Chapter 202: Reaching the Heavens Part 8 Part 2

When you think about the ruler’s job, the first thing that comes to mind after assuming the role for the first time is get yourself familiar with every single bit of information about this castle, the key to Kutanid’s seal, the throne room and all other stuff like that. And perhaps it is just a in-game arrangement, but those gemstones are neither too big nor too small, making you feel as though they would be missing pieces of something else.

「The diary mentions that the transfer of the right to rule this place is connected to the new ruler, the statute and the throne. So if we assume that it is correct to reverse all that, as everything else around here……」

「Ah…… When damaged, the stone shall restore to royal power! The right to rule!」

That’s right, Rei. You even said so yourself not so long ago. That this crown seems way too shabby and that it looks as though you could insert some gemstones into it. No, this thing is practically begging you to do so. The royal gemstones that were once part of the crown are now going to be returned to where they rightfully belong. Awfully clever of them, not gonna lie.

「…… What the, it’s not going in!?」

「…… Sanraku, you seem to be holding it upside down. Gently now…… Muh…… Nhh…… Nh……!」

「Oi, Rust! If you keep forcing it in like that, this poor thing is going to break apart! Are you sure that this thing is really supposed to go in there like that!?」

Eh? Then, what about that place? Nah, this doesn’t fit in, either…… Huh!? What the hell!?

「…… I knew it, destroying this thing is just going to be so much easier.」

「Told you? I told you that’s what we should have done from the start.」

「No, no, no, no, no, no……」

「Me! Let me do it! I’m quite adept at solving various kinds of puzzles, you know!?」

Akitsu Akane says so, and Rust and I hand both crown and the jewels to him, even though we were obviously really skeptical about all this. Will he really be able to do it? Even with our combined wisdoms (and my energy drink-boosted intellect to boot) we were unable to figure this one out…… Hmm, flipping the jewels upside down and rotating them slightly. Ah! Won’t you look at that! Now it fits like a glove! …… Imagine that.

「I knew it, the thing was just rotated wrong to begin with. I wonder if it was also Kutanid’s fault that the crown and gemstones were misaligned like that?」

「Laugh all you want, Akitsu Akane. This here is the prime example of slapstic comedy. We could not figure this out, and you just got your hands on it and look! All done!」

「…… I feel like I should be proud of myself, but at the same time I feel that I should also feel embarrassed. This feeling is killing me……!」

「Ehhh!? How!? Just when and how did this happen!?」

What is wrong with us, to be unable to solve so simple of a puzzle on our own!? If something like that was enough to defeat us, then at this rate we will crumble to dust on the spot when it comes to Kutanid battle later on. At any rate, the crow was restored to its former form, but does that mean some sort of a change is going to occur?

Looking closely at it, the crown probably used to be golden, but now it was all rusted and overgrown with mold. But waiting a few more seconds, something started to change. The rust started to crumble away, and mold peeled off, and the crown gradually regained its gold luster and shine of the precious gemstones that were implemented in it. Right about now it was truly a symbol of kingship.

「…… I thought that something is supposed to start happening, but I guess nothing for now, huh?」

「So that would mean, we must go back to that place where Kutanid is……?」

「No, before we do that, let us explore this place a little bit more.」

On one hand I want to start the battle while the effect of Revolving Lantern is still active. But on the other hand, I want to collect as much information as possible. So I go around the throne and inspect in closely.

「Hmm……? Could this be……?」

There was something written there in a very intricate style, almost as if it was cursive……

It was at that time that we could feel the whole city shaking to its very foundations. Of course, the epicenter of the tremors must be coming directly from below us, and since because we were all at the epicenter of the shaking, it was so powerful that we all fell down to the ground.

「Judging by the fact that it took this event a while to load, this cannot be anything good!」

「Does that mean we are going straight into the battle against Kutanid!?」

「…… I don’t know, but the possibility of that is really high……!」

While the tremors intensified, we got up on our knees and got our weapons out, keeping them at the ready all the time. However, soon we found out that it was not Kutanid’s fault that the tremors happened, but the space or even reality itself.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a bug or something similar to it. After all, the tremors and the growing noises were affecting everything around us, but not the players or NPCs themselves. But just before I was able to put my increasing worries into words……

「Ha?」

「He?」

「Eh?」

「Wah?」

「Wait……」

RUMBLE. And just like that, up became down and down became up.

The floor, which used to be right under our feet, right about now was way up in the air, out of our reach. But in exchange, the ceiling got a whole lot closer, making for a good foothold. But the most important thing here is that our bodies follow the basic rules of grativty, meaning we are all going up…… I mean down……

「Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, won’t it be bad if we all fall to our deaths right here right now!?」

「This is bad! This is really bad! At this rate we are all going to die! Oh my God!!!」

No, wait, wait just a moment……! Just wait! Wait and hope! Sure, if it was a sh*tty game, that would surely be the case that we all fall to our deaths and that’s that! But! But this is a godly game! It is godly, so surely……! Surely everything will be just fine, right? RIGHT!? I mean,

「If we’re really going to fall to our deaths hear, I’m never ever going to do any serious work for the rest of my liiiiiiiiife………!!!」

Mortals. The name might not imply this, but there is an absolute hostility hidden behind it. It bears the hatred of humans who cannot stomach the thought of living under the same stars as the creatures that resemble gods. We are like oil and water, and we shall never get along. However, right about now the concepts of both Heaven and Earth had been turned upside down, at least in this here underwater city.

That is why, our goal here may have happened to become inverted as well. We may no longer aim towards fighting a giant octopus at the bottom of the sea, but rather show to gods that we are strong enough to be able to take the future into our own hands. Which was already one heck of a task, that now has become even more convoluted.

「YOU ENCOUNTER THE UNIQUE MONSTER ‘KUTANID OF THE ABYSS”.」

The Abyss has risen from its depths, forcing us once again to try and reach towards the Heavens.