[The Master of the Altar acknowledges the owner of the bracelet.]
As the Altar radiated light, a blue hue swirled around Candy Star’s bracelet.
Candy Star reluctantly covered the bracelet with her hand, nodding, and the Altar gleamed even brighter.
‘This time, no interruptions.’
If there was an issue, it would be Candy Star’s fault.
Unlike others, Candy Star descended from the sky instead of climbing the Altar.
Because of that, she directly obtained the bracelet and used her technique to escape the Altar again.
It’s not that no one had tried like Candy Star, but the fact that she reached it through an entirely different route not based on the basic route suggests there’s something to critique.
“Good job. Can I go now?”
“Yes. Lord Heavenly Horse, you also did well.”
“I haven’t done anything other than just watch… but you did well too.”
Of course, I had no intention of pointing that out…
“Isn’t this unfair?! It must be unfair!”
Someone could easily get riled up.
The man’s finger-pointing made the Altar flicker as if laughing at him.
[The Master of the Altar says it’s not unfair.]
[The Master of the Altar states that the owner of the bracelet had a fair competition.]
“That’s nonsense! How can it be a fair competition when you just fell from the sky? You have to climb the Altar for it to be a fair contest!”
[Hahahaha!]
[That’s true though.]
[How pathetic, mosquito.]
[That one is really acting up.]
[Just climb the Altar already.]
[Ah, lol, what’s wrong with using a loophole?]
[Let’s just kill him.]
[The Master of the Altar is tired of this trivial argument.]
“It’s not an argument─”
[The Master of the Altar grants a quest.]
Pah!
In an instant, the man was engulfed in blue light and vanished.
It looked like a logout, but the light wasn’t caused by a logout.
“What did you give him?”
[The Master of the Altar says it’s nothing special.]
[The Master of the Altar hopes the disaster will be resolved quickly.]
“?”
“Let’s head out, we’ve gathered all the bracelets, so it’s time to start.”
“So we’re finally going to save the world. Oho, I’m excited! …Right. Yes.”
“We need to find the Sword Saint first.”
Now that we found the last bracelet, we just need the Sword Saint to show up.
The problem is that he has been missing somewhere, avoiding the Empire and our eyes until this very moment…
[Again?]
[Where the heck is the Sword Saint!!!]
[Such a troll;;]
[How could he not show up after all this?]
[The Sword Saint is such a pain, ah hahaha.]
[What on earth is he doing?]
“Hey!”
Candy Star raises a gloved hand.
She seems to have lost her hesitation, her eyes shining with clarity.
“Can I try looking for him? The Sword Saint is essential to save the world, right?”
“Technically, the bracelet is what we need.”
The Sword Saint isn’t that necessary.
[Hahahahahaha.]
[Bracelet>>>Sword Saint.]
[Definitely prefer the bracelet over the Sword Saint.]
For sure, if someone with exceptional magical talent like Candy Star is looking, it could be more helpful.
But there’s no way to find the Sword Saint that way.
“Sadly, you won’t be able to find him either, Candy Star.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve already tried every possible way. Whether it’s magic, influence, real-world information, anything.”
“Whether it’s a faction, real information, or whatever.”
The magical part is between Aisha and Lasty.
The faction-related part is with the Empire.
And for the realistic part, countless cyber practitioners on the internet continued their search but ultimately failed to find anything.
One odd point is that Aisha also disappeared, leading me to think that she likely vanished along with the situation.
“If the Empire has scoured the entire continent for forces and still found nothing, that means it must have completely gone to another world.”
“Are you talking about a dungeon?”
“Something a bit deeper than a dungeon.”
No matter how you look at it, there’s no way a dungeon would leave no trace at all.
If it is a dungeon, then it’s likely one with extremely limited information exposure, probably a hidden dungeon.
And if it’s a hidden dungeon that’s hard to find…
‘This might be an added, completely new dungeon.’
[The Master of the Altar tilts his head.]
Altar.
■
“WHAT?!!!!!!”
The man screamed at the sudden change in situation.
It’s no wonder, as what he was seeing was a scene he had never encountered before during his time as Deoen.
A green sky.
And a blue tower piercing through the sky entered his view.
‘A tremendously tall tower.’
[World – Laborious Path (Hidden)]
Objective – Reach the summit of the True Sealing Altar.
Reward – ???
[This quest cannot be abandoned.]
[You cannot exit until you clear this quest.]
[Logging out is permitted.]
“W-What! Let me out! How am I supposed to climb that! Even 10m is tough!!”
Crash!
[“I’ll give you a chance. Have a tough time!”]
“Signboard? No, let me out—”
[“Then goodbye~”]
■
“A tower?”
Before the Sword Saint, who had crossed the gate of darkness, stands the tower.
The sky tinged in black and white.
The towering structure that rises unbound boasts magnificence, and atop it, something unknown can also be seen.
‘…An inverted tower?’
[The Master of the Altar tests the mind of the Impossible Being.]
“Am I to climb the tower?”
No answer.
Instead, only a message window blocking his view appears.
[World – Laborious Path (Hidden)]
Objective – Reach the summit of the True Impossible Altar and obtain the ‘Stone of the Impossible.’
Reward – ???
“…It’s a quest.”
The Sword Saint glanced at the tower and walked across the black and white ground.
Just a moment ago, colors were visible, but now even the shades he possessed had vanished.
The tower’s structure was a cylindrical form made of black and white bricks, and in front of the large entrance, one signboard was stuck.
