## Chapter 227 – 227. Administrator
I stared at the cold snake corpse and gulped down some holy water.
It wasn’t as bad as potions, but I’d heard that drinking too much holy water wasn’t good for you either.
‘Well… I’m not exactly a normal person, so it probably doesn’t matter.’
I sat down cross-legged and checked my condition.
My internal injuries were almost healed, but my mana was still bottomed out.
‘…Well, it’s no wonder, considering I used 5th circle magic in rapid succession, not to mention layering auxiliary magic several times over.’
If I were a normal mage, I would have been passed out from mana exhaustion.
Above all, that jet-black flame was a mana-devouring monster in itself.
If any other mage had used it, they would have struggled to maintain it for more than 10 seconds.
Ding-
[The proficiency of the ‘Berserk’ skill has reached its limit.]
[A special quest, ‘Berserker,’ is given.]
[Berserker
Rank: Special
Defeat 10 mana beasts of B-grade or higher with your bare hands without using mana.
Reward: Rank up of the ‘Berserk’ skill]
“Oh.”
This was the second skill evolution quest to appear since the Sex Expert skill. The one where it said I just had to bang the women the app assigned, and then went silent for weeks.
Fortunately, the quest content didn’t seem too difficult. I could just use internal energy instead of mana.
I roughly dismissed the screen and approached Lucifer.
Like me, she seemed to have a lot to say to me.
“Should I start by saying thank you?”
Jet-black flames flickered above my palm.
Twilight Extinguish, the ability I gained from contracting with her. Its power was beyond question, and it enhanced my body and even healed injuries.
The mana consumption was ridiculously high, but the ability to heal during battle was an undeniable merit.
I wasn’t sure if it would work on severed wounds, though.
“Thanks are unnecessary. It wasn’t a favor done without expecting something in return.”
Violet eyes, a shade darker than violets, turned towards me.
I didn’t know what kind of change of heart she’d had, but beyond the coldly subdued gaze, I no longer saw any killing intent or hostility.
“What do you want?”
Clang, as if reacting to the slight movement, the chains instantly tightened around her body.
The chains’ pressure was crushing her fair skin, as if to inflict pain beyond mere restraint.
It was a question not even worth asking in the first place.
There was no way she could want anything else in this situation.
“Just asking in case, do you know how to undo these chains?”
“…”
She chose silence instead of saying she didn’t know.
“I appreciate the help, but I don’t have all the time in the world either, so it’s hard for me to help with something that has no end in sight.”
Losing the opportunity to study the holy relic was a shame, but I wasn’t foolish enough to cling to the impossible. In the first place, I was only interested in the holy relic because of Iris’s seal.
As long as the legitimate method of the Santala Kingdom existed, there was no reason to be hung up on the holy relic.
“…Was it?”
“What?”
“…Was helping me a lie?”
Lucifer whispered in a voice as faint as an ant’s crawl. Her lowered head seemed to be flushed red.
Was she… embarrassed right now?
I couldn’t help but smile at her unexpected appearance. If I had been a little slower to cover my mouth, I would have burst out laughing.
“It’s not a lie?”
I lightly stretched my stiff body and approached her.
I sat on the bare floor and looked at her. She was within arm’s reach.
“You have to answer my question first.”
“Why are you so curious about that?”
“I can’t exactly take a criminal who’s committed sins out with me.”
“…That’s true.”
Silence followed with a smile I had never seen before.
It was a self-deprecating smile, but she definitely looked prettier smiling than frowning.
“…It might be a bit of a long story, would that be alright?”
“I can’t go anywhere until my body recovers anyway.”
From her lips, which had opened with difficulty, flowed a stale past.
Betrayal, false accusations, and revenge.
It was a story that could be considered commonplace, but it was a past filled with indelible hatred for her.
As the story continued, Lucifer frowned and bit her lip.
The story became a bit chaotic because she was agitated, but it wasn’t difficult to grasp the main points.
‘Betrayed by her former colleagues, falsely accused, and imprisoned…’
I suddenly thought of Iris. It wasn’t exactly the same situation, but there were some similarities.
Of course, I didn’t believe her words as they were.
Instead, I had faith that the dating app wouldn’t match me with a woman who would harm me now.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Lucifer’s brow furrowed at my smile.
“I don’t need human sympathy.”
“You’re so prickly, relax your expression. You’ll get wrinkles.”
“Because of who-”
Hmph.
At that moment, my and Lucifer’s gazes turned at the same time.
There was definitely no one but us in the prison. But at some point, ‘something’ was standing near the snake’s corpse.
Its face was not visible because it was covered in a tattered cloth that looked like it had been patched up.
‘It’ seemed to be absorbed in observing the corpse, not caring about our gazes.
‘…I haven’t been negligent in my vigilance, but when did it appear?’
I spread out my mana detection and sense of touch, but I couldn’t feel anything.
I couldn’t even feel a trace of life. As if it wasn’t a living thing.
I just felt uneasy.
Just as I was about to gather mana, thinking it might be a new enemy.
“…Administrator. They are the ones who manage the tower according to the system’s orders.”
Lucifer stopped me.
I could see blatant hostility in her distorted expression.
Suddenly, ‘it’s’ head, which had been observing the corpse, turned.
I couldn’t see its eyes because of the rags, but I instinctively knew that our eyes had met.
