Convenience Store 24: The Tower of the End 1st - Chapter 82



Only Krnovel

Episode 82: Turret-Raja

Gus, who was floating in the air like a spirit above the black space, lets out a sigh of relief.

[… …Is this the end?]

I just took care of the last one with one blow.

With this, the Grand Line is safe.

[Thank goodness, I’m so glad.]

Above all, I am glad that my family is safe.

[thanks.]

[It’s just a result of you and I being compatible.]

A low voice echoed from the turret.

Gus smiled quietly.

[I’m not sure what the suitability is, but I don’t think we could have stopped them without your help.]

[It’s an expected result.]

Despite the rather arrogant tone, Gus could not help but nod.

[Surely, the power was ridiculous. Was that the original power of the turret?]

[That’s not all. You and your kind have not yet brought out all that we have.]

[… … There’s nothing to say about that.]

Just look at the power of the turret.

Because it proved that the halflings were not able to fully utilize the turret’s power.

[So, if I merge with you like this, I can draw out the turret’s full power?]

[That is the minimum requirement. You have been relying solely on our power up until now. You must become stronger than you are now. Only then will you be able to draw out more of our abilities.]

[I understand, but… … .]

Gus smiled bitterly.

[I’m already one with you, right? It’s impossible for me to go back to how I was. So it’s realistically difficult for me to become stronger.]

[Time is up.]

[……what?]

Gus questioned the turret’s meaningless words.

[Tell your people to become stronger than they are now.]

[Okay, I’ll tell you. But what do you mean by there’s no time… … um… … .]

For a moment, Gus felt his consciousness fading.

“… … .”

“… … Monk! Monk!”

It seemed as if someone was constantly calling his name from above.

“Gus!”

Crack, crack-

“Umm… … .”

Gus slowly opened his eyes, pain prickling his cheeks.

“Gus! Are you awake?”

“… …Anthony.”

“Yes! It’s me, it’s me!”

The adjutant’s face, which is honest but has a bit of a foolish side, is clearly visible.

“… … Where is this place?”

“Inside the turret! We found the commander collapsed from exhaustion of magical power.”

“What about the other soldiers?”

“When we got here, Gus was the only one left. Fortunately, the results were good, but it was a really dangerous situation! If the magic drain continues, your life could be in danger… … .”

Gus thought as he watched Anthony fussing.

‘I’m sure I was one with the turret just a moment ago.’

I implemented emotional magic following the voice coming from the turret.

I witnessed a magical power of a different dimension than usual.

And the turret’s voice still remains vivid in his mind.

Why is it that things are no different than usual now?

‘Could it be that it was all a dream?’

At that moment, Gus’ expression suddenly became serious.

[It’s a useless worry.]

Suddenly, the turret’s voice rang in his head.

“… … Puhahahahahahaha!”

“Mr. Gus?”

His subordinates looked at him with dumbfounded faces.

Gus barely managed to stop laughing.

‘It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a dream!’

The process of becoming one with the turret and destroying monsters.

It was not just his wish or dream, it was his reality.

“… … .”

Gus picked up a square box, called a ‘partner’, that was lying next to him.

‘How is this possible?’

I know that this snack the shopkeeper sold me was the link to the turret.

Rumors that the shop owner changed the natives of different floors are now believed.

I know for sure who the culprit is, but I have no idea how he committed the crime.

‘I thought it was just a snack from the outside world… … How can something like this exist? Who is the owner of the store that sells this?’

What on earth could possibly be going on that would lead to these valuables being sold off as ‘snacks’?

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know.

‘Okay, okay.’

It doesn’t really matter who he is or what this thing is.

What’s important is that this pairing gave the halflings a new vision and hope.

“Anthony.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Let’s pick out the ten most capable guys from the Magic Corps… … No. Let’s finish the aftermath first. Find the injured and recover them first.”

* * *

The next day.

In front of the final line of defense of the Grand Line.

“There! Listen up! This could be important material!”

“Ugh, this is heavier than I thought!”

Halflings are carrying the corpses of monsters, scurrying about.

Meanwhile, on one side, Gus shouts at his men who are lined up.

“Despite everyone’s efforts, there were over 200 casualties. If luck had not been on our side, there would have been even more casualties, and the kingdom might have fallen.”

“… … .”

The soldiers listened to his speech in silence.

