—So, oh Celestial?
—You’re lying, right? You’re not gone, I can see you. I mean, what kind of Celestial plays with the gas stove…
—Come back. I’m waiting. Celestial. Celestial. Celestial, you little brat!!
Aaaah!!
“Heroes are forged in hardship…”
[Hahaha!!!]
[Yena is totally failing, lol]
[Lily is such a wicked brat, seriously]
[Yena, Yena…]
[Stop it, wicked Lily!]
[Yena, you can’t gamble too much…]
[Should I? But I said I wouldn’t go all in, right?]
[Yena didn’t even turn on the broadcast, she really doesn’t get it]
[This is hilarious, lol]
[Was this the purpose of becoming Celestial?]
I watched Yena suffering through the exclusive Celestial screen, wearing a pitying expression.
Though it’s a painful truth, if there’s no hardship, there’s no growth.
Of course, in the world, there are races that can reach high levels without struggle, but Yena wasn’t one of them.
Crunch, crunch.
I munched on popcorn while keeping an eye on Yena’s antics, and Leo next to me reached over to take some of the popcorn I was holding.
“Miss Yena is pitiful.”
“Reaching level 121 isn’t an easy feat.”
Even I had put in countless efforts to defeat the level-up Kraken, ultimately pouring everything into taking it down.
And yet, the level I hadn’t reached was precisely level 121.
Without the ‘Tteokbokki’ item that raises my level by one, it would have been tough for months unless I took down the Demon World Boss or several altars.
I said this, and another hand approached me from the other side.
Gapwoo, who had gained a much more stable and deeper aura since we first met.
On Gapwoo’s shoulder was a ripening Karabus, completely stripped of will, indicating that he had indeed been properly schooled by Lasty.
Crunch, crunch.
“Tasty?”
“Yeees… I, I agree…”
“What do you mean?”
“That hardship makes you stronger… I went through the same…”
W-Well, it was incredibly tough…
Gapwoo nodded and finished his popcorn.
[LOL]
[Gapwoo, Gapwoo…]
[So you just didn’t want to see me slack off, and that’s why you acted up?]
[Hahaha!!!]
[Oh my]
[???: How do you think I achieved 121!]
[Oh come on, let her struggle a bit]
[Hey, Lily wouldn’t do that]
[Info) Lily has been spreading info ever since her newbie days.]
“Huh? So, did you really just cut off Miss Yena’s ladder?”
“It’s necessary work.”
I’ve said it before, and as I mentioned back in the 80th floor, level 121 is not just a simple level to reach.
According to Immensus, starting from 121 is the realm of transcendence.
To reach that level requires a lot of effort and patience, and even the Master of the Altar can’t carelessly produce experience points beyond 120.
“In the end, to extract as much experience as possible from this tower, one must thoroughly understand the characteristics the tower possesses. What’s important to the Celestials?”
“Um… World Power? Myth?”
“That’s right. Among those, the most important is the myth.”
The Tower of Growth primarily seeks ‘stories.’
In other words, everything is evaluated based on how grand the story the climber has experienced is.
If Yena wants to gain 1.21 million experience points, she must show that she deserves it.
Immensus warned that the easier you ascend, the less likely you are to reach the desired realm.
“If it’s Miss Eena, I think she can reach the top of the tower without the Celestial’s help.”
With Yena’s talent and perseverance, it’s entirely possible.
It’s hard for me too, but I had no choice but to act for Yena.
“Still, you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.”
“Oh, come on! I was really heartbroken. Miss Yena must have gone through a lot with the scam, but knowing she has to suffer even more is just…”
“[Lily?]”
“[Lily, lower your mouth corners when you speak]”
“[Hahaha]”
“[Isn’t this revenge for the status window Yena ordered back in the day?]”
“[Evil Lily, lol]”
“[Forgive me, Yeske…]”
“[Status Window!]”
“[???: I have not forgotten the shame of that day.]”
I used the power of God to threaten the Celestials surrounding Yena not to make contracts, then returned to the tower from the constellation.
The One Who Denies the Light is a being that upends two Celestial Spheres, so the Celestials wouldn’t dare show interest in Yena to avoid provoking their mood.
Unless it’s a God-class, anyway.
“Actually, they might just avoid doing it even more.”
I, who took care of that formidable ‘Baal,’ wondered if there might be a Celestial willing to contract with a challenger while their own Celestial Sphere was in ruins.
“Alright. Let’s take a break before we climb again. It’s been almost 50-60 hours, so let’s rest for about 8 hours. Lord Leo, you take a break too.”
“I have business on the 91st floor, so if you come back, just let me know through the Celestial chat.”
“Got it. Gapwoo is…”
“I… I’ll stay with my sister. I still don’t really know what’s what, but…”
Gapwoo lowered his head with a soft expression.
I pinched the cheeks of both Leo and Gapwoo before approaching the raccoon, who was doing something in the back.
“We’ll be back in a bit. We have some things to do.”
“Is that so? Alright then. I have things to do too, so let’s meet on the 99th floor.”
