Chapter 5: Krrrrr I Can’t Stand It

The actual majesty of the tower was truly grand.  

Its towering height seemed as though it could pierce the sky and reach into space.  

Although its width was relatively narrow, it was said that the vast land that stretched out from that narrow base was unimaginably expansive.  

…Of course, what I saw in the game was only a part of it.  

During the occasional live broadcasts, the PD would calmly explain it.  

“The Ark? Even now, if you go back………….”  

“Johanna. Trust in Ari’s power. Or trust in me.”  

Johanna tried to chirp nervously, but I neatly cut her off.  

It wasn’t unreasonable for her to be worried.  

Even in the original work, the maximum party size was five, and it was generally the rational choice to fill all five slots before attempting a challenge.  

‘Am I really going alone? Without even a tank?’  

‘Ah, I feel like I’ve gotten stronger, but… really…??’  

‘Hey, Ark? Is it really possible for me to do this alone..? Even with Johanna??’  

Even the parrot, Ari, kept chirping nervously on the way here.  

Well.  

That’s understandable.  

“Just the 4th zone. Let’s see if we can purify it with my smart……. no, with the stone tablet.”  

Of course, that’s a lie.  

The goal is to clear the first floor.  

But there’s no need to be honest about that right now and dampen morale.  

Ari, who had been slumped over, seemed to regain a bit of strength in her shoulders.  

“Let’s go.”  

[Tower of Wishes]  

– Currently challenging Zone 4 of the 1st floor  

– Stamina consumption per zone: 10 (Current: 90)  

[Will you enter?]  

[Y/N]  

The status window that wouldn’t appear no matter how much I called for it now bloated before my eyes.  

The progress was exactly where it had been.  

Just as the loud announcement had suggested earlier, only the tutorial up to the gacha had been completed.  

[M]  

I touched it.  

It worked.  

[Entering Zone 4 of the 1st floor of the Tower of Wishes.]  

In that moment, my body was sucked into the tower.  

***

[Tower of Wishes 1st Floor – Verdant Land Zone 4]  

[★☆☆ Defeat all enemies.]  

[★★☆ Win without anyone falling.]  

[★★★ : Purify the zone within 5 minutes and 00 seconds.]  

“Whoa.”  

A vibrant field spread out before my eyes.  

A vast grassland that seemed like it could only exist in a game!  

Ah, right, this +is a game.  

As soon as I entered, my smartphone beeped, beeped, beeped.  

It automatically started counting down to achieve the 3-star rating.  

“Let’s go.”  

There was no time to leisurely admire the scenery.  

Originally, the sleek 3D-modeled characters would automatically dash forward, using basic and enhanced skills on cooldown, with only the ultimate skill requiring a click from the player in this semi-idle game.  

But judging from the passive attitudes of the two heroes trailing behind me, it seemed like I’d have to give direct commands this time.  

The 1st floor was essentially a tutorial.  

A process of getting familiar with the game.  

The goal was clear.  

Three slimes ahead.  

Another three slimes in the distance.  

And three more slimes beyond the hill.  

Kill, kill, kill.  

That was the simple objective.  

Of course, as you progress to higher floors, gimmicks are added, maps become more complex, and player-hostile elements like mazes are introduced,  

but the early stages aren’t like that.  

“Ari, draw your bow.”  

“Huh, huh, really, really? Am I fighting alone?”  

“Johanna’s here too, and we leveled up a lot earlier. Even throwing a rock would make the slimes pop like fireworks, right?”  

It was exactly as I said.  

At best, those slimes were level 3.  

Even a poke with a finger would make them go *pop*.  

But….  

“Ari? Ari? Hey, Ari?”  

“Ugh, but still.”  

An unexpected variable.  

Ari, who couldn’t easily find her confidence.  

I let out a sigh and took off my hood.  

Persuasion is best done face-to-face, after all.  

“Alright, Ari, look at me straight.”  

She hesitated, so I placed my hands on her cheeks and forced her to turn her head.  

“W-what are you doing─!”  

“Alright, repeat after me. I am the best. I can do this.”  

“I…I am the best…………?”  

“Your voice is too soft. Louder, more confidently.”  

“Ugh, ugh, I am the best………! I can, I can do this……!”  

“Louder!”  

“I can do thissss!”  

That’s it.  

Good job.  

Embarrassment must have hit her, as Ari’s face turned red, then beet red.  

But she was starting to follow along well.  

This was the power of positive affirmations, self-hypnosis,  

・・・・・・ a skill I picked up after being dragged into a pseudo-religion for a couple of days before enlisting, thanks to a bad friend.  

Even crap can be useful medicine. Who knew this would actually work?  

No wonder those cults do so well.  

“Johanna, stop staring and give us a blessing too.”  

I also gave orders to Johanna, who was staring at me with an expression that was hard to read—whether she was smiling or frowning.  