“But their deaths were not in vain. Their sacrifice became the foundation for us to live today and tomorrow. Kaira! Landon! Valev!”

Gus then recited the names of his dead subordinates one by one.

He spoke softly, looking at his subordinates.

“As long as we are here to look forward to tomorrow, they will not be forgotten.”

“Ugh… … .”

From all sides there are sobs and groans of sorrow.

“This incident taught us a great lesson when we were off guard. The gate is something that we can never make hasty judgments about, and it is a space that goes beyond our common sense. Therefore!”

Gus let out a breath.

“From now on, we too will confront this reality in a way that goes beyond common sense.”

As soon as his scream ended.

chuck-

Ten halflings lined up behind him.

“These are the people who stand out among the Magical Legion. Therefore, I would like to test out new possibilities with them. Each of you, take one.”

Gus took out his partner and placed a pill in each of their hands.

“This is an item that may change the fate of our halflings. If you want to protect your family and fight against the monsters of the gate that are getting stronger day by day, swallow it.”

Although there was no particular explanation, the ten halflings put the nuts in their mouths without any hesitation.

“… … .”

“… … ?!”

Looking at those with expressionless faces and those with wide-open eyes and mouths munching on words.

Gus asks.

“How is it?”

“Hmm… …To be honest, it looks delicious.”

“Don’t you feel different?”

All the halflings who had eaten their partners shook their heads.

“I don’t think it feels particularly special.”

“… … I don’t know.”

He couldn’t hide his disappointment at the reactions that were different from what he had expected.

“I see… … .”

I knew it was unlikely.

We even assumed the worst case scenario, that the miracle might only happen once.

However, it is true that when such a situation actually became a reality, there was great regret.

‘Is a miracle just a miracle after all…?’

Just then, as he was trying to swallow his regret and open his mouth.

Anthony, who was standing at the end, raises his hand.

“Anthony, what’s going on?”

“Commander, do you have one more of these…?”

Looking at the adjutant who was talking nonsense without understanding the atmosphere.

Gus sighed.

“I bought that at the fantasy shop. There’s not much left.”

“Hmm, is that so? I was curious about the auditory hallucinations, so I wanted to try one more… … .”

“what?!”

Gus grabbed Anthony’s shoulder with a serious expression.

“What did you just say?”

“… … I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn… … .”

“No, not that! Didn’t you say you were hearing auditory hallucinations?”

“Oh, yes! Someone is talking to me, I’ll ignore them!”

Gus finally grabbed the back of his neck.

After a while.

“I think it’s here.”

Antony pointed to one of the long rows of turrets.

“Come in and take a look.”

“yes?”

“Go in. The turret is calling you!”

Even though I explained it to you, you still act so stupid.

Could it be that the standard for hearing a voice is stupidity?

‘… … Could it be me too?’

Gus’ expression hardened into a serious expression.

“I’m going in!”

Anthony enters the turret, timidly.

‘Whew, it has to be better than that… … .’

The number of people who can become one with the turret increases.

Because it meant that the Grand Line would soon become safer.

At that time.

Kwajijijijijijik-

Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning came out of the turret and struck the ground in an instant.

‘That was just now… an attack I’ve never seen before?’

The magic that has been used as emotional magic so far is largely the fire of anger, the ice of sorrow, the wind of joy, and the earth of pleasure.

That’s why I’ve been using four types of magic to block the monsters at the gate so far.

Lightning?

“Anthony! Can you hear me?!”

[Commander! What is this? I’ve become one with the turret?!]

Anthony’s excited voice was heard from the turret.

Gus burst out laughing and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Congratulations. But what was the magic you just used?”

[I don’t know either. But the turret says that being stupid is the right thing to do, and it’s quite annoying.]

“… … That’s not wrong.”

Gus muttered quietly.

He turned around and shouted at his subordinates.

“You see? We’ve gained new possibilities! Now we’ll be able to stand up to stronger monsters!”

Ooooooooo-

Exclamations of admiration erupted among the subordinates.

A soldier asks,

“But Commander, should I also call that turret part of the Magic Legion?”

“Hmm… … It would certainly be more convenient to separate them. Those who can be combined with the turrets should be separated from the Magic Corps.”

“Do you have a name for your organization in mind?”

Gus, who had been thinking for a moment, opened his mouth again.

“……raja.”

“yes?”

“Turret-Raja. Yeah, that sounds good.”

