This story takes place after “(18) The Conqueror?”.
Roman and his companions were currently troubled by a particular problem. They had started conquering the tower, but the progress was slower than expected, and they were contemplating what to do.
In terms of sheer floor area, Amamiya Tower was wider. However, with Amamiya Tower, they could reach floors with intermediate-class monsters simply by advancing two floors.
In contrast, at Gazenran Tower, intermediate-class monsters wouldn’t appear unless they advanced thirty floors. Roman and his group were of the appropriate class to handle intermediate-level monsters, meaning they couldn’t reach a profitable floor until the 31st Floor. Until then, they would have to conquer floors at a loss.
They had only managed to conquer up to the fifth floor, and it had taken more time than they anticipated. If things went poorly, they might not even reach above the 30th Floor after three months. Frankly, it was problematic to continue advancing on the current floors for such an extended period, primarily due to financial reasons.
“…Honestly. I heard that Kou and his group cleared the 20th Floor in just half a month, but how did they do it?” Roman muttered, half in disbelief and half in frustration. His companions, who were also troubled, wore similar expressions. Unlike Amamiya Tower, which allowed them to reach the intermediate floors quickly, reaching appropriate floors here was a major headache.
They continued to discuss, but no good ideas emerged.
“…I guess there’s no other way. As they say, ‘Haste makes waste.’ Pushing straight through seems to be the shortest path,” Roman said with a sigh, and his companions also wore resigned expressions.
Having come to that conclusion, Roman and his group were about to return to their respective rooms when they were stopped by two women entering the guild.
“Oh, Roman. And everyone else. You’re back?”
“Teacher Arisa.”
Arisa and Cecil had just returned to the guild after finishing a request.
“This is perfect. Do you have some time now?”
“Huh!? Right now?” Roman blinked at Arisa’s sudden question. Roman and his group had finished their tower exploration and returned in the early afternoon. The time Arisa and Cecil returned was not suitable for heading to the tower. If they were to go now, a day trip would be impossible.
“If we go now, we’ll need to prepare for an overnight stay,” Roman said, signaling to one of his companions, who nodded in agreement. The overnight gear was stored in that companion’s room.
Roman had intended to prepare in advance, but seeing this, Arisa looked apologetic.
“Yes, I’m sorry for the rush. But it’s convenient to do it now.”
Sudden changes in plans were common for adventurers. Roman didn’t know what Arisa intended to do, but he understood she wasn’t suggesting this just to make them jump through hoops.
“Understood. Is this a long-term operation?” Roman asked, nodding. Arisa shook her hands.
“No, no. At most three days. If things go smoothly, it will be done in two.”
“Wouldn’t that just mean advancing one floor?”
“That’s right. This time, we’re only Advancing one floor,” Arisa said, and Roman and his companions tilted their heads.
Following this, Arisa and Cecil led Roman and his group to Gazenran Tower and then teleported to the 30th Floor using the Teleport Gate.
“Alright, we’ll head straight for the next Teleport Gate, so please get ready.”
From the moment they were at the guild, they knew they would be traversing floors to reach the next Teleport Gate. Therefore, Roman and his group were not particularly surprised by Arisa’s words and prepared themselves for battle. The journey to the next Teleport Gate proceeded without any major issues. Of course, they were attacked by monsters, but Arisa and Cecil easily defeated most of them. Roman and his companions watched the battle, seeing Arisa and Cecil fight after a long time, with renewed admiration. Although Roman and his group were steadily improving their skills, the two women’s combat prowess was so magnificent that it made them feel they were still far from their level. Fighting battles along the way, Arisa and her companions smoothly advanced toward the next Teleport Gate. As Arisa had predicted at the guild, they reached the Teleport Gate by the evening of the next day. The reason they arrived so quickly was that they focused solely on pushing forward, ignoring any profits. If they had been conquering the tower normally, they wouldn’t have reached the next Teleport Gate so soon.
“Alright, let’s go,” Arisa said, standing before the Teleport Gate, and activated it.
The scenery changing in an instant was a familiar sight for Roman and his group.
“Here we are. Could you check the card, please?” Arisa said as soon as they arrived on the next floor. Roman tilted his head and took out his card. He wouldn’t make a joke like pulling out a Crown Card in a situation like this. Then, seeing the contents written on the card, Roman’s eyes widened.
“This…!?”
“The highest attained floor is the 31st Floor?”
“Y-yes. But how?” Arisa’s confirmation led Roman to nod, then immediately tilt his head.
“That’s simple. Because this is the 31st Floor.” Arisa’s words made Roman look as if he understood.
“Is that what’s happening? So, if someone has already reached it, it can be registered as an instant jump?” Roman seemed to quickly grasp the conclusion Kousuke and his group had reached through their verification. At the same time, he realized that the problem they had been agonizing over yesterday was solved.
“Yes. With your skill level, you could probably go higher, but this tower has monsters you’ve never encountered before, so I set it at this floor.”
“No, this is more than enough. Thanks to this, our future conquests will gain momentum.” With the financial problem solved, Roman’s face brightened. His companions, who had been listening to their conversation, felt the same way. Seeing their expressions, Arisa nodded with satisfaction.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. That concludes our business. …Well then, shall we head back to the guild?” Arisa’s words signaled Roman and his group, who had been looking at the card, to start moving.
***
Roman lay on his bed in his private room at the guild, looking at the tower conquest card. No matter how many times he looked, the number of the highest attained floor remained unchanged. After parting ways with Arisa, Roman and his group, just to be sure, checked if they could reach the 30th Floor on their own. They could, and teleported to the 30th Floor without any problems. According to Arisa, it was Kou who had discovered all of this. Judging by his appearance alone, he didn’t look like a particularly remarkable adventurer. However, that impression was effortlessly overturned. Seeing Kou’s activities, like in this recent event, Roman realized that being first-class wasn’t just about combat strength. Just defeating monsters could be done by repeatedly fighting in fields or towers. Of course, they could probably earn something even with that. However, that wasn’t where Roman aimed to be. Perhaps the kind of adventurer Roman aspired to be was someone like Kou and his companions. Roman pondered these thoughts, and before he knew it, he fell asleep.
For the next few chapters, we will present an extra arc of “Gazenran Tower.” To be blunt, this is a story that was cut because including it in the main story would make it too long. The story might jump back and forth, but as with this time, I will indicate the period of the story in the preface, so please check there.
