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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Altar of the War God
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A world of black.
Like entering the sea, or experiencing zero gravity, my body floated up and drifted in the air.
[Tower of Babel - 0th Floor]
[You have entered the Tutorial Stage.]
[Mission - Survival]
Rainbow Island is a mysterious place where various natural environments are mixed.
Players setting foot in the Tower for the first time must adapt to each environment to learn how to survive.
The achievements you accomplish here will be of great help in climbing the Tower of Babel.
▶ Objective: Survive for 14 days.
▶ The trial of the 0th floor cannot be challenged more than once.
▶ Death will be considered a failure, and your Player authority will be revoked.
'The tutorial stage.'
A place you couldn't come to twice.
The reality of my return to the past hit me anew.
[Rainbow Island is divided into seven regions.]
[Players can choose their starting point.]
[Regions with high risk levels cannot be chosen.]
Plains: Risk Level Low
Forest: Risk Level Low
Wasteland: Risk Level Medium
Mountains: Risk Level Medium
Before my regression, I chose the Plains.
'Because that's the standard strategy.'
Ten years had passed since the Tower of Babel appeared on Earth.
Tens of millions of Players had gone through the tutorial.
-Go south in the Plains to get the Patience skill.
-Climbing Mount Emirate, there's a red rock halfway up. Behind it is a cave containing Mighty Moss, an ingredient for high-grade potions.
-In the Forest region…
The tutorial stage already had a well-established strategy.
'I followed that strategy before, too.'
Starting point: the Plains.
I partied up with others who entered the Tower at the same time and hunted monsters.
Back then, I thought that was the right thing to do.
It was a huge mistake.
Rainbow Island still holds many undiscovered secrets.
Especially for me, with the talent of [Predation], it was like a hidden treasure trove.
'Essences you can only get in the tutorial.'
Antlion.
Nessie.
Blood Mountain Lord.
All were rare species that only inhabited Rainbow Island.
Besides them, it was full of items and titles only obtainable in the tutorial.
'This time, I'll take everything.'
Without hesitation, I selected the [Wasteland] region.
[You have selected the Wasteland as your starting point.]
[We wish the Player good fortune in battle.]
Along with the system voice, the sensations in my body gradually faded.
* * *
A barren field.
A dry wind, devoid of moisture, brushed past my cheek.
[Your current location is the Wasteland.]
[Wasteland - Stamina consumption increased by 10%.]
*Whoosh-!* A tumbleweed rolled across the ground.
It felt like a scene from a Western.
Just like I remember.
I smiled faintly.
The scenery was no different from my past memories.
*Flash! Flash!*
Blue lights shot up from all over the wasteland.
It was the sight of Players, taking their first steps into the Tower, arriving on Rainbow Island.
Surprising.
There were quite a few challengers who chose the Wasteland as their starting point.
They were either eccentrics with a strong sense of challenge…
…or Players confident in the decent abilities they'd received.
'Though they probably don't know about the hidden elements.'
I walked slowly, following the swaying tumbleweeds.
*
Laurent, the explorer.
An eccentric who discovered all sorts of hidden elements within the Tower of Babel.
It was also Laurent who discovered Rainbow Island's hidden space, the [Forgotten Ruins].
That was in 2025… so, five years from now.
'Sorry, but I'll be using it first.'
Monopolizing information is a regressor's privilege.
If not now, when else could I enjoy the advantage of coming from the distant future?
I might not remember a list of soaring stocks, but I knew the Tower of Babel's secrets better than anyone.
I strolled across the barren field at a slow pace.
In the wasteland, the dust hanging in the air makes you run out of breath quickly.
Conserving stamina is essential when not in combat.
*Rumble—* One by one, the rolling tumbleweeds joined the procession.
Just how long had I been walking through the wasteland?
"Kiiieeeek."
A low breathing sound echoed in my ears.
The wasteland was dotted with funnel-shaped (▽) pits.
