Chapter 10.
The First Assault (2)
“…Good. Getting inside wasn’t a problem.”
With Rohengrin and Jehar keeping watch over their surroundings, Camellia calmly opened her map.
Upon entering the gate, people were transported to a random location. Fortunately, they had landed fairly close to the boss room.
“If we run, we’ll be there in twenty or thirty minutes.”
Marking their route on the map, she said,
“The seal isn’t far. We’ll move quickly.”
Natanel immediately cast a blessing that increased their movement speed.
Rohengrin loosened the shield strapped to his back.
Unlike the others, Jehar wasn’t looking around—he was watching Camellia.
“My Lady… are you really alright? Wouldn’t it be better if you rested, even for a little while?”
It would have been hard to tell him not to worry.
Her stamina was already at rock bottom.
Even with healing and blessings, her HP recovered painfully slowly.
There was no helping it.
Still…
No one had said she had to walk herself.
“It isn’t a problem. One of you can simply carry me while running.”
Unlike outside, there were hardly any monsters on the first floor of the Tower. One party member could spare a hand.
Simple solution.
Someone carried her.
Jehar brightened immediately.
“Then I’ll—”
“A mage can’t afford to have both hands occupied.”
If a fight broke out, their damage dealer needed to be free.
Naturally, the tank was out as well.
Camellia spread her arms toward Natanel.
“Natanel. Carry me.”
“With pleasure.”
Smiling brightly, Natanel wrapped an arm around her waist and effortlessly lifted her with one arm.
Jehar’s gaze instantly turned as cold as ice.
Natanel clearly noticed it, yet casually remarked,
“My employer, you’re far too light.”
He pretended not to notice.
Camellia pretended not to notice as well.
“Let’s move immediately. Jehar, give us some light.”
“…Yes, my Lady.”
As though he’d never glared at Natanel in the first place, Jehar calmly summoned floating magical flames.
“Rohengrin, stay alert as we move. There may be traps, so don’t rush.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
Their cautious advance began smoothly.
Occasionally a goblin or two appeared, but Rohengrin and Jehar dispatched them without difficulty.
Good… Everything’s going smoothly…
At this rate…
They would reach the seal in no time.
Just as Camellia relaxed—
Clink…
The sound of chains echoed somewhere ahead.
Heavy chains dragging across stone.
She knew that sound all too well.
She had heard it countless times in the game.
Her reaction was immediate.
“Run! As fast as you can!”
Without asking questions, every party member sprinted with all their might.
Twisting around, Camellia looked behind them.
Far in the distance…
Darkness writhed.
“Damn it… I knew that loading screen tip sounded ominous!”
The rattling chains grew steadily louder.
Their owner…
Was the Grim Reaper.
A Level 20 roaming boss with an extremely low chance of appearing whenever over ninety percent of the monsters on a floor had disappeared.
Normally its appearance rate increased gradually over time, reaching one hundred percent after twenty-four hours.
Immediately after entering the Tower?
The chance wasn’t even one tenth of one percent.
And somehow…
They had actually triggered it.
Couldn’t it have spawned after one of the other infiltration teams instead?
The other adventurers could simply flee outside the Tower.
Camellia couldn’t.
If restoring the seal was delayed while they escaped the Reaper, monsters would respawn.
If those monsters flooded out of the Tower…
The territory would be destroyed.
Fighting a Level 20 monster was even more ridiculous.
The Reaper existed solely to prevent players from farming or grinding on lower floors.
It was designed to be utterly merciless.
A dual-class Rogue and Mage, it excelled in both melee and ranged combat.
Its resistances were absurd.
If it caught them…
The run was over.
“Not happening.”
Camellia slapped Natanel’s shoulder.
“Natanel! Declare a Sanctuary!”
…Here?
His widened eyes clearly asked the question.
But his lips were already chanting.
Moments later, brilliant golden light spread outward.
A semicircular Sanctuary unfolded behind them.
Natanel gasped heavily.
Sanctuary was the highest-ranking miracle for banishing and suppressing evil within its domain.
Even a High Priest couldn’t repeatedly invoke it without strain.
Knowing that, Camellia still ordered,
“Again!”
Natanel cast another Sanctuary before shouting almost like a scream.
“I don’t know what’s chasing us, but I can’t keep this up! Bringing the Sanctuary of the Golden Scales into the mortal world requires not only divine power but enormous offerings—”
“I’ll pay for it. Keep going!”
Though dumbfounded, Natanel resumed praying.
Golden circles appeared one after another with perfect precision.
The third.
The fourth.
Then…
The darkness arrived.
The black mist halted briefly before the first Sanctuary.
But the chains kept rattling.
Soon…
A humanoid figure emerged.
Wrapped in a black robe.
