Chapter 479
Chapter 479
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 479
Chapter Title: Transcendence
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Park Chan-woo stood alone before the entrance to that colossal tower.
In the past, he had healed the soul of the Despair Dragon Arcana here and claimed the holy mark of Ialdagols, the guardian of the sacred site Valhalla.
One of the tower's five wills, the 'Will of Magic Power,' had recognized his potential and led him to the Mountain of Practitioners.
But that had only been the beginning.
The Will of Magic Power was merely one of the five masters who ruled the Tower of the Gods.
Four more masters and four more monumental trials still awaited him.
Only by conquering them all could he finally reach the tower's summit.
He had climbed with the loyal knight Ataraxia by his side before.
'This time, I'll climb alone.'
He resolved to ascend the tower using only his own power.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath and quietly stepped into the tower.
The moment he crossed the entrance threshold, familiar system messages appeared before his eyes.
The surrounding scenery warped amid a flash of light, teleporting him to an unfamiliar space in an instant.
Ding!
Park Chan-woo carefully read through the floating messages once more with a fresh mindset.
This tower, which he had once seen merely as a place of trials to grow stronger, now held an entirely different meaning.
It was no simple space for growth.
This was a grand epic in itself—a place to restore forgotten tales, claim ownership of those stories, and gain new power.
His gaze lingered on the very last line of the system window.
'...Not much time left.'
Park Chan-woo's brow furrowed slightly.
While he had been caught up in the chaos of the Interracial War and the dragons' internal strife, the tower's timer had kept ticking relentlessly.
While Park Chan-woo had been away, Awakened from nations around the world had desperately cooperated to buy time.
Led by Lee Hyuk-soo, Korea's heroes—along with rankers who had grown further through the Interracial War—had united to tackle the tower, eking out a little more time bit by bit.
The problem was that their efforts had hit a wall amid the war.
There was a clear limit to the floors they could reach, and they lacked both the information and power to meet the special clear conditions.
Thirteen hours.
Humanity's grace period was now just over half a day.
'Balmoong.'
Park Chan-woo recalled the name.
A being he had never directly faced in any of his past regressions.
Considering that even the Despair Dragon Arcana, who became an Elder Dragon, was merely the 20th-floor guardian, imagining the horrors of 'Balmoong,' the apex monster on the 99th floor, was nearly impossible.
It wouldn't be an easy opponent.
Of course, the Earth now was different from the past.
Dragons, giants, and elite warriors of the Twilight Race had been dispatched to aid humanity and were stationed there.
If they combined their strength, they wouldn't fall easily even if Balmoong appeared.
'But I can't take chances.'
Park Chan-woo refused to let his guard down.
He couldn't allow even a single threat to reach Earth while he was gone.
Without hesitation, he headed straight for the door to the next floor.
Floor 21.
The moment he passed through the door, the details of the new trial appeared before him.
Suuuuuu...
As the message appeared, a sensation of his magic power being rapidly drained from his body assaulted him.
It felt like a massive vacuum sucking away even the source of his magic power deep within his soul—an utterly repulsive feeling.
In an instant, his magic power was depleted.
Not a single drop remained.
An ordinary mage would have plunged into helplessness and panic at that moment.
But Park Chan-woo remained utterly calm even as all his magic vanished.
A faint smirk even tugged at his lips.
As if he had been waiting, he gently caressed the 'Primordial Dawn Star.'
And whispered softly.
"Recovery."
Recovery
Demi God-grade sacred relic responds with dazzling light. Magic power restored beyond previous levels.
Hwaaaaa!
The Demi God-grade relic blazed with brilliant light in response.
From his depleted well of magic power, an even purer and more potent surge poured forth like a waterfall.
Abundant magic power.
Without any conditions.
The Demi God-grade necklace that unconditionally restored all magic power twice a day.
Compared to his previous entry into the Tower of the Gods, Park Chan-woo was incomparably stronger now.
Gazing at the 'Apostles of Power' approaching from afar, he murmured lowly.
"Heavenly Punishment."
Kwarrr rumble!
Transcendent Abyss.
Their own world, existing at the boundary of time and space where the laws of the Abyss could not reach.
