Chapter 838: Nightmare Tower. 2
"Victor... Is this just the first level? You're not being too harsh, are you?" Hestia asked.
All she received was Victor's serious gaze in response.
"They wanted Power. They wanted to get stronger quickly. And Power like that doesn't come without consequences."
"But..." Hestia was about to say more, but Victor interrupted her.
"Keep your senses sharp, keep your guard up, assess the environment, assess the people, always be ready to grab your weapon and kill the enemy."
"Always be ready for possible betrayal."
"Always be ready for anything."
"That's the mindset of a warrior, and that's how I've lived to this day. That's how I became so strong."
Non-stop training? Victor did it. Always seeking stronger opponents? Victor did it. Almost dying multiple times? Victor did it.
Yes, his talents greatly aided him on this path, as did his luck, but that wasn't all – the discipline instilled in him by Scathach was always with him.
And it was that same discipline that helped him.
Ruby's situation might seem precarious, but that's far from the truth. If she had kept her guard up, if she had assessed the situation better, if she had the mindset of someone going to war, this wouldn't have happened.
The Tower exists not only to make the girls stronger but also to sharpen their mindset as warriors.
If they couldn't have the advantage Victor had of absorbing Souls and gaining his combat experience, they must acquire it another way.
Victor could give them the 'memories' of the warriors he absorbed, but that would be ineffective; they would just feel like they were watching a movie and not really 'experiencing' it as Victor did.
"They desire to become strong. So, don't step on their determination; that would be an insult to their determination."
"...." Hestia had no other words but nodded in agreement. She couldn't understand much about the mindset Victor was talking about; after all, she wasn't a warrior. But she could understand the feeling of not crushing someone else's determination.
...
Ruby stood up from the ground, looking at the door with an extremely serious and irritated expression.
Was she angry at the enemies? Yes, but she was more angry with herself.
"Have I truly spent too much time in my laboratory? Have my instincts dulled so much?" She stomped the ground, causing a thunderous noise, frustration evident all around.
"I am the daughter of Scathach Scarlett. I am the woman The Strongest Female Vampire herself said would surpass her one day. How can I perform so shamefully!?"
Ruby tied her long red hair into a ponytail and walked to the door.
Without picking up any weapons.
Weapon? She didn't need that; she was the weapon herself.
Ruby kicked the door open and entered.
...
"Whoa, it's been a while since I've seen her so angry," Siena commented.
"Combining a Kuudere with a Yandere in such an angry state is a recipe for disaster. I pity her daughters who will inherit their mother's dark side," Pepper remarked, and as always, only the more 'cultured' individuals could understand her words.
Once again, the scenery changed, this time she was in the middle of a cave with various holes.
"Ugh, please don't let them be spiders, please don't let them be spiders," Eve began to mutter rapidly.
A notion Pepper also shared with her.
An Ice explosion occurred, and suddenly the entire cave was frozen, and in the next moment, spiders, hundreds of giant spiders, began to appear.
"FUUU-"
"Language." Lacus covered Pepper's mouth.
"Ugh..." Eve just averted her eyes, something many women around her also did.
It wasn't that they had arachnophobia or anything; it was just that... those hairy legs, those eyes, it was all just creepy!
Ruby assumed a Martial Arts stance with her spear in front.
Victor smiled faintly when he saw the Martial Arts pose she was using. It was something they had trained together when they were stranded on Earth.
"Is this a Youkai?" Mizuki asked.
"Yes, but it looks different," Haruna said.
The proof of their words came when the spiders began to spew fire from their mouths and create tree branches.
"....." Haruna, Mizuki, Kuroka, and Kaguya just looked at Victor neutrally.
"... As I said, never underestimate your enemies," Victor said again. "Just because these creatures look like spiders doesn't mean they will only use webs, poisons, or their legs to fight. Expect the unexpected; thinking this way, you won't be surprised in 90% of situations."
Although there were many things they wanted to say, they couldn't argue with this logic.
...
Unlike the first few times, Ruby didn't let her guard down; she fought as she had been trained to be – fast, efficient, and deadly.
