#156
156. Taonian Keepers (1)
Two days have passed since I received an analysis of Nord.
“Are you really going?”
Yurnet lowered her eyes with a forlorn expression.
I was stepping on an airship heading to Taoni.
“Then will you stay?”
“of course……!”
“Would you like to stay? I have to go.”
“It’s too much.”
Yurnet glanced at me.
I smiled and stepped on the stairs.
You cannot remain in Niflheim.
If you stay here, you will be soaked in comfort. can never move forward
I also had responsibilities in Taone.
Second visit to Niflheim.
It didn’t take long, but it paid off.
The first is that I was able to raise my intermediate weapon skill to 5 during the sparring with Lidigion.
Secondly… … .
‘It’s amazing.’
I was able to outline the method of promotion to 7 stars.
A combination of master and hero. Not 100% certain. However, the completed hypothesis matched the information I knew. More than 90% of the answers are correct.
‘There’s no one to trust.’
I smiled bitterly.
At the landing, Yurnet, Lidigion, and Nihaku came out to see them off.
Don’t rely only on those guys. If I didn’t become strong, it would be dorumuk.
“I’ll wait.”
Lydigion bowed his head.
Nihaku waved his hand.
“Come again next time!”
“I don’t know when that will be.”
“Isn’t once a week enough?”
“I can’t come like that.”
“no way.”
The stairs that carried me went up to the deck.
“Master, please don’t forget to contact us this time.”
I went inside the ship while heeding Yunet’s non-warning.
And the airship started operating. The guide this time was also Liddell.
One day until arrival.
‘We need to change the way Taoneer operates.’
Late in the evening, I spread the paper on the desk in the cabin.
The current structure of Taoni was drawn.
‘It’s the third floor.’
When heroes are summoned for the first time, they are assigned to the first floor.
They live like beggars for a while, eating only potatoes and water.
When you get your role, then you go up to the second floor.
In the early days of the waiting room, it was much more advanced than the method of living on one floor and controlling heroes through synthesis,
‘Not enough yet.’
A little primitive.
The size of the heroes also grows as they grow, and 200 people are ahead.
Now it is close to the big village.
‘Increase to at least 300 people.’
Hero consumption in missions is too intense.
The cause was simple. Unexpected damn difficulty.
If this trend continues, there will be multiple deaths per mission.
To quickly replenish power, it was necessary to increase the pool of heroes.
For this… … .
‘Amkena should do well.’
In my strategy log I sent to him, the ‘Book of the Sky’ named by Isel, these intermediate courses are also described.
The core doesn’t change.
If you do well, you go up, if you don’t, you go down.
Just keep the basics and add a little seasoning.
‘There are two useful operating models.’
The model I used in Niflheim and the model used by the once-legendary No. 1 in the rankings.
His active period was long before I became a ranker.
he was a real genius If my reasoning is correct, he’s dead now.
‘… … .’
While I was thinking about it, time passed quickly.
<We have arrived!>
Liddell’s broadcast opened my eyes.
A message appeared on the right side of my field of vision, informing me of the location.
[Dimension 1935 – Taoni]
Taone language.
Coming out to the deck, the airship was entering the dimensional vortex.
As soon as he saw me, Liddell gave a respectful salute.
“It was an honor to serve you!”
“What is glory? Don’t overdo it.”
“Hey, when are you going to Niflheim again…”
Liddell looked at me with a kindly wishful eye.
Is it Yurnet’s trick, or is it just a pure heart.
“well.”
I spilled the answer lightly.
and.
[Dispatch completed!]
[‘Han(★★★)’ has returned safely from ‘Nippleheim’.]
[‘Han (★★★)’ operation is now possible.]
[※The hero’s condition has changed due to the dispatch effect. Check the ‘Hero’ tab for details!]
Landgrid 07 called at the dimensional rift.
Receiving Liddell’s salute, I stepped back into the waiting room.
“then!”
Boooung.
Soon after, the airship disappeared.
‘Hmm.’
I looked up.
The sky was tinged with a dingy light.
