Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Prophet
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'What is this guy?'
Nana, the guild leader of the Divine Beast Guild, felt a sense of unease as she looked at the hulking man.
He had a deformed arm. Climbers' physical defects were supposed to be fully healed upon awakening, but his arm looked like that of a malnourished child.
And his outfit? Pajama pants and a face mask on top of that.
His body seemed pretty built. It was obvious he'd worked hard to overcome his physical shortcomings through intense training.
But that was as far as it went.
He appeared to be a martial arts awakener, but with an arm like that, his balance would be all off.
It would be a major liability in combat.
No matter how outstanding his abilities in martial arts, a handicap like that would prevent him from climbing consistently.
"Do you know who Moon Byul is?"
It seemed this guy was the 'hyungnim' that Tagger revered.
The man in pajamas crossed his arms and eyed her intently, as if on guard.
"Are you Tagger's acquaintance? Or did you have an appointment?"
"So he's here."
"Neither? Then get lost if you don't want to get wrecked."
"Wha... what?"
The man turned outright aggressive without warning.
This was a first for Nana. Korea's druid, leader of the Divine Beast Guild, and prophet. All those titles preceded her name.
No one had ever treated her with such disrespect, especially not someone with her prophecy skill.
Most people clung to her desperately, begging to see their futures.
As the pajama-clad man made a threatening move, one of the guards in black suits standing beside her stepped forward.
Thud.
The guard placed a hand on the pajama man's shoulder and glared back at him.
"Hey, threats should be selective..., Gahhh!"
Thump.
The black-suited man screamed like a little girl, collapsing to his knees.
Tears even streamed from under his sunglasses.
"Where do you think you're putting your hand? You wanna die?"
'What...?'
The pajama man hadn't done anything special. He'd just grabbed the guard's hand on his shoulder.
And this guard was one of the stronger B-ranks in terms of raw strength.
After a brief silence, the other guards who'd come with her rushed in. Taking it as an attack, Nana's guards were just fulfilling their duties.
"Kyaaak!"
The lobby staff screamed in shock at the sudden takedown.
One by one, they charged at the pajama man.
Thud, thud.
But it was over in an instant.
Not a single guard lasted two exchanges.
In front of the lobby, the fallen guards groaned, clutching their hands, shoulders, or legs while shedding tears.
"Miss, you still not leaving?"
"...Who are you?"
The man peeled off his face mask and tossed it at one of the guards writhing on the floor.
His face looked oddly familiar.
Nana couldn't quite recall where she'd seen him, but she knew this face.
As the man moved toward her, Nana instinctively cast a spell. A grizzly bear summoned in response to his threatening demeanor.
Her summon, the grizzly in bear form, bared its massive jaws and lunged at the man.
Oh no—Nana rushed to dispel the magic, but it was too late.
Krunch!
It clamped down on the man's neck with its enormous maw.
"Grizzly, no!"
The pajama man stood frozen without even screaming.
"Grizzly?"
Panicking as the man showed no reaction to the attack, Nana hurried to cancel the summon.
Crunch crunch.
Then the man slowly moved, grabbing the grizzly's neck.
The grizzly flailed its front paws in confusion.
Squelch!
With insane grip strength, he crushed its neck and flung it aside.
The man's lips curved into a smile.
"This bear's got some use."
"......Who are you?"
The pajama man swept back his hair and introduced himself.
"I'm Khan from China."
"Ka... Khan?"
Nana couldn't hide her shock. Why was China's top ranker hanging around Mangul Guild looking like that?
And what was with the arm?
As she reeled in confusion, Khan drew even closer.
With Khan standing just 30cm away, Nana froze in fear.
"Still not leaving?"
If this really was Khan, no matter what she did here, she couldn't win.
Normally, she'd apologize and back off, but she had her reasons too.
She had to meet the climber named Moon Byul.
As Khan slowly reached out, Nana squeezed her eyes shut.
"I'm Moon Byul."
Then a calm, composed voice came from beside her.
A man in black with his long hair tied up.
His appearance could almost pass for a woman's at a glance.
"Tagger! What brings you here?"
"Worried Khan might accidentally kill you."
"Come on, even so, not to that extent..."
"That's why it's an 'accident'."
It looked downright bizarre seeing the mighty Khan speaking politely. From what she'd heard, he was a beastly hunter with zero social graces.
"Let's hear her out first. Khan, go work out now."
"Yes, hyungnim."
Khan dragged his pajama pants and left at Moon Byul's words.
He was handling Khan like a child.
"I... I'm Nana, leader of the Divine Beast Guild and prophet. Moon Byul, I've come to ask for your hel—Kyaaak!"
