Chapter 15 - Proper Education
[5th Floor Zone 5 has been breached.]
“…What on earth are those guys?!”
Tinya broke out in a cold sweat as she watched the hero party break through her domain using all sorts of outlandish methods.
Of course, the 5th floor is almost the entrance in a tower with 100 floors.
Although Tinya was deployed with weakened power to match, as even demons couldn’t infinitely intervene in the tower.
Still, this didn’t make sense.
Heroes who have hit their growth limit due to the tower’s restrictions.
It’s not a place that can be broken through so easily, even with just three heroes!
…While thinking that.
She had appeared in person in Zone 1 and teased them to her heart’s content.
[5th Floor Zone 6 has been breached.]
“Nooo! Really!”
Even when she deployed sand worms that rose from the ground without warning.
Some dog hero hopped around and gathered them all up and burst them.
Even when she laid out demon vines that would bind feet tightly as soon as they stepped on them.
They lightly avoided those spots as if they knew where they were.
Even when she exerted her power excessively and deployed goblin warriors instead of the usual goblin soldiers.
Watching them advance relentlessly while simply cracking heads as if it was no different.
Tinya started to feel increasingly uneasy.
Being breached is one thing.
After all, being breached is the final conclusion anyway.
But.
Being breached at this speed?
Without any crisis?
The dignity as a tower manager was in danger of falling to rock bottom!
“Ugh, ughhh!”
Tinya, who was stomping her feet in frustration.
[5th Floor Zone 7 has been breached.]
She sighed deeply as she saw the message appear again.
They seemed poised to reach Zone 10 where she was any moment now.
But.
It’s not over until it’s over.
“Muhihi, but you won’t be able to defeat me!”
Because she had already used up all the resources allocated to the 5th floor.
She might not be able to hold the heroes back any more.
But Zone 10 is different.
A genius little demon who came down from the demon world as if dancing.
A cutie that makes the Demon King tremble and the Legion Commanders applaud.
Tinya, that’s me!
Judging from the heroes’ combat style.
They didn’t seem to have a way to block her unique ability.
“Fufu, I look forward to seeing them fight while pulling each other’s hair…”
This humiliation of being breached in the shortest time across multiple dimensions.
I will definitely pay them back.
Thus Tinya fired up her fighting spirit.
[Tower of Wishes 5th Floor – Tinya’s Illusion Zone 9 Cleared!]
[Goal Achieved: ★★★ / Conquest Time: 5 minutes 7 seconds]
[First Clear Reward: 10 Divine Stones]
[★★★ Achievement Reward: 10 Divine Stones]
“Easy.”
“It’s easy.”
“Woof!”
“Ark, you’re the best!”
There were some unexpected difficulties, but.
We were able to clear through smoothly.
On boss floors that come in multiples of 5, elements of roguelike random stages are partially introduced.
In other words, Zone 5 might become harder than Zone 9, or such terrible things can actually happen.
Actually, when level 35 goblin warriors poured out indiscriminately in Zone 7, cold sweat rolled down my spine without me realizing.
Whenever aggro was focused on the back line, we somehow broke through by pulling with Lumi’s woof woof barking at the right moments.
As if all capabilities were poured into Zone 7, Zones 8 and 9 were truly a cakewalk.
“Ark, are we going right away?”
“No. Let’s regroup for a moment. We need Harong-ssi for Zone 10.”
Boss battles are a different story.
I temporarily returned to the shop with the hard-working heroes.
“Yahoo! Ark, I’m ready!”
“Good.”
Harong-ssi didn’t officially join the party, saying she enjoyed working in the blacksmith more than conquering the tower.
But she agreed with me to play a very important role in conquering the 5th floor.
…The price was free alcohol, but.
That much is fine.
I said I’d provide it for free, not that I’d provide it infinitely.
I agreed to the terms, but I never agreed to abide by the terms.
Thus the contract was established.
“Wow! What’s this, Ark! You were the Revealer?”
“Only half of one.”
Increasing the number of people who know the secret by 1, and while we’re at it, adding one more room to the Guild House.
A 3+1 party.
Advance.
[Intruders have occurred in Zone 10.]
[Points available for defense: 0]
“…No, I can do this!”
After Zone 9 was breached, since they didn’t immediately enter Zone 10.
Tinya had harbored vain hope that they might be stopping for today, but.
The evil heroes finally arrived to thoroughly soil her pride.
But.
Tinya had already finished preparing to defeat the heroes by going ikeiike jekejeke yap yap in her brain!
Taking a deep breath.
Looking at the heroes starting to enter her domain── the cave.
“Kyahaha, slow, you’re so slow! Losers, you’re just arriving now?”
Originally, momentum is important in a fight.
She put on airs somehow while looking at the heroes who had arrived at a speed that would go down in the tower’s history, far from being slow.
But.
Something was strange.
The heroes who were originally three had increased by one, that’s one thing.
But the state of that one──
“Th-that, that woman, is she drunk…? Why is she tied up…?”
Was too bizarre.
Eyes half-closed and droopy.
Her red flushed nose aside.
A strange drunken hero entering together with a woman who looked like a saint, tied up so tightly she couldn’t move an inch.
