Chapter 4: Preparing To Climb

Recruiting the 5-star characters first is the natural order.

…Of course, just like how the protagonist had escaped, Johanna was also considered a lower priority in the reroll process.

Appearance?

She’s pretty. 

Though her chest is a bit small.

Personality? 

…She was kind, but had a bit of a hidden charm.

Performance? 

A top-tier pure healer. 

She even has buff skills.

Popularity? 

The number of fan-made lewd art proved it.

Still, there was a clear reason why she wasn’t prioritized in rerolls.

Once you clear the 10th floor of the tower, you could get her guaranteed in the main story.

A fate inevitable for distribution characters.

…Even I, in the past, got excited by the 5-star effect.

Then, when I saw Johanna, I nearly threw my phone.

Feeling a slight sense of guilt, I headed to the Sanctuary of Revelation.

“Johanna?”

Not here?

She has to be here.

In this game, getting a contract through gacha isn’t the end.

You have to go find the character you want to recruit directly in the field.

In the worst-case scenario, even after obtaining a 5-star contract, you could spend the entire day wandering aimlessly in the field looking for the character.

Why did they design the system like this?

I have no idea. Probably some sort of creator’s philosophy.

“There you are.”

Fortunately.

Johanna was deeply engrossed in reading in her room inside the sanctuary.

“Johanna?”

“K-Kyaa…!”

Johanna jumped up, still clutching her book.

Nice reaction. 

She’d make a good audience member.

My eyes were drawn to the book she was holding tightly.

[TUTORIAL GUIDE BOOK]

… ….

Ah, right.

Most of the game’s tutorials were taught through Johanna.

So she’d been studying this hard behind the scenes.

“Ark…? Oh! Perfect timing. I found this in the Revelation of the Goddess, and it seems there are prophets from other dimensions as well! That prophet from earlier must have accidentally come from another dimension, right? That’s probably why the Tablet of Purification suddenly disappeared.”

After calming her startled heart, Johanna began speaking rapidly again.

She tried to smile, but her voice trembled slightly, unable to fully hide her unease.

Without a word, I took out a sheet of paper and handed it to her.

Johanna’s eyes widened.

“This is… my hero contract…? How is Ark holding this? It should be in the Revelation…”

Startled, Johanna unconsciously accepted the contract.

At that moment, the contract emitted a bright light, transforming into two pairs of bracelets.

One clasped onto my wrist, and the other onto Johanna’s wrist, before turning back into a ring of light and disappeArig.

[NEW!]

[(★★★★★) Saint of Revelation, Johanna]

[Character Information]

・Name: ‘Saint of Revelation’ Johanna (★★★★★)

Holy Attribute / Healer / Backline

Level: 1/20 (RANK 1)

Basic Skill: Light of Healing (LV.1)

Enhanced Skill: Blessing of Stars (LV.1)

Ultimate Skill: [Locked]

Affinity: [Insufficient privileges to view.]

Exclusive Equipment: [Insufficient privileges to view.]

Information displayed on my smartphone.

…A lot of things seem locked due to insufficient privileges.

I guess I’ll unlock them step by step?

“Huh? Huh? What? Huh?”

Johanna malfunctioned, unable to process the sudden turn of events.

Still, since she’s the most crucial character in the story, it would be better to share things with her.

Leaving out the part about this world being inside a game, I carefully explained my situation.

Although Johanna tilted her head repeatedly in disbelief, 

After I showed her how to pull items out of the smartphone, she seemed somewhat convinced.

Then, she spent quite some time flipping through a book.

“…There’s no mention of such a story in the Revelation…”

She said something that only someone who studies through rote memorization would say.

Life is about practical experience.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

“What?”

“The tower. We need to check if it can really be purified.”

As I tried to take Johanna along,

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“The hood… Please wear it outside.”

“…? Alright.”

Why?

It was uncomfortable with half my face covered.

Well, there must be a reason.

* * *

It’s an obvious thing to say, 

But this game allowed even 3-star characters to easily reach a certain floor.

Occasionally, there were events hosted by users in the gallery.

In the “3-Star Challenge,” I was the one who cleared it the fastest and most efficiently.

To be honest, even Johanna wasn’t necessary at this point.

One dealer was enough.

Of course, there was no reason not to use her, and having buffs lowered the spec requirements, so it didn’t matter.

That’s why my destination was the Tavern of Encounters.

While characters like Johanna and other 5-star characters had fixed spawn locations to some extent,

3-star and 4-star characters were scattered randomly across taverns, inns, and adventurer guilds.

But the character I was about to meet was likely in the tavern.

With that confidence, I made my way there.

As I opened the creaking door of the tavern, a strong smell of alcohol and loud chatter filled the air, fitting for a late evening.

Well, everyone here is unemployed at the moment.

According to the original setting, as the tower is conquered, heroes who are not part of the Revelator’s party are supposed to be doing something inside the tower or out in the fields.

Earlier, when I was running the shop, characters who came to buy or sell items were examples of this.

