Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World-Chapter 181: The Lord Of The Clock Castle (4)

The Lord of the Clock Castle, the Floor Guardian of the 3rd Floor, is now a powerful monster after modifying his own body, but originally it was an ordinary mage.

In other words, it initially had a frail physique, which is why it arrived in this land accompanied by six knights as bodyguards.

Well. It’s not like it relied on just those six knights until the end.

While there are rules to be upheld even in war, the War of the Fallen Gods was physically threatening the world’s destruction, so was there any room to follow such rules?

Naturally, all sorts of madness prevailed, and the massacre of the wounded and civilians was among the common atrocities seen.

It was only natural for the Lord of the Clock Castle to appoint a few more knights along the way.

What I’m looking for are the first six knights who arrived in this land with the Lord of the Clock Castle.

However, being one of the first six knights doesn’t necessarily mean they’re particularly strong. The other knights are strong enough as well, and each has a Lord of the Clock Castle’s cog embedded in their heart.

Either way, by defeating the six knights, you can gather all the parts needed to challenge the Lord of the Clock Castle.

“Jonah. Are we fighting more? We’ve collected all the cogs we need.”

“No. There’s still one left.”

“One? Even after defeating so many knights?”

“Hehe. Would you like to hear why?”

The reason for specifically seeking out the first six knights, rather than the others, is simple.

To fight the true Lord of the Clock Castle.

The Lord of the Clock Castle summoned with the marks held by the other knights is surprisingly not the real body.

It’s a kind of avatar, a fully mechanical body with only the mind descending into it.

Of course, even with such an avatar, it can exert its full power, which is why it’s a Floor Guardian, but…

It seems that the rewards are different.

It’s true that the avatar of the Lord of the Clock Castle, which is normally summoned, is powerful, and since the Lord of the Clock Castle is controlling it directly, the rewards themselves aren’t bad.

However, if you defeat the main body of the Lord of the Clock Castle, you can get much better rewards.

The probability of obtaining a Power increases, and there are more materials to collect, so you can earn more money.

But my goal is not just those things… It’s in the first subjugation reward.

Since what has been defeated so far is the Lord of the Clock Castle but not the Lord of the Clock Castle, if you defeat the main body, the Floor Guardian of the 3rd Floor that has been subjugated multiple times will still give an initial subjugation reward.

Right. The guaranteed Power rights.

“That’s roughly the reason.”

“…Is that true?”

“Yes! At least, I think it’s true. I plan to confirm it from here on out.”

“Okay. I understand. But is there a way to distinguish a first knight?”

“Of course there is!”

Actually, it’s not a big deal. The first knights have been active long before, so the only difference with the newly made knights is the design of the armor.

“If you look closely, Miss Lydia, you’ll notice. Now, they all look like the old design…but there are some that feel strangely different.”

“…Thinking about it, there were. Some with real wing decorations instead of wing patterns, or those with sharp horns where the shoulder pads should curve.”

“Exactly! Those are the ones!”

“I understand what you’re saying, Jonah. But there’s one thing I’m worried about.”

“What is it?”

“We’re not the only ones fighting on the 3rd Floor. What if another adventurer takes them down first?”

“Don’t worry. The first knights are designed to ‘always’ exist.”

By now, the ones I defeated must’ve already respawned somewhere.

Lydia tilted her head quizzically at my words.

“Does that make sense?”

“It does, at least for the 3rd Floor. As I mentioned earlier, it’s never been properly cleared before. Even the Goddess might be getting a bit anxious.”

Well, to be precise, it’s a setup inserted for the convenience of the plot.

So that the protagonist succeeds this time too, and to display the protagonist’s uniqueness even on the 3rd Floor, which has already been tackled several times by other adventurers.

That’s the reason for the setup. Since I killed the protagonist with my own hands, shouldn’t I devour everything prepared for the protagonist?

Lydia nodded with a dubious expression as I casually made the sign of the cross.

“Yeah. I understand. So, how are you going to find the remaining one?”

“I don’t know.”

“…?”

“I really don’t know! Won’t it come out if we just wander around?”

“……”

Lydia sends a silent gaze. That’s harsh. Of course, I can’t deny that it looks like I’m starting things without any plan.

But it’s not like I have no faith at all.

“Benny and I don’t have such precise search abilities.”

“…I never expected such abilities from you two from the start?”

Humming, I took out the Goddess Statue from my bosom.

It looked quite refined, perhaps because it absorbed my offerings worth 150 gold.

I poked the side of the Goddess Statue with a pointed tone.

“Can you guide us to the last one? Come on. Surely, as a goddess, you can do at least that. I did offer you a sacrifice.”

