105. Divinity (3)
“You have entered the waiting room on the 12th floor.”
“Challenger Han Seong-yoon’s ordeal observation restriction is lifted.” “
The system is expanded.”
“Earth dimension is registered as an official climbing dimension in the Tower of Trials.”
「Benefits of formal climbing dimension registration provide some protection from dimensional invasion.」
「Challengers from other dimensions now bear a penalty when moving to the earth dimension.」
「Benefits of formal climbing dimension registration allow challengers other than pioneers to shine. You can obtain it.”
“….”
As soon as I entered the waiting room, messages about the new expansion of the system came to my mind.
“Registration of the official climbing level…” Could it be that it meant that
I
had risen to the same level as Ares and Murim?
‘It was a small dimension, so it was very vulnerable to dimensional invasion…’
Now, a challenger from the other world like Namgung-hyuk will not be able to easily come to the earth dimension.
So far, there has been no penalty, but it’s because you’ve just been registered as a ‘regular climbing dimension’ and started to be protected from dimensional invasions.
As soon as I was relieved by him, a new message formed on my retina.
「The administrator, ‘Iron-blooded Lord’, is relieved to see that the contractor has returned and is safe.』 「
The administrator, ‘White Crane Swordsman’, looks at the condition of the contractor with
tears in his eyes .』 It was not a message, but a message from the manager.
Only then did I feel the words the God of Proof passed through my mind like a flash.
―Pseudo-goddess So, in the tower, is it called ‘manager’? I’m asking if he’s a being who acquired a quasi-divine status under a contract with the tower.
Yes.
Concerned about my present condition, these administrators were a kind of deity.
Of course, according to what the god of proof said, it seems that it is not a real god, but
a pseudo-god.
According to what I heard in the Temple of Proof, the system that allows you to buy the administrator’s former abilities called Authority is also very likely to be ‘God’s Authority’.
‘If you think about it, what the God of Proof that the Administrator is a pseudo-god isn’t lying.’
When I was completely at the beginning of the tower, I wondered if the real administrators were not gods.
‘But things have completely changed since then.’
Now I know that the tower is a kind of higher being with self-consciousness.
Even if it’s a quasi-god, it’s to the point of resurrecting a challenger who climbed the tower as a god…
What the hell is this tower that even gods can’t treat carelessly for?
and-.
‘What are you going to do by letting the challenger reach the end of this tower?’
I wondered why the Tower of Trials allowed the challenger to climb to the top of the tower.
Of course, not all of those questions were something I could ponder and figure out the answers to.
So…
「The administrator, ‘Iron-Blooded Lord’, invites you to the administrator’s realm.」
It was my intention to gradually learn the truth from now on.
Even for me who will reach the end of this tower.
***
When I opened my eyes, what I saw was the grave of a pure white sword.
Of the two invitations I just received, the one I received was from the Iron Blood Lord.
Anyway, the Iron Blood Lord was the one who made the first contract with me, and he was the administrator who even signed the apostle contract.
If you have any questions, it would be the right procedure to ask her first.
maybe.
“….”
“I have entered the world of Iron Blood.”
The administrator area, which I have become accustomed to, now feels quite strange.
‘Maybe the manager’s realm is a similar concept to the god’s realm?’
I think it’s because they know that being a manager is a pseudo-
god.
But I soon stopped thinking and entered the cabin across the snowy garden.
and-.
“Han Seong-yoon!”
As soon as I entered the cabin, the iron-blooded lord strode towards me.
The iron-blooded lord, who approached me with silver hair, was in an unusually excited state.
“Where were you seriously injured…!? Is there such a thing as a curse from the God of Proof!?”
He was an iron-blooded monarch who always seemed calm and calm…but he
seemed greatly concerned that his contractor was forcibly summoned by God.
I could also feel that the doubts I had until now were diluted a bit.
I thought I might be quick-firing the question, almost like interrogating the Iron-blooded lord.
Seeing her so intensely worrying, the negative emotions have faded quite a bit.
Shall I say that I am confused because I see a rather unexpected side?
“Uh…not really.”
“…Is that really so? Aren’t you hiding it?”
“No, why would you hide something like that in the first place?”
There was no bird to be cursed.
The God of Proof talked to me without revealing himself.
Even that has only been done for a fairly short period of time.