C crackle! The raccoon gave me lightning in a golden current.
For an ordinary challenger, just being around it would melt them away, but for me, a Celestial, it posed no threat at all.
“Now that I think about it, the raccoon has gotten quite strong.”
At this rate, the raccoon could probably melt a few gods like me, right?
“If you take this to the 99th floor, you’ll be able to find me.”
“Got it.”
“[Yena, Yena…]”
“[Now~ Rest~ (Except for Yena)]”
[Everyone except me]
[Yena, stop bullying me]
[Lily, good job!]
[Lilva~]
[Wow, it’s almost been three days of broadcasting]
[As expected, GOTA]
[Information) Even at this moment, Yena continues to climb the tower]
[If Yena hits someone, it’s innocent lol]
[Big Lily]
■
A newly born star.
The God who slaughtered Baal while destroying two celestial spheres has issued a warning to the stars of the universe, known as ‘One Who Denies the Light.’
“Do not make a contract with the challenger known as Yena.”
Until now, the celestial beings have occasionally favored or cursed specific challengers.
In fact, superior celestial beings have frequently threatened or cursed other celestial beings to secure contracts with their desired challengers.
The higher the rank, especially when it comes to gods, the more common this behavior becomes.
—Ha… that unbelievable guy!
—There’s no one crazier than her. Not just one or two, what the hell…
—Such arrogance!
But this time, it was different.
The arrogant ‘One Who Denies the Light’ issued a warning to all stars of the universe.
This means the warning was directed even at the greatest stars like Zeus, Odin, and Buddha, who stand out at the top of the tower.
With their self-love and numerous ‘legend of victory,’ they should have punished that young star…
—I’ll kill that young star right away!
—Exactly. But… did you hear that star killed ‘Baal’?
—B-Baal?
—That’s right. Despite Baal absorbing all the demons of his celestial sphere, he couldn’t even fight back.
—Ha… that foolish guy. Does he have to eat his subordinates because there’s nothing else to eat?
—What’s that insignificant guy to us! Baal is no match for me!
—Then, shall our Master of Lightning face him directly? He is the great master of Olympus after all…
—…Cough! We should all attack! Shouldn’t we?
—I think even if we combine our powers, it might not be enough. There are stories that even the ‘Lord’ of Eden couldn’t face that newborn star and hid away.
—The Lord? Huh. What does that mean…
—The Lord has never been someone to meddle in the mortal realm. It’s not worth discussing.
—However, not stepping up while his land is being destroyed is embarrassing for the Lord, isn’t it?
—…
—Is there no way?
All the gods who were conversing through their constellations swallowed their words.
Though it was a newborn star, it toyed with the gods like a young child.
How could they face an existence like ‘Master of the Tower’?
No, even if they managed to win after sacrifices, it would still be a problem.
What if someone of theirs were to ‘lose’ and a ‘myth of defeat’ was formed?
For constellations that live and die by stories, it would be a fatal blow.
While the gods fell into brief contemplation, one god looked at a constellation adorned with prayer beads at the very edge.
I saw it.
Unlike the troubled and furious gods, the Celestial wore a gentle smile.
—So… what does our Buddha think?
—Me?
—Y-yes, Buddha! You have been watching One Who Denies the Light without interruption. Isn’t there some kind of weakness?
—Or maybe some ability…
—Hmm… well, I’m not sure.
Creak. Creak.
Another prayer bead in Buddha’s hand spins.
All eyes turn to Buddha, who opens his mouth with a kind smile.
—One Who Denies the Light likely has no great interest in you. So go ahead and do what you must.
—What do you mean, Buddha? If there’s no interest, why would they attack Eden and Hell?
—That’s right! That nonsensical star has effectively declared war on everyone through this incident!
—We need to ambush now! We must strike and kill him before everyone gets hurt! Buddha! You should lure that person in…
Thwack…!
The sound of the Wooden Fish Drum echoes throughout the universe like a wave, strong enough to break the spirit of any ordinary challenger, yet merely clearing the minds of the gods for a brief moment.
—…….
But even that was enough to silence everyone present.
—Calm down. Anger alone won’t solve anything.
—…Buddha, refrain from bringing up your ‘understanding.’ Your myths are of no help to us.
—I have no intention of forcing enlightenment upon you. I simply…
Am stating the facts.
—What facts are you talking about?
Thump…
—One Who Denies the Light, Lily Elbrite, has already reached the state of ‘Nirvana.’ For some reason, she has chosen to share her understanding, but that enlightenment has not disappeared.
She will stop on her own without me having to intervene.
—Stop? Explain yourself precisely, Buddha.
—That means she won’t move forward once her purpose is achieved.
—And if that purpose is to kill us all?
Buddha smiles.
In that instant, all the gods flinched, but there was not a trace of malice on Buddha’s face.
—I already said it. Her purpose is self-determined.
—What is it… Ah.
Indeed.
Her purpose is:
‘Yena is a challenger who does not forge the Contract of the Saint.’
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