The light that obscured my vision faded.
The three of us appeared in the pure white space once again.
The Black Dragon Master, the Crusader. And me.
“Mm. It was nice to get an unexpected gain in this stage!”
The Black Dragon Master stretched. She clasped her hands together and leaned to the side in a pose that reminded me of the guys from the badminton club warming up on the mountain behind the village.
“I want to hurry back to Deungcheon City and establish Black Knight first…”
“That’d be hard. We have to attack up to the 40th floor consecutively.”
“I know… ah, really! If the rumor that the [Diva of the Night Sky] was returning, it wouldn’t just affect one or two people! There are a lot of kids who miss listening to the Crusader’s piano.”
“I haven’t fully decided yet.”
The Crusader tapped the Black Dragon Master on the shoulder with a bitter smile.
“I told you not to call me by my old nickname. Besides, it hasn’t been confirmed whether I’ll go on stage or not. I’ll need to ask my person for permission first.” (Note: ‘my person’ *blush*)
“That’s not permission, that’s a [sanction].”
The Black Dragon Master clicked her tongue.
“I’m telling you, your lover… is also pretty sick in the head. They’re so obsessed. I mean, who tells their significant other to wear a helmet all the time and not let others see their face?”
“It’s cute. A desire for monopoly like that is so lovely.”
“Ugh, look at this. You’re a nutjob…”
Just as the Black Dragon Master sighed heavily.
[The Venomous Snake, who leads the Oni Race, has declared stage clear.]
[The Sword Saint, who leads the Human Race, has declared stage clear.]
Our companions that we hadn’t seen in a while arrived one after the other.
“Yo. It’s been a while.”
The Venomous Snake waved his hand at us.
Anyone who saw this would just accept it as a greeting from their colleague. But for me, who’d received the teachings of Emperor Ranobel, I found it hard to accept a greeting like [yo].
I really didn’t want to know…
“Everyone declared stage clear as if you planned it beforehand. Hey. Did the three of you sneakily create an alliance”
“Well. We made something that’s much more exciting than an alliance.”
“Huh? Really? What is it?”
The Venomous Snake was brimming with curiosity, but neither the Black Dragon Master nor the Crusader was willing to satisfy him. If we were to hold a [straightface competition] in the Tower, they were the two that would probably compete for first place.
In the end, the Venomous Snake was not able to get any of the answers he wanted.
“No, sh*t. What is this?! When did you three become so close? Damn. I feel left out.”
At the same time, the Sword Saint looked at us with a faint expression.
Surprise? Sorriness? Regret?
His expression was hard for me to read because of his mixed emotions.
[The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage appears.]
While we had our conversation, the constellation in charge of the stage sneakily appeared. As always, the Lady had a sleepy expression as if she had just woken up from a nap.
“Is everyone here? Anyone missing?”
“Right. Well done everyone. To be honest, no one lost in this stage. All of you kids completed your quests. If it was possible, no one would be eliminated from this stage…”
The Lady continued to mutter.
“I don’t like nitpicking the small things, but Mula-… the Tower Master is a perfectionist. I’m sorry, but this means I’ll have to pick the one among you with the worst performance and eliminate them. Let’s see. Of course, it won’t be the Death King……”
The Crusader raised her hand.
“Does that mean that one of us will be eliminated?”
“Please tell us why,”
“There are many reasons. I wish I could tell you everything, but… I also have prohibitions. Mmm. Originally, I could do what I wish up to security level 6, but now, why does it feel like I can only talk about things up to security level 3?”
Suddenly, the Lady turned to look at me.
“Actually, it was someone else that cause [this].”
I recalled the Lady’s identity.
‘A being with higher authority than the constellations.’
I had faced the Pillars before. When I accepted the starving ghost to my side. And when Raviel obtained the [A Returner’s Lover] skill.
“After the 30th floor, the theme is self-awareness.”
One of the Pillars opened her mouth.
The Black Dragon Master, who loved the Tower more than anyone else, responded immediately.
“Theme? Self-awareness?”
“Now. I’ll only accept one question per person.”
The Lady smiled softly.
“This is your reward for the 34th floor. Since you kids are unique, you’d as a reward instead of racial points, right?”
The eyes of every hunter in the group lit up.
We lived in the Tower, but we were ignorant of it.
Why the Tower suddenly appeared in our world.
Why Towers had different structures on each floor.
There were many hunters who were filled with curiosity, but had no way to find answers. This was because there was no one to give them the answers.
But such a person had now appeared in front of us.
“You can ask from the lowest ranked to the highest. Ah! And you can’t discuss with each other beforehand. If it’s something I can’t answer, I will tell you honestly that I can’t. Then you’ll get to ask another question.”
We exchanged gazes. The condition of ‘us not being able to discuss with each other’ stopped us from talking. The Crusader looked at each of us before nodding.
“What is the meaning of the Tower’s existence?”
“That’s a pretty broad question. The Tower is a world. If I were to tell you the meaning of the world, that would be pretty philosophical. Is that what you want?”
“Then please elaborate more with your question.”
The Crusader thought for a moment.
“……I want to know how the Towers are built. There is a Tower in our world. But there are some worlds without Towers. [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was like that, and [Tales of Somerwin Academy] was like that too. So how are the Towers built?”
“Ah-. You’re suddenly stabbing at the core. Can I tell you that? Mm. I think I can tell you.”
The Lady stretched out a pale hand. Shuk. The ground cracked open like tofu and a pillow came out of it. Holding the pillow with peach symbols in her hands, she slowly opened her mouth.
“There just needs to be someone living the unhappiest life in that world.”
