Chapter 158
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Ancient Tower (5)
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Growth Pill.
The reward Jun had received from Count Mordena as compensation for saving numerous lives during the Fairy Queen raid in the past.
Even Jun, who hadn't expected it to actually drop, was inwardly surprised, but not as much as Eleanor, the recipient herself.
She had heard from Jun before that consuming a Growth Pill had advanced her circle by one level.
Of course, whether Eleanor possessed a skill like [Basic Magic Talent] was anyone's guess.
'There's no such thing as a status window like in the game.'
Still, he hoped her magical aptitude might rise by a level, given how desperately she wanted it.
That was all he could speculate.
Meanwhile, Eleanor clutched the Growth Pill to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world, letting out joyful sobs.
"Wh-when do I take this? How? Huh?"
Though Eleanor had plenty of experience in Blackout, she'd never actually consumed a Growth Pill before.
Jun calmly explained the usage to her as she fussed over it.
"Hoo, hoo! Here goes?"
With the party's attention focused on her.
Eleanor cautiously brought the Growth Pill to her lips.
Suddenly, Jun wondered if there was a way to duplicate it with Lament of the End...
'Even in the game, that was impossible.'
It was something veteran players had already tried. Growth Pills couldn't be copied with Lament of the End.
Several minutes passed as Eleanor sat down to wait for the Growth Pill's absorption to complete.
"Th-this is it...!"
Her earlier fussing vanished in an instant, and she sat motionless, uttering only those words.
Knowing exactly what this phenomenon meant, Jun and the others quietly kept watch around them.
About half a day later.
"Whoa, whoa...!"
Eleanor opened her eyes beneath the black bandages and bounced over to Jun.
"That thing I mentioned last time! This is how you use that spell, right? Right?"
Though she couldn't cast magic directly without circles, she scrawled the theory on the ground with her staff and had Jun confirm it. He nodded in astonishment.
"You understood that? It was pretty tricky—aligning the mana, the caster, and the environmental conditions."
"Hahaha!"
Just then, as she burst into hearty laughter like a scientist who'd grasped a new theory.
"At this point, we can move on to the next stage, right?"
"Ha... What?"
Her laughter cut off as if it had been a lie.
Eleanor turned her black-bandaged eyes precisely toward Jun.
"Hold on a sec."
Opening her dimensional bracelet, countless books poured out.
One, two, three—over a dozen by the time she stopped.
"It might be too hard to learn my insights right away. Let's start from here."
"Wh-what is this?"
"The foundations that helped me complete my magic theory."
"Wait..."
As Eleanor checked some of the books piled on the floor, her face turned as pale as the surroundings.
"Th-this... You want me to study this?"
'Hmm. Judging by her reaction, she probably didn't get [Intermediate Magic Talent].'
Likely just the base level, [Basic Magic Talent].
'Still, with me here, teaching won't be an issue.'
Of course, it would be a grueling, harsh path...
"Now you've got a lot to learn. Hmm. Well, it should be fine, right? We can always get another Growth Pill later... Kek!"
Eleanor lunged at Jun and locked in a joint hold.
"G-Goodness! Such speed!"
Her movement was so swift that even Aiden, watching from the side, was awestruck.
'Don't just admire it—save me!'
With her ferocious momentum far beyond normal, Jun seriously wondered if the Growth Pill had enhanced her [Wrestling] skill instead of [Basic Magic Talent].
It took quite some time after that for Jun to regain his freedom.
By then, a somewhat calmed Eleanor was grimacing as she examined the books Jun had handed over.
"By any chance, have you gained any insights on that stone containing the tree's energy?"
At Maya's suddenly keen interest in the World Tree's essence, Eleanor turned inward once more.
"Hmm. I think I get it to some extent."
"Is that so? Could you share?"
"Thing is, I don't have a solid theory yet. It's mostly intuition. For this part... I should discuss it with our resident genius doctor."
Pointing at Jun, sprawled on the floor basking in the gratitude of the air, Maya nodded obediently.
And the next morning.
As planned, Eleanor and Jun discussed the World Tree's essence late into the night.
Jun was weak on the soul side, so Eleanor's help was invaluable there, but she struggled to formalize it into theory.
Complementing each other's shortcomings for a while.
A fairly plausible theory emerged.
"So, you're saying this object infused with the tree's energy is akin to a living being?"
"Not quite a living being. More like an aggregate of minds."
"What does that mean?"
"Hmm..."
