I became a master of healing arts.
As expected, it wasn’t that I had no talent for healing arts. I just hadn’t had many chances to use them, so I didn’t know.
Or maybe not. Maybe it was because I’d built up a sense for it by watching Ravina-nim’s healing arts that I was able to grow this quickly.
Let’s live humbly. Let’s always keep in mind that the mountain I’ve climbed is not necessarily the highest mountain.
“VV.”
After I completely healed all the mages, the tracking of the Omega Seed, which had been the main objective of the trial, was completed, and the 12th floor was cleared as well.
「You have cleared the 12th floor of the Tower of Trials.
- Eldrion survived.
- Riet survived.
- Seria survived.
- Dorman survived.
- The Aestrea Magic Tower was not destroyed.
- You were not mutated.」
There was no mention in the clear log of curing the zombification.
I thought I’d done something worth mentioning, so I found it strange, but I quickly realized why it hadn’t been mentioned.
Why would the Tower-nim mention the mages’ survival in the log?
Maybe because if the zombification wasn’t resolved, they would eventually lose their reason and be judged as completely dead.
Riet-nim had even chosen to die as a mage by bursting her own heart, so it made sense.
... But then, what about people whose healing arts aren’t S-rank?
Do they basically have to wander around alone until the 20th floor?
Classes that can’t learn healing arts must have an incredibly hard time with this trial.
Even classes that can learn healing arts would face a far more brutal difficulty if they weren’t S-rank.
How could it be this vicious?
They said everything up to the 10th floor was the tutorial, but the Tower-nim raising the difficulty like this was scary.
If I had been a class that couldn’t learn healing arts, I would’ve had to go through the trial all alone with no one to communicate with.
And being unable to heal myself if I mutated under the influence of Omega Seed-nim would also be a problem.
I was glad I was a versatile maid.
The clear rank was S-rank.
For the reward, I chose Maid’s Management.
With this, Maid’s Management became C-rank.
「Maid’s Management(C)
- You can now manage the Master’s condition.
- C-rank ingredients have been added to the subspace shop.
- C-rank ammunition and grenades have been added to the subspace shop.」
I confirmed that the effect had improved in a simple and good way.
If Management becomes S-rank, I probably won’t need to enhance ammunition or grenade-type items.
After all, maid points were being copied in absurd quantities even at this very moment.
Unless the price was truly irrationally strange, it would be easier to just buy them.
I couldn’t know whether I would really be able to buy S-rank ammunition and grenades once I reached S-rank, but judging from the situation, the chances seemed high.
After entering the rest floor, I spent some time bragging about becoming a master of healing arts.
“I really am amazing.”
- That’s right, you’re amazing
“No. I’m not amazing. I’ll live humbly.”
- No, you’re amazing
- Yuyeon is my famous pride and joy
“I see. As expected, I’m amazing. VV.”
- VV
Bragging time over.
I immediately went up to the 13th floor.
Facing the whooooshing cold wind, I checked the trial.
「Tower of Trials, 13th Floor - Capital Fortress of the Isrein Empire」
「The capital fortress of the once-brilliant Isrein Empire is currently completely contaminated by mutants. In order to reclaim the repository, you must first purify the capital fortress.」
「Main Objective: Purify the capital fortress of the Isrein Empire.」
Purifying the capital fortress, huh.
Since we’d confirmed Omega Seed-nim’s location, I thought we’d immediately track it down and annihilate it.
Purifying the capital fortress first was probably to leave behind the possibility that the Isrein Empire could be rebuilt.
- Han Yuyeon-Yuyeon-nim came again...?
- No... rest...?
- Excuse me, Yuyeon-nim, please at least give us time to discuss things on the forum
- We haven’t even finished chewing over the 12th floor yet
- Ha, seriously, let us browse the forum and eat some chicken tooㅡㅡ
My current location was the same as the starting point of the 12th floor.
A high place overlooking the magic tower.
Since I wanted to move quickly, I kicked off the ground and leapt toward the magic tower.
Tat-!! And rumble, rumble—
“?”
- ?
- Hieeek
“Gasp.”
I jumped so hard that I ended up causing an avalanche.
The snow pouring down in waves displayed the beauty of nature, but there was no time to appreciate it.
I hurriedly flew with magic and went all the way up to the summit.
Then I rummaged around, took out my greatsword, and started snowboarding.
- No, Yuyeon-nim...?
- The magic tower’s gonna get buried;;
I’d always wanted to try snowboarding in an avalanche.
Lately, I’d been doing the things I wanted to try one by one, so I felt really good.
Whoosh—! While I was enjoying myself sliding down on the snowboard, I realized that the aftermath of the avalanche would reach the magic tower.
“!”
Emergency Peace Protocol activated.
I rotated my mana circle and formed a barrier around the magic tower.
- Never doubt Yuyeon-nim
- You think Yuyeon-nim didn’t consider that the magic tower might get buried?
- We’re sorry...
With this, the magic tower was safe, so I was relieved.
After enjoying snowboarding for quite a while, I came down to the mountainside and made a snowman too.
- What, why is she so good at making it...?
- How can you recreate the texture of a maid outfit with snow?
- Who are you using as the model?
- Would
- ?
A very graceful maid snowman was completed.
With a bit of my selfish desire included, I made it in a form more intact than the original.
Even after reincarnation, the face that came to mind so clearly made me feel good to see again.
“It’s nice to see you again like this.”
- Yes, we’re happy to see you too, Yuyeon-nim
“I’m very happy these days. I’ve become a master of communication.”
- Yes?
- A mas?ter
- You don’t communicate with us though!!!!!!
