Whoa, Check Out That Mana Bag (1)

I blinked rapidly, completely stunned. It was all because of the sudden barrage of notifications that had popped up. What the hell is this?

The fourth-floor boss was the Forgotten Knight, right? So why had he suddenly become a guardian god? And why the hell had his level skyrocketed like that? That thing's on the level of the fifth floor. No, sixth floor even.

"What the heck?"

I clutched my head for a long moment. The situation was that difficult to process. And the hypothesis I eventually landed on?

Did that guy go to the Normal Tower?

First. I had no idea how, but the fourth-floor boss had somehow fled to the Normal Tower.

Second. He had lived a long, healthy life there, grinding levels like a madman until he died.

Finally. I, stuck in the Hard Tower's if-route, had suddenly become the 'young man who killed the guardian god.'

It must have been his entire lifetime, but here it's already an observed past.

This explained everything. The opponent's explosive level growth. Even why it had only been an instant for me.

"Phew..."

It was so absurd I rubbed my face with dry hands. Getting a free meal wasn't entirely welcome.

Why did he level up that much?

If this hypothesis was true, I had basically sent him to paradise. No one in the Normal Tower could have stopped him. Yet he still grinded levels? ...Who was he trying to defeat?

I should summon him and ask... Wait, no way?

Just as I considered asking the man himself, the realization hit me like a truck. Goosebumps exploded across my skin.

He was planning to kill me all along!

From the Normal Tower's perspective, I was the ring thief. Essentially a traitor. Him sharpening his blade against me made perfect sense. Of course, the result was like saving a drowning man only for him to pull a knife from his bundle.

It was absurd, but anyway.

No way he trained hard just to repay me...

I had even declared it to his face. That I'd use him as evolution material for Dohwa. After nearly becoming fox food, how much resentment must he have held toward me? I couldn't even imagine.

"Well, it's all just a hypothesis anyway."

Of course, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this was only one plausible possibility. Maybe he really had done it with good intentions. Like Baekri-hyang, swearing to devote his life to me or whatever.

But would I trust that and summon him? A guy with sixth-floor specs who might hold a grudge against me?

Am I crazy?

Even giving it the best spin, it was a fifty-percent chance of getting fragged. Who would press that button? I happen to value my life, thanks.

Okay, you're definitely Dohwa's food.

I casually decided the boss's fate and turned my attention elsewhere, to the notifications I had only glanced at earlier.

"Let's see... Hmm?"

"......What?"

The 2x boss room reward bonus from clearing the 39th floor, combined with the 4x from the achievement grinding. And then it just multiplied them together like an idiot?

It was so sweet I was getting dizzy. I was about to have a blood sugar spike at this rate.

And that's not even the end of it.

I already knew. That 8x multiplier applied to stigmata as well. My mouth immediately started watering.

I originally planned to use it only as a cure for Serin, but this changes the story.

The stigmata I had in mind was mana absorption. I was ready to sacrifice one stigmata slot for it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But an 8x multiplier on a fifth-tier stigmata?

This will be useful in combat no matter what.

At this point it was basically mana theft. It meant I could fight while snatching mana, one of my lacking stats. How useful would this be for climbing the fifth floor? I was already excited.

Time to craft that stigmata!

I immediately started walking. The image of my surprised little sister floated in my mind. I was about to step through the portal when—

There's still a notification left?

A blinking alert in the corner of my vision. I found a few unread lines there. Probably nothing important. I glanced over casually.

"......Huh?"

Wait, what is this?

The Regression trait?

So it was talking about that pattern where the boss rewound time by two seconds. An absolutely broken trait with no downside... and I could grant it to Dohwa?

"...Dohwa, come here?"

"Kyaeng?"

I summoned Dohwa immediately.

"I brought some evolution material for you."

"Kyaeng!?"

"I'm going to evolve you right away. You ready?"

"Kyaeng~."

Dohwa wagged her tail happily at my words. She looked exactly like a dog that had just heard the word "walk." Of course, what I was about to give her was hundreds of millions of times better than a walk.

"Trait Reinforcement Swap! Fusion!"

-Ding.

Consume 'Cain, Guardian God of the Babel Empire' to evolve 'Dohwa'....

"Proceed!!!"

I thrust my hand out immediately. Then—

WHOOOOSH—!!!

A brilliant light burst from me and wrapped around Dohwa. It looked like the exact moment an SSR character pops out of a gacha. As for the result, what was there to say? It was a complete transformation.

"Kyaeng...?"

"Whoa!!!"

Never mind that her level was now higher than mine. Just look at those shining traits. Legendary. It said Legendary.

