Let’s Manage the Tower

Unassigned - Chapter 36, Preparation

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

For a week after returning from the 61st Floor, they focused their efforts on re-investigating the mysterious springs rather than venturing higher into the Tower.

Their initial investigation had begun on the 61st Floor, but the high-ranking monsters that appeared there posed significant challenges. At that level, Nana’s abilities proved less effective, and leaving Mitsuki to fight alone carried too great a risk of accident. While Kousuke could protect the carriage with a barrier if necessary, the unpredictable nature of their situation made caution essential.

They decided to postpone their investigation of the 61st Floor and above until Kouhi could join them. Fortunately, her battle against the number one ranked fighter was approaching, and once that concluded, she would have the freedom to accompany them on their more dangerous adventures.

The abundance of high-ranking monsters on the 61st Floor troubled Kousuke. Unlike Amamiya Tower’s structured 100-Floor design, Gazenran Tower had fewer Floors overall. While monster types alone could not determine a Tower’s total Floors, even the Tower of Four Attributes and the Tower of Sacred Magic showed irregular monster rank distributions. Something felt off about this particular pattern.

His concern was not based on mere speculation. Having conquered numerous Towers, Kousuke had developed an intuitive understanding of their patterns through experience. When he mentioned this to Peach, she questioned whether his feeling constituted a hunch, but Kousuke distinguished between intuition and hard-earned experience. Some knowledge, he explained, defied easy explanation. It simply came from having lived through countless similar situations.

Peach nodded thoughtfully.

“I see,” she said, accepting his reasoning.

With Kouhi unavailable, they decided to thoroughly investigate the springs from the 52nd Floor downward. As expected, a week proved insufficient to examine every spring thoroughly. They managed to investigate all springs from the 52nd to 55th Floors completely, but discovered only one containing special water—located on the 54th Floor.

While they could not rule out missing some hidden springs, the distribution appeared remarkably sparse. The water they found, <Aeris Water>, nothing particularly novel. More significantly, the spring lay buried deep within the 54th Floor’s interior, showing no signs of previous Human presence.

The location’s obscurity made sense. Most adventurers who reached this Floor could obtain valuable materials without venturing into the depths where the spring lay hidden. Even if someone stumbled upon it, they might not recognize the water’s significance. If only a handful of people knew about these remote springs, oversight seemed far more likely than deliberate concealment.

Their investigation remained half-finished when Kouhi’s arena battle forced them to return early. Arriving the day before the fight, they found the Guild surrounded by enthusiastic crowds of Kouhi’s supporters. Since the fans caused no serious disturbance, Eku chose to leave them alone. The Guild’s location on the town’s outskirts meant no neighbors complained, and Eku planned to address the situation only if it continued past nightfall.

Observing the crowd from a distance, Kousuke and his companions used the back entrance to avoid the gathering. The rear of the building, where carriages parked, provided perfect cover from public attention.

Eku and Kouhi greeted them immediately upon entry. After briefly discussing how to handle the outside crowd, everyone retired to their rooms. Kouhi naturally joined Mitsuki in her quarters, a arrangement Kousuke didn’t question.

For Kouhi, tomorrow’s battle represented just another fight, regardless of her opponent’s top ranking. The commotion outside barely registered as the evening passed normally. The other Guild members, familiar with pre-battle routines from previous fights, maintained their usual composure.

By nightfall, the crowd had dispersed completely. Some supporters had likely left early to secure good seats at the arena for the following day’s match.

The next morning arrived with anticipation heavy in the air. Finally, the day had come for Kouhi to face Hartvin, the number one ranked champion.

—

Hartvin had reigned as the arena’s top fighter for over ten years, earning his title through consistent dominance. Since his debut, losses were so rare that calling him a monster seemed appropriate. The match between this legendary champion and Cory—who had been systematically defeating strong opponents since her own debut—attracted attention from arena enthusiasts and the general public alike.

The Arena Guild had clearly anticipated this level of interest. They hired additional staff to manage crowd control and established organized entry lines from the opening. Rather than wait in the public queues, Kousuke and his companions used Kouhi’s recommendation to enter through the personnel entrance.

This time, they would occupy VIP seats instead of general admission. This was a promotional strategy for the Guild, which took place during the Tower investigation. Kousuke also had no objections to the plan.

The ‘VIP’ designation proved modest compared to the private boxes Kousuke remembered from elsewhere. Instead, they received reserved personnel seating with excellent views of the battle area. Deliberately or not, their seats positioned them near the opposing team’s supporters.

As Kousuke’s group settled in, several people from the other side took their seats as well. No greetings were exchanged before the event began.

“Well, it’s finally here! The fight of the century is about to take place!” The announcement instantly electrified the crowd.

“I’ll be handling today’s commentary. My name is Hosue! Thank you all for being here!”

Kousuke wondered whether Hosue’s presence was coincidence or fate.

“I actually requested this assignment, never expecting approval, so I’m pretty excited myself. Let’s get fired up together!”

The crowd responded with frenzied enthusiasm. The matchup between Cory, the rising star, and the long-reigning champion had captured everyone’s imagination. Perhaps the audience shared a collective ‘what if’ wondering whether they might witness history in the making.

Whether that anticipation manifested as excitement or anxiety varied among individual spectators, but everyone sensed they were about to see something unprecedented.

The ceremony proceeded steadily, building toward the main event. Finally, the two fighters destined to battle that day made their entrance.