I once had a car accident in the previous world. It wasn’t exactly a “what the hell” moment.
I could have avoided it, but I decided to stick my head in a spinning blender.
As a result, I became a post-traumatic leg cripple and got stuck hoarding a mountain of insurance money in my room.
I lost my part-time job due to my lame legs, but the pile of cash I got was so huge that I didn’t have any problems.
Thanks to that, I moved out of my goshiwon room and into a nice little studio apartment.
Being holed up in a way nicer environment was bliss.
Even just stepping outside meant I had to use crutches or a wheelchair, which was a real hassle.
Honestly, I was always more of a homebody anyway.
Rolling around in bed felt nice, but since I’m the type who wants to lie down the moment I sit up, comfort got boring pretty fast.
While brainstorming for fun things, I stumbled upon a game called “Savior”.
It was the first proper computer game I dabbled into, having previously just dabbled in puzzle games on my phone.
At the time, it felt like I was an alien encountering an advanced civilization. It was so much fun! I got totally sucked in.
That’s why I didn’t look for strategy guides online. If I followed someone else’s攻略, I felt like the fun would vanish.
That was likely the happiest and least worrisome moment of my life.
“The boss appears around here. This should be the central area, I think.”
Baek Ahrin, who was leading the group, said. Quite a bit of time had passed since we organized the Temporary Base.
On the way, we encountered some students. Since our power level was through the roof, we wiped the floor with them easily.
Thinking back, I never actually encountered any major characters despite being chased.
If I had been chased by a main character on day one or two, I might have been out of the game. Looking back, I realized how lucky I had been.
“Looks like all the important stuff is centralized.”
“Definitely makes it easier to manage if everything’s in one place.”
In the central area on the first floor, it seemed worth the prime real estate as bosses were summoned nearby, and hidden pieces existed.
The thought of potentially snagging a hidden piece filled me with excitement before I calmed myself down and followed Elia’s lead to this spot.
I came back to the same place where we defeated the boss and made a hasty retreat.
Of course, I didn’t just waltz back here without a plan. I made sure to present my reasoning.
There was something special about the place Elia found. If they helped me, I’d share the rewards appropriately.
A question bounced back my way.
“How do you know that?”
“Is 탐려득주 the Chancellor’s teaching method?”
Baek Ahrin muttered.
탐려득주 means “finding a pearl while searching for a black dragon,” referring to embarking on a risky venture to gain great rewards.
“Instead of focusing on common rewards, it tells you where to find special rewards… quite the trial and reward scenario.”
In short, the higher the stakes, the greater the reward for success.
“What’s the point of drawing aggro and holding out?”
Baek Ahrin grumbled, annoyed, as Hong Yeon-hwa, standing in the back, responded while keeping an eye out for ambushes.
Walking closely behind Elia, I nodded along. Even though I was lucky, I almost ended up out of the game by the second day.
It wasn’t hard to persuade the group; I had an unbeatable excuse on my side.
The rare special admission student. The Chancellor’s selected student.
My status made for a solid excuse. I was the only special admission student, after all, and no other announcements came from professors to me.
Did the Chancellor actually tell me where a Wish Egg was? Nope. I didn’t even know what the Chancellor looked like.
In recorded history, we could gather that the Chancellor was a heroic figure, but curiously, no records of their appearance exist anywhere even in past materials.
That became helpful. In the original story, the Tower of Growth never revealed its face in any circumstances.
I wasn’t sure about this time, but judging by the way the Chancellor left a special admission student hanging, they seemed to retain a similar attitude to the original story.
Nobody here could expose my lies. The only ones who could ask about the truth were the Chancellor and me, and the Chancellor was keeping quiet.
The only difficulty in convincing them was that I had to communicate by scratching letters in the dirt with my finger.
It had been so long since I used sign language that it felt awkward in many ways.
“Over here.”
Elia said, thoroughly checking the surroundings. The group started moving through the forest.
Before long, I sensed something unusual in the area. The brush that had been brushing against my thighs parted. An open space revealed itself as a gust of wind blew through.
“Definitely looks different than the structure I saw.”
Baek Ahrin, surveying the area, remarked.
A broad clearing appeared as the bushes parted.
In the middle stood a stone altar glimmering with strange magical energy, surrounded by eight pillars.
With my spatial perception skewed, I couldn’t ascertain the exact shape. The knowledge I possessed came solely from the original work.
But I could feel it.
The three black pillars formed a triangle around the central stone altar.
They felt ominous. Their embedded dark and threatening magical energy triggered that sensation.
The five white pillars formed a pentagon surrounding the stone altar.
They felt solid. Their embedded strong and resilient magical energy gave off that impression.
“Um, Hwa-yul, is this the right place?”
