Chapter 21
“Are you saying you learned directly from the Monkey Sage?”
“That’s right.”
The practitioner who appeared to be the person in charge was younger than I expected.
She looked about my age—a woman who seemed strong, but not particularly seasoned.
“I heard the Monkey Sage does not take disciples…”
“I didn’t become his disciple. I only received his teachings for a short time.”
“If you received teachings from the Monkey Sage, then even if you are a climber, you are practically family to us.”
Maybe it was because I had been acting cool and somewhat aloof, but a rather terrible line came to mind.
—Just say it once to me.
‘Because we’re family, you want me to protect you all? Is that what you were going to say?’
—That’s a truly terrible line.
“I’d like to hear how the battle situation is progressing.”
“Ever since the climbers joined us, the situation has improved significantly. The enemy’s assaults are growing stronger, but we believe we can hold out for the time being.”
“Do you happen to know Amental?”
At my words, the leader’s face drained of color, fear spreading across it.
“Why would you suddenly bring up that name?”
“Because he’s coming here as well.”
“May I ask your source of information?”
“The system told me. It told me to defeat Amental.”
“…Amental… ha…”
The atmosphere around us darkened.
“Is he that strong?”
“He’s not just strong. Among the Corrupted, he ranks within the top five. Even if you received teachings from the Monkey Sage, you will not be able to face him easily.”
“Is his name alone enough to fill you with despair?”
No one answered.
Looking around, the morale had visibly plummeted.
“What a ridiculous display.”
I didn’t know how powerful Amental truly was.
‘No matter how strong he is, he can’t be stronger than the Monkey Sage.’
Since he appeared as a personal mission, he couldn’t be so strong that defeating him was completely impossible.
“Are your convictions so fragile that they crumble at the sound of a single name? Aren’t you all standing here to protect something? To tremble at nothing more than a name is laughable.”
I deliberately used sharp words to provoke them, and little by little the atmosphere revived.
“If you cannot believe in yourselves, then believe in me. I will bring you salvation.”
“…Forgive us. We showed an unsightly side. We are grateful, but… we do not intend to entrust everything to you.”
“Now your eyes are somewhat worth looking at. Who holds command authority?”
“There is no commander. Each of us simply holds our position and repels the enemy.”
Hearing them say they were fighting in such a makeshift manner as if it were something to be proud of gave me a headache.
“Then from now on, I will take command. If anyone objects, step forward.”
Fortunately, no one did.
‘Lucy, can you do it?’
—Of course. I’ve already completed a full environmental scan.
Lucy immediately began devising a strategy to repel the Corrupted.
“Icha, where did you go?”
“I went to help fend off the Corrupted. When the next attack comes, I’ll go again.”
He shouldn’t have done that.
He should have stayed by his parents’ side until the end.
‘That was never going to happen.’
Icha knew it himself. With his personality, there was no way he could choose to guard only his parents while the tower was in danger.
Even if he returned to the past again, he would likely make the same choice.
Perhaps he would at least tell his parents to stay somewhere safer.
Protecting the tower was the priority.
‘He’ll probably handle the Corrupted just fine.’
The climber who had brought Icha this far.
With talent that sometimes felt beyond human, he would surely be able to stop them.
‘Honestly, I should be sticking close to him…’
Wasn’t he the reward the Tower had granted that climber?
He should remain by his side and help him obtain the greatest reward possible. So why was he here?
‘Even if I save my parents here, I won’t return alive anyway.’
This place was a virtual space created by the Tower.
Even if he saved his parents here, the past would not change.
“I’m going to stop the Corrupted again! Don’t go anywhere strange—stay somewhere safe!”
The young Icha grabbed his staff and ran off.
That was the last memory he had with his parents.
‘From now on, I’ll protect them.’
He had no intention of revealing himself.
“What? Are you serious? You don’t even know who that guy is, and you’re handing him command?”
Spiky red hair. Defiant eyes.
‘That’s Icha.’
—It’s Icha.
Though his voice had not yet changed, I recognized him immediately.
“Icha. This person is—”
“I don’t accept it! Being strong has nothing to do with it! It makes no sense to hand over the defense of our town to a complete stranger!”
He shouted with heated emotion, but logically he wasn’t wrong.
“Icha!”
When the woman who had been leading in my absence raised her voice sharply, young Icha fell silent.