Holding chain-bound scythes in both hands.
“Tch… Natanel!”
“What exactly is that thing that’s making you burn through a hundred platinum coins!?”
Half screaming, Natanel cast yet another Sanctuary.
Ordinary evil monsters would have been completely driven away.
The Grim Reaper merely slowed for an instant before walking through each Sanctuary one after another.
The closer it came…
The sharper the rattling chains became, until they sounded like clashing blades.
Fortunately—
Before it caught them—
An enormous door decorated with gold appeared ahead.
The boss room.
“Inside!”
The instant Camellia shouted, Rohengrin slammed his shield into the doors.
BOOM!
The massive doors groaned open halfway.
Beyond them stretched an enormous hall.
Torches lining the walls ignited automatically, as though welcoming visitors.
In the center…
A grotesque lump of flesh stirred and slowly stood.
The first-floor boss—
The Abandoned Homunculus.
“Hehe… A pitiful sister has arrived… Allow me to tell you the truth…”
The boss welcomed them with mysterious words.
Camellia didn’t even look at it.
“Rohengrin! Pick that thing up and throw it outside!”
“…Huh?”
“Yes!”
Before the bewildered boss could react…
Rohengrin moved.
He even discarded his shield.
With all his strength, he grabbed the boss monster and hurled it through the doorway.
“What are you doing—?!”
The Homunculus hit the ground with a wet splat.
At that exact moment…
The Grim Reaper finally caught up.
Ignoring the boss completely, it charged straight for Camellia’s party.
The Homunculus’ eyes sharpened.
“Don’t… interrupt… my conversation… with my sister!”
Its flesh exploded outward.
Countless masses wrapped themselves around the Reaper.
The first pattern of the Abandoned Homunculus—
Wall of Flesh.
Whenever another character stood beside the Lord, it activated this move.
It granted invincibility.
It immobilized the target for three turns.
Normally…
The level difference would’ve prevented it from affecting the Reaper.
But—
“Those Sanctuaries hurt quite a bit, didn’t they?”
After forcing its way through repeated supreme miracles…
The Reaper’s resistances had been shredded.
CRACK…
With an unpleasant sound…
The Reaper froze.
Camellia leapt from Natanel’s arms.
“Jehar! Bind the flesh!”
As the Homunculus rushed toward Camellia, magical spikes slammed into its body.
“AAAAH! Jehar… Jehar… How could you…!”
The creature writhed violently.
Jehar didn’t even blink.
He fired two more binding spikes.
Each inflicted one turn of stun.
Three turns.
Three minutes in reality.
In the game, it had always felt unbearably long.
Now…
It was frighteningly short.
There wasn’t even time to hesitate.
Camellia strode directly toward the trapped Grim Reaper.
“My Lady!”
“Stay back!”
Her sharp voice stopped everyone.
The Grim Reaper emitted an Aura of Fear.
Simply approaching it reduced mental resistance.
Camellia possessed Clear Mind, making her completely immune to fear.
The others only had resistance.
Resistance wasn’t immunity.
Once worn down…
It became meaningless.
Drop below zero…
And it actually increased the damage taken.
“You’re no exception, Reaper.”
She raised a hand toward the struggling monster trapped inside the Wall of Flesh.
Neither Rohengrin’s swordsmanship nor Jehar’s magic could overcome its regeneration.
Natanel’s miracles couldn’t either.
Mental magic…
Was different.
It controlled the target directly.
She had exhausted all her uses of Domination.
But she still had one spell remaining.
Charm.
Placing her hand atop the Reaper’s mist-covered head…
She activated the skill.
[Camellia Lord uses Charm on The Cursed One: Drakan.]
Success Target: 20
Its mental resistance had already fallen below zero.
The Mind Sorcerer’s class trait ignored mental resistance rolls entirely.
It looked possible.
Only…
On the surface.
[Demigod] -20
[Immortal Curse] -15
The Reaper’s absurd traits completely overwhelmed the roll.
Result: 5 / 20
[Failure!]
Camellia cast Charm again without hesitation.
Result: 6 / 18
[Failure!]
Repeated casting further lowered the required success threshold.
Even so…
It wasn’t enough.
The crimson flames burning beneath the Reaper’s hood curved upward.
It was smiling.
“You’re laughing?”
Camellia bared her teeth.
“Don’t get cocky, you game amateur.”
Dark Tower wasn’t a game beaten by luck.
Anyone hoping things would “probably work out somehow” would never clear it.
Only players paranoid enough to prepare for every possibility…
No matter how unlikely…
Could reach the True Ending.
Camellia had earned more True Endings than anyone else.
She had prepared for the Reaper long ago.
“System window.”
She opened her Traits menu.
Her third—and final—trait appeared.
