304 - Civilization 8 Mod: Crusader Europa Victoria Heartiron Stella

'Yeah, nice one, System. So, explain more about that "Tower Challenger's Mental Barrier linked to the Tower's mental entity" thing. My mind isn't getting mixed up or corrupted by the Tower or anything like that, right?'

'I see. So it's just making the wall protecting my mind tougher, nothing more.'

I asked the System a few more questions about basic control over the Tower, but nothing significant came up, so I let it slide. Honestly, out of today's gains, the companion entry feature seemed like the biggest jackpot.

...Maybe later I could take the family to some decent floor and hang out together. Heh heh heh.

Feeling excited, I started thinking about where to go with the family next. But it hit me that it'd be better to just ask them directly what they wanted to check out.

"Oppa, did you hear? The Tower's gone!"

Right on cue, my little sis came running to me on the mansion's terrace, chattering about how the Tower had vanished. She'd passed out on the master bedroom bed like all the other women in our family after we'd gone at it hard, but apparently woke up, checked her smartphone, saw the breaking news, and bolted straight to me.

"Yeah, I saw it on the TV news earlier, and I even checked the view outside. The Tower's really gone. Look over there yourself."

"Whoa, that's crazy. Awesome.... Does this mean humanity's finally free from the Tower crisis?"

My little sis peered in the direction where the Seoul Tower used to be and chimed in. To regular folks, that massive structure they'd grown oddly used to was just... gone, leaving an empty sky. It had vanished as suddenly as it appeared, she said, reading off internet comments. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In reality, it hadn't disappeared—it had just turned transparent.

"Hey, little sis. I've got a random question out of the blue. Don't overthink it, but answer seriously. ...Say you could jump into any world from an anime, novel, game—whatever. Any fictional world you want. Where would you go?"

"...Hmm, any world from any story?"

"Yeah. It has to have some kind of "narrative," though. Even a fairy tale adults made up works, as long as there's a story. Games count too. Like that Civilization one we just did."

"Oh, then I'd pick Civilization. The Civilization world. Hehe."

"For real? Nothing else? What if it's just once?"

"Yup. Civilization. If possible, the "Civilization 8 Mod: Crusader Europa Victoria Heartiron Stella." "

"I see... Got it...."

"But why? Why ask something like that?"

"Nah, nothing. Just curious."

"Really? Then what world would you wanna go to, oppa?"

"Me? Hmm, first off, a zombie apocalypse game, or maybe a doujinshi manga world where I get hypnosis powers?"

"......Hypnosis? So typical of you. Your intentions are obviously impure. And you're into zombie apocalypse worlds not because you like them, but for dirty reasons, right?"

"......"

She nailed it, so I played dumb. Little sis saw my face and gave me that "knew it" look.

"Called it. You're so predictable. Bet you wanna dive into one of those worlds and rape women left and right."

"......"

"...Sigh, seriously. You're my oppa, but times like this, you piss me off. How can anyone even think like that?"

"Hey, it's just a fantasy. What's the harm? It's my head."

"That's why you're only getting away with fantasies. If you tried that for real, our family women would've roasted you verbally for a year straight. Ugh, gross. Pervert. Creep."

Yeah, definitely can't take her to Floor 1. Floor 4's out too... probably Floors 3 and the rest are the same.

The floors I'd messed around on without a second thought were totally off-limits for family trips. But if that's the case... there really aren't any safe floors to bring them to...?

"Fine, fine. My bad. Happy now? Quit nagging."

I ditched the terrace to escape her lecturing and headed to the living room, but she chased after me, yapping nonstop, so I just ducked into the Tower.

Hmm, it's been a while since she nagged like this... kinda stressing me out. Maybe hit a new floor to blow off steam.

The urge to challenge a new floor hit me, so I decided to head to Tower Floor 9. The System, reading my intent instantly, prompted me.

'Yeah.'

Being Floor 9, nine trial options popped up as examples.

'Oh? The Civilization 8 mod my little sis wanted is here?'

It was pure luck—the exact game she'd just mentioned. 'Wonder what the trial content and rewards are like?'

Curious about the trial format, I checked it out, and damn, the difficulty was no joke. It banned my specialties like subspace, mental abilities, and some Absolute Dick functions.

Mental ability ban meant no hypnosis skill or Absolute Dick's "aphrodisiac/drug function" or "You're mine forever" function. Subspace ban was straightforward—no subspace. Non-human ban covered Absolute Dick's tentacle dick, bumpy dick, drill dick, and similar features. Yeah, those screamed "non-human" at first glance.

'Huh? Vibration dick's allowed? Sweet. Guess it doesn't count as non-human. Thanks, System.'

Most superpowers didn't apply to me anyway—probably would've banned telekinesis or x-ray vision if I had them. Certain skills banned stuff like "Skeleton Summon Lv.5."

'Rewards are 100,000 points and... Evolution Gene Trait Skill?'

I asked the System what it was: a kind of advantage trait applying to me and all my descendants. Like longevity gene for longer life, dexterity gene for better handiwork. Others included strength, agility, intelligence, adaptability, learning speed, diligence, recovery, durability, fertility, etc.

'Oh... It applies to me and my descendants? So picking this buffs my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kids too? Wait, System. What about kids I've already had? They don't get it since they're born?'

'What...?! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So even the kids I'm playing with on Tower Floor 4—if I pick an intelligence-boosting gene trait here, they'll get smarter too?'

"...I see. Hmm...."

I imagined clearing this trial, getting the Evolution Gene Trait Skill Selection, then consulting the family women on what to pick. They'd love it. No mom hates her kids getting awesome inherited traits.

"Heh heh heh, I can picture it—little sis, Mom, my sisters, and Fourth Sis going nuts with joy. Depending on the situation, I should bring little sis and the family in as companions. She'd be thrilled. Perfect. This is it. Heading into the Civilization 8 world."

My vision went pitch black. I felt myself being transported somewhere.