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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 34
I'm not sure how many years ago it was.
It's true that I spent an exceptionally long time on the 10th floor, but on other floors, I casually spent anywhere from a few years to over a hundred years.
But this damn adventure in this sea of sand, even now that it's erased parts of my memories and emotions, still evokes feelings that make me tremble.
Resentment?
Anger?
Probably both.
By the time I reached the 10th floor, I had already attained immortality.
At least I wouldn't die of old age.
But my comrades were different.
Unlike me, who had wandered and conquered the previous nine floors, receiving all sorts of elixirs and rewards, they were just slightly stronger than normal humans.
10 years.
3,650 days.
That's when the first one gave up.
It was because we couldn't find the story artifact even after completely emptying the treasure room of a pyramid.
'This wasn't the end?'
'Please, stop!'
'I… I can't do this anymore. I miss my wife and son.'
Inside the Tower, you could only return to the Tower lobby through a very few 'system zones.'
The 10th floor was relatively easy to find these 'system zones.'
They were right next to the merchant group that stretched to the horizon.
The man who had been killing monsters out of anger for losing his wife and son went mad after 10 years.
He left the Tower in search of his wife and son who were already gone.
I couldn't stop him.
The thought of having to do this all over again was driving me crazy too.
But once you left, there was no way to rejoin the 'raid' on that floor midway.
In other countries, when faced with such a hopeless situation, they would all give up together and then retry based on the clues they had gathered.
But back then, our country lacked the time and manpower.
It was difficult to gather even ten teammates from all over the country for a Tower raid.
Once we gave up, there was no telling when we could gather again.
And needless to say, this kind of grinding quest was even worse.
I was already sick of it.
I had no confidence in clearing this alone.
It was around the 80-year mark when people started giving up in droves.
'Baekya, I'm sorry.'
'Noona, why do you look so haggard?'
'I've become a grandma. Look at the wrinkles on my face. It's driving me crazy.'
'What grandma? You still look like you're not even thirty.'
'Hey! I was a college student when I entered this place.'
Except for a few, including myself, people were starting to show signs of aging.
Aging and injuries would heal once we left the Tower, but death was irreversible.
Even natural death was still death.
After 150 years, three of us were left. After 250 years, there were two. And after 400 years, I was alone.
And for 3,000 years, I searched 300 pyramids for the treasure needle.
I didn't feel the passage of 3,000 years.
It took about ten years to empty just one pyramid, and since we searched 300 of them, I figured it took roughly that long.
Then one day...
【Special Ancient Language Decipherment (C)】
'Huh?'
I had acquired the 'Special Ancient Language Decipherment' skill.
Skills are usually obtained through repeated practice of specific actions that match your class, like a swordsman swinging their sword or a mage practicing magic, or they can be gifted by a constellation.
Usually, skills like 'Decipherment' or 'Insight' were easily obtained by magic-type Awakened.
It seems those guys went back after 80 years, so they must have lacked repetitive practice.
I'm an Esper class, so I needed even more repetitive practice.
Anyway, I could now read the hieroglyphs.
Their contents were excessively harmful.
"What did it say?"
Ryu Haneul asked from beside me.
I collected my overflowing emotions and answered.
"You know the tomb wasn't underground but a pyramid, right? We went inside, so you have a rough idea of the structure."
"Yes."
"Originally, there wasn't sand piled up like this. There were enormous pyramids lined up along a large river, and as desertification progressed, everything disappeared under the sand."
"Wait a minute, senior, are you saying...?"
"Yes. The name of that now-vanished river was the Needle River. It was narrow and long like a needle, and it produced a lot of high-quality magic crystals that were the raw material for the treasure needle."
Ryu Haneul was at a loss for words.
Seeing him cautiously glancing at me, my expression must have been quite grim.
"So, the needle that the camel had to pass through meant that you just had to take the camels over this and go west. I didn't know that, so I rotted in this desert for 3,000 years! And you know what that merchant bastard said when I went to tell him?"
"What did he say?"
"'You figured it out now?'"
But I could guarantee that anyone who went through what I did would be in this state.
"I wandered for 3,000 years, and he says, 'You figured it out now?' Did I, did we... to hear those words..."
"S-So what did you do?"
"I think I killed him."
"You think?"
At that time, I truly couldn't see anything.
'Sunny? This is...'
When I came to my senses, 'Sunny' was hugging me from behind, and my vision was filled with the white light of Law of Light and Aitel's system error window.
From then on, I cleared the 10th floor only that way.
I listened to the people inside the tower as little as possible and erased everything first.
Because I absorbed a tremendous amount of mana by erasing the pyramid and the entire upper part, I was able to manipulate even the epilogue story itself from then on.