Baek Ahrin, who had scanned the area with magic before entering the clearing, turned his head and asked. I nodded after feeling the pillars’ magic.
“Then let’s enter.”
With that command, the group stepped forward. I gulped and followed along.
‘What’s going to happen?’
I had confidently led them here, but I wasn’t entirely sure myself.
The first time I discovered the Wish Egg was in the third run.
The first run had me faceplanting into the ground, truly tasting the pain. The second run was hectic, grappling with students and striving to level up.
In the third run, I finally had a breather to explore the internal map of the Tower of Growth. Eventually, I was able to discover the Wish Egg in the central part of the map first.
This was all in the game.
Since the world of the game had come to life, I knew this information couldn’t just be dismissed. But even so, it was just a game, right?
Would it work in real life too? Would rewards really pop out automatically? I had that corner of doubt.
What if nothing happened when I got close? I might have to resort to using the Chancellor’s name again.
– Woosh!
My worries turned out to be unfounded.
The moment I stepped into the clearing, the five white pillars began to vibrate. The ground trembled, sending tremors through my legs.
The group halted. Their gazes drilled into me, as if asking whether we should proceed.
I nodded and took another step forward. I walked over the flat, earthy ground towards the altar.
Even amidst all this, the pillars continued to vibrate. It didn’t feel like a warning sign. Oddly enough, it felt like something welcoming.
Eventually, I found myself right in front of the altar.
I paused for a moment and listened. The vibrating white pillar was something I had never seen in the original. What could be the difference?
…Actually, it wasn’t something I needed to ponder too deeply. After all, this was the Tower of Growth. The worst case would just eject me when I failed.
Reassuring myself, I extended my hand towards the altar.
The cold surface brushed against my palm. I felt the rough texture of the neglected construct.
“……”
Nothing happened. Was it a dud? I began to think. An invigorating magical energy began to rise from the altar, where my hand was placed.
Magic seeped through the gaps of the stone altar, rising like smoke. It wasn’t as potent as my own but was extraordinarily pure.
The seeping magic slowly spread out, enveloping the three black pillars and encompassing the five white pillars.
– Creak, clank
A mechanical sound, like an ungreased hinge, echoed in my ears. It was coming from inside the altar.
The altar shook. It began to tremble more violently.
I instinctively took a step back, fearing it might crumble.
Just a few steps back and the shaking of the altar ceased.
After a brief moment, the altar collapsed from one side.
With a dull sound, dust erupted in a cloud. I covered my nose and mouth with my hands.
But my senses got drawn elsewhere. From inside the crumbling altar was an object emanating strange magical energy.
I had failed to notice it until the altar fell apart. Despite having foreknowledge from the original story, it caught me off guard.
It was long and oval-shaped, larger than a human’s head, and its magical nature was indescribable.
‘The Wish Egg.’
It existed. It was real. The hidden piece, previously thought to exist only in the game, was here in reality.
I felt a delusion that the closed eyes might actually sparkle.
I hurriedly stepped over the fallen pieces of stone and picked up the Wish Egg.
Its size made it feel heavy in my arms. It probably weighed quite a bit, but with my current physical capabilities, it felt featherlight.
I gently caressed the surface of the egg. It was smooth with a slight warmth radiating through my palm.
“Oh ho.”
As I was inspecting the Wish Egg, Baek Ahrin, who had been a bit distant, abruptly approached and tapped the egg with her finger.
Startled by the sudden coldness, I tried to compose myself and presented the egg to my curious companions.
“This egg is the reward?”
– Nod
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had also stepped up, questioned. I nodded back at her, and she continued with a puzzled expression.
“Can’t tell just by looking at it. What exactly is this egg used for?”
“Isn’t it an ingredient for elixir-making?”
“Really? I’ve heard monster eggs have quite a few uses…”
While I waited for them to speculate its use, I picked up a fallen stick nearby and started scribbling characters in the dirt.
“Hmm?”
I felt Hong Yeon-hwa blinking in surprise. Baek Ahrin and Elia seemed similarly perplexed.
Elia read the characters I had drawn on the floor. It seemed she was seeking confirmation of her reading.
“Lotteries?”
Upon that question, I drew a circle around the ‘lottery’ part with the stick to affirm.
The Wish Egg.
The basic option of this hidden piece is that it reads the user’s wish and, well, does something.
Using it will grant the user an item of a certain tier randomly.
From trivial elixir sets to high-grade artifacts that you’d have a hard time obtaining later in the game.
In short, it’s a high-end random gacha.
“Hmm…”
After hearing the explanation, everyone showed a strange expression.
After a brief pause of contemplation, Hong Yeon-hwa suddenly said,
“Should we take a bite?”
“…!”
I gasped and quickly hid the Wish Egg behind me.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