It was also in black and white.
[“O arrogant one. Endure it.”]
It was a phrase that seemed to have been written by the Master of the Altar himself.
Ignoring the signboard, he stepped into the first floor’s entrance, and the familiar sight of common demon beasts sprang forth.
Inside looked like a typical castle interior, although it was a bit of a mess, nothing too special.
It was just the black and white that added an oddly eerie vibe.
After giving it a casual swipe, I headed for the next floor.
2nd floor, 3rd floor, 5th floor, 10th floor, 30th floor…
Each one was filled with numerous Demon Beasts that could rival field bosses of level 80 to 90, with traps so deadly that even the subordinates of rankers would be risking their lives.
The Sword Saint, casually slicing through them, climbed to the 68th floor in just 3 hours, clicking his tongue.
“These pathetic fools can’t even make it to the 10th floor.”
At least those inside the top 100 ranks, or better yet, inside the top 10, wouldn’t even touch the 30th floor.
‘That Woman shouldn’t find it too hard.’
Aisha, who walked a path of light different from his own.
She ranked 11th, so ascending to this height shouldn’t pose much of a challenge for her.
She looked pitiful, but taking a spot among the numerous strong Deoen meant she possessed quite a bit of skill and power.
Of course, following him would be impossible.
“Creeeeeak!!!”
“Annoying.”
A black-and-white monstrosity soared up, and the Sword Saint picked up a regular sword to observe the creature.
The white part being bright made him think it must have originally been a brightly colored bird.
Swish!!
Boom!
Whatever it was, it was just a colorless monster for now.
[“What unexpected results.”]
“Of course, it’s decent.”
The letters on the signboard leading to the entrance of the next floor morphed as if getting erased.
[“How arrogant.”]
[“But I don’t dislike those without skill.”]
“Is that woman climbing a different tower? Or is she somewhere else entirely?”
[“You’ll know when you reach the end.”]
Step by step.
“…I see.”
So all he had to do was climb the tower.
After a while of ascending, he finally arrived at the final floor.
A World Boss-level bull monster, with a level of 130, was sliced in half beneath him as the Sword Saint stood above.
Even the top-ranked Sword Saint struggled against such a beast, but it couldn’t escape the edge of his sword.
Swish!!
“Phew… This took longer than I expected.”
How many days had passed? It was hard to gauge.
Gasping for breath, he gulped down an elixir.
‘Without a sword, this is definitely tougher…’
The Sword Saint wasn’t someone who relied on a sword.
A sword was merely a tool.
He had to ‘use’ the sword instead of being dragged around by it.
Even if he were holding only a twig, he should be able to exert greater power and swordsmanship than with a famous blade.
‘The realm of the formless is still out of reach.’
Still.
But he was slowly catching on to something.
‘If I reach the 4th stage, I should get closer.’
And when that time came…
‘Perhaps with Lily as well.’
“100th floor.”
The end of the tower.
Thud thud thud…!
The last door of the tower opened.
Perhaps because it was such a large door, it took a considerable amount of time to open.
He looked up at the ceiling.
I see it.
A brilliantly bright ceiling in a black-and-white space.
‘There was an upside-down tower on top.’
This is the place where the Path of Light and Darkness exists.
Aisha might be on the tower that exists above this.
Dududududu…!!
‘Wait a minute. Then…’
An upside-down tower on top.
“Does that mean I’m competing with that woman named Aisha?”
As if starting from the 1st floor and climbing to the top of the tower on the 100th floor.
Aisha, starting from the top of the upside-down tower, might come down and reach the floor where I am.
No matter what that Impossible Being’s stone is, usually hidden dungeons don’t give good rewards to two people.
“…No way. That can’t be.”
The Sword Saint chuckles and shakes his head.
The probability is high, but it’s still Aisha.
With that clueless woman’s skill and mind, she won’t be able to catch up to me.
Dududud…
The door fully opens, revealing a vast chamber.
In the center was a high rectangular altar surrounded by gigantic statues.
Aisha is nowhere to be seen.
‘As expected.’
An inexplicable smile settles on the Sword Saint’s face.
[The Master of the Altar is surprised!]
[The Master of the Altar asks how you got here so quickly.]
“Of course, it’s a natural result. The trick was pretty plausible, but I couldn’t possibly be slower than that woman.”
[The Master of the Altar smiles.]
Since I have time anyway, I decide not to immediately ascend the altar and look at the statues.
The most striking is a black-and-white man and woman with half wings, holding swords while being stuck together.
By their looks, attire, and weapons, they seem to be twins, but they are definitely not ordinary beings.
In addition, there are various statues placed around, each one a disaster-level or beyond.
In particular, that white-haired woman holding a spear is oddly…
BAM!!!
“…!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
As the ceiling suddenly bursts open, the silver-haired woman flails her arms and falls from the sky.
She desperately reached out with her hands to survive, and where she fell was…
“What…!”
Grab!
“Eh?”
On the altar.
[Someone has reached the top of the Impossible Altar first in the world.]
[A great achievement! The first person to ascend the altar will be granted a random legendary trait.]
[The granted legendary trait is ‘Second Job’.]
.
.
.
[Someone reached the altar before you!]
[Quest failed!]
“…What the!!!”
“Uwa… Oh, brother???? What’s happening…?”
[The Master of the Altar smiles.]
[“Didn’t I say? The Path of Light is much better.”]
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.
