Chapter 88
I used Time Stop first.
- Things are going very smoothly just as you said, kekeke. What are you doing not taking off your clothes?
I heard Ma-Wang's sarcastic voice.
I ignored him and fell into agony.
'Sigh...'
I was quite bewildered.
Beyond bewildered, I felt dizzy.
I looked at the Princess frozen in front of me.
Three eyes, gray skin, and abnormally long limbs that made for a physique completely different from a Human's...
'This is too much.'
The Alien Princess seemed to be a crazy pervert.
How could she have such desires when our appearances were so different?
Ah... Isn't this really crossing the line?
It would be uncomfortable even with a normal person, but what about an Alien?
It was impossible both ethically and biologically.
No matter if it was for clarity, I wondered if this was right.
And fuck, something's weird...
The Tower was always a headache, but what about this kind of progression?
Is this really the right clear route?
I felt uneasy. It was strangely alien.
My intuition... No. Maybe I just wanted to escape reality.
Anyway, even if I thought about it ten times, it was impossible.
- Why? Are you not confident? Should I do it for you?
'Shut up.'
Let's try persuading her in a different direction first.
After finishing my thoughts, I used Time Release.
"What are you dawdling for? If it's because of my Escort, you don't need to mind him."
I spoke to the Princess.
"Princess, I apologize, but I cannot do that."
"...You cannot?"
The Princess stood up and glared at me coldly.
"Are you mocking me right now?"
"No. I already have a wife, so I cannot betray her."
The Princess gave me a look that said, so what?
...There's no way that would work, right?
I was in the position of a slave, and my opponent was the Royal Family.
She was probably thinking that this Slave bastard was putting up a ridiculous resistance.
"...Actually!"
Seeing the Princess's expression rotting in real-time, I urgently stated Plan B.
"I do not function down there."
"...What?"
"It is shameful, but to be honest, that is the case. You have given me a glorious opportunity, Princess, but even if I wanted to, I cannot..."
I could hear Ma-Wang laughing in my head as if he were about to die of breathlessness.
...It couldn't be helped. An alien was really impossible!
"If it is anything else, I will gladly..."
"Hah."
The Princess let out a scoff.
"Enough. My mood is ruined."
Really? Thank goodness.
"Get him out of my sight. A lowly Slave dares to insult me."
Not thank goodness.
The Princess seemed very pissed off.
Srrng.
The Escort Knight, who had been standing blankly in a corner of the room, drew his sword.
Shit... So it turns out like this after all?
I used Time Stop.
What do I do now?
- You have to kill them all. What else?
Ma-Wang said, never getting tired of it.
But persuading the Princess had gone completely wrong... It seemed there were no other methods left.
Other than just causing a refreshing mess, that is.
Feeling it with my Sixth Sense, I realized the Escort Knight was weaker than me.
The Princess was, of course, even weaker than he.
Then I'll take down the Escort first, subdue the Princess and take her hostage...
And then should we protest to free all the slaves?
Maybe this was the real correct answer.
'Okay.'
Let's give it a try.
I organized my thoughts and then used Mental Concentration.
And I used Teleportation to get behind the Escort's back.
I used Time Stop again and Mental Concentration.
Slash!
Activating the Light Sword, I blew his head off before the Escort even had a chance to react.
"Kyaaah...!"
The Princess's scream rang out.
Now I was about to take her hostage.
[You have Failed the Nightmare Difficulty 6th Floor Hidden Clear. (1/3)]
[You are being removed from the Tower.]
Messages popped up before my eyes.
I was immediately kicked out of the Tower.
"...Ah, man."
Why again?
Did I fail because I killed the Knight?
Causing a mess wasn't the right answer after all.
"See. It's not."
When I spoke to Ma-Wang, only a sneer returned.
Anyway, I only had one chance left now.
I pondered with my arms crossed.
'...Do I really have to obediently follow the Princess's words?'
Is that really the correct answer?
It doesn't feel like it, hmm...
Let's think about it.
First of all, the Clear Condition was probably to save both Peoples.
