Chapter 291: The Abandoned Believers (2)

—Hmm?

Followers?

Oh

, yeah, I had some.

I was talking to Hamustra through the communication orb. He kept grunting, probably because he was moving boxes of ingredients around the cafe. I skipped the formalities because he asked me to.

“What do you mean you had

some?

”

If Hamustra’s followers knew he asked me to ditch formalities, they would be furious, but since that was what he wanted, there was probably nothing they could do.

“They’re your followers. Aren’t you being too heartless?”

—Now

that

is truly a heartless thing to say. Gong-Ja, I never asked them to become my followers. They simply volunteered and called themselves my librarians. Honestly, I found them quite bothersome.

Hamustra sounded genuine. It was like dealing with a fly that continued hovering around the table no matter how much he waved his hand. It was completely different from how he treated Kim Yul or me.

—But are you sure about using this disposable communication orb to talk to me? It’s quite valuable. As far as I know, this is one of your secret cards, the item that the Broadband Communicator worked hard to create. Of course, if you think that talking to me is worthwhile, I’m indeed very happy...

“

Oh

, that’s absolutely not the case. Let’s get back to the main topic.”

—I see... Yes, my followers. Why did you ask about them?

I explained the situation. At first, Hamustra listened casually, but as the story continued, he became stiff. Suddenly, the noise from beyond the communication orb disappeared. He stopped moving the boxes and focused entirely on my story.

—Hmmm.

Indeed, even I feel a little guilty about this. Certainly, when I took your hand and fell, I didn’t care about my librarians one tiny bit...

His followers would have cried if they heard this.

“I don’t feel great about it either. It feels like I’m responsible for these victims because I turned you into a human.”

—

Ummmmmm...

As I said, the librarians volunteered to be my followers because they wanted to. If they were to abandon the Faith they have and switch to another Constellation’s side, there wouldn’t be any problems, so I think this is their own problem to bear...

Hamustra groaned as he felt an inevitability coming.

—Given your personality, there is no way you would just let this go. Alright. It’s really embarrassing, but can I ask you to handle my oversight?

“Okay. I didn’t call to blame you. After all, this is your followers’ business, so I just wanted to ask for your understanding and permission. I’ll take care of this, so buy me a cup of coffee next time.”

—Damn it. What a shame! If I were still a Constellation, I would have sent a message right now, saying the Indoor Librarian’s Affection has gone up significantly!

Why the heck would he regret something like that? So the Constellations secretly enjoy sending messages, huh?

With that in mind, I said, “Forget about the message. Is there any symbol or emblem I should keep in mind?”

—Symbol? Emblem? Sorry, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?

“Even if I rescue the librarians trapped in the Magic Tower, it would be easier if there was some evidence that clearly showed them that I was on their side. Like a mark or a countersign of yours.”

Hamustra contemplated.

—Ah.

I see, I see... There is no such convenient thing, but there is something that might work.

“What is it?”

—Among the librarians who are trapped in the Magic Tower, there are probably Hunters I know personally. One of them has the title Assistant Writer.

What kind of life did one have to live to earn the title Assistant Writer? I was so eager to dig into that person’s life and history. Still, the communication orb I was using had a time limit. I barely held myself back.

—The Assistant Writer has an unrivaled reputation among the librarians who stopped climbing the Tower after the fiftieth floor. She’s probably over six hundred years old. If the Spiders of the Magic Tower started to capture the librarians, they wouldn’t have left the Assistant Writer to her devices. She was considered my apostle among my followers—

In short, she was the leader of Hamustra’s believers.

I nodded. “All I have to do is gain that Hunter’s trust.”

—That’s right. The Assistant Writer has received quests and entered the apocalyptic books twice. The first apocalyptic book she cleared was a solo quest, so she went in alone. This means that only she and I know the whole story of the quest. That is a secret between the two of us. There is a scene and a line that even the viewers didn’t hear. Now, I will share that secret line with you.

I listened to every word of the line that no one but Hamustra would know.

