“Hehehe…”
It was long, oh so long.
How much time had actually passed?
Time-wise, it was just over two days, but it felt like at least a month.
Even though I didn’t stream and just recorded separately to go faster, it was still this much.
The desire to give up surged repeatedly, but I kept running and running, finally arriving at the 99th Floor.
“Just one more floor!”
If I can get through this floor, I’d meet Lady Lily and Lord Leo and become 121!
“Welcome, great challenger Miss Yena.”
“The last one is the mission room, huh? Okay, okay. Just send me in already.”
“Please return this coin. Then you can face the final trial of the tower.”
A Golden-haired Dog handed over a Golden Coin.
Yena felt a wave of nausea just looking at the coin, but it’s the last one, so it should be fine.
“Phew… Let’s go!”
Ting~!
[Entering the 99th Floor…]
[Dimension transfer in progress. A brief dizziness may accompany…]
■
“…What am I supposed to do?”
Yena silently gasped at the sight of the confused Beastmen around her and the countless messages popping up in front of her.
“Wait, isn’t this the 99th Floor?”
Wasn’t this supposed to be the last floor?
So why am I suddenly told to go back to the beginning?
Yena gripped her dizzy head while looking at the 0th Floor, the tutorial quest titled ‘Hunt or Survive.’
A strange black-furred Dog was acting all high and mighty, popping the heads of Beastmen summoned alongside her.
A group of Cat Beastmen approached, giggling as they urged her to join their ranks—it was a completely ridiculous situation.
Of course, when she slashed with her dagger, leaving a mark on everyone’s noses, they scattered in chaos.
“Ugh. Do I have to climb again? Seriously, hitting 121 is so tough.”
Getting scammed out of hundreds of millions, pouring in months’ worth of effort, and still having no end in sight was dizzying.
Suddenly, I realized how amazing Lady Lily was for hitting 121 through countless achievements and World Boss raids.
To see that amazing Lady Lily, I had to keep running.
“Phew… Right. I’ve had moments where I just took a beating from my Master for months.”
Compared to the thousands, tens of thousands of battles I fought to become a Cat Beastman, this was a piece of cake.
With her determination renewed, Yena started climbing the tower at a rapid pace.
Though strength was limited, nothing could hinder the now-stronger Yena thanks to numerous hidden pieces, races, and levels. Before five hours had even passed, she reached the 15th Floor.
There was nothing, and before even five hours had passed, I was able to reach the 15th floor.
“Not as difficult as I thought.”
Could it be that the journey so far has been a form of training?
Now, I feel more comfortable and familiar with the movements of ‘Cat Beastman’ Yena rather than ‘Human’ Yena.
Yena, for no reason, made a happy purring sound and perked up her ears.
The challengers over there are chatting away.
“The 15th floor is the Shrine of Stars. You can contract with the ‘Celestials’, the gods of the tower… Alright then. Let’s start with the contract.”
Even though I’m moving at a quick pace now, the difficulty increases as you ascend the tower.
If I make a contract, I should be able to climb the tower at an even faster speed.
Yena stepped into the circular shrine adorned with constellations.
At that moment, numerous constellations shimmered above Yena’s head, extending their proposals to her.
[The King of Cats requests a contract from you.]
[The Grim Reaper requests a contract from you.]
[The Master of Daggers urges you to make a contract.]
[The Swift Warrior asks you for a contract.]
[The Weak Dark God pleads! Very earnestly for a contract…]
[One Who Denies the Light is lurking around.]
“More than I expected?”
There were about ten Celestials making contract requests.
Due to the embellishments and all, I couldn’t tell exactly which Celestials they were, but judging by their words, I could make some guesses.
‘When they ‘ask’ instead of ‘request,’ it’s probably the higher-ups. It’s what guild masters usually do during recruitment. Conversely, begging and pleading must be from the lower gods…’
After several years of running a guild, Yena finished her assessment and spoke with a smile.
“What can the Grim Reaper and the King of Cats offer me?”
[The King of Cats says they will make your race stronger.]
[The Grim Reaper frowns at your arrogance.]
[The Grim Reaper says they will grant you sharpness akin to darkness.]
[The Master of Daggers claims they are experienced.]
[The Swift Warrior quickly exits.]
[The Weak Dark God leaves with a gloomy expression.]
