Chapter 149: 17th Floor (1) ————-«
After the end of the 16th floors’ trial, and the moment I moved into the portal.
「Postponing transfer to the waiting room.」
「Administrator ‘Hero of a Fallen World’ is choosing the reward.」
「Entering the divine sanctuary of the hero.」
The first thing that I saw was a stone statue.
A dragon stone statue that you’d see in western mythologies were in the middle of the hall.
And seeing the pillars surrounding that statue, this building was akin to a temple.
And it most likely was a temple.
After all…….
“Hey, not there, over here.”
Since the administrator of this area was an apostle of the dragon lord.
Once I turned my head towards the source of the voice, I could see a tall, good looking blond man.
Neal.
He was the original hero of the 16th floor’s story……
And the one who managed to climb up the tower above the 40th floor to be reborn as an administrator.
“You have two contractors so I bet you’re pretty used to divine sanctuary, but do you have anything you want to ask me?”
He spoke while resting his hand above the handle of the blade with a smile.
At that, I stood quietly for a second before speaking.
“……Are you the hero of the fallen world?”
“Well, yes. We’ve already spoken a few times, no?”
“Rather than speaking with each other, it was more of a one sided message.”
“That’s that. Don’t mind the smaller details. How boring.”
“…….”
Keeping my silence at the lighthearted personality of the hero did not last long.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Please imbue the reward to both of my swords.”
I asked for the reward concisely.
At that, Neal nodded and smirked.
“You’re just as honest to your desires as you’ve ever been.”
“…….”
“Got it, got it, I’ll get it done. You don’t have to glare at me like that. I just wanted to ask you a question, so don’t worry.”
“A question?”
It was difficult to assume if this question would be about the apostle of dragon lord, or if it would be a personal question.
While I was wracking my brain through what kind of question this would be, the hero laughed.
“It won’t be about the dragon lord. Just a personal question.”
“……Is that so? Then please feel free. Of course, whether I answer or not would be up to me.”
“I’d prefer it if you answer it…… Oh well, how about this? If you answer my question, I’ll also answer a question of yours. Isn’t it fair now?”
“Okay.”
There was nothing to lose.
At least, the one with the upper hand here was me.
And I didnt have to worry about lies being told either.
After all, I could always detect lies using the Fire Dragon’s Eyes.
“I can assume what you’re thinking…… Well, it’s definitely not a bad thought.”
Neal must’ve seen through me, as he lightly smiled and asked me his question.
“I want to know what your goal is. Just what is your goal to have you obsess over gaining power like that?”
At that, I felt as if my heart stopped.
“Climb the tower, obsess over growth and rewards, and just what do you plan on accomplishing with that?”
What i wanted to accomplish. I’ve never thought of that.
All I wanted was to never be oppressed by someone else.
Not even by divine entities.
But I was to be asked if that was my goal, then it definitely was not a goal of mine.
At that, I was confused.
“I…….”
“Do you want to become a god?”
“No. it’s not that, I just…. I just wanted to become stronger to not be oppressed.”
“To not be oppressed, huh. Now that’s interesting. Right, so what are you being oppressed by?”
I was about to answer that I was being oppressed by the other challengers who are also climbing the tower…..
But thinking about it, I felt that the answer would be more fundamental than that.
Neal stopped smiling and spoke.
“So you’re walking on a path with no end.”
It hit the nail on the head.
“Right, at first, you thought that you didn’t want to be oppressed by other or be despised by others.”
“…….”
“But where is the end point? After surpassing everything, what are you trying to reach?”
“……I am not sure. But it is true that I do not wish to be oppressed by others.”
“But that feeling is only a motivation. It does not determine your end point. Right now, all that you are is just a lump of desires.”
Neal suddenly laughed and spoke with a smile.
“But paradoxically, you managed to get to this point because there is no end point. Because there is no end point, you continued to grow. If there was an endpoint, you would’ve stopped becoming stronger at some point.”
Neal nodded as if he was satisfied.
“Now I see why some gods find you interesting.”
As if he finally got the answer to a long lived question.
With that, Neal signaled for me to ask him a question.
“Now it’s your turn. You can ask me anything.”
After a moment of thinking, I asked.
“……Just why did you commission me that quest?”
“……Now that’s unexpected. I thought that you’d ask me about the tower. If not that, about the gods.”
“I’ve seen the tower put restrictions about leak of information before.”
“Ah, so instead of risking restrictions, you’d rather ask something else, is that right?”
“Correct.”
There was a possibility that the tower would not put a restriction, but if it was a question unfitting the level of the floor that I’m on, a restriction would definitely ensue.
Just like how it’s always been.
Neal too thought for a second, and agreed to my statement.
“……I can’t deny the possibility of that happening.”
「The skill ‘Fire Dragon’s Eyes’ detects that there are no lies in the words of the opponent.」
Thankfully, the Fire Dragon’s Eyes skill could detect the validity of the statement against the administrators, and just like my assumption, the tower could also put restrictions on our conversation.
“Well, I’ll go ahead and answer your question.”
Neal smiled bitterly and answered concisely.