She wielded the spear, and monsters died, holes appearing in their bodies with a wave of her hand. With a step, she disappeared and reappeared somewhere else.
Slowly, her battle instincts were coming back in full force. By adopting the right mindset, her body responded to her will, shifting from 'scientist' mode to 'warrior' mode.
When the number of spiders started to dwindle, wolves appeared in a burst of Lightning.
This time, Ruby didn't lower her guard or get surprised.
She tossed her spear into the air, and it began to spin. In the next moment, Water began to pour from the spear and fall like rain, and Ruby's eyes glinted faintly. The Water droplets crystallized, piercing through all the creatures around.
The Ice spikes were so thin and deadly that even the Ice Wolves, resistant to that Element, were pierced.
With this attack, more than half of the monsters were killed, and only two wolves remained.
The spear fell back into Ruby's hand, and in the next moment, she disappeared and reappeared in front of the wolves.
As she was about to swing the spear to kill the wolf, she suddenly stopped; her instincts screamed danger. Her whole body was covered in Ice, forming a protective structure.
A Shadow Demon tried to pierce Ruby, but it couldn't. She grabbed the shadowy creature with her hands and squeezed, killing it.
When she killed the creature, her vision was obscured. She immediately understood that this was the work of the creatures and not because she had been blinded.
Closing her eyes and keeping her defenses up, she sensed several Shadow Demons coming from the darkness. She began to 'dance' on the battlefield, wielding the spear.
The movements and Techniques were all very familiar to everyone; it was as if they were watching Scathach herself in battle.
...
"Incredible... To think she became so strong," Siena commented.
"Hahahaha, that's what I'm talking about. Finally, she's acting as she normally does," Scathach laughed with satisfaction, but then her eyes narrowed. "Although she still thinks too much."
"This annoying habit of thinking before acting slows everything down; you must act on instinct! Instinct! Not with your mind!" Scathach growled as her wings flapped furiously.
"... This woman's mood has become even more unstable. It's like she has bipolar disorder! And they call me crazy," Natashia commented.
"In the early levels, it's okay for her to act this way... But the higher the level, the more she will realize that there won't be time to think in a high-level fight," Victor thought.
In a battle where every millisecond can determine life and death, the body must act before the mind. That's why Scathach emphasized this point so much.
The enemies began to diminish, and soon... No one was left, only Ruby standing, and several disappearing corpses.
In the next moment, a portal appeared.
Ruby took a deep breath, and walked towards the portal. "Finally…" Just as she was about to go through the portal, she suddenly stopped, and attacked the 'air' behind her.
"Humpf, I won't let my guard down twice, maggot."
When she finished speaking those words, the creature's invisibility began to undo, and a creature appeared, a Hunter, monsters created by the Elder Gods.
Ruby cut the creature's body into pieces, and without waiting, she jumped straight into the portal.
Seeing the familiar atmosphere of her room, Ruby sighed but didn't let her guard down. After experiencing everything that had happened so far, she suspected that even this room was not 100% safe.
...
"Heh~. In the end, did you realize, Scathach?" Victor smiled.
"Of course, she acted on instinct... This Tower is magnificent, Victor," Scathach complimented. After so many years of telling her daughter to stop overthinking and act, it had resulted in nothing. But by pushing her to the limit, she had been able to evolve.
Victor simply nodded neutrally, showing no emotion.
Scathach looked at Victor and sighed. She could understand his feelings, but she also thought he was overreacting. The girls were not fragile flowers that needed to be protected 100% of the time.
Scathach wanted to say this to Victor, but she knew it was futile. She had made this comment in the past, and it hadn't changed anything. Victor's essence wouldn't change just because of a few words.
Even with Scathach herself being a very strong woman, Victor still worried about her.
Honestly, she was impressed that Victor had done something like this and let the girls enter this place. Even though they wouldn't truly die, the experience was still very real—pain, cuts, feelings, everything was real.
'What a complex man, and yet so simple at the same time.' She smiled sweetly.
[Darling, it's working.] Roxanne spoke.
[What was the result?]
