episode_0055

“What in the world is this?”

“Why have we been suddenly dragged to this place?”

As if answering the questions of many, the system spoke.

[You are players who have survived in a novel on the brink of destruction.]

“Through your individual survival methods, you have excellently preserved your lives in a world where the possibility of existence was present. Some have even changed fate.”

“This terrace function is a special feature for all of you. The answers you seek will be up there.”

As soon as the system finished spewing out a tremendous amount of information, a massive tower began to rise from the barren wasteland.

With the earth trembling, an immense tower of indescribable height stood tall. A structure so vast and grand that it seemed to have appeared in less than a minute.

“This is unbelievable.”

Even Macderas raised his head at the sight. No matter how powerful Macderas was as an archmage, he couldn’t create a structure of this magnitude in one go. The culprit behind all these events, the administrator of Ledia Outside, had an identity that was completely unfathomable.

But still, some information was obtained.

“They said we have excellently preserved our lives in a world where the possibility of existence was present.”

We believed that we had been possessed by a novel until now. However, there were many strange aspects to consider. Firstly, magic.

The concept of slaughter magic, as seen in the novel “[Incompetent Mages Dream of Becoming Archmages],” should not have been used when transferred to another novel. This was because the concept of magic varied in each novel. Just as each planet had its own gravity different from Earth’s, each novel should have applied different principles of mana or magic to be reasonable. However, never once did any magic cause conflicts.

This meant that all novels adopted the same mana and magic system.

“Perhaps the origin of all these novels shared a single worldview.”

It was still just a hypothesis. Of course, fundamental questions remained unanswered. What exactly was the administrator trying to achieve? If these novels shared a single worldview, why were people possessed in different worlds?

Although the answers to these questions could not be found, the destination towards which the answers lay became clear.

“When you reach the top of the tower, I will provide answers to the questions you seek.”

Whatever it is that we are curious about, the administrator seems capable of providing an answer. Therefore, there is only one solution: to climb that tower.

“If you die in the terrace, you will be immediately expelled back to the novel you were originally possessed in.”

Fortunately, dying here does not mean real death due to the space being independent of the novels.

“After being expelled from the terrace, re-entry is only possible in the next chapter.”

“The next chapter?”

While pondering this question, detailed explanations followed.

“If the administrator dies, the terrace will reset and move to the next chapter. The current terrace is the first chapter.”

“So, I’m like a trigger.”

The moment Macderas dies, he will move to the second chapter of the terrace, and everything accumulated so far will crumble. Subsequently, if he dies in the second chapter, he will move to the third chapter.

No matter how many floors of the tower are conquered, if the administrator dies, one must start climbing from the beginning again.

Naturally, the possessed individuals expressed their dismay.

“Damn… If the administrator dies, it resets? This is messed up.”

“Well… First, tie the administrator up so they can’t do anything. It shouldn’t keep resetting.”

Observing people’s reactions, Fleymaah, who was standing nearby, questioned Macderas as if unable to comprehend.

“McDerris, why are people acting like this? McDerris is stronger than anyone else…”

“The image they have of me is just the one causing trouble and stirring up things in the gallery.”

Flemia muttered as if she finally understood.

“Well… there are far more people who haven’t seen McDerris in person… I can’t even imagine someone writing those strange posts on the bulletin board being the Archmage.”

Flemia spoke openly without filtering her words, then startled and covered her mouth. She hurriedly explained to me.

“T-That’s how it seems to people. It’s because I really like McDerris…!”

“N-No, liking him doesn’t mean that kind of liking… You know… We shouldn’t misunderstand…”

Choi Yebin shook her head, pulling Flemia back and approaching me.

“What will you do? Will you reveal your identity and take action?”

A low-life existence causing trouble in the gallery. That was the image the players of the doomed gallery had of the administrator. Of course, although activity had been scarce recently, it didn’t mean there weren’t any past incidents to deal with.

“I probably don’t need to reveal that I’m the administrator.”

McDerris said, scanning the surroundings. Countless people around were clamoring, trying to figure out who the administrator was.

“Administrator! Come out now! If you die, we’ll have to climb the tower again!”

“Where are you! We’ll protect you, so come out right now!”

Judging by people’s reactions, it seemed there was no system in place to confirm who the administrator was. In other words, unless McDerris revealed himself as the administrator, there was no way for them to know.

‘First, I should find out where that succubus woman is.’

Using detection magic, I searched but couldn’t sense the aura of Semily, the leader of the Succubus Union. Feeling puzzled, the system spoke to me.

“Only those who qualify among the possessors of each novel can be invited to Teras. The novels discussed here are based on the initially possessed novels, not the current ones.”

In other words, those like McDerris in the novel but lacking qualifications, such as the Succubus, were not brought here. I’m not sure what exactly qualifies someone, but that’s not a concern right now.

All the obstacles were now resolved. Even if I were to take flight from here, there was no way for Semily, the leader of the Succubus Union, to know that I am the administrator.

‘Well, it wouldn’t matter even if she found out now.’

With time having passed, I had established various systems to respond adequately even if the Succubus Union launched a surprise attack. So, there was no need to act defensively like before to hide my identity.

Having made my decision, McDerris walked forward.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

As McDerris swiftly reached the entrance of the tower, those who had been on guard nearby started talking fiercely to him.

Most of them were debating fervently, unsure whether opening the door would bring rewards or penalties. Some wanted to open it, while others were cautious due to the potential penalties.

“Since it seems like no one is going in, I was about to enter. Is that a problem?”

At that moment, a man with a large scar on his face, looking like a gorilla, puffed up his chest and approached McDerris.

“You seem like an ignorant mage. How about stepping back instead of pushing your luck and getting yourself into trouble? We’re not standing in line waiting for our turn because the people around us are idiots, you know?”

Looking around, they indeed seemed quite strong compared to others. Not only that. It had been only a short time since they were invited to the terrace, yet dozens of them had already gathered, forming their own influence.

It was amusing.

This place neither restricted magic nor posed any danger of death. Therefore, there was no reason for Macderas to be cautious.

A man with scars on his face gradually approached Macderas, and Flimia and Choi Yebin, who were beside him, intervened.

“Don’t come any closer.”

Choi Yebin held a sword, while Flimia gathered her divine power in her hands, guarding against the man. However, it was not a threat to the man.

“Listen here. My name is Luaword. I was known as the greatest warrior in the novel I possessed. Those here are individuals who were quite formidable in their respective novels as well. Do you think a mere man and two women can handle us? Wouldn’t it be better for your reputation to quietly step back and wait your turn? Every time Terrace repeats its cycle, we will encounter each other. Why do you act so fearlessly?”

Ignoring Flimia and Choi Yebin, Macderas looked down at Luaword and spoke coldly.

“I have a question to ask.”

In an instant, mana surged from Macderas’s body, starting to spread around as if about to explode. Hundreds of people near Macderas clutched their hearts and collapsed to the ground in the mingled aura of mana.

Luaword also knelt in agony. Looking at the man writhing on the ground, Macderas spoke.

“You will continue to see me in the future. Why do you act so fearlessly?”