Amkenna is not logged in. It was late evening, judging by the color.
Tboob.
The sound of stepping on the metal floor resounded.
I took a full breath of air.
I stepped out of the dimensional gap. I went straight to the plaza on the 2nd floor and took the stairs to the 3rd floor.
‘… … .’
dark.
The lights in the plaza are not on.
I didn’t run into anyone on the way.
No matter how late it was, it was unusual.
The moment you tilt your head and try to enter the dorm.
The stairs leading to the 4th floor caught my eye.
‘I made the 4th floor.’
While I was away, the waiting room seems to have changed.
I turned around and stepped on the stairs to the fourth floor.
After a while, the view of the square on the 4th floor was revealed.
Basically, it’s like any other square.
However, if there is a difference, it has been expanded to a large playground, and an unfamiliar building has been built instead of the passage to the accommodation or training center.
I smiled bitterly.
There stood a luxurious mansion that could only come out of a picture.
It was three stories tall and was surrounded by a fence.
I finally understood Amkena’s intentions.
It created a private residence.
‘… … I want this.’
I opened the mansion’s gate and entered.
A fanfare erupted in the vast hall.
[Congratulations, Loki!]
Isel, wearing a cone hat, flew in.
Subsequently, the interior of the hall was revealed. On the left side of the wall decorated with balloons and papers, a loud placard reading ‘Congratulations on your inauguration!’ was hung.
“What is this?”
[fart! fart!]
Issel blew a toy flute that ejected paper.
“Go to bed.”
[Wait a minute! wait! I prepared hard!]
Isel flew away in a hurry.
“You said what happened.”
[Loki’s inauguration party!]
“inauguration?”
As Isel waved his hand in a circle, a system log from the past came to mind.
A blue potion bottle icon on a white decorated hologram window.
It was the research tab.
[Teeling!]
[Research, ‘Hero Responsiveness’ has become Lv.10.]
A guide message followed.
[From now on, you can appoint a ‘Sub Master’!]
[The sub-master is the master’s deputy. It will oversee the work and battles in the waiting room and help the master conquer the tower.]
[Tips/Submasters are given more extensive powers. Depending on the situation, the submaster even performs an arbitrary tower attack. Experience the limits of artificial intelligence reminiscent of humans!]
I don’t think I can tell without looking at the log at the back.
I erased the hologram window.
“so.”
[Yes, from now on, Loki is the submaster of Taoni!]
“I don’t know what bothers you about this.”
Belquist with a languid expression yawned and walked out.
Next to him were Jenna and Nerissa. Even Edith was with me.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I said dumbfounded.
[To congratulate everyone… … Crush!]
Isel’s cheeks increased without mercy.
“Is it yours?”
[Ah, no, I’m just afraid that Han will leave Taoni… … .]
“Don’t be so mean. That fairy did it because she thought of you too.”
Edith smiled and walked out.
“Congratulations, Han. You’ve been recognized.”
[Ahem, stop being cocky now. I’m in a different class from you!]
“Should I use a respectful word? Han.”
“I think I’m going to die because I can’t grow chicken meat, so quit.”
“If so, what?”
Edith smiled and withdrew.
I saw Issel.
He was restless with his pods on.
[Because I became a submaster… … Don’t go to strange places.]
“What happened?”
[I-I heard that a new lucky person entered Niflheim… … .]
Issel whispered so that only I could hear.
I chuckled. I sat there worrying unnecessarily.
‘I guess this guy recommended me as a submaster.’
It’s a different level than simply showing tips.
I must have put a lot of effort into it.
“Isn’t it something to celebrate anyway?”
Jenna opened her mouth.
“The submaster is the highest person in this place, right?”
[Ahem, except for the Master.]
“As expected, I rode one line well.”
Jenna winked at me.
I said despondently.
“Did you come together to say hello like this?”
“These days, the grass seems dead. After that incident.”
“If that’s the case…”
Is it Iolka?
“Even my older sister will not resent my older brother. Even if I were her, I would feel the same way. You don’t have to blame yourself.”
