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46.48% Return of the Tower Conqueror / Chapter 185: Gaining Undercurrents (II)

章 185: Gaining Undercurrents (II)

Chapter 185

  Gaining Undercurrents (II)

The city woke confused for a moment, as following the very loud and very alarming warning... the world went quiet. Nobody knew who yelled so loud that they woke up a good chunk of the massive city, nor did they know why. It would eventually end up becoming one of the 'notorious mysteries of L.A. -- #alienedition'.

In the meantime, the instigator of it was currently standing in a corner of a dimly lit room, whistling while desperately trying to ignore countless sets of eyes boring into him. Cain did eventually realize he was a bit too 'aware' of the flaws of his Class, and had severely overestimated the group attacking them. Speaking of them, the sixteen survivors were all currently sitting inside the room, lurched up against the wall, staring in horror at the small army that swiftly tore through their ranks and captured them -- no, rather than the 'army', it was better to say that it was only one person while the rest just looked on.

The group had already learned half-the-truth behind it -- sort of, at least. At least one party connected to the whole incident was Lender, but that was hardly where things ended; the hundred and fifty people that had tried attacking them were all deceptively well-leveled, the lowest of them being level 35. That wasn't even something Rick could pull off, let alone Lender -- at least not so on their own.

Cain departed shortly after, leaving others to do the 'official investigation'. He, on the other hand, had heard enough. He signaled Kramer to follow him and the two made a speedy way out the building and into the moonlight-doused courtyard.

"You gonna make a trip?" Kramer asked as Cain took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

"'round and round."

"Need help getting information?" Kramer offered.

"You done it before?" Cain quizzed.

"Despite the overblown budget," Kramer chuckled. "The military can really be stingy with new hires."

"Ha ha ha," Cain sighed following the laugh, tossing away the cigarette after having had two puffs of it. "No, I'll be fine. I'd rather nobody see me like that."

"I wouldn't worry; Lender's a major pussy," Kramer said. "Six year old girl with a pair of twin tails laughing weirdly would piss the truth out of him."

"So I ought to send my daughter? Ha ha ha,"

"... other countries were likely involved in this," Kramer said after a brief moment of silence.

"Yeah," Cain nodded. "Understandable. I really was a major prick during the meet. And I still am. So, understandable or not, fires are gonna burn."

"You should let it slide."

"Huh?"

"You're the strongest there is," Kramer said. "I've no doubt in my mind you can probably end the life on Earth as we know it if you wanted. So... when someone like that does something, it sends a message, Cain. Message that Conquerors can now do whatever they want, and as long as there's not a stronger Conqueror out there to stop them... they can get away with it. With one act of yours... you can change the world."

"... that's a lot of responsibility."

"It is."

"The world's gonna change, Kramer," Cain said. "Heck, it's already changed."

"Yes; but, however shallowly, it's contained," Kramer added. "Let the government handle this -- it will tell the world you still defer to it, and restore some resemblance of order. I know you only care about the people in here, but literal millions if not tens of millions of innocent people are going to suffer if you go off."

"... for a guy who went all American Sniper for a good deal of his life," Cain chuckled. "You sure are a softie."

"You've never even seen let alone read American Sniper, did you?"

"Was more of a Lord of the Rings/Star Wars kind of a guy."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me one bit."

"Dude!"

"... so, what's it gonna be?" Kramer asked.

"There's a lot of pent-up anger I have to let go of," Cain said. "So, we're going back into the Tower next week. By then, Lender better be dead or Parallaxed."

"... should I get the reference?"

"If you were a cool kid," Cain glanced back, looking up and down. "Not at all."

"So, what's the plan with the Tower?"

"We're gonna conquer the second floor," Cain explained. "And move everyone there."

"Hm?"

"They'll be safe," Cain said. "In the city. Safer than out here, anyway."

"... you're a good guy, Cain," Kramer said, patting Cain's shoulder.

"Yeah, kick the man when he's down, sheesh."

"Ha ha ha."

