I Like It, I Like It, I Like Presents (3)

They say hardship is worth seeking out while you're young.

What utter nonsense. If there's an easy path, why go out of your way to take the hard one?

And Zion, struck by a bolt from the blue, had only now grasped one of life's truths...

‘As expected, taking the easy way is the best.’

Only then could Zion, sitting on a dusty old chair in the chapel, finally relax her stiff expression.

With Ifrit away for a while to gather materials, there was no longer any reason to keep acting.

Instead, Zion savored the sweetness of the white bread still in her mouth and began sorting through the information she'd gotten from Ifrit.

‘People here who have status screens. If this were a web novel, I guess they'd call those who've awakened adventurers...’

Adventurers.

People chosen by the Tower, who could use some of its power. What made them frightening was their unrivaled rate of growth.

Unlike people commonly called NPCs, adventurers could grow rapidly until they reached their limit.

‘So being chosen by the Tower awakens a status screen. And in the process, they gain some knowledge, too.’

If that was the case, then things made a certain amount of sense. One of the advantages of a status screen was an overwhelmingly fast growth rate, after all.

There was a reason status screens showed up so often in novels. But what good did that do her? It was out of her reach.

Zion grumbled and leaned back in her chair. The beautiful curves of her body were clearly outlined beneath her nun's habit.

[Then I'll go grab some materials for a bit!! I'll explain everything later.]

Maybe she'd been eager to clear the quest as soon as possible. Ifrit's figure, vanishing like the wind, was still vivid in her mind.

Of course, there was still plenty she wanted to ask. Additional features like an inventory, whether there was a level cap, how skills worked, and so on.

But now that Ifrit was gone, her questions would only be met with an echo... Still, it was fine. She could ask later.

‘Thank goodness I put that sucker to work and took care of my most pressing needs. The question is what to do from here...’

Zion did have a conscience. She'd treated Ifrit like a sucker, but she wasn't so rotten that she'd keep exploiting her goodwill.

You have to give a little to get a little. A relationship where only one side keeps giving won't last long.

Creeeeak!! The old ceiling shuddered, and dust crumbled from it. It wasn't an earthquake. It was the sound of the door opening.

‘Back already? She said it'd take about an hour...’

She couldn't even guess how badly Ifrit wanted that book. But the moment Zion turned her head... she froze.

Instead of the flame-colored hair streaked with red and orange, an uninvited guest clad head to toe in weapons and armor had barged in.

Looking at the short-haired man with a greatsword and the green-haired woman holding a bow, Zion tilted her head.

‘What is this? Did Ifrit send them?’

But Zion quickly reconsidered. What kind of errand runner would show up carrying such menacing weapons?

She briefly considered running away, but soon gave up. If she turned her back carelessly, she'd obviously get hit by an arrow.

She had no intention of stirring up trouble, but... if things took a turn for the worst, she'd have no choice but to fight.

“Lost lambs are always welcome here. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Wow... she's really pretty.”

“Focus. We don't have much time. This is our only chance while Mad Flame is away.”

“I know.”

While playing the part of a kindhearted NPC as best she could to avoid provoking them, Zion kept an eye on the situation.

Just as she'd expected, the uninvited guests didn't come any closer while Zion stayed calm. Instead, they took something out.

It was a round, glass-like object, commonly known as a crystal ball. The man looked at it and spoke.

“Yes, I found her. Someone inside? There is one person, but... no, it's someone I haven't seen on the first floor.”

“What did they say?”

“They said to bring her along politely.”

“I like how simple that is.”

‘So, basically, they're kidnapping me.’

They were carrying dangerous weapons in both hands, yet they claimed they'd take her along politely. Zion clicked her tongue.

She didn't know what their goal was, but... there was no way anyone who casually ordered a kidnapping had good intentions.

But instead of running, Zion chose to fight. Clank. A steel prosthetic arm emerged from beneath her nun's habit sleeve.

‘I used Recovery before. In other words... that means I should be able to use other skills, too.’

For the record, Zion's class was Battle Priest...

