Ch-152
—
*
Lord Solbaren.
Master of the First Zone and guardian of the Tower, he was tasked with drowning challengers in despair.
He possessed countless types of invincible skills; he was a steel wall that could not be breached.
And on top of that, he had the trait of *growth*—he became stronger the more he was struck—so it was no exaggeration to say that no one in this zone existed who could defeat him.
*As expected, how dull.*
The first party’s challenge.
They were strong in their own way, but they hadn’t managed to leave a single proper scratch on him.
They failed to pierce his steel wall.
Realizing that quickly and fleeing was, in fact, quite wise.
Had they tried to force their way through, Lord Solbaren would only have grown stronger.
*I slept for so long, and yet… is there still no one who can satisfy me?*
He had spent an immeasurable amount of time within the rift.
He had faced the creatures of the rift countless times until he was eventually recognized even by the Tower, earning the title of “Lord.”
Thereafter, Solbaren waited. And waited again for the next challenger to appear.
But if this was the reward for his patience…
It was so far below expectations that he felt like yawning.
*I even told them how to weaken me.*
If their total score exceeded 500 points, Solbaren’s combat power decreased by 1% for every additional 10 points.
Combat power was equivalent to Solbaren’s overall might.
For Solbaren, one could consider his total of level, equipment, and skills to equal “combat power.”
*If anything, I’d rather see that first party challenge me again.*
Though they fled, their combat power had been impressive.
The strongest among them had exceeded 400,000.
They had only retreated because they couldn’t deal with Solbaren’s invincible skills.
If they raised their score a bit and came again, it might be fun.
*Not that they would ever pierce my steel wall.*
But there was a limit to how high their score could go.
Each person could only earn points in their assigned zone. Once they cleared the zone boss, there was no way to gain more.
The only alternative was killing other challengers of the same level zone.
Of course, even if they killed other challengers, they still couldn’t defeat Lord Solbaren.
*Now then. Come challenge me. Who is next?*
The one who delivers despair.
Lord Solbaren smiled at the thought of inflicting despair on yet another group of challengers.
The idea of watching them struggle and break against him delighted him to no end.
How much time passed?
《The next party is now challenging “Lord Solbaren.”》
《The party’s total score is 1,520 points.》
《“Lord Solbaren’s” combat power decreases by 99.9%.》
……?
“……?”
For a moment, Lord Solbaren’s thoughts froze.
Authority to configure the settings for Floor 1 belonged only to him.
Even if he fractured the zones by level, the maximum total score achievable should never exceed 1,000.
Solbaren himself had set it that way.
Scores beyond that could not exist. They *must not* exist.
*1,520 points?*
What was this?
A score far beyond what *he* had configured?
A bug? A misread?
《Combat power reduction according to total score is now beginning.》
《Combat power of 999,999 is reduced to the minimum value of 1,000.》
《To preserve existence, size is reduced.》
Lord Solbaren looked down at himself.
The steel-walled lord clad in iron armor—
His previously massive, burly frame began shrinking.
His reduced combat power meant he no longer had the strength to support his body.
*This is…*
Something was wrong.
He was not a being that dreamed, but this had to be a dream.
If not, such a drastic decrease in combat power made no sense.
And that score was even more nonsensical.
Yet, it wasn’t only his body shrinking.
《Iron armor disappears; “weak points” are revealed.》
《Iron shield disappears; “weak points” are revealed.》
《Iron helmet disappears; “weak points” are revealed.》
…….
《Skill level of “Solbaren of the Steel Wall” drastically decreases.》
《Skill level of “Solbaren the Invincible” drastically decreases.》
《All stats sharply decrease.》
Insane.
Everything was dropping.
The iron armor, the steel wall, even the invincible skills.
The Solbaren that remained afterward was utterly pitiful.
A body reduced to less than half its size, standing exposed with all weak points visible.
He barely recognized himself.
It felt like even a breeze could blow him away…
*This is… something has gone terribly wrong.*
Terribly, catastrophically wrong.
What kind of bastard had bypassed his settings to create this situation?
*Did they perhaps slaughter every challenger in the entire zone?*
A party of five.
Even if each killed every challenger in their respective zones, 1,520 still made no sense, but it was the only plausible explanation.
And if that was truly what happened—
*Then they cannot kill me.*
Lord Solbaren took a deep breath.
Yes. If that were the case, they could not kill him.
If they gave up and left, he could simply reconfigure himself.
Ziiiiing.
At last, a warp opened before his eyes.
Lord Solbaren narrowed them sharply.
Time to see just how “great” these challengers were.
“We came because we said we’d challenge… hmm.”
The first to step out of the warp was a priest.
【31,050】
Barely in the thirty-thousands.
Pathetic.
As a priest, they could hardly even fight.
How they had killed other challengers was a mystery, but it was laughable.
“Brother! I am here! Where are you?”
Next was a dryad.
A high dryad, it seemed. Blessed by Verdant.
【98,700】
Certainly higher than the priest.
Yet still strange.
Were they truly claiming *this* team reached 1,520 points?
“This place? Ah, that ogre-looking fellow must be Solbaren? His appearance is atrocious.”
