Previous Chapter l Next Chapter-First floor, Entrance.
The place where all the divergences begin, and even though it is the starting place, it is also an important place that heavily influences the difficulty of the next floors.
As always, the venue is like a festival.
The variety of food is crazy, the number of people is also crazy.
If we are talking about a place in the grand labyrinth of Yaso-Katsui where the difficulty level is low and has a lot of tourists, it would be this place.
It is actually to the point that any mamono that appears is pitiful.
-Second floor, Garden.
Each one of the types are not as wide as Entrance, but looking around it, it felt like a space that resembled the outside.
The mamonos that appear and the terrain have their own traits, and the width of the difficulty degrees is incredibly wide.
The number one lowest difficulty is the introductory floor, its name is also pretty easy to understand: Beginner Garden.
In our second day, we left the guiding to Hokuto and the others, and the place we ran past through was the same as the day before, Drake Garden.
Well, if I had to put it in words, it would be like a nest of dragons.
-Third floor, Path.
This place is narrow.
But this floor is practically a highway, where avoiding battle itself is difficult.
The number of encounters increase and the exhaustion grows drastic as well, so they normally have the cooperation of several parties and the sharing of exp.
The denominator gets bigger, so the amount of deaths here is obviously a lot higher than in the previous floor, and it seems to be the first wall that the beginners hit.
According to the information of Hokuto, if you enter this floor from the Beginner Garden, this third floor will be the Beginner Path and becomes a dead end.
Because of the Alt floor, this was my first time in this place, but for Tomoe and the others, this would be their second time here. We passed through the floor called Tribe Path.
It was a straight path with a number of halls; a monotonous floor. At the straight parts, it was a continuous battle with weak mobs, and at the hall parts, you would fight with a boss.
-Fourth floor, Valley.
Just as the name states, a valley. It is a floor that you have to advance through the bottom of a valley, and the field of vision is slightly dark.
The extent of actions you can take are limited like in Path, just that the enemies and traps were coming from all directions.
It was an attack from the sky.
It was mainly mamonos that have wings, and at times, there would be worm type mamonos coming for surprise attacks. It was also mainly traps falling onto us. That’s what I thought, but at the end, the valley itself was narrowing on us and that had quite the impact.
When I heard the name of the floor was Negligee Valley, I can’t deny I wasn’t interested in it.
By the way, there was no pink anywhere, and the whole floor itself had some sort of debuff effect that reduces all your abilities.
…Just what part of it is negligee.
-Fifth floor, Maze.
This was exactly a dungeon.
A maze.
It was a depressing floor, but the pathway and ceiling was pretty wide, so there wasn’t a feeling of confinement. That part alone was a saving.
Also, Hokuto properly constructed a route to the next floor, so we simply had to follow him and didn’t get lost which played a big part in making me feel better.
There were armed goblins and Orcs, Lizardmen and Beast type mamonos appearing here, and the moment they found us, they would attack us with all they had, which made this floor a pretty hostile floor.
The floor’s named Sword Maze, so there weren’t many with blunt weapons.
The Boss-like guy was also a big sword.
A sword that’s floating in the air and swinging at you as if dancing is already close to being a horror movie.
-Sixth floor, Hill.
It wasn’t a hill at all. This is already at the level of a mountain.
I felt like they should change the name to Mountain.
We endlessly climb the unpaved path that was leveled by the steps of previous visitors while surrounded by overgrown trees.
We were being constantly attacked by wriggly mamonos that hide their presence and go for surprise attacks.
Only the Forest Oni, Shii, was more elated than normal in the middle of this arbour space as she spearheads, or more like, bats her way through the mamonos, turning them into minced meat.
Hide Hide Hill.
Just like the name states, it is a floor where it is hard to grasp the presence of the enemies, and that must be why the Hide is repeated twice. It is an important part after all.
But Shii’s compatibility with it was extraordinary.
For a Forest Oni that can forcefully gather information from the trees, even when the beasts try to hide their presence, it was totally visible in her eyes, or so it seems.
And so, tragedy unfolded upon them.
Now that I think about it, what did Gonzou experience in the fifth and sixth floor that made him feel despair?
It was also the same with the other floors we passed, I didn’t really understand that feeling of his.
-Seventh Floor, Hole.
A floor where if you didn’t buy a map, gathered information beforehand, it would partially destroy your party or even wipe them out.
Well, after reaching this far, there shouldn’t be that many people who are like that.
The moment you enter, there’s a big pitfall.
Nothing to grab onto, there’s not even a portal.
You simply fall.
And you get attacked by flying mamonos.
If you don’t control your fall in some sort of way, you can have luck in passing the mamonos and then go *splat* at the end of the fall.
There’s no device floating around or placed at the walls that can assist you with that either.
Going by the information of the map, there’s practically no Holes where you can find gimmicks that can make you float or scaffolds you can hold onto.
This Great Hole is a place where you totally have to manage on your own.
In my opinion, I feel like it would be a lot scarier to make someone jump on their own will by baiting them with fake scaffolds, compared to having them fall no questions asked.
At any rate, there’s not much problems on our side.
And so, aside from falling into a big hole, there’s nothing special to mention, and we all safely landed.
This time around, it did feel like a big wall you would hit -in a psychological sense.
-Eighth floor, Lake.
Location, a lake.
In other words, the romance of explorers.
I accept all objections you may have towards this statement.
This is a place that made me understand once again that we are deep underground. Ground and rocks in their natural splendor, and the bedrock ceiling that gave out a complete feeling of enclosed.
In that kind of space, the inside of the lake was releasing a gentle light like that of fireflies.
If we look at the whole space itself, it is on the level of being dim, and definitely not a light that you can define as dazzling.
But what was spreading from the lake was giving off a strong sense of presence.
There were a good amount of rocks, big enough for a person to jump on, floating on the lake.
Those were not the top parts of stone pillars, they were floating rocks.
