kscans

Chapter 862 - Reporting In

—If people were asked their favorite day of the week, Friday night—the gateway to the weekend—would probably land in the top three most of the time.

The place: a castle. The color: white.

Specifically, of the four castles that exist in each faction's district, it was the Eastern Faction's wartime base—a place that had been a source of mystery for countless people since the dawn of the virtual world, who wondered, Why is it buried???

At a seat of the Round Table within the [Subterranean Castle of a Different Layer - Ruvalest].

"……………This isn't the reaction I was expecting."

Six people were present. One of them, a dazzling silver-blue figure who unanimously had the most radiant presence, complained with her usual expressionless face… but in a slightly lower tone of voice.

And so, there was one accomplice watching over her with an amused smile.

And then there were the four guys, including me, who had given uninspired reactions like “Huh” and “Oh” to a surprise that wasn't really surprising at all.

"…You're gettin' more playful by the day, huh? This old man is deeply moved," said Goldow, the [General Commander], second-ranked in the Eastern Faction.

"I know, right? She used to be so stoic and business-like with her reports," said Jin-san, [Wolf Pack], second-ranked in the Northern Faction.

"Haha, that's dazzling. This is how young folks should be," said Mr. Enra, the [Crimson Arm], head artisan of the Western Faction.

—And then there's me.

"…Hey, there's no reason to give me that deadpan stare. I did act a little surprised, so I don't see why I'm being blamed along with these self-proclaimed old men—"

"Haru-kun."

"Yes."

"I must admit, I too was hoping for a slightly more surprised reaction."

"I'm very sorry."

And so, in a gathering of the top players from each faction—or rather, the de facto leaders—there was one pitiful fourth-ranked member who had been dragged along for some reason, only to be glared at by Iris and teased by his master.

What were we doing? It's a simple story.

"But still, about twenty days, huh. I don't know whether to laugh at how you guys blew past everyone below second place just as expected, or at the ridiculous difficulty that took even you two twenty days…"

The tag team of the [Sword Queen] & the [Sword Saint].

The result of the strongest & supreme pair—who would undoubtedly be held back by mixing in any others, whether they were rankers or not—climbing at the fastest possible speed.

—It was none other than the debriefing for their long-awaited ‘Completion of the Key Tree's 100th Floor’.

And so, the princess, who had uncharacteristically attempted a bit of entertainment, had gathered the faction leaders plus one extra and, with a somewhat proud, expressionless smirk, announced her extraordinary achievement of conquering the 100th floor just two minutes ago.

Which led to the current situation. Well, it couldn't be helped.

First of all, we knew that the pair, the very antithesis of ‘ordinary,’ was on the move, so we never expected an ordinary result to begin with.

When I actually heard the news, I did voice my surprise with an “Oh…,” but honestly, my reaction wouldn't have changed even if they had told me the same result after ten days, or even a week.

I mean, it's the [Sword Queen] and the [Sword Saint] going at it full-throttle. Of course they'd conquer a tree, no matter how tall, at explosive speed.

Goldow's half-joking thoughts were the consensus of all of us who had been told.

"…Whatever. I'll continue." Then why, I wondered, was Iris sulking and singling me out with her gaze? What was I supposed to do? Was the right answer to let out a war cry and activate [Rocket]???

…Well, that's enough of the lighthearted banter for now.

"To conclude. —For now, we found what we were hoping for."

That classic opening line. As Iris began her speech with the fundamental and kingly narrative technique of hooking the audience from the start, the three men who had been wearing relaxed, cheerful faces changed their expressions.

Confirming that the mood in the room had turned serious, the princess’s atmosphere shifted to that of a queen.

"Upon clearing the 100th floor, two ‘paths’ and one ‘door’ appeared before us. …As for the ‘paths,’ they were the same as the ones up to the 90th floor."

"Kah… just as I thought."

"Well, no matter how you look at it, this thing ain't on the scale of a mere hundred floors…"

As the first piece of information was revealed, Goldow and Enra looked up at the ceiling and exchanged dry, distant smiles. Both of them reacted as if to say, ‘Just as expected.’

"—So it continues to the 101st floor… huh. Now, I wonder how high it goes," Jin-san said with a cheerful smile. As he said, the ‘paths’ Iris mentioned were likely the transfer gates for ‘proceeding’ or ‘returning,’ the basic system of the Key Tree Maze.

"So, did you check what's ahead?" I asked, voicing my honest curiosity on behalf of the three composed men.

"Not yet—… The reason is a little surprise for each of you when you reach the 100th floor."

"You're holding more of a grudge about your surprise failing than I thought, huh?"

The reply was a single, terribly cute bit of spite.

However, I couldn't imagine her, being so fundamentally serious, making a pointless joke. That meant, for better or worse, we had time.

That which we had ‘predicted’ and ‘hoped for’.

"Putting the ‘paths’ aside—the ‘door’ cannot be opened yet."

