[One Wearing a Carapace greets you.]
“Did you have a good trip?”
100th Floor.
As I faced the boss of the floor, the ‘Abandoned God,’ I lightly dodged the attack after seeing Gapwoo’s message.
Karabus probably did something stupid.
With just Gapwoo’s abilities, he wouldn’t have been able to stop Karabus’ tricks, but I taught him an excellent summoning skill called Lasty to prepare for it.
From what I can see, it seems like it was resolved well.
[Oh]
[It came, it came]
[Gapwoo hi]
[Where did you go?]
[They’re nothing special]
[Did you just have a lesson?]
[Info) Yena 66th Floor]
[Oh]
[One Wearing a Carapace chuckles awkwardly.]
[One Wearing a Carapace describes it as an amazing experience.]
Hooow!!!
“Is that so?”
[One Wearing a Carapace expresses admiration for their greatness.]
[One Wearing a Carapace asks if they are perhaps friends.]
“Um… a friend, I guess.”
Kwagagagagaga!!
Thud! Thud!
It’s more tricky than I thought.
Gripping the hammer, I prepare for a swing while staring into the air.
I’m probably being watched from this point.
“From some perspectives, I guess they could be called friends.”
A troubling relationship yet a bond.
Victims of the sky and the Demon Race, while also being perpetrators who ravaged the world.
A product of value I’ve imprisoned for my own gain, yet in a way, it’s more like protection…
—KAAAAAAAH!!
“Oh.”
Bwoooow!!
The hammer swings, and the ‘Abandoned God’ whose body was covering one-tenth of the floor shatters.
The Abandoned God was once a Celestial but fell to the ground after corruption lost it its rank.
Initially, a party of 20 challengers was standard, but I decided to take it down solo.
With a clatter!! The remains of the Abandoned God poured down like rain, and I felt my gained blessing rank rising.
‘High God’
Thanks to my efforts, Gapwoo’s rank rose to high.
Of course, this high rank has a slightly different meaning from ‘upper’ in Ancient Beasts or other Celestial Demon races, but in any case, it means he has become quite strong in this tower.
“Anyway. So, your rank is now higher, right?”
[One Wearing a Carapace tilts their head.]
[One Wearing a Carapace looks down at their body…]
[One Wearing a Carapace is startled!]
[LOL]
[So cute]
[Took longer than I thought]
[Let’s immediately hit the 100th floor]
[Is it because we have to wait for Yena?]
As the system message confirming the conquering of the floor appears, my body shifts to the 71st floor.
It’s been 14 hours since I started climbing the Ancient Growth Tower.
I’m taking my time climbing to help Gapwoo grow while waiting for Yena, but it’s feeling a bit slow.
I could climb the tower right away, but if Gapwoo isn’t fully grown by the time I reach the top, that could lead to some troublesome situations.
At this rate, even if Yena makes it up, Gapwoo might not reach the position I’m aiming for.
“Hmm…”
“What are you thinking about?”
“How to handle Gapwoo… Oh?”
Turning my head, I was greeted by Leo, who had more Celestials with him than before.
The 70th floor had to be tackled separately, and Leo had finished much faster than me and was waiting.
Moreover, Leo had a ‘God’-rank Celestial I hadn’t seen before with him.
With a faintly visible benevolent face and one of the highest ranks I’d seen among those in the tower.
[The One Who Opens Their Eyes is looking down on you.]
[One Wearing a Carapace opens their eyes wide and hurriedly bows their head.]
“The One Who Opens Their Eyes?”
“Isn’t it amazing? They say it’s Buddha. The Buddha.”
“Buddha?”
[?]
[Seriously?]
[OMG!]
[Buddha, huh?]
[Aren’t they just using their palm then?]
[This is crazy, LOL.]
If it’s Buddha, doesn’t that make them a god of Buddhism?
Like Zeus from Olympus or Odin from Asgard, the supreme gods.
Of course, I’m not really well-versed in Buddhism or mythology, but I know Buddha is a significant figure.
‘Right away, I can feel that they’re at least stronger than lower-tier Celestials or the Demon Race.’
Even that level would make them unmatched within this tower, but reaching further than that would still be tough.
“It’s fascinating. Or maybe it’s just natural?”
“Yep?”
Leo harbors a unique set of powerful ranks that would be challenging for any human to endure.
There are already over twenty of those ranks, and he can even contract with Spirit Kings that share similar strength to become one.
‘Yet…’
Leo’s soul remains intact.
Being protected by the ‘Deoen’ system rather than the tower’s systems means that no matter how high a rank he carries, he won’t face any issues.
Moreover, his ‘container’ for power has also grown during this process.
Even if one day the system vanished, he could likely endure it to some degree.
“Are you feeling okay? No headaches or anything? Is your mind unstable at all?”
“Uh… It’s just noisy? There are a lot of people talking, but I’m fine!”
