episode_0117

Seeing the card name ‘Agent of God’, the first thing that came to mind was an angel. So, five angels are going to descend simultaneously to help me? That’s what I thought, but. Suddenly, a Saintess. And one who was in big conflict with me. She must be in a state of being abandoned by the Church and treated as a heretic. To suddenly be summoned here, now. Furthermore, her appearance was excessively realistic. The beautiful clothes and attire she wore before were all dirtied and torn. Given that she must have fought while being chased, it’s probably natural. Moreover, it seemed like a long time since she had washed, as the smell was foul, so I couldn’t help but frown. However, despite this cold treatment from me, the Saintess’s gaze was fixed on Noah behind me. “As expected…!! You really were hiding it!!” The Saintess became extremely angry and tried to rush at Noah. It was natural. She was currently treated as having been chased away for causing trouble with a Black Mage because she couldn’t find the connection between me and Noah. It seems she thought that if she just revealed that I and Noah were connected, she could get reinstated. Of course, her original mistake was occupying the 11th District with the Black Mage, so whether she could be forgiven for just that is unknown. Light erupted from the Saintess’s hand, and she swung her fist as if to destroy everything around her. Dangerous, how do I stop that? “……?!!!” Then, suddenly, her body twisted bizarrely, settling into an attention stance. “What, why isn’t my body moving the way I want…?” The flustered Saintess twitched and moved, but it wasn’t particularly threatening and her wiggling looked somewhat pathetic. However, when the Saintess was about to attack, I thought ‘stop’ inwardly, and no matter how I look at it, she’s moving the way I want her to… isn’t she? Just in case, I decided to test it. “Sit.” “What are you try…?” As soon as I gave the command, the Saintess quickly sat down. Furthermore, she struggled to get out of that posture somehow, but it was to no avail. “You damn brat…!!!” However, can that foul mouth not be stopped? It should definitely be possible, but she’s not complying at all, so I can only assume the Main God has some intention. “…Is she under control?” Noah, who had finished preparing to fight and was emitting killing intent, also put away her weapon upon seeing that sight. Then she looked at the other Agents of God around her and said. “Are actual people being summoned? Or what?” “Well, she seems to be moving the way I want, for now. First, I need to see who the other agents are.” “We’ll keep an eye on that woman!!” Just as I was about to delegate the Saintess to everyone and go look at the other agents. “Hey! My Apostle님!!! Let’s talk for a bit!!” The Saintess shouted intensely. Her booming voice made me wonder, ‘Is she originally like this?’ She definitely gave off a very modest, angelic woman vibe before. …Well, I ignored her for now. There was no need to move the way she wanted me to. I immediately headed towards the agent on the left. Someone who clearly looked like a Paladin, wearing full plate armor. As I approached him, he knelt on one knee. “Glory to the True Agent of the Main God!!!!” When he declared that, I felt somewhat better. Indeed, they say a single good word can pay off a thousand-냥 debt. Of course, it could just be because I met the rude Saintess before meeting this person. Anyway. This person seemed full of loyalty and unlikely to act as roughly as the Saintess. But who is this person? “Who are you?” “I am a soldier of the Apostle, prepared by the Main God. Unfortunately, I do not exist in reality.” Like the Royal Guard? If so, why is the Saintess included as a 1+1? Looking closely around, there was another Paladin on the opposite side. Perhaps that person is also similar to this one. On the other hand, behind me were not Paladins but two Priests… or rather, Clerics wearing somewhat 高級 clothes. Their actions were graceful, so it was clear they were a kind of virtual figure prepared for me, similar to the Paladins. Then why? Did a real person, the Saintess, come? I quickly walked towards the Saintess. The Saintess, upon seeing me. “Hey! Listen carefully to my words……” But the Saintess’s words could not continue. The Saintess disappeared in an instant with a flash of light. The reason was that one minute had already passed. 『Time until next draw 0』 “Hmm, should I do the rest later?” “The soup smells like it’s all done, so let’s go back.” I didn’t know where the Saintess went back to after being summoned here, but. Well, I decided to think about it later for now. * After the bloody battle with the Death Troll, everyone was very tired. After eating the moderately boiled soup and getting some moderate rest, they immediately dozed off. The location of the cave was better than expected, so we decided to spend the night there. And so, another day passed. The 6th floor, after a day had passed, had transformed into a different form. The terrain covered in volcanic ash was nowhere to be seen, and it had returned to a volcanic zone, just as it was when we first ascended to the 6th floor. The surprising fact was that a forest had grown somehow. When I mentioned this fact to Erica. “If you’re curious, why don’t you take a look at night? It really grows explosively! Enough to surprise you, they say?!” Well, I don’t know much about it, but just like bamboo shoots grow large in a day, all the plants must have grown rapidly overnight. It wasn’t a very important fact, so we decided to move on. Today is finally the day we move forward to clear the client’s request again. As much as we had wasted a few days, I expected the client to be in a bad mood, but. “Rather, I am satisfied because I had a rare experience that money cannot buy.” Since he said that, I thanked the client for his generous mindset and began the journey to find the highest place, even now. However. “If it’s the highest place, it must be on top of a volcano, right?” But it was unlikely that Erica’s party hadn’t thought of this, which anyone would consider. “Before meeting you, we explored all sorts of volcanoes. No matter how we look, it doesn’t seem to be on a volcano.” They said they had already explored all the high volcanoes for a long time, nearly 10 days, but hadn’t found it even once during that time, so it probably wasn’t on a volcano. Then what on earth is the answer? Everything depended on Noah. A book left by some Black Mage that the client brought. She was the only one who could find the answer. However, Noah had been staring intently at the book since yesterday, but. Since no answer was readily forthcoming. So, there was nothing else to do but wander around aimlessly. If Noah happened to figure something out while doing so, that would be enough. Passing