Chapter 189 — Cheating the Rules Won’t Work

1

Originally, the demons were designed as monsters meant to kill intruders.

Wherever they were, they would continuously prevent players from ascending the tower.

According to the lore, it was likely because of their hatred for the living and the Apostle’s commands.

But now, that very setup had been shattered.

Manus watched the demons flee in panic the moment they saw him.

These creatures lacked intelligence.

More precisely, they didn’t possess the intelligence needed to strategize effectively.

‘But why?’

Even when playing with a maxed-out character, the demons would always charge in.

In this world, simply being alive meant the demons would relentlessly pursue the player.

It seemed like something was definitely off.

“We have roughly six hours left.”

For now, the only option was to keep chasing the demons.

If this was part of Andrea’s plot, then he’d have to give her some credit this time.

Experience points were earned by defeating demons.

Without demons, there was no reason to climb the tower.

He rushed after the fleeing demons.

He needed to kill as many demons as possible and absorb their mana stones.

Not only for himself but for the others as well—their growth was essential.

‘Blocking grinding? Really, this is ridiculous.’

No game ever had a system that prevented players from grinding.

If anything, games encouraged grinding, raising the difficulty of bosses to incentivize it.

Yet now, the demons in the garden were attempting to cut off the entire process.

If this continued, they wouldn’t be able to amass the strength needed to take down the Patrollers.

Where was the system to address such blatant unfairness?

He hurled spells while contemplating a solution.

‘If I can confirm just one thing, there might be a way around this.’

Instead of chasing the demons, Manus took a different approach.

Using a boost spell, he quickly moved towards the staircase leading to the next floor.

He saw the demons crowded around, heading up the stairs.

Of course, the only place the floor-assigned demons could go was there.

Having figured out the situation, Manus quickly gathered his party members.

He infused mana into the communication orb, opening all channels.

“Can everyone hear me?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Head to the stairs between the 29th and 30th floors. We’re going to do some mob hunting there.”

“Are demons going up the stairs?”

Alano asked, and Manus confirmed it.

They had a solution.

Andrea’s own trick would end up giving his allies even more experience.

Manus wasn’t the type to just sit back and take it.

He would make her regret this.

To use such a cheap trick?

A trick had to be played within the rules to be called a trick. This was a blatant violation of the rules.

In an RPG, preventing players from hunting monsters was simply unacceptable.

“Well, let’s get started then.”

All the demons from the 20th to the 29th floors were making their way up.

If his guess was correct, the same was likely happening above as well.

This was their chance to grind as much experience as possible.

The game had a lot going for it, but there were no potions that increased experience gains.

Leveling up had to be done purely through grinding, in the most straightforward way possible.

Fwoosh-

At Manus’ will, a massive wall of fire erupted.

[Ignis — Pariae]

[Screech! Screeee-!]

The demons that had been swarming in were instantly engulfed in flames and burned to death.

Whether it was due to Andrea’s command or their own stupidity, the demons offered little resistance, simply leaving behind mana stones.

Continuing to cast spells, Manus crossed his arms.

The mana stones, shining under the firelight, fell in heaps.

He wondered what kind of expression Andrea must be wearing right now.

He was quite curious.

Manus let out a small sigh.

In the distance, he heard someone calling out to him.

“Seniorrrr-!”

Should he just charge ahead?

Manus seriously considered it.

The Apostle.

With his current strength, being able to take on five hits, maybe he could make it?

2

“These… these fools!”

Her mental state was anything but stable, to the point where she was hurling curses at the very plants she had nurtured.

The plants, stupidly burning to death without even attempting a counterattack.

The very ones she had lovingly cultivated were being reduced to ashes in an instant.

She realized her mistake.

She should have given them more specific commands.

It might still be fine.

If they gathered in one spot, overwhelming the intruders with sheer numbers could still deal damage.

[My children, attack the enemy in front of you.]

Finally, the demons stopped their meaningless deaths.

They began to fight back, attacking the intruders in any way they could.

Sigh… Andrea held her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Ever since creating the garden, she had never experienced such a headache.

The garden was made to serve Him, a place of obedience.

Thus, the garden she had created became passive.

‘Maybe I should have made it more proactive. Like Cantanti.’

No, if she had done that, it would have defeated the purpose of a garden.

Somehow, she had to lure them further up and kill them all at once.

Andrea knew how they grew stronger.

But she couldn’t convey that knowledge to those above.

‘It’s the 80th floor. As long as I can lure them to the 80th floor. Just that far.’

She had shortened the time they needed to wait at the summit, which should slow down their growth.

Andrea continued to reflect on the memories pouring in from the flowers, waiting for that moment.

She had overlooked one crucial fact.

A power she herself didn’t even know.

Why the Apostle had to wait on the 100th floor.

She had forgotten the most important thing.

3

[Screech!]

[Screeeeech!]

The cries of the plants echoed up the stairs.