The two fell silent for a moment, as did the world around them. The night was still deep and dark, the shine of the stars clouded still. Kramer walked off a few moments later, leaving Cain alone to dwell on his thoughts. Kramer was right; if he went 'nuclear', so-to-say, he'd set a precedent. In a way, he'd already done it, but seeing as he held back since then, some order was restored. However, if he made a move again, he'd be the last drop in an overflowing bowl that would send the world careening.

Sighing, he spun around and walk back into the apartment. By the time he got back, Emma and the rest of the group was already there, sitting around, their expressions of worry. His appearance seemed to have shocked them as they looked up, prompting him to look at them strangely.

"... you expected me to go nutty, huh?"

"Can you blame us?" Senna asked.

"A bit, yeah," Cain replied. "For how little trust you have in me."

"Maybe he's here to get items or something?" Senna instigated further.

"... y'all should go back to your apartments and get some sleep."

"So... you're really leaving it alone?" Emma asked as she walked up to him, grabbing his hand.

"Yeah," Cain nodded. "Don't get me wrong -- I'd really like to fly off like a storm and set some places afire. But... think about it -- if I did that, it sends a message. And, I don't know if you've realized it honey, but... I'm kind of an important guy."

"Oh? You are? You're an important guy?" Emma chuckled.

"Very, very much so," Cain said, wrapping his hands around her waist. "The eye of the world follows me. Whatever I do, others just copy; it's actually really, really annoying."

"Ooh, I bet~~"

"What? You disappointed?"

"Na, not in the slightest," Emma stretched lazily, yawning. "Looks like I worried for nothing. Come, let's go to bed. Let the interested deal with the rest."

Cain laughed freely as everyone dispersed, sleeping through the rest of the night. By the morning, many-a-news have reported on the strange 'cry for help' that shook L.A. last night, but nobody had any real answers. Rick pressed tightly and held everything under the wraps, commencing a low-key investigation in silence, away from the public eye.

The group, on the other hand, mostly remained within the compound, silently preparing for the next major excursion back into the Tower. As Cain said, with this visit, he fully intended to conquer the second floor and open the gates for the third. For that, however, he'd still have to get some ways stronger -- which was why he intended to grind his levels back out before doing anything major. However, since he'd have the entire group with him this time around, he figured they may as well commit to one of the major areas of the Second Floor for at least two months which, he figured, should be enough to make him strong enough to face the trials of ascending the city's stratas.

While it was entirely possible to slowly climb the City through doing quests and accumulating points, it was too slow -- the fastest way was to actually challenge the 'Guardians', so-to-say, of each strata, eleven in total. If all eleven are defeated, the floor-wide quest to defeat the 'Sun King' would commence, and everyone would have a chance to participate in the final battle where the 'system' would grade everyone's performance and assign some basic rewards. Cain, however, didn't really know what those rewards were past some extra experience and low-level items that less-than-impressive bunch shared, since all the top-guns at the time who'd completed the quest kept silent. As such, besides just ascending past the second floor, he was also interested in the reward -- especially now that he depended too much on items to succeed.


章 186: Reentry (I)

Chapter 186

  Reentry (I)

A shadow vaulted like mad over a pile of dust-covered bricks, lounging in a wide arc and landing squarely with a roll before swiftly sprinting forward, kicking more dust behind it. It continued running forward, glancing back stealthily just in time to see several more shadows leap over the bricks, chasing after. It sped up, a worried grunt escaping into the wind.

All surrounding alleys were narrow and dark, like a massive maze with neither the beginning or the end. Yet, the leading shadow seemed to navigate them perfectly, as though it had lived there its whole life; soon enough, it was cutting corners, rounding, going through hollowed-out buildings void life, slowly losing its pursuers.

Ten minutes later, it slowed and hid beneath a curbed pillar leaning onto a trashed wall of a building, reaching into its dark-jetted coat, taking out a small satchel and slowly opening it. Within, gems began to shine like stars, colors in the spectrum of a rainbow nearly blinding in their glow.

