Ch-169
—
—Look! Wilhelm! He is completing a myth!
—Wuaaaaaaah!
—Wilhelm! Wilhelm! Wilhelm!
—A berserker who grows stronger the more he fights?
—That’s true chivalry right there!
—Take me, Wilhelm!
If one were to ask who the hottest challenger in the Tower of the War God had been for the past few years, every long-time spectator of the tower would have chosen “Wilhelm.”
But when he first appeared, everyone treated him coldly.
A knight clad in full plate armor swinging a sword—
such an image clashed entirely with this wild place, the Tower of the War God.
The spectators wanted raw, unfiltered combat.
But Wilhelm showed consideration to his opponents, praised them, and spoke of honor.
‘He doesn’t fit here.’
Only later did he gain popularity, but even then, he never appealed to Sansha.
Knights do not belong in the Tower of Myth.
This place is an arena.
A stage where what is seen—performance—matters above all else.
If someone that prim, someone fully armored and reserved, were to take the Champion’s seat, the tower’s entire tone could shift.
And if the tone shifts, profits drop.
If profits drop and interest fades, the Tower of the War God would lose its very purpose.
—Floor 18! He is already on the doorstep of the Champion’s seat!
—Will this honorable knight truly be able to claim the Champion’s throne?
—Isn’t the current Champion watching Wilhelm’s matches in person every time?
—Ahh, that must mean he’s accepting the challenge, right?
—The Champion and Wilhelm are exchanging glances!
—Oh boy, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight!
Wilhelm was strong.
He grew stronger with every battle.
The swordsmanship he unleashed was mesmerizing, and every step he took seemed to carry power.
Watching him was nothing but overwhelming.
‘If the Champion and Wilhelm fight…’
Who would win?
Everyone wanted to know.
Within the Tower of the War God, the Champion was literally a mythical being.
One could even say he *was* the tower itself.
No matter how strong Wilhelm was, within this tower the Champion had never—not even once—lost.
And the Champion too seemed to be looking forward to fighting Wilhelm.
‘That, above all, must be stopped.’
Sansha was determined to prevent it.
And so, she decided to place on the 19th floor an opponent he absolutely could not defeat.
—Just past the 19th floor is the 20th. The Champion’s seat.
—The gatekeeper who will stop Wilhelm on the 19th floor is… huh? Wait.
—Karas?
—Isn’t that the former Champion?
The previous Champion, Karas.
Sansha personally went and brought him out of retirement.
He had originally been the master of this tower—
a mythical being who had once been called the “War God.”
—Ah… The former Champion and master of the tower has appeared.
—He stepped down to give the seat to the current Champion, didn’t he?
—This is… going to be hard.
—Is Wilhelm’s legend ending here?
Sansha was confident.
Everyone who knew Karas predicted Wilhelm’s defeat.
Karas was practically a demigod—of course that was the expectation.
He had yielded the seat to the current Champion only for personal reasons.
Inside the tower, he was a monster akin to a walking cheat.
‘I sacrificed much to bring you back. Go wild—Demigod Karas.’
Sansha smiled.
There was absolutely no way Wilhelm could defeat Karas.
Not within this tower.
But that certainty—that smile—shattered before long.
That day,
Sansha witnessed it.
“…What is that monster?”
*
*
“Rabbit girl!”
“You’re sexy again today!”
“Please, just take off the mask once!”
…Auril squeezed her eyes shut.
She had already experienced this several times, but she simply could not get used to it.
This was a place overflowing with desire.
For an elf like her, simply existing here was poisonous.
“You made quite the fuss, but I’ll make you feel the wall of the 10th floor.”
Before she knew it, she had reached the 10th floor.
Her opponent was a spearman whose head bore bright red feathers like the crest of a rooster.
His face even resembled a chicken’s.
The moment he appeared, he struck exaggerated poses toward the crowd, flaunting his physique.
“Behold! Muscles far superior to your frail little frame! The audience of the 10th flo—”
“BooOOOO!”
“Get lost, bird-brain!”
“Ugh, my eyes. Disgusting.”
But the crowd’s reaction was ice-cold.
Auril’s popularity was currently sky-high in the Tower of the War God.
It was almost unheard-of for someone of her skill level to climb the tower while offering such dedicated fanservice.
But unlike the audience’s enthusiasm, Auril grimaced automatically.
‘Filthy. It stinks.’
That rooster-head was releasing a stench like that of a skunk.
And the higher she climbed, the stronger the foul odor became.
The desires radiating from those around her intensified as well.
But she endured it somehow.
Was it because she had experienced Randolph, the embodiment of desire himself?
Or because she had made a contract with him?
She even began to think that Randolph was preferable to these people.
‘Uugh… This is so embarrassing. I want to die…’
She wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
If not for Randolph’s orders, she would *never* have climbed the tower in such revealing attire.
“You even bewitched my own audience! I’ll kill yo—!”
Before the rooster-head could finish speaking, he was already sprawled on the ground.
Auril was walking past him, brushing off her hands as if she had touched something dirty, her face scrunched in disgust.
‘Humans are so unclean!’
*
*
Floor 15.
In just a single week, I was racing up the tower at breakneck speed.
And for a schedule this fast to be arranged meant—
‘Sansha has taken a liking to me.’
It was completely different from when it was Wilhelm.
Back then, Sansha had done everything possible to stop Wilhelm.
But now she was pushing me with full force.
Though honestly, it was *too* fast.
Faster than anything I had expected.
