[■■! You have discovered the Growth’s Altar.]
[With the Master’s permission, you enter the true Growth’s Altar…]
As soon as I stepped onto the altar, a red light enveloped us along with a message.
Since it was a power without malice, we didn’t resist, and when I opened my eyes again, we had been transported to a completely different place.
Surrounded by an entirely black and dark space.
Below, a long red carpet extended, connecting to a tower in the distance.
The tower looked like…
“It’s like a casino.”
“Sparkling.”
So extravagant.
The tower was adorned with gold and various jewels, and in between, there were modern shapes that weren’t medieval at all.
Shapes bursting with colorful lights that brightened the darkness.
Each floor probably had a different appearance.
[Casino?]
[Lily’s going to sweep it all again.]
[There must be gambling, right?]
[Is this Kiki Island 2?]
[Oh.]
[?]
“Well, Kiki’s luck doesn’t work 100%, so it probably won’t be that easy. It probably won’t be solvable just by luck.”
“It’s incredibly big…”
“Is this your first time here, Lord Leo?”
“I’ve seen many altars, but this is my first time actually entering one. Can I just fly right up?”
Leo’s body floated, crackling with energy.
Since the altar took the form of a tower, it’s highly likely that the final reward or the boss is at the very top.
“I don’t know. I have a feeling they’ve blocked such shortcuts.”
“Hmmm! I’m going to go check it out!”
Crackle! Leo transformed and flew up high.
Even though the tower looked extremely tall, someone with Leo’s abilities would surely come back quickly.
“Um…”
By the way, Yena has disappeared.
“Miss Yena is gone.”
[Oh!]
[Oh, she really is.]
[Huh?]
[What’s with Yena? Where did she go?]
[Why didn’t anyone notice? LOL]
[Yena… land…]
[Is it real that no one cares?]
[LMAO]
[Yena, where art thou?]
“Though she didn’t tell us anything, I think she probably went to the floor we were strategizing about.”
For the sake of entertainment in the broadcast, we didn’t hear much, but according to Yena, the Growth’s Altar is about conquering the tower’s floors.
It sounds like she’s currently stuck on the 67th floor, so she probably went that way.
Crackle!
Leo returned again.
“Did you make it?”
“Ugh… It’s blocked. You can’t even enter halfway.”
“Well then, we’ll have to enter through the main door.”
Looking at the energy flowing through the tower, it seems like we might be able to break through with some power, but I really don’t want to resort to that.
‘It’s not like it’s that urgent.’
Even if Yena’s wallet situation is pressing, there’s no need to rush since there’s not exactly a time limit or a disaster that could destroy the world.
Leo and I arrived at the tower’s front door at a reasonable pace, and as we stepped into the first floor, a lavishly decorated lobby welcomed us.
Ding!
[World – Hardship Path (Hidden)]
Objective – Achieve 100% ‘Growth Gauge’ upon reaching the summit of the Growth’s Altar.
Reward – ???
Ugh.
With the hidden quest message, a red circle was engraved on my palm.
The bottom of the red circle had a very thin layer of gold filling up, marked with the number 1%.
“I guess we have to fill this up along the way.”
“Hey! Hey! There’s something over there!”
Leo, staring intensely at the circle engraved on his palm, flew over to the desk in the center of the lobby.
At the desk, there were three golden rabbits dressed in amazing suits of red, gold, and black.
[Rabbits, indeed!]
[So cute, LOL]
[Are they the masters?]
[They look fancy.]
[Let’s take them down!]
Of course, since they were rabbits, even in their fancy clothes, they just looked too cute.
I wanted to stand next to them too, but since there were only two of us and we had to take a number to use the service, Leo, who drew ticket number one, stood in front first.
“Hello!”
“Nice to meet you, Challenger Leo.”
“Oh? You know my name?”
When Leo tilted his head and asked, the golden-suited rabbit sitting in the center nodded.
“This place is managed by the great Master of Growth. Recognizing a challenger’s name is a piece of cake.”
“That’s amazing…”
“Would you like to hear an explanation about the rules of this place?”
“Yeah!”
“This place, managed by the Master of Growth, is commonly referred to as the ‘Tower of Growth’ by challengers, and you must achieve 100% of the ‘Growth Gauge’ on your palm before reaching the 100th floor.”
“What if I can’t do it?”
“If you fail to achieve 100% and reach the 100th floor, your growth gauge will automatically reset to 0%, and your challenge level will drop back to the 1st floor.”
“Hee~ So, can’t I just keep leveling up on the 99th floor until I hit 100%?”
Leo asked with pure curiosity, and the red-suited rabbit next to him shook its head with a chuckle.
[Are you serious?]
[Look at him just splitting hairs, LOL]
[Rabbit roast, let’s go!]
“Ah, our cute challenger is dreaming too happily.”
“? ”
“Growth is a great and beautiful blessing, but it isn’t given to everyone. To gain power through the Master’s remarkable abilities, you must demonstrate the qualification for it.”
