Suddenly, the golem threw a punch, and out of nowhere, declared that the trial was over and that it would escort me. It then closed its mouth and began walking in one direction.
With steps as large as a building, the vibrations accompanied its movement. I felt the vibrations traveling up through the soles of my feet and leisurely observed my surroundings.
Earlier, I had only gathered information for battle and didn’t pay much attention to anything else. But now, with the battle over, I could comfortably examine the Floating Island.
The island's outer walls are equipped with functions that block both approach and detection. The performance of these walls is on par with those of the Siyoram’s, making it difficult to penetrate even with the power of observation.
‘...Actually, calling it an island might be a stretch?’
The Floating Island. As its name suggests, it’s a floating island, but it didn’t really look like one.
For one, it wasn’t surrounded by water like a typical island. And when you split the island in half, the upper surface was made of a complex alloy that made my head spin when I analyzed it.
It matched the material of the golems, and it was the source of the magic used to create golems in real time.
The underside wasn’t ordinary either.
I wasn’t even sure how to define the underside of the island. But it wasn’t like the inverted pyramid shape of a typical island.
The underside of the island was a pyramid made of jewels. This pyramid seemed to be the source of the island’s floating abilities. Particularly, this area was densely packed with advanced magic related to floating.
‘...Now I’m starting to become numb to all this extravagant nonsense. It’s scary.’
If I sold just one appropriate artifact from the Siyoram, it would be enough to support an ordinary life for three generations.
My sense of economic value seems to be shattering more and more these days.
The vibrations continued from the golem in front of me, but compared to earlier, my ears were much more at ease. The deafening roar created by thousands and tens of thousands of golems was no longer bombarding me.
The golems that had been chasing me relentlessly had long since dispersed. They had spread out in all directions and were now forming a perfect perimeter.
‘Like a game of Go.’
This floating island resembled a Go board.
There was no dirt or vegetation on the ground, only metal surfaces in a consistent pattern.
On this Go board-like ground, golems were stationed in precise formations, maintaining exact distances between each other. The white golems looked like the white stones placed on the board.
The formations, and the way they pushed me into tactical movements like a Go game, were uncanny.
‘......’
The combat power of this Floating Island was immense.
Although many of its functions were limited, just managing the golems like I did earlier would be enough to crush any dungeon.
But that wasn’t all.
This army of golems would be especially powerful on the battlefield.
They didn’t consume food like humans. They didn’t require sleep or rest, nor did they seek entertainment.
As long as they were provided with materials to form their bodies and mana, they would fight endlessly.
Despite their nature, each golem’s power was tremendous, making them highly valuable on the battlefield.
In the original story, from the 1st to the 12th round, I had never seen such an army.
In a strange memory, the man who dealt with the three kinds of magic—despite having no connection to magic—was denied access by the master of the Tower of Knowledge.
The golems didn’t offer any trials or greetings. They simply repeated a voice that said certain areas were off-limits.
‘...Sigh.’
My thoughts became complicated. The idea that I would soon meet the Tower's master made me tense, and I couldn’t stop the strange thoughts flowing in.
My mouth had gone dry, so I moved my right arm.
‘It’ll recover on its own if I leave it alone.’
My arm was injured from manipulating circuits. I didn’t take any special measures, just realigned the broken bones and torn muscles, soothing the circuits to encourage healing.
Even with that minimal effort, signs of recovery were already appearing.
While my body was always peculiar, since I started training in this world, it had become even more bizarre, and my healing power was impressive.
‘If I had been torn or severed, I would’ve had to imitate Elia’s healing melody to regenerate... I miss Elia.’
Thanks to the damage being internal and dissolved into sludge, I didn’t need any special healing.
Without relying on external healing devices scattered around, I trusted the teachings of my master to enhance my body’s natural recovery.
I believed in my master’s words—’Healing is achieved through self-reliance’—and as a result, I had built up considerable resilience.
‘Master’s words are truly the truth... I miss my master.’
Nodding to myself, I pulled out a small pouch from my spatial pocket. Inside, I took a green pill and chewed it.
I crushed it, and the contents dissolved into my saliva, spreading over my tongue as I moved it around. A tingling sensation spread, and I moved my tongue to savor it.
[......?]
The golem glanced back at me.
Its blue glowing eyes flickered between my mouth, the small pouch in my hand, and my right arm, which had turned purple.
[May I ask what that is?]
The helmet creaked as it spoke.
Just moments ago, this was the golem in thick armor that tried to turn me into a pancake.
But despite its appearance, its tone was surprisingly respectful, and I shrugged my shoulders.
I swallowed the contents of the pill and placed another one in my mouth.
[It’s poison from the Black Ooze.]
[Ah, I see. Poison from the Black Ooze, chewed up...]
The golem seemed to have misunderstood something, making a dissonant noise as it stared at me.
[Chewed... up...?]
I had been feeling uneasy for some time, and now the golem’s blue glowing eyes shook uncontrollably like there was an earthquake.
[Why are you consuming that...?]
[......?]
[It’s poison resistance training.]
I shrugged at the odd reaction.
I put another pill in my mouth as I observed the golem’s shoulder twitch.
The sheer size of the golem made it quite threatening, so I took a few steps back.
[Poison resistance training...? You’re using such a primitive method...?]
[It may be crude, but it’s effective.]
That’s how resistance works.
If you keep taking hits, your tolerance level increases.
You can raise resistance to blunt force, cutting, or pain by being repeatedly subjected to them.
The same logic applied to poison resistance.
If you constantly inject poison into your body, resistance would eventually develop.
