnipotence of GM, the owner of Rudera.”
“I see…”
The GM.
The deity of a rapidly growing new religion centered around beastmen, spreading so fast it troubled the Holy Kingdom and the Sacred Kingdom.
He had thought the GM was just a deity overseeing Rudera.
‘Seeing this, even a devout Saint of Deus might lose faith and worship the GM.’
The shop’s grandeur was overwhelming.
“This is the Labyrinth Shop, where players can use Labyrinth Coins to purchase special items.”
The shop NPC handed the emperor a holographic catalog with a smile.
“0, 24…”
The emperor accepted the catalog and asked the lady, “How does one obtain these coins?”
“Coins are earned based on contributions to the Labyrinth.”
“Contributions?”
“Yes, when a floor of the Labyrinth is cleared, the player with the highest contribution gains ownership of that floor. Other players receive coins based on their contributions.”
‘So the 300 coins I have were earned when the fourth floor of the Labyrinth was conquered.’
Though he hadn’t done much himself, summoning Lea must have counted towards his contribution.
‘Even so, only 300. Not enough for a weapon.’
He scrolled down, looking for affordable items.
‘Consumables are cheaper.’
There were items within his budget.
‘…Huh?’
An item caught his eye.
[Miracle Spring Water]
Price: 100 coins
Quantity: 100
Description: Removes one selected debuff from the user.
“Ah! You know about Miracle Spring Water. I see you’ve experienced the fourth floor of the Labyrinth. This item can remove the strongest debuff the user believes they have.”
The lady began explaining the item, but the emperor wasn’t listening.
Click, click, click.
He pressed the purchase button three times, and entered.
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