Chapter 105
"How..."
I was truly shocked.
The Sage clearly recognized what this situation was.
Until now, the characters in the Hidden Route knew nothing about the Tower, all being no different from NPCs in a game...
He even saw right through my identity.
Quite flustered, I temporarily used Time Stop.
Was this also some kind of Tower manipulation?
If not...
- It seems he is like me.
Ma-Wang said just then.
‘...Like you? What does that mean?’
- It is exactly what it sounds like. I wasn't sure at first, but this human is outside the Tower's Influence.
What?
‘Wait a minute.’
I organized my thoughts.
So, being outside the Tower's Influence means...
‘The Sage is also a Real Person?’
Isn't this a Hidden Floor inside the Tower right now?
Well, I had roughly thought that might be the case for a while, but...
Ma-Wang gave me a definitive answer.
- You vaguely knew it too, didn't you? Every Tower Floor is a world that actually existed.
And then, an even more shocking statement followed.
- They are Destroyed Worlds ruined by the Tower.
...Destroyed Worlds ruined by the Tower?
I chewed over Ma-Wang's words, then used Time Release.
The Sage had asked me if I was curious about the Tower's Identity.
Let's hear the story directly from him.
"...What is going on?"
If Ma-Wang's words were true.
This wasn't the Tower's Scheme right now, but rather a situation outside the Tower's Control.
"How do you know about me?"
The Sage shrugged.
"I am a Sage."
"Pardon?"
"It means there is nothing I do not know. There is no need to be surprised that I know who you are."
"...Please explain properly. Are you also a Climber, Sage? Then this World is..."
The Sage said.
"My World, swallowed by the Tower."
"...!"
"I, too, was a Nightmare Climber like you, and I failed. This is the end of Failed Worlds."
As expected, the Sage was a being just like Ma-Wang.
More importantly, the end of Failed Worlds?
"...What exactly is the Tower's Identity?"
There were so many things I wanted to ask.
But I started by asking again for the answer I hadn't heard just before.
The Sage glanced up at the ceiling once, then continued.
"There is no time, so make your choice now. The reward is for the 7th Floor."
"Pardon? No..."
"As I said, all truths are contained within this Book of Omniscience, including information about the Tower."
The Sage held the book out to me.
"If you wish to know the Tower's Identity, choose this book as your reward."
As if he had no intention of answering directly.
Still confused, I looked down at the book in his hand.
I asked again.
"By choice... do you mean there is another reward besides this?"
The Sage smiled.
"For the other reward, I intend to use this Book of Omniscience and my Remaining Power as materials to give you The One Most Needed Thing."
...The One Most Needed Thing?
"What is that?"
"Well. Your destiny would know."
He was saying cryptic things typical of a Sage.
"Could you explain properly...?"
It was then.
CRACK—!
At the sudden chilling sensation, I flinched and looked around.
A Crack in Space was forming around us.
[◇%#■Error^$◇●%@&$...]
A Lagging Message is popping up before my eyes.
This sensation was not unfamiliar.
‘...It's the Tower.’
Because it was the exact same feeling as when the Tower tried to eliminate Ma-Wang who had entered my body.
It was trying to do something again.
The Sage continued speaking, unbothered.
"Did I not say there is no time? Hurry and choose."
I temporarily used Time Stop.
The chilling sensation given off by the Tower's Presence disappeared.
I couldn't tell what was what...
Too many things were happening at once.
Anyway, just as the Sage said, there seemed to be no time to delay.
I had to choose a reward the moment I used Time Release.
The rewards presented by the Sage were two.
One was the Book of Omniscience, which could tell me all the truths of the world.
The other was... an unknown reward called The One Most Needed Thing.
What should I choose?
Ma-Wang said just then.
- Choose the Book of Omniscience.
‘...Why?’
- If this human's words are true, it is a book containing all the truths of the world. Do I really need to spell out its value for you to understand?
I knew.
If the Sage's words were true, the book before my eyes was a truly incredible treasure.
Above all, information about the Tower.
I would be able to obtain information about the Tower, which I had known absolutely nothing about until now.
What the Tower's Identity was, and what its purpose was.
...Could it possibly even contain information about the Upper Nightmare Floors I had to climb in the future?
The Floor-by-Floor Trials of Nightmare Difficulty would be different for every world.
I thought it was absurd, but didn't he say it was a book containing all the truths of the world?
Let's ask directly.
I used Time Release and urgently asked the Sage.
"Does the Book of Omniscience also contain all the information about the Nightmare Floors I have to climb?"
The Sage nodded.
"It likely does. The Book of Omniscience is the Record of the Universe, after all."
CRACK—!
The space cracked heavily once again.
I used Time Stop again.
The Sage didn't give a definitive answer.
If it truly contained even the information about the Nightmare Floors...
This book was truly no different from an Invincible Cheat Code.
Knowing everything meant being able to prepare and respond to everything in advance.
What was the reason Nightmare Strategy was so difficult?
It was because of the lack of Information.
Without that lack of information, future Nightmare Climbs would be no different from climbing on Easy Difficulty.
And that was true even excluding the information about the Tower.
It was certain to be of immense help to me in one way or another.
After all, didn't he say I could know everything in the world?
Honestly, I couldn't even imagine it well.