“Qualification?”
“Long ago, a brave challenger who dared to challenge the Master of Growth filled up his entire growth gauge at the 89th floor. Seeing that, the Master changed everything in the tower based on that challenger.”
“You have filled the growth points on the floor. Seeing that, the Master changed everything in the tower based on that Challenger.”
“Umm…”
“At least the 89th floor. If you don’t fill it 100% by then, there will be no hope. Of course, that Challenger was a being close to a God, so your chances are slim anyway. Hehe.”
“What if I don’t fill it by then?”
“I will give you a chance to retry. Of course, your growth points and challenge floors will reset to the beginning.”
“Okay! I’ll do it!”
Leo sparkled his eyes and clenched his fists, while the black-clothed rabbit across from the red-clothed rabbit handed him a black ticket.
“…This is a ticket that allows you to challenge from the 1st to the 10th floor. If lost, you can return to the desk on the 1st floor and pay the ‘appropriate fee’ to get another…”
“Do you think I’ll lose it?”
“Then, next person…”
Leo received the ticket and stepped back as I stood in front of the desk.
The golden-clothed rabbit looked up at me with a faint smile.
‘Doesn’t seem to just be smiling.’
Just a business-type grin.
It seemed a bit nervous but also somewhat cautious.
But maybe due to its experience, it didn’t show too much tension on the surface.
“Nice to meet you. Challenger Lily Elbrite.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“This is a space managed by the great Master of Growth. Since you’ve presumably heard the basics from the previous Challenger, do you need any additional explanations?”
“Yes.”
“What information do you need? The previous Challenger can only request information for a maximum of 10 floors based on growth points and challenge floors.”
“Do you know a Challenger named Yena?”
“Ah… Are you talking about Challenger Yena?”
snicker.
Hehe.
In an instant, the red-clothed rabbit couldn’t hide her laughter, and the black-clothed rabbit covered her mouth and giggled.
Only the golden-clothed rabbit maintained its composure, but it didn’t seem to think highly of Yena either.
[Don’t laugh at Yena.]
[Just totally roasted, lol.]
[Why are you treating them like that?]
[If they spent 900 million, they’d be like that, right…?]
[Hahaha.]
[Yena got owned, though…]
[Don’t look down on Yena!!!]
[What’s next, getting dissed by a rabbit?]
“That person is a recent Challenger. Since they have conquered many floors, I can’t mention specific information, but the Master is paying close attention to them.”
“If a high-floor Challenger enters the altar, do they fall, or can they go back down to the lower floors after conquering?”
“That’s not the case. Challenging floors is free, and even if you conquer a high floor, you can come back down to the lower floors anytime.”
“Even if you conquer the upper levels, you can come down to the lower levels anytime.”
“Then why…”
“Normally, mentioning information is not allowed, but since you’re a party member, I’ll make an exception.”
Ting!
When the rabbit snapped its tiny hand, a small tower appeared in front of it.
It was a miniature version of the tower I had seen outside earlier.
“The types of floors in the Tower of Growth are broadly divided into three: ‘Golden Room’, ‘Growth Room’, and ‘Mission Room’. There are also things like ‘Rest Areas’ in between, but those three are all that can be conquered.”
And the place where Miss Yena, the Challenger, is currently tackling is the ‘Mission Room.’
“The Mission Room is a place where you must complete a task in some form upon entry. You can use the skills of the challengers to get out, but if you return to the Altar, you’ll inevitably go back to the Mission Room.”
“Aha.”
“If you want to meet up with your party member again, that person must clear the corresponding Mission Room and come down to where the Challenger is.”
“Or our Challenger could just climb up to the 67th floor.”
Hehe.
The rabbit in red clothes rested its chin on its hand and said that.
Then the golden-clothed rabbit sighed and glared at it.
“…How can you carelessly leak information about upper-level challengers?”
“Anyway, they’re party members. They must have shared this much info beforehand. It’s not like the 67th floor is someone’s pet cat’s name.”
[It actually is a cat]
[Stop ignoring Yena]
[LOL LOL LOL LOL]
“Ha… Let’s talk after the task is done.”
The golden-clothed rabbit grabbed its head with its short hands and then looked at me, bowing its head.
“I apologize. Is there anything else you would like to know?”
“Where can I obtain Growth Coins?”
“…That’s also upper-level information. Since you seem to already know, I’ll tell you. Floor 50. Rest Area.”
“Floor 50.”
Then that means I have to at least climb up to the 50th floor.
“By the way, the Growth’s Altar is known for being difficult, so brace yourself—”
“I’ll tell Miss Yena to come to the 50th floor. I’ll take a look around as I go… Three hours should be enough, right?”
“Yep.”
“What?”
“You’re underestimating the Growth’s Altar too much! Even Miss Yena took over 10 days, so that’s impossible.”
Three hours later.
I was on the 50th floor.
“…?”
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.
