Chapter 254: Bigger and Better 4
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Gathered snugly around a large stone table at the inn, nuns sat, their hair meticulously concealed beneath veils much like Irene, creating an almost imposing atmosphere as their heads turned in unison.
The veils, woven from grey cloth and secured with a white band, paired with their austere, symbol-free grey nun's habits[1], were almost like camouflage among the stone furnishings of the inn.
"What's going on?"
"Greetings, Sir Roland."
The collective gaze of eight pairs shifted past Grace and Katie to me.
Clearly, they were here for me.
Despite the banquet-style table already hosting nine, including Irene, there was still room to join.
As I took my place and asked, a nun with notably thick eyebrows opened the conversation on Irene's behalf.
The thick habits concealed their figures to the point of concern for overheating, their veils not betraying a single strand of hair, forcing one to distinguish them by the color of their eyebrows and eyes.
"A servant of the Goddess greets you, one who tirelessly unfolds Her will."
"Ah, yes... So, what brings you here?"
The nun's dark brown eyebrows, the slight wrinkles at the corner of her mouth, and the deep, trustworthy tone of her voice conveyed a sense of authority and respect.
Her greeting, complete with the sign of the cross, lent the meeting an air of solemnity, more reminiscent of a corporate executive than a local church lady.
Had Han Se-ah been here, she might have been able to gauge the situation better, but a glance at her stream showed she was busy on a viewer-assigned mission, acquiring edible rocks for stone dwarves in the market.
...Why on earth is she buying that?
"We've heard from Sister Irene that Sir Roland and Miss Hanna intend to hunt a mysterious giant monster for the well-being of the stone dwarves."
Of course, it's probably a mid-boss.
Given the nature of tower climbing so far, advancing requires defeating bosses to strengthen for the next floors.
The imposing nun before me had misconstrued our journey as a noble yet arduous quest to save even the underground city of the stone dwarves, fulfilling a divine duty bestowed by the Goddess.
Nodding as if hunting the monster was an obvious course of action for us, the astonished murmurs and signs of the cross from the other seven nuns made it painfully clear that the misunderstanding was further increasing.
"So, we have come to offer our modest assistance."
Simplifying the nun's follow-up, the message was straightforward.
Unlocking character enhancement content through divine oracles.
If the ores from the stone dwarves could incrementally enhance equipment with additional options, then these eight nuns, through their blessings, meant to gradually boost the stats of the adventurer party.
Naturally, sacrifices were required for these divine enhancements, implying we'd need to procure certain items ourselves.
After all, what game doesn't charge for character enhancement?
Even heroes tasked with saving the world have to pay up when shopping.
Defeating mid-bosses might yield special drops for enhancements.
"We plan to stay at the newly constructed temple in the underground city on the 41st floor. Although we haven't seen it in person yet, we hope you will visit us anytime you acquire by-products during your travels, as the Goddess's oracle has foretold."
"May the Goddess's blessing be upon Sir Roland's journey."
"And may the Goddess's protection also extend to Miss Hanna, who is not here."
With player Han Se-ah absent, the eight nuns finished their explanation and, making the sign of the cross in unison, rose to leave.
Their coordinated movement was impressively disciplined, as if they were a nun squadron moving with a single purpose just to deliver this message.
Wouldn't it have been sufficient for just the lead nun, distinguished by her thick eyebrows, to come?
"Hey, what's with all the nuns? What happened?"
"Hanna's here. Maybe Irene can fill her in?"
As I pondered, Grace, sensing someone approaching from outside the inn, spoke up.
Han Se-ah, after roaming the market, encountered the group of nuns heading back to the 41st floor.
The nuns had already finished explaining everything to everyone inside the inn except for Han Se-ah, who had just entered, looking puzzled as the nuns greeted her on their way out.
It must be surprising to see eight nuns rush out of the lodging and vanish.
After all, the city on the 43rd floor, Granny Pipi's city, had just opened its passage today.
Aside from Charlotte's 50 henchmen, there shouldn't be any other humans in the city.