The transcendents dwelling there originally had no interest in the outside world.
The mortals' desperate struggle for survival and the demon gods' arrogant games were mere meaningless scenery passing through eons to them.
Confined to their own world, they pursued their personal truths across eternal ages.
But recently, faint ripples began stirring in their serene realm.
The cataclysm following the Interracial War.
The halted cycle of reincarnation restarted, decrepit gods fell, and the entire Abyss shifted.
This massive wave of change was powerful enough to reach beyond the thick walls surrounding the transcendents.
And at the center of it all was a single name.
Park Chan-woo.
—Have you heard?
From the heart of a crystal forest, where one transcendent had been lost in eternal meditation, a will quietly flowed toward the others.
—They say two of the great Nine Lords have perished. All in some game called the Interracial War.
Another transcendent dwelling in a river of fire responded.
—I heard. But that's not all. Even the arrogant Dragon God Sepiro abandoned his kingdom and fled beyond the great rift. Quite the intriguing news after so long.
Their exchange carried the languor of those newly awakened from deep slumber, mingled with undeniable curiosity.
The two great pillars of the Abyss—demons and dragons.
Their absolute authority was crumbling simultaneously.
—And at the center of it all is a human called 'Park Chan-woo,' they say.
—Park Chan-woo, Park Chan-woo.
—Proclaimed Archmage, completed Lil's magic, and even became the dragons' new god. Could humans truly possess such caliber?
His doubt was shared by all the transcendents.
Humans.
They instantly grasped the nature of humanity.
Frail, with lifespans like flickers, easily swayed by the imperfect errors called emotions.
Such beings dared to annihilate lords and drive out a dragon god?
—Surely, he borrowed external power.
The transcendent of fire declared.
—Did any of you lend him strength?
—Intervening this deeply would break the unspoken rule.
—What if Park Chan-woo is an apostle of the Destroyer?
—It's closer to restoration and regeneration than destruction.
—Yet, it's still a realm no one could achieve alone.
All agreed with the fire transcendent's words.
Everything Park Chan-woo had accomplished was impossible for one alone.
Not unless a transcendent had helped.
And not just any—a top-tier one at that.
But transcendents were too powerful, with worlds too defined to meddle in the Abyss.
They weakened if they strayed from their own realms.
Within the 'Transcendent Abyss,' they wielded absolute might.
That was why no sovereign, not even the demons, dared touch them.
Yet at the same time, the transcendents yearned.
They researched ways to expand their worlds, to wield full power even outside the Transcendent Abyss.
The shared aspiration and hope of all transcendents.
What if someone had succeeded?
What if Park Chan-woo had shared that achievement or directly borrowed their power?
As all grew wary...
—Someone is climbing the Tower of the Gods.
—You mean the place Lil stole from the Creator's domain?
—Incredibly fast pace.
—The Tower of the Gods is beyond our intervention.
—And yet, it holds our deepest aspirations.
—Who could it be?
All wondered.
—Incredibly fast. Already past Floor 30. At this rate...
—The Tower of the Gods is a place we transcendents cannot directly enter.
Amalgam's will rang out coldly, dousing the excited atmosphere.
—And yet, it is also where our aspirations lie.
The Tower of the Gods.
That was the answer the transcendents so desperately sought.
The sole place of hope, where the key to unshackling the Transcendent Abyss and attaining true freedom might slumber.
But it was an utterly封闭 space.
As part of the Creation domain, it was an absolute sanctuary beyond even transcendent power.
Yet long ago, the most anomalous and unpredictable transcendent, 'Lil,' had defied all expectations and invaded that sanctuary.
She committed the colossal sin of 'stealing' the entire Tower of the Gods, shaking the whole Abyss.
In payment, she lost nearly all her power.
Destined to perish unless she sealed herself.
Before sealing herself, Lil had declared to the mocking transcendents:
The day one reaches the tower's summit, we shall find salvation.
We will escape the prison called transcendence and reach the true ultimate!
Her final words lingered in the transcendents' minds like an unsolved riddle across ages.
Thus, all were curious.
Who was scaling that 'Tower of the Gods' so steeply now?
—...Just who is it?