Chapter 92: Tower Of Dreams (2) |
The structure of the Tower of Dreams was simple.
It showed false dreams to its users, who must endure the illusions presented by the Tower of Dreams to ascend it.
“It’s okay at first, but.”
As one progressed, the illusions of the Tower of Dreams became stronger, making it a place even the most superior beings could not attempt to clear recklessly.
The orthodox method was to try like mad until it worked, but no matter how good the rewards of the Tower of Dreams were, one should not recklessly spend time on it.
So, everyone else gave up, but I realized the imprint it gave while retrying like mad here.
“It was easy after that.”
If you acquired the imprint given by the Tower of Dreams, you gained something called the Qualification of Truth. It was an incredible ability that erased all illusions shown by the Tower of Dreams.
Trudge, trudge.
“Hahaha! Damn these orc scum! Die!”
“Damn it! Why is this goblin shaman so persistent!”
Ahead, two men were fighting. A magic warrior and a magician. I passed them and moved forward.
The fights in the Tower of Dreams weren’t real. They think they were fighting each other under the hallucinations shown by the tower, but in reality, the magic released here was immediately devoured by the Tower of Dreams.
“Treasure! Finally, treasure before me!”
“Haha! With this, I can finish off all those magicians who looked down on me!”
Magicians discovering a treasure chest. But those too were mere illusions.
A place where vain dreams floated.
Thus, the Tower of Dreams.
I passed them and reached the end of the first floor.
[You have cleared the 1st floor of the Tower of Dreams! You are awarded 5,000p!]
[You have cleared the 1st floor of the Tower of Dreams at an unprecedented speed. You are awarded 10,000p!]
[As a reward for clearing the 1st floor, you can choose two options:
Permanently increase magic power by +1.
The Dream Stone of Illusion of the Tower of Dreams (Note: This item cannot be taken into reality).]
‘There’s no difference here either.’
I examined the rewards.
Clearing the tower yielded corresponding rewards. A permanent increase in magic power by +1. Given this reward for the first floor, the rewards for the latter parts must be tremendous.
I chose the Dream Stone of Illusion.
Dream Stone of Illusion (B)
A stone that seems to enchant those around it.
A very rare stone produced by the tower. It corrodes when external mana touches it.
: Contains a power that enchants people.
I took the Dream Stone of Illusion to the spot marked with the tower’s imprint. Then, the imprint of the tower shone, and I felt it grow slightly stronger.
Afterward, I continued on my way.
As I ascended to higher floors, I encountered fewer people.
[You have cleared the 2nd floor of the Tower of Dreams! You are awarded 5,000p!]
[You have cleared the 2nd floor of the Tower of Dreams at an unprecedented speed. You are awarded 10,000p!]
[As a reward for clearing the 2nd floor, you can choose two options:
Permanently increase magic power by +2.
Two Dream Stones of Illusion. (Note: This item cannot be taken into reality).]
‘The points remain the same.’
I opted for the Dream Stone of Illusion once more.
After conquering the 9th floor and reaching the 10th, a massive door stood before me.
From here on, it becomes quite troublesome. From the 1st to the 9th floor, there were illusions, but on this floor, a monster appeared.
The Monster of Illusion.
It was quite a troublesome beast, coated in all sorts of magical resistances and possessing considerable physical strength. It was roughly on the level of a middle-grade entity. However, when combined with the Tower’s illusion-inducing ability, it evolved into a monster capable of killing even the highest-grade beings.
“It doesn’t matter, though.”
I opened the door to the 10th floor.
In the center, there was a chair, and on it sat the Monster of Illusion in a bewitching pose, wearing modern clothes – a high-waisted blouse, wings with a membranous structure, and a tail. It had pink hair and eyes. As the Monster of Illusion’s eyes met mine, its expression changed bewitchingly.
“Oh my, a visitor after such a long time. And you even have the qualification.”
I quietly placed my hand on the handle of Black Heaven.
“Do you want to fight right away? Even if you have the qualification, it doesn’t mean illusions won’t work on you at all.”
“Your prattle is lengthy, monster.”
I drew Black Heaven. The Black Heavenly Demon Sword, drawn from White Rouge, flashed like lightning towards the Monster of Illusion, aiming for the neck. Imbuing the subtlety of Black Flash, just before reaching the neck, I added the finesse of Soul Absorption. The swift blade, just before touching the neck, was filled with the subtlety of transformation and illusion.
“Even so.”
The Monster of Illusion, confident, raised its hand, wrapped in the pink magical power received from the Tower of Dreams. Suddenly, its expression changed.
The Energy of Defying Heaven erupted. A wave transmitted through Black Heaven formed a single blade.