Antlion.
The habitat of a monster that lures its prey into a hole, sucks it in, and devours it.
"Grrrrowl?"
An Ironclad Armadillo, an animal native to the wasteland, noticed me.
Hostility flickered in its eyes.
The Ironclad Armadillo on the other side of the sandpit bared its teeth and growled.
"Don't. You'll die if you come at me."
"Grrrrrr!"
The Ironclad Armadillo curled into a ball and shot toward me.
After bouncing off the ground a few times to build speed, it threw itself into the pit.
*Swoosh,* the still sandpit began to spin at a furious speed.
The Ironclad Armadillo couldn't escape the swirling floor and was sucked into the pit.
"I told you. You'd die on the way."
I shrugged.
Come to think of it, I didn't specify who would do the killing.
Ending the Ironclad Armadillo's life wasn't my job.
"Kiiieeeek!"
The master of the sandpit, the Antlion, revealed its massive pincer-like jaws.
*Crunch!* Even the Ironclad Armadillo's tough armor was useless against those vicious jaws.
The Ironclad Armadillo was instantly turned into minced meat.
"Still as brutal as ever."
My physical specs were similar to a level 20 Player.
About the level of a Player who'd passed the tutorial stage normally.
The problem is, with those specs, you could never win a fight against an Antlion.
'It's not a monster you're meant to fight.'
In the early days of conquering the Tower of Babel, many Players were said to have been eliminated after falling into an Antlion's trap.
Even now, it's a monster you shouldn't mess with in the tutorial stage.
The fortunate thing is, as long as you don't step into the trap, you won't be attacked.
I moved, avoiding the Antlion traps.
"Is this it?"
I stopped in front of a massive sandpit.
Hundreds of tumbleweeds, gathered in one place, were caught in the swirling vortex of sand and sucked inside.
The same form as an Antlion's trap.
However.
Laurent was said to have observed something different about this vortex.
*
Antlions don't eat tumbleweeds.
The proof is that even when a large tumbleweed enters a pit, they don't suck it in.
But this place, the center of the wasteland's winds, was said to swallow the tumbleweeds.
'It's true.'
I nodded, recalling Laurent's knowledge.
If I go down there, I'll find Rainbow Island's hidden location, the [Forgotten Temple].
The image of the Ironclad Armadillo being torn apart flickered in my mind.
But I felt no fear.
Before my regression, I had faced far worse sights countless times.
There were even times when I looked more gruesome.
So, a reason to hesitate…
"...is something I don't have."
I stepped into the sandpit, muttering as if making a vow to myself.
[You have stepped into an Antlion's trap.]
[Coefficient of friction is reduced by 80%.]
My feet sank.
No wonder the Ironclad Armadillo couldn't escape.
An effect augmented by a [Skill].
As for me, if I really wanted to, I could use a skill like Herculean Strength to escape the sandpit.
'I have to endure for now.'
I ignored the alarm bells of instinct ringing in my head.
The moment I reached the center of the sandpit.
Instead of an Antlion's pincers, my foot hit something hard.
I dug through the sand with both hands and found a metal door.
I pulled hard on the ring.
In that instant, a bright light assaulted my retinas.
[You have discovered the Altar of the War God.]
* * *
[Your current location is the Altar of the War God.]
[You are the first to discover the Altar of the War God in the Tutorial Stage. Strength and Agility increase by 2.]
A hidden area, as expected.
Just discovering it raised my stats by 4.
'So far, it's just as I knew.'
I looked around.
The room was square and quite spacious.
What caught my eye was a single gladius, its point buried in the floor.
The name 'War God.'
And a gladius.
Even without Laurent's information, I could guess who the master of this temple was.
"Ares."
The legitimate son of the god-king Zeus.
The god who presides over war.
Although he holds a fairly high rank among the Olympian gods, he's not viewed very favorably by modern people.
'He learned a lot of Zeus's bad habits.'
A womanizer, or a thug.
