Chapter 289: The Fiftieth Floor (3)

“Give us your head, you evil cult leader!”

The Hunters swung their swords at me: a slash from the upper left, a strike from the right, and another from behind. Swords rushed toward me from three directions at once, aiming to end my life.

Clang!

I hurriedly held up Shiny and parried the closest incoming attack. “I told you I’m not a bad guy!”

“The wicked cultist wants to talk his way out,” the one who seemed to be their leader snorted with derision. “All of you, don’t listen to him. Lord Mahos said that his tongue is more fearsome than his sword. His words turn the heavens upside down and taunt the earth. He talks like the devil! We might become bewitched against our will, so we must be careful.”

“Who the heck are you talking about?” I shouted.

The Hunters facing me with their swords swallowed hard, their eyes filled with fear.

“That sounds terrifying!”

“He looks innocent and pure, but he’s hiding that kind of evilness as he lurks among us? How scary!”

“Are you all blind?” I screamed.

The battle continued despite the chaos. Mahos’ followers weren't particularly impressive. In the past, they would have been a challenge, but, honestly, their aura mastery was far below mine.

[The Lonely Seeker is intrigued by your level.]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye doubts whether you really are a beginner.]

Even if three, six, or twelve people attacked me in a formation, they weren’t too difficult to handle. Unlike ordinary martial arts, aura was the martial arts of space. As long as I had enough aura to dominate the area, it didn’t matter how many enemies there were; the number was merely annoying. Although the ridiculous quest left me dumbstruck, I wasn’t in serious trouble.

“What? Is this really the level of someone who just arrived on the fiftieth floor?” one of Mahos’ followers asked in shock.

They constantly changed their formation and employed various techniques, but they weren't strong enough to take me down. As we exchanged more attacks, the followers grew more impatient.

“This doesn’t make any sense! He must have made a deal with the devil!”

I shrugged.

Well, I do have a ghost by my side.

“There is no way he could have reached this level through normal means! He must have given up his humanity and taken the path of a beast!”

It’s true that I’ve honed my skills through some unorthodox means...

“Call for reinforcements! The cult leader is said to command evil spirits. He drags the souls of those he has killed from hell and uses them as his personal soldiers!”

Gasp!

“I’ve been suspecting it when I heard his title is Death King, but he really is evil!”

As I listened, I thought,

Hmm. Well, that’s not exactly why I have this title, but they aren’t entirely wrong...

“Hurry! He can’t use his spells right now because we’re fighting him, but as soon as he gets a chance, he’ll start summoning! If we don’t defeat him before that, we’re all dead!”

Huh? Mr. Sword Emperor

.

—What?

I just realized something.

I easily parried and knocked away twenty followers’ simultaneous aura attacks. Each of the attacks was sent back to the person it originally belonged to.

“Unbelievable!”

The followers were shocked. I blankly listened to their panicked screams.

I’m asking this just in case. I really don’t think I’m right, but I wanted to ask anyway.

—I’m listening.

Do I really look like a bad guy to others?

The Guardian responded as if it was obvious.

—Do you actually need to ask that? You’re a super villain that came crawling out of some abyss from far, far away.

Why?

—

Hey, try thinking about why I call you Zombie.

Uh... Because you’re a psychopath with a screwed-up personality?

—

There are a thousand reasons I call you Zombie, but one of them is to mock your lichness.

Lichness?

—Yes. A lich is an undead mage that sacrificed their own life to gain power, using the corpses they killed as their subordinates. To those who don’t know your full story, you’re just a minion of evil.

I was dumbfounded.

No way! I’m a hero! I’ve been certified as a hero since I climbed to the eleventh floor. Isn’t that right, Shiny?

[...]

[Shiny acknowledges that you are a true hero.]

She seemed to have hesitated a little before answering. Did I imagine that?

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse confirms that your skills are above average.]

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse increases the quest participant range.]

[Warning! The participant range of the quest you are involved in is expanding to the entire city!]

As I subdued Mahos’ followers one by one, I heard an ominous warning. It was nothing like I had heard before, but I could tell it didn’t spell good news for me. As expected, Hunters began to pour in from the city.

“Over there!”

“There’s that lich!”

