We defeated the boss on the 50th floor and reached the town on the 51st floor safely. However, since five victims appeared, Diabell and others decided to return to the headquarters first to hold the funeral of the five people killed by the Colossus. But before that, I decided to tell Diabel and them about Lilan and the truth about this battle.
Pure speculation, but the gauge that appears under my "HP bar" seems to increase every time I attack an enemy, and when it reaches the right side, by calling out Lilan's name, Lilan will return to normal. .
I speculate that Lilan became smaller when she entered the boss room. After entering the boss room, her image was restricted. By accumulating dashboards, she can release the image restriction and start fighting. I explained this setting to everyone.
Everyone listened calmly and seemed to understand the situation.
I was surprised, normally they might be skeptical of my words, but apparently Diabel's previous angry reaction played a big role in that. I'm glad it didn't lead to an argument, which was great.
When the conversation ended and I parted ways with Diabel and others, a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance came up to me, wanting to apologize and hand me an item. It is said that it was an item found in the Boss' room after the Boss was defeated.
I told him I didn't need such a thing, but he said he couldn't get an apology without handing over the item. He almost forced the item onto me.
He showed no sign of backing down, so I took the item and said I was glad to have survived.
The player bowed gently to me and walked towards the Holy Dragon Alliance headquarters with Diabel.
After taking the items that were suddenly handed to me that I didn’t quite understand, I took Lilan back to the town on the 50th floor, and then started walking around the city, but I couldn’t stop thinking.
I gained such powerful power as Lilan. But even so, I still had 5 deaths happen. This makes me sad and makes my heart ache just thinking about it. Was that battle really a battle where sacrifices had to be made?
I seemed to think of my thoughts, and Lilan's voice sounded in my mind.
"Don't worry, Kirito. I told you to protect others, but you can't protect all players. If you always worry about these, you will only consume your own spirit."
"Then what should I do? I don't want anyone to die anymore."
"Even if your and my powers merge, there will be people who cannot be protected. Then, you should look for the person you want to protect from the bottom of your heart. By doing this, the people around you will also be protected."
"People who want to protect from the bottom of their hearts? What does that mean?"
Lilan flew up from my shoulders and jumped in front of me.
"Is there someone that you want to protect from the bottom of your heart and want to make sure that he leaves this world completely?"
After listening to her words, I stopped and thought.
If you want to talk about someone you want to protect...that is Klein, the president of the "Fenglinhuoshan" guild, and as a free player, he almost always participates in the battle with the floor boss and protects other players in the way of fighting. People have high trust in Egil.
Klein is a friend who will never abandon me or let me down no matter what.
Although I originally thought he abandoned me in the realm boss battle on the 49th floor, after clearing the 50th floor, he sent me an email, which was about celebrating my victory and saying that he would never abandon me. .
From that email, I learned that Klein had not abandoned me. So, I want to protect Klein.
Egil, like Diabel, saw through that my behavior on the first floor was just to act as a villain, and he was a mature person who trusted me.
In addition, Egil has also participated in the development of the players around him and established a deep trusting relationship, so I think he is indispensable.
I also want to protect Egil and ensure that he returns to the real world safely. ...It seems like there are only men, the ones I want to protect.
"Though all men, there are two so far. Klein and Egil."
"Where are they now?"
I opened the contact window and searched for the locations of Klein and Egil.
When my eyes fell on their location, I saw that both of them were on this level. Now that the boss is defeated and the city is activated, they should be coming.
"Both Dindu entered the city... Wouldn't it be better if I only met with Egil."
"Huh? Why?"
"Klein is the president of a small guild. So there should be things like discussion meetings with surrounding members. Egil is basically a free player, and he can meet whenever he wants."
Lilan showed a satisfied expression.
"Then go find Egil. He should be someone you can communicate with."
"Okay, I'll do it. Come on, Lilan."
I shouted, Lilan returned to my shoulder, and I continued walking towards where Egil was. After walking for a while, I received instructions that I was getting closer to Egil's position, but I was a little surprised when I saw my surroundings. This is a business district. Egil basically only participates in combat and has little to do with places like the business district.
"What a surprise... Egil came to the business district."
