Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 88
"What, what kind of trouble did you cause?"
It was long after the earthquake had stopped when Seo-jin visited So-yul's office.
He looked like a complete beggar with his clothes turned to rags from whatever he had been doing, but somehow his expression looked refreshed.
Seo-jin swept his hair back and shrugged his shoulders.
"It's nothing much. I just went to train for a bit."
Training?
She barely managed to stop the formation of an investigation team due to the vibrations from the Great Cavity.
So-yul handed him a change of clothes while grumbling.
"Who does training so grandly like that... But who's this one again?"
So-yul's gaze reached the doll on Seo-jin's shoulder.
The doll waved its hand toward So-yul in greeting.
"It must be unfamiliar since you're seeing me for the first time, but I'm quite familiar with you. I am Hyeon-wol. Nice to meet you."
Though startled at first, So-yul could soon guess its identity.
"Ah, are you perhaps the spirit that was attached to that book?"
"That's right."
She had heard the explanation when leaving the Tower briefly before, entrusting the Primordial Unity Technique skill book to Circe's cabin.
Seo-jin carelessly draped the clothes So-yul handed him over his shoulder and sprawled on the sofa.
"How did the negotiations go?"
Seo-jin asked about the negotiations with Yamato. So-yul nodded.
"Yes, well, they backed off when I said we'd give them samples and magic stones."
"Well done."
Then Seo-jin picked up fruit from the table and spoke while eating.
"I'm thinking of climbing to the 12th floor soon."
Seo-jin's sudden statement.
But it wasn't particularly strange, so So-yul nodded while looking at the calendar.
"Ah, the 12th floor? Come to think of it, it is time for it to open."
"Right, there are some things I need to prepare before that. I'll need your help."
"Preparations..."
So-yul's eyes narrowed.
The 12th floor is the Climbers' floor.
It is the Tower's gift and another trial.
While all floors of the Tower are spaces for climbers, that place is especially special.
First, the entry method and rules are different from other floors. The 12th floor only opens at specific times, and once visited, it cannot be visited again.
And there, one can receive special teachings, and those who give these teachings are none other than the great beings of the Tower.
Of course, those teachings cannot be received for free.
"Well, even if it's you, you'd need some preparation to some extent."
A harsh trial awaits climbers before the great beings' teachings.
If you cannot pass the trial, you won't receive teachings, let alone gain anything, and will only suffer.
So all those who seek to climb the 12th floor prepare.
Preparation to receive teachings from the great ones, and before that, preparation to face the harsh trial.
This was why Seo-jin took time to rest and prepare before climbing the 12th floor.
"Still, wouldn't you easily pass the trial? Or you might even be 'chosen.'"
With abilities that could even nullify the magic of that Grand Mage Gu-ren, no climber could surpass him in terms of magic.
Moreover, he was originally a disciple of Circe, one of the Tower's great beings and a seat of Pandemonium.
It was natural for him to pass the trial and receive teachings from a great being.
Or perhaps the unprecedented event of being chosen directly without a trial and receiving teachings immediately might occur.
To this, Seo-jin shrugged.
"Well, I guess we'll have to see."
The Tower's whims were unpredictable even for Seo-jin. Especially if that bastard Nimrod got involved, things could get unnecessarily complicated.
"How was it for you? When you climbed the 12th floor."
At Seo-jin's question, So-yul waved her hand as if to say don't even mention it.
"Me? I didn't even pass the trial and got terribly beaten up."
The standards for trials given to each climber are still unclear.
Though So-yul possessed considerable talent compared to other mages, she only suffered without receiving any teachings before climbing to the 13th floor.
This was the same for Seo-jin before his regression.
One might say the trials are too difficult for anyone to pass, but that's not quite the case either.
Not only the top-tier strategy teams like Ju Won-jae, Gu-ren, and Choi Gang-hyeon, but countless testimonies exist of ordinary climbers receiving teachings on the 12th floor.
Power and talent didn't seem to be the criteria determining trial difficulty.
Moreover, passing the trial and receiving teachings doesn't lead to tremendous growth.