If we take into account all the equipment, Shii, who is the heaviest in the party with weapon and all, would not sink. That’s how much buoyancy it had.
The runner-ups Beren and Hokuto are obviously fine as well.
Just that, because of the size, it is hard to have two people jump on the same rock.
The portal is as always in a place close to the starting location, and at the center of the lake, there’s a teleport formation leading to the next floor.
In these points, this is a simple floor.
It is easy to understand what you need to do.
Must mean that you need to trail the floating rocks and arrive at the center to continue on.
The mamonos were all aquatic type that live in the lake.
There were no attacks at land.
Leaving aside their presence, the mamonos that were jumping to the water surface as if aiming for flying bugs, their bodies were practically transparent.
Is it some sort of camouflage?
With that bad footing, and our actions limited a bit, handling the mamonos was quite the work. Moreover, at the middle of the stage, there were floating rocks that actually sunk the moment you jump on them, and you can’t tell them apart from the others.
Tomoe wanted to go a lot deeper in one fell swoop, so she made a big jump, but the foothold couldn’t stand it and Tomoe ended up dripping wet.
That probably pissed off Tomoe, she dove inside the lake and…after that, the underwater attacks had stopped completely.
Well, I can sympathize with that sentiment of hers, this is a floor that really stresses you out.
Clay Doll Lake.
If there’s a next time, let’s jump towards a correct foothold and finish it at once.
-Ninth floor, Gate.
In other words, a warping floor.
In this one as well, if you know the correct answer, the pathing is manageable.
Really have to be grateful towards the pioneers that cleared this place.
…Like, seriously.
This continuous warping that would make anyone go crazy, I don’t have the intentions of testing every single one of them.
For some reason, Hokuto looked disappointed, but I completely ignore that.
The rooms aren’t big by any means, and there’s 4 teleport formations at the rooms, and each room isn’t much different between each other.
It seems like a switch is what opens the door to the next area.
Name’s Cube Gate, it is a simple floor, but that’s exactly what makes it easy to get lost at and a troublesome place. Moreover, there’s quite a lot of rooms where mamonos lie in wait, and after teleporting, it normally ends up in an instant fight.
It seems like Mio didn’t find this place amusing. The mamonos that were waiting in ambush were mostly used to vent her stress.
After several tens of times, we found a corridor we haven’t seen before, and when I saw that, I sighed in relief.
-Tenth floor, Palace.
This place’s portal was filled with a number of teleport formations incomparable to the floors before.
It was an impressive sight.
It is not on the level of Entrance, but there were a number of groups divided and doing talks and discussions at the portal.
What is going on?
As we got closer, all the people gathered there turned towards our direction at once, and I felt somewhat uncomfortable by it.
This is…it felt like the eyes of someone that was looking at something weird.
The image of the floor is also not like a dungeon at all.
No well, there have been floors like that before, but this place feels somewhat different.
That’s right, we are indoors, and it is pretty luxurious.
If it is to take it relax, then this place is certainly good enough for people to gather.
Since these people were able to come all the way from the 10th floor, that must mean they have a decent amount of experience, so…they may have more useful information than in Entrance.
We register at the Portal as per usual.
And as per usual, the Obelisk emits a red light in return.
It is the sign that the registration was completed.
Okay, with this, we will be able to come to the tenth floor whenever we want.
We have also safely finished the task of Rokuya-san.
Everyone is…it doesn’t seem like they are that tired, but with information gathering in mind as well, it should be okay to take a rest here.
It is already noon after all.
It should be a good time to have lunch.
“Welcome to the communal 10th floor, Palace. It is been awhile since I have seen new faces here. Nice to meet you.”
From within the crowd of people that were looking at us, one of them welcomes us and extends his right hand for a handshake.
Ah I see, it was because it’s been awhile since new faces showed up huh.
I can understand that.
Since they know everyone’s faces here, it is as expected, not a place that prospers much in change.
Leaving aside when someone dies, it is rarer to have people increase huh.
Also, the word communal 10th floor and this many people at the vicinities of the portal, could it be…
I respond to the extended hand of the man and exchange a handshake with him.
At the same time, I send a gaze at Hokuto and he nodded.
In other words, this Palace is a place where no matter what route you take in the previous floor, you will always end up here.
That’s why this is a floor where people gather from every route.
“Nice to meet you. I am the representative of the Kuzunoha Company, name’s Raidou. My companions are all employees, and they are: Tomoe, Mio, Beren, Hokuto, and Shii. It took us time, but we were somehow able to arrive here. Nice to meet you as well.” (Makoto)
“Company? No, that doesn’t matter, you made it all the way here, so you must have actual skills. If you came all the way here in order to do business…”
“No, they don’t have those intentions. Right, Raidou-kun?”
Right after I began the conversation with the man that seemed to have the strongest standing within these adventurers, a person that came from the crowd of people who opened the way for that person to pass, cut into the conversation.
It is a voice I am familiar with.
It is him.
“That’s right. Today I didn’t come here to do business. I didn’t expect you to be waiting for me here, Rokuya-san.” (Makoto)
“…Rokuya?! The one from Apple? You must be kidding, right? He looks exactly the same as the picture I saw when I was a kid. Is he the real deal?”
From what I see, the man that was looking at Rokuya-san with wide open eyes is at least 40 years old.
Rokuya-san’s outward appearance seriously hasn’t changed at all.
Because of Rokuya-san’s arrival, the surroundings get even more rowdy.
“Nah, I arrived just now. I was thinking about coming here early and notify the people here of you guys. It was completely out of my expectations that you would be able to clear all in half a day. Truly abnormal beings, monsters.” (Rokuya)
Rokuya-san seemed like he didn’t care about anyone aside from us as he continues our conversation.
“Haha…” (Makoto)
“It is certainly true that with that level, not only would it be hard for normal adventurers, even the seasoned adventurers that challenge the World’s Border would find it hard to learn from you guys. Even if you were to slowly guide them, instead of them having a strong spirit to learn and reach the level, it would most likely damage them. I see, I see. Now I understand.” (Rokuya)
“…”
For a second there, a light of pity showed in the eyes of Rokuya-san. And on top of that…a small dose of sympathy?
