Blinking her eyes for a moment while smoothing her forehead.
Following the guide of the Tower of Knowledge Master, we sat across from each other at a table.
The first floor of the tower was devoid of furniture, except for the chair she was sitting on.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
– Snap!
But as she snapped her fingers, a table and chairs appeared nearby as if they had always been there.
– Snap!
Then, a beautiful water bottle and glass appeared on the table.
‘…This isn’t from a pocket dimension, is it?’
Observing the Tower Master’s movements closely, I let out a gasp internally.
She didn’t bring a finished product from another space.
There was no process of bringing materials and processing them.
It seemed like magic, but it wasn’t an illusion that would disappear when the mana ran out.
It was just a complete object, created right there on the spot.
In other words, it was a form of creation, at least in part.
“I apologize for bringing you to such a shabby place.”
[No, it’s not shabby at all.]
Creation.
I felt like I was being slightly overpowered by a divine skill that was different from mere imitation.
I might have caught a glimpse of her capabilities.
For some reason, I felt uneasy about the state of her powers.
Can I escape with this?
I had no estimates…
– Gurgle…
As I gently settled into the chair, the water bottle floated up, filling my glass with water.
Other than that, there was not a sound to be heard.
Amidst the silence, the sound of water flowing made my mouth slowly dry.
The Tower Master was seated across from me, hands on her knees, as if she was giving me a moment to relax, her eyes gently closed.
‘What’s this?’
I certainly wasn’t feeling relaxed because of her behavior.
Rather, a strange feeling of unease kept nagging at me.
The power of observation.
Perhaps because I was inside the tower, the manipulation was strange. No problem. I could adjust it as needed.
However, I couldn’t properly observe the Tower Master.
Though I was clearly focused, sooner or later, I was losing unnecessary information.
It was as if the Tower Master was just a regular background, treated like any part of nature.
As I was delving into this sense of unease and concentrating.
‘!’
Suddenly, I flinched as the Tower Master moved her hands.
Seeing my reaction, she also flinched while reaching for her glass.
A briefly awkward atmosphere hung in the air.
“Ahem…”
Soon, the Tower Master cleared her throat gracefully, breaking the awkwardness.
She opened her eyes gently and took a sip of water.
I followed her lead and discreetly gulped down some water.
Moistening my dry mouth with the cool liquid felt like the tension was washing away along with it.
In that moment.
The Tower Master, who had been discreetly scanning the corner of her sight, began to speak.
“The Tower of Knowledge has fewer restrictions compared to the other towers. Thanks to that, the limitations on disclosure aren’t strict, allowing us to share quite a lot of information.”
Fewer restrictions.
Able to convey many facts.
The gleam in her closed eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Nevertheless, it’s a fact that there are still restrictions. It’s difficult to convey every truth, so I would first like to apologize to the Savior.”
The sparkle dimmed as soon as it appeared…
For some reason, the Tower Master seemed to shrink a bit, as if she was watching my reaction closely.
…
[Um, can I ask a few questions?]
“Yes, I will sincerely answer anything within the range of our restrictions.”
The Tower Master nodded calmly.
Questions, inquiries.
There were far too many to know where to start.
There were a lot of doubts I felt coming here, as well as those springing up after arriving.
[Why do you refer to me as a Savior?]
Savior.
A being that rescues people in difficulty and danger.
[Did you… did you bring me here intentionally?]
Savior.
The English term for someone who saves.
The name of a game I often played in my previous life, set in this world.
My stiff form was reflected in her white eyes, which were still stiff and expressionless.
The Tower Master, who had been sitting like a rigid statue, nodded slightly.
“Yes, we brought you here intentionally, Savior.”
[What for?]
“To clarify that, it would be easier for you to understand if I explain our situation first. Would you allow me to explain our circumstances?”
I continued asking questions.
Despite sounding rather sharp, the Tower Master calmly and politely replied.
[…Yes.]
[Please.]
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Bowling her head slightly, the Tower Master glanced down at her necklace of confession before lifting her head.
She took a deep breath as if preparing for a lengthy explanation.
.
.
.
The Great Cataclysm was a disaster and change that no one in this world was unfamiliar with.
Family, lovers, friends.
From awkward relatives whom you barely met a few times a year to complete strangers, every imaginable person faced death in countless ways.
Those who were killed by monsters, turning into mere meals.
People who vanished suddenly, swept away by rampaging dungeons.
Others who were brutally slain by their fellow humans amidst the chaos.
Moreover, countless artifacts and historical records, mingled with gold and blood, accumulated by previous generations of humanity, were lost.
The Great Cataclysm. The chaos that followed it was a colossal disaster that made life uncertain for those who lived through it.
“But the real disaster hasn’t arrived yet.”
The Tower Master of Knowledge, passionately explaining her situation at the time, shook her head vigorously.