The clue that might lead to the second act of the Green Connect raid, which had ended with the mysterious word ‘covenant’ instead of ‘annihilation’ or ‘burial’.

It meant that it wasn't something that could be used right away.

"The deepest part of the 100th floor… the boss's great chamber was fundamentally different in construction from the previous floors."

As she spoke, Iris took a single sheet of ‘paper’ from her inventory. It wasn't pure white, but a slightly aged… or rather, atmospheric piece of parchment.

So, what was it?

"Look."

The moment its owner touched it with intent, the magical item began to draw an image from her mind.

"………What's this, a magic circle?"

"No, it's the pattern on the floor," my master replied to the murmur I'd let slip after seeing the literal ‘concept art’ Iris had transcribed. I see, the construction is indeed different… though my own memories are limited to the thirty-nine floors I've cleared so far.

"The floors up to the 99th didn't have such elaborate decorations."

Just as Iris said, it was an elaborate and intricately detailed decoration.

The pattern, drawn within a perfect circle and appearing to be part ‘text’ and part ‘picture,’ sparked the imagination, suggesting it surely held some meaning.

Furthermore, what particularly stood out with a certain sense of incongruity was…—

"…The shape of the six marks lined up in the center here looks familiar, doesn't it?" Goldow pointed out.

Exactly that.

The center of the pattern Goldow pointed to. The marks, arranged neatly in an even circle, were something Arcadia players saw all the time, unless they were dedicated solo players.

Look, even now, if I looked up, I could see five of them.

""""""………………""""""

Even if they couldn't be seen within each other's reflected eyes, there was one user interface element that was surely visible in each of our fields of view.

—Namely, the proof of identity that indicates a player: the color cursor.

"…Ah, well. Of the six, two of the colors seem to have changed," Enra-shi followed up with another question.

"That's an anomaly that occurred after defeating the boss. They're not a different color, they're glowing. If either Ui or I leave the hall, one of the lights goes out," Iris answered matter-of-factly.

"Then, what about the patterns on the outer circumference that are colored similarly…" Jin-san continued with a question about the similarities.

"The same. Those are parts that began to glow after the boss was defeated. As for those, nothing we did caused any change," Ui-san answered calmly.

"Hmm……………………—So?"

And so, I, as the last one, concluded with a heartfelt confession of my complete lack of understanding.

I mean, it couldn't be helped. We were in the middle of hearing the explanation, so the pieces of information were incomplete from top to bottom. At this point, I couldn't form any predictions or deductions.

The six marks, with two lit up for the two of them. The vine-like pattern bordering the outermost part, which seemed to be about twenty percent illuminated. Putting those aside for a moment, the only thing I could barely surmise from looking at the single line running down the middle of the perfect circle was….

That this was probably the ‘door’ Iris was talking about.

"…Players who have cleared the 100th floor will likely be able to teleport directly to the 100th floor from any floor within the Key Tree Maze. Ui and I did a quick verification today."

"When we went down to the 99th and 98th floors, we found that a ‘red’ transfer gate now appears after defeating the boss. Jumping into it took us to the deepest part of the 100th floor."

"The boss didn't respawn. This is probably just a guess, but the 100th floor boss might be a special type that each player can only defeat once."

Though she didn't know the meaning or intent behind it—Iris added.

"Probably… what clearing the 100th floor grants is a qualification. And there are six qualified people who can pass through the door. As for the ‘gauge’ on the outer part… this is completely my own speculation, but I think it indicates some kind of value related to all players conquering the Key Tree."

The cumulative total of floors cleared by individuals, the total number of floor bosses defeated, or the cumulative PARLs spent by all players, and so on and so forth.

Compared to last night, the illuminated area of the outer pattern had slightly expanded by tonight.

Iris said she arrived at that conclusion after doing some calculations based on the gauge's slow progress over the course of a day.

I had no idea what she had calculated, and I didn't understand any of it from top to bottom, but since Iris was the one saying it, I just stopped thinking and accepted it. Was I an idiot?

Well, setting games aside, from an entertainment and meta perspective, it was a plausible theory. Content that a huge number of people enjoy online often has events like a gauge that everyone has to work desperately to slowly fill.

Plus, the six ‘special’ slots were also very Arcadia-like.

If Iris's theory was spot on… then it was a case of the efforts of many forging the key, and the chosen heroes being sent forth?

I see. If that's the case, then…

"So, is that it? Assuming this is the door to the second act of the Green Connect raid…"

There was only one thing to say.

"—Huh? You mean we're supposed to challenge it with just six people? A large-scale battle… a raid?"

"""""………………"""""

Again, all I could do now was make wild guesses. So, while I couldn't say anything for sure, the trust I had built up so high through my gameplay experience was screaming at me.

Whatever was waiting beyond that door, there was absolutely, positively no way it was content designed to be challenged by just six players.

---

Alright, I've managed to disclose about 10% of the information (despair).