Clearing The World That's Inside A Novel

Chapter 10: Observers

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

"Let's give him a potion~"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes~"

Amidst all the pain I experienced a warm liquid flowing down my throat.

Right after, the severe throbbing in my brain started to dissipate, and my ruptured organs and blood vessels as well as the shattered bones of my hand all healed in an instant.

The unimaginable pain that I was feeling just a second ago disappeared.

The contrast between the feelings of the current me and the me of a moment prior felt so vast, that it made me wonder if it was all just a hallucination.

Yeah. It was a hallucination. Let's write it off like that...

Like hell, I can!

I clearly remember the pain! No way, I can forget it!

Oh lord, that was so painful! I felt like I would die!

I touched myself all over and yup, all my injuries are fine.

.

.

.

How long had it been since I felt such a pain? I shook my head.

"Ahem ahem"

I looked towards the 2 ladies about 30 cm in height, flying with the help of wings behind their back, their wings resembled that of a butterfly with intricate designs.

"Are you feeling alright~ Did you like my personal reward~" The light blue hair asked

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

I replied. By personal reward, she must mean she is the one who gave me whatever that warm liquid was. I will just think of it as a potion.

That was really helpful. My internal organs as well as blood vessels all ended up being ruptured. The throbbing in my head was so damn severe I really wanted to open my skull.

How did I end up having internal injuries like that?

I decided to overlap my mana with every single damn part of my body to increase my strength to the maximum, I raised my damn rank!

Do you think there won't be any repercussions? Yeah, if only life could be that easy.

And it's not like I am some mana expert so I forcefully moved the mana in my body. So yeah, my control was shit.

The result? My body got completely screwed over.

But I knew I would be fine as long as I cleared the dungeon. A potion as a reward will do the job. So even if I have to go home empty-handed I sure will be alive.

Who cares about anything else? ...Of course, I do.

Besides a single potion isn't a big deal for them so my reward won't get affected ...probably.

"How long have you been watching me acting all pathetic?"

"For about a minute or so."

A minute or so? Felt like an eternity to me.

"Let's talk about your reward for clearing the hidden dungeon," The blonde one said.

See? Told ya. I will get a reward. I knew these guys weren't gonna be stingy over a single potion.

Who are these guys?

The observers that I talked about before, the one who appears and trashes the entire plotline of demon king vs protagonist.

The hidden dungeons are connected to the damn plotline change. How? Because the higher-being actually watches us as we clear it.

How do I know it? The side villain who cleared this dungeon was able to get the interest of one of the higher beings, so when our protagonist killed him he had to deal with another shitty problem. Poor guy.

I mean, I did drop the novel in the second part but I did read it somewhat before doing so, you know.

The blonde pulled out an ebony dagger from who knows where.

Just how strong is she to be able to carry something bigger than her own size? This pipsqueak is the real deal.

She didn't look muscular but instead quite delicate.

Logic be damned.

Then again, it was already damned the moment I got transmigrated.

"Here's your reward."

She showed me the dagger.

"Don't need it."

"W-what!?" Blonde said flustered.

"Are you deaf? I said, don't need it."

"Do you even realize the worth of this weapon!?" Blonde shouted.

I didn't even bother to look at the rank of this dagger using my system. I knew this dagger was probably SS+ ranked or even higher but I don't need it.

Mind you, any SS+ ranked or higher-ranked weapon is a pretty big deal. After all, even those dwarves haven't been able to forge any weapon with SS- rank.

"I don't need it instead can I ask for something else?"

Once you clear the hidden dungeons these guys appear giving you the reward and idiots being idiots go back home, all giddy.

It was during the time when one of the protagonist's comrades muttered something like 'Is this all, really?' and the guy received the reply from these observers 'What do you wish for?', he was pretty flustered when he got talked with.

You might be wondering- for a guy who keeps calling the world a dog-shit novel I sure remember a damn conversation of someone being flustered but it's not my fault. That guy's character wasn't one that got flustered easily. So yeah, it was weird seeing him being all flustered when talking to these observers.

Back on point, that's when it was found out that you can ask for rewards of your own liking as long as the reward you are asking is something worth the show you showed them.

I looked at them. The blue one's eyes are practically sparkling.

"Oh oh! We finally got someone who has the guts to ask us for a reward of their own choice! It has been so boring for such a long time. What do you want? Ask me anything~" The light blue said.

"Anything you say, what if I asked I want you?"