[Your proficiency in the Soul Absorption Sword Technique has increased.]
Soul Absorption Sword Technique.
Heaven Defying Pierce.
Screech.
An unpleasant sound rang out, and an unpleasant sensation spread through my hand. The Monster of Illusion’s hand flew up and then fell.
“Aaaaah!”
Screaming, it looked at me, unable to even think of retrieving its hand.
“How can you… use the power of the Tower of Dreams?”
I didn’t reply, instead, I charged the Winter Sword with Black Heaven and surged forward. The Monster of Illusion clasped its hands together, forming a six-pointed star magic circle from which a pink sphere emerged.
‘A curse of the illusion type.’
Getting hit by that would momentarily endanger even the highest-grade, but it was of little concern to me. I leaped into the air, clutching Black Heaven.
“Dieee!”
The Monster of Illusion hurled the pink sphere at me, clearly lacking combat experience. Had it been me, I would have maintained distance while employing various magics.
‘So simple.’
[Your proficiency in the Soul Absorption Sword Technique has increased.]
I gripped Black Heaven inversely and conjured a platform in the air to leap again, cleaving the pink sphere with Black Heaven.
“Huh?”
I aimed straight for the Monster of Illusion’s neck.
Screech.
The head of the Monster of Illusion, wearing a look of disbelief, tumbled to the floor. I swung Black Heaven once more to clean the blood of the Monster of Illusion from the blade.
[You have cleared the 10th floor of the Tower of Dreams! You are awarded 50,000p!]
[You have cleared the Tower of Dreams at an unprecedented speed. You are awarded 100,000p!]
[As a reward for clearing the 10th floor, you can choose two options:
Magic Power +10
Strengthen all attributes by +2.]
I opted for the second choice. I didn’t really have another option.
‘Couldn’t they let me choose other stats excluding magic power?’
Muttering to myself, a cluster of light settled within me.
-Is this the end here?
“That’s right. Now, if I open the door here…”
I was replying to Black Heaven’s words when I hesitated.
“……”
Because there were two doors.
The door to the 10th floor of the Tower of Dreams was supposed to be singular.
Once I obtained the Qualification of Truth and defeated the Monster of Illusion, a door engraved in silver appeared. However, now I saw two doors before me.
One was engraved in silver, and the other in gold.
This raised questions - if the difficulty had increased, thus increasing the rewards. This seemed like a different kind of reward. Honestly, I hadn’t seen any illusions so far, so I wasn’t sure if the difficulty had increased.
There was one more likely candidate.
‘That there were originally two doors.’
If there were indeed two doors from the start, it made sense. Assuming that only the door engraved in silver was visible even with the Qualification of Truth.
‘Is this a door the Tower of Dreams wants to hide?’
Did having the qualification mean that the illusions of the Tower of Dreams didn’t completely fail to affect me?
Seeing two doors must have been due to the Energy of Defying Heaven within my body.
-Why are you pondering so much, Seo-ha?
“Because I see two doors.”
-Two doors?
Black Heaven glanced at the doors curiously, but her gaze returned to the silver-engraved door.
-All I see is the silver door, but if you see two, then that must be correct.
-It must be a pretty high-level illusion. The Monster of Illusion’s magic was quite troublesome too.
“Let’s try the other door first.”
I walked towards the door engraved in gold.
And pushed it open.
Creak-
Then, a passageway appeared. It was narrow enough for just one person to pass through.
-So there really was another door.
I followed the path inside. Deeper in, I saw a box wrapped tightly in iron chains.
‘Is this what it wanted to hide?’
I used the Energy of Defying Heaven to create a black edge and cut the chains.
Clang, clang.
After cutting the chains and opening the box, there was something like armor inside.
…Appraisal.
Armor once worn by a being who stood alone against the Tower of Dreams when it first began to encroach upon the world. It was old and currently weak in power.
: Built-in skill, "Perpetual Preservation"
: Built-in skill, "Blade Impervious"
: Built-in skill, "Phantom Existence"
"Perpetual Preservation"
:The armor restores itself even if it was crushed or shattered.
"Blade Impervious"
:Halves the power of sword-based attacks.
"Phantom Existence"
:When wearing the armor, all disadvantages disappeared.
“Not bad?”
Pretty good. ‘Phantom Existence’ might not have been considered great in the game, but reality could be different.
I took off my coat and put on the armor. It turned transparent.
I turned on the mirror app on my phone and noticed nothing unusual.
‘The armor doesn’t feel like it’s there.’
The power of ‘Phantom Existence’ made it seem as though it didn’t exist in reality, yet it did.