By a mage's standards, this explanation should suffice, but it seemed tricky for Maya to grasp.
"Remember that time in the alchemists' city, how the mutants' minds were linked as one?"
"Yes."
"Similar principle. See, these are threads. They're the wills or minds dwelling in living beings."
"Got it."
"Alone, they're just thin strands, but when many bundle together, they form a sphere like this."
"Hmm."
Thus, as mental energy gathers, lines become spheres.
This expands from 2D planes to 3D realms.
Even mere aggregation expands the domain, allowing the amassed energy to exert influence over a broader range.
In a world of lines, only front and back exist; as spheres, up and down are added.
"The World Tree's essence follows a similar principle. Pure mana energy clumps and weaves together, enabling assigned roles."
With an expanded range of movement, spiritual energy it couldn't normally wield now influences Jun and his companions.
"Ahh... I think I get it now."
"That's all your questions?"
"For now, yes. Let me think on it. Thank you."
As Maya left, Jun watched her retreating figure.
'Is everyone gaining insights one by one here?'
They were diligent even normally, but the Ancient Tower rewarded their efforts miraculously.
'For Maya, laying the groundwork to communicate with ancestral spirits.'
Not an in-game event, but as long as it led to progress, fine.
Maya would likely reframe mental entities as souls to commune with ancestors.
She constantly heard their voices, but no true communication.
'Probably harder than with wind spirits.'
Roughly imagining...
In danger: Gal!!!
Linked to Corruptors: Gaaal!!
Distinguishing at that level.
For Maya, just listening must be frustrating.
She only learned from them by temporarily yielding bodily control.
'If proper communication opens, she'll surpass one gate toward the next.'
Without his intervention, his companions' growth accelerated on its own.
A heartwarming sight, so Jun quietly opened his spellbook.
"Ow ow..."
His neck still hurt from Eleanor's joint lock.
'Realistically, with our current strength, 9th floor is the max we can climb.'
From the 10th floor, difficulty shifted dramatically, so Jun abandoned lingering ambitions and aimed precisely for the 9th.
Over a month had passed since entering the Ancient Tower.
Having just finished the 8th floor battle, Jun and the others lay half-dead on the ground.
"This white... It's starting to feel nightmarish, senpai..."
"White never was great for mental health anyway..."
Despite periodic rests, preparing for each fight in this non-proper rest area drained them mentally.
'Still, we've been pretty lucky so far.'
Familiar game themes appeared, preventing true stalls.
Progress was smooth enough that they'd delayed clears to incorporate companions' insights.
'Have things ever gone this smoothly for me?'
Clears themselves posed no issues, to that extent...
'Of course.'
Upon reaching the 9th floor, Jun's thoughts changed.
'New theme.'
Amid murky fog obscuring vision.
Scanning the surroundings, Jun activated [Scan], while Eleanor and Maya surveyed via their methods.
Aiden drew his sword, ready to move, when—
Multiple Challengers detected. Collecting Hero's Tower clear data.
From the white fog, it emerged without warning.
An enormous clockwork mechanism too vast to gauge easily.
Countless gears whirred with grinding clicks around two massive cogwheels resembling eyes.
The giant eye-like cogwheels scanned the companions erratically, emitting mechanical tones.
Clear data collection complete. Multiple desires confirmed in these Challengers. Commonalities: Growth. Survival. Cooperation. Calculating priorities.
Calculation complete. Aggregating total scores. Statistics complete. Score: 8. Excluding growth and survival themes. Confirmed executable trial in Hero's Tower.
Detecting theme for cooperation ability growth.
Most suitable entity for group of 4 total.
All 9th floor test subjects unfit.
Initiating rescan.
Rescan complete. 10th floor A309 entity suitability adequate. However, powering down for trial.
After several bursts of massive steam, the entity vanished into the fog as if it had never been.
Jun and the others stood frozen for a while.
"What... was that just now?"
At Eleanor's somewhat stiff voice, Jun replied, sweating coldly.
"No idea. But... what an overwhelming presence."
Eleanor, with [Heart's Eye], felt eye strain; mana-sensitive Jun sensed wild mana fluctuations nearly knocking him out.
Maya felt ancestral spirits fall silent; Aiden barely stood on trembling legs.
"Less than back then, but... it felt like facing an outer god."
Was it some divine being? Or a machine crafted by one?
No one could answer definitively.
As the white fog dissipated, the surroundings revealed themselves.