Proof of Value (3)

‘Yeah, from the very first moment we met, you’ve always been that desperate kid. Like you’re chasing after some goal you absolutely have to catch.’

A thousand silver blades, Constellation Serpina.

Serpina sat quietly, engrossed in the screen visible only to her, as she did every day. And on that screen was one of the people she cherished most right now.

In a vast underground training hall, a woman with long silver hair cascading to her waist moved her body fiercely alone, swinging a long, massive single-edged sword gripped in her hands.

··· Serpina glanced at the gallery reactions, which were heating up with photos and videos captured by some meme lords, just as they said. As they pointed out, Reina, who normally avoided exposure to the extreme, only dressed lightly during these ‘solo’ training sessions. It was rare, so their enthusiasm was understandable.

Serpina felt the same. But today was a little different.

Some users focused on Reina's current training. Water droplets fell one by one at regular intervals ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from water bottles levitated in the air by magic. Right now, Reina was pouring all her effort into honing her speed and senses to slice them all at once.

Surprisingly, it was exactly the training method the gallery had buzzed about as the most needed for her new ability and style.

‘Overflowing talent? Genius?’

The gallery users praised and marveled at Reina for instantly finding the most necessary and efficient training method. But Serpina snorted at those reactions.

Unlike the gallery users who only saw fragmented photos and videos, Serpina had watched Reina in real-time all along, and she was definitely not a talented genius.

“Why is it that when I teach you one thing, you can barely even master that one?”

In the past, at the sanctuary, it had been routine for Serpina to sternly scold Reina for failing to properly master the sword forms she taught. Even though she was head over heels for Reina, Serpina never compromised on her mastery of supreme swordsmanship.

“You have no talent for the sword.”

“...I know.”

Declaring that Reina had no talent for the sword was sincere. Reina didn’t deny it either, as if she knew.

“But you have a strong will. And I’ll acknowledge that your ‘talent for climbing the tower’ is real.”

However, Serpina recognized two other talents in Reina: her unyielding strong heart and the ‘intuition’ the gallery users mentioned. Reina’s ability and insight to choose only the most efficient, near-perfect paths for tower climbing were genuine.

‘And the reason your heart doesn’t break is precisely...’

Everyone’s heart wavers. Especially in a tower world that constantly tests limits, it inevitably plants anguish and hesitation in the heart.

In that process, the unshakable ones, in Serpina’s view, fell into exactly two categories: those chased by something, and those chasing something. People who could only charge forward, eyes fixed ahead.

To Serpina, Reina clearly seemed the latter. Someone with such a firm goal that she charged toward it without wavering.

‘That kid found and created the training she needed herself.’

It wasn’t certain, but it was natural to wonder.

And in the meantime, another notification popped up before Serpina’s eyes. Thanks to Reina’s passionate training shown after a long time, the sponsorship points they’d aimed for were fully filled.

‘Her armor broke, didn’t it.’

This sponsorship would likely be reborn as Reina’s new S-grade armor.

Serpina smiled and created a new post. Since it was funded by the users’ sponsorships, she wanted to incorporate their opinions before gifting the item.

“Good work.”

“Even as vice-master, doing this kind of thing isn’t great for your image.”

“It’s just us anyway, and I like doing it.”

When the time came, Kim Ji-eun cautiously approached me as I caught my breath, handing me water and wiping my body with a towel.

It was sweat, but due to my trait, all waste was purified, making it close to just water. Still, having someone else wipe my sweaty body felt awkward and uncomfortable.

Moreover, her comment about liking it was starting to get to me now. Simple contact like hugs or hand-holding was one thing, but bare skin was another.

“Just wipe it roughly. I need a proper shower anyway.”

“Any progress?”

“Not sure.”

Kim Ji-eun tactfully set the towel aside and changed the subject. I gave a wry smile to her question about training results.

Even if it was the optimal method recommended by the constellations, it seemed I needed more time to follow and master it.

I might look like a genius always one step ahead to others, but I was just a regular person twisting my body however I could.

With less than a week left, I couldn’t even be sure I’d see results in time.

“The new armor’s an issue too. I checked all the auction houses, but there’s nothing suitable for you to use right away.”

“Armor... I’ll handle that.”

I brushed off her mention of armor vaguely. From what I knew, Serpina planned to use the gallery’s collected sponsorship for a new one. No need to duplicate resources.

But one problem: as I gained a new ability and shifted styles, my old full-body heavy plate wouldn’t fit anymore.

‘They’ll handle it... right?’

I assumed they would, but just in case, I should visit the sanctuary and talk to Serpina. She’d surely bring it up.

As expected, the gallery I checked that night was a mess of heated debates on what armor to give me now that the sponsorship goal was met.

From skimming all the posts so far, it seemed the initial flood of opinions had narrowed to two main candidates.

One top candidate likely to be gifted, Hermetica, resembled a pitch-black sci-fi suit. Made of small parts for easy upgrades and mods, it had many built-in functions as described. Normally a small bracelet, it rapidly deployed nanomachines to armor the body—a big plus.

The user pushing Mithril Requiem pointed out it was premature and Hermetica’s lower defense. Valid points— it was more familiar to me.

I hadn’t mastered the floor 30 ability or its synergies yet; could I really fight differently already?

‘Useful stuff?’

Worth it from constellations? They debated details I hadn’t considered.

Others fixated purely on aesthetics, venting desires over which armor suited my looks best.

Some feared I wouldn’t use their gifts well. Seeing that, I averted my eyes guiltily.

Back when I didn’t know about the fan gallery, I thought Serpina’s random reward boxes were truly random. If I’d known they were gifts from the constellations, I wouldn’t have treated them that way.

‘Gotta gratefully accept anything now.’

They were right—I was stubborn and my-way-or-highway—but I planned to change. I’d realized my knowledge wasn’t everything.

Even if it didn’t match my taste... I’d endure for what mattered more.

Separately, I started writing a post.

‘Gotta do what needs doing.’

My ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lips curved up as I began typing to ask them a question. With the chain battles approaching, I had tons to ask for max results. Naturally, I included selfies from sneaky angles I’d taken.