Chapter 177: 38th Floor. Fairy Village (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 177: 38th Floor. Fairy Village (5)
The quest was over, but Kang Jun-hyeok couldn't return to Earth immediately.
There was cleanup to be done.
He had coated the tree with Duneshade poison. If left alone, the toxin would seep into the roots and eventually kill the entire tree.
Thus, Jun-hyeok carefully pruned away every section where the poison had been applied. Although those parts were contaminated, the tree was so massive that the loss didn't compromise its overall health. Once the cleanup was finished, he met with the Village Chief again.
"Wow. You really are incredible. I’ve fought her illusion before, you know. I couldn't even last a few minutes before being kicked out."
The Village Chief hadn't been able to handle even a single box properly. If Pixie hadn't given the order not to kill the fairies, the Chief would have been buried underground long ago.
"The tree will continue to grow, but... since her illusion is gone, we can manage it ourselves. This place will become a bountiful land of miracles. It’s all thanks to you."
The Village Chief waved her hand with a beaming smile.
"Well then, safe travels! And thank you!"
She bid him farewell. Jun-hyeok paused.
"Aren't you going to give me anything?"
"Huh? Didn't you come here at her request? Besides, what you resolved was ultimately her mistake. Didn't you just set things right?"
"..."
She wasn't wrong.
Still, he felt a bit slighted. Seeing his expression, the Village Chief burst into laughter.
"It’s a joke! A joke! How could I possibly mistreat her representative?"
"Haha. What a funny joke."
"Right? Here! Take this!"
Jun-hyeok let out a dry laugh. With a joyful expression, the Village Chief handed him a thick root. It pulsed with powerful mana.
"This is the oldest of the tree's roots. It contains the Mana of Origin. To be honest, I’ve never seen mana of this purity before."
Jun-hyeok let out a small exclamation of awe. Just as the Chief said, the mana was substantial. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the inner core of a monster that had lived for thousands of years.
"And this!"
The Village Chief handed him a necklace that was nearly as large as her own torso.
"It’s quite big."
"It was made by our ancestors a very long time ago. They said that one day, harmony would be achieved with humans, and that we should give this as a gift then. Unfortunately, our ancestors' faith never came to fruition."
Still, it was the perfect item to give as a gift. Jun-hyeok marveled as he took the necklace. It was an artifact embedded with numerous gems, possessing its own inherent mana. Its value was hard to put into words.
"And humans value gems highly, don't they? Take these! They are our gems!"
"Oh. Thank you."
He also managed to obtain a fair amount of gemstones. These weren't ordinary jewels. Having been kept in the Fairy Village, they were of high purity and contained mana of their own.
Jun-hyeok smiled as he packed away his rewards. Only then did the Village Chief wave her hand in a sincere farewell.
"Thank you! Truly. Please give her my regards!"
[38th Floor Quest Cleared.]
[Rewards will be determined based on your performance.]
[Calculating achievement rate...]
[Calculation complete.]
[Achievement Rate: 100%]
[Perfect Clear. Congratulations! Additional rewards will be granted.]
[5,922 Gold has been distributed.]
[Perfect Clear Reward: You have obtained 'Fairy Gems'.]
[Perfect Clear Reward: You have obtained 'Title: Fairy's Benefactor'.]
[Perfect Clear Reward: You have obtained 'Mana Root'.]
[Perfect Clear Reward: You have obtained 'Necklace: Necklace of Promise'.]
[Players who have Perfect Cleared the 38th Floor: 1.]
[You are the only one!]
[Universal Announcement.]
[Please offer your congratulations! Everyone in the universe! A Perfect Player for the 38th Floor has appeared. This is a feat that no one has achieved until now!]
[Feat +5]
* * *
Having returned to Earth, Jun-hyeok began checking his rewards.
[Title: Fairy's Benefactor]
• A title given to one who has bestowed a great favor upon the fairies.
• Fairies will feel a sense of goodwill toward you.
Fairies were notoriously hostile toward other races, especially humans. Even Fairy Players were known to distrust human Players.
He possessed Pixie's Wings, but there was no guarantee things would always go as smoothly as they had this time. In that sense, it was an excellent title.
[Mana Root]
• Rank: High-Rank
• A root containing powerful and high-purity mana.
A crafting material. He already knew exactly where to use it. Next, Jun-hyeok toyed with the necklace.
[Necklace of Promise]
• Slot: Necklace
• Rank: Mid-Rank
• Speed +5
• Mana +10
• Defense +10
• A necklace created by the fairies for a future era of harmony. Unfortunately, it was never used until the moment of their extinction.
"Oh."
Jun-hyeok let out a sound of surprise.
Even though it wasn't a weapon, it had a Mana stat attached to it. Among the Tower's stats, Strength governed physical attacks, while Mana governed the power of magical attacks.
However, Jun-hyeok was not a mage. His primary weapons were physical ones, like spears and swords. While he could manifest various weapons through Master of All Weapons, doing so in the heat of a frantic battle wasn't easy.
Because of this, Jun-hyeok's magic lacked the punch of a dedicated mage Player. In that regard, this was a very rare and excellent piece of equipment.
The effect of the Perfect Player title was Mana +1.
And there was another reward aside from the clear rewards. It was the passive skill he had earned by winning the battle against the fairies: Control.
'I finally got it.'
[Passive Skill: Control]
• Rank: Mid-Rank
• Proficiency: F
• The ability to control all things. Grants powerful control over yourself and your surrounding environment.