I felt disgust and revulsion. It was a similar feeling to when I first encountered an undead mana beast.
“…It is an honor to meet the great Constellation of the sky.”
A bizarre voice, like scraping a chalkboard, flowed out.
The thing bowed politely. The sight of it felt like a puppet to me.
“I am Mor, the administrator of the 6th underground floor…”
「You have encountered Mor, the administrator of the 6th underground floor, the Bottomless Pit.」
「The first player reward will be given.」
「…Error, error, error, error, error.」
「The player’s qualifications have not been verified.」
「The reward will be delayed.」
「It is recommended that you acquire the player’s qualifications as soon as possible.」
“You stood by when the snake was rampaging, and now you show your face? You’re as shameless as ever.”
Lucifer glared at the administrator and shouted.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was okay to do that to the administrator, but it felt good to have her say what I wanted to say.
“I am merely an agent of the system… If you need to, please submit a formal request for complaint…”
There was no emotion in the thing’s voice. Even TTS would have been more lively.
The thing, which had been bowing to Lucifer, suddenly turned its head towards me.
“I will deliver the system’s message, human…”
I was so dumbfounded by the way it spoke down to me as if it were natural that I let out a hollow laugh.
“You couldn’t even stop the Constellation’s intervention, and now you’re belatedly showing up to deliver a message? What am I supposed to do?”
“Your dissatisfaction is reasonable… But as a result, you have won against the Constellation… That alone is the result and the proof of everything…”
Ding-
At that moment, a new screen appeared before my eyes.
“We express our respect for the achievement of defeating the Constellation’s incarnation, and we will make a suggestion…”
「A special quest has occurred.」
「Player Qualification
You are an Irregular.
You are neither a resident of the tower nor a player from another world. You must clear the tutorial floor.
Success: Acquisition of player qualification」
“Become a player…”
“I refuse.”
The only thing they were offering as a reward was player qualification.
What would I gain from getting that?
As if expecting my reaction, the thing slowly nodded.
“That is a reasonable question… If you accept the offer, the system will grant you what you desire within the limits of causality…”
Suddenly, I was very interested.
A wish granted by a transcendent being, it was definitely a reward that would be hard for anyone to refuse.
“Then give me those chains.”
“Impossible… Ownership of Aethersvine belongs to ‘Eden’…”
“You’re a system, can’t you even do that?”
“Ownership disputes are a very sensitive matter…”
“…”
It’s an unnecessarily conscientious system.
Well, I wasn’t particularly disappointed even if I was rejected. In the first place, it was a request I threw out expecting to be rejected.
“Then how about releasing her?”
I pointed at Lucifer with my finger.
Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected to be singled out, which was quite a sight to see.
“If the ‘Fallen Star’ is released, Aethersvine will automatically be returned to Eden… If it was a request aimed at ownership, it is useless, so I suggest you correct it now…”
“I don’t need the chains, can you release her or not? Just tell me that.”
“…”
「‘Fallen Star’ is astonished.」
「“Do you know what you’re saying?! The system granting a request within the limits of causality means it’s possible to obtain SS-class or higher traits or items-”」
‘That’s why I’m saying it.’
I sent a telepathic message to Lucifer.
「‘Fallen Star’ cannot hide her embarrassment.」
「“…What?”」
‘You said the Constellations imprisoned you. Shouldn’t it take something like the system to release you from here?’
「‘Fallen Star’ is silent.」
「“…”」
Of course, if the system was a divine being, it would have been good to ask for traits or skills as she said.
But unless the origin was within myself, like the sacred power of the World Tree, it was just a power that would disappear when I returned to Earth anyway.
Above all, I had already said I would help, and there was nothing more unsightly than changing my mind later.
‘In the first place, who was the one who was asking to be released just now… No, which angel was it.’
Of course, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed, but it was a good deal because I was able to learn about her personality.
She should be using any means necessary for revenge, but the fact that she was worried about my loss, whom she was seeing for the first time, indirectly showed her character.
“Good… But there’s a condition…”
“Condition?”
“I will strip the ‘Fallen Star’ of her status… And she will have to follow you and acquire the player qualification…”
I glanced at Lucifer. She looked troubled, but judging from the fact that she wasn’t angry, the administrator’s condition wasn’t completely unreasonable.
“What does it mean to strip her of her status?”
“It means she will no longer be a Constellation… The apostle contract that the Fallen Star has with you will continue, but she will no longer be able to bestow authority or sponsor WP… Would that be alright…”
The thing wasn’t asking me.
“…I.”
Lucifer’s lips moved.
She couldn’t make a decision for a long time.
Although I didn’t know the meaning of the status of Constellation, I knew that it wasn’t a light matter to make a decision on so easily.
Instead, I could at least throw out a word to help her make the right choice.
“What are you hesitating about? You said you were going to take revenge.”
At that moment, a different light appeared in Lucifer’s eyes.
Revenge is the greatest driving force in life.
Even I killed a high-ranking public official and a governor just to get revenge.
For the record, revenge is not futile.
It just depends on who is around you after the revenge is over.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility even if something goes wrong.”
I looked at her, brushing off the dust that had fallen on her hair.
Her eyes, which looked like they had been inlaid with amethysts, were trembling more strongly than ever.
Red plum blossoms, instead of violets, bloomed on her face.
“…Hic.”
