Chapter 174
「Too early.」
The moment I heard the mysterious voice, I was flung back into reality.
I was in my familiar room.
The one with a computer, a bed, and a phone.
I sat back down in a cross-legged meditation pose.
“Let’s try again.”
My curiosity flared intensely.
A place I was visiting for the first time.
And that mysterious voice, too.
It was definitely no ordinary place.
“Phew….”
Thanks to my immunity to mental contamination, my mind was in an extremely stable state.
Thanks to that, I could easily reach the desert of my inner world.
It was when I started a second meditation to go there.
“Ugh!”
A fierce sandstorm rose in the desert and forcibly yanked my body upright.
The mysterious voice from before didn't come again.
Instead, only a physical force kept driving me out.
In the end, I obediently returned to reality.
“What is this supposed to mean?”
I asked the Black Mage—the only being who seemed capable of answering my question—about what had just happened.
[Being kicked out of your inner world is fairly common.]
“I get kicked out of my own inner world? Is that even possible?”
[Think about lucid dreams. Everything happens within your consciousness. Yet it's actually harder to move your body than it is in reality.]
“So that's how it is.”
I nodded at the simple, clear explanation.
But even the Black Mage, a first-rate instructor, didn't seem to know anything about the place I'd visited.
[Even this body hasn't managed to build a complete inner world yet. How would I know the next step?]
“Didn't you used to brag about how many circles you had?”
[…That's how far it goes. Are you underestimating magic a little too much?]
Gaining magic should have been hard.
Truthfully, the only time I ever suffered was during my first awakening, when I spent thirty days gulping down sand.
“Now I'm curious. What's your inner world like?”
[…I don't remember.]
“?”
Could someone even forget that?
It sounded as bizarre as saying you'd forgotten your own fingerprints and couldn't verify your identity.
[Now that I mention it, this body and these memories are incomplete. Especially the memories—they have a lot of gaps.]
Come to think of it, this guy had multiple bodies, as you'd expect from a black mage.
He'd transferred his mind into a weaker body, only to lose to me and get trapped in it.
Of course, to me, that looked like nothing more than a loser’s excuse.
Then did he lose his memories while moving bodies?
[No, not exactly. It feels as if someone placed a forced seal on my memories. I can't remember why I was going through gates, or what business I had in that world.]
“You're not just pretending not to remember because you'd become a war criminal, are you?”
[…Your suspicion really has no end, does it?]
Come on, this is just harmless WWE.
If I really suspected you, I wouldn't have kept you alive in the first place.
I asked him why I had been kicked out.
[For now, I don't know that place. I also have no idea what voice you said you heard.]
“So that’s how it is….”
[But it seems best not to keep trying.]
“Why?”
[Because it's dangerous. Be careful. There are plenty of people who end up ruined after messing with their inner world the wrong way.]
The Black Mage warned me seriously.
For now, I nodded.
If even this guy didn't know, then there truly was no method.
But one thing was certain.
There had to be something immense beyond there.
“Then what should I start with? I can't just sit around waiting for a path to open.”
[Were you always this constructive?]
“I've been getting my act together lately.”
[First, you need to stain your heart with sand. It's a necessary step before properly tempering your inner world. Then we'll be able to identify the voice's owner.]
“How do I prepare for that?”
[First, you'll need expensive materials, a great deal of mana, and enlightenment. Ah, you'll also need a place to perform the ritual.]
“Putting the rest aside, enlightenment?”
[You could call it the establishment of a mental image, or the completion of the self. More precisely, it means fixing the landscape of the inner world.]
It wasn't exactly a phrase that resonated with me.
I rested my chin on my hand and thought for a moment.
Because with the climb to the 50th floor ahead of me, I wanted to prepare as much as possible.
“Tough. In that case, maybe I should look for the materials first.”
[Don't rush. Depending on the method you choose at this stage, a permanent limit will be set. It's better to choose the best option you can. Fast isn't always good.]
“I see….”
That meant I'd have to get the materials inside the tower as well.
It wasn't something I could rush.
No choice. At this point, all I could do was work through what I could, step by step.
***
A few days passed after that.
I kept up a healthy, disciplined routine.
I woke up in the morning, jogged with Jung Manho, ate healthy food made from dirt near the World Tree, and combined reading with meditation.
If it had been the old me, this would have been a truly unimaginable healthy life.
But now, every part of it felt completely natural and enjoyable.
“Hoo….”
Today, too, I was meditating in the elf village on the 20th floor.
The place I knew with the richest mana.
When I finished meditating and opened my eyes, the whale core at the tip of my staff gave a small vibration.
It meant the battery was fully charged.
Enough for two whale hunts.
[…]
At some point, Chohogi also started meditating near me.
The guy sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
The sight of him was pretty funny.
Given his usual self, it was something that shouldn't even have been possible.
Maybe Chohogi would be influenced by my mental state?
It wasn't an impossible hypothesis.
His body soon tilted forward.
Nod, nod.
Anyone could tell he was dozing off.
I lightly tapped Chohogi's head.
“If it's hard, just rest.”
[…!]
He jerked his head up as if he hadn't been dozing and straightened his back again.
At that sight, I couldn't hold back my laughter.
Before I knew it, a single red fruit had formed on the crown of his head.
A phoenix fruit with restorative effects.
It seemed the effect of meditating every day for the past week.
I patted Chohogi's head and picked the fruit.
“Should I make another potion with this?”
But I wouldn't be able to make a healing potion as powerful as the last one.
Back then, I had the anemone venom I'd gotten on floor 47.