If I were mistaken about this from the start, I wouldn't be able to clear it in the one remaining chance anyway.
So let's assume this is unconditionally correct.
Is there no other way besides the Princess route?
"..."
Come to think of it, the Prince had been contemplating what to do before leaving the choice to the Princess.
The primary authority to decide whether to save all the slaves or not lay with the Prince.
Then wouldn't it be fine if the Prince just made a firm decision right then and there?
In other words, I just had to persuade the Prince so the situation would flow that way.
Asking for a different reward instead of Citizenship had worked, so...
If I had somehow talked my way out of it a bit better, it wouldn't have seemed like an impossible method.
[Would you like to enter the Nightmare Difficulty 6th Floor?]
I have to try.
I entered for my final attempt.
[...Match over! It is an overwhelming victory for Number 199!]
Going through the exact same repertoire.
The final match ended with my victory, and the Prince stepped forward.
"I, Patoum, the Third Prince of the Kalundi Empire, commend your victory. Number 199, what is your name?"
"It is Turo."
He babbled on about rewards and whatnot again.
"As the victor, do you have anything you wish to say?"
At the Prince's words, I gave the same answer.
"Could you grant me a different reward instead of citizenship?"
"A different reward? What do you desire?"
"I ask that you show mercy so the people on the opposing side may also live. That is the reward I desire instead of citizenship."
"...You desire the survival of the Opponent Race as well?"
The Prince stroked his chin as if he were equally conflicted.
"It is a trivial reward compared to Citizenship, but it goes against the grand premise of this match that only one People survives... Hmm."
Now is the timing.
Before the Prince could ask the Princess what she thought, I spoke up again.
"Then how about I fight another match, Prince?"
"...?"
"This opponent was too weak. The audience also seems disappointed that the final match ended so anticlimactically, so I will fight another match against a stronger opponent."
Ooooooh...!
At my words, the Audience Seats stirred and cheers erupted.
When the Prince raised his hand, it became quiet again.
"You will fight another match against a stronger opponent?"
"Yes."
"How amusing. But where is there a stronger opponent? You two are the ones who made it to the finals after already defeating all the other Slaves."
I swept my gaze over the audience seats and answered.
"I do not mind if they are not human."
"...?"
"I will fight a Warrior of the Kalundi Tribe. Please choose my opponent, Prince."
The surroundings fell silent.
The atmosphere in the Arena became slightly strange.
"Kuhahahahaha...!"
Breaking that silence, the Prince burst into booming laughter.
"Did you just say you would fight a Warrior of the Kalundi Tribe? You, a Human Slave?"
The Prince looked like he was dying of amusement.
Well, the Background Setting of this World was a situation where the Kalundi Tribe had completely dominated the World with overwhelming power, so...
The Kalundi Tribe would naturally be much stronger on average than the Human Race.
But since I, a Human, said I would fight the Kalundi Tribe, this reaction was to be expected.
However, I had my own confidence.
'The Princess's Escort was only at that level...'
I didn't think someone much stronger than him would come out as an opponent.
The Prince stopped laughing and nodded.
"You are arrogant, but you have an excellent spirit. Are you truly confident?"
"I will do my best."
"Good. Then you shall fight another match as you wish."
Cheers erupted from the audience seats.
The Prince ordered the Servant standing beside him to do something, and the Servant left.
Paat!
As I waited for a moment, a new portal appeared in the Arena.
Knights appeared, took the opposing man, and went back into the portal.
One Knight remained.
He had a completely different aura from the other Knights.
"This is your opponent. He is an Elite Knight of the Imperial Family's direct Strike Force."
The Prince said.
"If you, Turo, win, I will not only save all the Slaves but also grant you Citizenship. If you win against an Elite Knight of the Kalundi Tribe, you rightfully deserve it."
The Prince looked down at me with cold eyes.
"But if you lose, all the Slaves will die. This is the price for daring to be arrogant in front of me, Patoum. Prove your confidence."
Clank. Clank.
The opposing Knight began to take off all his armor.