“I’ll continue living happily from now on too. Please watch over me.”
- I’m watching 24 hours a day
- ? You should sleep a little...
- You’re gonna die before you get to meet Yuyeon-nim in person like that;
Hmm. As expected, it was impossible to capture the original’s grace.
Even though I tried my best, it didn’t have the same feeling as the original.
Well, of course. It would be impossible to perfectly recreate that kind of grace with a snowman.
Although it wasn’t the real thing, I hugged it with all my heart.
“I hugged you...”
- Kraaagh
- Uaaagh fuck I feel so deprived
May my warmth reach all the way to where you are.
After hugging it for quite some time, I stored it in my subspace.
[This is a structure with a fixed form. Would you like to designate a name?]
Robot-nim.
[Robot-nim(S) has been stored in the subspace.]
Now we’ll be together forever.
As expected of Robot-nim, you’re S-rank from the very grade.
「Robot-nim(S)
- It is sturdy.」
“?”
Tower-nim. Why is there no description saying it is overflowing with grace?
Is it because I failed to capture the original’s grace?
Thinking that, I was able to accept it quickly.
“Hello. I’m Han Yuyeon. This trial is apparently about purifying the capital fortress of the Isrein Empire.”
- You sure told us so quickly!
- Wow I was so cu ri ous
- Yuyeon-nim, I’m really sorry, but apparently the stock of shotgun ammo you gave us is running out
- Then use another gun, you bastard
- Gunners are always slacking off like this
- Gunners didn’t even use shotguns that much, damn it
“But I have another goal in this trial.”
- ?
“I want to teach the mages Flame Peace. I thought it would be really nice if warm Peace spread widely through this cold world.”
- That wasn’t a joke, it was real...?
- Huff huff huff huff, then does that mean you’re going to give a theory lesson too?
- Are you going to teach us how to do Flame Peace???
- Please teach us, I want to do it too
- Why are you so obsessed with Flame Peace?
“If you’re all okay with it, how about trying it too? When I teach the mages, I’ll try to explain it as easily as possible.”
- Makkiyahoo!!!!!!!!!
- (Let’s burn it! Mage emote)
- (You can do it, Mage emote)
- Yeah, guys, be happy...
- (Please be happy, Maid emote)
And among those whose zombification had progressed, I wanted to heal anyone I could.
The frozen zombies I’d seen near the magic tower already had no life reaction left at all, so it would be impossible, but somewhere, there might be people who needed my help.
I slowly flew over and landed in front of the magic tower.
Then I knocked on the empty entrance.
“Knock knock. Eldrion-nim. I’m here. Let’s communicate.”
Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute. No answer came back.
Feeling that something was strange, I scattered mana to detect inside, and there were no mages inside the magic tower.
“?”
- What, where did they go
- You bastards, she said she’d teach you Flame Peace!!!
- Where did you go, damn it
- (Sit down... Mage emote)
Could they have been done in by the mutants?
I hurried inside and looked around, and there was a letter left behind.
It was a letter from Eldrion-nim.
「I feel as though I have realized Flame Peace and stepped into a new domain.
We have recovered enough of our strength, so we will be heading to the capital fortress of the Isrein Empire.
I am leaving this letter in case you come looking while we are gone.
Having realized Flame Peace, we are very strong, so do not worry.」
“???”
- They realized Flame Peace...?
- Without even hearing the explanation?
I hadn’t taught them yet, but they realized Flame Peace? What happened?
I went outside and tracked the footprints.
As I followed them, I sensed a burnt smell from far away.
When I walked toward the smell of burning, I saw that the mutants had been burned black.
“Gasp.”
- Did they really realize it...?
- Is a mage’s inference EX-rank??? How did they realize it???
As I continued tracking, beyond the snowstorm, the snowy mountain had been burned black.
The white forest had become a black forest too.
The farther I went, the more I saw that the mutants’ corpses had been burned by even stronger flames.
Their proficiency in Flame Peace was increasing exponentially.
“This is...”
I could also see traces of flames that had burned in a ☆ shape.
Could they have even used Star Peace as a joint technique?
Now, to a degree that felt excessive, there were traces not only of the mutants having been burned, but of the world itself having been burned as they passed through.
- They’re just arsonists...
- (Let’s burn it! Mage emote)
I had the feeling the trial would clear on its own even if I did nothing.
Flying quickly as I followed the burn marks, I saw traces of civilization.
Was this the capital fortress?
The enormous walls that couldn’t even be compared to the Cervain Base, and the towering structures located inside—
“?????”
- ?????
- Uh...?
All of them were blazing.
Why on earth? Did they make a mistake while using Flame Peace?
The capital fortress shouldn’t be burning like this, should it?
What in the world was going on?
Just as I was about to put out the fire, the mages came out from within the flames with extremely refreshed faces.
“Do you know? What I wanted to burn was this rotten world.”
“I agree. It feels good to burn away every filthy thing.”
“With Flame Peace, the likes of mutants are no match for us.”
“We need more things to burn. Let’s rest just a little, then go burn Omega Seed too.”
“That sounds good. Let us burn until this frozen world melts away.”
“To welcome a new era, we need to purify the world cleanly.”
Unlike their refreshed faces, the mages’ arms and legs were trembling violently.
“Let’s rest for exactly five minutes before going.”
“Very well.”
“Let’s rest.”
“I’m sleeping.”
Thud. Thud. Thud, thud.
From the mages who fell face-first with the flames at their backs, I could feel no remaining mana at all.
- (They’re dead... Mage emote)
It was a textbook symptom of mana exhaustion.