Chapter 191 - 191 It Was A Good Run

191: It Was A Good Run 191: It Was A Good Run [Objective: Die] “...” I stared blankly at the notification for a while. Eventually, I simply snorted a laugh, muttering as I scratched my head. “You’re seriously telling me to kill myself...?” Needless to say, there was no way that was going to happen. Even if it was the only way to progress to the next Floor... Well, how could that even be possible? If I died here, would it revive me? In that case, maybe it would be fine after all. However, I wasn’t going to blindly trust in something that was no more than an unconfirmed possibility. Not enough to bet my life on it, anyway. Whether you call that being a pussy, not having guts or balls, or even being smart, the label didn’t really matter. What mattered in any case was that it wasn’t going to happen. Of course, John Pierce was able to clear the Floor, meaning there was definitely a way of getting it done, and because of what Leinth said, I already knew the Tower was created to be beatable by the Protagonist. Still, from my current position, I couldn’t see a way to beat it. “Maybe if I could use the Amulet...” The Amulet of the Holy Sun, an item possessing the extraordinary effect to resurrect the user upon death. It could only activate once, but if it was refilled with divinity of the correct property, that effect could be recharged. The same item possessed by the Beloved Protagonist of Drakon-Rasa. I couldn’t use it because the property of the divinity in my body was antithetical to that which the Amulet required, similar to the Awakened Holy Sword now that I thought about it, but if that wasn’t the case... “This Floor would be free...” Giving a small sigh, I thought there was nothing else I could do. ‘I guess I’ll give it a break here for now. I can always come back later and figure something out another time.’ Leaving it at that, I reconciled with the fact that at least making it ten Floors in one go was undoubtedly the best anyone had ever done it. ‘I was already thinking of stopping sometime soon anyway to clear some Contracts. I guess it’s good timing now with Ella’s birthday coming up...’ “...Now that I think of it, I need to move home soon, too.” The end of the school year was already coming up, and because I wouldn’t be attending anymore, I had to move back home. ‘It might make some things more complicated, but... Well, Ina being around might be helpful.’ Giving a final glance to the exceptionally vacant Tenth Floor, I muttered. “...Alright then. Let’s go. Librarian?” Thus, I was transported directly to the Library. [Objective: Die] Leaving the sinister notification to float all by its lonesome in the vast, black abyss. ❖─────☆☆☆☆☆─────❖ A week passed upon my official return from the Tower. During that time, I moved home―a process made flawless thanks to Storage―and tied up various loose ends, mostly related to boring university details. Proceeding to spend the following few days resting at home, it felt incredibly odd to go from fighting and exerting myself to the limit daily right to relaxing and chilling without a concern, almost like whiplash, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t experienced it in the past with previous Contracts. However, there was one thing I was certain I would never get over no matter how many times I came back... This restlessness. In fact, ever since talking with Leinth for the first time, it’s only worsened. Any time I spent doing nothing productive, even if it was vital in terms of resting my body, I couldn’t erase the sense of agitation emanating from my heart. I don’t know what it was, or when exactly it started, but I knew instinctively that I was stuck with it. Just, if I was doing anything that wasn’t related to my job for the Library, I couldn’t sit still, and the unending desire to get right back to it coursed through me. ...Had I become a workaholic? I already felt a glimpse of it the last time I returned home, not feeling any satisfaction or joy from playing the games I used to love, but this time, it was infinitely worse. Let alone not finding it fun, I didn’t even want to think about anything that wasn’t this ‘work’. Of course, it wasn’t like I was being brainwashed or anything. Although, if I was, would I even be able to tell...? Anyway, that’s not it, and even my enhanced instincts know that much. Really, I was just addicted. That’s it. Now that I was stuck home, unable to scratch the itch, I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms... “...Fuck...” “Language, boy. Oh, have you secured yourself a present yet?” Suddenly having my under-the-breath mutter reprimanded by Ina as I lay on the sofa, I shot a glance at her, flicking through various channels on the television. “As if you have the right to talk about language... But no, I haven’t.” “Ooh, but isn’t the deadline getting quite close now?” “There’s still a week. You’re telling me you’ve got one already?” As I asked that, doubt filled my mind, but when I watched her shrug with a suspicious expression on her face, I quickly frowned. “Well~ Who knows~ I may or may not have something planned~” “...Please don’t.” Sighing, I turned my head away from her to the television screen, which showed some special Awakened government police force arresting other Awakened criminals. ‘What’s even the point...’ This programme was a new show that came out not long ago, and though I could easily understand the entertainment value behind watching good superhumans arrest bad superhumans, what I didn’t understand was the criminals themselves. ‘Like, if you’re Awakened, just go to the Tower or use your abilities to get a high-end job at some private company. Why the hell are you wasting your time committing petty crimes?’ I would even be able to understand it if they were doing something like performing a huge bank heist, but no, it was always something like disorderly conduct, stalking, or shoplifting. Most of the time it was just young guys who became overly arrogant because they just happened to Awaken, so they started acting all bold and being public nuisances. “So dumb...” “I would probably do the same thing if I was Awakened.” “...?” Moving my head just slightly to the side, my eyes closed halfway as I looked at her. Before I could come up with something to say, she raised her voice. “What? I’m just saying it how it is!” “...You don’t go outside. You’re too socially anxious to be able to do this kind of stuff.” “Uhm, excuse you. I’m talking hypotheticals. IF I had powers, I would have absolutely no problem going outside. I would have the motivation to use them that would make me do so!” “Uh-huh... And then, you would do that and get arrested by these guys. You wanna go on T.V. that badly?” “Oh, no. I just wouldn’t get caught. That’s what you do, right?” “Of course. I go out and commit crimes all the time.” Although I said it in a sarcastic tone, somehow, the content of what I said wasn’t necessarily untrue. Even if it was more than just a little bit more extreme than what the guys currently on-screen were caught doing. “Okay, I’m bored now~” At that moment, Ina abruptly exclaimed, and the channel changed once again. This time, it was a standard news channel. However... “...Wait, again?” “Hm?” [...rise in atmospheric magic energy around the globe, resulting in...] Hearing her confusion, I watched the screen, immediately realising they were talking about some magical phenomena occurring around the country. Except, it wasn’t just the country that was experiencing it, but the world. Things like more magical beast appearances, more unnatural atmospheric fluctuations―bizarre events like that heatwave from months ago had become more frequent all around the globe. “There’s always so much going on these days... I wonder if something happened?” “What do you mean?” Peeping at Ina’s face, I observed her put a finger to her chin and tilt her head, clearly thinking about the recent events with intrigue. “Mmm, I’m not sure, I just think it’s odd. I mean, things like this don’t just happen out of nowhere, right?” “...The Tower came out of nowhere, didn’t it?” “Ah... Touché.” I made that point as if speaking from the opposing side, but really, I understood where Ina was coming from. And the truth was, I bet she was right. All of these unnatural events, even if I hadn’t been paying as close attention to them due to focusing on clearing the Tower, it was inevitable that I would have heard about at least a couple of them during some of my occasional breaks. Things had only started to ramp up recently, but if I were to pin the timeline more accurately, it would have all started right then. The moment John Pierce cleared the Tenth Floor. I say it like it’s some hidden secret, but the reality is, even the world can recognise a simple correlation, and though it’s true that correlation does not necessarily mean causation, it’s also true that this is the idea most heavily considered by the news media. However, the reason I bring it up is because the way I saw it was different. It wasn’t just that John Pierce had cleared the Tenth Floor. It was that he had become the Protagonist. ‘Having a Protagonist present in the world destabilises it. We’re lucky enough to have the Tower to protect us for now, but it won’t last for long.’ The disruption of Earth’s balance and the syphoning of its World Stability―that was the true cause behind the recent surge in supernatural events. And, if he wasn’t stopped soon, things would only continue to get worse. The more magical phenomena that appeared on Earth, the more dangerous it became for everyone, and not only that, but the more Awakened would begin to emerge. ‘...I’ll need to get even stronger.’ Of course, in order to go off and do that, I’d need to first wait for this peaceful period to pass. No matter how much my body itched to get right back into things, I couldn’t use that as an excuse to neglect my family and best friend. After all, if I did that... ...I might end up with no one waiting for me even if I saved the world.