And then he stood bare-bodied with only a single sword, without any armor, just like me.
...Is he saying he'll fight a fair duel?
However, his eyes were full of a look looking down on me.
Before the match started, I spoke to the Prince.
"I have something I wish to ask you, Prince."
"What is it?"
"May I use any abilities other than sword fighting?"
The Prince chuckled and answered.
"It does not matter what means you use. Give it your all."
"Then I will ask one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Does it matter if I kill my opponent?"
At my words, the opposing Knight snorted and glared at me.
The Prince also answered as if it was absurd.
"As much as you like, if you are capable."
As if the match was about to start, the destroyed Enemy Core regenerated.
The Host's voice rang out.
[...Then we will begin the final match! Slave Number 199 Warrior Turo! His opponent is Sir Kadatope, an Elite Knight of the Imperial Family's direct Strike Force! The rules of the match are the same: you win if you destroy the Enemy Core first!]
Waaaaaah-!
Cheers rang out.
"Sir Kadatope, please don't end it too early!"
"Show that arrogant Slave bastard the difference in class!"
It seemed no one thought I would win.
The Knight named Kadatope leisurely pointed his sword at me.
"Go ahead and struggle to your heart's content."
Ma-Wang spoke to me.
- Can you win? Just hand over your body and I will turn you to dust.
I felt it with my Sixth Sense.
The opponent was definitely strong.
I thought he might be slightly stronger than me...
Well, it would be over if I just landed one hit with the Line of Destruction anyway.
Still, I couldn't just use it recklessly.
Just like how the Workshop Master's Escort Knight dodged my Line of Destruction in midair during the 4th Floor Hidden Clear...
There was a possibility this guy would evade it too. He felt like a strong enough opponent to do so.
But the opponent knew nothing about my abilities.
Therefore, I had a plan to definitely land the Line of Destruction so he couldn't dodge it.
I also held out my sword to the opponent and flicked it.
"I will yield the first strike to you."
At my provocation, the Knight contorted his expression.
"A mere Slave dares."
The Knight strode toward me.
When the distance closed to a certain extent, he kicked off the ground and lunged. His speed was incredible.
'...Diul!'
I immediately spread the Pitch-Black Fog.
Hwaaaaak!
Pitch-black Darkness covered me and the Knight.
"...!"
The Knight lost all his senses while still in his Charge and fell over.
I used Time Stop.
And cast a Full Charge Line of Destruction.
The Line of Destruction hit the Knight directly.
It was over. The Knight was obliterated just like that.
This was the unblockable attack that even an opponent stronger than me couldn't avoid. It worked perfectly.
- Tsk, you're using all sorts of weird tricks.
Ma-Wang smacked his lips as if it were a shame.
The fog cleared.
The cheers from the Audience Seats gradually died down.
It was because the Knight had disappeared and only I was left standing there alone.
I trudged over to the Enemy Core and struck the Core that had no one to protect it.
Soon, the Core was destroyed.
The match ended.
"..."
The Arena was quiet.
Only then did the Host's bewildered voice ring out.
[...Number 199 has destroyed the Enemy Core. U-uh, what happened? Where did Sir Kadatope disappear to?]
I looked up at the Prince, who was looking down this way with astonished eyes, and said.
"It is my victory, Prince."
"...What happened to your opponent?"
"He died."
The Audience Seats stirred.
The Prince, who had been speechless for a moment, let out a chuckle and clapped.
"...Excellent. It is your victory, Turo."
"As promised, all the Slaves shall live, and I will grant you Second-Class Citizenship."
As the Prince clapped, applause soon poured out from the Audience Seats as well.
[You have Successfully Achieved the Nightmare Difficulty 6th Floor Hidden Clear.]
A message popped up.
Phew, a success.
I reflexively glanced over to where the Princess was...
She was licking her lips and looking down this way.
'That crazy...'
Let's never meet again.
[Completely absorbing the Floor's Power.]
[Level Increased.]
[Level Increased.]
[Level Increased.]
[Level Increased.]
[Level Increased.]
[We are moving to the Reward Room.]