"Dohwa, wanna test out your new power~?"

"Kyaeng!!"

I scooped Dohwa into my arms, sat cross-legged on the floor, and focused hard.

"It says you can turn back time now."

"...Kyaeng?"

"Alright, let's try it. Regression!"

I gave the test command right away. Dohwa blinked in confusion for a moment, but—

"Kyaeng!!"

She must have figured out how to use the trait. She barked as if saying "leave it to me."

Her fox ears perked straight up. That was the signal for regression.

Whoa...!!

On the surface it looked like nothing had changed. But we both felt it. Along with the sound of a clock ticking backward, time had definitely rewound.

"Kyaeng!!? Kyaeng, kyaeng!!!"

"Weird, right? Yeah, I'm amazed too."

Dohwa could now turn back time. But thanks to my resistance, I wasn't affected by the ability. Plus, Dohwa would rewind time instantly whenever I ordered her to. It was basically like getting another free trait for nothing.

I stroked her fur. "As expected, our Dohwa really is a lucky charm~."

"Kyaeng~."

"From the fifth floor onward, we'll fight together! Just like we did on the third floor!"

"Kyaeng!!"

After that I kept petting Dohwa nonstop. Challenging the Hard Tower had been the right call. That thought was just a bonus.

"Kying?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I already know our Dohwa follows me well."

"Kyaeng~."

There was one more trait, but it didn't seem important.

* * *

After enjoying a long fluffy dopamine party with Dohwa, we stepped through the portal together. Since I had powered up Dohwa, it was my turn now.

"Nice~."

I was only level 700 yesterday. Now I'd gained more than half that in a single day. Just looking at my specs, I was already at the level of a fifth-floor conqueror. Not that anyone in the entire world had ever conquered the Hard Tower's fifth floor, but still.

That's impressive, but...

"The real prize is the stigmata."

I set Dohwa down after admiring my status window for a moment. It was time to craft the stigmata. It didn't take long.

"When the stigmata activates, I absorb the opponent's mana and can use it freely. In exchange, I take damage proportional to the distance from the target and the amount of mana absorbed. Additionally, if I wish, I can experience the target's pain or side effects in their place during absorption."

"...This should be good, right?"

I had originally planned to make it require direct contact to absorb, but with an 8x power increase, it seemed like it would work from range too. Now I could rest easy even when my little sister hit puberty.

"Then let's go, Dohwa. Time to cure Serin!"

"Kyaeng!!!"

After that I left the Tower almost immediately. Unlike the time I had barely managed to create an intermediate potion on the third floor, my steps were incredibly light. I was also excited ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at having cleared the fourth floor much faster than expected.

When possessing Baekri-hyang's Soul, it resonates with Baekri-hyang's spirit...

"Baekri-hyang, can you hear me?"

Oh God? Does the young girl or this child have some task for you?

"Not really. I just wanted to give you some information about the next boss's pattern. It has an ability that rewinds time by two seconds..."

Hyun-seo probably still had a full stomach from the kimchi stew. I passed on the strategy details to him. According to Baekri-hyang, Hyun-seo had been so moved that tears streamed down his face.

Really now... You should tell him that yourself. And without this disgusting smell of human feces.

"What? What did Hyun-seo say?"

It is not a story worthy of taking up God's precious time.

"Well, if you say so."

There were a few times when Hyun-seo tried to say something only to get cut off by Baekri-hyang, but anyway. He wouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠die now. With my mind at ease, I headed to the hospital.

-Creak.

"Serin, your big brother's here~."

"Hwaaam... Oppa...?"

When I opened the hospital room door, my little sister greeted me with a yawn. The early symptoms of Hyper-mana Syndrome, drowsiness, seemed to have gotten worse.

Good thing I came quickly.

Creak. Thud. I closed the hospital room door first. It was so I could summon Dohwa again.

"Dohwa, come out quietly."

"Kyaeng."

"...Whoa! Four tails!!"

She must have found the newly evolved Dohwa cute. My sister looked a bit more awake, but...

Not that. I'm really going to heal you.

She wouldn't have to suffer anymore. I would cure my one and only family with my own hands. I made the firm promise to myself.

My hand reached toward the bed.

-Whoosh.

"...Oppa?"

"Dohwa. Just in case something happens, stay on Regression standby."

"Kyaeng."

I had also put the side-effect prevention condition into the stigmata, but you could never be too careful. Even a stone bridge should be tapped before crossing.

Well, nothing should go wrong.

"Usurpation!"

With a heart full of hope, I activated the stigmata and...

"Cough!!!!?"

My vision was dyed blood-red.