Ares had a strong image as a reckless child who relied only on his own strength.
When I met him in person, that was about half-right.
On the other hand, he was also vain, with a tendency to be a pushover who would shower you with rewards if you just flattered him.
I placed my hand on the gladius.
[Altar of the War God]
[This is an altar dedicated to Ares, the divinity who presides over war.]
[Ares holds blood, violence, and struggle in high regard. If you satisfy Ares, you will receive a fitting reward.]
[Will you accept the trial of Ares?]
"Of course."
A god's altar hidden in the tutorial stage.
Overcoming the trial would grant an incredible reward.
Even if I were to fail, I wouldn't die, since this is the tutorial stage.
Not that I would fail, of course.
▶ Hidden Quest - You have accepted the trial of Ares.
▶ Objective: Emerge victorious in battle against a Dragon Tooth Warrior (Weakened).
A knight armed in golden full plate.
The only visible parts were its eyes, from which a red light blazed.
A soldier born from a dragon's tooth, the Dragon Tooth Warrior gripped the gladius, the symbol of the War God.
Goosebumps covered my arms.
A sharp aura radiated from the Dragon Tooth Warrior's entire body.
*
Hmm, I don't know about its specs, but that aura seems to be on par with the original.
Perhaps because the gladius was so large, the Dragon Tooth Warrior held it with both hands.
At that size, wouldn't it be more accurate to call it a two-handed sword?
「Are you the challenger?」
"I am."
「I hope you have the skill to bring glory to the War God.」
"We'll see about that."
I slowly circled the Dragon Tooth Warrior.
Full plate armor.
At a glance, there seemed to be no openings to exploit.
If there's no space to squeeze through…
…I just have to make one myself.
「Are you trying to find an opening?」
The Dragon Tooth Warrior turned with uncanny speed.
Reacting to my killing intent, it swung the gladius in its hands vertically.
The blade descended upon the crown of my head.
"No. I'm not looking for an opening, I'm making one."
I already knew the Dragon Tooth Warrior would attack in response to my killing intent.
The range of the gladius.
Its speed, proportional to its stats.
I had calculated everything, down to its reaction speed, before I moved.
I stopped just short of the vertical slash's range.
*Clang!* The gladius struck the floor.
I charged again, toward the Dragon Tooth Warrior's wide-open chest.
「Challenger, I can defeat the likes of you even without a weapon.」
The Dragon Tooth Warrior dropped its gladius and slightly lowered its shoulder.
It seems to think it can just charge, trusting in the defense of its full plate.
That was a mistake.
[Using Herculean Strength.]
[Inflicts damage equal to the user's Strength + 300%.]
The skill I gained from predating the legend of the Child Hercules.
With my strength amplified fourfold, I struck the point where the shoulder and pauldron connected.
*Craaack—* The connection point buckled under the immense force.
As if unable to fully absorb the force amplified by [Herculean Strength], the Dragon Tooth Warrior was pushed back ten meters.
「That strength just now, what in the world…」
"What's wrong? Something not going your way?"
The essence of Uturi, the Child Hercules.
The effect was undeniable.
My arm trembled from the aftereffect of exerting so much power at once.
But it was enough to take down the weakened Dragon Tooth Warrior.
「Not bad, challenger.」
The Dragon Tooth Warrior swung its gladius relentlessly.
A sharp aura.
One misstep would lead to a fatal blow.
With no armor on, every moment was dangerous.
Well.
A fight like this is child's play compared to what I faced before my regression.
If I had learned martial arts, I could have pushed the Dragon Tooth Warrior back much more effectively.
For now, I had to rely on my past experience to lead the fight.
I dodged the barrage of slashes and landed a second hit with [Herculean Strength].
「Was that a coincidence? Or…」
The Dragon Tooth Warrior shook its head in confusion.
Its offensive slowed.
"Come on. I have to show Ares a fight he'll be satisfied with."
I smirked.