I muttered and continued walking, then I saw the figure of the target. He is about 180 centimeters tall, tall and muscular, with brown skin and a bald head and beard that give him strong features. There is no doubt that he is the player I have trusted since the first level, Egil. Is his action preparing for something?
"Hey, Egil!"
My voice reached his ears, and Egil turned his head with a surprised expression and waved his hand.
"Kirito!"
He looked at the NPCs around him, and I ran towards him.
"Egil, you have also arrived on the 50th floor."
"Yes, I heard that Kirito, you defeated the boss on the 50th floor. You are really a scary guy for defeating such a powerful boss. But, congratulations."
What has been noticed since the first level is that Egil speaks English fluently. Based on his appearance, he may have been an immigrant from the United States or elsewhere.
Moreover, the news that I defeated the Boss had reached Egil at some point. It is very likely that Diabel or someone in the Holy Dragon Alliance leaked the news. In this case, Klein should also have obtained the relevant information.
"Well, it is indeed a pretty powerful boss. However, thanks to this battle, we lost 5 people."
"5 people? Only 5 people died?!"
Egil was suddenly surprised, and so was I.
"What happened suddenly?"
"Don't you know? According to the information collected by the Blood Alliance Knights, the boss on the 50th floor was announced as a big boss that could cause the death of more than 20 people. And you, it ended with the sacrifice of only 5 people? Only a quarter One?"
That Boss was actually called a dangerous Boss that could cause the death of more than 20 people? I have not heard of such information. In fact, I just moved forward with Diabell and successfully won, so I only understand the basics. Thanks to the rays that guy spewed out, five people died.
But the biggest factor in why we were able to win was having this guy on my shoulders.
"that……"
"Ah, what is that?"
Before speaking, Egil noticed the companion sitting on my shoulder. Well, since it hasn't been on my shoulder until now, it's reasonable for him to be surprised. And, I haven’t even introduced him yet, so let’s introduce myself first.
"He is the "familiar" I met on the 35th floor. His name is Lilan."
Egil stared at Lilan curiously, with an innocent expression in his eyes as if he had seen a rare thing he had never seen before.
"Is this... a new breed? And does the word "familiar" mean that you have become a "tamer"?"
"Yes. I met him when the strategy team conquered the 49th floor, and then became a "tamer"."
"That's right. My name is Lilan. Please take care of me, Egil"
Egil looked around in surprise again, this reaction was the same as Diabel's.
"So, what's that voice about? Now I hear the voice in my head... Although you may not know what it is talking about, is it true?"
"Ah, that's Lelan's 'voice'. He has a consciousness of his own and can communicate directly in his head via telepathy."
Egil stared at Lilan.
"It, can it talk?"
"Ah...Actually, Egil, you look surprised. "The familiar" is such an existence. He can grow in size and compete with the boss on the 50th floor."
Egil frowned and asked me with a confused expression.
"Wait, wait a minute, Kirito. What you said is very different from the information I heard about the "tamer"."
"Um?"
"How is this going?"
Egil asked me to enter a store-like building next to it. After I followed him inside, it was indeed an interior that looked like a store. Although there were no products on display, there were no NPCs inside. However, I think it may be too early to ask about the condition of this place. What I want to know now is about the "Animal Tamer".
"So Egil, the information about the "Animal Tamer" you mentioned is very different from my intelligence. What's going on?"
A look of discomfort appeared on Egil's face.
"That's that Lilan. He completely deviates from the "tamer" story I heard before. Kirito, first of all, can you tell me about Lilan? Now without confirming this, we can't draw a conclusion ."
I hadn't spoken particularly deeply about Lelan to anyone before. Moreover, I always thought that a guy like Lilan was the default form of a "familiar", but it seems that is not the case. And I believed Egil was a trustworthy person, so I could tell him.
"Okay. Lilan is..."
I told Egil about the circumstances of my encounter with Lilan, Lilan’s characteristics, and about fighting the boss with Lilan. After hearing this, Egil must have been so surprised that his eyes widened.
"I see... it's really far from my information. Besides, the name comes from "Return" in IT terminology. It really suits your style."
"That kind of thing doesn't matter. So, what information do you know about the "Animal Tamer"? I don't have detailed information about that aspect."