As expected, it is hard to read the emotions of the mild smile of Rokuya-san.
“Now then, you being here is proof enough that you have passed the task, but can you tell me about the floors you passed to reach here? Just as reference.” (Rokuya)
“Understood. Drake Garden, Tribe Path, Negligee Valley, Sword Maze, Hide Hide Hill, Great Hole, Clay Doll Lake, and Cube Gate.” (Makoto)
The surrounding noise gets lower and lower as I tell Rokuya-san the floor names.
“…Was the one who set up this route you, Raidou?” (Rokuya)
“No, it was Hokuto.” (Makoto)
“I see. Was there some sort of *meaning* when he set it up? Ah, I am not talking about *thread*, okay?” (Rokuya) <The two words are said as Ito, but are written differently.>
Hokuto looks at me to confirm if it is okay for him to talk.
I silently nod.
We have already finished our task and can obtain his cooperation.
I don’t think there’s any problem.
But, that Rokuya-san…was he indirectly telling us that he knows Hokuto is an Arke?
How scary.
Even at his first meeting with Tomoe, it seemed like he already knew her identity.
“…I noticed that, in this dungeon, the higher the floor’s difficulty, the higher the possibility of that floor leading to lower ones. Of course, we could have moved through the floors that are not as dangerous, but it is more certain it connects to the next one the higher the danger; in that case, if it’s Waka-sama and us, going through those would be the shortest and best option, that’s all.” (Hokuto)
“So that’s why huh. There were also routes where the main theme is solving riddles and avoiding traps though. Is that a weak point of your group? More than half of the people here arrived here through those kind of routes, you know?” (Rokuya)
Rokuya-san continues on the answer of Hokuto as if he was having fun.
“It is not like it is a weak point of us. But if we were to choose those routes, the amount of times we have to go back and forth is too much; a waste of time. For example, passing four types of second floors and gathering slates in order to challenge a special third floor, and after that, you would have to clear four types of seventh floors as well. In that fashion, we would have to do things like that more than 10 times before arriving here. The amount of floors we would have to pass would be too much. If it’s the route I set on, we would only need to advance and pass the floor once. If we were to choose the route you talk about, it would have been practically impossible to arrive here in 1 day time.” (Hokuto)
“…Well, I am speechless. It was a perfect answer. That is one of the ways to completely clear this labyrinth of Yaso-Maga—I mean, Yaso-Katsui. It seems like you guys will be able to safely arrive at the 20th floor without the need of our advice.” (Rokuya)
Hokuto answered discouraged knowing that he was being tested by Rokuya.
There’s no real problem in that, so I didn’t say anything.
“Well then, Rokuya-san, Just as you promised last night, you will be our ally at the time of the negotiations, right?” (Makoto)
I confirm just in case.
“Of course, I’m okay with that. I will keep my promise. But you see, after our last meeting, I learned about the details of the problem, and I gotta say…this will be tough. Of course, at the negotiation, I will be taking your side. I will, but…I don’t think I will be able to help you in creating the opportunity for that said negotiation.” (Rokuya)
“What do you mean by that?” (Makoto)
A bitter smile comes up from Rokuya-san as if he was troubled, he is stuck in what to reply.
We can only wait for his answer.
Beginning with Tomoe and Mio, I could tell that my companions were slowly getting pissed.
Maybe his side has fallen into some sort of irregular situation.
“Hah… this is no good. No matter how I look at it, this will be difficult. The time is right, so how about lending me some of your time while we have a meal?” (Rokuya)
“…Understood. It is already time for lunch anyways, so okay.” (Makoto)
One person outside our plans has joined the group.
We moved to a corner at the vicinities of the portal and began our preparations for lunch while being poured the fiery gazes of interest from the other parties.
We decided to take a rest as we have lunch.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
The flames Izumo unleashed spread across the world, which had become overgrown with magical plants,…
The national army is formidable. The national army that guards Eldarge 15 and its surrounding…
Just as Lanpeach was about to use a teleportation portal to head to the spaceship…
When Lanpeach arrived at the Lanpeach Complex, he quickly headed to his room. "Welcome back?…
Toko, who had slipped into the bridge with poor security, spoke with a slight smirk…
Reigokai: Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It is very late, but I really…
View Comments
I guess that for some reason Tomoe is unable to read his memories...
Why is that Shii was so good in the hill with talking with the trees? Makoto should also be able to do the same, or could be that even if he can talk with trees because he isn't used to it is currently less fluently than Shii?
Thanks for the chapter
thanks alot =)
Thanks for the Hard-work!!
@ a-non-e-mouse
The part about life that he is belittling is the fact that he knows that those two girls were being controlled and still chose to kill them. He didn't think about the fact that there are other people out there who might care for them, or the consequences of killing another human being.
Even Mio has stated before that Makoto does not view the lives of others as very important. That his words are simply borrowed, and even in regards to the people of Asora that he's gathered, he doesn't carry or show strong (emphasize STRONG) concern for all of the residents except the initial immigrants: The Orcs, Arkes, and Mist Lizards, (and some of the wildlife too I guess). It's true that he cares about those in his circle, but it seems more like he won't consider anyone to be a potential part of his circle unless they are introduced to him by Mio and Tomoe and have fully submitted to his power.
It's the same as how you view the people walking by the street and you don't give them any thought or care because you're simply not involved with them. I believe Makoto carries this mindset wherever he goes and weighs others' lives the same way. In other words 'it's just another strangers face and I don't need to care'. That's how I view Makoto in terms of what he thinks others' lives are, aside from those he's personally made a connection with. (Then again I'm not trying to say he should be racked with guilt and despair over it, but he should at least realize this about himself).
Lots of arguments...
So, in simple words, Makoto = Trashmoki Mk2?
