Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: 1st Floor Clear
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Etoile's workshop.
Moon Byul finally finished repairing the dummy's severed arm.
I thought it would take just one day, but it ended up taking two.
It was like painstakingly reattaching shattered marble pieces one by one—far more complex than anticipated.
To top it off, with no spare magic stones, he had to disassemble a leg and reconnect it.
Her height had shrunk a bit as a result, but it was fine.
He could always extend it later if needed.
Magic stones were incredibly versatile materials. It felt like such a waste for Earth to use them merely as decorations.
'I should share some practical uses later.'
From what his insight had revealed, they could easily replace coal without issue and even solve humanity's electricity problems.
They were more than sufficient as an alternative energy source, making it all the more regrettable that people squandered them on trinkets.
Moon Byul headed to the window to step outside.
It had widened so much now that it was practically a small door—even a child could pass through comfortably.
If he shrank his true form just a little, he could probably live outside for a full day without trouble.
Moon Byul was inching closer to true freedom, step by step.
"The 90th floor."
That girl called Aka Sik lingered in his mind.
He had a gut feeling that reaching the 90th floor would unravel the secrets of this Grimoire.
Maybe even separation of his soul from it was possible.
One problem, though: how to get there.
'Can I even climb it?'
Scaling all 90 floors of the Tower.
Humanity had taken about five years to conquer the 60th from the outside world, so reaching the 90th would likely take several more.
And even if they did, he wouldn't be able to go himself. Quite the dilemma.
'How far would my magic take me?'
Moon Byul was curious just how high he could climb using the spells he'd created and discovered.
At the very least, the first 30 floors should be a breeze, right?
He'd spent over a century immersed solely in magic research. Even without skills like others, he had a ton of basic techniques at his disposal.
If things got dicey, he could always flee into the Grimoire. It was utterly indestructible, after all.
Moon Byul resolved to give it a shot. With his invincibility mode, he felt secure about safety.
It was getting awkward endlessly asking for magic stones, and fetching them himself would be ideal.
He promptly opened the window—no, the small door.
There was plenty of time anyway. Might as well try before this little door grew any larger.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "O."
The place Moon Byul emerged into looked like an officetel.
A spacious room with soft lighting and a sleek, refined atmosphere.
All the appliances were top-of-the-line, and a digital panel caught the eye in one spot.
Whoever owned this place was clearly loaded—you could tell at a glance.
He slowly approached the window and drew back the curtains.
The outside was still bright, with ant-sized people bustling about below.
He stared vacantly at the busy crowd for a good while until a knock sounded.
"Coming in."
A familiar voice. It seemed the Wolverine Guild Master from their last talk had arrived.
"Sorry for barging in unannounced, Moon Byul-ssi."
"No need to apologize. So Seori-ssi, you look much brighter than last time."
"Hahaha..."
Of course she'd be in high spirits—Moon Byul now appeared as an ordinary human.
To So Seori, the previous version of him had felt like a carnivorous dinosaur.
An intelligent T-Rex lumbering closer—who wouldn't tense up? Keeping her composure was a win.
"First off, thank you for treating Iru Ri. Things were too chaotic last time."
So Seori expressed her gratitude for Iru Ri's healing.
"Not at all. If anything, I owe her thanks. She got hurt protecting me, didn't she?"
So Seori could sort of see why Iru Ri fussed over him.
Polite and courteous. Conversation with him even felt enjoyable at a glance.
After exchanging greetings, So Seori gave Moon Byul a quick rundown of recent events.
Tales of the Grimoire nearly hitting the black market, Han Yu Seong facing Association punishment, Meteor Guild on the brink of bankruptcy, and more.
"I see."
"Iru Ri's inside the Tower right now. We've removed all the CCTVs from the room, so no worries there."
Come to think of it, there had been cameras scattered around the room.
She explained it was just to guide him if he emerged confused.
"And this house is yours now, along with a new identity."
"What do you mean?"
"To operate in Korea, you'll need proper ID..."
"No, I meant the house."
Moon Byul had never bought a house, obviously. No matter how much the economy had changed, real estate wouldn't have shifted that drastically.
"Ah, this is a gift from the guild."
"...The house?"
"We at least need to sort out your food, clothing, and shelter, right?"
"But why would Wolverine give that to me...?"
Finally grasping Moon Byul's confusion, So Seori elaborated.
Officially, Iru Ri owned the Grimoire, and the house was framed as special perks for a Grimoire mage.
Revealing him as the true owner meant going public, so they'd defer to his wishes. They could announce it anytime if he wanted...
For now, Moon Byul had no desire to broadcast it everywhere.
The Association Chairman and So Seori had discussed his accommodations.
He'd keep emerging from the Grimoire, and humanity had no way to stop him forcibly.
So why not recognize him as a guild member and let him climb the Tower?
A request for Wolverine to handle it, since he was rational, communicative, and on good terms with Iru Ri.
She'd agonized over it.
If all went to plan, the Tower would fall effortlessly for a world peace ending—but if it backfired, world destruction.
Still, monitoring him nearby felt safer.
The real issue: no backup if he refused everything.
"That's too much pressure."
"Then how about helping the guild a little?"
"In what way?"
"Climb the Tower as a climber. You're guild now. Can't enter the Tower?"