“Please understand if any of my answers seem ambiguous. As I said, my security level has been lowered. However, anyway… the Tower is built by the Owner. The Owner lives on behalf of the life of the unhappiest person in the world. The Tower is built in a world that the Owner has already lived in and passed. Worlds without Towers are those that the Owner hasn’t passed by yet.”
The Crusader tried to ask more questions but the Lady resolutely turned her attention away.
Next was the hunter in 6th place. The Venomous Snake.
“The unhappiest person that you mentioned. What determines that?”
“Yeah. That’s a bit tough. Unhappiness has a very large spectrum. Sometimes it’s hard to determine exactly who is the unhappiest.”
“So he has to live many lives.”
The Count, who was ranked 5th, and the Heretic Questionner, who was ranked 4th, had been eliminated. Therefore, the next in line was the Black Dragon Master.
After hearing the unexpected answers, the Black Dragon Master looked sharply at the Lady.
“What is the theme you mentioned? For beings like you, is the Tower just an amusement park, and we, the various attractions struggling within?”
The Lady burst into laughter.
“Huh, that would be amazing! I would be much more relaxed too. Well, to answer your question, that’s not it! That’s not in at all! The theme is similar to the aim of an exam.”
“The aim of an exam?”
“Mhm. For example, a person develops over the course of their life, don’t they? It’s often said that people raise their children, but people raise children and raise themselves at the same time. You gradually learn about yourself. In a similar sense, the theme for the 30th floor is self-awareness. That’s all.”
“Why are you giving us tests……”
The Lady turned to look at me.
“What would you like to ask, Death King?”
I looked at the Lady hugging her pillow in front of me.
‘There was nothing before I returned.’
To be precise, it didn’t appear.
Before I returned, I had never seen the name [The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage] in any of the strategy guides. There wasn’t even a mention of it.
‘The Lady appeared because of Hamustra’s fall.’
Hamustra had said that she was quite the high ranking constellation.
Since Hamustra had fallen, the Lady had come down to fill his spot.
‘And Hamustra fell because of me… So it’s highly likely that it’s my fault the Lady appeared.’
If that was the case then…
I decided on what question to ask.
“Why do you favor me so much?”
It was pretty strange.
The Lady slept all the time. It didn’t seem like she worked at all.
And as the Lady herself said, I was the one who caused [this]. Even if she didn’t have bad feelings towards me, it shouldn’t have been possible for the Lady to favor me so much.
It appeared that I had asked a question she didn’t want to answer.
“…there are too many listeners right now. I’ll tell you the answer later.”
The Lady determinedly passed my turn. I had no choice but to close my mouth.
The Sword Saint, who was finally given his turn, asked a question.
“What is at the top of this Tower?”
“Ahh, the memories you’ve experienced so far sparkle like beautiful treasures… Sorry. I’m just kidding. In any case, I can’t answer that question. If I answer that, Mula-Gaga… Nail!”
The Lady gripped her pillows tightly.
“Seriously! In any case, the Owner of the Tower will be really angry.”
“Understood. Then, who is the strongest swordsman you know?”
For some reason, Bae Hu-ryeong straightened his shoulders.
He was shaking and showing off his presence. Was he trying to send a message in morse code or something? L… e… f… a… n… t…
However, in a heartless blow to both of them, the name the Lady said was completely different.
“The Absolute Sword Master.”
It was an answer without hesitation.
“In terms of strength as a swordsman, there is no one who can match the Absolute Sword Master, Zaqu… No, perhaps I’m being a bit too strict? Phew. In any case, he is the Duke of a kingdom and a noble who has the right to [not be punished when he kills someone as long as they’re not a member of the royal family]. In other words, he’s strong enough to kill anyone.”
“In terms of skills, what’s the gap between that person and me?”
“That’s meaningless.”
The Lady spoke bluntly.
“A skill gap can only be discussed when the levels are similar.”
The Sword Saint’s eyebrows twitched.
“……it’s not even worth discussing?”
“Don’t let your pride be too wounded. The Absolute Sword Master is the First Duke. He’s an old monster that’s been alive for more than 2,000 years. Ah, I probably shouldn’t call him a monster… He’s more like a natural disaster. I don’t think you’ll ever meet that person though. So don’t worry.”
The Sword Saint clenched his fists.
Not just me, but my other companions were also a bit shocked.
‘It can’t even be compared.’
He was an old man who had thrown away all of his worldly possessions and status and jumped into the Tower. With nothing but his sword, he honed his skills and as a result, ignored everything else. Even if he didn’t show it on his face, his pride was clearly hurt.
“Now then, while I give the Death King his answer… everyone, please wait for a bit.”
The Lady clapped her hands.
Then, my companions were engulfed in white light and disappeared in an instant. They had probably been sent to another place. In the blink of an eye, the Lady and I were the only ones left in the white space.
The Lady hesitated for a moment before looking me in the eyes.
I didn’t know why this person, who was a Pillar that stood above even constellations, was to me.
The Lady put down her pillow.
And then she suddenly kneeled down and hit her forehead to her pillow.
“I’m really sorry! Death King!!”
The Lady just shouted as she hit her forehead to the pillow.
“I am the Pillar that gave the Flame Emperor his skill in the past!”
My body that was bending down to lift the Lady froze.
“That, the golden skill the Flame Emperor had. Death King, you got it…”
“Are you talking about [Returner’s Clockwork Watch]?”
“Mhm. right. That… I was actually the one who gave that skill……”
“So I think I’m a bit responsible for him burning you to death… Only a little. No, umm… I’m really sorry…”
“No, how do you know that?”