She'd chosen Priest as a subclass and learned support skills like Recovery, but...

Her main class was undoubtedly the damage-dealing Infighter.

◇

Dungeon and Soul had a system called Multiclass, which let you mix and match several classes in surprisingly many combinations.

The idea was to combine different classes and create your own unique build... but it wasn't very practical.

With Multiclass, you had to split your levels between classes, which essentially made it impossible to reach the level cap.

For example, if the level cap was 90 and you took Priest to level 30, you could only raise Infighter to level 60.

And that meant you wouldn't be able to learn a finishing move that required you to reach the level cap.

Of course, the game company was aware of that and made an effort to create synergies between classes, among other things...

‘In the end, it all failed.’

Even so, Zion had combined Infighter and Priest through Multiclass for one reason: it was the strongest class combination in PvP.

From the start, if the player's controls were good enough, Infighter was the strongest PvP class, to the point people called it unbeatable.

On top of that, she could greatly boost her survivability by taking basic skills with especially good value, like Recovery and Cure.

‘By covering up Infighter's near-sole weakness—its lack of survivability and safety—I was able to reach number one in the rankings.’

That might be true in PvE, where you could count on having time to deal damage. But in PvP, only an idiot would let a slow finishing move hit them.

Meanwhile, even though Zion had openly taken a fighting stance, they didn't perceive her as a threat at all.

Her frail appearance, aside from the metal prosthetic, played a part in that... but the main reason was that they were on the first floor.

“Subdue her without leaving a single mark.”

“Isn't that asking too much? She could be a Hero NPC.”

“On the first floor? Maybe somewhere else, but get real.”

“You're no fun. I wanted to enjoy myself a little.”

At the green-haired woman's complaint, the short-haired man sighed. Judging by her looks alone, she certainly was extraordinary.

Beautiful silver-white hair that reached her waist. Curves that her pitch-black nun's habit couldn't conceal...

But that was all. On the Starting Floor, no matter how high a monster's or NPC's stats were, there was a limit.

‘He told me to use an Appraisal Scroll first and check her stats... but I don't think I need to bother.’

Few adventurers had learned the Appraisal skill. As a result, Appraisal Scrolls had become so valuable that sellers could name their price.

So instead of using an Appraisal Scroll, the man decided to save it. This was the Starting Floor, after all.

But just as the green-haired woman reached toward Zion, Zion's upper body dipped low.

Whoosh!

Zion vanished from the woman's field of vision. With a rush of wind, she shot forward, skimming low across the ground.

By the time the woman realized something was wrong, it was too late. The steel prosthetic was aimed at her jaw.

Crack.

The man jumped at the sound of bones shattering and raised his head. So that crazy bitch had finally gone and caused trouble, he thought.

But the moment he turned to look, the man witnessed it clearly: a familiar face soaring through the air, blood streaming from her...

“...What?”

What was that?

For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. He had a sick hobby of carving up pretty women, but... he was still a former ranker.

At the very least, he couldn't deny her skill. But she'd been beaten? And in the blink of an eye, at that?

“Hah.”

A short breath. At the same time, the air split with a sharp crack. The man's instincts sounded the alarm. Block it. Otherwise, you'll die.

Crack! Boom!!

Instinct overpowered thought. He hurriedly raised the greatsword in his hands like a shield and barely blocked the follow-up attack.

“Guh?!”

But the price was brutal. The greatsword he'd paid a fortune to have custom-made at a smithy shattered to pieces.

He heard the fragments of the broken greatsword clatter across the wooden floor. But the man couldn't look away.

A beast. The woman with the delicate frame had vanished in an instant... and an absolute predator now stood before him.

‘...Impossible. Could a Hero NPC really appear on the first floor...?!’

The unshakable truth he'd believed in until now was being overturned.

But there was only one kind of being capable of overpowering former rankers like them.

An NPC with power on par with rankers, unlike ordinary NPCs who were weaker than adventurers.

A Hero NPC.

And right now...

For the first time in the Tower's long history, a Hero NPC had appeared on the Starting Floor.