Chapter 39
[Title: Nightmare 5th Floor Guide (Warning: Long Post)]
Poster: Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa
…
If you’ve gone through the annoying process and somehow managed to reach the Lord, congratulations.
You’ve now reached the one-third mark of Chapter 1.
Are you asking if there’s still two-thirds left?
That’s right. Yep.
Once you Meet the Lord, the next quest tells you to earn the Lord’s trust.
But this Lord guy is no ordinary stickler.
He gives you 3 trials like Hercules from Greek Roman Mythology, and he only acknowledges you if you clear them and come back.
There are various types of trials.
This is also important, but the Nightmare-difficulty Tower has a different progression for everyone.
The basic framework itself is the same, but should I say the detailed elements differ in certain parts?
First of all, the “branching points” diverge depending on your choices.
There are also Random Elements that diverge.
For example, let’s say there’s a culprit you have to catch. In my case, their identity was the Lord’s cousin, but for someone else, they might be a Spy from a Neighboring Domain.
So for the Nightmare Difficulty, it’s actually a bit difficult to provide a perfect guide from start to finish.
I can only give you the big picture, and you guys have to figure out the details yourselves.
I got sidetracked for a moment, but anyway, if I combine what I experienced and what I saw in the Community, the list of trials the Lord gives is like this.
1. Subdue the Bandit Group operating in the Outer Castle
2. Safely deliver a Secret Letter going to the Neighboring Domain
3. Subdue the demonic beasts settled in the nearby forest
4. Recover the lost heirloom of the Lord’s Family
5. Investigate the cause of the plague spreading in the village
…
As you can see, they’re pretty tough missions just by looking at them.
3 of these are assigned randomly, so there’s a bit of a luck element.
Still, if you clear these 3 and go back, you’ll earn the Lord’s trust and can clear Chapter 1, so you just have to suffer like a dog and clear them.
For now, to just share the information on the trials I received…
* * *
According to Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s guide, the Lord was a total stickler and never easily trusted outsiders.
But.
“Ah, has The Esteemed One from the legend truly appeared!”
The Lord, looking at me with clasped hands and a deeply moved expression.
It was incredibly hard to believe he was the same person from the guide.
Besides, “The Esteemed One from the legend”?
What does that even mean.
It was a keyword that had never appeared in Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa’s guide or any other posts in the Climber Community.
“Is there some kind of hidden story?”
Come to think of it, earlier the Steward was also saying something about coming to keep a 'promise'.
“Given the circumstances, it seems some Vampire made a promise to this Family in the past…”
Then should I impersonate that Vampire?
But to do that, I lacked a bit of information.
And above all, I felt it far too clearly that the option of impersonating another Vampire couldn’t even be uttered from my mouth in the first place.
Because my body was stubbornly rejecting it.
In that case, let’s just speak honestly.
A strategy of being rather brazen and confident…!
Having made my decision, I furrowed my brows and spoke.
“How unpleasant.”
“?!”
“To compare me to some Vampire from your human legends. I am a Great Being far beyond that.”
The Lord seemed to flinch in surprise.
“How will he react.”
“Ah!”
He ended up with an even more deeply moved expression instead.
“?”
“T-Truly, not just your appearance, but even this is exactly like the legend…! Even in the legend, it was said that The Esteemed One was not an ordinary Vampire, but a very Noble Being…!”
“I said I am not. Do my words mean nothing to you?”
“N-No! I am absolutely not ignoring the Distinguished One’s words.”
The Lord hurriedly bowed his head.
“I-I merely wish to ask one thing. Why have you visited our castle, and why have you sought me, the Lord…”
“…”
It’s just because of the Tower’s quest.
But I couldn’t say that.
The guide said I should approach it with a “I am someone who came to help you” kind of vibe.
I spoke with the utmost dignity.
“I am aware that this place is in a difficult situation.”
“…!”
“I have come to assist with it for my own amusement.”
“I knew it!”
The Lord spoke, excited like a child.
“Even in the legend, it was said that The Esteemed One would descend when Arden Castle faced a great crisis!”
“…”
The legend.
Since that word kept coming up, I was getting a bit curious myself now.
Just what kind of story was it for him to be bowing and scraping like this?
“What exactly is this legend?”
At my question, the Lord took a moment to catch his breath.
And slowly opened his mouth.
“It is the oldest story passed down in our Family.”
Hundreds of years ago.
Before Arden Castle was even built on this land. It is said there was a single, insignificant little village.
On the outskirts of that village, one rainy dawn.
The Progenitor of the Lord’s Family discovered someone collapsed on the road.
A person dying with deep wounds all over their body.
Pure white skin, and a figure tightly wrapped in a cloak.
The villagers all turned a blind eye, but the Progenitor was different.
Saying he couldn’t ignore a dying person, he took them to his Residence and tended to their wounds.
But as it turned out, their identity was a Vampire.
The Progenitor feared he would be eaten, but the fully recovered Vampire, far from eating him, did not forget the favor.
They lent their power to help lay the foundation for the Family.
And built a sturdy Castle Wall on this barren land.
It is said that what was built then is the current Arden Castle.
“Before the Vampire departed, it is said they left one promise with the Progenitor.”
The Lord’s voice came out trembling.
That one day in the future, when a great crisis befell Arden Castle, one of their kin would surely seek out this land.
To the Progenitor’s question of how they would be able to recognize them, the Vampire reportedly answered thus.
- Red eyes, pale skin that rejects the light, and one who never ages.
- However, they themselves will not know their own true nature.
In return for that promise, the Family swore to never antagonize Vampires and to treat them with proper courtesy should they encounter one.
