I Became a Raid Boss

Chapter 110

“You need to start working on raising the tier of your soul.”

Once I agreed to cooperate, Edel began to explain her plan to me.

“What exactly is a tier?”

“It’s the right to grasp higher power. The qualification to break free from natural law. The proof of one’s existence… and many other things. But even if I explain it this way, it probably doesn’t make much sense to you, right?”

“Is it like a state of mastery?”

“It’s not exactly the same. But if it’s hard to understand, you can think of it that way. Tier and mastery are closely related. Does that make a bit more sense now?”

“No, I still don’t really get it… So why do I need to raise my tier?”

“You need to raise your tier in order to defeat the Dimensional Creatures.”

“…Just keep explaining.”

With every word Edel said, more question marks appeared in my mind. But I figured that if I kept raising questions, we’d never get through this conversation.

If we took it too slow, she might disappear on me again, just like the first time we met. Although she said it wouldn’t happen this time, my trust in Edel wasn’t exactly high.

“To stop the Dimensional Creatures, I downgraded this world and subordinated it to Earth, right? I made it sound easy, but it’s actually not a simple thing. Subordinating one massive entity of energy to another of equal size is no easy task. If the adjustment is off, both worlds could be torn apart, leaving no trace behind.”

The reason it was possible was because the world of Silia had already been invaded by Dimensional Creatures and wasn’t in a complete state, and even in that state, Edel hadn’t lost her administrator privileges.

Thanks to Edel’s full cooperation as an administrator, Earth’s administrator was able to incorporate the energy mass of Silia, which had shrunk, under its control.

“Being subordinated to another world isn’t always a good thing. Think of it like this: the higher dimension is a person standing at the top of a waterfall, and the subordinated world, the lower dimension, is a person standing at the bottom. The person at the top can easily affect the person below, but how easy do you think it is for the person at the bottom to influence the one above?”

No matter how hard you throw a stone, it wouldn’t reach them. And climbing the waterfall against the current is even more unrealistic.

“Can’t you just use sword energy or something?”

“You could throw sword energy, or use magic, or try to endure the torrent with a strong body, but those aren’t things ordinary people can do, right? Those are the things only someone with ‘tier’ can achieve.”

“Hmmm…”

The right to break free from natural law, she had said. After listening to her explanation, I think I’m starting to understand a bit. Basically, tier is a tool that lets you affect those higher up, whether it’s with a sword or magic.

“Hmmm…”

Even though she’s probably reading my thoughts, she didn’t outright deny what I was thinking, so it must not be too far off.

“Could you not use divine power for something like that…? Anyway, affecting the higher dimension from the lower one is incredibly difficult… No, it’s much harder than that.”

“I get that part. So? How is that related to me needing to raise my tier?”

“Ah, this is so embarrassing…”

Edel grumbled.

“Up until now, the Dimensional Creatures and I were on equal footing, or maybe I had a slight advantage. But after losing to them and being subordinated to Earth as a lower dimension, I’m now below them. Even if it’s just a slight advantage, an advantage is still an advantage. In Silia’s dimension, I can’t effectively fight them. That’s why I turned it into a game.”

“So, you used beings from a higher dimension to hunt enemies in a lower dimension?”

“Exactly! You catch on quicker than I expected.”

“…Quicker than expected?”

I narrowed my eyes at the words, as if she hadn’t expected me to understand. Somehow, this felt familiar…

“Oh, I remember now.”

The mages, full of hot air, used to say things like this. That I could sense mana, but because I was too stupid, I ended up swinging a sword instead of using magic.

Of course, whenever I heard that, I kindly corrected their misunderstanding. And as a bonus, I’d help straighten out their hunched backs from sitting at desks all day, which they really appreciated.

Could Edel be one of those types?

“Ahem! That’s not the point right now, is it? Anyway, let me tell you how you can raise your tier.”

Edel awkwardly changed the subject, avoiding my persistent gaze. And what she said next was the absurd method known as the Ascension Ritual.

After all her talk about having a trump card, she casually suggested what was essentially a suicide mission, even recommending Laxia as a prime suicide spot.

I looked at her in disbelief and asked again.

“Are you really telling me to do something like that?”

This doesn’t make any sense!

Fools who tried to absorb more mana than they could handle in order to elevate their mastery were often found in history books and various records.