“Get the devil’s servant!”

“

Oh

, Lord Mahos, please protect us!”

All the Hunters here knew how to use their aura. Regardless of their level, they employed their own techniques and approached swiftly. Seeing dozens of Hunters jumping and performing Lightness Arts felt like watching a swarm of cockroaches. The sight was scarier than most horror movies. What was even more frightening was that I could see dozens more people behind them.

“Wow.”

I held back hollow laughter. Defeating them would be easy if I used

Monster Legion Reincarnation,

but...

If I use it here, I’d undoubtedly be treated like an actual lich king.

I suppressed a sigh. I probably would be able to escape immediate danger this way, but I could feel that it would bring a bigger headache later.

Some forces would be watching this fight from afar. If I flaunted my power with my legion, I would be branded as the ultimate evil of the fiftieth floor. In the end, I arrived at a solution. It was very simple.

Let’s run! Defeating them doesn’t get me anything, so why fight for nothing?

—

Hah, that’s smart.

I focused my aura on my thighs, hamstrings, calves, and feet. Then, taking advantage of the moment Mahos’ followers caught their breath, I leaped away.

“

Huh?

”

“T-the lich is running away!”

I felt bad to say this, but the siege of Mahos’ believers was honestly low-level. To me, someone who had developed the Demonic Heaven Formula Arts with Uburka, it was nothing more than a joint attack that relied on numbers. They had learned the same martial arts, but without a shared mental image, their aura worked separately, even with a few dozen people fighting together.

Well, my Terras have been watching Cavefire plays for generations to learn the Demonic Heaven Formula Arts. It’d be hard for ordinary Hunters to replicate that level.

I left the battlefield feeling proud of my children once again.

“Get him!”

The followers pursued me in a hurry. However, by the time their leader finished his command, I was already far away.

A few high-level Hunters managed to chase after me, but less than six seconds later, I could hear the shock from my pursuers behind me.

“

Oh

my god, how is he so fast?”

“No! Contact another branch! At this rate, we’ll lose—”

Even their horrified screams faded away and became inaudible as I got further away.

I should proceed a little more carefully.

Even after I shook off the Hunters’ pursuit, I didn’t stop. I crossed the wilderness, ran as I was ready to enter a city, and immediately changed direction again. I stopped by all kinds of roads that led to the city.

People won’t notice me like this.

I took off my raincoat and rolled it up at my side. It was a temporary measure, but I tousled my hair to change my style and then fixed it with my aura.

Okay.

It probably wouldn’t be easy to recognize me just by looking at me from afar. Maybe it would be different for my colleagues, but these followers were basically strangers to me.

Did I lose them?

I lay low for about twenty minutes.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse sighs.]

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse acknowledges that the quest can no longer continue like this.]

It seemed that my prediction was correct. New messages showed up.

[The quest you are involved in has changed!]

[The difficulty level has been adjusted.]

[The quest is in progress.]

[Disclosing the updated quest.]

Find the Death King.

Difficulty level: A+

Goal: Unfortunately, the Death King has managed to escape the siege. The brave warriors surrounded and cornered him, but he used the last of his strength, and they were unable to catch up with him!

If the Death King enters the city and lies in wait, the fiftieth floor will soon face a great disaster. He’s more venomous than a plague, even more than the Black Death. He’s a villain who cannot be dealt with by any human-developed treatment.

Find the Death King quickly and inform your comrades once you do!

Warriors, you are the only ones who can protect the city’s peace and uphold its good reputation. Other forces have already recognized the Death King’s potential and are attempting to approach him. If evil forces and the Death King unite, a great disaster will strike!

※ Death King, you cannot participate in the quest.

※ You are the quest target.

How should I put it? I decided to stop myself from criticizing how the quest described me any further because there seemed to be a million things that I could nitpick. However, I was able to tell that I was getting closer and closer to becoming a legendary evil mastermind.

After ripping off the lower section of my pants, I wrapped it around my neck like a scarf. When I used my new scarf to also cover my mouth, I realized it provided decent camouflage.

“Oh my god. What the heck happened? Why is that guy tormenting an innocent person? Are all Constellations like this?” I grumbled.

—

Their tendencies differ, but their personalities are all similar.