==========
IF that assasin girls didn't have connection with the member of rosegarden, anyone still complain Makoto kill them?
They are qualitatively different. Tomoki's a self absorbed malignant child who sort of mirrors the horrible selfishness inspired in hyumans by the goddess's favor. Makoto's a chaotic neutral force of nature who more naturally embodies the kind of grudging disdain for hyumanity of the races disparaged by BUG. Makoto is far less of a coward than Tomoki, and seems willing to go to great lengths for people he knows even casually*. He also seems equally willing to murder people he doesn't know**. So Makoto at least values his connections, while Tomoki only seems to value himself.
* When he stopped Root's attack, for instance.
** Sending his forces to murder a town full of demons.
Of course some of that may be a product of circumstance, powers, social relationships and so on. Lily manipulated Makoto's alternate timeline self into reducing Lorel Union to a desert. Hell, even Tomoki might have turned out to be less of a poisonous destructive little turd if he'd been kicked to the edge of the world without powers. I mean, he could have been eaten by a spider.
with the comment section of the chapter when he killed them: Yes.
Now that I think about it, all the biggest controversies in the comments for this WN that have fed the many interesting discussions were on whether X character should be condemned for doing or saying something.
I guess this means that the author is excellent at creating grey characters.
Thanks for the entertainment
Geez... Makoto has no idea that his reckless murder is what got him into this situation. I still don't like how he just simply killed without thought or question. If he were smarter or had better foresight then he wouldn't go around killing anyone he found annoying so recklessly.
I disagree with the characterization of it as a 'reckless murder'. Even in our laws, what he did was called self defense/private defense and he was within his rights to do what he did. Remember, they were level 400+ assassins, it's like the SEALs or the Spetnaz coming for you. Common thugs they are NOT.
Not to mention he did not find them 'annoying', they were out to kill him, which makes them potentially lethal aggressors.
@ Owl
Dude, "jerkass dissonance" is a trope, not an insult. I'm not calling anyone but Makoto a murderer (demonstrably true) and I'm not telling you what to think, I'm arguing on an open forum. That's not to discourage your independence of thought but to encourage critical thinking. You don't have to agree with me. I encourage you to argue with me. If you want to make a good counter point that makes me consider Makoto's actions in a new light I welcome it.
"If someone tries to kill another person, that is a matter between the 2 and the law, outsiders do not have the right to come in and dictate a ‘solution’, no private citizen has the right to just waltz in and force a solution and charges of a crime on the others. "
The laws of our world are hardly infallible, unified, or really applicable to fantasy magic dragon talking pony land. If you actually value independence of thought? Let people think independently of the letter of the law. Laws are only a social construct that works as the consensus of private citizens anyway.
Seriously, take a step back. We are talking about a fictional universe.
@dmb
Not the side of the slippery slope of morality people usually start on, for sure. Actually, didn't he end up prolonging the war by preventing the demon nation from being evaporated by Root? So preventing the end of the war was some of his best work, ironically.
Psychronia wrote, It’s reckless murder because he killed them when they posed no threat to him at all, depriving him of a source of information and maybe working out countermeasures for the charm.
Actually Makoto already knows how to dispel the charm -- he cuts it out of Sofia during their fight. From Chapter 163:
So basically he kills three brainwashed, drugged rape victims who had been commanded to attack him. An argument could be made for that being depraved indifference to human life. It's just that, as soon as he accepts that he must save the lives of strangers when possible, where do his responsibilities end? Must he protect against every natural disaster? Must he stop the war?
I mentioned my thoughts on that in a post just now, but the basic point of it is "I'm not convinced Makoto's curing of Sophia's charm counts as having a cure just yet".
It's slightly unjustified, but I just feel the need to wait for more solid evidence.
@a-non-e-mouse
It's just a verbal shorthand, don't take it too literally. Eg, to "leg" someone does not mean to remove their leg, and it's still beside the point.
" Both boxers go into the ring expecting to get hit. "
Injuries are hardly outside the expected results of combat. Hell, Lancer lost a leg when he first fought Makoto. Was Makoto torturing Lancer?
" One is a quick death in combat, which is to be expected in a life-and-death battle. The other is a way of keeping them alive while they’re suffering, for your own purposes. You tell me which one is better. "
Keeping them alive. You're talking about a universe with extremely potent healing magic here. And it's not simply for Makoto's own purposes, but the argument being made was that Makoto's interests are not and in fact were not served by killing.
'I think it’s fair to suspect some kind of jerkass dissonance is in effect when people are defending murder'
Think the one being the jerkass is you when you go 'you guys must do things my way and no way else, you don't agree, you're evil and a murderer'. It's an elitist mindset and exclusivist and is even worse than any perceived fault of a fictional character like Makoto for one good reason. It actively causes strife like what is happening in chat now. 'Makoto's troubles are limited in scope, focused mainly on those that actively goes after him. You on the other hand go looking for people to put down. One is 'Don't tread on me', the other is 'I'm better than all of you, I'm always right, do things my way or you're evil and I'll cause trouble for you'. People might complain 'Makoto' don't care much for 'hyumans' but ain't you the same? You don't care much of other people enough to give equal consideration to their own mindset or thinking, looking down on others from that throne of your?
If someone tries to kill another person, that is a matter between the 2 and the law, outsiders do not have the right to come in and dictate a 'solution', no private citizen has the right to just waltz in and force a solution and charges of a crime on the others. This is ironically a problem which the US as a country is very guilty of, trying to act like the 'World Police' when no one wants them to and in reality never solves the underlying problem.
tl;dr
Get off that damn high horse of yours and quit looking down your nose at others, you don't have either the prestige, authority or wisdom to do that. Don't ever, ever tell others how they should think or how they should act for your 'approval' It's disgusting and no one cares enough to want to bother about your 'approval'. Is it edible? Tradable for goods or cash? Nope? Then your good will is pretty useless isn't it. Especially to trade my independence of thought for it.