It's also unknown who will give what teachings.
You might receive direct instruction from a great being, or you might only learn simple curriculum from subordinate beings or instructors.
Both difficulty and rewards are completely varied.
With the situation like this, even Seo-jin had no particular strategy for the 12th floor alone.
Nevertheless, the 12th floor was a great opportunity for Seo-jin.
He should prepare thoroughly.
"Here's a list of items I'd like you to prepare before the 12th floor opening cycle."
Seo-jin handed So-yul a note with the necessary items and materials written on it, and upon receiving and checking the contents, So-yul jumped in surprise.
"Eh? All of this?"
"It's nothing compared to what I've done for the Mage Tower. Prepare it within the time limit."
***
A few days later.
Se-yeon, who had been dispatched to the Great Cavity, returned to Taebaek Mage Tower.
Unlike Seo-jin, who gained climbing rights by subduing the Energy Core, Se-yeon, who climbed to the 11th floor later, had to complete a separate climbing quest.
"I'm back."
She had defeated the giant scorpion of the Great Cavity and obtained climbing rights and a teleportation stone.
"Good work. Now let's depart."
"Eh?"
Seo-jin, having completed all preparations, threw a bag to Se-yeon, and Se-yeon caught the backpack reflexively.
"Well then, have a safe trip."
With So-yul's farewell behind them, Se-yeon and Seo-jin immediately headed to the assembly point.
The fountain square, which served as the assembly point, was literally packed with people.
Climbers wearing various equipment were gathered in groups, chattering noisily.
All of them were climbers who had obtained climbing rights for this cycle's 12th floor.
"Did you memorize the strategy?"
"Please, please just this once..."
"Everyone, let's do well. Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"
"Pandemonium, Pandemonium."
Various reactions from gathering together in solidarity to clasping hands in prayer.
"Will the supernova participate in this cycle too?"
"They might be here."
"Let's look around carefully."
Among the chattering climbers, there were those looking for Seo-jin's whereabouts.
Se-yeon, wearing a hood, looked around and asked.
"The atmosphere seems a bit different from usual."
An atmosphere quite different from general climbing trials. Like other climbing trials, but this trial seemed particularly desperate.
"Right, opportunities to interact with great beings are rare. The 12th floor is that first starting point."
Indeed, the number twelve is special to humanity.
Twelve months. The twelve zodiac animals, Jesus's twelve apostles, the twelve constellations of the zodiac, the twelve Olympian gods, the Knights of the Round Table, etc.
It has mythological, mystical, and mathematical significance.
The same applies to the various forces dominating this Tower.
The force dominating the 12th floor can be broadly divided into the Tower's four major powers.
First is Pandemonium, where Circe belongs, the Pandemonium. The endpoint of all magical paths and the gate of truth that mages desire.
Valhalla, the Hall of Fighting Gods. The destination of those who seek the pinnacle of martial arts and a banquet hall honoring glorious warriors.
Pantheon, the Hall of All Gods. A temple serving gods in distant places and the dwelling of messengers who follow them.
Avalon, the Fairy Realm. A distant ideal island where all manner of spirits and fairies, and the mysteries hidden in the world reside.
Representatives from these four major powers oversee the 12th floor trials.
Which power will oversee the trial, and what the trial content will be, differs for each individual climber.
Among them, Seo-jin's goal was naturally Pandemonium's trial.
Right.
Though he had immediately used achievement points on [Summon Dead] to modify it into a skill tree specialized for himself, he might need help from Pandemonium's elders to create a new black magic system originating from Seo-jin.
It would be good if he could make connections and seek help through this trial.
If lucky, he might even communicate with Circe's main body.
"You'll probably take a trial overseen by the Hall of Fighting Gods."
"...Then this backpack is."
"I prepared it since we don't know what kind of trial you'll face. Don't lose it and put it in your inventory."
Se-yeon nodded indifferently.
TICK-.
As the clock tower in the center of the square gradually announced the approaching hour, the bustling sounds gradually subsided.
TICK-.