I relayed that fact to the Iron Blood Lord.
“I only had an amicable conversation with the God of Proof.”
“…Well, the believers in the proof couldn’t have treated the challenger in the tower carelessly.”
I explained it as calmly as I could, and soon the iron-blooded lord calmed down his excitement.
“…Hmm. Anyway, I’m glad you didn’t get seriously hurt.”
The iron-blooded lord blushed, then turned around and sat down in a chair in front of the table.
“Since it would be uncomfortable for you to talk about the details, sit down as well.”
Perhaps because it was a cabin resembling an office in the Middle Ages, the atmosphere matched well with the iron-blooded lord.
“All right.”
I nodded and said that, then went over to the sofa next to the table and sat down.
Then, the iron-blooded lord narrowed his brows and looked at me, then said something dumbfounded.
“The 11th floor showed a terrifying growth trend… but I didn’t know that God would be interested in it.”
I immediately opened my mouth to the reaction as if I did not know that the god of proof would intervene.
“Is it normal for gods not to intervene in trials in the first place?”
“Most of them are. It was just a special situation.”
“…”
“Originally, it is difficult for the gods of other dimensions to observe the situation inside the tower.”
“Then, what happened to you observing me and summoning me to the realm of the gods this time?”
“Since the place of the trial was the Temple of Proof… Even if it is a reproduced fake, there is nothing that cannot exert influence in its own temple.”
“They say it was able to exercise influence because it was a temple.”
This solved the basic question to some extent.
Like the 11th floor, trials where gods interfere are really special cases.
In the ordeal that will follow, the gods will not be able to interfere at will.
Knowing that, I nodded and immediately looked at the iron-blooded lord.
“There is something I want to ask… is that okay?”
Now that we have cleared up some of our doubts, it was to get to the main point.
“Obviously… even signing a contract with the apostle, yet being cautious. You can treat me more comfortably, but…”
The iron-blooded lord expressed his affirmation in an inappropriate grunt.
‘What should I ask…’
To be honest, there are a lot of things I want to ask.
Why did the Tower of Trials send a system message saying that they expect me to be intelligent?
Why does the Tower of Trials create a manager called a pseudo-god to raise challengers?
Why did the God of Proof suddenly say that other gods would be against me?
Besides that, there
were so many questions that I couldn’t stop asking.
“Did you know that the tower has something I want to achieve through you?”
***
At the end of the trial on the 11th floor, the God of Proof once said to me:
―As an apostle of a pseudo-goddess, he creates a ‘real’… Is that really how it happened? understood. Challenger Han Seong-yoon. You are not an ordinary being.
The God of Proof muttered as if I were a special being nurtured by an administrator.
I still don’t know what the concept of ‘real’ that I heard back then is…
If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that TOP is trying to achieve something for me through the manager.
Because of that, I came up with one possibility without missing it.
‘I wonder if the Iron-Blooded Lord and the White Crane Swordsman are deceiving me.’
Of course, the iron-blooded lord and the white crane swordsman are showing strong favor to me.
At the same time, there was no big worry because he was trying to achieve his own longing through me.
However, it is also true that it makes me feel uncomfortable when I think that the tower will make that wish come true.
So, without further consideration, I directly asked the Iron Blood Lord and the White Crane Swordsman.
Do you know the tower’s intentions and have been fooling me by pretending not to know?
And…
“Your question is, does the Tower want anything from the Challenger through the Administrator?”
At my question, the iron-blooded lord narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t understand.
“It’s not such a comprehensive concept, so it’s asking if there’s anything you want from me.”
“I do not know. No, in the first place, there could be something the tower wants from a single challenger…”
“…?”
“No one can read the tower’s intentions. It has nothing to do with being a manager.”
“Then the tower is expecting something from me…”
“It can’t be. The Tower has never revealed its goals to a challenger before.”
After saying that, the iron-blooded lord touched his fine chin with his hand and continued.
“That’s why it’s even more absurd for the tower to have special wishes from one challenger.”
But I could definitely sense that the tower wanted something from me.
‘It can’t have been all lies.’
The tower said that it was looking forward to me, and the God of Proof acted like it was interesting, saying that the tower had become fun.
Most of what the god of proof said about the tower must be true.
Before I could say that fact, the Iron Blood Lord opened his mouth again, as if he had read such a sign of me.