I erased unfavorable clauses and burned entire fields as I climbed the tower.
All of this happened before I even turned 20.
But I'm not that child anymore.
Even now, it's definitely a shitty memory.
But I don't need to live in this memory.
I crossed the desert and approached Al Chiron's tent.
"Tell the group leader that I found the needle he wanted."
The guard went inside, and soon the tent's flap opened.
A middle-aged man with a turban and a stylish mustache came out.
My hands trembled involuntarily, but Ryu Haneul held my arm steady beside me.
Feeling a myriad of emotions, I said.
"The needle the group leader wanted is over there."
Al Chiron asked.
"I see nothing but desert. Where is this needle?"
"Beneath the desert lies a river named the Needle. That river was the boundary between the barren wasteland where farming was impossible and the vast grasslands where the ancients lived. Since nothing could survive beyond the river, the ancients believed that the other side was the afterlife."
Al Chiron's eyes widened exaggeratedly.
"I knew there were such legends among the heathens. As a devout believer, I couldn't be the first to venture out, but if these are the words of kind foreigners, perhaps it's worth believing."
Even my constellation couldn't act better than that.
At that moment, I understood the whole story.
It seemed Al Chiron couldn't move recklessly due to opposition from the extremist believers within the group.
He must have needed to hear these words from us, the foreigners, to create a basis for persuading them.
"I hope it was helpful."
"It was a great help. Thank you. This is a token of my gratitude."
He took out a small lamp from his ornate silk sleeve and offered it to me.
【Genie's Lamp (Mythical)】
【Rub the lamp, and a genie will appear to grant your wishes. You can make a total of three wishes.】
【*Wishes to increase the number of wishes, love, resurrection, and wishes involving the genie actively committing murder will not be granted.】
I accepted the lamp and stepped aside with Ryu Haneul.
"Let's go! To paradise!"
Al Chiron shouted, raising his fist as he mounted an elephant.
Under the starry night sky, the elephant let out a low bellow.
Starting with that, the procession that stretched to the horizon began to move.
It was a procession that might have been stationary for years.
As I watched for a while, I noticed something peculiar.
The beginning of the procession was flamboyant and leisurely, but the further back it went, the simpler and sharper it became.
The more I saw the soldiers guarding the rear and the ragged people hurrying to keep up, the more it seemed like a refugee procession rather than a merchant one.
"..."
Ryu Haneul also seemed to notice something strange, his expression was subtle.
"Senior, what did you say about the world inside the tower?"
"Some say it's another world somewhere in the universe, and others say it's an instant dungeon in a game that Aitel creates and destroys on the fly."
"What do you think, senior?"
"I don't think about it."
"Why?"
"Because no matter what this actually is, it won't change what I experienced and the emotions I felt."
I stood there until Al Chiron's procession crossed the sea of sand that stretched under the night sky.
The world turned monochrome.
I said to Ryu Haneul.
"Thank you. I couldn't have gotten out without you."
Ryu Haneul smiled warmly.
"No. I couldn't have gotten out without you either, senior."
* * *
I snapped back to reality.
We had gone through Ryu Haneul's nightmare once, and mine once, so I thought we'd be falling into Lee Baejeong's nightmare next.
But after the world turned black and white, there was only darkness, neither up nor down.
Thump.
A faint vibration spread from afar, passing through me.
"Senior. Something's strange, isn't it?"
"Prepare for battle."
"Huh?"
"Something's coming."
Thump!
Ryu Haneul must have felt the vibration too, as he drew the Black Heavenly Demon Sword from his inventory and scanned the area ahead.
Whoosh!
It struck in an instant, like a spatial jump from a sci-fi movie.
The entire dark space we were standing in seemed to be absorbed into its domain.
A loud alarm rang in my ears.
【Warning! Warning! Warning!】
【The Mirror Prince of the Ruined World (S+) has appeared.】
【The Mirror Prince is gathering countless people's 'worlds' to restore his homeland. Be careful not to be absorbed by the Mirror Prince.】
It changed its form.
Crackle!
"The sanctuary?"
"This is my house?"
In the next moment, Ryu Haneul and I were standing in a space similar to the sanctuary on the 99th floor of my building.
A spacious octagonal room, surrounded by Greek-style pillars and statues.
It was a place all too familiar.
But the difference was that instead of panoramic windows, mirrors were plastered everywhere.
Slurp!
Accompanied by a sticky, monstrous sound that didn't match the smoothness of the mirrors, blurry facial features emerged from within the giant mirrors.
It reminded me of the default male character in a 3D app.
It seemed to simply exist, devoid of any personality or individuality.