[Both times Ruby died, her Soul was nourished by the Beings, and some Essence of The Souls was absorbed, enhancing the quality of her own Soul.]
Victor nodded. Unlike him, the girls couldn't absorb Souls into their own Souls, but... that didn't mean they couldn't absorb traces of it. This Tower had that effect.
With each death on both sides, the Souls of the monsters would slowly nourish the girls' Souls, thus increasing their potential and Power.
Victor was essentially exploring his manipulation of Souls, not to 'alter' them as he normally did, but to 'add' something, something that should be impossible for him because he couldn't 'add' anything to a Soul that wasn't his own 'Essence.'
The task of adding 'something' to someone's Soul was exclusive to the Primordial Entities, especially those who dealt with Life and Soul.
... But despite being a task exclusive to the Primordial Entities, Victor was still doing it on a smaller scale; he was venturing into a realm that only the Beings who controlled this Universe could enter.
Ruby had killed hundreds of monsters on that floor, and 0.2% of the Souls of those creatures had entered Ruby's Soul.
Yes, the number was very small, almost insignificant, but... if this was done thousands of times? In all those times, the owner of the Soul experiencing the 'end' of life and receiving this boost?
Their Souls would increase in quality, consequently, their Powers, and latent potential would also flourish.
Victor was exploiting The System; he was taking advantage of the nature of Souls.
When an individual was about to die, the Soul showed its true potential and became more 'open' to interference, and that moment was when Victor would 'add' some percentages of the Souls he had to nourish the girls.
During those seconds, Victor would experience everything the 'girls' were feeling in their final moments.
It was an exhausting job that tore at his heart, but Victor didn't mind doing it.
After all, as The Head of The Family, it was his responsibility to take care of his Family... Even if it meant causing his own Family to suffer to become stronger.
Feeling two hands touch his shoulder, Victor saw the faces of Aphrodite and Roberta.
"... Darling, you're pushing yourself too hard." Concern was evident in the Goddess's eyes; she clearly sensed his inner turmoil.
"Rest for a bit, Darling. You need it," Roberta said.
Victor smiled gently at both of them.
"This is nothing."
Zaladrac bit her lip as she witnessed this exchange, and she had the same feeling she had when Victor was battling those Gods but he didn't call her because he wanted to protect this place.
"You... Haah..." Roberta sighed and simply hugged him, enveloping him in her ample bosom that was only a few centimeters smaller than Aphrodite's.
The Goddess just shook her head and sighed.
Victor chuckled softly and stroked Roberta's long hair; among his women, she had the longest hair.
Watching this exchange, Scathach, Natashia, Agnes, Eleonor, and Leona narrowed their eyes. They felt like they were missing something, but they didn't know what.
Leona looked at Kaguya, who had a solemn look in her eyes as she gazed at Victor.
"Do you know something?"
"I don't. But I can imagine. He has the same look as he did when he was in the Human World back then..." Kaguya spoke incomprehensible words to Leona, but not to the Maids around her.
"I understand. That's why Roberta is acting like this," Maria opened her eyes in understanding.
"We need to do something... Shall we talk to him later?" Bruna suggested to the girls.
"I'll arrange it," Kaguya nodded in agreement with Bruna.
"We're really fortunate, huh..." Alter Eve spoke to Eve.
"Since that day in that dark room, I've never regretted accepting his hand..." She said solemnly.
"..." Eve remained silent and simply nodded in agreement with Alter.
Those who were not connected to him couldn't 'exactly' understand what he was going through, but they knew the man they called Husband. It only took a suggestion here and there, and they soon fully understood that Victor was doing something more painful than letting the girls die.
"We need to talk, Scathach," Aphrodite spoke sternly.
"Huh?"
"Now." Aphrodite pulled Scathach and looked at Jeanne and Morgana with a look that told them to follow.
Victor heard everything that was happening around him and understood what was going on, but he didn't do anything and simply focused on the three women in The Tower.
"It looks like Violet and Sasha have stopped exploring. It's their turn now," he thought as he stroked Roberta, whose hair began to come to life and enveloped her completely as if it were alive.