Chapter 13
The first day of the siege defense passed without any particular incident.
Crunch—
No, if being given such tough jerky as a meal counted as an incident, then maybe it did.
Still, the stew tasted perfectly fine, so I was able to fill my empty stomach in a pinch.
The sun went down completely, and darkness settled over the land.
Watching the campfires spilling light beside the guards standing watch in their respective areas above and below the wall, I sorted through my thoughts.
I was thinking that I might as well go to sleep, but my hand moved automatically toward the terminal.
You just can't resist browsing the gallery from inside a sleeping bag, can you?
There was at least one topic I could post right away.
Title : If things go as Risellin said, it seems the knight reinforcements will arrive by tomorrow. Do you think there might be any unexpected variables?
Author : ㅇㅇ*
-I don't know whether they'll bring a mage, too. Anyway, there won't be any pointless friction, right?
└ Friction confirmedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ A Tower trait: whenever you expect something bad, it usually happensㅇㅇ
└ Shaman) Hawawa, I cannot deny it.
└ If that many orcs appeared, they probably sent at least a Third-Circle grunt.
└ Great Mage) They probably attached at least one mage, too.
└ Great Mage) You always have to be careful of variables in quest-based stages. Usually, the objective is to kill monsters, but sometimes you can end up being killed by an NPC who has nothing directly to do with the quest.
└ ㅇㅇ*) ?? Isn't that taking things too far? And you told me earlier to dominate the mage.
└ Great Mage) I told you to assess the situation and set up an appropriate board. One that won't get you killed.
└ Great Mage) What kind of place is the area you're in? A town? A territory?
Ah, I hadn't told them that yet.
└ ㅇㅇ*) The system told me at the beginning that it was an autonomous city.
└ Great Mage) Then at least the knights won't have quite so much authority. They won't have much of a background to lend them prestige.
└ Great Mage) What position are the existing forces in? If you assume you make a scene, do they seem likely to take your side?
I thought about it for a moment before posting a reply.
└ ㅇㅇ*) It's hard to say whether they'd take my side. But I don't think they'd become hostile even if I threw my weight around a little.
└ Great Mage) Then go throw your weight around once. Just keep an eye on the situation. Even if it isn't an autonomous city, the Lukerna Mercenary Band's reputation is different from that of ordinary mercenary bands, so even knights won't be able to treat you casually. The elders of the mercenary band who aren't here will probably hold positions of influence in that world, too.
└ㅇㅇ*) I was wondering about something anyway. Why does the Lukerna Mercenary Band feel so weak for a group with such a reputation? Even the mercenary captain, Risellin, seems about as strong as me.
└ That's because Risellin's bloodline is extremely late-blooming.
└ Pioneer) More than that, the main reason is that Risellin is a partner NPC who is meant to climb the Tower alongside you. She's not an NPC you encounter just once, but an NPC who grows alongside you.
└ That's the accepted viewㅇㅇ Even if you don't meet again on Floor 3 right away, you'll meet at least once more before Floor 10. By then, Risellin will have grown as strong as you are now, or at least close to it.
Is that how it is.
If I was going to get a climbing partner, it would be nice if they were a powerful bus driver who could take me around comfortably.
I suppose that means I should stop expecting a free ride.
The topic of conversation returned to how I should deal with friction when the reinforcements arrived.
└ Ice Queen) If they pick a fight even a little, you need to beat them up just enough to restore order! You mustn't get scared! Freeze!!
Hmm.
Judging by the way Ice Queen had spoken until now, I had thought the commenter was a pacifist, but Ice Queen was actually far from peaceful. Maybe you really did have to be insane to clear Hard difficulty.
└ Dragon Demon King) Beltui—I think it would be fine to beat them half to death.
└ Dragon Demon King) Beltui—based on what I've experienced, if they're in the same position as the climber, there's a high chance they won't put on much of a performance. No, should I say they can't?
Those were very fitting words from someone with that nickname.
The fact that the reason was quite plausible only made it worse.
└ Light’s Sword) As the comment above said, if an Orc Legion Commander appears, they'll probably send someone from the Third Circle.
└ ㅇㅇ*) How strong is Third Circle?
└ You can call it strong from your perspective.
└ Light’s Sword) Strictly speaking, you're a Second-Circle Knight. Judging solely by your amount of mana, you could say you haven't escaped the First Circle yet…but you can't call someone who killed a Legion Commander First Circle.
Then Light’s Sword explained what people conventionally considered Second-Circle Knights were like.
A knight who could manipulate mana but could not manifest aura in their sword, and who fought through physical enhancement alone, belonged to the Second Circle.
└ Light’s Sword) Starting at the Third Circle, they possess the ability to generate sword qi.
└ Absolute Sovereign) There are also people who remain at the Second Circle until the end of their lives because they can't do that.
└ ㅇㅇ*) Then if they manifest sword qi, am I completely outmatched?
└ Light’s Sword) Third-Circle sword qi is highly incomplete. For some people, it would actually be better not to use it. Their martial arts are also incomplete at that stage.
└ Light’s Sword) If you properly learned the Dragon-Slaying Sword as I wrote it, you could subdue one through swordsmanship alone…but you haven't been able to devote that much time to training.
└ ? You can overcome the difference between having sword qi and not having it through swordsmanship? Don't be ridiculous.
└ LMAO, that's how it looks to an Easy bug. Can't you tell from the fact that this climber killed a Legion Commander without using sword qi? That's proof Light’s Sword is right.
└Why is this guy projecting himself onto the climber and Light’s Sword again?
The gallery was peaceful today as well.
Light’s Sword showed little reaction to the comments on the chat.