@Dragons33,
He's belittling life? I don't really think so. He's been pretty clear about who he kills (basically, anybody or anything that attacks him or his companions). He otherwise doesn't kill people on a whim or if they bother him (note that he suffered major humiliation at the hands of the merchant guild rep, and didn't kill the man or reduce the building to a crater. Instead of doing something hostile, he took it as a learning experience). OTOH, do you honestly believe that, if Hibiki or Tomoki had the ability to wipe out 20,000 enemy soldiers at little cost to themselves, they would not use it? Are Hibiki or Tomoki bothered by the demons they've killed in battle? What people seem to be glossing over is that life is pretty cheap in that world. For instance, it's not unusual to hunt down sentient creatures for ones owns benefit. As somebody pointed out, Makoto's actions and beliefs can be considered as a way of adapting to a completely new, and more hostile, environment. He's extremely powerful, but he's not omnipotent, let alone omniscient.
And I have to second the point, removing the charm does not mean he has reversed the brainwashing (in Sofia's case, he removed the charm, not the brainwashing). Reversing brainwashing is not a simple matter, even today, in this world. How much effort do you think it takes to convert a fanatic? For all of Kuzunoha Co's resources, the one thing they don't have is a lot of manpower, let alone psychology experts.
@a stop sign
Hey, you're the one who said "An assassin without legs isn’t a much bigger threat than corpse, and is useful as more than fertilizer." Now, either you're thinking, for some odd reason, that the women were legless assassins, or you were advocating Makoto just chop off their legs (which incidentally, as I pointed out, does not render them harmless). That's still considered a pretty inhumane thing to do, even if you want to "lessen" the impact by freezing the legs solid, merging them into solid matter, etc., as if somehow that doesn't completely deprive them of their legs in a very painful manner.
"Third, torture means the objective is to deliberately cause someone pain to elicit a response. If you’re willing to call pain incidental to disabling someone torture, then boxing is two people torturing each other. "
Both boxers go into the ring expecting to get hit. If one boxer decides to put a nail in his glove with the express purpose of hurting and disabling his opponent, that, at the very least, is considered highly immoral behavior.
"Also, you’re tacitly implying that that’s all somehow worse than having your torso blown to gibbets by brids."
One is a quick death in combat, which is to be expected in a life-and-death battle. The other is a way of keeping them alive while they're suffering, for your own purposes. You tell me which one is better.
" Have somebody chop off your legs and tell me what you call it, “mate”. "
*Sigh*
First of all you weren't making an actual argument with that line, so it's just a diversionary ploy. " Accuse the other side of something to undermine their argument. " is an ugly brand of ad hominem attack that gets old really fast. Still, the politispeak of "advocating torture" made it genuinely funny to me even if that wasn't your intent. Yes I have a weird sense of humor, guilty.
Second, I never said ' chop off ' so that's all you. The man has access to an unfathomable amount of magic, so he's got the means to sub-lethally deprive someone of their legs or mobility. Ice magic, wrap them in his giant invisible magic hands, sink them into the floorboards, etc.
Third, torture means the objective is to deliberately cause someone pain to elicit a response. If you're willing to call pain incidental to disabling someone torture, then boxing is two people torturing each other.
Also, you're tacitly implying that that's all somehow worse than having your torso blown to gibbets by brids.
@Owl -
Sophia was level 920 before she absorbed Waterfall and IIRC she managed to cut off a finger before her blade was stopped by his eldwa clothing. She called his defense ridiculous before he got the magic armor. So no, a knife to the back isn't much of a threat to him, and is irrelevant to the specific case in question because he had already deployed his magic armor and stopped the attacks directed at him.
As far as evidence that the brain washing can be removed? Yes, there's evidence. Makoto removed the brainwashing effects from Sophia.
That's not definitive, but if someone is trying to justify murder with "they couldn't be saved" then the burden of proof is on them. Makoto didn't even consider it, so it's something like criminal negligence. Of course if you're going to use real world law as your central argument then brainwashing doesn't exist as an extenuating circumstance in the first place and there's no arguing the point.
I think it's fair to suspect some kind of jerkass dissonance is in effect when people are defending murder. It's not like Makoto's only guilty of a few murders either. He's killed a LOT of people directly or indirectly. He let people die to variants, blew up a fortress, ordered a town wiped out on a whim and so on. Sure, he's saved a people too, but the man's moral compass points due personal convenience. I doubt his motives were different in this case.
@Paps
Also it doesn't necessarily have to be a reason for gaining profit that someone should save another's life. This is what I mean about Makoto belittling life and losing touch with his morals and values from his former world. Makoto could have saved them just for the sake of saving them, but instead he cold heartedly killed those two girls when he could have taken the higher road of saving them.
For me personally, I would have preferred to save those two girls because they were nothing but victims to one man's lust and greed for power and dominance. Truly a pitiful and stupid way to die. :(
- Oh no, I’m not talking about that. Do you remember the time where he talked with Hibiki about how those who take up their weapons to fight are the ones who are ready to accept their own deaths as if it is natural? That’s what I mean in the case of forcing, or rather it would be better put as painting his ideals onto other people, as if it were common sense. He disregards what others may think over what he thinks in such cases.- I never saw it that way, she asked a question and he answered at such, so he can't have his own point of view in that situation? It wasn't a simple fact of taking an weapon, I believe he parafased it as entering the battlefield, he meant it as if you enter a figth ready to kill your oponent you have no excuse to believe that he hasn't entered it with the same mindset so yes you hould be ready to die in there.
-In the case of his ability to remove the effects of Tomoki’s Charm. I’m talking about the time where he fought Sophia to the death. He removed the effects of the charm- I don't know if you readed the POV of Rona of the battle where the Heroes fough the Demons in the fortress, the demons found a way to remove the charms from the females soldiers that were affected by it, but it was a temporly effect only soon they sucumbed to it rigth away. There is not prove that the same couldn´t have happened to Sophia considering that the charm she was aflicted with was an even stronger one that the used at the fortress.
