The Spirit That Trembles and the Tower That Falls Over (3)

I asked without much expectation. If the Underdog Tower had something like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, there was no way I would have missed the related posts. So I figured there probably wasn't anything. That's the mindset I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had when I asked…

"……!!!"

"Hmm?"

The salamander suddenly went quiet, then perked its tail straight up. The flames wrapping its body flared even brighter. Why is it reacting like that? It didn't take me long to figure it out.

"Not you."

"…Are you serious?"

"What kind of achievement would I get from catching something like you?"

"I-I see. I was convinced I'd done something rude and felt like I'd been hit with a bucket of cold water."

"No, it's partly my fault for wording it in a way that caused the misunderstanding."

Of course it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would react that way. The guy who just sliced up a spirit suddenly tells it to summon something normally impossible to catch. Naturally, it would think of itself first.

Killing it might drop something, but…

"I need you on the top floor of the temple, so relax."

Besides, this was the 29th floor—the highest layer of the temple area. I needed it to move on to the boss floor. I couldn't kill it. With my traits, I might be able to get there without it, but anyway.

"So tell me. Besides you… hmm. Is there anything stronger than Dohwa here?"

I pointed at Dohwa as I asked. At the mention of her name, she bounced around excitedly.

"Kyang!!"

"Hmm, something stronger than that…"

The salamander fell into thought. It glanced at me, then at Dohwa. After a brief silence, it spoke again.

"There is one thing that comes to mind."

"Oh, for real?"

I'd asked without expecting much, but it actually hit the jackpot.

"What is it? Stronger than me?"

"At the time of entry, it was weaker than you, great one."

"At the time of entry? Explain in detail—what does that mean?"

I pressed for an explanation. Its gaze turned toward the distant horizon. Its voice grew wistful, as if recalling the past.

"It really was an incredibly long time ago…"

It told me it had been guiding beginners for a very long time. Among the countless people it had led over those endless years, there was one beginner who remained unforgettable.

"It was a human woman with long hair. She opened seven doors."

One day, this woman appeared. She refused even its help and opened the doors herself. Seven of them. She was so strong it was hard to believe she was a beginner.

"I thought she didn't need my guidance, and she refused anyway, so I didn't follow her. I waited on the top floor of the temple, planning to open the door for her when she arrived."

"And then?"

"But she never came. Not for thousands of years."

"Did she die midway?"

"There is nothing in the temple that could kill someone that strong. She simply vanished without a trace."

She had gone missing somewhere inside the temple. A powerhouse who disappeared on just the third floor of the Egen Tower.

"Maybe she returned to the real… ahem, to her original world?"

I offered a reasonable suspicion, but—

"It's not as clear as yours, great one, but I can faintly sense her spirit still exists. She must still be inside the temple."

She was still in the tower. Even with all the strategies I'd read, this was the first time I'd heard anything like it. My head spun, so I pulled Dohwa into a hug for now.

-Squeeze.

"Kyaung…?"

"Dohwa, stay still for a bit. I need to organize my thoughts."

"Kyaaang!!"

"Good girl. Status window."

I also opened the community to see if anyone else had heard something similar. Of course, there wasn't a single mention of it.

"Salamander, do you not tell this story to other beginners?"

"After that woman, until you arrived, great one, I haven't seen any other beginners…"

"Just imagine. Would I tell a story like this to an ordinary beginner who could barely open one door?"

I asked just to be sure—why had I been the only one to hear this? The answer came back exactly as I expected.

"I do not engage in casual conversation with ordinary beginners. That woman, who was far stronger than me, and you, great one, are the exceptions."

"Far stronger? How much stronger?"

"If someone could open about five doors, I might take interest."

"Okay, confirmed."

So there were conditions required to obtain this information. You had to open at least five doors, catch the salamander's interest, and then ask about the temple.

No wonder there's no information on this.

It was an impossible condition for Egen Tower awakeners. Even if they cleared all the way to the 50th floor and tried again… they'd probably only manage to open two doors at most. That was why I'd never heard or seen anything about this before.

Considering the average level, it definitely isn't something I'm supposed to fight…

"Could it be a hidden piece?"

Whoosh—I reached out again. This time to dig through the tower's internal community. Unlike before, a few posts actually came up.

The writing style was completely different from the "jiyo" tone I sometimes used—it was the real deal, the way actual elders spoke. Looking at the post date, it was from the early 1960s. It was the discovery post of Korea's first hidden piece, the one that even appears in textbooks.

Once you obtain one, it doesn't appear again.

A hidden piece. The term referred to weapons or armor of significantly higher quality than what should appear on the current floor. In the case of the Egen Tower, it was believed that all hidden pieces had already been found.