Goddess’s Fortune
(Active)
Adds one extra die.
The additional die always contributes 12 points.
Cooldown: Once every three days.
“My class may have become trash… but my traits certainly didn’t!”
The most overpowered trait in Dark Tower.
A skill bordering on outright cheating.
She activated it together with Charm.
Roll.
Rattle…
Only she heard the dice tumble.
Brilliant light spun before her eyes.
[Mind Sorcerer] adds one 12-sided die.
[Mind Sorcerer] ignores the target’s mental resistance roll.
Mind Sorcerer +6
Level Difference -4
Demigod -20
Immortal Curse -15
Goddess’s Fortune +12
Heroic Action +2
Repeated Casting…
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Positive and negative modifiers flashed endlessly.
The Reaper sensed something was wrong.
It struggled violently.
The Wall of Flesh was beginning to expire.
But Camellia didn’t retreat.
“Stop struggling…”
Instead…
She shoved her palm even deeper into its head.
“Kneel.”
A cheerful notification sounded.
Result: 16 / 16
[Success!]
“O… OOOO…!”
Freed from the Wall of Flesh, the Grim Reaper trembled as though struck by lightning.
It instinctively tried to stand.
Then it realized—
Camellia’s hand rested atop its head.
The monster voluntarily dropped to one knee.
There was no time to celebrate.
The boss had recovered from stun as well.
“Get… away… from my sister!”
The Abandoned Homunculus roared and charged.
Camellia shoved aside the Reaper, which had been trying to kiss her foot, forcing it to face the Homunculus.
Then she whispered,
“If you want praise…”
“Don’t beg for affection.”
“Hunt.”
She smiled at the Homunculus as well.
“I trust you aren’t calling yourself my sister if you can’t even defeat one of my dogs.”
You understand, don’t you?
Kill each other.
The two monsters locked eyes.
Then—
They collided.
Jehar caught Camellia as she staggered backward from the shockwave.
The instant he entered the boss room, Rohengrin slammed the doors shut.
Horrific screams.
Violent crashes.
The sounds echoed from the other side.
“My Lady! Are you alright?!”
“I’ll cast a blessing! Stay still—!”
Golden blessings poured over her.
Cold sweat still streamed down her face.
Her vision faded from white to black.
Even with Clear Mind eliminating panic…
This was the result.
But…
There was still one thing left to do.
Grinding her teeth, she grabbed Jehar’s wrist tightly.
“The… seal…”
“Hurry…”
Jehar’s face twisted as though he were about to cry.
Yet he couldn’t disobey her.
He hurried her to the center of the hall.
There lay a strange stone platform covered in chaotic crimson lines.
It resembled the altar where she had reincarnated.
One of the ninety-nine sealing circles that formed the Tower.
With Jehar’s support, Camellia placed her hand upon it.
The seal immediately reacted.
Brilliant light burst forth.
She instinctively shut her eyes.
Then…
A vision appeared behind her eyelids.
In the illusion…
The Lord stood speaking with a hooded figure whose face remained hidden.
“I will build the Tower. That will delay the world’s destruction… if only for a while.”
“If that is your wish, I will follow you. I have always stood by your side…”
“Ugh! I don’t need a cinematic! I’ve already seen this event! Skip it and activate the seal already!”
She was dizzy enough already.
Now she had to sit through story scenes?
Suppressing a groan, she pressed harder against the seal.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM!
Heavy impacts echoed from behind.
“The monsters are breaking through the door!”
“Hold them back! We only need to last until my Lady completes the seal!”
Her party shouted in panic.
Did Charm wear off already?
It should have lasted at least fifteen turns.
Before she could understand—
BOOM!!
The doors exploded open.
Camellia forced her eyes open.
The light was too bright to see clearly.
But she knew.
The Grim Reaper was charging straight toward her.
“Sorry…”
“You’re too late.”
[The seal of the First Floor has been restored.]
The system message appeared.
Blinding light erupted from the restored seal.
It engulfed the entire hall.
“…!”
The Grim Reaper vanished instantly.
So effortlessly…
It was almost anticlimactic.
The same had likely happened to every other monster on the floor.
Once a floor’s seal was restored…
It temporarily became safe.
Which meant—
The first floor was finally cleared.
“What kind of ridiculous game is this…?”
Letting out a hollow laugh, Camellia tried to stand.
Her legs gave out.
She collapsed sideways.
…Huh?
“My Lady!”
“Lord…!”
The two men rushed toward her in alarm.
She could hear Natanel hurriedly invoking a healing miracle.
Seriously…?
I cleared only the first floor… and I’m passing out?
Was it you again…
My damn Stamina stat?
As her consciousness slowly faded, Camellia had one final thought.
This trash-tier character… is completely hopeless…