- His disregard of other peoples’ ideals, his criticism of the Hyuman race, belittling the value of life and others involved- It is true that he is not perfect but I relly don't see the "disregard for other people ideals" there and after all he has been subjected and treated by the hyumans is a wonder he still send help and medical care for the less fortunates villages, like they have been doing so far.
-Also it doesn’t necessarily have to be a reason for gaining profit that someone should save another’s life. This is what I mean about Makoto belittling life and losing touch with his morals and values from his former world. Makoto could have saved them just for the sake of saving them, but instead he cold heartedly killed those two girls when he could have taken the higher road of saving them.- You are rigth there is not need to profit in saving someone to do so, but either way there is no obligation to do it, as you said he could have saved them for the sake of it, doesn't mean that he had to save them. He made a choice and went through with it, they weren't damssels on distress or fragile flowers they were assasins coming at him. And I am sure that if Shougetsu and the other bodyguard would have kiled them either way, problaly after trying to torture them for information.
@Paps
Our view points must really differ then huh. When I read I try to put myself in the world of the story as much as possible and think about how I would personally react in each of the characters' situations and try to compare those feelings to what the characters may actually feel. From the sounds of it you take on the observers point of view and are detached from reading in depth into the characters' perspectives (aside from Makoto's). From that it's easier to take Makoto's perspective over what other characters might think or feel.
Also, anyone going into a battle expecting to die are what's considered death soldiers (I think that's the term). According to Makoto anyone who challenges him is a death soldier who expects to die. How realistic do you think that is? Also, would Makoto really be able to lie down himself and just accept death because he was weak? I believe that no one ever wants to die, and no one would ever willingly choose to fight a battle in which they know they would die, even if forced a person wouldn't truly accept that they have to die as a consequence. I accept that there may be battle maniacs who would accept such outcomes, but there were innocent victims that Makoto killed who originally weren't willing to fight, such as the brainwashed girls.
Well in the end what I want to see is Makoto growing as a person, realizing his mistakes and oversights and grow into a better character. As he is now you could consider him a walking time bomb that's ready to explode and bring disaster to every country. There are so many ways this novel could go and so many ways in which you could spot out the good and bad points of Makoto that would either make him a hero or potentially the worst villain you could imagine. And I think that's part of what we all like about this story is that we can see all of those possibilities and we want to know where Makoto will go.
At this point I probably have to say this because I don't want to say too many contradictory statements. I view Makoto in a negative light. His negative actions stand out to me more than his positive ones. But because I'm aware of his good points is why I ultimately have hope that he will turn out a better person than before. Until then, you'll probably be seeing more criticisms about Makoto's cruelty from me.
P.S. Thanks for replying to my comment. It's nice sometimes to have a debate over a novel you really like. Also yeah there are probably a few things I've forgotten or have glossed over that I can't remember well, so maybe I'll go back and re-read some chapters. :)
The extensive discussion amongst the community are probably one of my favorite parts of this story.
Makoto, to me, isn't really a "good" person, but the thing is that this whole world is filled with awful people that aren't at all better than him.
Strictly speaking, I have trouble deeming any character in this story a "good person". Not Makoto, nor his followers, nor Kuzunoha employees. Not the heroes or their followers. Not Zef or his generals. Not Rembrandt or Raidou's students. Not Root, Apple, the Wise or any third parties like the gods either.
I guess Grount, Iroha, and Rinon seem like decent enough people? Though Grount goes on rampages over slights and Rinon chose to rob her benefactor too.
It's more like this whole universe is filled to the brim with different shades of grey (with probably Tomoki as black).
@Psychronia
That's probably one of the main reasons that guys like us like this novel. It's painted in many shades of grey where every character has their own circumstances. Still as readers we're able to identify what we consider to be either black or white thanks to the author, this is honestly one of the best web novels I've read and it ranks up there amongst my top ten.
You know I don't guet to chat with people about the LN or Wn that I read so is indeed good to have this debates sometime, so I will thank you as well for it. - Also, anyone going into a battle expecting to die are what’s considered death soldiers (I think that’s the term). According to Makoto anyone who challenges him is a death soldier who expects to die. How realistic do you think that is? Also, would Makoto really be able to lie down himself and just accept death because he was weak? I believe that no one ever wants to die, and no one would ever willingly choose to fight a battle in which they know they would die, even if forced a person wouldn’t truly accept that they have to die as a consequence.- Indeed we see this topic in diferent ways if not we wouldn't be having this discussions. I do take in depth others characters but I can't feel sympathy for characters whose prominent is varely 5 min. in the story, sincerely you say you felt bad for the girls because they were brainwashed, but thats the extent of the information we got for them, we don't know who or how they were before Tomoki entered their lives, if they were the kind of person that even deserved that pity. We have more background information for others characters and create feelings for them, I guet the general sympatization with the story but I can't guet indepth symphaty with every single character that appears. What I mean is that if it is presented to us a town attacked by bandidts, I will feel the rage and lost for the general populace of the town, but can't feel the lost and pain of every townsman because we won't be presented in the narrative with the feelings of every single one of them. What I stated in the battlefield issue is that acepting death is not suicidical behavior but entering a War zone without considering the posibility of dying it is. Makoto has never stated that anyone that challanges him is expected to die, if that was the case Rona and the Giant Demon General would be death now. But if you went to figth him with the intention to kill him then he will not hold his hand in killing you he feels no obligation to do so nor will he feel bad about it, he is sincere that he considers his live more important that the ones attacking him. And you seem to forguet that he was really fragile when he was little and could die at anytime, so he better that a lot of character in the novel knows what its means to live on edge of dying at any giving moment.