“By the power of the Sweet Goddess, I bestow upon you the blessing of the stars.”  

Oh.  

Skill dialogue.  

Hearing it in person through a smartphone speaker and hearing it live are on completely different levels.  

And so.  

Ari, armed with the power of positivity and Johanna’s buffs, finally began to timidly draw her bowstring.  

Even though her enhanced skills weren’t unlocked yet for the 3-star rating.  

Swoooosh!

A sudden gust of wind swept through.  

“Ugh, uwaaah……!”  

Ari, overwhelmed by the wind pressure she herself had created, fell flat on her back with a loud thud.  

[Slime (Lv. 3) has been defeated!]  

[Slime (Lv. 3) has been defeated!]  

[Slime (Lv. 3) has been defeated!]  

Thanks to Ari’s trait of dealing area-of-effect damage despite her low base attack power, it was a one-shot, three-kill.  

“See? You can do it.”  

“Uh, uh… did I just do that? Really?”  

“Of course.”  

Has she been living in a bubble?  

She’s like a platinum member of a pseudo-religion, this girl.  

I nodded at the dazed Ari, then added,  

“Johanna’s blessing helped a lot too.”  

If you heap all the praise on one person, they’ll get spoiled, so  

I made sure to reward Johanna as well.  

“W-well, it’s only natural for a saintess to fulfill her duties. Hehe.”

I’m about to die from joy.  

Ah.  

Dropped items.  

I quickly ran over and picked them up.  

Material items are needed later for equipment crafting or alchemy, so I should gather them in advance.  

……Originally, characters used to pick these things up.  

I glanced back at Hillgood.  

Ari was chatting with Hawa, still savoring her own strength.  

Even though her health was at max, Johanna was healing Ari for no reason.  

Right.  

I’ll handle this kind of thing.  

It’s not like I’m just clicking my fingers off-screen anyway.  

Eventually, our heroes will be fighting while I’ll be hiding far away, trembling and watching from the sidelines with my hands behind my back.  

Kids grow by fighting.  

Adults support from behind.  

I’m an adult.  

“Alright, let’s move on. We have a time limit, after all.”  

Displaying mature leadership, I guided the two heroes.  

Before my self-hypnosis wears off, one more time.  

“Alright. Let’s do this again. I’m the best! I can do this!”  

“……I’m the best! I can do this!”  

My voice grew louder.  

And so, we advanced.  

Bling!

Squeak!

Pick, pick.  

Buffing.  

Shooting.  

Looting.  

Truly perfect teamwork!  

[Cleared Floor 1 of the Tower of Wishes – Verdant Land Area 4!]  

[Objective Achieved: ★★★ / Clear Time: 2 minutes 34 seconds]  

[First Clear Reward: 10 Divine Stones]  

[★★★ Achievement Reward: 10 Divine Stones]  

“This is it.”  

First clear. 

Three-star clear.  

Maximized Divine Stone rewards!  

Whistle~!

I whistled with satisfaction.  

And then.  

“Th-that, it’s purified…………! Ark! You’re amazing!”  

What Johanna had been worried about all along.  

The Purification Stone Tablet, as Johanna called it.  

The question of whether my smartphone could purify the area’s corruption and open the path to the next area was also…  

[The path to Verdant Land Area 5 has opened!]  

…neatly resolved.  

Now, nothing stood in my way.  

For now.  

With Johanna’s buffs, we should be able to achieve three-star clears up to around the 4th or 5th floor just by leveling up Ari properly.  

Seeing Ari’s growing confidence, all I needed to do was guide her well and keep moving forward.  

“Ari, you did great. Let’s keep going together like this.”  

“Huh, keep going together…..?”  

“Yes. Keep going together. Next, of course, with Johanna too.”  

We have a long way to go.  

Daily Divine Stone Pack x1: 10 Divine Stones.  

Weekly Divine Stone Pouch x1: 50 Divine Stones.  

Monthly Divine Stone Pouch x1: 100 Divine Stones.  

Last Felix’s gacha: 1 pull, single pull costs 20 Divine Stones. 

A 10-pull guarantees a 4-star and comes with a discount at 180 Divine Stones.  

Adding the 20 I just got from clearing…  

……That’s 180, right?  

“Krrr, I can’t hold back.”  

“……What can’t you hold back?”  

Ignoring Ari’s confused voice for a moment,  

I grabbed Johanna and seriously whispered.  

“Let’s do it. Now.”  

“……What, what are you doing? Arc, don’t tell me……?”  

Why not?  

“With this much saved up, of course we should.”  

I took out all the Divine Stones from my inventory and poured them onto the ground.  

“Please grant me the ritual. 10 times in a row.”  

Time to gacha.  

The moment I finished speaking, Johanna’s expression turned subtle, and Ari let out a sigh of relief.  

Why?  

What?  

Why that reaction?