“Our Family has never forgotten this, passing it down from generation to generation.”
The Lord’s shoulders trembled slightly.
“B-But to think the day of that promise would truly come while I am alive… Keuhuk!”
Unable to hold back any longer, he wiped the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.
'Hmm…'
What is this.
Seeing a bearded middle-aged man tearing up like that, it really seems like he’s sincere, doesn’t it?
Since the oldest legend of his Family was realized in his generation.
From the Lord’s perspective, it must truly be a massive event in his life.
As I just listened without saying much, the Lord carefully opened his mouth again.
“There is one more thing I must report.”
“Speak.”
“It is merely a formal procedure, but there is one more thing the Vampire left along with the promise. It is a method to verify The Esteemed One’s authenticity.”
“A method to verify authenticity?”
“Yes. There is a stele in the underground here - “
“How dare you.”
At that moment.
Katarina, who had been standing quietly behind me, cut off the Lord’s words with a dismal voice.
A terrifying killing intent erupted from her body.
“Verify authenticity? Who dares to try and test whom.”
“H-Hiik?!”
The Lord jumped in his seat and urgently waved both hands.
“A-Absolutely not! That is absolutely not my intention! It is just that, according to the historical records, there have been a few times when similar Vampires visited the Family in the past, but there were cases where they were not the true Esteemed One of the promise…!”
“…”
“O-Of course, circumstantially there is no room for doubt… But it is another teaching left by the Progenitor that the verification procedure must absolutely be gone through…!”
Cold sweat was pouring down the Lord’s face like rain.
Uh-oh. He might actually collapse at this rate.
“That is enough, Katarina.”
I lightly raised my hand to restrain Katarina.
“Your will.”
Katarina had a displeased expression, but she immediately withdrew her killing intent.
“Haa, haa. Thank you for your understanding…”
The Lord expressed his gratitude to me with a face that looked like he had just returned from the dead.
But honestly, the moment I heard the Lord’s words earlier, I thought, “This is it.”
Because.
Right before my eyes -
[Objective: Earn the Lord’s trust.]
A quest window like this had popped up.
Normally, it was structured so that the Lord would throw 3 random missions at you, and you had to clear all of them to complete the trust quest.
'But in my case, it seems this is the trial to earn the Lord’s trust.'
The guide did say the progression is different for everyone.
In a normal route, the strict Lord would give 3 trials, but my route seemed to end with just one verification.
Isn’t this overwhelmingly easier, then?
“Well. Hearing about it piques my interest somewhat. I shall give it a try.”
When I answered, the Lord’s face brightened radiantly.
“T-Thank you! I shall guide you immediately!”
* * *
Like that, guided by the Lord, we descended into the castle’s underground.
“It is slippery, so please be careful.”
'Ugh. It’s kind of damp.'
Perhaps because it was underground, it felt incredibly dark and clammy.
After walking in for a long while, a small Stone Chamber revealed itself.
And right in the middle of it.
A single stele stood tall.
It was about the height of an adult, made of dark, mottled gray stone.
Even at a glance, it gave off an unusual vibe, like some Ancient Relic.
“This is it.”
The Lord pointed at the stele with a trembling voice.
“You simply need to place your hand upon it.”
“Hoh.”
“It is said that if an ordinary human touches it, no reaction will occur, but if a Vampire touches it, the color will gradually turn red. And the more one fits the prophecy, the more vivid that color becomes.”
The Lord gulped down his saliva once.
“Furthermore, if it is truly The Esteemed One from the legend. They left word that “blood will be seen” from the stele. That is to say, it means the color of the stele will become as red as blood.”
Aha.
So it judges based on how deep the color gets.
But one thing I was worried about was.
'I’m not that Vampire from the legend, just a scrub Vampire, so will it be okay?'
I didn’t know if the color would even come out well.
Level 27 with Strength 3, Agility 4, Stamina 3.
Because even to me, they were embarrassing levels and stats.
In reality, the strongest one here was Katarina, so I even wondered if it would come out darker if I just had Katarina do it instead.
Still, I should try it first.
If it doesn’t work, I’ll have Katarina do it.
Sseup. Even so, I’m still a Vampire too, so it’s not like no color will come out at all, right…?
Resolving to use the tactic of immediately pulling my hand away and getting angry first for no reason if that happened, I reached out and placed my palm on the stele.
I felt the cold, rough texture of the stone.
At that moment.
Seureureu…
A faint red hue began to circulate on the stele.
'Oh?!'
There’s a reaction for now!
I didn’t take my hand off and watched further.
At first, a pale pink light.
And it gradually grew darker.
From scarlet, soon to a deep crimson.
Eventually, the entire stele was perfectly dyed in a dark red blood color.
'It’s a success!'
I guess I really am an EX-Rank Class Lord of Blood after all.
I felt proud for no reason.
“Ooh!”
The Lord was deeply moved once again.
“You truly are The Esteemed One from the legend…!”
However, it was before he could even finish his sentence.
CRACK!
The stele began to crack.
Like an eggshell breaking, thin fissures were engraved along the surface of the stele.
And.
CRACK, CRASH!
The stele completely shattered open.
From inside it, a stream of blood gushed out.
The blood gathered roundly in the air and clumped into a single sphere.
And it gradually grew smaller, ultimately condensing into something like a small bead.
That small bead slowly approached me.
As if telling me to take it.
When I reflexively opened and held out my hand, the small Blood Orb gently landed on my palm.
“…!!!”
The Lord, who was watching this from the side, had his jaw drop wide open.