"It's not impossible..."
Moon Byul pondered deeply for a moment. Coming out of the book left his future uncertain, and here they were offering basics plus a climb toward his goal.
Wasn't this going a bit too smoothly?
"I don't know my own limits. I'm clueless about the Tower, and it seems you have to climb sequentially from the 1st floor... is that okay?"
Moon Byul meant he was unsure how far his power extended.
To So Seori's ears, though, it sounded like fretting over whether the Tower could withstand his endless might.
"Just dial it back appropriately. No pressure, of course."
She broached it cautiously, wary of pressuring him.
They had a prime example of what greed wrought, so she wanted to proceed gently.
Magic circles blanketing the night sky two days ago had foreign headlines screaming Korea's imminent doom.
She knew full well it could actually happen.
"I'd like to set my own climbing schedule. I need to pop into the Grimoire frequently."
"We'll accommodate most conditions."
So Seori inwardly cheered. She hadn't expected such an easy yes.
Moon Byul was thrilled too, though neither knew the other's mind.
To her eyes, Moon Byul wasn't a climber. More like an enigmatic mage.
And mages were notoriously tough to sway.
"Looking forward to working with you, Guild Master."
"...Can't we stick with the usual?"
Just worried he'd treat her like a real subordinate by mistake.
She was still plenty intimidating.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Moon Byul savored a genuine rest for the first time in ages.
A real break, not the half-hearted variety in Etoile.
He lounged on the sofa, sat in the chair sipping a random beverage. Lay in the bed pulling up the covers, even washed his face in the modern bathroom.
"......"
Yet he couldn't shake the hollow feeling gnawing at him.
It was all too late.
Over a century was more than enough to shatter a human mind.
The only reason Moon Byul hadn't lost it was his burning desire to escape the Grimoire.
This outside life he'd yearned for endlessly still left him empty.
He felt no hunger, no sleepiness, no physiological urges.
Moon Byul opened the Grimoire linked to him.
Its pages brimmed with cosmic symbols and magic circuits only he could comprehend.
Someone might say, You gained countless spells in exchange.
He'd retort, Did I ask for that?
All his abilities and magic were unwanted. Mere byproducts stumbled upon while striving to escape.
This incident had made it clear.
They were stirring up all sorts of trouble with the Grimoire outside, but what did that have to do with him?
All he craved was a normal human life.
Wandering out like this changed little from Etoile without true separation from the Grimoire.
Aka Sik.
She seemed to know something.
About this Grimoire and him.
It fell from the Tower in the first place. The clues were there. No point dragging his feet.
Moon Byul murmured softly.
"Enter 1st floor."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Tower's 1st floor.
Known as the tutorial level, its low difficulty meant groups of four rarely entered together.
The backdrop was a forest.
A simple mission: hunt 10 sluggish creatures called ground moles.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ground Mole Hunt 0/10] Moon Byul eyed the hologram window floating before him.
The forest was surprisingly vast, requiring players to hunt around for moles, which made the 1st floor infamous for being tedious.
"What can I say."
It felt artificial.
The entire space screamed man-made.
One ground mole was shambling toward Moon Byul.
He shot it a glare and unleashed a laser spell.
A downgraded version of the skill he'd given Iru Ri.
Pierced clean through, the mole vanished.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ground Mole Hunt 1/10] 'So this is how climbing works.'
He now had a rough idea of the Tower's mechanics.
Gazing up at the sky, he noted the drifting clouds and realized the backdrop itself was magical.
A space conjured by magic, coded like a computer program.
That was the Tower's true nature.
Moon Byul closed his eyes and used his insight to sense the monsters' positions.
True to Tower form, floors connected seamlessly, though each applied different space and gravity magic.
Even so, his insight picked up presences from upper floors.
Those seemed to be "hunt 10 mystery critters" as well.
A spark of curiosity hit him.
What if he took out the 2nd floor monsters from the 1st?
Moon Byul glanced skyward and cast the same spell he'd used on the ground mole.
But the spatial magic handling the backdrop scattered his laser.
'Something...'
It should be doable, right?
Moon Byul fully opened the Grimoire and extended his hand toward the sky.
He activated most spells without chants. Knowing the principles made incantations unnecessary.
Chantless casting capped power at one-third, though—chants were like commands to magic.
He envisioned a spell ripping through the ceiling and surging upward.
Magic's other power lay in imagination: materializing images.
"Rage Quan Tres." ⟨ Wide-Area Annihilation ⟩
To obliterate scattered monsters in one go, he opted for a broad-range spell.
A magic circle bloomed from his fingertips, enveloping the entire forest and stretching further.
Soon, lasers erupted from the colossal array.
Beeeep—
The high-output beams were eerily silent.
Boom!— Boom!!— BOOM!!!—
Collision echoes rang out repeatedly from somewhere above. The sounds grew distant, then faded entirely.
"Did it work?"
Ding, ding, ding...
A barrage of messages flooded before him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [2nd Floor Clear Condition Satisfied.] [3rd Floor Clear Condition Satisfied.] ... [9th Floor Clear Condition Satisfied.] [Error - Tower Damaged, Entry Impossible...] [Error - Settlement Delayed.] Looks like a success.
"Sloppily built Tower. Bugs everywhere."