‘Could it be that Sansha wants to replace the Champion?’
Had her mindset changed?
From what I’d heard, the Champion hadn’t accepted challenges from any other challengers for the past year.
Perhaps that had displeased Sansha.
“You slippery bastard…!”
Shaking off my thoughts, I looked at the man in front of me.
A warrior swinging a pair of axes, pressing forward aggressively.
But his face was flushed red.
Slaaash!
Whoosh!
I dodged each attack by the width of a sheet of paper.
Yaaaawn.
I opened my mouth, put my hands together, and let out a yawn.
It was mockery.
Thorough, absolute mockery.
“Haha! Come on, land *something*!”
“That level of inaccuracy is a talent! A talent!”
“The Double-Axe Master title is crying, man!”
“Emperor Penguin! Make it fun today too!”
The spectators laughed with him.
I slipped into the warrior’s guard and threw an arm around his shoulders, or slid between his legs and yanked down his pants.
The warrior, now pantsless, finally exploded in rage.
“GRAAAAH! You damn little bastard!!!”
“Khahaha! You mad?”
“As expected of the Rage Inducer!”
“A masterpiece again today!”
The so-called Rage Inducer.
That was the nickname I had earned climbing the tower.
*
*
“Sales have risen by 20% in a single week.”
“Emperor Penguin’s matches are being resold at more than double the price.”
“There also seem to be quite a lot of spectators coming to see the rabbit girl.”
Hearing the report, Sansha smiled.
The two of them were treasures delivered wrapped in vines.
The more she pushed them, the more powerful the ripple effect they produced.
Especially Emperor Penguin.
He was a real gem.
“The Rage Inducer, huh…”
One who provoked his opponents until they spat curses—
the Rage Inducer.
He was breathing life into the stagnant Tower of the War God.
‘He mocks the long-standing elites. For the audience, there’s nothing more entertaining.’
Those lofty swans, peacefully floating on a lakeside.
Their tranquility was being shattered by a newcomer stirring the waters into turbulent waves, and the people were ecstatic.
And on top of that, he was overwhelmingly strong.
So strong that he could taunt his opponents while maintaining that much leisure.
Yet instead of finishing battles quickly, he delivered thorough performance and genuine entertainment.
Where had such a creature appeared from?
She liked him—far too much.
“What about the Champion’s reaction?”
“There is no notable response yet.”
“Hm. So this still isn’t enough.”
Sansha stroked her chin.
Emperor Penguin fit her tastes perfectly.
Until now, the only one she had ever liked this much was the current Champion.
But what mattered most in this battle was the Champion’s reaction.
The Champion had shown a fierce response when it came to Wilhelm.
It had been so intense it was almost pitiful—like someone longing for a lover lost ages ago.
But once that match fell through, the Champion never turned his gaze again. Not even once.
Because there simply hadn’t been a challenger worth looking at.
And Emperor Penguin, too, still seemed lacking in stimulation to seize the Champion’s attention.
So then—how could she make the Champion react to Emperor Penguin?
In the end, if the Champion did not approve, the match would never be realized.
In that case—
‘Rather than taunting opponents with overwhelming strength, he’ll need to show what it looks like when he fights seriously.’
Someone who could draw out Emperor Penguin’s true power was necessary.
But she had no idea where Emperor Penguin’s limits lay.
If she sent someone too strong, Emperor Penguin might instead end up being defeated.
‘The rabbit girl who appeared together with Emperor Penguin.’
The only candidate that came to mind was the rabbit girl.
Unlike Emperor Penguin, she ended every match within three seconds—
a legend in her own right.
What if she were pitted against Emperor Penguin?
A rather appealing spectacle could be created.
‘But that’s too obvious.’
Yes. Far too obvious.
Such an obvious setup wouldn’t be stimulating.
For a showdown between the rabbit girl and Emperor Penguin to become a true shock, the timing needed to be drawn out a little longer.
Sansha continued to ponder restlessly.
Should she call back the strongest warriors who had ever climbed the Tower of the War God?
Should she summon every champion of ages past?
Or should she take an even bigger gamble?
After a long, deep struggle with the thought, Sansha made her decision.
“…It seems I’ll have to call him once more.”
*
*
Before I knew it, I had reached the 17th floor.
I stared with great interest at the one who stepped in to block my rapid ascent.
I had never expected *him* to show up here.
On the mere 17th floor—
with still three steps left before reaching the Champion’s domain—
who would’ve imagined such a powerful figure would block my path?
A half-beast with the head of a crow and the body of a man.
A living myth.
A demigod-like monster.
Karas!
“You are…”
But he, too, was looking at me with gleaming eyes.
In the past, when I climbed the Tower of the War God as Wilhelm, he had been the final opponent I fought.
I remembered fighting him longer and more fiercely than anyone else.
Within this tower, he had been like a true demigod—
a being who made battle anything but easy.
But now, I was not Wilhelm.
And Karas would never even imagine that I could be Wilhelm.
Even the tower’s administrator, Sansha, hadn’t recognized me.
Then Karas slowly lifted his left hand and opened his mouth.
“I concede.”
“Concede?”
“Karas said he’ll concede?”
“This has to be a lie… right?”
Everyone was stunned at this unprecedented event.
A rising star and a former Champion—
their clash had drawn spectators until the stands were packed entirely full.
A match so sought-after that people were paying extra just to get a seat—
yet no one had expected Karas to declare his surrender.
“Has anything like this ever happened?”
“Never. Not once has Karas stepped into an arena and then surrendered!”
