Chapter 197: Temporary Companion and Development 2
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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On the 30th floor, there was a golden golem who, after losing its limbs, started a conversation.
It claimed to be the guardian of the labyrinth but, after 10 minutes, it couldnt finish its speech and self-destructed.
A pitiful golem.
On the 40th floor, a black Naga appeared.
Suddenly lowering its weapon, it requests to talk to us.
During this, its gaze was fixed on Katie's forearm, or more precisely, the white symbol of divine energy etched on her arm.
This creature recognized the symbol of the Goddess Faith and divine energy.
"Want to talk? What do you mean?"
-I, seek, the, Goddess's, mercy, please...
Even a normal Naga possesses a body powerful enough to easily overpower an intermediate adventurer.
This one, with its scales turned black, was obviously enhanced.
The game's difficulty had likely increased due to the intervention of the temple's forces.
Already possessing a naturally strong body, it's been further enhanced and even shows patience and intelligence, talking to a hostile opponent.
Katie, sensing the unusual nature of this opponent, tenses but then relaxes seeing the Naga lower its trident, her expression mixed as she sheathes her sword.
As a noble lady of the renowned Northern Duke's house, known for its knights, she couldn't attack when the creature was requesting a conversation.
"A monster begging for the Goddess's mercy?"
-The, Goddess, is, the, mother of, all, living, beings...
Yes, that's right. The Goddess loves all living things. Even if its a monster.
Katie initiates the conversation, but Irene quickly steps forward when the Goddess is mentioned.Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
Without any weapon, she boldly strides towards the large monster.
Katie, noticing her defenseless approach, reaches for her sword handle again, but the Naga, recognizing the nun's robes and symbol of the Goddess Faith, continues to lay its trident on the ground and slowly talks about the Goddess.
The Naga's vocal cords struggled to articulate human language, but its slow, frustrating speech boiled down to a simple request.
"You wish for an honorable death?"
-My, brothers, and, sisters, my, family... punish, the, villain who, pulled warriors from the cycle of life, divine punishment!
Before being replicated in the tower, the Naga from another world revered honor and believed in reincarnation, much like Buddhist warriors.
Its a crude analogy, but the best I can come up with.
A race of natural warriors who prepared for another life after death through honorable battles and a clean life.
They fought alongside allies from various races against the Demon King's army, praying to be together in the afterlife.
But after death, they woke up inside the tower... similar to the situation with the golden golem.
Whether the Demon King overexerted himself building the tower, or if there's a hidden story for DLC sales, it seems like boss monsters are gradually regaining memories of their past lives.
-After the golem, is it now a world with a multi-racial alliance? Would you buy it if it were DLC?
-So, are the orcs just flunkies of the Demon King?
After all, who would be crazy enough to form a party with a monster on the 40th floor, where other high-level adventurers roam?
Showing the holy insignia, a nun and the talking Naga might be convincing, but the problem is having to persuade everyone we meet.
Imagine an adventurer party traveling with a black Naga warrior, especially when the lower floors are overrun with doppelgangers.
To anyone, we'd look like a monster party acting under the Demon King's will, not the Goddess.
It's not a matter of persuasion; any party would naturally attack first.
Especially if it's a party of senior or top-tier adventurers, Grace with her bow would likely be the first to get killed.
No matter how great I am, if a top-tier archer starts sniping our party from beyond detection range with mana-infused arrows, it's going to be a headache.
"Find the source of the evil... Can it really find that?"
If one desires salvation, they must seek it themselves.
The one seeking salvation must act. It's also the Goddess's will.
I casually threw out an excuse, but thanks to Irene's positive interpretation, It felt suitable.
Given its darkened appearance, it seems like undead traits have been added.
It might tirelessly search 24 hours without sleep, driven by its desire for salvation.
It's faster if our party and the insomniac Naga, two parties, search together - if it truly doesn't sleep, maybe 2.5 times faster.
Given that it hasn't been caught by other high-level adventurers so far, it seems like a boss monster not just strong in brute force but also skilled in stealth.
If it's good at hiding, it should also be good at searching.
"It must have accepted without much argument because it already intended to move anyway. Hanna, you marked that location with magic, right?"
"Of course, Roland. Ive marked it so well that even Grace could find it alone.
-I marked it on the minimap, took screenshots, and even saved the video replay, damn
-Is she directionally challenged? Overreacting much because of trauma from getting lost?
-I remember getting lost in a big city map in another RPG, so I understand. Even with quest markers, couldn't find the alleys...
-No wonder she's so obsessed with the minimap.
-Our all-purpose porter can't possibly be directionally challenged
The excitement from the brief event with a Naga was short-lived.
The appearance of a boss monster ignited debate, but after parting, the repetitive and dull exploration left the viewers hungry like starved beasts again.
If there aren't any breadcrumbs, they act like starved animals, and if there are, they tear them apart like predators.
Maybe it's fair to just call them beasts.
The sharp teeth of boredom now turned towards the relationship between Han Se-ah, Katie, and me.
"Roland? What would it feel like if a Naga, with the lower body of a snake, used spear techniques?"
"Well... I'm not sure exactly what it would feel like, but the first move might be similar to the knight division's lance charge."
Katie, who had missed out on a chance to fight against a trident-wielding Naga warrior, clung to me and began to imaginatively compare the scimitar swordsmanship of the Lizardmen and the Naga's trident techniques.
Her cheeks flushed with enthusiasm, it seemed she was genuinely passionate about weapon techniques.
If someone with the delusion of being special is actually chosen by the Goddess, it's not a delusion anymore, right?
They're just someone with a thorough self-awareness and quick grasp of reality.
Regardless, the viewers busily write their own romantic novels in the chat.
With such creativity, they could be web novel authors instead of crafting sensual tales about our party.