Yeah, you make a good point there. I think I was getting a little too emotional about the whole thing, to the point where my view started narrowing. After some thought about the harshness of that world I can't pin too much blame on Makoto even if he is very powerful. And I almost forgot why it is I liked this novel even though I've already said it before. Makoto is human, so of course he'll stumble here and there, get a little overconfident, and evidently learn from his mistakes. Now that I think about some of his mistakes are kind of like innocent evils, just going off of what he's learned about the common sense of that world has changed him a fair bit. For that I should try a bit harder to keep my perspective neutral, because I dont want to miss anything in this novel.
You know what would really throw me for a loop, demonstrate humanity, and ignite a whole new level of furious debates?
If Tomoki/Bug went through a character arc and got a shot at redemption.
I feel like this author of all people might be able to pull it off really hugely entertainingly.
You knwo that would be really something to look forward to. I mean I think Tomoki would bomb his chance at redemption, but if the author manages to give him that chance I am sure it would be greatly done. The Goddes I believe she is to far gone to have any chance to change, maybe be forced like the "colar" that she has before but not something that comes from her.
'For one thing he was perfectly capable of undoing the brainwashing effects of the charm,'
For such a repeated claim, I've never seen any evidence of this. Have you?
That may be true, but from Makoto's point of view aren't they just the same as nuisances? He's only been in that world for a short time and excluding the number of people he's killed out of self defense he's already killed thousands without sparing a second thought. Hibiki is right about how he takes life too lightly and pushes his own ideals onto other people. For one thing he was perfectly capable of undoing the brainwashing effects of the charm, but instead he practically just thought it would be easier instead to kill them and be on with it. Are you saying there's nothing wrong with that mentality?
I really don't see how does he push his ideals into other people, in fact he has been going along with other peoples politics and way of life, he didn't forced Tsigue to claim independency, not force the hyumans in Rostgard to be more openly aceptable of Demi-hyumans nor does he has forced any of the tribes that reside in Asora to walk away for the devotion to the Goddes. In fact Hibiki is the one trying to abolish the nobelity system of the Kingdom wich is a long standing tradition in there. Besides yes he was perfectly capable of subduing them, but so far Makoto haven't been able to reverse any curse that he has encountered, he has been able to stop it for affecting something in the initial stages but not reversing. He gained nothing by saving them, so what would have been the point of it at the time????
I'm pretty sure Makoto does have a history of fixing curses, actually.
Rembrandt is one example, through medicine which Kuzunoha only got better at over time.
After that was the Tree Punishment, which Makoto mentions finding a way to fix.
And after that was the Gorgon's petrifying eyes, which were only neutralized during their interview, but Makoto did briefly mention that there's likely a way to reverse it due to it being a weaker curse than Tree Punishment.
As for Charm...well, that's a slightly interesting subject to me. Sophia was charmed and Makoto did manage to remove it, but I'm not actually convinced he's able to cure it just yet.
The main reason for this is that the circumstances behind him curing Sophia are too vague. I was under the impression that he actually suppressed her Charm effect with Sakai and that it would return if she left his range. Even if this wasn't the case, Sophia was very, very recently charmed-it couldn't have been more than an hour ago when she met Tomoki. It's been stated that the Charm's effects get worse and worse with prolonged exposure, so really deeply rooted examples like with the assassins might've been beyond saving already.
Of course, this is all speculation on my part and there is more evidence that he can than that he can't. All I'm really saying is that, as far as I'm concerned, I'm not convinced Makoto can absolutely cure Tomoki's Charm yet.
Well yes Makoto has been involved with curses before but the first example as you said was treated with alchemy, now the Tree punishmen I believe he said that is so strong that he hasn't been able to reverse it, stop it for spreading I think he could do, or block it for tacking effect but not reverse it. I believe he mentioned with the interview with the Gorgons. And he hasn't try it in a living thing but he did reversed the petrification in the table so yes admitedly that curse is weaker that the Tree punishment. But I think that Tomoki charm is even stronger that the other two cases.
Oh no, I'm not talking about that. Do you remember the time where he talked with Hibiki about how those who take up their weapons to fight are the ones who are ready to accept their own deaths as if it is natural? That's what I mean in the case of forcing, or rather it would be better put as painting his ideals onto other people, as if it were common sense. He disregards what others may think over what he thinks in such cases.
In the case of his ability to remove the effects of Tomoki's Charm. I'm talking about the time where he fought Sophia to the death. He removed the effects of the charm, but due to him being a bit dense he couldn't figure out why Sophia hated him so much. Which is something we couldn't fully understand until we got to hear more about Sophia's back story. He removed the effects of the charm, that much was confirmed.
Also I feel it's important that I should make it clear that Makoto is absolutely and most certainly not perfect. In fact he has quite a few fatal flaws, which if you look at closely enough seem comparable to the bad points of the Goddess. His disregard of other peoples' ideals, his criticism of the Hyuman race, belittling the value of life and others involved, etc.
In some ways he's also been spoiled by Tomoe and Mio; he probably doesn't realize that he's lost touch with a lot of the ideals and values of his former world. All in all Makoto is a likeable character, I'm not trying to out right say I dislike him, but rather just some of his actions. Rather I very much like 'Human' characters in novels that demonstrate both their strengths and their flaws.
'So is this a case of the “draco in leather pants” trope or is it that people who want to come off as rough bad dudes think promoting a lethal force first approach makes them seem like rough bad dudes?'
No, it's you not getting that other people might have a different viewpoint from you which might be equally valid. And legal too I might add. You presupposed a result and then try to railroad everyone's morals towards your 'expected' result and when you see that not everyone is lining up like you want them to, you start harraging them.
As for 'he beat a 1300 level dragon' = 'he is invincible', did you happen to remember, AFTER he beat Shen, he got his fingers sliced off by Sophia? I think some people might have overlooked that while his *offensive* power is high and he has very good magic barriers, his fleshy body is not reinforced? If he's not actively manifesting his armor, he's as killable as anyone else? I don't recall him doing any body reinforcement, remind me if you do know of incidents that he did. This means he's as vulnerable to a knife in the back like anyone else if his barriers are not up.
