Chapter 245: The Starting Floor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 245: The Starting Floor
「To all Player Candidates who have cleared the tutorial, may the Tower’s blessing be with you on your journey ahead.」
「Teleportation will now commence.」
With those words, the people who had been hunting magical beasts throughout the forest began to disappear one by one.
No one was eliminated.
It was all because Baek Jihyuk had shared the WP he had gathered.
Even at the very last moment, I couldn't understand his actions.
No, to be precise, I didn't want to understand. I'd rather die than become a sucker like that.
Besides, did they even know?
The only reason they survived was entirely thanks to Yoo Ah-rin.
If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't have helped them. They naturally would have failed to survive the final night, let alone hunt, and casualties would have piled up.
Even when morning came, they would have been short on WP and forced to abandon someone.
Not that I expected any thanks from them. I just hoped our paths would never cross again.
People forget thousands of things every day.
This incident was just another memory destined to fade away.
A moment later, my vision turned pure white as the teleportation took effect.
A strange sense of floating passed, and I could feel the air around me change.
When I opened my eyes, an endless corridor stretched out before me.
Between pillars erected at regular intervals, a dreamlike landscape came into view.
‘...This doesn't feel like a dream.’
A vast universe stood in place of the sky. Beyond the shimmering starlight in the darkness, a golden planet glittered.
In the unnatural silence, I suddenly recalled what Lucifer had said.
Ting—
「You have entered the special zone, the Corridor of Stars.」
The Corridor of Stars.
It was a place only those Player Candidates chosen by a Constellation after passing the tutorial could enter.
I swallowed dryly, suppressing my nervousness.
This place was known for being one of the most unique zones in the entire Tower.
And for good reason.
「The Constellation, ‘Saintess of Uruk,’ is watching you.」
It was a place where a mere Player Candidate could come face-to-face with the master of a star that lit up the high heavens.
An intense presence made my head turn instinctively.
The moment my eyes met with the woman splashing in a pond beyond the pillars, goosebumps erupted all over my body.
It was a similar, yet distinctly different sensation from when I faced the snake head on the 6th underground floor.
Back then, it was the chilling feeling of walking on a knife's edge; now, it felt like my every single action was being observed.
If asked which was more unsettling, I would personally choose the latter.
I cautiously made my way toward the woman... no, toward Ishtar.
「“What, are you speechless because I’m so beautiful?”」
Is this what it feels like to tremble in fear?
Of course, as expected of a goddess, she was fucking beautiful. Even her voice was bewitching, enough to charm anyone.
But I couldn't say a word, as if I needed her permission just to speak.
An oppressive pressure, on a completely different level from what I’d felt through her sponsorship, washed over me.
Cold sweat trickled down my face.
“...I feel like I should get down on one knee and propose to you this very instant.”
At my words, Ishtar let out a small chuckle.
「“Will just one knee be enough?”」
Her reddish hair, her eyes overflowing with divinity, and her attire that shamelessly revealed her voluptuous figure were similar to what I had seen of the Sumerian civilization in history books.
The only difference was that her outfit was far more revealing.
“Because a man doesn't kneel on both knees, even if it means getting his head cut off.”
「“Hmph...”」
My heart ached at the gentle curve of her eyes.
She wasn't called the goddess of love for nothing.
Still, to have this kind of presence when it wasn't even her True Body...
The thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I had been underestimating the beings known as Constellations.
Of course, not all Constellations possess transcendent power.
But the fact remained that the woman before me was a highest-ranking divinity who could kill a human like me without batting an eye.
「“Are you nervous? I didn't take you for the type. You have a surprisingly cute side, don't you?”」
“...Who could possibly not be nervous in the divine presence of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war?”
「“Huhu, you know how to flatter, too?”」
Ishtar beckoned to me with her finger.
Her playful expression worried me, but I was in no position to refuse.
As I approached, Ishtar pulled me forward as if she had been waiting. I could have easily dodged, but I didn't know what she might do if I got on her bad side.
Splash—
Ishtar laughed with delight as she watched me fall into the pond.
Seemingly pleased that my eye level was now lower than hers, she crossed her legs, revealing a sensual posture. For a brief moment, my gaze was stolen by her smooth, white thighs.
「“But what I want isn't a clown to entertain my ears, but a hero who will perform great deeds that make everyone tremble.”」
Ishtar's fingertips traced my cheek before coming to rest on my chin.
「The ‘Saintess of Uruk’ offers you a Constellation Contract.」
「“Take my hand. I will give you the power to rule the Tower and the charm to seduce all women.”」
It would be a lie to say her offer wasn't tempting, but I couldn't accept it.
It was a poisoned apple.
Ishtar was, without a doubt, one of the seven ruling gods who decided the fate of the world and a highest-ranking divinity belonging to the three thousand gods.
If I made a contract with her, I could grow stronger quickly.
Moreover, with the system's help, I could even hide the fact that I had a contract with Lucifer, so there was even less reason to refuse.
But before that, I needed to think again about what kind of goddess Ishtar truly was.
In the original myths, she tried to usurp the throne of her own sister, Ereshkigal, the ruler of the underworld, for more power. Enraged when Gilgamesh rejected her advances, she had Gugalanna lay waste to the lands.
The list of incidents and accidents involving her was endless.