“You’re asking about the reason why administrators would pay a price to commission a quest, right? It’s simple really. Almost absurdly simple.”
However, I could only frown at what was said after that.
“It’s merely a regret of what has passed. We’re wanting to see the potential itself. Just from that, it feels as though we’ve been saved.”
“That’s the only reason……?”
“You could see it as just that, but to administrators, that’s the only joy to life that we get.”
“But why? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to take care of the challengers that you’re contracted with?”
White Crane Sword Saint has previously said that they wanted to change the past through me.
But to sponsor powers, and sacrifice their assets to commission a quest to the challenger?
But Neal rejected that thought immediately.
“……Don’t assume that every challenger is just as obsessed as you are to climb the tower.”
He immediately corrected my thinking process.
“Not every challenger has good abilities like you, nor do they have such strong will to climb the tower.”
With a lot of details.
“Rather, even if they did have the will to climb the tower, nothing would change. No matter how much you climb the tower, most of the administrators never saw any possibility of reaching the end.”
To sum it up, it’d be impossible to accomplish their wish, so there are no expectations given.
It would be a different story if an excellent challenger can be found, but it was never easy to make a contract with such a skilled and able challenger.
“So the administrators themselves know that it’s impossible to change the past by creating a contract with a challenger.”
“…….”
“The tower is an entity stronger than the divine entities, and never benevolent to anyone. All administrators have experienced it themselves.”
“So rather than trying to change the past through the tower, it’d be better to see the possibilities of the past through the quests?”
“……Yes. As much as I want to deny it, that’s the truth.”
Now I finally understood.
The reason why these beings called administrators are obsessing over quests.
Administrators who make a contract with low-tiered challengers tend to fall into a slump from not being able to fulfill their wishes.
Thus they tend to obsess over quests that can show them the possibilities of the past, and even with the costs, they paid it in full to see the new potentials of their past lives.
After understanding that, I finally realized the tower’s intentions.
‘……Are they using the quests as bait for administrators to foster skilled challengers?”
To tell the truth, I was still unsure of why the tower wished to foster challengers like this………
But that was not something to worry over at this point, so I stopped thinking about it.
Clap Clap─!
Neal ended the chat with a change of mood.
“Now, our questioning session is over, so let’s wrap up the rewards.”
「Special Power ‘Dragon Lords’ Designated Vessel’ has chosen challenger Han Sungyeun as a user.」
「Please choose the items to be imbued with Absolute Indestructibility affinity.」
I quickly took out the two items from the inventory.
「Selection Complete.」
I’ve already chosen which two items to imbue the Absolute Indestructibility affinity.
「True Blood Demon Sword (A) has been imbued with <absolute indestructibility=""> affinity.」</absolute>
「Sky Breaking Sword (A+) has been imbued with <absolute indestructibility=""> affinity..」</absolute>
Fwoosh!
The two swords on my hands vibrated as if enjoying the sensation of affinity imprinting.
And
「The Soul Ego’s consciousness within the True Blood Demon Sword (A) is slowly recovering.」
「Once the Soul Ego’s consciousness within the True Blood Demon Sword (A) has fully recovered, the limit on its activity will disappear.」
I raised the corner of my lips from the unexpected gain.
Once Dam Cheonwoo’s consciousness returned, I had many questions for him.
The knowledge that he gained past the 40th floor, on top of every other minor information, I planned to get them all.
Till what point can he assist me in, what structure was murim like? And why did he choose to give up the position of administrator, etc…..
Really now. There was too much to ask that my heart was pounding.
‘Climbing the tower would become a bit easier from now on.’
While I was feeling satisfied at that, a new message popped up.
「Please move to the waiting area.」
Now it was time to really go back.
“Your trial has been fun to watch, and I gave the rewards. So I suppose that it’s time for you to depart now.”
“Seems like it.”
“You know, none of the other administrators would give out insane rewards like what I gave you, so make sure you thank……”
“We both got what we wanted so I’d say there’s no need for that.”
“……You’re really not cute at all. None whatsoever.”
“If you have nothing else to say, then I’ll take my leave.”
After sheathing both of my swords, I moved towards the portal.
“……Now this is bonus information for you.”
Suddenly Neal’s serious voice came from behind.
“If you truly desire to surpass everything that oppresses you, do not ever doubt the tower.”
That voice that seemed to be somehow trembling, had a sense of guidance.
“We’ve all failed to achieve our goals, but you’ll be different Han Sungyeun. After all…….”
None of it was comprehensible, and…….
“You’re one of the candidates that the tower is watching over, after all.”
I couldn’t really ask him what he was talking about.
Because once I turned my head towards him, Neal’s figure had already disappeared without a trace.
“…….”
Seeing the empty hero’s temple, I clenched my fist.
I wasn’t sure of what he wanted to tell me, but I was sure of one thing at least.
To never stop climbing the tower.
“……I was planning on it anyway.”
I said towards the empty hall.
“……Thank you for your advice.”
And
“I’ll really take my leave now.”
Thanking the hero’s good will, I continued walking.
Without a destination, but with unwavering steps.
「You have entered the 17th floor waiting room.」
It was time to climb the tower again.
[To be continued.]
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