It seemed the Saint wasn’t used to places like this.

“I’ll wait outside…”

She didn’t follow me in.

It didn’t matter.

Fortunately, I soon spotted the person I was looking for.

“Kyaha! Bartender! One more beer over here!”

A 3-star character, the archer Ari.

While some characters had flashy titles like the Saint of Revelation, fitting for a 5-star SSR, most 3-stars had simple titles.

Taking in her distinctive red hair tied back, I approached her.

“Hey, can we talk for a moment?”

Ari, who had been gulping down beer, turned to me. 

True to her concept as a drinker, she already had over ten beer mugs stacked in front of her yet looked completely sober. 

She flashed a bright smile, showing her fangs.

She’d be quite charming if not for the smell of alcohol.

“Ark? What’s up? You want a beer too?”

“… Let’s talk outside.”

With a sigh, I motioned for her to follow me out.

“What’s this, what’s this? What’s going on between you two?”

“Ah, so spring is coming for Ari too~ I’m jealous~”

Ignoring the chattering of the three-star friends nearby, I grabbed Ari’s wrist and led her outside.

“Huh, Johanna’s here too?”

“……Alcohol isn’t good for you, Ari.”

“Hehe.”

They seem to know each other.

Well, that happens sometimes.

One of my core principles:

When discussing something important, make eye contact.

I took off the deeply pulled-down hood and looked straight into Ari’s eyes.

“W-W-What…?”

Was it really something to be so startled about?

Then, I pulled out the pre-prepared three-star shared contract.

Ari was all I needed. Nothing else mattered right now.

This material was necessary even for a four-star promotion, so I had to collect it steadily.

I glanced at Johanna, who was frowning slightly as if something was bothering her.

Following the plan Johanna and I had discussed earlier, 

I explained, “The Overseer had a bit of an issue and temporarily entrusted their role to me. Please bear with it for a while.”

I wondered if this lie was truly necessary, but Johanna had explained earlier that heroes instinctively sense the presence of an Overseer.

In other words, even if I waved this smartphone around claiming to be the Overseer, no hero would believe me.

A half-baked protagonist’s life, huh?

Pathetic, sure.

But as long as I could clear this, it didn’t matter.

The cold wind hit, and perhaps because the alcohol was kicking in now, 

Ari’s cheeks flushed red as she took the contract from my hand.

Just like earlier with Johanna.

[NEW!]

[(★★★) Archer Ari]

“Looking forward to working with you, Ari.”

“Y-Yeah! Looking forward to working with you too……………!”

The bracelet clicked onto her wrist like handcuffs.

The power of the contract, perhaps.

Her tone seemed a bit more obedient than before.

Now, it was time to make her grow.

I began pulling out the Growth Elixir from my inventory.

“Drink this.”

“Whoa・・・・・・! Is this the Growth Elixir?!”

Practically snatching it from my hand, Ari eagerly gulped it down.

Watching her drink so well, I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

She sure can eat.

“Are you drinking that like it’s some kind of hangover cure?

You’re not going to end up with diarrhea like me, are you?”

“Here, there’s more. Take your time drinking it.”

“Thanks!”

“Stop talking and keep drinking.”

“……?”

The first rank-up.

Reaching level 20 required 30 vials of the lowest-grade growth elixir.

Drink it.

Drink it and grow stronger.

“Here, take this. There’s more. Drink it.”

“Cough, cough, wait, just a moment…!”

“This is valuable. Don’t spill it.”

While I kept forcing potions into Ari, I glanced sideways.

“……”

I locked eyes with Johanna, who looked slightly fed up.

She shook her head.

I felt a little bad.

I should’ve saved some for her to drink too.

But right now, there was no need to level up a healer.

Still, it’d be good to give her something.

After snatching the empty bottle from Ari’s hands and replacing it with a new one,

I rummaged through my inventory.

[Fragment imbued with the Goddess’s Power x5]

Hmm. Let’s take one out for now.

“Here. Don’t feel left out. Johanna, I’ll take care of you soon. For now, take this.”

I handed her a universal favor item for holy attribute characters.

Johanna’s eyes widened in surprise.

She seemed pretty pleased.

I should remember to give her one whenever she starts grumbling in the future.

“Huff, sob, cough, I drank it all…! I feel overflowing with energy! Thank you so much!”

“Oh. Then let’s break through now.”

“?”

After confirming that level 20 was properly achieved,

I handed Ari the materials required for rank-up, including the lowest-grade Wind Token and Growth Elixir.

Ari’s expression became even stranger.

[Character Information]

Name: ‘Archer’ Ari (★★★)

Wind Attribute / Ranged / Backline

Level: 26/30 (RANK 2)

I didn’t have enough potions to boost her level further.

Still, all preparations were complete.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Seeing Ari struggle from potion overconsumption,

Johanna patted her on the back gently.

How friendly of them.

Well, things that are good for you tend to taste bitter.

Anyway, everything was ready now.

So.

It’s time to start climbing the tower in earnest.