In the most natural fashion, Khan returned, bent at the waist, and stared her down intently.
"You should... use honorifics, right?"
Veins bulged and writhed across his muscled frame.
"I've come... please help."
"Good."
Khan turned and left again for his workout.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Moon Byul invited her to his room.
Nana, leader of the Divine Beast Guild.
"What the hell were those guards?"
"Well... that is."
From her position, she absolutely had to meet him, so if things didn't go smoothly, she planned to strong-arm a newbie climber like him.
"They were too weak to even call it force."
Nana squeezed her eyes shut.
Truth be told, she had plenty to say. They were guards she could handle even as A-ranks, and she herself was an A-rank druid.
It wouldn't have been an issue at all if China's Khan hadn't blocked their path.
But she gave a vague excuse.
No point in telling the full truth—it wouldn't do her any good.
"So, what's so important you'd cause a scene in another guild's lobby?"
"I'm sorry about that part, Climber Moon Byul. Could you take a look at this for a moment?"
With that, Nana activated her skill, producing a small orb.
"You might not know, but I'm a prophet."
So what did that mean, a prophet?
It was the power to glimpse fragments of a target's destined future.
"Then you can see my future too?"
Moon Byul grew interested in her. Being able to see the future would be a huge guide for what lay ahead.
"...No."
Her firm denial brought disappointment.
"Before that, Mr. Moon Byul, do you believe in fate?"
Fate, huh.
Truthfully, Moon Byul didn't like the idea of fate. If the outcome was already set, what was the point of the journey there?
For example, if his fate was to never escape the Cosmic Grimoire, no matter how he struggled, that fixed future wouldn't change.
He'd just go insane trapped in the grimoire forever until he offed himself someday.
Conversely, if his fate was to escape, same deal.
What about everything he'd done so far? Over a hundred years of time spent?
If the result was predetermined, he could escape without lifting a finger.
Fate exists to be defied. Even Oedipus proved he wasn't a perfect puppet by gouging out his own eyes.
"I do."
Still, Moon Byul wanted to believe fate existed. Fateful encounters, fateful events—he liked that stuff.
"But I don't believe in absolute fate."
Because fate is something you forge.
The prophet Nana fell silent for a moment after his answer, as if choosing her words.
"...As a prophet, I'm convinced there's a perfect, absolute fate."
The complete opposite of Moon Byul's stance.
She slowly began her tale.
"I wasn't born with the prophet skill."
She'd awakened as a druid and grown as a climber.
More precisely, she was a climber whose summons grew stronger alongside her, enough to shift her rank.
A hidden class ability, on par with mages.
"Back then, I was a super rookie, climbing the tower as a mercenary without joining a guild."
Summoner classes preferred safe combat. The summoner might be weak, but they had reliable summoned allies.
A druid's summons were special—they even leveled up through battles. The optimal class for safely ascending the tower.
"I climbed and climbed until I reached the 40th floor. That's when I got the prophet skill."
"Something happened there."
"Yes. There was a hidden piece I'd never told anyone about."
She caressed the purple orb she'd produced.
"Do you know the Blind Philosopher on the 40th floor?"
"I've heard of him."
A neutral NPC who traded, but so inefficient now no one bothered. So strong it was better to avoid, So Seori had warned him too.
"I can't tell you everything, but I made some deal with that mad philosopher and gained this power."
According to Nana, life afterward—including the tower—had flipped over like the back of her hand.
"Makes sense. You could see the future."
Moon Byul had researched countless spells, but none let you see the future.
A supernatural authority, a skill obtainable only from the tower.
"Everything I've prophesied has come true without fail. Like nothing could resist the world's flow."
Climbing failures, future natural disasters, economic shifts, even comrades' deaths.
Not one missed the mark.
"How can you be sure known events will happen? Didn't you ever try to stop them?"
"Think I didn't try? You think I didn't?"
She seemed oddly angry.
"No one worked harder than me. For the people who believed in me, to change the future... to save guildmates, I even stripped them of gear and locked them up."
Her eyes dredged up old memories.
"But in the end, he crawled into the tower. That was the last time."
"......"
This was why he hated absolute fate. If actions he thought were his choices were just predetermined gears turning, free will lost all meaning.
"After that, I gave up changing the future and just used this power for info. The problem? I'm too curious."
Curious...?
"And with this power, I glimpsed the final fragment of this world's end."
Her face darkened as she spoke. She hesitated, as if it was hard to say.
"Take your time."
"......"
She took a deep breath, and her mouth finally opened.