‘So there was a time when Icha could be subdued by someone.’
He pressed his lips together and glared at me.
‘We could let this pass, but…’
“You’re right. In normal circumstances.”
As I approached him, his glare sharpened further.
“This is wartime. Even if you dislike something, if it’s more efficient, you must do it. Let me simplify the choice for you. Do you want to die? Or will you place your trust in me?”
“There is no ‘just dying.’ I’ll do my best to protect our village.”
“Is your ‘best’ simply charging in without thinking? Pouring out effort alone has no meaning.”
I looked at him and smiled faintly.
“I understand why you don’t trust me. I haven’t given you a reason to. Watch for just one day.”
“….”
Without another word, Icha picked up his staff and walked outside.
—It seems he intends to follow for now.
‘Good.’
Lucy’s command protocol was astonishingly effective.
To the point that we repelled every attack without issue all the way through the fifth day.
‘This doesn’t feel like a mission meant to be cleared this way.’
Something felt off.
—It’s going extremely well.
The Corrupted attacks were intensifying, yet not a single casualty or even injury had occurred in five days.
‘That’s the problem. It shouldn’t be this easy.’
—Is that really a problem? It’s simply because I’m exceptional.
Lucy brought her hand to her chin and laughed softly, “Hohoho!”
She was right.
The flawless defense over five days was entirely thanks to Lucy.
After analyzing the village’s combat power, she deployed everyone perfectly.
‘It’s just too different from what I expected.’
I had imagined desperate battles, lines collapsing, the Corrupted breaking into the tower.
Instead, this felt like automated grinding.
—Our specs are too high. We’re not at the level meant for the 10th floor.
‘That’s true, but still…’
It was almost anticlimactic.
I had even already learned the practitioners’ secret technique.
Since they were treating me like a god, when I said I needed it to fight Amental, they taught it to me without hesitation.
“Mister, you’re incredible! You’re seriously amazing!”
Even young Icha now gave me a thumbs-up in admiration.
Adult Icha had even come to me, saying this was nothing like what he remembered.
“You know, I went to see my parents carrying a heavy heart. I followed you here to help you, but I’d abandoned you. I couldn’t feel lighthearted. And it’s a painful memory for me. I was tense.”
It seemed I had erased that burden for him.
“At this point in time, half the villagers should already have been dead… The rest were fighting over whether to flee or stay.”
But now, everyone was defending with hope.
“My parents seem safe… So from now on, I’ll help you.”
“There’s no need.”
“What?”
“One of my missions is to save young Icha and his parents. So you just stay with them. Talk to them.”
According to Lucy, he had never once approached his parents—only watched from afar.
Originally, he likely intended to step in if danger arose, but Lucy’s defense had left no such opportunity.
“It doesn’t matter. The people on the 10th floor aren’t real anyway.”
“By that logic, you aren’t real either.”
“The 10th floor pulls from the past. The 6th floor pulls from the present. You can’t judge them on the same line.”
“So were the people on the 6th floor transported wholesale into the Tower from the original world?”
“I can’t tell you the details. There’s a restriction placed on me.”
“Fine. Just make sure young Icha and his parents don’t die, no matter what.”
“Understood.”
Bwooooooo!
The signal for enemy intrusion blared.
—I’ve analyzed the enemy data. You’ll need to take a more active role this time, Master.
“Okay.”
As I drew my dagger, Lucy shook her head.
—Not the dagger. Take out Lucia. You’ve earned enough trust, and there are too many enemies.
“Got it.”
I put away the dagger and pulled out Lucia.
It had been a while since I used her on the 10th floor. Resting her against my shoulder felt satisfying.
—I will initiate Sniper Support Protocol.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Monkey Sage’s teachings helped even when using Lucia.
Though less than in close combat, improved mana circulation exponentially increased the bullets’ power.
On top of that, Lucy was learning the practitioners’ secret technique, allowing me to eliminate two or three enemies with a single shot.
Bang! Bang!
By pulling the trigger from atop the tower all day, the enemy assault diminished significantly.
[Only the final invasion remains.]
[Endure against the Corrupted Amental until reinforcements arrive.]
So the concept truly was to endure.
‘Lucy, how much time is left?’
—Approximately 12 hours.
I immediately opened Sa Xue and sprinted toward Amental.