After the first hidden piece was discovered, countless awakeners scoured the tower like they were searching for lice. Yet only three had ever been reported. The remaining two were probably obtained long ago by people who simply kept it secret.

Having grown up with that education, I naturally assumed every hidden piece had already been claimed…

But one was still left?

"Heh… hehehe…"

I couldn't stop the laughter from slipping out. A legendary item straight out of the textbooks. And I was going to get it?

If this gets out, won't it end up in the textbooks too?

Ryu Hwimin, the first to discover a hidden piece on the third floor. It wouldn't be strange at all for a line like that to appear in awakener history. Of course, I had zero intention of announcing that I'd obtained it, but still.

"Salamander. You don't know where she is, do you?"

"Correct. Her presence is so faint…"

"Yeah, that's exactly what a hidden piece should be like."

My eyes sparkled. I rubbed my hands together eagerly.

A week should be enough time to search, right?

"Alright! Starting now, we're going to search this floor from top to bottom!!"

Just one day per floor, Serin. Wait just a little longer for me.

* * *

A week passed.

"…When I add it all up, it's actually gone up quite a bit."

In truth, it had risen at an absurd speed. Even though I'd said we were searching thoroughly, one click of Dragon Eyes revealed everything that was hidden. The salamander and Dohwa handled monster cleanup while I circled the floor hunting for the hidden piece. Thanks to that, we'd mostly cleared the third layer in just a week.

Even so, I wasn't satisfied.

One more to go.

I'd combined it with one I hadn't fused before to make a low-grade potion, but I still only had nine. To make the mid-grade potion my little sister needed, I required one more. That meant I couldn't get the cure until after defeating the third-layer boss.

And I still haven't found the hidden piece either.

On top of that, the item I was looking for hadn't shown up at all, so it was only natural to feel dejected. That was why I headed toward the portal to the 29th floor with a gloomy expression.

After wasting an entire week with nothing to show for it, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd been wasting time while leaving my sister behind.

"Dohwa, Salamander. Go rip them apart."

"Kyaang~!!"

"Yes!!!"

There seemed to be quite a lot of monsters, but those two would take care of them. In the meantime, I decided to look around the 29th floor. Along with the rare-grade shoes that had been quite useful these past few days.

-Splash.

"Well then, shall we go?"

My feet floated gently on the surface of the lake. It was all thanks to the rare-grade armor called Hermes Shoes that let me walk on water. At first it felt strange, like I'd turned into a human water strider, but after a week it had become familiar. I moved my feet briskly. Of course, I didn't forget to carefully observe my surroundings.

-Look left, look right.

It'd be nice if it showed up…

This was already the 29th floor. Come out quickly, hidden piece. If you don't, I'll become the kind of guy who leaves his sick little sister behind to go tower traveling.

Muttering to myself like that, I searched every nook and cranny…

-Freeze.

"……Hmm?"

The first place I stopped was in front of a massive boulder. Beside me, Dohwa and the salamander came running in a hurry.

"Great one!! Cleanup complete!!"

"Kyang kyang!!"

"……?"

I glanced back at the two of them, then pointed directly at the boulder.

"Salamander, doesn't that give you any ideas?"

"…Pardon? Is there something there?"

"Dohwa, don't you feel anything?"

"Kyaung?"

"Hmm."

It was clearly visible to me. Was I the only one who could see it?

"Salamander, walk slowly toward it."

"Understood."

I decided to send the salamander first. It walked slowly. Its head was about to crash straight into the boulder when—

-Swish swish.

"Hey, why did you suddenly change direction?"

"…Pardon? I moved exactly in the direction you pointed, great one."

"Hmm."

I thought it would collide, but it suddenly changed direction. There was no way it was acting on purpose. So there really was something there.

"Hup!!"

I focused my eyes intensely. Before long, a notification window appeared before me.

"Bingo."

"Great one, what exactly…"

"My eyes are just a bit special."

Clack—! I gripped the sword in my hand. Then I activated my stigmata.

"Space Slash!"

Shweeeeeeek—!!!

The sound of the blade cutting through the air. At the same time, sword strikes flew in every direction. They were aimed at the terrain features that made up the array, which I'd seen with Dragon Eyes. Everything was sliced apart with a clean slicing sound, and—

-Sssss…

"……"

The boulder melted into the air and then vanished completely. And the three of us discovered a black-haired woman standing there.

"Kying…?"

"T-that woman!! It's the woman from back then!!"

Dohwa tilted her head in confusion. In contrast, the salamander was visibly shocked. Looking at the two of them, I quickly pulled Dohwa into my arms.

-Squeeze.

"Kyaung?"

"Summon release!!"

The expression reflected in Dohwa's eyes… was twisted with fear.

What the hell is that!?