I came out of the door and then opened the silver-engraved door.
Upon opening the silver-engraved door, the imprint on my forearm emitted a pink light.
I checked the imprint.
[Imprint of the Tower of Dreams (S)]
A mark obtained from the Tower of Dreams.
: Adds 10 to Spirit.
: Built-in skill "Truth Within the Tower of Dreams"
: Built-in skill "Qualification of the Tower of Dreams"
"Truth Within the Tower of Dreams (B)"
: Once a day, cast an illusion on the opponent.
: Once a day, summon a dagger that casts illusions.
"Qualification of the Tower of Dreams (A+)"
: The right to infiltrate the dreams of others within the Tower of Dreams.
: Can exercise this right within the Tower of Dreams.
I briefly skimmed through the ‘Qualification of the Tower of Dreams.’ It was just a power that allowed you to exercise rights within the Tower of Dreams.
The ‘Truth Within the Tower of Dreams.’
When I activated the skill, a pink dagger appeared.
Truth Within the Tower of Dreams (B)
A power bestowed upon those who conquer the Tower of Dreams.
: It engulfs the opponent in endless illusions upon contact.
It was quite a remarkable item. Although it required physical contact to activate, once it did, it could ensnare even more powerful opponents in illusions.
I stored the ‘Truth Within the Tower of Dreams’ in my subspace.
It could be summoned once a day, but without any restrictions on usage frequency.
The highlight was when I wielded the ‘Truth Within the Tower of Dreams’ to execute the Ten Thousand Hua Wu as Kim Seo-hyun in the game.
I stepped through the portal and emerged outside.
Upon my return to school, I spent time with Seo Ga-yeon, ostensibly to assist her.
Flare!
The starlight dimmed. Her black hair turned white, and her pupils shifted to a purple hue.
“You seem to have gotten quite used to it.”
“Yes, I practiced because I wanted to stay close to Seo-ha.”
“…I see.”
Seo Ga-yeon’s blunt manner of speaking was sometimes jarring.
“But am I really important to Seo-ha?”
“Why would you doubt that?”
“Seo-ha is strong.”
I nodded, acknowledging Seo Ga-yeon’s observation.
“Besides, you’re immune to magic and curses. You’re kind-hearted, formidable in one-on-one combat. The others say you appear strong in group battles as well, and you’re cool.”
Despite her somewhat biased view, I nodded in agreement.
Upon reflection, I realized this might be partly my fault. I had only given Seo Ga-yeon a vague explanation of my powers, and she had yet to fully realize her own potential in a battle against a Mine.
‘That’s why I’ve been keeping it a secret.’
The gap between the higher-grade and middle-grade was vast. I could defeat those of a higher grade, but typically, an average middle-grade would not stand a chance against an average higher-grade. If an ordinary middle-grade were to confront an ordinary higher-grade, 9 out of 10 would perish, and the remaining one would barely cling to life.
However, the starlight magic that Seo Ga-yeon possessed was lethal in its very existence.
A lower-grade Seo Ga-yeon could kill a higher-grade Mine.
‘It’s really insane.’
There was a reason why one of the Seven Evils tried to uncover Seo Ga-yeon’s identity and attacked her.
“I…”
As I began to speak, I thought about what would be the best thing to say. I didn’t need any sugar-coated words.
‘She’s my favorite.’
Although not as much as my favorite in the second year, I really liked her.
Seo Ga-yeon never bowed down to any adversity.
Hong Yu-hwa, Ershil, Kim Ara, or Seolhwa Ryeon. All of them had at least one route where they fell into ‘evil’. But Seo Ga-yeon had always been a beacon for humanity, leading mankind. She stood alone against the Mines and was even called the Saint of Starlight.
She was…
“I need you.”
I needed Seo Ga-yeon, no one else.
“It might be sudden, but I know you better than anyone else. I’ve been watching you for a long time, a really long time.”
I believe there was no one in this world who knew Seo Ga-yeon better than me. No, I would assert it. I knew Seo Ga-yeon the best in this world.
I spoke to her with a serious expression.
There’s no need for anything else when persuading Seo Ga-yeon. Truth. If it’s filled with sincerity, I believe she will understand.
Not a cunning tongue that sways people’s hearts, but sincerity.
“If it’s hard for you, if Ga-yeon really finds it difficult, if you say you don’t like it, then I’ll stop.”
I briefly imagined a future without Seo Ga-yeon. It was so dreadful that I didn’t even want to think about it.
“Sorry, but I think I can’t give up. Will you go with me?”
Seo Ga-yeon lowered her head, her face flushed red.
“……?”
Why was she acting like that?