As she noticed my puzzled look, she continued again.
"The highest-ranking monsters seen around this area have only been A-rank. Those A-rank monsters can easily be killed with a group of around 5 A-rank monster slayers.".
A rank monster? Is that how they categorize the strength of a monster? But what does that have to do with the barrier?
She continued again.
"Since this kingdom has 3 S-rank monster slayers, the A-rank monsters easily get slain when they come close to the kingdom." She pointed at herself with a proud look and continued.
"And I myself am one of those S-rank monster slayers. Well, obviously for you, S ranks are very weak, Mr. SSS rank monster slayer". She said while laughing a little.
I see.
The barrier is useless because the monsters get slain before they even reach it.
"Then why is the barrier even active?" I asked.
She looked down on the busy streets below.
"Because of the people. The people need to think it's safe to stay here. And it's not enough to say that monsters die before they reach the kingdom," she paused and looked above. "That's why we have the barrier.".
So the barrier was like a false sense of security. Which made the people here feel safe.
But why did they need to feel safe with a barrier if there weren't any strong monsters to protect it against?
The tower master leaned on the railing and looked very straight ahead.
The corner of her smile turned down, and she lowered her head.
"The same can't be said for the kingdoms at the edge of the empire. Those barriers are the real deal, enough to even withstand attacks from SS-rank monsters." She said.
"They are always in constant fights with monsters. Which is why the empire sends most of its battle power to the kingdoms at the edge of the empire?".
Wait a minute.
So there were other kingdoms far away from here, at the edge of the empire.
And compared to this kingdom, they actually needed strong barriers. The monsters fighting those kingdoms must be way stronger than the monsters here.
I think I get that. But there is something that bothered me.
'Resurrection of the Demon God".
The title of the novel, in which this world was set,.
That title scared me a lot, because I think I am starting to understand what this novel is about.
Literally, it couldn't be more clear.
A demon god is about to be resurrected.
"F*ck".
"Yeah, I can imagine it's infuriating to be here instead at the front lines." She said this after hearing me curse.
That wasn't why I was cursed; I would rather be safe than on the frontlines.
"The barriers here are much weaker than the barriers of the edge kingdoms. Well, that is to be expected since A rank monsters over there are very common." She sighed.
A-rank monsters were very common in the edge kingdoms. And the barrier here was very weak, which explained why Rylan Ashencroft could envelop the whole kingdom with his barrier.
It was unbelievable that Rylan Ashencroft could cast an unbreakable barrier over the whole kingdom. So he must have cast a weak barrier that only functioned as a veil.
But why was Rylan Ashencroft, who was a SSS-rank monster slayer, sent here? Wouldn't it be a lot more useful to send him to the frontlines?
It felt like a waste that he was here.
I know that the barrier was here because the edge kingdoms also had a barrier. And that's why the barrier was used to create a false sense of security.
And I know that if the barrier disappeared, it would cause panic. But even if the barrier did disappear, it would have been quickly fixed, which raises the question again.
Why was Rylan Ashencroft in this kingdom?
Then, out of nowhere, a deafening siren began, as if a natural disaster were about to happen. And my body started to react intensely.
Out of instinct, I knew what the siren alarm meant.
A monster attack.
The tower master immediately turned around and ran to the elevator. I followed her into the elevator, and she clicked on the first floor.
I felt us quickly descending, and she interrupted the silence.
"Are you ready?".
I wasn't ready at all. This was a monster attack we were talking about. But I tried to imagine what the strongest person, Rylan Ashencroft, would say.
Someone who didn't follow the norms, a person who didn't care about etiquette.
"It doesn't matter, since there will only be one result."
The elevator doors opened, and there were multiple people in robes standing in front of the portal. And even more were entering from the stairs. They all had strange items in boxes, which were placed in front of the portal.
'That was fast'.
When we came here, nothing was here, but within a minute of hearing the alarm, they already had items prepared and placed them in front of the portal.
The tower master approached an elderly person.
"What is the situation?" She asked with a commanding tone.
"The Hozora kingdom has been raided by a monster swarm. Unfortunately, we have to wait till the other kingdoms have teleported their soldiers and items." He explained.
I overheard what they said, and I could understand the problem.
It looked like the other kingdoms had already heard the alarm and immediately sent their soldiers. But we have to wait for those soldiers to finish using the portal at the Hozora kingdom.
In short, there were too many kingdoms using the portals, which is why we had to wait.
"Tell the Hozora kingdom that we have Rylan Ashencroft.".
At the same time, I could hear whispers coming from other people.
"Is that Rylan Ashencroft?"
"A SSS-rank monster slayer"
"His presence is no joke.".
The elderly person quickly took a circular crystal out, and it looked like he informed the Hozora kingdom.
At the same time, a blue ripple appeared at the empty portal, and I knew that the Hozora kingdom must have activated our portal.
This was the moment where I would enter the portal and enter another kingdom that was under attack by monsters.
Anyone would have been nervous here. But strangely enough, my heart was completely tranquil and calm.
There was not a hint of anxiety or nervousness.
"Strange"
It was like my body wasn't allowing me to become nervous.
I slowly entered the portal.