***

The next day, I immediately left to execute my operation. The reason I had stayed overnight was to create a save point. In the unlikely event that I died, I wanted to return to the fiftieth floor instead of the first floor.

Okay, it’s time to get moving.

I went out into the street. The chase had happened yesterday. I had been here for just a day, but a lot of things had happened in the meantime.

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse encourages his followers to join the quest.]

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse highlights how dangerous the evil cult leader is!]

First of all, Mahos didn’t give up on me. Even when he increased the amount of quest rewards, he struggled to catch up to me. I smiled.

Cute.

Mahos’ followers were probably working very hard to track me. Unfortunately for them, it would only get harder as time went by. The doctrine of the Heavenly Demon Cult wasn’t called shadows for no reason.

Mahos wasn’t the only Constellation that was getting impatient.

[The Lonely Seeker offers you a single quest.]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye recommends a single quest to you.]

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus is paying attention to your faith.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust invites you to a single quest.]

Almost all the Constellations that seemed to throw some weight around on the fiftieth floor sent me messages. It looked like they got intrigued yesterday when I easily shook off the pursuit of Mahos’ believers.

The Guardian held his nose high.

—It’s because the power of a follower is directly linked to their Constellation’s reputation. Zombie, you’re a very desirable recruit.

“That’s a good thing. Hey, what is a single quest supposed to be?”

—Well, it’s just a short, one-time quest. Constellations don’t just ask others to become their followers. Usually, after checking if their personalities match, understanding their tendencies, and ensuring that the follower’s level is appropriate, the Constellation sends out a recruitment notice. A single quest is just one way to test whether you two will get along well before sending the notice.

“Is that so?”

—But the fact that the Constellations are asking you directly means that they are very interested in you. Well, you don’t have to choose right now. It doesn’t matter if you never choose. Actually, I never chose either! Gosh. So many Constellations begged to recruit me, but I ignored their messages right in front of them. You don’t know how good that feels yet. Since that day, the Constellations have been giving me the stink eye, but so what? If they want to recruit me, they have to send a legendary Pegasus or something, don’t you think?

I immediately decided on my stance. “Hello, everyone. I’m sincerely grateful for these quest recommendations.

—Huh?

“I think you’re all observing me right now. I’m a little busy at the moment. I’ll carefully look into all the single quests you recommended, and then I’ll get back to you.”

—Hey, what are you doing? I told you just to ignore them.

The Guardian tilted his head, but my stance immediately provoked a reaction. The Constellations responded immediately.

[The Lonely Seeker is satisfied with your answer.]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye is surprised to learn that you are more normal than expected.]

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus smiles.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust has increased the amount of the single quest’s reward!]

I knew it.

“Thank you very much,” I kept saying politely.

—Weird. Dude, I told you. Constellations are all psychotic perverts. Why are you being polite to them?

Mr. Sword Emperor, there’s something I’ve realized in my life as a Hunter.

—What is it?

First, if I do everything in the exact opposite way to Yoo Soo Ha, I start from at least one hundred bonus points.

—You’ve already told me that many times before. Now that I think about it, I wonder how that guy is doing... But why did you mention him?

Second, if I do everything exactly the opposite of what you say, I get at least fifty points.

—You son of a bitch...

Thank you for being my second standard in life.

It seemed that the Constellations had been quite cautious with me. As soon as I responded politely—proving that I was neither a psycho nor a boomer—they started firing off more messages.

[The Lonely Seeker asks you if you intend to antagonize the Magic Tower.]

“Yes, I do.”

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye wonders about your relationship with Hamustra.]

“Well, that’s hard to say. I know who Hamustra is. I’ll tell you more once we get to know each other better.”

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus asks if it is okay to watch you as you deal with the Magic Tower.]

“Yes, that’s fine. When I need to do something privately, I’ll ask you to look away. Until then, you can watch without any worries.”

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust has noticed that you’ve been talking to yourself since yesterday and wonders if that is your imaginary lover in your head!]

“

Huh?