This was the second Mid-rank passive skill he had obtained after Boundary of Death Awakening.
Its effect was the control of the environment and oneself. Control meant exactly what it implied—it helped him perceive and understand everything around him, allowing him to manipulate things in the direction he desired.
If the Observation skill found the desired answer, the Control skill dominated the environment.
It wasn't just about controlling his surroundings; his control over himself also increased. When he tried moving his internal energy as a test, he found he could control its movement, flow, and power with near perfection. Jun-hyeok whistled.
'It’s a good skill.'
It had been just as difficult to obtain. One could only earn it after repeatedly winning against high-ranking entities while maintaining perfect control over the situation. It was well worth its Mid-rank status, and the vast majority of players never managed to acquire it at all.
"Now then."
The real business started now. Eldiria, the Master of All Weapons, chuckled softly.
[I’m looking forward to this.]
"Shopkeeper."
Space cracked open, and Pixie appeared. Unlike her usual self, she was acting sheepish, as if she had something on her conscience.
[...How did it go?]
"It’s probably better if you see for yourself."
Jun-hyeok held out his hand. Pixie let out a deep sigh and placed her finger on it. The memories of the 38th floor were transmitted to her.
[Ah... so that’s what happened.]
Pixie muttered with a complicated expression.
[You resolved it successfully. And those children were still following and believing in me. Mmmmmm. Now I feel even worse.]
[Why did you leave them abandoned?] Eldiria asked.
[Ugh. They seemed to be struggling, so I left them a gift before I went. I even left an illusion of myself just in case. ...But, well, I forgot to set a limit on the growth rate.]
The tree must have grown. It swallowed the Fairy Village, and then went beyond that. It grew until it crossed continents and eventually devoured the entire planet.
Pixie spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.
[That’s how... that place was destroyed.]
[Hah.] Eldiria let out a derisive laugh. [You made a truly amateur mistake. To help mortals, one must act with cold, calculated precision. You must calculate the repercussions of your power. To fail at something so basic... how utterly pathetic.]
[Ugh, uuuugh.] Pixie groaned, having no defense.
"The destruction of a planet, huh?"
A single mistake had wiped out a world. He knew well that those called Transcendents possessed such power, but hearing it again felt different.
'So that's why the fairies were so quiet.'
Pixie was someone deeply revered by the fairies. Her catastrophic mistake had destroyed their planet. For the fairies, it must have been a floor they could hardly bear to speak of. Pixie sighed.
[It was my terrible mistake. The Master of the Tower really has a twisted sense of humor. Still... thank you. Thanks to you, at least in that place, they can live a peaceful life. Thank you.]
Pixie offered her sincere gratitude.
[500 Starlight.]
"Oh."
Jun-hyeok's face brightened. Perhaps because he had fixed her mistake, it was the highest amount of Starlight he had received to date.
[You’ve surpassed 2,000 now, right? Is there anything you want to buy?]
"I didn't have anything in mind before, but now I do," Jun-hyeok said with a smirk. "The Mana Box your illusion used. I want to get that."
* * *
At Jun-hyeok's words, Pixie flinched.
[Uh. That?]
"That exact box."
He nodded.
The box itself was incredibly durable—strong enough to block his attacks. The power of the light it emitted was also formidable. On top of that, it was possible to control dozens of them simultaneously.
It possessed both offensive and defensive power, much like the 'funnels' from a robot anime. It was an extremely powerful magic. Pixie looked hesitant at Jun-hyeok's request.
[Hmm... Mmm.]
The Mana Box was a magic she had created herself, something no one else had ever mastered. It was one of her proudest achievements, so even for Jun-hyeok, she couldn't help but hesitate. Jun-hyeok smiled broadly.
"In case you've forgotten, I Perfect Cleared the 38th floor. I know everything that happened there."
Where and how he chose to reveal that information was entirely up to him. Understanding his meaning, Pixie's face stiffened. She hurriedly nodded her head.
[Fine. Normally, I wouldn't even think of giving this away, but since you saved them, I should at least do this much. Here! It’s yours!]
[Pixie's Mana Box]
• Rank: High-Rank
• Proficiency: F
• Cooldown: None
• Consumes mana to summon high-dimensional Pixie's Boxes. There is no limit to the number of boxes that can be summoned.
• Cost: 3,000 Starlight.
"3,000 Starlight, huh?"
He currently had 2,410 Starlight. He could afford it after clearing two or three more floors. Jun-hyeok was satisfied.
"Good. Just wait."
[But you're really going for this? It’s powerful, sure, but it’s incredibly difficult to use. I hate to say this, but with your current abilities, you'll struggle to move even one.]
She wasn't necessarily looking down on him. Pixie's Mana Box required highly advanced mana manipulation skills. It was something even a genius appearing once in a thousand years would struggle to master.
Jun-hyeok's abilities were impressive, but those were his abilities as a Player. His talent as a mage was nothing special. However, Jun-hyeok looked completely unconcerned.
"I'm not a mage. I'm a Player."
[What does that mean?]
"It’s simple."
His mana manipulation skills were indeed nothing special. Even if he practiced for over a thousand years, he likely wouldn't be able to control a single box. That was a fundamental limitation of his birth—just as a bird can easily fly because it has wings while a human cannot.
So, he would use a different ability. He was a Player. He just needed to use a means other than mana.
'Esper powers.'
That was the power he would obtain on the very next floor—the 39th Floor.