Marquis Pierre arrived at the castle with a grim expression.
"That little brat climbed the tower?"
Unable to contain his anger, he threw his wine glass at the wall.
With a crash, the glass shattered, and red liquid spilled down. A knight, whose armor seemed about to burst from his corpulent frame, responded.
"Yes, that's correct."
It seemed he was accustomed to Pierre's behavior, as he continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
"He bought a week's worth of food at the market and took it with him."
"When?"
"The food purchase was in the morning, and he left the mansion in the late afternoon, around the time for a late meal."
"The afternoon…"
"We tried to follow him, but after he left the mansion, his whereabouts became unknown."
"Can't we ask the head of the tower guard when he entered?"
"As soon as we heard, we went to the head guard, but he wouldn't speak."
The entrance to the tower is managed by the imperial army.
Even though Bourbon holds significant influence within the Legion, it can't match the imperial army, which is directly under the royal family.
"This is troublesome. Once he's in the tower, we can't catch him."
"Marquis Pierre, are you really thinking of going to war with Strange?"
Pierre's hands trembled as he shouted.
"Of course! Do you think I'm just making idle threats?"
"Marquis, our knight order isn't ready yet."
"Ready? Ready for what?"
"To be honest, we don't have enough power to face them head-on."
"What?"
"As you know, the Strange family is strong enough to erase a small nation overnight."
"…That's true."
"Do we really need to fight them with force?"
The corpulent knight slowly turned his head to look at the old vassal standing next to Pierre.
Receiving the look, the vassal coughed a few times before speaking cautiously.
"There are many ways to bring them down without fighting."
"Without fighting?"
"Yes, Marquis Pierre. Our Bourbon family controls most of the Legion's trade."
"That's right."
"We handle all the high potions used by skilled knights. If we cut off even half of the supply to Strange, they'll suffer significant damage."
"..."
"They already have at least ten rival families to contend with, and many people climbing the tower. Can they endure it?"
A smile tugged at the corners of Marquis Pierre's mouth.
"Without potions, they can't fight properly. But if we cut off trade, they might attack us directly."
"That's why we have to tighten the noose slowly, so they don't notice. By the time they realize, it'll be too late to do anything."
"Is that possible?"
"Of course. Combining your wisdom with my knowledge, we can manage this."
"Hmm…"
"First, we'll choke them with potions. Then equipment and food, in that order. Eventually, they'll have to yield."
The vassal bowed deeply.
The corpulent knight lowered his head in agreement and added a final plea.
"There's an old saying, 'The best strategy is to win without fighting.' I urge you to delay the confrontation."
Pierre propped his chin and fell into deep thought. It didn't take long for him to reach a conclusion.
"Alright, let's plan how to pressure Strange."
* * *
The tower was bustling from the entrance.
Adventurers who arrived before us were conversing inside the first floor of the tower.
"Haha! Finally, we can climb the tower from today. Within a year, I'll conquer this place and become the continent's greatest knight!"
Those who flaunted their overflowing ambition.
"I am here to carry out the will of the gods. Today, I will climb high and proclaim His glory."
Those fulfilling the will of a revered existence.
"Don't scatter, everyone! We don't know what might happen. Let's grab the treasures and get out quickly!"
And those who, despite their fear, came to the tower for wealth.
They came for various reasons. I, too, had a purpose for coming to the tower, no different from the other adventurers.
'This time, I will win.'
The ruler of the tower, the Red Dragon.
As soon as I arrived on the first floor, I took a deep breath.
Sssss—Phew!
The air was humid and carried a metallic tang as if I were deep underground.
The interior resembled a cavern, and though spacious, it was less than half the size of the Strange castle's training grounds.
Drip, drip, drip.
Water droplets fell from above.
I shook them off lightly and began walking through the tower.
"Stay alert. In the tower, not only monsters but other adventurers might attack us."
Rox gripped the handle of his mace tightly.
"Got it."
"There aren't any enemies that can pose a threat to us until the 9th floor, so don't be too tense."
"Does that mean there's a strong one on the 10th floor?"
"Well, in a sense."
"In a sense? What do you mean?"
"You'll see when we get there. The early floors of the tower don't take long to climb anyway."
"You always say that. 'You'll see when you get there,' 'You'll understand when you try,' 'Experience it yourself.'"
That was the education I had received from Siegfried up until now.
And I believe that this approach is correct. Unless it's something extremely dangerous, facing problems head-on helps accumulate the experience needed to find solutions.