“But seeing you say that… it seems someone heard something.”
“That’s right. The God of Proof spoke as if the Tower wanted something from me.”
“god…! Is that really why you asked such a question…!”
The iron-blooded lord looked at me with his eyes wide open.
“…Apart from the Tower’s intentions, I received no separate orders as a manager.”
“So you’re saying you didn’t know that the top was expecting something from me?”
“yes. Most administrators just silently follow the orders of the Tower.”
“…”
“I think I know why you asked me such a question… but I am also subordinate to the Tower. Nothing can be known.”
“Is that so…”
I was relieved at that, but at the same time, I could feel a bit of regret.
If the manager knew more about the tower, the question might have been easily resolved.
Of course, putting that regret aside, I continued with another question.
“Come to think of it, the God of Proof is said to have acquired a pseudo-divine under a contract with the Tower, but what is that?”
“Pseudo-divinity…a kind of immortality. By taking the title given by the tower as the name of a god, he becomes an existence similar to a god.”
“…”
“It is a method used in the process of reviving a deceased challenger. Of course, even if it is a pseudo-god, it cannot be compared to a true god.”
“Then can I possibly acquire immortality?”
“I’ll pretend it’s impossible. The divine power dwelling in your heart does not deserve immortality. You won’t be able to acquire immortality unless you go through a contract with the tower.”
As I listened silently to the iron-blooded lord’s explanation, I soon noticed that the pseudo-goddess wasn’t as great as I thought.
‘Except for immortality, it seems to be no different from a challenger.’
Of course, the fact that immortality exists is a huge advantage… but
the god of proof went to the brink of killing me just by opening his eyes and looking at me.
Not only that, but by consuming divine power, he forcibly invited me to the realm of the gods.
When I think about that, I can see that in many ways, the gap between the real god and the pseudo god is quite large.
I nodded my head and opened my mouth again with a serious expression.
“…then I have one last question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you say that you had a secret wish you wanted to achieve?”
“…It did.”
“Baekhakgeomseon said that secret wish is a right bestowed by the tower to the manager.”
“…”
“They said that you can achieve what you want to achieve through the challenger who signed the apostle contract.”
“I see… It seems that he has already told you about his secret wish.”
Watching the iron-blooded lord laugh bitterly as if he couldn’t hide it any longer, I continued.
“Why didn’t you tell me everything about your secret wish at that time?”
Unlike the question I just posed, this part was a genuine question I had.
Why did the iron-blooded monarch hide the identity of his secret wish from me, unlike the White Crane Swordsman?
‘Of course, seeing what he said, it seems that he didn’t intend to trick me, but…’
After a brief silence, the iron-blooded lord answered the question.
“…the reason I didn’t explain the secret wish to you was that I felt fear.”
Still with a bittersweet smile.
At that, I was taken aback.
Are you afraid?
“What else is that…”
“You underestimate yourself and are too obsessed with growth.”
“…?”
“That’s why, like a moth to a fire, I thought I might challenge myself to forcibly grow through the ordeal of my earnest desire.”
“…so you’re afraid of that?”
At those words, the iron-blooded lord only nodded slightly as if he was slightly embarrassed.
‘No matter how much I’m obsessed with growth…’
Somehow, it seems that others treat me like a madman crazy about growth.
I didn’t think that I was throwing my body into growth that much.
He rolled his body just enough not to die, and the fact that he did not die and was alive here is proof of that.
However, the iron-blooded lord then frowned and denied it when I told him exactly what I was thinking.
“That way of thinking is dangerous. It’s okay as long as you don’t die. You are driving yourself into a corner without knowing it.”
Reluctantly, I agreed.
But that doesn’t mean I affirmed all of that.
“Maybe, but… I don’t have the talent.”
“….”
“Efforts within the safety range like others only bring about stagnation in growth.”
“It is a problem to think that way. you have no talent? No way.”
“…?”
The moment I narrowed my eyes and thought about what was the problem again.
“I don’t know what you think of talent… but sooner or later you will see how much you underestimated yourself.”
The iron-blooded lord then spoke in a voice as sharp as a blade.
“Because…”
Even.
“Because the 12th floor ordeal is a struggle with oneself.”
Even with the unexpected content of the 12th floor ordeal.