It screamed.
["Who are you and why have you come here!"]
Before its mouth could fully open, I pulled out the Certificate of Pardon from my inventory.
Flash!
The Certificate of Pardon, which nullifies proposition-type debuffs, flashed, and a strong wind passed by me.
【Status Abnormality: 'Ego Collapse' Nullified】
A notification popped up in the corner of my vision.
"I'm okay."
I looked to the side and saw that Ryu Haneul's eyes were also wide open.
Well, now wasn't the time to worry about the 'Heavenly Demon.'
The Mirror Prince opened his mouth once more.
["Who am I! Your nightmares will multiply like my endless nightmare!"]
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure stepped out of the mirror in front of us.
Step.
"...Ha."
I couldn't help but gasp.
Magical noise flickered across his face, making it difficult to recognize him properly.
But the blue halo that soared in all directions like swords, the dark blue hair covering his forehead, and the well-built physique left no doubt about his identity.
Cheong Siyeol.
It was definitely Cheong Siyeol.
That Mirror Prince bastard must have summoned him from my memories.
Shing.
Cheong Siyeol drew a blue longsword that looked as if it were made of sapphire.
He spun the sword left and right once, then kicked off the ground and charged.
It was a scene I had seen recently.
Whoosh!
I immediately used 'Radiant Light Sword' on the Heavenly Lotus Sword to block him.
Clang!
"Ugh!"
But I couldn't even withstand a single blow and was sent flying to the opposite side of the sanctuary.
Even at my peak, pure hand-to-hand combat with 'Sword Saint' Cheong Siyeol was not easy.
"Senior!"
Ryu Haneul tried to raise his Black Heavenly Sword Aura.
I shouted urgently.
"Don't interfere! If you show hostility, you might create an enemy for yourself too!"
"But—!"
"And that's probably me at my peak."
Indeed, next to the mirror where Cheong Siyeol had appeared, a figure that looked suspiciously like me flickered in and out of view.
"..."
Ryu Haneul gritted his teeth and lowered his sword.
Cheong Siyeol raised his sword again and charged.
Clang!
As I parried his downward strike, the 'Heavenly Lotus Sword' reached its limit.
The heated blade shattered and broke off.
I immediately dropped the sword and tried to use the Repulsion Wave at close range, but...
Thud!
Cheong Siyeol's kick to my chest was faster.
Ryu Haneul looked back and forth between me and the Mirror Prince, unsure of what to do.
The Mirror Prince didn't move anymore.
Perhaps there was a limit to the number of replicas he could summon at once.
I hoped so.
"Siyeol."
I took out the Winter Duke's Standard from my inventory.
Holding the standard in my left hand, I walked around the sanctuary and stood with my back to the central throne.
"You still don't understand what I'm saying, do you?"
It was the same setup as back then.
Cheong Siyeol's eyes flashed sky blue.
Swoosh!
The blue longsword, like an event horizon, warped space and slashed towards my side.
Stab!
The sword pierced below my left ribs, diagonally through my body, and emerged from behind my right shoulder blade.
At that moment, I activated 'Battle Continuation' with the 'Solar Scarab' amulet I had put in my pocket.
【Solar Scarab (Hero)】
【Effect: Battle Continuation. Nullifies fatal wounds once.】
Fwaaaaaah!
The scarab, pushing the sun upwards, shone brilliantly.
[TL/N: Pushing the sun upward — is a metaphorical expression. In many cultures, the scarab is associated with the sun due to its behavior of rolling dung, which was metaphorically linked to rolling the sun across the sky.]
Yellow light burst from the amulet on my chest and the wound.
The replicated Cheong Siyeol's lips twitched in surprise.
I then used the standard in my left hand to 'Declare Domain.'
Thump!
The moment the bottom of the standard touched the ground, white light spread out in a spherical shape, burning away the Mirror Prince's space and his control over it.
I had already used this standard to create a 'gap' when we entered.
Based on the Aitel System's explanation, this place seemed to be a space where entities were created from memories.
Just as the replicated Cheong Siyeol used the techniques of his living self, my memory contained him.
Unlike back then, I wasn't holding the Fire Dragon Sword now.
And people tend to notice empty spaces more.
"Gotcha."
Grip.
【Fire Dragon Sword (Myth → Hero)】
A long, curved sword with a dragon engraved on its handle, was pulled out from Cheong Siyeol's memory.
I grabbed the replicated Cheong Siyeol's shoulder with my left hand.
Unlike in the past, when it felt like he would break if I held him wrong, he felt very solid.
I swung the Blazing Fire Dragon Sword upwards in a reverse grip.
Slice.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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