The tower is not easy to climb without effort.
I've seen many fail to climb and fall into despair when they only followed the paths laid out by others.
Siegfried nodded emphatically with his arms crossed.
"You're right, my disciple. Following the solutions of others won't help you forge new paths."
Brunhilde also agreed.
"That's right, nya. I've been right up to the tower's peak, and you need to learn how to forge your own path, not just follow others."
Regardless of their professions, experts always have the same opinion.
Stick to the basics and learn the fundamentals.
I agreed, so I repeated the same advice to Rox.
"You'll understand when you get there."
"You're not angry, right?"
"I'm not."
"Got it. But can't you relax a bit? Thanks to the [Back Phantom] you introduced me to, I've brightened up a lot over the years. You seem gloomier than before."
"Like when you first came to our castle?"
Rox clammed up.
We slowly ascended the tower without speaking further. Our goal today was to reach the 10th floor, so there was no need to hurry. I noted peculiarities on each floor to compare them with my past experiences of the tower.
'It's the same.'
Nothing had changed.
Even the location of the treasure chests was identical. Although the contents were already taken by those who arrived before us, their mere presence was enough for comparison.
This also meant that the secret path to the higher floors was still there.
I saw the hidden passage leading directly to the 10th floor nearby, but I took Rox and moved on.
Reaching the upper floors quickly was possible anytime, but my goal was to properly train Rox.
* * *
I checked all the terrain from the 1st to the 9th floor with Rox.
'As expected.'
Rox was different from ordinary humans.
Tell him one thing, and he understood two.
I had only told him about the types of goblins here and their weaknesses, yet he figured out how they would attack entirely.
"A hobgoblin would hide behind that rock and ambush adventurers, right?"
Rox swung his mace at the rock.
Crash!
The skull of a hobgoblin hiding behind it shattered with a sickening sound.
"Whew…."
Rox wiped the blood off his face and asked.
"Dean, is this enough?"
Above him, the [Back Phantom] danced merrily, taking away the goblin's corpse.
"Yes, it's enough."
We had collected 101 goblin corpses while ascending from the 1st to the 9th floor.
This should be sufficient to face the guardian on the 10th floor.
"But what are these corpses for? They seem too weak to be useful."
"You'll find out on the 10th floor. There, numbers are more important than strength."
"Numbers are important?"
"Yes. We can't defeat the enemy we'll face there with strength alone. We need a strategy."
"Hmm… got it. But how do we get to the 10th floor? We've circled this floor twice, but I don't see any stairs."
"The 10th floor isn't accessible to just anyone. It's hidden."
Reaching the 9th floor was straightforward, like taking a walk through a cave.
But from here, things were different.
The 10th floor, where the 'Apostle,' the so-called master of the tower, was stationed, differed from the previous floors.
I placed my hand on the floor of the 9th floor and sent out a flow of aura.
Swoosh.
The red aura spread through the cracks in the ground like a spider web, staining the wall.
"Do you see that painting on the wall?"
A large iron door painted with the face of a giant goblin.
"Oh…? When did that appear there?"
"It's been there since we arrived on the 9th floor."
"Really? How come I didn't notice it?"
"You didn't know how to see it."
I gently pushed the wall with my aura-infused hand. White smoke billowed out from inside.
Ssssh—
The sharp, acrid smell of burning grass hit my nose. It was a strong scent you'd encounter in a slash-and-burn farmer's village.
As the smoke slowly cleared, I felt a sensation of floating, and my surroundings transformed into a ruined village.
'A familiar village.'
This was the territory of a unique monster that had kept me tied to the 10th floor for a month in the past.
'Goblin Champion.'
We had finally arrived in its domain.
"What, what is this?"
"This is the 10th floor of the tower. This is where the 'Apostle,' one of the tower's masters, resides."
"Apostle?"
"Yes, an Apostle. They receive orders from the gods and present trials to adventurers."
"Ah… Dean, but over there, do you see that?"
In the direction he pointed, countless statues of humans and goblins stood.
"I see them."
"Isn't it creepy? The statues' expressions look so lifelike."
"They are alive."
"...Alive?"
"Yes."
Rox looked at me in disbelief. But it didn't take long for him to confirm the truth of my words.
Tap, tap, tap.
An old, white-haired goblin appeared.
He began explaining the secrets of this village to us.
"Welcome, adventurers."