No, isn’t it a bit much to come drinking when you’re coming to fight…?
Although she felt an ominous premonition.
There was no place to back down here.
“Well, fine! I, the demon of delusion Tinya-sama, will personally deal with you losers! Consider it an honor~!”
While uttering the promised lines.
Battle start.
The arrow shot by the red-haired hero lodged accurately in her side, but since it wasn’t her real body, she didn’t feel much pain.
The sight of the doggy that charged at her flying away after being hit by her lightly swung arm.
This is doable.
At this rate, I can definitely eat away at them with my power of delusion!
“Kyahaha, I’ll plunge you into distrust!”
Tinya activated her unique skill.
A skill that temporarily deludes and mentally controls the hero at the very back, making the heroes fight each other.
Originally, heroes couldn’t damage each other.
But if this skill is applied, they can damage each other.
The stupid expressions the heroes make when hit by magic or arrows flying from behind. Kyahaha…!
With anticipation, Tinya blinked.
As red light flickered in her eyes, an ominous aura shot out stealthily.
Passing by the doggy in the front.
Passing by the redhead shooting arrows behind.
Passing by the saint muttering prayers… passing by…
Passing by?
“Hey, no way…?”
As if her ominous premonition became reality.
Her skill seeped into the body of the drunkard who was now completely intoxicated, snoring in her sleep.
“Nyah… give me more alcohol…”
“……”
And.
Nothing happened.
Even if she had a bit of consciousness.
She couldn’t have done anything while tied up.
“This is cheating!!!!!!!”
Tinya’s scream, mixed with frustration and anger, echoed loudly in the cave.
The hooded man who had done nothing so far while putting the heroes in front.
“Hmm, sweet.”
Tinya grabbed the back of her neck as she heard him mutter in a small voice.
“Woof!”
A woof-woof punch was driven into her defenseless abdomen.
Tinya’s fighting spirit was already half lost.
Hmm.
Easy.
The mesugaki, the 5th floor boss, has simple patterns befitting an early boss.
Of course, it was very heartbreaking to see small scratches appearing on Lumi’s body.
“Heal!”
Yohena, who finally started earning her keep, made full HP flow back with just a mutter, srrr, juruuk.
Ari was also accumulating damage by constantly thwip thwip shooting arrows at Tinya’s abdomen as if the tattoo there was a target.
The most threatening pattern.
Delusion could also be blocked by inserting one human lightning rod.
…Honestly, I didn’t know it would work.
If it’s like this, when rear-targeting monsters appear, we can counter them all with the lightning rod meta.
It felt very refreshing.
We finally defeated Tinya, who just repeated only normal patterns bung-tsu bung-tsu like that.
“Huwaang…!”
As if her pride had taken a severe scratch, she threw away her dignified mesugaki appearance and cried loudly ang-ang.
I did feel a bit of sympathy, but.
It’s a sight we’ll see often from now on.
“Don’t waver, Yohena. It’s originally difficult to guide a child onto the right path.”
“…Huh?”
“They say knock and it shall be opened. Let’s pray together for that child to return to the goddess’s embrace.”
“??”
Ah, she doesn’t know.
The current Yohena wouldn’t understand…
Well, we’ve used up all our stamina today.
It’s a part she’ll naturally come to know in the future.
The next day.
“Hello, Tinya?”
“Eek…! Since when are we on greeting terms?! Why did you come again!”
“We meet again, Tinya?”
“What? Why aren’t you going to the 6th floor…?”
“I’m counting on you this time too, Tinya.”
“Stop, stop coming…!”
“Woof!”
“Kuaaang! Don’t bite meee!”
The hero party cleared Tinya 10 times repeatedly.
The next day too.
Even though it wasn’t her real body, having her soul-infused avatar repeatedly annihilated started to approach fear for Tinya.
Moreover, they got stronger every time they came, and now even dealing with one dog was burdensome.
Finally.
“Hi, hiiee… Please stooop…!”
Tinya’s mental state crumbled srrr.
“…Ark, how many more times do we need to repeatedly conquer?”
The saint’s lips, which showed the only sympathetic expression towards her, moved with compassion.
Tinya’s ears perked up.
However.
“Hmm, now we’ve gathered 13 soul fragments, so… probabilistically speaking, about 100 times generously? We should go around for about 10 more days. Other materials are accumulating nicely anyway, and it would be even better if a complete one drops in the meantime.”
The hooded man.
Wearing a human disguise, but surely hiding a face more evil than anyone else’s under that hood.
At his words that he would inflict the pain of soul annihilation on her 100 more times.
“I, I’m sorry… I was wrong…! Please forgive me…!”
Tinya completely lost her will to fight and knelt down.
After all, if 100 soul fragments are gathered as that man said, it would be forcibly created anyway…
‘Demon King-sama, I’m sorry…’
With a sliver of guilt.
She held out the item she had been hiding tightly.
[5-star ‘Demon of Delusion’ Tinya Conversion Contract]
The man who received that paper.
“Oh, lucky.”
Because he said words without a trace of human heart.
“Y-you demon…!”
Tinya, forgetting even her own essence, ended up praising her new master impudently.