A hand reached up and took down the hood covering the face, revealing a youthful complexion of a man barely in his twenties. Bushy eyebrows jumped in childlike excitement, eyes shining nearly as brightly as the gems they were staring at, lips quivering and twitching. It was a haul of the decade -- one that could save everything.

Too jittery, he nearly dropped the gems before carefully tying the satchel back up, stuffing it into his coat and pulling the hood back over his face. He stood up, taking a deep breath and admiring his courage of a moment. Just as he was about to race off and change everything, a tiny, silver thread, almost invisible to the naked eye, whizzed silently in front of him, slicing through his throat in a swift, untraceable motion. He only felt a tiny prick, and then something warm on his throat. Before he knew it, something else back up through it, and he began to gag as mouthfuls of blood began flowing.

He slumped, clutching at his throat with widened and uncertain eyes. A moment later, he found out he couldn't breathe; life, the precious thing, was seeping out of him. He felt it. With each trickle of blood that cascaded down his trembling fingers, and with each failed attempt to draw one more breath into his lungs... he felt his life fading. And, a mere few moments later... it all became dark, cold, lonely, and beyond comprehension.

**

The group took a deep breath as they stepped back into the Tower, their lungs revitalized by the scent of a slightly damp, Tower's air. This time around, they didn't wear masks -- it was clear that their identities were largely exposed, and it was pointless to purposefully hide them further.

The entourage consistent of the previous seven, that being Cain, Emma, Senna, Daniel, Jamal, Kramer, and Sigmund, and the newcomer -- Yuki. The highest pressure was likely on the last, since he was told only this morning that he'd be the group's solitary support.

The young lad was currently shaking, and despite the words of encouragement from practically everyone, his nerves hardly settled. After all, this was, effectively, the frontier group -- the spearhead that explored the very depths of the Tower before anyone else -- and he alone would be in charge of their survival. Something that even an insanely talented healer, one even more talented than him, failed to do -- at least from what he picked up. Though he believed in himself and his talents, there was a point where that belief became arrogance -- and being chosen as the solitary pump of life for the vanguard group of humanity certainly was that point.

He shook every time he stole a glance at the surrounding faces, each more strangely calm than the previous; within their eyes, Yuki saw the determination the likes of which was nigh-impossible to resonate with. It was the fire of the thousand suns, and even the surrounding world seemed to cow beneath their gazes. He could only lower his head and walk forward with slump shoulders, the weight of the world crashing down upon him.

**

Lander paced hastily across his office, biting at his nails, the look in his eyes eerily bedeviled. It all failed -- months of planing, under-the-books deals, conference calls in the middle of the night, bribing, uprisings... the entire basket he'd fashioned out of every connection he'd made in business for decades... gone. In a single night -- no, in less than an hour, it was all thwarted. The hired group was either dead or captured, and, yet, the madman wasn't coming. Over a week had passed, one he'd barely managed to get a wink of sleep. He even began to hope -- perhaps... it couldn't be tied to him. Or the madman had already took it out on the foreign nations, but they somehow kept it hidden.

A cacophony of voices was telling him it was okay to stop worrying and start living; after all, he'd been coped up in this office he'd turned into a bunker of sorts for a week, cut off from the world save for the daily updates. A buzz woke him, reminding him that it was time for the daily update.

He sped to the barred doors, nervous still yet slightly excited -- if he still got the news that there were no movements... it would mean he was safe. Checking through the camera, he saw his personal aide, Liam, standing outside. He quickly opened the doors and, nearly forty-seconds later as all the locks came undone, he looked forward. There, Liam continued to stand, instead of walking in.

"Liam?"

"I'm... I'm sorry."

"... Liam?" a gunshot later, blood sprayed out of the man's side as his body fell down. Lander screamed as he fell back, in his horror forgetting to even try and lock the doors. A moment later, a stream of men clad in kevlars and guns came rushing in, one after another, rapidly securing the office.