Everyone held their breath waiting for the hour to approach.
TICK-.
It was the exact moment the clock tower announced the hour.
FLASH-!
Brilliant light poured from the sky, illuminating the assembly point.
An intense baptism of light so strong that nothing could be seen an inch ahead.
BEEP-.
With tinnitus, consciousness became hazy, and the whole body felt like it was moving as if using a teleportation stone.
Se-yeon, Seo-jin, and other climbers all hurriedly covered their eyes and endured the baptism of light.
WHOOSH-.
Soon the light beam subsided and vision returned.
The climbers who opened their eyes realized they were standing in a completely different place from before.
The fountain they had seen just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
What spread before their eyes was a square where massive columns extended endlessly in a semicircle.
Smooth marble was laid on the floor, and the sky was dyed with the mysterious golden color of sunset.
In the center of the square stood a massive spire or monument that seemed to pierce the sky.
"Is this... the 12th floor?"
Starting with someone's murmur, exclamations erupted from here and there.
This 12th floor was a forbidden zone where recording and taking anything out was impossible by any means.
Only capturing this scene with one's own eyes was permitted.
Soon the climbers' gazes began to converge on one place.
Four great roads extending from the obelisk at the center of the square.
Like a massive cross, the roads that quartered the square and extended in different directions each had different atmospheres.
"Is that bright place the Fairy Realm?"
"There's a place that looks like a Mage Tower too."
"It's a Colosseum!"
"There's a temple too!"
The climbers looked toward the roads related to their interests, filled with anticipation.
But wanting to go didn't mean they could go down that road.
FLUTTER-.
Suddenly a large shadow covered the square, revealing its presence.
Hundreds of gazes simultaneously turned to the sky, the source of the shadow and sound.
There, a being was slowly descending under a brilliantly shining pillar of light.
Golden hair that shone brilliantly like the sun fluttered like silk in the gentle breeze.
A goddess-like being with heavenly beauty, a divine agent, a bearer of news.
'Gabriel.'
Many climbers were entranced by that beauty.
That being opened its mouth toward them.
[Welcome to the 12th floor, climbers. I am Gabriel, the overseer of Pantheon and the administrator of this cycle's 12th floor. I will be overseeing your trials from now on.]
The first to react to that voice was a middle-aged man who appeared to be a Holy Knight.
He unconsciously knelt and clasped his hands together.
"Oh, God. Have you finally heard our earnest prayers! You have sent your messenger to this corrupt Tower!"
However, a cynical voice soon poured cold water on this.
A mage in a black robe crossed his arms and stared sharply at Gabriel.
"Hmph, it could just be a simple high-level angel-type monster, couldn't it?"
At this, the Holy Knight jumped up and tried to grab the mage by the collar.
"You filthy mage bastard dares to commit blasphemy!"
But both of them floated up from their spots and settled in distant locations.
Gabriel, who had separated the two climbers with a single gesture, opened her mouth again.
[I believe you've all heard about this 12th floor. The Tower always wishes to provide greater opportunities to you all, and this trial is also part of that. Each of you will face trials prepared specifically for you under the Tower's selection.]
The climbers murmured. This was as they already knew.
And soon the time everyone had been waiting for arrived.
[However, before that, let's begin the choosing.]
The 'choosing' that could skip the 12th floor's strict and arduous trials and be directly selected by great beings to receive teachings.
GULP-.
While everyone held their breath waiting for Gabriel's next words.
[First, our Pantheon will choose that person.]
Her finger pointed at someone.
WHOOSH-.
A shining halo appeared above the being Gabriel had pointed to.
"..."
Everyone's gaze focused on the robed man.
Seo-jin frowned deeply and raised his hand to swat at the brilliantly shining halo above his head, but it was useless.
'Damn it.'
‘They didn't even glance at me before regression, so why are they causing trouble now?’
Being chosen by Pantheon was the worst situation Seo-jin never wanted.
Then.
[Don't try to snatch our person away so carelessly.]
With one voice, space twisted and split like a whirlpool, and a being revealed itself from within.