Chapter 1066 - The Weight of Time
I watched as her figure vanished.
"...I forgot to say thank you."
It was true that I hadn't had the luxury to think about that, given the sheer absurdity of the situation. But still...
I looked at my hand, which had been lifted toward the light that had vanished without a trace. I didn't feel like celebrating as I whispered those words.
Then...
"Yeah."
"Mm..."
Tora-kichi and Ashe, who had regained their composure faster than Sora and Nia, agreed. We were talking about...
"Full recovery. ...Truly, it's absurd."
The fact that the stats we had lost had likely all returned.
How that happened... well, I suppose that was just how it was.
The Saintess, who could apparently skip elapsed time and seize only the conclusion, didn't just deliver us from the north to the south.
"She's thoughtful. As expected of our ancestor from the Northern Faction."
She had delivered us to the conclusion that we had collected all the Wedges.
If we had only suffered this much exhaustion, we should probably just worship her without question for her consideration.
She truly lived up to her name as a Saintess...
"...Ah, um, thanks. I'm okay now."
"I see."
I thanked Kendy-dono, whose shoulder I had been leaning on, and stood up as the third person to do so. Once I was standing firmly on legs that had mostly stopped wobbling, the knight who had been watching 'her' with us smiled.
"Traveler-sama."
"Yeah?"
"Just a little more."
"Ah, yeah. Right."
He looked toward the distance, his voice somewhat nostalgic. His eyes were fixed on a mountain of rubble that was stained red. And in the middle of it stood a fourth person... a tall man dressed in the robes of a king.
Emperor Revenant of the South... the last of the Primeval Four Towers.
*
The change that occurred after breaking the Trial of Saintess Milfie of the North was twofold, aside from the obvious full recovery of the Wedges.
First, the usual: a status bonus.
The ability points that flowed into my avatar this time were Luck (LUC) and Mind (MID). As the name of the Lucky Northern Faction suggested, the distribution was heavily weighted toward the former.
In addition, the enhancement of the blessing that had occurred when we cleared from the East to the West happened again. It was as expected... but it defied my expectations in one point: it didn't just add up.
It doubled again.
In other words, from the equivalent of Lv. 10 when we received it from the Braver, it had doubled to Lv. 20 when we reached the Trickster, and now it had doubled again. Currently, it had evolved into a bonus equivalent to Lv. 40.
Each stat was equivalent to Lv. 40.
In short, we currently had a total of Lv. 120 worth of power... 1,200 status points worth of power added on top of our existing stats. Our meters were simply broken.
Combined with our fully recovered base stats, we were easily over Lv. 200.
Ashe and Tora-kichi, who weren't as used to rapid status changes as Sora and I, probably wouldn't have been able to move properly for a while if it hadn't been for the training we did before the raid.
As for Nia-chan, who was terrified of her completely unknown physical specs, she was just staying quiet, which was fine. If it came to it, I would just grab her with my restored legs and handle things myself.
...Next, our item inventory was finally unlocked.
That was a simple, massive help. To be blunt, I was the only one who had been really suffering from that restriction, but more than anything, it was an indescribable relief to be able to eat the food items Tora-kichi and Nia always carried.
How many hours had it been since our last meal?
I hadn't been hungry, and my desires were strangely thin while we were here, so I hadn't really cared... but I realized it had just been a facade.
I had just been unconsciously avoiding paying attention to it. My mind had apparently been suffering from a situation where the constants of being human were absent. Of course it had.
Setting aside the mental benefits, there were practical ones too.
First and foremost was that my [Blind Spot Jump] pool was unlocked, but if the worst happened and we couldn't use magic, it was huge to be able to rely on potions, even if they were just a drop in the bucket. It wasn't about mental comfort, but tactical sufficiency. Being able to include a certain amount of damage tolerance in our plans truly opened up infinite tactical options.
And so it went.
Our skills still hadn't returned, so we weren't at full strength, but even so, we were in a state of extreme empowerment in a different direction thanks to the massive status bonuses.
After tens of hours of raiding, we had finally, truly, come this far.
And waiting for us...
...
The one who welcomed us last was a man standing proudly with the title of King.
After a short break, we stood up and walked the path to the final stage. We stopped just before the place where the ruins of what was once a castle were piled up, facing 'him' for several seconds.
"...Something about..."
"...His silhouette...?"
"...Does it look... familiar...?"
Nia, Sora, then Ashe. Their whispered words followed each other like they were perfectly synchronized, questioning Emperor Revenant's appearance.
Then...
"...Um, look, even if you all look at me... it's just the hairstyle, right?"
"His build is similar too. It's hard to tell since he's pitch-black, so it stands out even more."
I was exasperated as everyone in the party, including Tora-kichi who followed up, looked at me. Well, I say exasperated, but I didn't know what kind of face to make...
Even if he had the air of a king, he wasn't wearing a crown. He wore a dignified cloak... but he was dressed in practical combat attire, and he radiated an indescribable presence and majesty.
And what of it? I didn't want to admit it, but as Tora-kichi said, since he was 'pitch-black,' I could only read him by his silhouette. And because I could only see his silhouette...
...
"..."
Something about his build, his style, his outline, even the way his back hair was tied like a tail... well, yeah.
"...No, that doesn't matter, does it? It just makes me feel weirdly uncomfortable?"
"Well, I just felt like saying it because he's that similar..."
"Ah, haha..."
"I wonder if Haru would actually look good in clothes like that."
If it was just the silhouette, he was strangely similar to me.
No, it was the other way around. Am I the one who's similar to him?
If he was a great man from the distant past, and we were talking about the passage of time... whether it was in reality or the virtual world, I would be the latecomer. And regardless of which world it was, I was the one who took 'this form' later in the virtual world.
Then...
"...What is it?"
"No, it is nothing."
I happened to meet Kendy-dono's eyes, and I realized he was staring at me too. I could read a smile on his face, but I couldn't read the emotions lingering behind it.
Seriously, what the hell? Once the raid is over and everything is done and Ashe's presentation of her theories and observations is finished, you'd better be ready.
I'm absolutely going to use my authority as a friend to grill you to my heart's content.
"Whatever... well then?"
I put aside the unexpected stalling and everyone's focus shifted, signaling that we'd kept him waiting. Correction: Nia-chan was still flustered and couldn't keep up, but we left her aside too.
Once again, he was right in front of us. That is, at the step right before the line.
If we took one more step, the Trial would begin at the starting line. The Emperor, who stood there watching us with his featureless face, was indeed dignified. It was as if he were beckoning us to come whenever we were ready.
"...Re-confirming. Is this really the best way?"
It was a re-confirmation, a final check. Ashe, who was already looking forward without turning back, asked.
"It is the best way. As long as you believe in what I know."
"Right. I understand."
Ashe nodded without a hint of doubt at the knight's certain words.
What was that about? It was about Nia being on the front lines where 'something' was about to happen, along with him. It was just as the conversation suggested. Kendy-dono had offered a piece of advice... or rather, a proposal for the first time, and this choice was the result of placing our trust in our guide's words.
"..."
I looked at her, and her blue eyes blinked two or three times before she nodded, as if trying to act tough. I could only offer her a smile to reassure her.
...Yeah, it'll be okay. If it comes to it, I'll make sure her end isn't a scary one.
And so, with everyone's consent...
"...Mm. Let's begin."
With our leader's quiet word, we stepped across the invisible line for the fourth time.