Chapter 175
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 175: How to Deal with Betrayal (11)
The Fox clicked his tongue looking at the Mithril Turtle. I was momentarily speechless at its form, which was more massive than I expected. But, well…
“What about the monsters nearby?”
“Only the Rock Golems hanging on its shell.”
“Good. Just as expected.”
It's doable. Answering the Fox's question, I glanced at Choi Garam, who was snickering. The face of the turtle, which seemed to have discovered us and was coming this way while destroying the terrain, was slowly revealing its outline.
“Black Scales, take care of yourself over there.”
“I was planning to do so anyway.”
I immediately scanned the surroundings and climbed onto a suitable rock. Inside this dungeon made of rocky mountains, perhaps fortunately, there wasn't much blocking the view. At my signal, the Fox and Choi Garam immediately moved to take care of the mobs, the Rock Golems. I watched the Rock Golems starting to pour down from the turtle's shell in droves. The turtle's shell, from which the Rock Golems poured down, was made of Mithril that looked smooth and hard. Something was in the center of that shell, which shone smoothly reflecting faint light. Something emitting light beyond the hard Mithril layer. That thing, glowing brightly, was a giant Core. It means I have to break the shell surrounding that. I silently took a stance and looked at the turtle moving slowly towards us.
———!!!Crash—! Crack—!
The sounds of Rock Golems' bodies and cores breaking were heard from the surroundings. Similarly, everything blocking the turtle's path was being destroyed. I didn't pay attention to any of that and silently concentrated mana into Mystletainn.
Vrrrm—
The beautiful gun barrel reacted immediately to my mana. The magic circle engraved on the body began to glow faintly. As the mana seeping into Mystletainn became stronger, the magic circle also shone blindingly. Perhaps feeling ominous about it, the turtle's steps trying to trample this way began to speed up gradually.
Thump—! Thump—!
The moment the turtle's steps reached right in front of my nose and its giant forefoot was about to trample me,
Bang—!!!
Finally, a single gunshot rang out inside the dungeon. Immediately after firing, I knew intuitively.
“Got it…!”
Craaaack, Ka-gak—!
The premonition became reality. A pillar of light that blew away everything blocking its path—that is, the turtle's forefoot, part of its head, and even its shell—in one shot, stretched all the way to the dungeon's ceiling. I let out an exclamation at the bullet that pierced through the Mithril shell and cleanly passed through the center of the Core.
———!!!
The turtle screamed. However, its Core had already been shattered into pieces long ago. The turtle started to thrash in pain, but it was clear it wouldn't last long.
Thump—! Thuuump—!
However, the damage caused by that massive body moving was clearly threatening. I shoved Mystletainn, which had crumpled into a mess making creaking sounds, into my Inventory and quickly vacated the spot. I sniped or dodged the rocks pouring from the ceiling with the dual pistols I took out in the meantime.
“Is the cleanup done?!”
“The Golem side is finished!”
“We just need the turtle to fall!”
As the Fox and Choi Garam said, the Rock Golems were all defeated and no longer visible. Unable to even think about collecting loot, we first moved away from the vicinity of the thrashing turtle.
Rumble—! Boom—!
The ground and sky shook as if a disaster had occurred. It felt both long and short. Looking at the giant turtle that thrashed for a long time before slowly dying down, I spoke as if fed up.
“It's really tough…”
“Floor Bosses are…”
Choi Garam lightly clicked her tongue.
“What kind of monsters are in the Tower, anyway?”
“Tell me about it.”
I recalled Park Siwoo's remark about being curious about the Tower. …No, well, if it's Park Siwoo, he'd probably take care of things like this well enough. While we were talking blankly, the turtle's movement stopped. Even after the turtle stopped moving, we checked with my Clairvoyance for a moment to make sure the turtle was really dead.
“I think it's dead. The Core lost its light too…”
“Then shall we go.”
“You're giving the dungeon byproducts to me, right, Noona?”
“Got it.”
Only then did we cross over the turtle and walk towards the place presumed to be the original path we should have taken. We could go anywhere since the turtle had wrecked the terrain, but wouldn't it be better to go via a known path if possible? Walking sideways to avoid the turtle's massive bulk, only then did we see the large golden Scales that had been hidden by the turtle's size. It seemed it had been cleverly hidden by the dust, terrain, and the turtle's size earlier.
“Oh, is this it?”
“Seems like it.”
“You're here.”
The Black Scales greeted us by waving her hand casually, as if she had arrived in the meantime. When did she get here? Approaching closer, the golden Scales had dents here and there. There were also traces of something huge having bitten off the pillar, which seemed to be the work of that Mithril Turtle.
“…Does this work properly?”
To summarize, it meant it looked very worn out. Looking closely, the scales on both arms were not level but strangely tilted. …Looks like junk. At my appearance looking up at the golden Scales with eyes of suspicion, the Black Scales laughed huhu.
“That's why we came here to fix it, isn't it.”
“Fix it?”
“Yes. Still, it's a bit much to see the main body in this state.”
Main body? Before I could chew over those words, the Black Scales strode towards the giant golden Scales. Reaching out towards the worn pillar of the Scales, she soon muttered something softly. Then, the golden Scales began to be slowly eroded by the black shadow stretching from her hand. The shadow, which had swallowed the entire golden Scales before we knew it, squirmed and began to restore the Scales. The gouged grooves were filled. The bent parts were straightened again. The tilted parts became level again. The shadow, having naturally completed all those processes, slowly lost its color and gradually assimilated into the golden light. Finally, what appeared before our eyes were the smooth and magnificent golden Scales, looking brand new. Only after seeing that appearance did the Black Scales let out a satisfied chuckle and look back at us.
“With this, the price has been paid.”
Only then did I realize that she had no shadow. And even the strange fact that these giant golden Scales also had no shadow. I vaguely guessed something.
“Black Scales, you are…”
“I am the shadow of this thing.”
Since she herself was a shadow, a shadow could not be cast from a shadow again. She answered as if anticipating my words and giggled.
“This thing's original name is the Scales Measuring Value. It was the Scales that adjusted the standards of this Tower. The Gold Coin of Value… did you call it the Gold Coin of Truth? Through that, one could adjust the Tower's settings. Though that also became nonexistent when Lord Cheonho separated me.”
“The Tower's settings?”
“Yes. Because I am an existence born to fit the cause and effect of the Tower to the reality called Earth.”
“Couldn't Lord Cheonho do it all alone if he wanted? Why did he bother creating you and Gemini?”
“Hmm.”
At my words, the Black Scales smiled meaningfully.
“Who knows. Maybe he was lonely. Isn't that why he formed a family and had children? I can only guess his feelings.”
“…Well, okay.”
More importantly…
“If you can adjust the Tower's settings…”
Something came to my mind at that moment. The thought that maybe I could stop the future where the other races turn into monsters.
“Then, can you stop the other races from turning into monsters when the Calamity occurs? No, can you stop the Calamity itself from occurring?”