Chapter 60: Warrior Zenith (1)

“I did it!”

“Yes, well done, Dua.”

Albus placed Dua on his lap and gently stroked her head.

“Heehee!”

Dua rubbed her face against his hand, seeking more of his touch. 

The sweet scent of milk wafted from her.

“Using divinity makes things like this possible,” Albus murmured as he watched Akuyuham embrace Marie.

The fact that it was possible to recover the completely lost data of a world amazed him. 

It was now clear to him why the divine power of gods was considered omnipotent.

Even as the GM of this world, he couldn’t do anything beyond the capabilities of a game developer. 

Creating something new or deleting someone was possible, but restoring data that had disappeared was impossible. 

However, Dua’s divinity made it possible.

The guide spoke up, “What would you like to do? Should we assign Player Akuyuham a role like we did with Player Leighton?”

It was a question of whether to capture Akuyuham and put him to work as a sub-GM, just as they had done with Leighton after the duel tournament.

“No, that’s enough.”

Though bringing someone like Akuyuham in might make things easier for Leighton, Albus thought it best to give him some time to savor the game’s ending.

“There’s nothing quite as thrilling as that moment.”

Of course, only “for now.”

“But more importantly,” Albus opened the log screen of the Tower of the Labyrinth.

“How are the other players doing on the 7th floor? What’s the participation rate?”

After confirming that everything worked correctly through Akuyuham’s test, Albus officially launched the roguelike content.

“The percentage of currently connected players participating in the roguelike content on the 7th floor of the Tower of the Labyrinth is 24.31%.”

“…24%?”

Despite the Tower of the Labyrinth’s immense popularity for various reasons, it was still considered endgame content. 

The majority of players were casual users who enjoyed wandering the world, with less than 10% attempting to conquer the Tower. 

Yet, over 24% participation on the content’s first day was an unexpected result.

“The effects of the duel tournament had a significant impact,” the guide analyzed.

Albus nodded in understanding.

Many inhabitants of the continent had witnessed, either in person or through broadcasts, the battles of those who had gained tremendous power from Rudera. 

These battles, fought with divine power or class abilities obtained within Rudera, seemed as grand as something out of a mythological age, making the onlookers believe they, too, could become such heroes. 

This belief led to a high participation rate in the Tower of the Labyrinth, resulting in a gold rush of unprecedented scale and frenzy.

“I’m glad we held the duel tournament.”

Though there had been a moment of panic when Perizet’s soul was damaged, everything turned out well in the end. 

Perizet fully recovered, Albus gained a capable subordinate in Leighton, and he obtained a substantial amount of divine power.

After the tournament ended and Princess Rebecca, who claimed to be his apostle, smashed all opponents and emerged victorious, the spectators from across the continent poured an incomprehensible amount of divinity into Albus.

Rebecca, maintaining her status as the imperial princess, established the “Sanctuary of the GM” on the 6th floor where the arena was located. 

She rose to the position of the GM’s monarch while retaining her imperial title.

Although Albus had no involvement in the final duel, the people of the continent, unaware of the true circumstances, viewed it as an appointment ceremony for his apostle and a coronation. 

Thus, they recognized Rebecca as the sole apostle and monarch of the GM, leading many of his followers to flock to her side.

Albus created an orb of divine power in his palm.

“Good.”

Thanks to the Beast King on the 2nd floor, Kenyon on the 5th, and Rebecca on the 6th, his divine power continued to accumulate. 

Although still weak, Albus believed that one day, he would be able to wield divine power as freely as Dua.

“They’re responding well.”

Ding.

With the situation regarding Akuyuham resolved, Albus opened the community window.

“Let’s take a look.”

Albus scrolled through the highly recommended posts.

***

Title: If you gave up or are still waiting on GM betting because you’re scared, just go die already.

Content: Don’t get it? The GM is giving out coins. Shoveling them out. Especially for those idiots climbing the Tower of the Labyrinth trying to make some coins. Stop fooling around. You’re just getting free coins.

***

GM is God

Comments:

• GM’s always been a god, right?
• Did you bet on the princess? How much did you win?
• Why did I bet on the executor? What was I thinking?
• Get out, housewives! We’re taking over from here!

