55. The Greatest Mystery Since the Gates Appeared - Resolved

Gate coins. A resource unique to the Tower that hadn't even been around for a full day yet. It had come up a lot during this Tower upheaval, so I'd figured it was a key element, sure. But I never imagined it'd be used like this.

The message I'd seen before mentioned stuff like helping you climb the Tower or hunt monsters. Honestly, none of that was useful to me, so I hadn't paid much attention. I was only mildly curious about the Tower shop. But this? This changed everything.

"Confirm."

A bunch of enhancement options scrolled out below the disclaimer, like a manual. Stuff from extending Otherworld duration to weakening monsters, boosting awakeners, improving magic stone conversion rates, increasing Otherworld durability—you name it. I rolled my eyes scanning through ones I desperately needed and ones that made me go, "What's the point of this?"

A Tower with power like this wouldn't show me options unless they aligned with what I wanted. And sure enough, my expectations panned out—I spotted the effect I needed.

The other effects were secondary. What caught my eye was the Gate travel restriction. Perfectly what I needed. Not a total ban or seal, which was a shame, but still.

Letting things like these two I had tied up roam Gates freely was way too dangerous to handle. If I could tie them down even a little, it was worth it.

The cost... 400k? Honestly, I had no sense of scale. Plus, limiting it to this area meant nothing if they popped out elsewhere and snuck in. Expansion would jack up the price big time.

It popped up like it was waiting. Wait, there are only three Towers here. Why 10x? From region to nation... not adding other Tower domains, but jumping to a higher concept? Or are there gaps between domains? What's next after nation? Continent? World?

Nation jumps straight to world. Cost spiked hard. Compared to the nation multiplier, it felt cheaper conceptually—world has hundreds of nations, after all.

Hmm. Still, expanding right now was a stretch. I hadn't checked supply rates properly, but... even conservatively, this affects a whole region massively. Not something an individual does lightly.

Oh well. No choice. Whatever I had, I'd burn it max. I'd claimed all of Sobaeksan as my domain, so basic enhancement might work. Retroactive too, it said. For expansion, grind the deficit later. If I hustled, it'd be quick.

—Thinking that, I selected it.

Eh? Wait, what? My brain froze staring at the number. Was this just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handing them out? I could spam this level right now.

While I gawked, it updated—increasing. What the hell? And not once; it kept refreshing, coins piling up live.

Not from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tying these two up, right? What was happening? Like an auto-farm in a mobile game running wild...

...Wait. Auto-farm?

The word hit me. Coincidence? Inspiration? I had something that qualified: the installable spell I'd sneakily renamed to barrier for everyday use—Disinfection.

It "blocked" bugs invading my base, ensuring a peaceful environment. Half-barrier, really.

"......"

My eyes flicked between the message and the spell. Disinfection fired hundreds of times daily, blocking new "bugs" clean. No remains left in the barrier zone. Spotless.

And right then, the message refreshed—more Gate Coins.

Japan, Gate Research Institute S-Team.

"Ooh! Finally, finally explained!"

"No data errors? Really none?!"

"Yes! Calculations and measurements match perfectly!"

Susanoo Tempest—Aris—sipped her tea quietly amid the cheering researchers.

"Truly grateful. Without your help, Tempest-nim, not sure the research would've progressed..."

"Glad it helped."

She was here to adapt to the skill from Tower climbing—Spirituality (A). Awakening latent spiritual talent for new senses. The alien sensation was tough to adjust to, catching S-Team's eye.

Their focus: precise analysis of population density in Gate spawns. Digging deeper into statistically known trends.

Stuck, they sought a mood boost and variable—Aris's new skill.

"Souls, huh. Who'd think that was the key."

"Just defining souls saves us five years of funding worries!"

It exploded into massive results. Observing/defining souls. Proving Gates keyed on soul value, not raw numbers.

"Souls..."

Aris recalled. Taboo occult stuff on Earth, but she knew someone unbiased: her revered isekai returnee magical girl, Ha Seol-hee.

Living with "Soul Rank" terms pre-Tower status. And that vortex—even Aris's faint pre-skill intuition got hammered awake. Overwhelming just exposed; only after extreme downscaling could she barely revere it.

"Um, Minami researcher?"

"Yes!"

"One question."

The dancing researcher bowed politely at her call.

"Speak!"

"I don't get it all, but if Gates condition on souls, it ties to Soul Rank stat, right?"

She'd played a key role but couldn't grasp the theory—too academic.

"From initial grasp, yes. Final controls confirmed: civilians vs. awakeners classified by Soul Rank..."

Surface level only. But enough for Aris.

"...making Soul Rank encompass soul intensity, quality, scale. Gates prioritize quantity of souls minimally per experiments. So."

"My question is this."

Skipping the long lecture, Aris recalled: that plane to Korea.

"Hypothetically, one soul. Immensely vast, exalted rank. Overwhelming billions combined. If that soul exists in one person."

How would Gates spawn?

The researcher stroked his beard at her trailing voice.

"Hmm. Huh? Hm... intriguing hypothesis."

First like humoring a kid. Then puzzled. Finally, like a grad student nailing the core.

"Not fully proven, but Gates weigh numbers and quality uniquely—clear."

His own calcs yielding this amazed him.

"Yes. Your hypothesis? Gates would spawn concentrated on that Soul Rank holder."

Million-resident city nearby? Ten-million zone? Absurd, but outstripping billions? Gates prioritize it.

"Until far enough to escape observation... all Gates. Even distant ones might feel some pull."

Natural-spawn Gates aside, of course.

Cheers died; other researchers nodded, listening.

"Yeah. Never considered such extremes, so these calcs..."

"Man, our imagination was narrow."

"Density for souls too?"

"More like gravitational pull from mass?"

Chatter erupted anew—not play, but scholars' fevered academic buzz.

Yep, what I felt was right.

In the frenzy, Aris hand-over-heart whispered. Certain now.

Ha Seol-hee brushed it off as a joke back then... but Aris as wind spirit magical girl felt it.

Not "retreated"—dragged and auto-processed. Details wrong, but core nailed.

Post-Gate, humanity's top mystery: Why only one Gate trend in Korea, lifestyle safe?

...Solely because one magical girl existed. Elice Calamity.

USA, Chicago.

Chrrrrrk—

"Gruk?! Wh-what! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kraaaah!"

"......?"

Magical girl Starlight Blaster felt an odd premonition. Sudden message. Blue chains from nowhere wrapping her monster mid-fight.

Familiar vibe.

"What the... this damn world!"

The orc (self-proclaimed pig-headed horse-speaker) she'd struggled with roared, dragged into darkness—which Gate, who knows.

Relieved, leaning on her staff, Starlight Blaster thought: even the name on the message felt familiar.