“What does that mean?”

I entered the city.

[Void Poison has begun to erode you.]

[Your erosion level is 1.]

[Your aura is canceling out the Void Poison.]

[The erosion has stopped.]

At the entrance of the city, there were shantytowns and street markets. Thanks to this, I was able to blend in with the crowd easily. The noise from all directions allowed me to chat easily with the Guardian.

—I told you earlier that the Constellations are game masters. Each game master has a different tendency.

“Game masters...”

—

And those who serve the Constellations can be considered players. When one of the game masters opens a session and gives a quest, the followers of that Constellation look at the quest and decide whether or not to participate. They consider whether the quest suits their level and if it is something they can actually accomplish.

Soon, I spotted a familiar shop—a street tavern. There were no walls or floors, just tables, chairs, and a bar with an owner. It was the very street tavern where I had sat down and talked with the Constellation Murderer when I unofficially visited the fiftieth floor to take him down.

—But each of them has their own unique tendencies, like I said.

“What is Mahos like?” I asked as I sat down at one of the tables.

—Aggressive. His quests are not complicated at all. ‘An enemy that has to be defeated appeared. If you don’t defeat them, the world will be in danger, so hurry up already. Huh? They ran away? Chase them. Oh, you defeated them? Here’s your reward.’ It’s very simple.

The Guardian’s immediate answer gave me a rough idea of what the Eternal Plains Warhorse was like.

—

Who was that blonde woman you took down? Was it Goldencup? Anyway, if you reach the level of an apostle like her, the quests get a bit more complicated, but there are not many apostles. Most of the regular followers are battle maniacs.

“

Hmm.

”

—

But these simple quests are surprisingly popular. No, I should say they are the most popular. Aside from everything else, Mahos makes sure he gives a good reward, items that are worth the price for battles of appropriate difficulty. With this combo, he seems to attract followers easily.

I ordered an iced tea from the owner and took a sip. “I understand what you’re saying, but why do Constellations act like that?”

The Guardian smiled wickedly.

—

Hehe. Because that’s the easiest way to be worshiped.

“What do you mean?”

—

Zombie, you don’t know this yet because you’ve never served a Constellation, but try to think about it from their perspective. Constellations deliberately create quests and rewards just for you Hunters. They want your lives to be more enjoyable.

I tilted my head, struggling to understand what the Guardian was saying. He seemed to have expected a reaction from me, yet he continued to explain.

—Think of Hamustra. From your perspective, it may seem like he threw you into a doomed world and watched you suffer for his entertainment. But it’s completely different if you look at it from an opposing perspective. Hamustra went around collecting worlds to give you quests. Even for a Constellation, there is no way that’s easy. He has to sift through each destroyed world and sort out the apocalyptic worlds that have an appropriate difficulty level for you guys. That’s a lot of work.

“That’s... “ I said, feeling a refreshing shock. I had never thought about it this way before.

—Zombie, why would Constellations do that much for you Hunters? Because you guys are adorable? Do you think they want to see you suffer and die? The Constellations are usually much stronger than an average Hunter. It’s often easier for them to kill Hunters with one wave of their hands.

“That’s true.”

—In a sense, Constellations are dedicating themselves to you. Although they have different reasons for giving quests, their primary goal is the same: to be worshiped. Once you start serving a Constellation, you’ll understand what I mean right away. As you complete their quests and receive their rewards, you’ll gradually feel yourself becoming like a hero. Life becomes more fun. You might start to feel like you’re not just yourself, but someone significant in this universe. Someone far above you—a Constellation—acknowledges your existence and creates events just for you... Gosh, that’s an irresistible drug. It’s the thrill of an RPG.

I see.

Until now, I had never followed the paths set by the Constellations, making me completely different from the Hunters who had surrounded me in that wilderness.

—

So, the bond between a Constellation and a follower is incredibly strong. The followers naturally worship their Constellations that recognize and reward them. They revere and love them. This worship is like the purest form of faith, so the Constellations feed on this to maintain their existence—

Booooooooom!

Just then, the glass on my table shook, the ground trembled, and other tables around me spilled their plates and dishes. I instinctively turned to look in the direction of the explosion.