“Never.”
“That’s all right.”
Jenna chuckled and withdrew.
“You’re sleepy. Can I go to bed?”
“Stay still.”
Nerissa stepped on Belquist’s foot.
“But if you become a submaster, is there anything special?”
“Not much. Nothing to celebrate.”
‘I’m tired.’
I scratched my head.
As long as Amkena appointed me as Sub-Master, it was clear that she would be entrusted with all sorts of troublesome tasks.
Well, although it is necessary.
I looked around the left.
The set members are Jenna, Belquist, and Nerissa from the first party. Edith at the 2nd party.
As a bonus, Isel is stuck. They were the guys who were in charge of the backbone of Taoni.
‘It’s a pity that Kishasha doesn’t exist.’
It seems we still need some time.
I removed the piece of paper from my head and sat down on the chair.
“Sit down for now.”
“party?”
“No way.”
I laughed.
“It’s annoying to collect them later. I’ll tell you in advance.”
Members were seated in turn at the table.
I took the paper out of my pocket and laid it out on the table. On the paper was a drawing of the structure of the current waiting room. The number of floors has changed since it became the 4th floor, but it would not be difficult to explain the situation.
“What is this piece of paper?”
“This is the structure of the waiting room we are in now. As you all know, the situation is different from before. The kids are full.”
I pointed to the first floor of the waiting room.
“There are close to 150 heroes staying on the first floor. Is that right?”
[huh! Because it hasn’t changed much.]
“We need new fighters. They’ve been dying in droves on the 35th floor. We’ll continue to do so.”
I pointed to the third floor.
It’s safe to say that it’s on the 4th floor now.
“We need to change the way we operate for smooth power supply and future missions.”
“Isn’t that the master’s job?”
“Of course, he will be in charge of the main duties. But the number of people has increased greatly. It has become difficult to take care of them alone.”
Amkena appointed me as Submaster because of that need.
When the number of people was small, it was possible to decide the utilization by looking at each person, but now the situation is different.
In fact, even with a small staff, Amkena was unable to make effective decisions.
It’s not like watching heroes 24 hours a day.
‘It was necessary in the end.’
Rather late.
I opened my mouth.
“What does a single ruler need to effectively command a large number of people?”
The faces of the members hardened.
said Belquist, who was crossing his arms.
“Senior’s will is…”
“…”
“You mean to acknowledge the master as our ruler?”
this.
You stab me without hesitation.
“okay.”
I nodded.
Belquist furrowed his eyebrows in displeasure.
“I heard that the master considers us horses on chess. They’re just toys that don’t matter if we die or not. Besides, isn’t he driving us on dog-like missions?”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Help such a bastard? I can’t agree.”
Belquist smiled coldly and looked up at the ceiling.
It was the sky side.
“What has saved me so far is my own desire to improve.
“…”
“Has that master called me ever help me? He just tries to make me feel bad from above and throws it into the battlefield. I don’t know if he would have agreed if he had been a master. But he’s not the author. He’s incompetent in my opinion. I mean.”
Belquist snorted.
Next Edith raised her hand.
“As far as I know, we were brought here because of the Master. We were kidnapped.”
kidnap.
This is also not wrong.
“We follow you because we don’t want to die, so we live, but if we follow your words, the meaning changes. It means that we cooperate voluntarily.”
“To be honest. Fuck the submaster or something. It’s like a slave showing off his chains.”
“I have a different opinion.”
“what?”
Belquist frowned.
A frustrated gaze turned to Nerissa.
“I think we should help the Master.”
“This is disappointing. I didn’t expect you to.”
“Don’t judge me emotionally. It makes me look stupid.”
“Is there any guarantee that the reward will come back? You say you help that bastard who is killing us with a change of heart?”
“This is the way we live.”
“I’m dying because it’s funny.”
Arguments began to break out between them.
[Oh, no, wait. Why are you here? We’re here to celebrate Han’s return!]
Isel flapped her wings and flinched.
I laughed.
well, also