[Poison is something that should be handled with extreme caution. Even if you consider the efficiency, this method is far too dangerous.]
[It’s fine.]
I nodded at the golem’s concern.
Poison must indeed be handled with care.
Medicine and poison are separated by the thinnest line.
A medicine that saves a person can kill them if used improperly.
So, I was being careful.
[Even so...]
[It’s fine. I’ve been through much worse. After dealing with the Double-Headed Poison Dragon’s venom, most poisons don’t faze me.]
The Double-Headed Poison Dragon.
Although it had been weakened by the unstable spiritual transformation, its venom was still so potent that it made me shiver.
If it hadn’t been for the near-transformation at that time, I might have died without leaving a body.
As a result, my overall poison resistance had significantly increased.
It was a silver lining.
[....]
The golem fell silent, as if it didn’t know how to respond to my small complaint.
‘Hmph.’
I smirked and continued to chew the pill.
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The Floating Island is filled with magic.
The magic formulas, likely inscribed by the Tower of Knowledge’s master, are all advanced and difficult for me to even guess at.
However, I could sense the general structure and follow the paths of the magic formulas.
Most of the magic formulas are leading toward the center of the Floating Island.
And at the center, all the formulas converge into a single structure.
A massive white tower.
The Tower of Knowledge.
[We have arrived.]
The golem leading the way turned around, bowed slightly, and stepped aside.
Behind the golem stood the entrance to a tower that was slightly larger than the golem.
I sensed a strange resonance from the dark entrance and turned my observation back toward the tower's exterior.
Its size was similar to that of the Tower of Growth.
But the appearance was different.
While the Tower of Growth was a dull ivory color with the wear of ancient architecture, the Tower of Knowledge was a bright white with a faint blue hue.
Its surface was smooth, like a calm surface of water, with geometric lines of deep blue, adding to its mystery.
‘The Tower of Knowledge...’
Standing before it, a nervous sweat broke out.
The suspicion that had crept up couldn’t be easily dismissed.
‘It’s pointless to worry now.’
I shook my head roughly, shaking off the doubts.
No matter what, I had to enter.
If something happened, I would just have to overcome it somehow.
If I hesitated now, in this safe and undamaged state, I would accomplish nothing in the future.
No matter what came my way, I had to face it.
With this resolve, I took a step toward the tower’s entrance.
I pushed my body through the dark hole, and my consciousness sank.
‘?’
For a brief moment, my consciousness drifted, then returned, and the full extent of my observation unfolded in all directions.
‘Ugh...’
A flood of overwhelming information poured into my mind, accompanied by a headache that almost paralyzed me.
It was the kind of pain I had grown accustomed to by now, but this time, the intensity was enough to make my body stiffen.
Was this the feeling I had when I thought I had all the world’s books gathered in the library back at the mansion?
It was different now.
Back then, I could only describe it as a vague analogy.
But this time, it truly felt like all the books in the world had been gathered here.
Books filled the space.
The interior of the tower looked exactly like a tower.
I stood on the first floor, and above me, the space stretched infinitely.
There was no ceiling. It was like a map from a video game that had a glitch and continued endlessly.
On the inside walls of this infinite tower were bookshelves.
And on those shelves, there were countless books, tightly packed with dense text.
From light novels, simple general knowledge books, foreign-style picture books with unreadable layouts, hastily written diaries, personal notes, to high-level magical tomes that were difficult for me to understand...
“Power is a particularly dangerous ability.”
Suddenly, a cold sensation touched my forehead.
A thin finger pushed down on my forehead, and the headache that had been raging instantly cleared.
“If used properly, it can be extremely useful. But in this world, nothing can be used properly all the time. When that happens, the external power that doesn’t belong to you burdens the user.”
‘?’
I widened my eyes in surprise.
The headache disappeared.
Not only that, but the poison coursing through my body also vanished.
The burden that had been applied to my body to facilitate growth was released.
The purple tint on my skin faded back to its original fair complexion.
Amidst the overwhelming information, I hadn’t noticed something approaching.
Startled, I looked up, and standing in front of me, I found a woman sitting in a chair.
She was dressed in white.
Her skin was as white and smooth as if powdered, and her loose, voluminous robe was a simple pure white.
Her long hair fell straight down to her ample hips.
The hair that flowed down to her chest rested softly on her large breasts.
Even her eyes were white.
It was as if the eyes contained the world buried in snow, and they stared at me intently.
[....]
While I was stunned, the woman who had been sitting in the chair gracefully rose to her feet.
Her chair, as refined as she was, didn’t make a sound as she stood up.
She cast a shadow over me as she approached.
Startled by how much taller she was, I took a few steps back.
The woman, who had been observing me carefully, gently closed her eyes and placed her hands on her stomach.
“I am Ariel Segnis Ternovcia, the one known as the Tower of Knowledge’s master, and I greet the savior.”
Then, she deeply bowed, as though greeting a superior, almost touching her forehead to the ground.
‘?’
I had imagined the worst possible scenario, but the greeting was unexpectedly respectful, and I froze in place.
This was my meeting with the Tower of Knowledge’s master.
[Player Correction System: Development Degree] [Quest "Entering the Tower of Knowledge" Completed] [You have gained a large amount of points]
...
[You are now facing the "Master of the Tower of Knowledge"] [Conditions are met]
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[Player Correction System: Favorability] Lee Ha-yul → Master of the Tower of Knowledge (?) ●●●○○○○○○○ (30▷31/100) "Complexity" "Confusion" "Suspicion" "Miscommunication" "Gratitude" "Resentment" "Is she crazy?"