Chapter 19
Is there anything I can farm for an achievement?
I didn't have high hopes even as I asked.
If the Wimp's Tower had something like that,
there was no way I wouldn't have seen a post about it.
So there probably wasn't anything.
I was only asking on the off chance, but…
"……!!!?"
"Hmm?"
Salamander suddenly fell silent, its tail sticking straight up.
The flames surrounding its body flared fiercely.
Why was it reacting like that?
It didn't take me long to figure it out.
"Not you."
"…Are you certain?"
"Would killing something like you really count as an achievement?"
"I-I see. I thought I'd somehow committed an offense, and it felt like I'd been doused with cold water."
"No, it's partly my fault for making you misunderstand."
Of course it would react like that.
A guy who'd cut down a spirit suddenly telling it to call out something that normally couldn't be killed.
It must have thought of itself first.
'Killing it might make something appear, but…'
"Don't worry. I know I'll need you on the top floor of the temple."
Besides, Floor 29 was the highest floor of the temple section.
I needed it to move to the boss floor from there.
I couldn't kill it.
With my traits, I might be able to get there without it, but still.
"So tell me. Not you, then. Hmm. Is there anyone here who might be stronger than Dohwa?"
I asked while pointing at Dohwa.
Dohwa bounced up and down, excited to hear themself mentioned.
"Kkang!!"
"Hmm, something stronger than that…"
Salamander fell into thought as well.
It glanced at me.
Then it glanced at Dohwa.
After a brief silence, it opened its mouth again.
"There is one person who comes to mind."
"Oh, really?"
I'd asked without much expectation.
But I really had stumbled onto something.
"Who? Are they stronger than me?"
"When she entered, she was weaker than the great one."
"When she entered? Explain. What do you mean?"
I urged it to explain quickly.
Its gaze turned toward a distant place.
Its voice grew wistful, as though it were looking back on the past.
"It was an incredibly long time ago, but…."
Then it began to tell me.
It had guided initiates for a very long time.
In all those long years, there had been only one
memorable initiate.
"She was a human woman with long hair. She opened no fewer than seven doors."
A woman had appeared one day.
She had refused even its help and opened the doors herself.
The number was seven.
She was so strong it was hard to believe she was an initiate.
"I thought there was no need for me to guide her, and she refused as well, so I did not follow her. I waited at the top floor of the temple, intending to open the door for her when she arrived."
"And then?"
"But she never came. For thousands of years."
"Did she die along the way?"
"There is nothing in the temple capable of killing someone that powerful. She simply vanished."
She had gone missing somewhere in the temple.
Despite being powerful, she had disappeared on only the third tier of the Egan Tower.
"Could she have returned to reality halfway through… Ahem, I mean, to the world she originally came from?"
I offered a reasonable suspicion, but
"I can sense the existence of her spirit, though it is faint and nowhere near as clear as yours. She must still be inside the temple."
She was still in the Tower.
Even I, who had seen countless strategy guides, was hearing this for the first time.
My thoughts grew complicated, so I hugged Dohwa for the moment.
-Squeeze.
"Kyaeung…?"
"Dohwa, stay still for a moment. I need to organize my thoughts."
"Kkang!!"
"All right. Status Window."
And one more thing.
I brought up the Status Window and accessed the community.
I wanted to find out whether anyone had heard something similar.
Of course, there wasn't even a trace of it anywhere.
"Salamander, you don't tell other initiates things like this?"
"I had never seen another initiate after that woman until the great one arrived…."
"Just imagine it. Do you think you'd tell an ordinary initiate who could open just one door something like this, instead of me?"
I decided to investigate, just in case.
I wanted to find out why I alone had heard this story.
The answer was exactly what I'd expected.
"I do not usually have private conversations with ordinary initiates. That woman, who was far stronger than I, and the great one are the only exceptions."
"Far stronger? How strong?"
"I suppose I might take an interest if someone opened about five doors."
"Okay, confirmed."
There had been conditions for obtaining information.
Open at least five doors.
Attract Salamander's interest.
Then ask about the temple.
'No wonder there was no information.'
Those were impossible conditions for an Awakener in the Wimp's Tower.
Even if they cleared Floor 50 and challenged it again…
they would probably barely manage to open two doors.
That was why I'd never heard or seen anything like this until now.
'Considering the average level, it definitely can't be telling me to kill her….'
"Could it be a hidden piece?"
Whoosh—
I reached out my hand again.
This time, it was to search through the Tower's internal community.
Unlike before, several posts appeared.
[Initiate Public Channel #KR]
Title: What on earth could this be? [99+]
The wooden carving was extraordinarily sturdy,
so I had been pounding away at it for four full weeks,
when suddenly the moonlight streamed in with a pale blue gleam,
and an item called the Emperor's Formless Armor appeared before me….
'This is it.'
Unlike the '-jiyo' style I sometimes used, this was the authentic speech pattern of a truly old-fashioned elder.
The post date showed that it was from the early 1960s.
It was the discovery post of Korea's first 'hidden piece,' the kind that even appeared in textbooks.
'They say it never appears again once someone obtains it.'
A hidden piece.
The term referred to weapons or armor of far higher quality than the current tier.
In the case of the Egan Tower, every hidden piece was thought to have been discovered.
After the first hidden piece was found, countless Awakeners combed through the Tower with a fine-toothed comb. But only three had ever been reported.
They said the remaining two had already been obtained, and their owners had simply kept them secret, or something like that.
Even I, who had grown up learning that, naturally assumed all the hidden pieces had been picked clean, but…
'Was there one left?'
"Heh, hehehe…."
I couldn't help laughing.
A legendary item, something that only appeared in textbooks.
And I was going to obtain it?