Why do I call them fools?

Because their tragic end was written alongside their stories in those records.

Perhaps there are successful cases that weren’t recorded, but at least from what’s documented, I haven’t seen any successful examples.

If it were that easy to elevate mastery, then anyone could be called a master.

“Don’t worry! Since your soul endured the dimensional vortex, you can definitely withstand this ordeal too. …Theoretically speaking!”

“Wow, that’s really reassuring.”

I couldn’t help but sarcastically remark, considering that nothing good ever came out of someone mentioning “theory.”

“That was a joke! This is for our precious Canaria and the one and only sword. Would I really joke about something like this?”

“I said it because I feel like you might.”

The way I see Edel, she’s always so carefree that it’s hard to trust her. Even though I decided to cooperate with her, I’m not willing to gamble my life on it.

If she had made an offer like “I’ll give you the strength to kill a snake, but if you’re unlucky, you might die” a few months or weeks ago, I probably would’ve accepted.

But not anymore.

“Having an attachment to life is beautiful. It’s a privilege that only those who bear life can possess.”

“If you want to sing praises of humanity, do it later when you’re alone. I’m not someone who finds beauty in humanity, so I can’t agree with you.”

“It’s not a hymn to humanity, but a hymn to life. But if our dear Canaria wishes, I’ll stay quiet.”

As soon as she said that, Edel really closed her mouth.

…And this is why I can’t trust her.

If she were to suddenly say, “Oops! I’m out of divine power… I did use a lot, huh~” and disappear, I’d have to come all the way back to find her again.

That would be a tedious and awful ordeal, so I urged Edel to get on with it.

“Hurry up and explain.”

“Shall I?”

The moment I finished speaking, Edel immediately started chatting away as if she hadn’t just been silent moments ago.

At first, I listened halfheartedly without much expectation, but as she laid out her various reasons and logic, I began to understand why she was so confident.

“You raise your tier, the poor children are freed from their duty, and I regain my strength. It’s a win-win-win, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, except for the part where everything goes wrong if we fail.”

“Well, if you’re going to die anyway whether you do nothing or fail, wouldn’t it be better to at least try? You’re not the type to sit back and let yourself be crushed, right?”

“That’s true.”

I had enough of being trampled on helplessly when I was a child.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

“An excellent choice.”

The possibility of failure and the penalties that would come with it still loomed. However, if Edel’s words were accurate, it wasn’t such a low-chance gamble after all.

The fact that there were no other options, as Edel had mentioned, also played a part in my decision.

“But is it really okay to leave the fate of the world up to just me?”

“Well, if you think of it not as just a single human, but as a hero who crossed dimensions to save the world, it doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

“Haha. A hero, huh?”

I let out a dry laugh that sounded as if all moisture had left it.

A hero. That’s a title that doesn’t suit me at all.

Well, considering that Edel didn’t seem to put much weight on the word either, I’ll leave it at that.

There are still plenty of things I’m curious about.

“You said that once I raise my tier, I’ll be able to interfere with higher dimensions, right?”

“Yep. I already told you that, didn’t I? …Ah, so that’s what you were curious about~?”

“…”

Edel smirked as she read my mind and flashed a mischievous expression.

With an understanding smile, she nodded.

“Of course, you’ll be able to do what you’re thinking.”

“I told you to stop reading my mind.”

“If you don’t like it, hurry up and raise your tier.”

I wonder if, after successfully completing the Ascension Ritual, I’ll finally be able to hit this cheeky goddess.

If so, I think I’d be more than happy to go through with the ritual.

I clicked my tongue briefly.

“What if people lose interest in this world and stop playing the game? Wouldn’t that mean this world would disappear too?”

“Don’t worry. Even if it fails, it will still remain as a lower dimension. If it seems like interest is dropping, I can just implant suggestions. Like, ‘You find this game fun and want to keep playing…’ something like that. But that won’t happen.”

Edel’s face was filled with pride as she said, How could anyone get bored of a world as captivating as the one I created?

“Captivating, huh…?”

It wasn’t something that resonated deeply with me.

I tilted my head in slight confusion, but soon shook it off to clear my thoughts.

No, that doesn’t really matter.

What Edel thought about her world was none of my business.

From the moment she explained her plan, one thing had been on my mind.

The question I had been holding onto, I finally asked Edel.