└ Light’s Sword) When you have to fight a Third-Circle Knight, when you're fighting someone stronger than you, you're wondering how you should win, aren't you?
That was exactly it.
Light’s Sword told me how.
* * *
The next morning.
The incident happened immediately. It was before I even woke up on my own.
The surroundings suddenly grew noisy.
“Come out, you who claim to have killed the Orc Legion Commander.”
What the hell?
The tent was whipped open. Two men wearing rather impressive armor stood there. Wasn't armor like that called full plate mail?
The blond man indicated with his chin the straight sword I had left leaning against the wall.
“Draw your sword.”
The knight drew the sword at his waist.
“You must prove it. You must prove that you were the one who killed the Orc Legion Commander.”
[NPC - Third-Circle Knight William]
Third Circle.
I recalled the characteristics of Third-Circle Knights that I had heard about in the gallery.
A swordsman capable of summoning aura into his sword.
A swordsman capable of manifesting sword qi.
The stage at which one begins to rank among the strong.
The method Light’s Sword had told me would let me stand against a Third-Circle Knight was simple and clear.
And because it was so simple, it was also terribly flimsy.
-Light’s Sword) Use footwork. The first time someone encounters it, they won't be able to react properly.
‘Footwork, my ass.’
The footwork available when I could only use Mana Body Enhancement was questionable even calling it footwork.
It sounded nice to call it footwork, but he was just telling me to get the first hit in.
I had been provoked, at least.
According to the advice of the veterans of Hard difficulty, I was ultimately in a situation where I had to engage in a contest of strength.
Would making a scene now benefit me, or hurt me?
I quickly scanned William's surroundings.
A blond-haired mage caught my eye.
[NPC - Third-Circle Mage Yunes]
A mage, likewise from the Third Circle.
The Great Mage's comments came to mind.
The Great Mage had said that if I simply seized the initiative, the mage would be a very useful card.
I could both get back at William for picking a fight and make the mage docile enough to use as I pleased. It seemed like a workable setup.
“Don't make me say it again, or are you admitting that your killing the Orc Legion Commander was nothing more than a stroke of luck?”
While I was sorting through my thoughts, William added one more remark.
I spread mana throughout my body.
“Aren't you being rather brazen for someone who showed up late?”
I saw William's brow furrow sharply at my words.
“…What?”
“The Orc Legion Commander I killed. That was originally your responsibility to kill, wasn't it? I risked my life and killed it in your place, so why are you taking it out on me?”
William's face clouded with unmistakable anger.
“…A lowly commoner.”
Oh, dear.
So he really was about to draw his sword.
Sword qi.
There was a simple way to disregard that: charge before he drew his sword.
I stomped hard on the ground.
Before William's right hand could reach the sword at his waist.
I spread my right hand wide, reaching for the biggest grip I could get.
My target was William's shoulder.
Beating him half to death would be a little much. I would surprise him a little with a shoulder throw.
William's body lurched crookedly into the air.
Bang!
I drove him straight into the floor.
“Graaaagh!”
William lay spread-eagled, staring at me while his body trembled helplessly.
“Why couldn't you dodge that?”
Was he really a Third-Circle Knight?
William cursed as he tried to spring upright at my words.
I had already crossed the line. I tripped him once more.
Then I lightly punched him once in the abdomen.
“Ugh!”
William apparently hadn't expected even the fall itself, and he couldn't respond to this either.
…At this rate, the Dragon Demon King's words—that someone in the same position as the climber wouldn't be able to accomplish anything—were coming true.
Srrng!
“You bastard…!”
The two Second-Circle Knights who had come up with William and three soldiers drew their swords.
At least they were willing to step in for their superior. That was a relief.
Just as William, still with half his body pressed against the floor, moved his hand to draw his sword, Risellin, standing directly in front of him, stomped hard on the ground with her right foot.
Thud—
The gazes of William and his subordinates, their faces red with rage, shifted to Risellin.
“Let's stop here. The battle with the orcs isn't over yet. What's important right now isn't this pointless quarrel, but preparing for the battle to come.”
This time, Risellin stepped in.
“The reason they sent you here, Sir Knight, wasn't so you could waste time behaving like this, was it?”
Risellin didn't care in the slightest about the soldiers' glares.
I heard soldiers noisily coming up the stairs from below.
The soldier who had raced up the stairs was panting, then hurriedly steadied his breathing.
“The orcs are crossing the defensive line again.”
“Enemies we couldn't see before are appearing as well. Judging by how they've suddenly multiplied, there must be an Orc Shaman among them!”
The frantic news rang in my ears.
Risellin clicked her tongue.
“See? This isn't the time for this. If you want to fight, wait until everything's over.”
Perhaps because their commander William was still lying there, the knights and soldiers locked in the standoff couldn't answer Risellin.
I checked my equipment and headed down the stairs. Leaving William behind as he continued to shriek at the top of his lungs, I descended to the area beneath the wall.
I drew my sword.
Risellin stood beside me.
I looked at Risellin and spoke.
“Are you certain about the Orc Shaman?”
Risellin slowly nodded.
“One of my subordinates who is a Ranger says he saw one, too. An orc that was in an excessively frenzied state.”
An Orc Shaman.
The one Light’s Sword and the Great Mage had predicted had appeared.
The other detail they had given me was that, unlike a necromancer, it couldn't revive dead orcs, but it could drive an orc brought to the brink of death into a frenzy even more powerful than its normal state.
My gaze settled on the mage Yunes, who was slowly descending the stairs with a thoroughly tense expression.
“I'll take that mage with me.”
“What?”
“What?”
At my words, both Risellin and the mage Yunes reacted.
“I have a use for the mage.”
“W-what about my opinion…!”
Yunes looked ready to cry.