Their shrill cries in such a confined space were giving everyone a headache.

It was too loud and unsettling to be considered white noise.

The endless line of demons was finally beginning to thin.

Demons from the lower floors were weaker, while those higher up were stronger, meaning the ones from above were gradually being wiped out.

Kael scattered her magic, speaking up.

“How long do you think they’ll keep coming?”

“Who knows. We might be here for another hour.”

“Kael, do you need a break? I can take over.”

“No, I’m still good.”

“But… I don’t see any Patrollers coming out in the garden.”

True enough.

Despite being here for quite some time, there were no Patrollers.

They used to appear frequently in the labyrinth, but they hadn’t shown up at all in the garden.

Manus put forth a theory.

“It might be because we’re in a border area.”

“Ah… if only we could do this kind of hunting in other places as well.”

“Probably not possible. Whatever the Apostle is thinking, she made a mistake.”

“Let’s just keep gathering mana stones quietly. Even small ones will help us grow.”

Pearson suggested.

Kael nodded and continued casting her spells.

The goal was to get strong enough to overcome their next trial.

Two hours passed.

Finally, the long line of demons ended.

“Phew… I thought I was going to die.”

“Great work, Melanie.”

“I guess I need to replace my shield again.”

“I’ll assess it for you. Let’s switch it out right away.”

Melanie and Guillermo were exhausted.

Trace and Manus occasionally stepped up to the frontline, but neither of them were as solid and reliable as Melanie and Guillermo.

Even the formidable Manus had occasionally missed a beat.

That’s how vital the Guardian class was.

“You two should get a larger share of the mana stones. The rest of us just took turns casting spells.”

“Agreed. Take what you need and grow.”

“Exactly. The sturdier our front, the safer we all are.”

Everyone agreed to give Melanie and Guillermo a bigger share of the mana stones.

Not all of it, of course; they kept enough for the rest to grow as well.

“Ah, can we rest now before we head up?”

“Yeah. It’ll take some time to absorb the mana stones, so we should start now.”

“Alright, let’s get to it.”

The group, with their bags stuffed with mana stones, moved into a rest area.

Now it was time to grow.

As if they had made a pact, they each began absorbing the mana stones they had been given.

Manus watched for a moment, then began his own absorption.

“Here, this is yours.”

[Roar!]

Of course, Albion’s share was carefully set aside as well.

While everyone quietly absorbed their mana stones, the wave of demons continued in the garden.

4

When Manus opened his eyes, the garden was shrouded in silence.

He took a deep breath, feeling the immense mana now writhing within him.

He had definitely grown stronger.

Manus stood up.

‘Everyone’s still asleep.’

Albion opened its eyes, quietly stepping down from under the bed.

Seeming to sense the situation, the fluffy, white-furred dragon silently followed him outside the resting area.

Manus gazed at the vast garden.

Lowering his stance, he petted Albion’s head.

[Growl…]

After absorbing the mana stones, Albion seemed to have grown a bit larger.

Its fore and hind paws looked even sturdier than a tiger’s. Though it still couldn’t use its wings, they were steadily growing.

If it kept growing like this, it would become an excellent partner.

As Manus was stroking the fur-covered dragon, he felt a massive presence.

It was pure and unrefined but unmistakably powerful.

Kael had awakened.

“…Wow, Albion’s grown a lot.”

“You should rest a bit longer.”

“I came out because you weren’t here, Senior.”

“How do you feel about climbing the tower?”

Kael looked a little surprised.

Then she smiled softly, making eye contact with Albion.

She whispered quietly.

“I think I’ll be fine. I was caught off guard last time, but… not now.”

“This next fight with the Apostle might be even tougher.”

“I’m prepared for that. Besides… I feel like there’s something here that I’m meant to discover.”

“Like what?”

“Something related to my abilities… something like that.”

[Interference is beginning.]

[The direction of the worldline is showing signs of change.]

Manus thought to himself, ‘Isn’t this progressing too fast?’

Kael.

She wasn’t an ordinary commoner.

But that was something she would only realize much later.

If she learned the truth now, she might not have the mental strength left to grow purely stronger.

It was that shocking, that heavy a truth.

“For now, it’s best to focus on climbing the tower.”

“Got it.”

“I also know that your abilities are anything but ordinary. And… that there’s some kind of secret.”

“…”

Kael looked at Manus with her clear eyes.

Her light blue eyes met his gaze as Manus continued.

“But right now, we are still too weak, too powerless. We need to grow until we can each repel an Apostle on our own.”

“That… is your standard, right, Senior?”

“Maybe. Or it could be the world’s standard.”

Kael fell silent.

Sometimes, the world Manus seemed to see was so vast and overwhelming that she felt she could never keep up.

Today was another one of those days.

How vast and enormous was the world Senior Manus saw?

What kind of threats was he preparing for?

For now, she could only imagine.

–TL Notes–
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