They both looked a bit shocked. I was just kidding. Don't be so serious...

Yes. It was just a joke. A joke.

"What insolence!" The blonde one shouted.

"...Well, actually it is possible. But I will need to resign from my job and once I resign I will lose all my powers. I will end up being a tiny 30 cm girl who is powerless, oh but I will be able to provide a lot of knowledge to you. You are just a human, my knowledge will definitely be useful to you~" The light blue said while the blonde one looked at her baffled.

Did I just hear her right?

Isn't it just a roundabout way of saying show me something incredible enough that could convince me to resign from my job and follow you or a girl asking why should I date you?

And she is right. Even if she is powerless the knowledge an observer could provide me would be quite useful.

Yup, decided. Gotta court her.

"Are you serious?" The blonde asked the blue-haired girl.

"I am. Oh, I have a question, why did you not use your bombs? You had a lot of them, right? You also didn't use your necklace. Why? It would have made the fight easier~"

Look at this girl.

"I will answer your question if you answer one of mine. Deal?"

"Hmm? Deal!"

"I didn't want you guys to change the settings."

I replied.

That's right. I didn't want to die that's why I refrained from using those as much as I could.

How is this related?

Well, remember when I said the reason I got D-ranked monster assigned was to counter my bombs? The D-ranked minotaur had the same body characteristics, it should have. A tough skin and a good metabolism and stuff.

But what was the reason the monster had its stats restricted?

That's right, if I used my damn bombs however I please or my protection necklace the damn minotaur would have his restrictions changed.

Basically, I will get fucked before I even had the time to deal with him.

Remember, what I said about having a good chance of winning even if you fight against someone higher ranked than you as long as you are same alphabet as your opponent.

Me, who got risen to F- rank and the monster who is around F or F+ rank.

I won.

If the restriction changed to him being E- ranked or higher I would have been screwed. The higher you go the stronger you become. E- would have been a pain in the ass to deal with.

That's why I refrained from using my bombs and kept it to a minimum.

Also, the reason I ended the battle as fast as I could have.

"You got us~" she said as she stuck her tongue out and hit her head with her right fist.

Ew, cringe.

Regardless, I have got to say, the working of hidden dungeons are fucking annoying.

The level of difficulty not only depends upon the person's rank but also the stuff they carry around with them along with how frequently they use them.

That's like ...

Yabai.

It constantly keeps on changing.

"Well, it's now your turn to ask the question~"

"Yeah, so, why are guns and bombs are all nerfed?"

That's right!

Why!?

I realized it back then.

Remember the story about dwarves almost blowing the whole planet up but the bomb turned out to be a dud?

Now, if you think carefully about it, you will question how come the war went on for 20 friggin years?

If dwarves really had the stuff that could blow the whole planet then can't they also create something that would blow a country up or something like that? Once they made the bomb all they had to do was tell other species 'Guys, follow us or get nuked. Your choice.'

See, so simple!

But it didn't work out. That's why I couldn't help but think whether those dwarves tried to blow the planet in their craziness or whether they were trying to test the limits of the things this world allows.

And the same goes for guns, like why are they only effective against monsters below F-rank? Like, how the hell are archers better than gunners?

Where is the logic?

I know I said logic could be damned but I didn't mean it so literally!

I demand an explanation.

"It's because that's what this World's Genre is" The light blue said while the blonde looked at her bewildered but she changed her expression back to normal pretty fast.

"You do realize that answer would get you 0.5 marks outta 5, right?"

What did she mean by 'this world's genre'?

Like this world is fantasy so no tech allowed? Well, hate to break your bubble but there do exist some guns that work on even D- rank monsters.

Yes, they do exist but you will have to find them in a dungeon. No one can make them.

The point is, what are these loose rules?

"I don't know how to explain it myself, it's the World's Genre. We cannot interfere in that."

"Basically, you are saying 'Accept it as it is'. I see, logic truly is damned, huh. You know your answer is pretty lackluster, how about you answer something else"

Let's try to milk out all the info I can.

"Fair enough"

"So, how does one level up exactly?"

That's something never explained in the novel.

Our protag and his party just became S rankers in the next 3 years but why was their growth so much faster than others? How the hell does it work?

I mean, the main cast is around gonna be E+ rankers right now.

You know, they only achieved E ranks in 16 years of their lives. So, how come they became S rankers in just 3 years!?

The same for everyone else in the world as well.

How come no one ever tried to raise their kids from early childhood to raise their ranks faster?