The fruit alone wouldn't produce that level of effect.
“Let's store it for now. There'll be plenty of uses for it.”
Even a low-grade healing potion would be revolutionary on Earth.
I could stockpile them and make low-grade potions.
Or maybe I'd get lucky and obtain another ingredient to synthesize with it.
“Can't a phoenix show up somewhere?”
A phoenix chick would supposedly grow into an adult if it ate this fruit for a hundred days.
Getting an egg somehow and changing jobs to a Tamer wouldn't be bad either.
What was certain was that I kept getting stronger.
Preparations for the climb to floor 50 were steadily progressing.
Physically and mentally.
I was in top form now.
Now all I had to do was wait for the right moment and enter the tower.
***
Once I got home, I opened a thick philosophy book.
To gain the enlightenment the Black Mage had spoken of.
The completion of the self, the establishment of the mental image.
The concepts that had felt so difficult were starting to take shape little by little through reading.
I was now at the point where I could even hold light discussions about it.
“So in the end, building the inner world means I define myself and the world for myself, then impose the laws on it myself?”
[That's correct. You're quick to understand.... Good grief. Can your brain really get this much sharper all of a sudden?]
[The Sandworm is moved by its master's growth.]
The Sandworm, which had recently revived after its cooldown, chimed in.
[The Sandworm says that if it could cry, it would have filled the house with tears from this emotion.]
“Ah, come on, it’s not that much….”
I cleared my throat awkwardly.
But I couldn't hide the subtle lift in my mood.
Sure enough, I liked the state I was in now.
For the first time in my life, these were days that felt truly worthwhile.
That was when it happened.
My phone rang.
Lately, I hadn't been looking at my phone much.
Since I wasn't watching gallery posts or shorts, I had no use for it.
Who was it? There wasn't anyone who'd contact me.
“Kim Suho?”
A message had come in.
[You alive? Don't tell me you went into the tower without saying anything??]
Oops. Had I been MIA too long?
Instead of replying, I logged into the Mage Gallery and wrote a post.
Everyone would be curious about my recent status anyway.
[Title: Took a short break from the gallery to live a productive life]
[Author: ㅇㅇ(P99.9P9)]
[Lately I've been waking up at 7 a.m., jogging for an hour, reading a lot, and meditating too.]
[Come to think of it, the time I'd spent just hanging around the gallery felt wasted.]
[Of course, I don't regret it. Because of that time, the me I am now exists.]
ㄴBeetle: What kind of gimmick is this????
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: Seeing her like this is kind of scary....
ㄴFridge: I didn't want her to get this smart, though.
ㄴPkkatju: If you're being blackmailed, wave a carrot.
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): It's because I really attained enlightenment, lol;;
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): You guys should also take the gallery in moderation and live your real lives.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: Huh....
ㄴFridge: Screenshot all this. That's all thanks to the floor 49 buff, you know? It'll be worth seeing once she clears floor 50 lol.
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): ㄴㄴ I think I'll stay like this from now on.
Sure enough, I had changed.
And this change didn't feel bad at all.
Then, at that moment.
Beetle posted another message.
ㄴBeetle: By the way, you still aren't picking up calls and stuff?
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): ?
ㄴBeetle: Japan just announced that it's entering floor 50. Haven't you gotten the news yet?
ㄴBeetle: China has already entered floor 49 too. They should be coming out soon.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: From the video, it looked like they were throwing a ton of people at it.... What's the point of going that far?
ㄴBeetle: Probably just regime stability or something.
ㄴFridge: Then Japan?
ㄴBeetle: Dunno. I'm not interested in politics.
“Hmm. Competition, huh.”
It was clear that China and Japan were throwing the full resources of their countries into it. I didn't know why, though.
But I was still calm.
Even without any buffs, a sense of ease flowed from deep within me.
Honestly, I could even root for those teams now.
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): They're working hard, aren't they.
ㄴFridge: Look at that confidence.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: I'm thinking of trying floor 45 soon too.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: I've finished analyzing the videos.
Meanwhile, Magic Is Firepower also declared that she'd be tackling floor 45.
Naturally, I had no intention of just sending her off empty-handed.
ㄴㅇㅇ(P99.9P9): Ok, I'll give you the suits. How many do you need?
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: That's supposed to be what I say to you. Somehow I never even got to give you a present.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: And now you've grown even bigger.
It's nothing.
I thought I'd already received plenty from the Mage Gallery users.
Was this also a thought caused by my mental contamination being gone? Hmm. Probably not.
My phone vibrated again.
It was Chairman Park's voice, which I hadn't heard in a while.
[Ms. Kim Hanbyeol, have you perhaps heard the news?]
“Ah, about China and Japan?”
[Could you tell us your plans going forward.... So that we can support you in time, Hunter.]
“You're not going to pressure me, huh?”
[How would we dare? Especially since you're the only one with that unique difficulty. We need to be prepared to the utmost. Just let us know when you're fully ready. And ask us for anything else you need.]
Looks like the government couldn't order me around anymore either.
They respected the power I had, read my mood, and kept it to nothing more than a polite request.
“Well, I'm ready. I think I'll go in right away. Ah, if you could just clear the people away near the tower, that should be enough.”
[Yes, sir! We'll lock it down so not even an ant can get near!]
Hearing that reassuring voice, I set my phone down.
It didn't matter what tricks China and Japan used.
Because I was already done preparing to shock the world.
“Heave-ho.”
I got up from my seat and packed my things once more.
It was time to enter floor 50.