***

The duel tournament, with its enormous scale, had brought about significant changes across the continent, including the rise of coin millionaires. 

These were people who had amassed a vast amount of labyrinth coins through the betting system provided during the tournament. 

All of them had bet on Princess Rebecca and thus doubled their coins, solidifying their unwavering faith in the GM. 

Although it was a slightly twisted form of faith.

“It might be fun to create a financial product later.”

As Albus read the community posts, he muttered to himself.

By introducing coins with a non-tradable feature and making several trial-and-error adjustments, he might be able to implement an interesting system. 

If done right, it could even yield divine power.

***

The Republic’s executor lost, so does that mean the Empire is stronger now?

Looter: …What?

***

People were arguing in the comments, trying to prove that the nation or player they supported was stronger based on the events of the tournament.

“They’re still at it.”

While the emergence of fanbases was something Albus had hoped for, it seemed they were becoming too aggressive.

“I’ll have to get the moderators to handle this.”

He didn’t want to see the same kind of dirty, mudslinging fan wars he had witnessed in his previous life.

****

Can you only climb the 7th floor alone now?

Loo: Are you the only player in that world?

Looter: Then what about the guilds?

Loo: What do you mean? You have to do it alone.

Looter: It seems like every player is in a different world. How many worlds does the GM manage?

Creator: Is he a creator god? How many worlds has he made?

Unlike the previous floors of the Tower of the Labyrinth, where players faced adventures in shared spaces, the 7th floor presented a completely different experience.

Players could no longer rely on guild-level strategies, nor could they refer to the exploits of vanguard players.

***

Some abilities get sealed from the 7th floor onwards!

***

To maintain balance, roguelike special conditions were added to restrict the powers of exceptionally strong players, making the content far more difficult than before.

***

But

Defeating bosses in the roguelike grants powerful abilities!

You don’t get penalized with forced logouts for dying here!

***

Once the characteristics of the roguelike were revealed, player perceptions began to change. 

Unlike the original Tower of the Labyrinth, where death resulted in logout and a temporary inability to reconnect, in the roguelike, players merely lost their rewards and map progress, restarting from the beginning without any severe penalties.

Moreover, defeating enemies in the roguelike yielded absurdly generous rewards, allowing players to grow stronger in ways that far surpassed their original abilities.

A swordsman who couldn’t sense magic might create a sword aura. 

A mage with only one circle might cast transcendent magic.

And as it became known that completing the roguelike allowed players to retain their power outside its server, players began diving into it with fervor. 

Although no one had yet succeeded in clearing it due to its extreme difficulty, the rewards were enough to entice them.

***

Are you new to this?

Newcomer: What does ‘newcomer’ mean?

Looter: We’ve got a fresh newbie here!

Newcomer: What does ‘newbie’ mean?

Looter: …Smells fresh.

Loo: That’s right. If you climb to the top, you can meet the GM.

Newcomer: Thank you.

Looter: You idiot, don’t fool the poor newbie.

Looter: You’re trash.

***

A devout country girl entered the roguelike.

Before her stood a colossal tower.

The child stood right at its entrance.

“Is this the place?”

Shwoooosh.

Inside, the sound of chains moving echoed, and then—

Rumble, rumble.

The enormous door slowly opened.

Boom.

The moment she entered, the system message appeared, and the tower’s doors closed behind her.

Gulp.

“Don’t worry, Zenith. This was all expected. The Lord is with me. There’s nothing to fear.”

The girl steadied her racing heart and pressed forward.

A long, spiraling staircase lay ahead.

She slowly ascended the steps.

She would express her gratitude to the GM and become his servant.

She would meet the GM in person and become his apostle.

She had come to the highest floor to reach him.

The people in the community said that if she reached the top, she would be able to see the GM.

This enormous tower…

It must be a pilgrimage of trials leading to the Lord.

She tightened her grip on her small slingshot.

Her body was already trembling violently.

The tower, with all its looming hardships, filled her with dread.

But she knew that beyond this tower, he was there.

And she knew that he was watching over her.

“I have nothing to fear…”

With that, the girl took a step forward.