Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
After moving to the 59th Floor, Kousuke and the others decided to investigate the springs there. Their search revealed a total of five springs on the Floor, but disappointingly, all of them contained nothing but ordinary water.
“Maybe the 58th Floor was just a coincidence?” Kousuke mused, tilting his head as he stood before the portal leading to the 60th Floor.
“I wonder,” Peach replied, matching his puzzled expression.
“We won’t know until we investigate the other Floors properly,” Lirica added, also looking perplexed.
They had been meticulously recording the locations of springs on every Floor they passed. A thorough investigation of all the springs they had discovered would take several months to complete.
“Well, whatever. There’s no point in worrying about it here, so let’s move on,” Kousuke declared, heading past the 60th Floor toward the 61st Floor to pursue their original objective.
Despite their destination being the 61st Floor, they could not ignore the springs on the 60th Floor. They searched thoroughly, just as they had on previous Floors, but found only three springs—and like the 59th Floor, these too were disappointingly ordinary water.
The same result left Kousuke puzzled once again. “Hmm. Maybe the special springs just happened to be concentrated on the 58th Floor?” While they wouldn’t know for certain until they checked other Floors, he could not help voicing his curiosity.
His companions shared the same bewilderment.
“I don’t really understand it. The number of springs varies from Floor to Floor,” Lirica observed.
“There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it,” Peach agreed.
As they spoke, both were mentally reviewing whether they had missed something important. What they knew so far was that springs were distributed across all Floors from the 52nd to the 60th, with varying quantities and no apparent common placement logic. More significantly, they had only discovered two springs with special effects, both located on the 58th Floor.
Meanwhile, Kousuke found himself wondering if he could use those two special springs to create interesting tools. Though perhaps ‘medicinal purposes’ would be more accurate than ‘tools’. The only practical application he could envision was experimenting with brewing tea using the special water.
Realizing his thoughts were drifting, Kousuke shook his head. “No good. My mind’s wandering. Let’s head to the 61st Floor first.”
At his call, everyone took their positions. They settled into the carriage while Kousuke remained outside to operate the teleportation gate. After confirming the carriage had reached the gate, he activated it while stepping through himself.
—
Upon arriving at the 61st Floor, Kousuke and his team immediately teleported back to the first Floor to verify whether their original objective had been achieved. As soon as they exited the Tower, they removed the cover from their Guild card to check its contents.
The results matched Kousuke’s hopes perfectly. The highest Floor display on the card remained stuck at the 56th Floor. It was an expected outcome since he had verified this on the Floor below. The real test, however, came next.
After covering the card again, they re-entered the Tower to test whether they could jump directly to higher Floors. The result confirmed they could teleport to the 60th Floor, which fell within Kousuke’s expectations.
However, Lirica appeared confused. “Even though the card shows we’re stuck on the 56th Floor, we can jump to the 60th Floor?”
“Exactly. This means the teleportation gate’s operation and the card’s display aren’t directly connected. But they are somewhat related,” Kousuke explained.
“What do you mean?” Lirica asked, still puzzled.
Since they were on the 60th Floor with no other adventurers around, Kousuke could speak freely about the Tower’s secrets without concern.
“It’s the same with other Towers,” he began. “Basically, you only need the people involved to have conquered the Tower. The portals operate using the conqueror’s Magic Power.”
He explained that only the Gazenran Tower, where they currently were, and the Amamiya Tower used cards for conquering Towers. The Amamiya Tower used Crown Cards, but conquest was possible without them. The cards simply allowed restarting from previously conquered Floors, similar to the Seichun Tower Conquest Guild Cards.
“However, like with Crown Cards, the cards themselves aren’t necessary. All you need is the Magic Power of someone who’s been registered in the Tower,” Kousuke continued.
“What? Really?” Lirica exclaimed, surprised by this revelation.
Kousuke nodded. “That’s right. I believe this Tower functions similarly. In Amamiya Tower’s case, only Crown Card holders can use shortcuts, but here everyone can access them.”
“I see. I understand now,” Lirica said, nodding vigorously.
Peach, who had been listening intently, posed a logical question. “If that’s the case, what’s the actual purpose of the Gazenran Tower Card?”
Kousuke acknowledged the excellent question with a nod. “I don’t really know for certain. It may simply have been created to make things easier for people to understand.”
He theorized that after challenging the Tower for extended periods, adventurers might lose track of which Floor they were on due to the similar scenery. The cards displaying Floor information might have been designed to prevent such confusion.
“But it doesn’t show your current Floor, does it?” Lirica pointed out.
“Right, which is why I think that display function may have disappeared over the years. Notice there’s an unnatural blank space on the card.”
Indeed, there was a conspicuous gap between the highest Floor reached indicator and the available teleportation portal information. While it might appear normal at first glance, upon closer inspection, it seemed obvious that something should have been displayed there.
��I see,” the others murmured thoughtfully.
“Well, it’s just speculation. If I’m right, the function probably disappeared so long ago that no documentation remains,” Kousuke concluded.
“That’s quite possible,” they agreed.
Though merely conjecture, Kousuke felt reasonably confident in his theory. After all, it made the card’s design make much more sense.
“Well, we’ve accomplished our goal, so let’s return to the Guild,” Kousuke announced.
The team, who had been lost in thought, began preparing to depart. In addition to achieving their primary objective of testing their new tool’s effectiveness, they had gained unexpected insights, making the expedition longer than anticipated.
Kouhi’s match was only one week away. While they had not decided on their specific activities for the intervening time, Kousuke’s group had already committed to watching the match.
Most importantly, this expedition confirmed that their tool for disguising the Tower’s attack status functioned properly. Thanks to this success, they could now begin investigating the higher Floors in earnest without worrying about unwanted attention from other adventurers.