Chapter 88: Five Stars 3
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The orc boss seemed more useful dead than alive.
Though capturing it alive would grant a larger reward, the key factor here was the gateway to the 20th floor.
The sooner the expedition to the higher floors of the Tower is shortened, the easier it will be for adventurers to explore the tower.
If the mages divert their attention from creating a gateway to conducting random experiments, if the kingdom were to take the orc that violated the royal forest as a hostage, if the temple were to purify the orc that tainted the blessed land
What if, due to their greed for greater rewards, the gate to the 20th floor is never created?
"Damn it, this bastard."
"Hey, I said I'm sorry."
"You son of a"
It's for this reason I killed the orc boss.
While Rebecca and Han Se-ah were in conversation, I reflected the enraged orc boss's wide-ranging magic attack right back at him.
The malevolent energy swirling in the air met my shield and instantaneously rebounded, ripping its caster apart.
...Can I really reflect any projectile with this shield, even instant-kill abilities?
Regardless, the aftermath was the orc boss sprawled on the ground and a sulking Rebecca with pouting lips.
She nudged her plump lips forward and started to lightly punch me, muttering complaints.
-She's adorable, but a boss would die if they took those hitsÑøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
-It's as if the sound file got corrupted, lol. Brutal
-Aren't those just light taps? Why is the armor clanging like that?
-This takes me back to my school days
-That must really hurt.
Considering a punch from a 43rd-floor adventurer can bring down a mutant orc in a single blow, it's no wonder every punch makes me wobble.
My body sways left, right, forward, and backward with each of her punches.
This was entirely my fault, so I quietly took the hits.
There was no pain, but my head did feel a bit dizzy.
Rebecca had been waiting for my party members to join before negotiating, but instead, the last hit ended up stolen.
Any adventurer or mercenary would be furious in such a situation.
If she's just giving light taps for that, then I'm really the one in the wrong.
'Has she become kinder since getting the appearance buff?'
To the onlookers, her light taps might seem cute, but to me, it felt like being on the receiving end of a mace.
From Rebecca's point of view, it would feel like a guy she's known for a decade just backstabbed her for the reward.
Saying it was an accidental counterattack probably wouldn't help...
Such an excuse wouldn't cut it.
While her punches appear gentle and cute, they can crush not just a human skull but even those of mutated orcs as easily as a ripe persimmon.
Still, she seemed less upset than expected, her fists not targeting any weak spots.
I really didn't want to sit through a lecture on how a stone pyramid came to be in the forest.
Han Se-ah even handed me the loot and positioned herself behind me, as if she didn't want to be within Antenor's direct line of sight.
Of course, Antenor didn't seem bothered by Han Se-ah's behavior.
He was just keenly examining the loot in his hand.
He had seen the inventory last time, but this was his first time looking at the loot of an Orc Chieftain.
It was clearly his top priority.
Seeing him like this made me anxious, compelling me to say one more thing.
"I hope you're not planning to delay the gate because you found something fascinating. Please make the gate first and then you can play around with these items."
"Haha, you worry too much. I can easily whip up a gate!"
'That's the problem. If you start other experiments because it's easy, who knows how many weeks you'll be sidetracked.'
Suppressing my rising frustration, I gulped down my impatience.
Even though we're close, I should remain patient for now.
After all, Antenor isnt the type to neglect a request.
The priority right now is to head to the guild.
He's beginning to get restless, frequently shifting his gaze from the loot to Han Se-ah.
-Wow, wow, wow, his mouth is starting to run
-Is Han Se-ah enjoying this? Is she betraying her viewers?
-If we could go back in time, I would have given Han Se-ah a mission to change her class to a warrior
-If you want to skip the mage talk, you have to pay up haha
"Everyone, just shut it for a moment. I'm super nervous right now... I wish I could just faint and be carried all the way to the base. No, I'd rather be dragged all the way than return to the lab."
It seems I wasnt the only one who noticed her uneasy demeanor, as murmurs started to rise from behind.
I mean, if even the great Rebecca stormed off in fear, that says it all.
Everyone seems to feel similar to Han Se-ah.
Kaiden had experienced it once with Rebecca's Mercenaries, while the others had been caught up in it with Han Se-ah in the safe zone.
Although I'm not the party's leader, as a senior adventurer guiding the group, I felt a responsibility to protect our party members, who had now become intermediate adventurers.
It's not about protecting the group from monsters but about shielding them from the eccentric mage's mental attacks, befitting of a tank's role.
"By the way, if you go down beneath that altar, there's a tunnel that seemed wider than the altar itself. It looks like they've dug deep into the ground and done some extensive construction."
"Orcs did not just erect the altar, but also undertook excavation and civil engineering...? Hm, understood. We'll just have a quick look around and then proceed immediately with the gate creation."
By 'a quick look' according to that old man, he means 'summoning all my apprentices and thoroughly inspecting the inside which will roughly take a week.'
But it can't be helped.
I do feel a tad guilty for Antenor's apprentices, but they weren't coerced into their positions.
So, using Antenor's apprentices as our sacrificial lambs, we safely made our way to the 20th floor's passage.
Antenor took the loot, though we kept the magic stone of the Orc Boss, and he'll likely divvy it up with Charlotte back at his lab later.
Rebecca, having vented her frustration on my back and my thighs, would surely return to the 43rd floor.
If we hand over this magic stone to the guild and report to the Knights Division, then the quest should be complete, right?
[Help streamer 'Han Se-ah' clear the main quest 0/1]
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