novelraw Chapter 80
Chapter 80
It was a space where nothing could be seen. A pure white world stretched out endlessly with no horizon in sight. In that infinite expanse, the only thing Do-Jin could see in color was himself.
This is Floor 10?
He meant to say it out loud, but the words never made it past his thoughts. Just as he realized he couldn’t speak, a voice rang out in his head.
—Ah, shit. I forgot to add ‘sound’ in here, didn’t I? My bad. I threw this space together in a rush, so yeah... A few things are missing.
As the voice spoke, the pure white world began to ripple with color. Waves of light shimmered through the space in all sorts of shades.
“You should be able to speak now. How about we kick things off with a little hello, reckless challenger?”
Unlike before, the light now spoke in actual sound. Below the glowing form, a smiling mouth began to take shape as it split open.
Do-Jin activated his Magic Circuits as he watched that strange display. He wasn’t convinced this thing was an enemy, but he couldn’t rule it out either. It was better to be prepared than dead.
The light rippled with amusement and spoke again. “There’s no need for that. Floor 10 of the Tower of Trials isn’t a space for tests. But hey, if keeping your guard up helps you sleep at night, knock yourself out. It doesn’t bother me either way.”
Almost like it wanted to prove it wasn’t dangerous, the light formed a crude-looking arm and raised it in some half-assed gesture of peace.
Do-Jin narrowed his eyes and asked, “Who the hell are you? And what do you mean this floor isn’t a trial?”
“It is exactly what it sounds like. This place isn’t for testing. It’s an awards ceremony for gutsy idiots like you. Does that make sense?” The light gently flickered, radiating warmth.
[You have cleared the Hidden Floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[Commencing reward calculation...]
As the system messages rolled in, Do-Jin’s eyes widened in surprise.
The light curled its makeshift mouth into a smug grin. “See that? The trials are already over. The original tower was only supposed to go up to Floor 9, but you met every one of the hidden conditions and made it all the way here.”
“So that means the requirement was the reward betting that started back on Floor 8.”
The light covered what looked like its mouth and let out a quiet chuckle. It was surreal to watch a being made of light form hands and a mouth like that.
“That’s right. Beating the trial was just the beginning. To make it this far, you had to be the first one to clear a Challenge Floor and then toss all your winnings onto the betting table. That’s the only way in.”
Do-Jin had already guessed as much. However, that wasn’t what he wanted to ask. “The conditions are fine. That I can accept that, but there’s something else I’m curious about.”
“Of course. Go ahead and ask anything.”
That friendly tone had been there from the start. It was almost too friendly. Do-Jin had been through enough to know that anything starting out nice had a nasty habit of flipping on a dime.
They wouldn’t suddenly stab me in the back after showing a clear message like that, right?
Either way, the important thing now was to gather some information. Judging by the vibe of this place, it didn’t feel like this was going to end as just a one-time event. This reeked of something bigger, so Do-Jin’s mind kicked into high gear.
“First of all, what the hell are you?”
“Me? I’m the one who made this place. No, that feels a bit too lazy of an answer. Let me see...” The glowing figure flickered with a hesitation that felt almost palpable. “I suppose you could call me the caretaker of the tower, as well as your guide. For now, at least. Even if I tried to explain more—”
A sudden burst of harsh static cut the voice off. Do-Jin frowned. It wasn’t just loud and annoying; it was the kind of noise that physically hurt to endure.
The light caught his expression and drooped like a sulking child. “See that? Even if I want to tell you, I’m not allowed to.”
Doesn’t make any sense that a ball of light should be able to show emotions like that...
It could have been an act, but the thing looked so genuinely bummed out that he couldn’t bring himself to press it further. He pushed that aside and moved on to the next question.
“Fine. If that’s how it is, I won’t push it. But I can still ask other questions, right?”
“Of course. Please, go ahead.” The light flickered with excitement, clearly enjoying the conversation.
Do-Jin found it oddly fascinating how he was able to read this entity’s emotions so easily, despite it being just a cluster of light.
“Starting from Floor 8, the Challenge Floors made us take risks by betting our rewards to upgrade the next one, right? But at the end of it all, I just walk in and clear Floor 10 without doing anything? That doesn’t add up. Wasn’t the whole tower meant to test us, or rather, put us through hell?”
“Without doing anything? What are you talking about? You’ve already passed this floor’s trial.”
“What?”
Do-Jin’s face scrunched up as he thought, The hell do you mean I passed?
The light let out a hearty laugh. “Just stepping into this hidden floor was proof you passed the test! After enduring the eighth and ninth floors’ trials, you showed not just courage but pure recklessness. That display, that attitude, is the very condition for entering and clearing Floor 10.”
That’s the condition?! His expression remained unconvinced.
The light grinned. “You’re doubting me, huh? Good, that’s important too. You should keep doubting everything, digging deeper, picking everything apart as you move forward. And even then, you keep chasing after more, despite the recklessness. That’s the value this tower is trying to impart.”
Being adventurous and inquisitive was fine in Do-Jin’s book, a positive thing, even. However, labeling doubt and recklessness as values worth teaching felt off. No one in their right mind would go out of their way to teach him something like that.
“What’s the point of teaching me something like that?”
At that, the light flickered brighter than ever. “There is a point, a huge one. You, all of you, have to change the flow of fate. But do you think that’s going to be easy? Hardly. It will be brutal. Even if you do your best and walk the path that seems right, it’s still going to hurt. That’s why—”
The flickering stopped abruptly. Just for a second, Do-Jin thought he saw a face hidden deep inside the light. He couldn’t quite make it out.