through a burning forest, passing through an open space where small volcanic bombs were falling. Blocking the sudden rain with a shield, we continued to move forward. Monsters did appear during this time, too. Compared to a mass occurrence, they were really few in number, so we didn’t even get any magic stones or cards worth mentioning. But then again, we already got a huge payout from the Death Troll for this exploration. It’s better if there are fewer monsters hindering the request. However, with things like this, the atmosphere was somewhat… “This is the landmark of the 6th floor. Specifically, the hot springs that countless explorers say you’ll die if you don’t know about.” “Hot springs? But why do they say you’ll die?” “Something unknown pulls in any life that enters to enjoy the hot springs. That’s why there are no monsters around going in, right? On the 5th floor, the lakes were warm, so quite a few monsters came.” “That’s true!!” The atmosphere felt somewhat like being on a 6th floor tour. We traveled the 6th floor, listening to the explanations of the excellent guide, Yuria. However, that alone seemed to satisfy the client and our party, eliciting only gasps of admiration. Unlike the 5th floor, where the terrain was all the same, covered entirely in snow, the 6th floor unfolded beautifully with all sorts of terrain related to volcanoes. As we traveled for a long time, learning about the 6th floor, feeling like the roles were reversed, Noah, who had been flipping through the book, looking for what might be hidden inside, finally found something. “I found it!!” At that, everyone’s gaze focused on her. However, her answer was. An answer that was completely unimaginable. Noah pointed a finger at the sky. “The answer is up there.” No, what, the sun? What kind of absurd thing is that? Everyone spoke as if they couldn’t understand, but. Instead, Noah laughed triumphantly and said. “No, we have to go to the 7th floor.” Everyone was astonished at Noah’s radical words. Especially Yuria began to speak strongly. “Going up to the 7th floor is really not easy. As a floor that divides the mid-levels and high-levels, the difference is really too severe.” “Just how much is it?” “Our party is a 7th floor party, for now, but we’re not at a level where we can operate there for a long time.” However, saying that didn’t really make it sink in. I looked at Erica and asked. “How does it compare to the 6th floor?” “Roughly twice as much? Of course, this isn’t precise either.” “We have no information at all about the 7th floor.” “It’s not like we know a lot either.” Erica’s party is also classified as high-level explorers who reached the 7th floor and showed some results, receiving the gold explorer badge. However, they said they mainly operate on the 6th floor as they don’t have much experience yet. “So my recommendation is, if the client truly wants to find this, wouldn’t it be right to find explorers who can reliably move around the 7th floor? We’ll refund some of the money, and maybe you can do it with Kailerek’s group here.” A perfectly reasonable judgment. Erica’s party had already done their best. They climbed all sorts of volcanoes and high places, and kept the client safe the entire time. Of course, even if the request itself failed and was given up, it might be enough to pay about half the value. However, since all of this was ultimately decided by the client. He was deep in thought. “It would be too hard to climb up to the 6th floor again…” Indeed, from our side, we lacked consideration. For us explorers, climbing the 5th and 6th floors is just something we do every day. But following along as an ordinary person is quite a difficult task. Having to do that again would also be a tough thing. Therefore. “Rather, I will pay a little more, so please help us until the end.” Saying he would add more money, Erica’s mouth corner actually twitched. Seeing that sight, I realized. Ah, this is what explorers are like. Since the contract originally ended at the 6th floor. They did this to somehow squeeze out more money. Erica immediately began controlling her expression. After a short while, she took the client’s hand with a regretful but unavoidable expression and said. “Then there’s no helping it. The 7th floor is dangerous, but we will lend you our strength as much as possible.” Indeed, money was everything. * The safe zone on the 6th floor is on the exact opposite side of the terrain where we first ascended. To be precise, it appears if you go straight north. Therefore, going to the 7th floor immediately after arriving on the 6th floor for the first time is a quite easy matter, but going to the 7th floor after wandering around the 6th floor for a long time is quite difficult unless you have a map drawn in your head. Of course, knowing that. “From the start, when we first came to the 6th floor, we visited the safe zone first. It was originally our goal to go up to the 7th floor if the work finished quickly, but I didn’t expect to go up like this.” Yuria said, showing the red thread on her finger. Perhaps that thread was connected to the safe zone. Because of that, we were able to head towards the safe zone more easily than expected. Since the goal was to reach the safe zone before nightfall, we diligently moved forward. While doing so, Erica approached me and Noah. “Anyway, what do you mean we have to go up to the 7th floor?” “To be precise, there’s probably a portal somewhere on the 7th floor that can take you down to the 6th floor.” “Something like that could… exist, maybe. It’s not like we know much about the 7th floor either.” From the high-level floors onwards, information is really difficult to find. Not only is it hard to find high-level explorers in the first place. But it’s because they control information as much as possible. On top of that, all sorts of fake news runs rampant. High-level explorers who could correct it have no reason to read those books, so unrefuted false information spreads endlessly, making it difficult to even tell what is true and what is false. Even the Guild stands by, saying it’s all the explorers’ right, making it even more so. As I always say, explorers are not good people. But then again, it would be strange not to provide information to allies who are on the same boat, going up to the 7th floor now. Erica pondered for a long time before finally opening her mouth. “You know the official name for the 7th floor, right?” “…Isn’t it the Abandoned Mine?” “That’s right, the Abandoned Mine.” “Does it have any characteristics?” “No, not a single one. There are no fierce blizzards like on the 5th floor, and volcanoes don’t erupt on a weekly basis like on the 6th floor.” “Then…” Erica thought for a moment, then began speaking calmly. “The pure strength of monsters without any interfering elements. That’s all it is.”