What are the mechanics? There's no concrete answer on the internet or anywhere. So, asking these guys seemed to be the only option.

"We can't a--mngh!"

Before the blonde could say anything her mouth got shut probably by the blue-haired one.

"Oh, I can answer that! You see there are two ways to grow one's rank. But before that, you need to know, that rank is an indication of how strong a person's soul is. One way to raise your rank is to simply let it be raised, as you grow your soul becomes more strong. If you meditate and stuff, your rank will raise pretty easily, you simply call these people blessed, lucky, or genius but as you might have already guessed this method is too slow"

She paused and I digested the information I was told and then with a vicious smile, she continued.

"And the second method is by killing those who are higher ranked than you. You see, when you kill others you absorb the part of their soul albeit only a little bit. This method is much faster compared to the other one~"

"Um, so killing lower-ranked people doesn't work?"

What's this discrimination?

"Oh, it's not like it doesn't work but more like killing someone lower ranked than you won't give you many parts of their soul, it won't be an exaggeration to say it's almost insignificant. Same with someone on the same level as you but when you kill someone higher ranked than you, the amount you absorb becomes significant enough to help you to level up faster than usual."

Basically, fights like the one I just had.

Doesn't seem dangerous at all.

Yup, totally not.

"So, why are people unable to rank up at an early age?"

"Did you go through puberty when you were 3?" she replied tilting her head.

Seems legit.

"So, there's a growth period. But that still doesn't explain how people can still level up when they grow old or why their growth slows down a lot. Does that mean, there's no end to this growth period"

"That's right. Once your soul starts to harness your ranking up speed increases exponentially but that remains for a certain period, when that time ends the growth rate slows down but that doesn't mean it stops. That's why, the second method is the best! You can grow without any problems!"

Yeah, sure. Except the second method is dangerous.

I like the second method but there's still a question.

"So what if I worked in a team to kill someone higher ranked than me?"

"70 percent will go to the person who gave the finishing blow and the rest will be distributed among your team equally. So be sure to make the last blow~"

I see.

Guess, I gotta cause a war and steal some kills if I want to grow strong fast enough.

I knew it, peace was never an option.

I got answers to some of my questions I have been harboring and it also proved that I will need this little 30 cm girl. Her knowledge will help me a ton.

"I will blow your mind so bad, you won't be able to live without me."

"Oh my~ That sure came out of nowhere, then I will wait for you to blow my mind~," she said in a suggestive tone.

The light blue girl is a pervert, confirmed.

"U-um, could you two stop ignoring me!"

Guess, the blonde can talk again.

"We aren't ignoring you, my dear~"

"Sorry, but why are you here again?"

I asked as I seriously could not fathom the reason behind her being here. One of them is enough.

Even in the novel, when the reward time came for the protagonist, there was only 1 of the observers. There was no need for 2.

"How rude for a human!?" The blonde shouted.

"How rude to raise your voice for a ..pipsqueak."

"Y-you!"

The blonde has her face flushed because of anger and quite possibly embarrassment. Height is always a pretty sensitive topic.

"Alright you two, stop~" light blue said as she clapped her hands.

A second passed, another second passed...

Phew.

Nothing happened after she clapped her hands. No cliche here, it seems.

"She is here to see how it all works. She is new. So be good to her~"

"Ah, I see. I will cooperate."

I will be good to you blonde since you are new to the job and all. I know the hardships of being new to the job.

I once had to work part-time just so that I could buy a new gaming console. I could have asked my parents for the money but I didn't want to. I felt guilty for using their money even though I was just a kid.

Ah, nostalgia. Such a bitchy thing.

"How long has it been since she started working"

I asked out of curiosity.

"1300 years, I think?" light blue said as she put her fingers on her chin.

What? 1300 years?

"You are still 'learning'. Girl, I think you need to find a new job. You ain't suited for it. Don't be stubborn. Face the reality, there are things one can do and one simply can't. No need to be so hung up on it."

I decided to give Blonde some life advice.

But still, 1300 years and still a newbie. Goodness me.

"Don't dare treat me like some idiot!?" The blonde said fuming with anger as she flew over my head and started to pull my hair.

Hey, stop.

I tried to get her off but couldn't.

"I think that's enough~"

The light blue said as she giggled and the blonde finally stopped with a 'hmph!'

"Now now, let's focus on the job at hand. So then, what would you like to have?"

Oh, business mode activated.

Guess, it's time to get rewards.