'He's OPed!!' is not a catchall term, there are different kinds of 'OPed'. In Makoto's case, he has strong offensive power and strong magic shields but his body is still his weakness. It was Tomaki that got invincibility, not Makoto.
just 2 points:
-his physical resistance is far above anyone else. IIRC, he didn't put any magic defense against sophia's blow, and "only" got few fingers cut and a light (?, not sure) wound on the head. sophia said her blow could insta-kill a dragon. I don't know if it rose since that time, but I think it's unlikely that it stayed the same after all his training.
-he put to sleep the valkyries with a simple spell before, the first time they meet. I don't think it was that dangerous to keep them alive.
I don't think makoto was wrong to kill them, but it wasn't the best option either
Have somebody chop off your legs and tell me what you call it, "mate".
Ahahaha "advocating torture" Blow it out your arse, mate.
So are you advocating torture? And you don't necessarily need legs to cast spells, like maybe one that blows yourself up. Tomoki's harem can very well be fanatical enough to try just that.
So is this a case of the "draco in leather pants" trope or is it that people who want to come off as rough bad dudes think promoting a lethal force first approach makes them seem like rough bad dudes? An assassin without legs isn't a much bigger threat than corpse, and is useful as more than fertilizer.
This is most definitely not a "Draco in Leather Pants" trope. That only applies to characters with no apparent room for redemption, regardless of their past. For this story, if anyone, it would apply to characters like Bug and Tomoki which... *gag*
This also isn't about endorsing lethal force because it's cool either. Well firstly, the whole mess has pretty divided response in the comments, but for the "Makoto didn't do wrong" argument, the main idea is that it's a necessary and potentially wise move. This is a very hostile world filled with people that are willing to kill or exploit anyone to get their way. When someone is mentally programmed to be out to kill you, it's hardly unreasonable to just get rid of them without getting rid of anything else.
Whether or not what Makoto did was the wisest move and how much effort it would've taken him to achieve a productive non-lethal solution(that is, curing the Charm effect) is up for debate, but if you take away the complicating factors like Makoto being so strong he can afford to ignore high trained assassins at large and him possibly being able to cure the Charm, then his response was hardly unjust when you look at it objectively-it was just self defense.
And when you look at the factors that complicate matters by giving Makoto a lot more options, then that's exactly all they are-options. Makoto had no obligation and clearly no desire to go out of his way to find a solution that protects himself and spares his enemies at the same time.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that Makoto shouldn't have done what he did, but rather than on moral grounds, it simply wasn't the most pragmatic thing to do.
They were still dangerous. Not necessarily to him, Tomoe or Mio, but to the other people in the room or to the rest of his party, yes. And he did weigh his options before killing them, though it wasn't entirely clear in the narration.
Like I've said, this is normally the case. It makes perfect sense to eliminate threats to reduce risk to yourself. The problem is that Makoto doesn't have anything to do with "normally". His power is so out-of-bounds that nothing about them is lethal to him and it can barely qualify as self-defense.
It's reckless murder because he killed them when they posed no threat to him at all, depriving him of a source of information and maybe working out countermeasures for the charm. In essence, he chose to kill them when he could have taken them in as some sort of asset, whether as test subjects, reformed low-level workers, or just released unknowing spies.
As is the case it turned out to be here, you can go back and kill someone you spared, but you can't take death back after you've killed someone, meaning that the latter is a mistake that can't be fixed. If Makoto learned about the circumstances he's walking into, he probably would have wished he spared them if only to make this go more smoothly.
If I was in Makoto's position at the time...Yeah, I'd probably kill them since I preferred being left alone. But then again, if I was in Makoto's position without his priorities, I'd probably much more active in global affairs and thus want to add them to my hand for future plays.
But what would Makoto gain by leaving them alive??? What he knew from them when they appeared was that they were charmed by Yomoki, so if he captured them alive, they would have not giving any usefull information, at leats not more that what he has, and giving that they were brainwashed by Tomoki, knowing what he knows about him he understood that for Tomoki they are just tools, so not even a decent ramson he would have gotten for them, so what would have been the point to spare them then. He isn't able to look in the future yet to know that leaving them alive would have helped with the negotations.
Well, I was only citing negotiations as a hindsight thing.
Mostly, he would gain information. If he captured the assassins and locked them up in Asora or something, he could have Tomoe poke around their memories for intel, Shiki experiment with them to get a reliable Charm cure(which I'm not convinced that Makoto currently has), and whether he cures them or not, he could certainly re-release them as unwitting spies. Some sort of spying technique like Root planted in Sophia so that he'd always have an additional channel of intelligence from Gritonia.
Hell, I feel like he could even pawn them off on Rona as a favor to the demon race and she'd find something useful to do with them.
...Or he could just kill them and not think about them again, which is what he did. In my opinion, there's plenty for him to do with them by sparing them and if they really prove to be more dangerous than helpful...well, he can just kill them at that point.
....Okay, I need to say this now that it's in my head. It's off topic, but doesn't it feel like Rona is actually a very convenient person now? Because she's made of job of being so utterly resourceful, you can practically dump any problem you have on her and she'll find a way to wring some usefulness out of it.
Well problaly someon like Rona would have found a highly usefull endevour for them, principaly as research material. I don't believe that Makoto would have been able to take mutch more information from them, remember that Tomoe already infiltrated the Empire and got hold of quite a lot of information, even from Lilith memories, I doubt those three girls would hold something more valuable at this poitn, and well maybe they could have helped with the charm, but it would basically been human experimentation on them, I am not sure that would be a better fate that just been killed.
More like baby seals. It took a group of lvl 300+ adventurers to take down a single Arke and Makoto solidly kicked the ass of a lvl 1300 superior dragon before his first NG+. Also, funny thing about laws - they don't account for magical coercion and aren't a decent replacement for moral intelligence in any case.
Man I wish this dungeon crap would end already its soooo boring.