Thanks to such achievements, Ishtar was unequivocally regarded as the most arrogant and troublesome figure in Mesopotamian mythology.
If I made a contract with her, it was a given that I would get entangled in all sorts of headaches.
But I couldn't refuse, either.
Gods are generally more petty than humans.
They get incensed over small mistakes and faults, treating humans as enemies. And Ishtar's tendency for that was stronger than most other gods.
If I rejected her offer here, I might make a complete enemy of her.
So, I needed a different approach.
“...Lady Ishtar, as you say, I will one day become a hero.”
I moved closer to her as she sat by the water's edge, watching me.
Of course, I didn't raise my eye level. Given her arrogant personality, she would pathologically hate anyone looking down on her.
“But right now, I am nothing more than a common player. How could someone like me dare to bear the divine name of Lady Ishtar?”
「“...And so?”」
I put on a performance filled with earnestness.
I even faked the trembling in my eyes.
“I will swear an oath here and now. One day, I will perform a great deed that will astound everyone in the Tower, offer that glory to you, Lady Ishtar, and accept the position of your Apostle.”
An Apostle is a Constellation's one and only contractor, their representative.
The reason Lucifer could share an S-rank Authority with me was because I had formed an Apostle Contract with her.
The Apostle Contract is important to Constellations as well.
If their Apostle dies, they cannot form another Apostle Contract with anyone else.
“Therefore, I implore you to withdraw this offer that is far beyond my station.”
That was a lie.
The moment I met a Constellation stronger and with a better personality than her, I planned to switch immediately.
I acted desperately to keep my true intentions hidden.
The lengthening silence was making me anxious, but only for a moment.
「“Huhu.”」
A laugh that sounded strangely pleased reached my ears.
I was about to cautiously raise my head just to gauge her reaction, but Ishtar beat me to it.
“?!”
I felt a soft, moist sensation.
Soon, my lips met a piece of flesh radiating intense heat, and I was pulled back to reality.
I stared blankly for a moment at her glistening lips.
「“I’ve received many proposals from humans, but this is the first time one has been so passionate.”」
Blushing faintly, Ishtar rose from her spot.
Her body began to fade away.
「“Well then, I'll be looking forward to it, shall I?”」
Ting—
「You are now leaving the Corridor of Stars.」
「Congratulations. You have become an official Player.」
「We look forward to the story you will create from now on.」
「You have achieved the feat of slaying an avatar containing a Constellation's Star Soul.」
「You have been granted the title, ‘Snake Slayer.’」
「Name: Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Contracted Constellation: Fallen Star
Title: Snake Slayer - New!
Affiliation: -
Authority: Black Flame (C)
Exclusive Traits: Path of Magic (S), Formless Vajra Art (A-)
Exclusive Skills: Fire Magic (B), Lightning Magic (B), Incomplete Moon's Eye (B-), Crimson Cloud Thunder Art (C), Close Quarters Combat (C), Killing Intent (C)...
Traits: Magic Resistance (D-)
Skills: -」
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When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the middle of a bustling square.
I let out a heavy sigh as I looked at the white clouds drifting across the sky.
‘...Thank god the plan went smoothly.’
If Ishtar had noticed my true intentions, there was a high probability I would have died on the spot.
Even if I had survived, I would have become an enemy to all the Mesopotamian Constellations.
‘Just thinking about it is horrifying.’
It occurred to me that the ‘Dancing Destroyer’ and the ‘Dweller of the Swamp’ hadn't appeared, but I decided not to dwell on it.
In the first place, Ishtar offering a contract to a mere Player Candidate was the strange part.
‘Still, I thought the Dancing Destroyer would show up.’
Unlike the Dweller of the Swamp, the Dancing Destroyer had always shown a favorable reaction to me. I thought there was a decent chance, but I guess I was mistaken.
Still, I wasn't too disappointed, since I had an unexpected gain.
I opened my status window to check the new title.
「Snake Slayer
Classification: Title
Rank: S
Grants an advantage when facing anything related to snakes.」
It was an S-rank title.
I silently offered a prayer to The First Tempter.
From his corpse to this title, he was the snake head that kept on giving.
‘May you rest in peace in heaven... no, should I say hell?’
Well, he'd find his way wherever he was going.
I brushed off all thoughts of him. As I said before, people forget thousands of things every day. The snake head was just one of them.
With a smile on my lips, I gazed at the beautiful cityscape stretching beyond a massive obelisk.
It was Arcana, the starting city for players who enter the Tower, a landscape that seemed to be a moderate blend of medieval and modern styles.
It was like a starting village in a game, but its scale was comparable to any major metropolis.
If I could, I would have loved to do some leisurely sightseeing, but that seemed unlikely.
“Hey, hey, look over there.”
At someone's voice, people's gazes began to gather one by one.
“Wow... Are the major clans doing a promotional shoot for the new players? How are those women so pretty?”
“Aren't they just celebrities who entered the Tower?”
“One of them looks mixed-race, and the others are Asian.”
“Seriously, I'd believe you if you told me the purple-haired woman was a goddess.”
“No, you idiots. Not them, look down.”
“...Aren't those the guys from ‘Black Lore’?”
Where everyone's attention was focused, Lucifer was stomping on three rough-looking men.
Behind her, a fidgeting Lee Serin and a quietly observing Yoo Ah-rin were also visible.
I couldn't help but slap my forehead.