“That doesn’t mean the Great Cataclysm was insignificant. Many things disappeared and many new elements emerged because of it. The current world is indeed the result of the Great Cataclysm, undeniably an unprecedented event throughout history. However…”
The Tower Master trailed off.
“…we are confident that as masters of the towers, we can manage the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm.”
Growth, space, observation, regulation, the powers of knowledge.
The functions of the tower.
Not to mention the many strong entities and powers advancing towards new frontiers.
Considering that, they thought they could surely overcome the Great Cataclysm.
“Thus, rather than worry about the Great Cataclysm we deemed manageable, we find ourselves more concerned about an even greater disaster that is about to strike.”
[An even greater disaster?]
“The invasion of the Tower Masters.”
My shoulders shuddered.
I clenched my fists tightly.
The Tower Master, glancing at me, continued.
“One day, filled with hope as each of us achieved growth and were just about to tackle the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm, the master of the Tower of Observation reported a message with a face ashen as death. Furthermore, it was clear that the foe was a formidable opponent against whom we could not defend.”
[The Master of the Tower of Observation…]
“Powers are unique skills. Even though they are external powers acquired from the tower, they differ depending on the user’s abilities. She focused on observation in scope and foresight, which allowed for cooperation with the Tower Master of Space to notice the impending invasion in advance.”
With their current power, they were facing an invasion they couldn’t defend against.
For those who hadn’t even fully stabilized after the Great Cataclysm, it painted a dark future.
“However, we couldn’t just sit back and despair, so we sought ways to prevent the invasion, which posed several challenges.”
[Challenges?]
“The invasion came too swiftly. Even before we became Masters of the Towers, while we were struggling with the Great Cataclysm, they were already closing in, and we were slow to detect them. We sought to delay the invasion by placing additional restrictions to increase our strength. With the time gained, we sought various solutions, but…”
The Tower Master shook her head.
“For a long time, there were no sharp solutions. The invading Tower Masters were too strong, and their forces formidable. Despite our remaining time to prepare, we didn’t stand a chance.”
[Is there really such a gap among Tower Masters?]
“A master is not determined solely by brute force. By the way, the Master of Regulation, that silly… no, she was merely a mid-tier hero level at the time she became a master by modern standards.”
[?]
In the Association’s ranking system, “mid” serves as a sort of benchmark.
Upper mid refers to a leader of a party.
Lower mid implies a distinguished member of such a group.
An upper-mid hero essentially denotes someone with a degree of command.
[Is the Tower Master really just upper mid?]
Yet, honestly, the thought that that Tower Master only had upper mid-level strength was hard to believe in many ways.
“A tower is essentially an artifact. It’s vast and it has numerous functions, but it grants powers based on conditions, much like the artifact you are currently wearing.”
I fondled my left arm.
Proof of protection. The condition was probably that the wielder had to be of good inclination, right? I was puzzled over why it was satisfied, but for now, I was using it well.
“If the required conditions aren’t met, the powers are not granted. You would have experienced this in the game you played, if you conquered an uncaptured tower like No. 11 but failed to meet the aptitude and requirements, you could not become its master.”
An uncaptured tower.
The eighth attempt ended prematurely due to the sudden interference from the Master of the Tower of Eternal Winter and the betrayal of Baek Ahrin.
However, the eleventh run eventually reached the top and acquired the wish of the tower.
Using that wish, I was able to further enhance my already above-standard physical capabilities.
“Though I lacked the qualifications, I conquered the tower. Instead, I was granted one wish within the range of the power embedded in the tower.”
[Is that so…?]
“And perhaps the reason for the interference of Eternal Winter was—%#$)*#$)(@”
[?]
Her words abruptly cut off.
The bizarrely disconnected audio was completely indecipherable.
“This segment is restricted.”
The Tower Master of Knowledge frowned slightly.
“Returning to the main thread, we spent the remaining time searching for ways to repel the invasion. Especially the Master of Observation exerted great effort predicting various futures and devising countermeasures. As a result, we found something.”
[…What is it?]
I anticipated the answer.
Yet, I asked again just in case.
The Tower Master paused for a moment.
Her pure white eyes fixed on me intently.
Her calm and deep gaze revealed nothing despite my extensive observations.
“We discovered the corporeal body of Lee Ha-yul.”
That was the answer I had expected.
Lee Ha-yul in this world.
As I wore a complex expression that was hard to communicate.
[Wait? Corporeal body…?]
Suddenly, I tilted my head at the strange term.
Corporeal body.
The physical form of a person.
Such a strange expression.
Is there any reason to say “corporeal body” when they found me?
With that question lingering on my face, the Tower Master nodded as if she understood and added an explanation.
“To be precise, it is a mere empty shell, devoid of a soul.”
[Excuse me?]
My confusion only deepened.
My head kept tilting.
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