"Permanent enhancement through divine rites? Is this some character enhancement content? Boosting stats? But why explain it to Roland instead of me?"
-Even the Goddess knows you're just the sidekick
-What are you talking about, porter-girl lol. They explained it to the owner of the holy sword
-Does the temple look like a joke to you?
-Truly, the Goddess is as wise as she is beautiful.
-How useless do you have to be to get ignored by NPCs?
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Raei Translations
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After a tirade about being treated poorly as a player, Han Se-ah was metaphorically slapped with cash by her viewers again.
At this point, with her knack for eliciting donations through her ranting and raving, she might as well be a cyber shaman rather than a mere entertainer.
She summoned the party members after wrapping up her fundraising.
"If this is the 43rd floor, then beyond this city, we might find the harpy nest we failed to approach last time."
"That place where Hanna exhausted herself summoning lightning?"
"...Yes, the unusually high peak severed by a vacuum stone."
Naturally, the discussion turned to the area outside Granny Pipi's city.
While the caves connected to Old Bobo's city were merely isolated tunnels slightly off the main path, Granny Pipi's city has a different tale to tell.
A peculiar mountain range, hidden by clouds and invisible from afar, patrolled by flocks of black harpies and inhabited by domesticated single-horned goats.
Humans are aggressively attacked upon approach and paths are severed by vacuum stones if they come close.
It's as if the 43rd floor itself was screaming, "There's something fishy here!!!"
"Is it about dinner time now? Time feels a bit distorted inside the tower."
"If we go by time, it's roughly 7 PM, so how about we eat dinner and head out tomorrow morning?"
"Wow! Hanna, can you tell the time with magic too?"
"Uh, well, sort of?"
Han Se-ah nearly revealed her internet clock magic, scrambling her words as she awkwardly tried to cover it up.
The plan was to rest for the day after clearing the path and hunting a giant wiggler, then explore the outskirts of Granny Pipi's city the next morning.
Time had flown by as Han Se-ah, who joined late due to a viewer mission, listened to Irene explain about the 41st floor's new temple.
Peeking at her stream, it was clear Han Se-ah had picked up a bunch of side quests while wandering the city, naturally leading to the exploration of the 43rd floor.
"We definitely need to learn more about that red harpy."
"Yes, maybe, like the stone dwarves, they were dragged to the tower. If there's a chance for conversion, spreading the Goddess's word is an opportunity we cannot pass up."
-What? There's a harpy route?
-Wait, maybe the route leads to some feather fluffing?
[Chat deleted by the mod]
-Legendary suspension
As the discussion shifts from the eagle-bodied, old-woman-headed harpies to the slender and beautiful ones, excluding their wings and feet, viewer excitement reignites.
After all, the red harpies, being 1 extra characters, inherently come with a pretty design.
How to put it?
Beyond their figures obscured by wings for censorship, their faces resembled those of tough, street-smart women who looked like they'd handle a cigarette well.
Just as viewers can't contain their excitement, leading to chat bans, imagine the thrill when these neighborhood tough gals aren't just revealing tattoos but are flying around in a 'must-see' state.
It's not just walking obscenity; it's flying obscenity, turning into a festival for viewers but a near funeral for streamers.
"But f*ck, how am I supposed to stream? If the harpies are flying around naked..."
[FeatherlessAndBroke donated 50,000 Won!]
Nice.
"What's nice, you idiot! Ill get suspended for a week per floor and get permanently banned before we even see the face of the 50th-floor boss!"
-What how are you broke lol
-The furries are all broke nowadays
-Given how much furries burn on art commissions, fifty grand in donations does sound broke for them
-Why are you guys so damn serious about furries? How do you know all this? Show us your browser history, f*ckers
-A fursuit being custom-tailored like a bespoke suit does make it f*cking expensive
Worrying about the stream's well-being before even tackling the 43rd floor, this is going to be tough.
And dealing with such viewers is going to be tough in many ways, too.
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[1. raei: I usually call it nun robes but apparently it's called a 'habit.' So I'm calling it that from now on.]
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