- Is there anything to ponder? Choose the book.
Ma-Wang was also on the side of choosing the Book of Omniscience.
So choosing the Book of Omniscience over a reward with an unknown identity would be the right choice.
Logically, that would be the case, but...
After a long agony.
I used Time Release and answered.
"Please give me The One Most Needed Thing."
The Sage made a slightly surprised expression for the first time.
"What is the reason you did not choose the Book of Omniscience?"
He also seemed to find my choice unexpected.
But the reason I came to this conclusion was simple.
"You said it yourself that you failed too, Sage."
If one could truly climb the Tower to the end through the Book of Omniscience, and if one could protect the World...
Why did the Sage, who was said to be a Nightmare Climber, fail?
Even if I obtained the Book of Omniscience, I would only be on the same terms as the Sage.
When even someone far greater than I couldn't succeed, could I possibly succeed?
If that were the case, wouldn't it be better to choose the other reward, even if it were a gamble?
I couldn't know if this was the right choice, but...
Anyway, the side my heart was drawn to was not the Book of Omniscience.
The Sage smiled.
"Will you not regret it?"
"...I don't know about that. But didn't you say there was no time?"
I looked around anxiously.
The space was cracking like a spiderweb, looking as if it would collapse at any moment.
The Lagging Message kept glitching before my eyes...
FLASH!
Just then, the Book of Omniscience shone.
The pure white light gathered into a single point as if being compressed...
Soon, the book vanished.
What was left in the Sage's hand was a small gem the size of a fingernail.
"Take it."
I received the gem the Sage handed me.
Then.
"...!"
The gem emitted light once again and melted into my palm.
Wh-what?
There was no pain.
Startled, I stared at my palm.
The gem had vanished without a trace, and an Unknown Symbol on Palm was glowing.
That symbol also soon lost its light and disappeared.
"...What did you do?"
"It is the reward you chose."
When I asked the Sage, he merely answered like that without any explanation.
This is what I needed the most?
Kugugugu-
The shaking of the space grew even more violent.
The message before my eyes slowly began to become clear.
Realizing this was the end, I urgently asked.
"Why did you fail, Sage? How many Nightmare Floors did you climb?!"
The Sage smiled and said.
"I wish you good luck. Kim Seohyeon."
[Error Detected.]
[Correcting Error.]
[You are being exited from the Tower.]
Along with the messages, my vision inverted.
* * *
Kugugugugu...
Inside the collapsing Library.
The Sage leisurely strolled between the bookshelves.
This place was a shell of a world.
The Sage recalled his own World, which had been destroyed a long, long time ago.
A World swallowed by the Tower transformed into an Eternal Theater like this.
People became clowns, being toyed with without even realizing their own plight.
The fact that the stage of the 7th Floor became the Sage himself was likely because he had left so deep an impression on the Tower.
"Now I suppose I will return to being a clown."
The Sage chuckled.
When he was being swallowed by the Tower, he had barely managed to leave behind a Shred of Self.
He had spent a near eternity here without being caught by the Tower.
Countless Nightmare Climbers from countless worlds had passed through.
The Sage had searched while playing the clown for a Promising Individual.
There were many who succeeded in the trials.
There were those who could be called geniuses of the Century, and there were Monsters from a more Advanced Civilization.
Dazzling Talent, Overwhelming Ability.
But those alone were not enough.
With only those, they would eventually just be broken by the Tower.
When only meaningless time was repeating.
The Sage finally met the moment he had been anticipating.
A human with ordinary talent and not particularly outstanding abilities. Kim Seohyeon.
But the Sage saw something special in him.
It wasn't because a Mighty Being was entangled with his soul.
Although he was ultimately defeated by the Tower, the Sage was someone who had even succeeded in catching a glimpse of the Tower's Identity.
But even to the eyes of such a Sage, there was an Unfathomable Part in Kim Seohyeon.
Since it couldn't be seen, he couldn't know what its true nature was.
But it was enough to place his hopes on.
If there truly was a being who could break the Tower, it would have to be something that surpassed even the understanding of a Sage.
That was why the Sage handed over everything he had left.
As a price, the Tower had noticed that now even his remaining ego would be completely erased.
With this, it was all over.
Looking up at the ceiling of the collapsing library, the Sage let out a hollow laugh.
"I never lost to anyone when it came to a desire for inquiry, but I throw my hands up in defeat to you."
Could there be another Greedy Being as much as you?
CRASH—!
Soon, the space completely collapsed.
The collapsed Library began to reconstruct itself, like winding up a clockwork.
* * *
My vision changed.
The Tower's Presence, which had felt like it was crushing my soul, also vanished as if washed away.
"Phew..."
So many things had happened all at once that my mind was a mess.
I took a breath and looked around.
I was back in the Motel Room.
"...?"
What?
Why did I come straight outside instead of the Reward Room?
What happened to the Hidden Strategy?
Just then, messages popped up.
[Due to an error, the Nightmare Difficulty 7th Floor Hidden Strategy was Invalidated.]
[Due to an error, the Nightmare Difficulty Hidden Route was closed.]
[Cannot Proceed with Hidden Route until all errors are corrected.]
"...Huh?"
What the heck is this.
I stared at the messages in a daze.