[A shabby warrior…]
[One Who Denies the Light says this is too much.]
“Humph.”
At Yena’s remark, the majority of the Celestials withdrew.
Though I hadn’t made a final choice yet, with that recent comment, it was practically a declaration that I wouldn’t accept anyone other than the ‘Grim Reaper’ and the ‘King of Cats.’
It might be a bit cruel here, but you can’t be with a god presumed weaker than yourself.
[The King of Cats thinks he’s better than the Grim Reaper.]
[The Grim Reaper laughs at the King of Cats.]
[The Grim Reaper asserts that such a guy would be no help at all.]
[One Who Denies the Light asks if that’s really the case.]
“Hey~ Don’t fight. You haven’t even made your choice yet, and you’re supposed to be amazing enough to persuade me more!”
At least they could offer something better than that competing Celestial.
It might look ridiculous for the Celestials to squabble over just a ‘Challenger,’ but popular folks tend to be loved by everyone.
Just like Lady Lily…
[One Who Denies the Light nods in agreement.]
[The King of Cats claims if he’s chosen, the Myojok’s ferocity…]
[The Grim Reaper boasts of powers beyond death…]
The Celestials are each showing off their impressive offerings.
It’s right to concentrate, given they deliberately opened the stage…
“…?”
[One Who Denies the Light admires the fierce battle.]
[One Who Denies the Light pulls out popcorn.]
[One Who Denies the Light gasps in surprise, ‘Are you offering that?!’]
‘What even is that?’
One Celestial, who has been spamming the chat window instead of making a contract since earlier.
Of course, not all Celestials request contracts, and many just watch for fun.
But it’s rare to see a Celestial send so many messages.
‘I definitely heard that sending messages consumes something. Usually, it’s only sent for communication or contract requests…’
That ‘One Who Denies the Light’ seems to be converting everything they say into messages.
A type of viewer broadcasters commonly encounter, like ‘Is anyone even using the chat on their own?!’
Of course, this chat costs money to use here, so that Celestial is by no means low-tier.
‘At least upper-tier. They might even be more impressive than the two Celestials fighting right now.’
The embellishments don’t seem ordinary either.
Suddenly, a good idea struck me.
It’s a gamble that could risk losing both of them, but…
‘If it’s successful, it’s a jackpot, right?’
“Um, One Who Denies the Light?”
[One Who Denies the Light asks why.]
“Would you like to make a contract with me?”
[The King of Cats’ eyes widen.]
[The Grim Reaper erupts with darkness, questioning what that means.]
The Grim Reaper spews darkness, questioning what the noise is.
The Grim Reaper asks if you want to die.
The Cat King insists on leaving immediately!
“Child. Just wait a moment! I was just trying to say something since the Celestial has been messaging me like crazy~ There’s no way they’d do that with you two around, right?”
Yena waves her hand, making a troubled expression.
Of course, this troubled expression is an act.
There’s no guarantee that One Who Denies the Light will choose her, so she needs to lay the groundwork first.
If she gets a definite answer, then she’ll ditch it, but until then…
One Who Denies the Light is in deep thought.
One Who Denies the Light smirks.
One Who Denies the Light wonders if that’s the case?
“Oh?”
The Cat King jumps up, questioning what the hell is going on right now.
The Grim Reaper casts an evil curse on you.
One Who Denies the Light blocks the curse.
The Grim Reaper looks taken aback and hastily retreats.
‘As expected!’
One Who Denies the Light is a far stronger existence than those two Celestials!
The curse cast by the Grim Reaper didn’t even come close and vanished, and even the previously jumping Cat King cowered down, tail between his legs like a scared animal.
The Cat King feels the overwhelming rank and lowers his head.
The Cat King quietly disappears from his spot.
One Who Denies the Light waves goodbye.
One Who Denies the Light says now only he remains.
“Ha ha ha.”
Though it didn’t go exactly as expected, he still got his hands on the best Celestial he could immediately obtain.
Now, with this power, he should be able to climb the tower more quickly.
“Alright! Celestial! Please make a contract with me!!”
Yena stretches out her hands and looks up at the sky.
The blurry constellation in the shape of a hammer.
One Who Denies the Light smirks.
One Who Denies the Light suddenly remembers he left the gas stove on.
One Who Denies the Light exits.
“…Meow?”
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