A knight in silver armor.
【115,600】
The first to exceed 100,000.
But still far below the first party.
Ziiiiing.
The last two warps vibrated.
“Ah! Everyone’s here.”
A spearman appeared.
【74,800~?】
Hmm…?
This one was odd.
The type that grows stronger under specific conditions, it seemed.
Still, judging only by the displayed value—pathetic.
*Ridiculous. What is this?*
A tower malfunction?
These kinds of people earning that score?
Impossible.
If not a malfunction, it was inexplicable.
Finally, the last man appeared.
“Ah! Sir Randolph!”
“We’ve been waiting for you!”
So this one was the party leader?
Lord Solbaren’s eyes sharpened.
And then—
【217,400~?】
Hmm.
He was somewhat strong.
Clearly much stronger than the others.
Leader-worthy.
Still weaker than the first party, but acceptable.
At that moment—
*What?*
Solbaren frowned.
The numbers above the man’s head began disappearing one by one.
【??????】
Then all were replaced with question marks.
…He had no idea what was happening.
But one thing was certain: this man was the cause of everything.
“Even if my ‘weak points’ are exposed, you cannot kill me.”
Lord Solbaren proclaimed proudly.
The reason they could not kill him—
To kill Lord Solbaren, all five “weak points” had to be dismantled.
And to dismantle the weak points, there was one critical requirement.
Unless they discovered that condition—and even if they *did*—they still could not kill him.
Then the priest grinned.
“Judging by the system, it seems you cannot be defeated as long as ‘Evil Deeds’ remain.”
Oh?
A rather insightful priest.
To recognize it just by observation.
But even if he knew, there was no way to erase Evil Deeds.
If they had roamed the zones slaughtering challengers, their Evil Deeds would be astronomical.
That was why Lord Solbaren could call himself invincible.
If they understood that—then despair.
Give up, realizing you can never kill me.
Lord Solbaren smiled.
And at that moment—
“Look, successor. I told you I would be needed, didn’t I?”
Hwaaaaang!
From the priest’s hands, indulgences began duplicating infinitely.
Indulgences.
Only a formally ordained priest of the Goddess Church could issue them.
In an entire lifetime, they could issue no more than three, each one used to erase a certain amount of Evil Deeds.
Even the pope was no exception.
But no matter how great an indulgence was, it could not erase a multitude of sins.
*If they had slaughtered all the challengers in the zone, a few indulgences wouldn’t even come close.*
When the first indulgence popped out of the priest’s hand, Solbaren had thought:
Hmm. So he’s a priest of the Goddess Church.
Just that much of an impression.
But when the indulgences passed two and reached three—
*Has he never issued one before in his entire life?*
And he’s using them all here?
Yet even so, Solbaren remained composed.
Their Evil Deeds had to be reduced to zero in order to strike his “weak points.”
And that Evil Deeds value of zero applied not to an individual, but to the *entire party*.
Could those three indulgences reduce everyone’s Evil Deeds to zero?
Fwhoooaang!
“……”
Fwhooooaang!
“……”
Fwhooooooooaaang!!
Radiant, holy light spilled endlessly from the priest’s hand.
Indulgences were emerging infinitely, as if being copied.
*What… is that…?*
He wondered if he was dreaming yet again.
Even as the first lord of the Rift, he could not comprehend what was happening.
Just the indulgences visible already exceeded ten.
And with each one used, the Evil Deeds of every party member were being erased, one by one.
Just watching them, even Lord Solbaren felt as though *his own* Evil Deeds were being cleansed.
*Wasn’t it supposed to be three, no matter what? Even for the pope?*
All knowledge absorbed by the Rift resided in his mind.
Thus, he was certain.
Even the pope could not create more than three indulgences.
Then what was this priest?
He was performing miracles even the pope could not achieve.
Was he truly an apostle of god?
*This is… this is something I never accounted for. Something impossible.*
The first floor of the Tower.
The zones fractured by level.
Everything here was set directly by Lord Solbaren.
One could challenge him at 500 points, and for every additional 10 points earned, his combat power would drop by 1%.
But for a party to gain more than 500 points, they would have no choice but to kill other challengers in the same zone and steal their points.
That automatically accumulated Evil Deeds, making Lord Solbaren impossible to kill.
They would, quite literally, be trapped in the tower until death.
*It’s not that there was no method to face me. I had set one myself.*
There was another method.
Perhaps the *only* way one could ever kill him.
It was for all parties to align themselves at exactly 500 points, and then—like steel being tempered—for them to challenge him again and again without stopping.
A method in which every challenger formed bonds, embraced sacrifice, and, with an unyielding heart of steel, struck at him, again and again, without ever giving up.
*If they died in such a way, I would gladly open the door for them.*
Lord Solbaren.
He wished to die honorably, as a true “lord.”
……But this method was one he had never imagined.
To challenge him with a score he had never anticipated, and to kill him by *copying indulgences*—
That, he had not accounted for at all.
—
*‘How long had I awaited this? How desperately had I longed for it? And yet… to die this absurdly…!’*
FwaaAAAAAAANG!!!
