The Spirit That Trembles and the Tower That Collapses (2)
The description was always far more underwhelming than the actual power. Take the Ruler of the Tower, for instance. Its plain wording—“allows free movement between towers and difficulties”—had handed me the ultimate tower-climbing cheat. Then there was Sword God, listed as simple combat assistance but actually boosting sword mastery, intuition, and judgment to absurd levels. And Fusion, which let me synthesize not just items but even summons with a perfect success rate. It felt like the system had scribbled some half-assed explanation and shrugged with a casual “eh, it’s mythic-grade, so it’s fine.” I already knew that about my traits, but…
“Why the hell is it Dragon Knight?”
The fire spirit, a salamander. That thing was literally just a lizard, wasn’t it? Even when I examined it with Dragon Eyes, the word “dragon” was nowhere to be found. Yet suddenly my Dragon Knight trait had activated. I was genuinely confused.
“Am I seriously supposed to ride that?”
Dragon Knight, my ass. If I hopped on that thing, I’d be a lizard rider. Sure, I was a practical guy who didn’t care much about appearances, but this was pushing it. My eyes narrowed on their own. My grip tightened around the hilt of my sword.
—Tremble. Tremble.
“S-surely not…!!!”
The flame lizard looked just as tense. It stared at me and shivered violently.
“Kyaung…? Kyang! Kyang!!!”
Dohwa, who had been watching nervously, perked up both of her tails, but… contrary to what Dohwa and I expected, the spirit’s reaction wasn’t hostile at all.
—Thud.
“…May this humble one beg forgiveness for the insolence of having spoken to you so casually?”
“Huh?”
“Kyaung?”
The spirit had flattened itself against the ground. It even pressed its head firmly to the floor. It looked exactly like it was swearing absolute loyalty. And that’s precisely what it was doing.
“I never imagined someone so noble would visit such a lowly place.”
“Noble? What are you even talking about?”
“You are one who has earned the favor of the greatest race—the dragons.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, that was part of the trait description. Something like “the love of dragons dwells within you.” I just hadn’t expected it to apply like this.
—Tilt.
“But does receiving a little favor really warrant bowing your head? Aren’t you the GM of the third floor?”
A sudden sense of unease hit me. This seemed way too over-the-top.
“Why are you bowing? The dragons are the impressive ones, not me.”
I asked directly. The answer came immediately.
“Because I am a spirit. All spirits are servants of the dragons. Therefore, we must obey anyone equal to them—such as yourself.”
“…Is that so?”
“It is. And please, speak to me casually. I cannot bear such honor.”
“Hmm, I see.”
So, to summarize: You’ve got dragon backing? Got it. Full VIP treatment incoming.
“Have you come to the temple to ascend higher?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Then I shall guide you with every comfort. Normally an initiate must pioneer their own path, but I cannot possibly burden someone like you with such labor. Please entrust everything to me.”
It was even offering to clear the tower for me… What kind of insane cheat was this? If Yuna saw it, she’d probably explode and demand to know where such broken nonsense existed. Of course, I had zero intention of refusing.
“Then could you open the door for me?”
Tap. I pointed at a door set into one side of the temple. Well, it was less a door and more a wall. It started with one small door, then larger ones overlapped and connected in sequence. The system evaluated an awakener’s overall strength and opened the appropriate doors automatically.
“There’s even a manga based on this concept, right? Something like Hunger x Hunger.”
A legendary Japanese debut work that had run faithfully for twenty whole years before finally concluding. The door mechanic was famous for being borrowed from it, but anyway.
When an awakener faced these doors, they usually experienced one of two things: barely managing to open the smallest door, or failing entirely due to lack of strength. In the latter case, they’d complete some training quest given by the spirit. Regardless of success, the spirit would then casually open two doors afterward. The awakener would typically be overwhelmed by the spirit’s power, but…
The spirit has opened the doors.
—Creeeeak!!!
“Yes, they are open!!!”
The spirit, who should have been aloof and offering only cryptic advice, flung the doors open at my request. It used so much force that even the third door cracked open a little.
“Thanks~.”
What a delicious cheat. I was about to walk through when—
—Pause.
“If that lizard can do that much, how many can Dohwa open?”
A sudden curiosity struck me. If a salamander that was only level 200 could open that many, how strong was Dohwa exactly? I couldn’t leave a question like that unanswered.
“Salamander, step aside for a moment.”
“Yes, is there any discomfort…?”
“Not at all. Dohwa? Hit that wall with everything you’ve got!!!”
“Kyang!!!”
As the lizard hurriedly backed away, Dohwa’s pink fluffball accelerated like lightning. A moment later, a flash of pink slammed into the doors.
—Creeeeeeaaaak!!!!
“W-what!?”
The doors flew open instantly. Four of them. Well, the fourth one was only halfway, but still. The salamander clearly couldn’t believe its eyes. Its lizard mouth gaped open like a crocodile’s.
“How is this possible… that a mere low-grade youkai could open more doors than me…”
“Kyaung~?”
“Good girl. Well done.”
I didn’t pay it much mind. I simply scooped up Dohwa, who was wagging her tail as if asking for praise, and kept walking. For Dohwa, whose specs already transcended the beginner tower, this result was only natural.
“Kyang, kyang!!”
“Hm? What is it, Dohwa?”
“Kyaung~.”
“You want me to try too?”