* * *

A week later.

“It’s the 41st floor now.”

Lee Ji-soo and the pioneers climbed the stairs.

They stared at the turrets in the distance.

“It would have been a little more comfortable if the supply had been better on this floor.”

“What can I do? The environment on this floor is not favorable.”

This 41st floor is still a floor that can be used by raiders.

However, since the number of halflings was not that large and most of the resources were spent on training troops, they were a group that was relatively short on food.

That’s why the halflings were strictly forbidden from selling large quantities of supplies to raiders.

“But how can you at least eat? It’s better than chewing on rocks, right?”

Saint, Lee Ji-soo nodded in agreement with Sylvia’s words.

“Soup is better than stones.”

“But isn’t it hard to go down and come back up like this? If we’re going to move as a group, wouldn’t it be better for the broken heart to come to where we are? It looks like it also has the ability to teleport.”

At Alter’s question, Lee Ji-soo looks at him with a stern gaze.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s not that scary, is it? Going up and down the tower isn’t easy, so I thought it would be more efficient to move in a way that looks easy to move.”

Sylvia laughs heartily.

“That man will listen to you. If you don’t like it, then don’t come down. Instead, give me your share of the right to buy frozen food.”

“… …Who doesn’t like it? I was just expressing my opinion.”

Lee Ji-soo says, looking at Alter who is hastily trying to cover it up.

“Speak carefully. I can’t just ignore comments that could cause controversy.”

“Yeah, I made a mistake just now.”

“And how’s it going? Do you think it’s making any progress?”

“That? What is that… … Ah! That?”

Alter, who understood what Lee Ji-soo meant, smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“As expected, it wasn’t easy. Everything I planted on the 45th floor withered.”

“What about the ones you planted on other floors?”

“That’s similar… … . I think it’s probably just that the soil itself rejects foreign species.”

Farming on the tower allows you to be self-sufficient in the supplies you need.

This method has been one of the topics that strategy strategists have been studying since long ago.

but…….

‘It is impossible to grow crops brought from other floors in the tower’ was a universally accepted and irreversible conclusion.

“Isn’t that possible even with your skills?”

Alter sticks out his tongue at Sylvia’s question.

“Even if you pour out all your life force, it won’t sprout?”

“The nickname ‘Guardian of Nature’ is nothing special.”

“I can’t help it. It’s beyond my ability.”

Despite Sylvia’s provocation, Alter smiled as if it was nothing.

“But keep trying. If you try, you can see even a small possibility.”

“Deposit! Clan leader!”

At that moment, Alter answered with a playful smile.

Tukwaaaaaaaang-

A loud noise is heard from afar.

“I see the gate is open. How about going to help? You can catch some monsters and loosen up your body at the same time.”

“Why bother? It’s not fun to catch them anyway. Your level won’t go up much, and they don’t give you any good items either.”

“You have to take the Grand Line to get to the 42nd floor anyway, right? The stairs are next to the gate.”

“… … That’s not wrong.”

While Alter and Sylvia were exchanging opinions.

Lee Ji-soo spoke to the other members.

“Let’s go towards the Grand Line. It would be better to just go straight through and go up to the 42nd floor.”

So they arrived near the Grand Line and passed a simple inspection.

We headed straight to the Grand Line.

“You want to go in now? Even if you do, I don’t know if there’ll be anything for the climbers to do… … Anyway, good. Go in.”

The halflings who were guarding the final line and the entrance to the Grand Line readily allowed passage into the Grand Line.

Sylvia asks while looking at Lee Ji-soo.

“… … Doesn’t it feel different than a while ago? The atmosphere seems different.”

“Yeah. Something definitely changed.”

If they were the halflings of old, their cooperation would have been welcomed with open arms.

But for some reason, today he was taking the attitude of ‘if you’re going to go in, then go in’, so I had some doubts.

So they entered the Grand Line with questions in their minds.

And I witnessed them.

Kwaaaaaaaang-

“Keeeeeek!”

I’m talking about the scene where one-sided massacre is taking place.

Giant insects resembling sandworms were writhing in the flames.

Crackle, crackle, crackle-

Lightning bolts pour down from one turret, raining down on the monsters’ heads.

“Oh… … It seems like the firepower of the turrets has changed a lot? It seems like it’s only that turret… … .”

“What’s that turret? It shoots lightning. Was there a turret like that before?”