Hehe. Leo laughs as he replies.
It’s true that when there’s a lot going on inside your head, it gets noisy.
So I usually block out the sounds of those in the Space of Despair.
I block the sounds of those inside the space.
They always shout, but it won’t be heard.
“Ah, but what was your concern earlier?”
“I need to make the One Wearing a Carapace on par with a God, but it’s not easy.”
I’ve already done almost everything I can do as a ‘Challenger’.
I’ve collected as many hidden achievements as possible and followed the hardest routes during the game.
But, of course, there are limits as a Challenger, not a Celestial.
I did teach Gapwoo about technique and power, but ‘Rank’ isn’t something that can be obtained that way.
[It seems that it’s a bit too much for the One Wearing a Carapace to become on par with a God.]
[The One Wearing a Carapace expresses gratitude for the blessings they have received so far.]
“No. You need to receive more.”
You need to receive more and become the best, at least in this tower.
The greatest God that even Buddha, Zeus, and Odin cannot compare to.
“You can do it, Gapwoo.”
[The One Wearing a Carapace sweats coldly under the pressure.]
[The One Who Opens Their Eyes smiles kindly.]
[LOL]
[Just take it ㅋㅋ]
[Lily wants to play Newbie Goggles]
[Can’t resist raising newbies]
[Lily’s doing what Yena did first ㅋㅋ]
[Newbie Goggles]
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[Meanwhile, why did Buddha come to Lily’s broadcast?]
[?]
[Buddha Hands-Up]
“Well… then I guess we need to do that.”
“That?”
“It’s not just going to fall from the Sky. You need to accumulate power and rank somewhere and create a convincing ‘myth’ to qualify for the Celestial position.”
Celestials are like the stars of the universe.
There are countless of those beings, each with their own magnificent ‘story.’
Great figures like the gods called Zeus, Odin, or Buddha are examples.
“But the One Wearing a Carapace has no special narrative. Even though Lily’s power has stacked a lot of strength and rank, it’s just become stronger.”
“……”
Certainly.
While my actions have shaken the entire tower, whether it’s the story of Gapwoo, the ‘One Wearing a Carapace,’ is another matter.
No matter how much I shine with the power given, I am ultimately a contractor.
Just ‘someone’ at best.
[The One Wearing a Carapace bows their head.]
“Then should we put Gapwoo in the spotlight?”
“That’s one way! The best way is for Lily to become a Celestial!”
“…? Me?”
“Yes!”
[Oh?]
[Lily possible as a Celestial?]
[For real?]
[Can that actually happen?]
[What the—]
[Why didn’t you tell me until now?]
[If I sign a Contract of the Saint, doesn’t that mean I can’t become a Saint?]
[Let’s go to Lily Celestial~]
“Can I become a Celestial?”
“Of course. Your power and rank are already sufficient… and you’ve built up quite a story while climbing up to the 70th floor. It’s plenty!”
“Not enough.”
Zap!
A yellow lightning struck the air, and something came crashing down.
A raccoon with golden fur wearing a blue ring.
It looked pretty banged up, grimaced, ate some yellow something, and slowly started to recover.
“A Celestial is a constellation. You can’t reach the Celestial position with just stories about climbing towers.”
“You’re hurt?”
“I just fought with the Celestial Sphere. They’re the main enemies of the Thunder Dragon, and I have to take them out at certain times.”
The Challenger casually mentions fighting with the ‘Celestial Sphere,’ which is quite the audacious statement for someone who isn’t even a Celestial.
For a Celestial, it sounds pretty arrogant, but this raccoon is presumably receiving some power from someone among the Demon Race.
“Celestial Sphere…”
“Instead of becoming a Celestial, there’s a rotation of stars on the 81st floor. If you show off your Celestial then, it might help your rank increase—”
“That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps… um?”
“Let’s go fight.”
Should be enough to take down just two Celestial Spheres, right?
[?]
[Huh?]
[Oh haha, we’re all doomed]
[Massacre declaration]
[Lily] “I’ll kill all the Celestials!”
[The One Who Opens Their Eyes smiles at the boldness.]
[One Wearing a Carapace shakes their head madly.]
[One Wearing a Carapace bangs on the screen, pleading for it to stop.]
[One Wearing a Carapace…!]
■
“Oh wow, you’re really close?”
“…Who?”
77th floor of the tower, somewhere in the sky.
As I appeared in the mysterious Eden district where the White Mysterious Cloud drifts, the numerous demigods with wings had bewildered expressions.
Celestial Sphere, Eden.
A place with fame that rivals other mythologies like Zeus or Buddha, where the ‘Light’s Successor,’ who showed interest in me on the 15th floor, resides.
“The Celestial, contractor of One Wearing a Carapace, Lily Elbrite.”
And.
“I’m applying for the Star Battle.”
It’s a place where Celestials bearing the name ‘Angel’ reside.
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