“You all need to keep charging forward with courage. Don’t settle for small wins or tiny bits of growth. Don’t sit there thinking that’s good enough. Always want more. Always reach farther. Always choose the path that looks insane. That’s the only way.”
It sounded like the light was trying to push him into wrecking his own life for the sake of some ideal. Despite that, it felt so sincere that Do-Jin couldn’t help but pry.
“Recklessness is the same as danger. If you take on risk just to gain a little more, sometimes you have to be ready to lose everything. And you’re saying I still have to do it?”
The light bobbed up and down, as if it was nodding.
“You’re telling me that’s the only way to change that so-called fate?”
Again, the light moved in the same nodding motion.
Do-Jin stared at it for a moment and thought to himself, I mean, that’s not wrong.
He already knew what was coming. He knew what was waiting in this world called Lostania. He knew just how many disasters were lying in wait because he had lived through them in his past life.
I did everything I could to hold the line, but in the end, all I managed to do was slow things down. Nothing ever got better.
Every single time something happened, things got worse. The world was dying slowly, piece by piece, with every new incident. Up until the point of his regression, the world was so far gone that players had started to wonder whether it was even viable.
This time, he wasn’t going to let it get that far. He was going to make his new life meaningful, live to its fullest, and be happy. But this world, the one that had once been his only comfort, his only escape, his only peace, was not something he would ever stand by and watch fall apart again.
Do-Jin agreed that this light had a point.Just getting strong enough to stand a little taller than everyone else wouldn’t cut it. He had to be reckless, but smart about it. The future might have been bleak, but in that moment, he felt a surge of determination.
“Don’t worry. Even if you hadn’t made such a big deal out of it, I’m already someone who wants way too much out of this,” Do-Jin reassured the entity.
“Yeah, I figured. Otherwise, there’s no way you’d toss all your precious rewards onto a gamble. You’re greedy, reckless, and too curious for your own good.”
“That’s a compliment, right?”
“Of course it is.”
It certainly didn’t sound like one to him. As Do-Jin made a sour face, the light let out a delighted giggle.
It circled over his head once like it was having a great time, then shouted, “Alright, Q&A time is officially over! It’s finally time to hand out the massive rewards you’ve racked up!”
Hearing “rewards” made Do-Jin’s heart skip a beat. It was a bit disappointing that he hadn’t really gained anything from all the back-and-forth questions and answers, but one thing was certain. Whoever had created the Tower of Trials and assigned these challenges to the players clearly wanted them to grow. For someone like Do-Jin, who had clawed his way up here by meeting every hidden condition and enduring every hardship, they’d better hand out something big.
This light has been going on and on about recklessness. It better reward reckless choices like it means it. Holding that hope close, Do-Jin focused his eyes on the light.
“For a regular Regenian, Floor 8’s default reward is ‘an item that helps with adventuring.’ But for you, who made it all the way here... I’ll give you something that can help you carve out your destiny.”
[The Tower of Trials Floor 8’s basic reward, “S-Rank Item Random Box,” has been upgraded.]
[You have obtained a “Relic Item Random Box.”]
Do-Jin’s heart dropped for a moment when he saw a relic, which was one tier above the highest grade currently known as S-rank. It wasn’t something people could just buy. Even back then, when he was barely holding onto a spot among the lowest of the rankers, he’d only ever managed to get his hands on a single relic item. Seeing one here was nothing short of shocking. And that wasn’t even the end of it.
“For Floor 9, the default reward is ‘points that help with growth.’ But for you, because you met me, I’ll give you something beyond growth. I’ll give you evolution.”
[The Tower of Trials Floor 9’s basic reward, “Bonus Points: 50 Points,” has been upgraded.]
[All of your traits have evolved.]
Just like that, the kind of reward that truly matched the grand term “evolution” began to unfold.
[All traits related to mana have been removed.]
[Your mana-related traits have been consolidated into a single trait.]
[You have acquired the hidden trait: Mana Delay.]
Do-Jin had already possessed a number of traits that helped him handle mana, including Mana Heart. Now, those traits had evolved and fused together. The result was more than just a heart made of mana. His entire body had been reforged in it.
Every single cell in his body now held more mana than before, and that led to a dramatic increase in his maximum mana capacity. Naturally, his speed and efficiency in performing anything related to mana had skyrocketed.
For a mage like Do-Jin, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
[The Magic Eye is assimilating to a truer form.]
[Your right eye has been reborn as a Magic Eye, synchronized with the left.]
The Magic Eye Silent Night, which had only been embedded in his left eye before, had now taken root in his right eye as well. The strange, mismatched vision that had always followed him around was finally resolved. At the same time, his Magic Circuits were linked to the newly integrated eye, and their functionality improved.
Silent Night was a Magic Eye crafted by a Grand Duke, one of the highest-ranking Archmages. It had Magic Circuit functions built in, but it had never been able to fully activate due to its incomplete assimilation. Now, at long last, it had become one with Do-Jin. With that, it began to unleash its full potential.
[A new Magic Circuit has been discovered.]
[It has been successfully linked to your existing circuits.]
[Your circuit computation capacity has improved.]
Other traits that had helped him tank hits despite being a mage were also evolving. The related system messages were flying past so fast it was nearly impossible to catch them all.
They’re giving me all this...?
Even Do-Jin, the one actually receiving the rewards, was left speechless. It wasn’t just generous. It was absurd. In fact, this all seemed downright violent in how over-the-top it was.
“We’re still not done. The most important reward from Floor 10 is... the ‘Thread of New Fate to Pioneer.’”
Do-Jin was honestly too tired to keep being shocked. He just stared at the light and waited for the next announcement.
Damn, good thing I gambled everything back on Floor 9.
Internally, he vowed to focus on the challenges from now on. That was the only thing worth living for.