-……

Naturally, the Goddess Statue remained silent. Yet, somehow, it felt as if cold sweat was dripping from its small head.

Before long, there was a stirring of divine power. A strange intuition, as if granted to someone, pointed to a direction.

“Hmm. Well done.”

With a slightly softened tone, I gently stroked the head of the statue and then placed it back into my bosom.

Receiving bewildered gazes from Lydia and Benny, I resolutely began walking in the direction indicated by the revelation.

“Come on! Let’s hurry! We’ll run into it soon!”

To conclude, we really found it quickly, and took it down swiftly.

Arriving at the top floor with six different large cogs in hand.

On the firmly closed door, there were six grooves, as if to make a point, and they looked exactly like the parts extracted from the heart of the cogwheel knights a moment ago.

Benny tilted her head as she watched me carefully place each piece into its proper place.

“I can’t see the difference, honestly. I have no idea what distinguishes these from the hearts of the other knights, or in what order you’re supposed to insert them.”

“Ah… On the surface, there’s no visible difference. The cogs embedded in the hearts of the other knights are perfect replicas of these. That’s why their strength doesn’t differ much.”

Yet, distinguishing the original from the replica is simple.

“In the end, it’s all about time. You know that in alchemy, the history contained within an object is considered a material in itself, right?”

“I’m not very knowledgeable about that side… However, I do understand the philosophy that everything in the world has value and therefore everything can be alchemized. Time must be like that too.”

“Oh. Exactly. If you compare them side by side, you can see a slight difference. The cogs of the first knights are considerably more worn than those of other knights. In particular, the teeth are worn out.”

“Now that I look at it, it does seem like it…”

The scholars of Pangrave surely wouldn’t have been unaware of this. They probably only knew it as a way to determine how old an entity was during its lifetime, like the rings of a tree.

“Then please look at this door once more.”

A massive door, about three times my height. It’s engraved with intricate patterns, and from the exposed sections, you can glimpse a mechanism of complex gears and chains.

What can I say? It feels like one of those skeleton watches sold on Earth turned into a door?

“It’s a device made to fit neatly and precisely…but doesn’t this groove part feel strangely out of place?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah. I don’t know at all.”

“…?”

Seriously, you don’t notice the difference?

Of course, it’s just a feeling, so it’s hard to explain, and since the setting only says there’s a slight sense of difference, I understand.

Is the difference so subtle that they can’t notice even when shown like this?

While I was tilting my head, Benny spoke in a slightly serious tone.

“To me, it seems like Jonah is able to notice it because your senses are sharp.”

“What?”

“Regardless of strength or knowledge, Jonah, your senses themselves are sharp. It’s rare to receive senses as a reward in the Labyrinth, but Jonah, you often have specific senses enhanced.”

“Well.”

To use the Sound-Eating Footsteps, my senses were forcibly heightened, and as I continued using it, the senses themselves grew as a reward from the Labyrinth.

“Is it something only Jonah knows, something that only people with keen senses can notice?”

“Hmm. That’s true. The discomfort I feel isn’t based on clear evidence but more like a simple intuition.”

Is it used this way as well? The moment I realized what caused my discomfort, the world became clearer, and I instinctively knew where to fit which cog.

Unlike before when I was comparing this and that, I was now fitting the cogs as if possessed by something.

As I inserted all six, the device began to operate with a creaking sound, and the door slowly opened with a vibration that shook the ground.

“It’s finally starting.”

“Jonah. You need help?”

“No, I’ll try to fight on my own first. But if it gets tough, I’ll ask for your help.”

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“Okay.”

I stepped forward in front of Lydia, who nodded briefly, placing the greatsword slantwise on my shoulder, and slowly advanced with my weight centered forward.

A dark room. Suddenly, lights turned on sequentially from the door to the deepest part, revealing the deepest spot.

A massive metal claw where the Lord’s chair should be, and atop it, a round tank.

In the tank filled with green liquid, a naked woman curled up was floating.

“…Is that the Lord of the Clock Castle?”

According to the Guild’s information, it looked like something out of a mecha series, surpassing the level of the Cogwheel Knights.

Of course, I knew that since we were dealing with the main body, it wouldn’t be to that extent. But I didn’t expect such a difference.

Maintaining tension, as I slowly approached the tank. Suddenly, the lights illuminating the Lord’s chamber turned red, and thick steam spewed out from both sides.

Chiik-!

Then the walls opened, and six sleek mechas emerged from within.

It was the Lord of the Clock Castle I had seen in the Guild’s newsletter.

“Damn it!”

A 6× boss battle event is just too much!!