Since she seemed eager to see it, I casually placed my hand on the wall. A clear chime rang out.
The colossal doors assess your strength.
Assessment complete. The doors are opening.
—KWAHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!
A deafening roar shook the entire temple. Thick clouds of dust billowed up, stone fragments flew everywhere. The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck the sanctuary. Dohwa and I slowly lifted our gazes upward.
—Snort.
“It’s definitely just trait power, but are you satisfied, Dohwa?”
“Kyaauuuung~.”
“Good. Oh, salamander. Hurry up and follow.”
I chuckled lightly and glanced behind me.
“E-eh… ehhhh…?”
In the salamander’s eyes, all ten doors stood wide open. No—more like the entire wall had been completely blasted through.
The salamander’s mind had completely shattered.
—Gulp.
“Even that beast called Dohwa was already abnormal.”
First, Dohwa. The lizard could only open two doors itself, yet she had opened three… no, nearly four. That meant she was almost twice as strong as it was. No wonder it was terrified.
But even Dohwa had turned out to be nothing special.
“That person…”
The salamander’s gaze followed Hwimin. An initiate who had opened all ten doors without a flicker of emotion on his face. Seeing such a casual reaction made the flames across its entire body shoot straight up.
“If I hadn’t sensed the dragon aura, I would have completely disregarded him…!!”
In truth, the salamander had secretly looked down on Hwimin. It was the dragons that were frightening, not him. Besides, his appearance was shabby. That was why it had spoken so rudely at first. Now the salamander regretted that decision with every fiber of its being.
“If I had just noticed that ring earlier… No, there’s no use regretting the past! I must not fall any further out of his favor!!”
“O great and exalted one! This one shall follow you!”
It hurriedly chased after Hwimin. The sin of having forced absolute respect from someone so overwhelmingly powerful while daring to speak down to him—it would repay that debt with everything it had. What had once been a half-hearted show of courtesy had now become a desperate, life-staking commitment.
Thanks to that, Hwimin climbed the tower in extreme comfort.
“If you feel even the slightest discomfort, please tell me immediately! I will adjust at once!!!”
For example, on the twenty-second floor—a snowy field filled with ice spirits where one was supposed to gather the spirit’s flower—Hwimin never even had to step on the snow. The salamander circled around him, completely blocking the cold. As a result, the ice spirits didn’t dare approach.
“The snow flower is…”
“Why would someone like you need such a thing? There is nothing worth seeing here, so let us proceed quickly!”
The flower that should have required rolling around in the snow to find, the salamander refused to even let him bother with. It was such an extreme cheat that even Hwimin felt a little guilty.
“I went this far… maybe his mood has improved a bit?”
Of course, from the salamander’s perspective, this was only natural. If Hwimin had refused, it would have been even more anxious, but…
“Trait switch, Super Adaptation.”
“…Pardon?”
“Salamander, stop moving around and stay still.”
Why? Hwimin raised his sword, eyes gleaming. The salamander screamed internally.
“Did I do something to offend him again…”
“That’s not a monster you can pre-emptively kill, but I can’t pass up free farming.”
Of course, Hwimin had no malicious intent. He was simply thinking an artifact might drop if he wiped out all the spirits. At his light glance, the salamander trembled and pressed its head to the ground. Tears welled up in its eyes, but Hwimin didn’t notice.
Super Adaptation+ (Mythic)
Upon being hit by an elemental attack, instantly gain resistance. (New!)
Also grants resistance when exposed to elemental environments.
[You have acquired Low-Grade Cold Resistance.]
“Space Slash!”
Swoosh—
The sword swept down toward the sky. Transparent sword energy scattered outward. The targets were the crystal-shaped ice spirits that had been freely roaming the air. The result was overwhelming slaughter.
“…H-huk!!!”
“All those spirits at once!?”
The ice spirits were sliced apart in a single stroke. Even those trying to flee after seeing their comrades fall were cut in half by sword strikes that eerily changed direction to chase them down. Normally, physical attacks didn’t work on spirits, but thanks to the Ten Thousand Cut Sword trait that could sever anything, this massacre was possible.
Because of it, the salamander felt the fear of death for the first time in its life.
“If those things were taken down so easily… then I…”
What the salamander concluded was this: It wasn’t a demonstration of power. It was a warning that he could cut something like it down with a single slash. So behave yourself. The silent threat left it too terrified to speak properly.
“It really was because I offended him earlier!! You stupid idiot, not knowing your place…”
“Tsk, nothing dropped.”
Meanwhile, Hwimin was slightly disappointed that no artifact had appeared, but regardless.
Thanks to that, he comfortably cleared the twenty-second floor. At the end of it, a pure white portal greeted the three of them.
“Good work, salamander. Thanks to you, Dohwa stayed nice and warm too.”
“Kyang!!”
“It is the highest honor to have been of even the slightest help!!!”
And just as the now perfectly disciplined salamander bowed its head—
“Oh right, salamander. Now that I think about it, I have a question.”
“Please ask me anything!!! I will answer to the best of my knowledge!!!”
“Alright then.”
Hwimin, still holding Dohwa, asked casually. With no great expectations, almost as an afterthought.
“On the third floor… in the temple, is there any monster that’s considered absolutely uncatchable? You know, the kind that would become legendary if someone actually managed to kill it.”
“I can’t pass up an achievement hunt.”