"It's secure, Sir," one of the said. "You may enter." Lander was shaking, pined like a cushion behind the sofa, eyes glued to front. A moment later, a familiar face enter -- Rick's. Rather than his customary smile he always sported, his expression was cold and lifeless, as though he'd stopped being a human for a moment.

His footsteps were even and quick, reaching Lander just a few seconds later, looking down at him. "Sit him up," he said as he walked around and sat into one of the chairs, while two armed men propped Lander up and dragged him over to the sofa opposite of Rick.

"Lander, Lander, Lander," Rick mumbled, chuckling right after. "Look at you. Sweating like a pig in front of a butcher."

"R-Rick... this... this is unexpected."

"Really?" Rick glanced around. "'cause from the looks of it, you've been expecting it for a while. As such, I must apologize for having you wait. I've had a few things to iron out."

"..."

"Before the Towers," Rick continued. "When it was just business, I tolerated your nonsense, Lander. Business espionage, trying to sabotage my companies, trying to outbid me, always show me up... you were like a young brother trying to prove to the older one that he's finally got it. It was... cute. I mean, you were clearly insane, but you weren't harming anyone -- not really. But now, Lander... what's wrong with you? Partnering up with foreign nations to commence a terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Whatever differences there are between us, you have either gone completely off the rails... or I've completely misjudged you."

"... it's... it's easy for you to judge, Rick," Lander said, laughing strangely for a moment. "You got a jump on this whole thing. By the time the rest of us could even wrap our minds around the fact that humans can use magic... you... you had everything. You had the land, you had the government, and you somehow even had the strongest people eating out of your hand. You left nothing for the rest of us. NOTHING."

"Nothing?! If I wanted, I could have ended all of you within the first week!!" Rick replied in kind. "But I didn't! I left you alone because this thing -- this whole thing-- it's bigger than all of us. Than you, than me, or the governments of the world. Yet you... you kept poking and prodding like this incessant tick that you can't swat away. Trying to get my friends to turn on me, sending in assassins after me..."

"Well, you sure as hell retaliated--sending that maniac--"

"MANIAC?!!" Rick roared, suddenly crossing the distance between the two and grabbing Lander's throat. "You made him into one!! That single act... saved millions, if not billions of lives, Lander!! We both know armies were gearing up for war because of the Conquerors!! But... when they saw him do that--they got scared shitless. They realized... they wouldn't stand a chance--so... they set up a meeting instead."

"A meeting he ruined!!" Lander cried back. "All they wanted--all they wanted was assurance, Ricky! Not from some fucking lunatic with magic, but from people with a brain! They wanted U.S. to send some fucking ships or missiles to just pretend to protect them! But he--he fucked up!"

"No, he gave everyone that umbrella -- but... you lot became terrified again. Tonight... he was ready to go to war, Lander," Rick withdrew and sat back down. "No armies, no conquerors, no nobody could have stopped him. Your little band could have costed us this thinly veiled peace that we barely maintain. All the same... I'm too tired, Lander. Too tired of letting this go by."

"... what? You think you're a saint, Ricky?! Spare me your fucking morality! You're doing this just to save your ass and to hoard even more wealth! You even stole my own people, Rick! One thing, one thing we agreed never to do -- we'd bribe and try to get secrets from them, but never use them against each other."

"Yeah, well, it's not a game anymore, Lander. It's not just worthless money that's at stake or a few pointless properties or boats. Every decision, every decision we make now impacts millions upon millions of souls. And yours, tonight, could have ended the world as we know it. All because you threw a childish tantrum at not getting what you wanted. Well, I'm sick of them."

"At least have balls to end me yourself."

"You think I won't?" Rick said with a chuckle, suddenly drawing Mana into his fist. "He's a good kid, Lander. And he's trying to be better. He's really trying. That's why, I'll take on all the demons for him. Especially ones worthless like you. Enjoy the trip Lander; I'm sure hell is beautiful this time of year!"


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  • テキストの品質
  • アップデートの安定性
  • ストーリー展開
  • キャラクターデザイン
  • 世界の背景

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