What the fuck are yo— I’m sorry, but I’m married.”

Sound buzzed around my ears. It was clear that it turned out that at least one of the Constellations was a formidable nutjob. Still, apart from that, the Constellations were having a blast using me as a medium. Their attitude toward me was much lighter than it had been yesterday. Some useful information was included in our small talk.

[The Lonely Seeker complains that the Magic Tower is blocking all quests on the fiftieth floor.]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye couldn’t agree more.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust is sad. No matter how many long campaigns are hosted, many followers cannot advance beyond the fiftieth floor due to the Magic Tower.]

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus neither agrees nor disagrees.]

[The Lonely Seeker advises that it will be nearly impossible for you to infiltrate the Magic Tower.]

Indeed, the Constellations didn’t seem to be on good terms with the Magic Tower. Some time ago, the Guardian told me something interesting.

Come to think of it, each of the five towers holds one Constellation captive and extracts their energy.

If that was true, then there was no way that the Magic Tower was on good terms with the Constellations. I approached the Magic Tower as I made some calculations in my head. Ruins were strewn about around me.

—Hey, Zombie. From now on, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.

It seemed like a giant made of stone and wood had fallen to the ground, died, and then rotted away. Moss and mushrooms covered the ugly, piled-up stones. Occasionally, unidentified bugs scurried around the debris. Even the Hunters, who filled the fiftieth floor, didn’t come near this deserted place.

—This is where the sixth building of the Magic Tower stood.

This place contained the remains of the sixth old tower that the Sword Emperor himself had brought down about one hundred fifty years ago.

—Only idiots would crawl into the Magic Tower out of their own volition. The place has always been famous for its tight security. For example, even if you just look in the direction of the Magic Tower, they’ll automatically detect your gaze after twenty-three seconds. Security has probably gotten tighter since I wreaked havoc, and that applies to the other five towers that I didn’t destroy.

I looked in the direction the Guardian pointed at.

—Even if the dudes at the Magic Tower are absolute perverts, they wouldn’t care about the security of the already collapsed tower. Don’t you think so too?

Debris covered the surrounding area, making it difficult to estimate the location. However, the Guardian remembered the events that took place over a hundred years ago as if they had happened yesterday. Following the Guardian’s instructions, I moved the large rocks away.

[The Lonely Seeker is puzzled by your actions.]

Even after cleaning and cleaning, the debris still piled up like a mountain. I continued to unleash my aura, digging the ground like a mole.

Before I knew it, I was underground.

—Secret passages connect the towers of the Magic Tower. Ordinary Hunters don’t know this, of course, not even all the Spiders of the Magic Tower do. Only the Magic Tower’s high executives are aware of these passages. When I was wreaking havoc in the past, I didn’t touch the secret passages on purpose so I could use them later when I came back to wreak more havoc. Unfortunately, I died on the ninety-ninth floor, so I couldn’t complete my grand plan...

The Guardian smiled brightly.

—But look who it is? I came back after you gave me a piggyback ride, Zombie.

The ground I was on wasn’t solid. I concentrated my aura and widened the already existing gap so I could crawl through it. The ground split in two.

—We should use this.

I held up my sword. Before crawling into the underground entrance, I carved a sentence into the rock wall:

The Sword Emperor has returned.

This was the return of the supreme power that had reigned in the Tower just one hundred fifty years ago. Messages suddenly flooded me.

[The Lonely Seeker cannot believe the sentence you have carved!]

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye is surprised by the recently discovered fact.]

[The Surface-Reflected Lotus tries to figure out your true goal.]

Good.

I withdrew my aura. The underground passage was dark, but it brightened up easily when I used Shiny.

—Zombie, even though you’re a bit lacking, you’re kinda my disciple, right?

Let’s say that’s true for now.

—Since you’ve reached the fiftieth floor, you should also knock down one of the towers like me.

What are you talking about?

I should bring down at least two. Otherwise, I’ll only bring shame to the name of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

With a bright smile, I jumped into the underground passage.