'If this became known, would I end up in the textbooks?'
Ryu Hwi-min, the first person to discover a hidden piece on the third tier.
It wouldn't be strange for a line like that to appear in Awakener history.
Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of announcing that I'd obtained it, but still.
"Salamander. You don't know where she is, do you?"
"Yes, her presence is so faint…."
"Good. It has to be that difficult for it to be a hidden piece."
My eyes lit up.
I rubbed my hands together eagerly.
'This is worth searching for a week or so.'
"All right, from now on, we're searching every inch of this floor again!!"
I'll search for just one day per floor, Serin.
Please wait just a little longer.
* * *
A week passed after that.
[You have obtained the Floor 28 climbing reward.]
- Stat Points +20
- Lowest-grade Recovery Potion x1
- Weapon/Armor Summon Ticket x1
[The trait 'Golden Rule+' activates.]
You obtain the following additional reward.
- Stat Points +1
[Ryu Hwi-min]
Level: 670 (+170)
Title: Beyond the Impossible
Strength: 215+50 (+65)
Agility: 195+50 (+35)
Vitality: 185+50 (+55)
Mana: 86+50 (+5)
Luck: 48+50 (+10)
"…Now that I add it all up, I've gained quite a lot."
In fact, I'd leveled up at breakneck speed.
Even though I'd said I would search every inch, Dragon Eyes showed me everything hidden around me with a single click.
Salamander and Dohwa dealt with the monsters.
I went around each floor searching for hidden pieces.
Thanks to that, I had cleared most of the third tier in a week.
Even so, I wasn't satisfied.
[Using the trait 'Fusion+'….]
[Crafting complete.]
[Low-grade Healing Potion x1]
'One more to go.'
I had combined it with the one I hadn't fused before to make one low-grade potion, but I still needed nine more.
I needed one more to make the intermediate potion required to heal my little sister.
That meant I couldn't obtain the medicine before killing the third-tier boss.
'I couldn't even find the hidden piece.'
On top of that, the item I'd been searching for hadn't shown even the tip of its nose, so I couldn't help feeling dejected.
That was why I headed toward the portal to Floor 29 with drooping spirits.
After wasting a week on a fruitless search, I wondered whether I'd wasted time while leaving my little sister behind.
-Ding.
[You have entered Floor 29 of the Beginner's Tower.]
After overcoming countless hardships,
you can finally see the end of the temple.
But be careful.
Within the beautiful-looking natural surroundings,
monsters lurk with their fangs hidden.
[Objective]
Reach the next portal
[Reward]
- Stat Points +3
"Dohwa, Salamander. Go tear them apart."
"Kkang~!!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
There seemed to be a lot of monsters, but Salamander and Dohwa would take care of them on their own.
In the meantime, I decided to look around Floor 29.
Along with the Rare-grade shoes that had proven useful these past few days.
-Splash.
"Well then, shall we go?"
My feet skimmed over the lake's surface.
That was thanks to the Rare-grade armor 'Hermes Shoes,' which let me walk on water.
At first, it had been fascinating to feel like a human water strider, but after a week, it had become routine.
I hurried along.
Of course, I didn't forget to watch my surroundings carefully.
-Look around, look around.
'It would be nice if it were here….'
Now we were on Floor 29.
Come on out already, hidden piece.
If you don't appear, I'll turn into the young man who leaves his sick little sister behind to travel the Tower.
Muttering that to myself, I searched every nook and cranny, and…
-Freeze.
"……Hmm?"
The first place where I stopped
was in front of a gigantic boulder.
As I frowned, Dohwa and Salamander came rushing over.
"Great one!! We've finished clearing the area!!"
"Kkang-kang!!"
"……?"
I glanced back at the two of them.
Then I pointed straight at the boulder.
"Salamander, doesn't looking at that make you think of anything?"
"…Pardon? What are you saying is over there?"
"Dohwa, don't you sense anything?"
"Kyaeung?"
"Hmm."
It was clearly visible to me.
Could it be invisible to everyone but me?
"Salamander, walk over there slowly."
"Understood."
I decided to send Salamander first.
Salamander began walking slowly.
Its head was about to collide head-on with the boulder when…
-Swish.
"Hey, why did you suddenly change direction?"
"…Pardon? I moved in the direction the great one pointed."
"Hmm."
I thought it would collide with the boulder, but it suddenly changed direction.
There was no way it was deliberately putting on an act, either.
There really had to be something over there.
"Hng!!"
I immediately narrowed my eyes.
Before long, a notification window appeared before me.
[Phantom Bewilderment Formation]
It robs intruders of their sense of direction,
and unless they pass through it correctly,
it makes them take the wrong route.
"Bingo."
"Great one, what in the world…."
"I have pretty good eyes."
Clack—!
I gripped my sword.
Then I activated my Stigma.
"Spatial Slash!"
Swoooosh—!!!
The sound of a sword cutting through the air.
At the same time, sword strikes flew in every direction.
They were the terrain and objects that made up the formation, as seen through Dragon Eyes.
Every last one of them was sliced apart with a rasping sound,
-Ssssss….
"……"
The boulder melted into thin air and then vanished.
And the three of us…
found a black-haired woman standing there.
"Kyaeung…?"
"Th-that woman!! It's that woman from back then!!"
Dohwa tilted their head, wondering what was going on.
Salamander, on the other hand, was horrified.
Seeing the two of them, I hurriedly hugged Dohwa.
-Squeeze.
"Kyaeung?"
"Dismiss summon!!"
The expression reflected in Dohwa's eyes was…
twisted with fear.
-Ding.
[The trait 'Dragon Eyes'….]
[Vengeful Spirit of ???]
Level: 999
'What the hell is that!?'