Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Chapter 37 Because I Didn't Know
Unfortunately, it seems my resistance training ends here. Course meals are originally meant to be a bit lacking in quantity after all. I'd like to order more, but they said the ingredients are exhausted, so it wouldn't be gentlemanly to keep pestering them.
[You have cleared the Trial of Hell Difficulty Floor 1 of the Trial Layer for the first time.]
[Rewards are enhanced.]
[You have triggered and broken through all traps.]
[Rewards are greatly enhanced.]
[You are currently under penalty.]
[Rewards are very greatly enhanced.]
[Rewards have reached the highest level.]
[Would you like to receive the reward?]
[Yes / No.]
It's natural that higher difficulty means higher rewards. But the rewards were enhanced by 3 stages on Hell Difficulty? I can't help but be excited about what kind of reward will come out.
‘But I won't take it.’
Because I know the secret of the rewards. In the first place, if they were just going to give rewards, that would be the end of it, but why do they ask "Would you like to receive it?" The reason was here.
As soon as I pressed No, a message appeared.
[You have skipped the reward.]
[The reward's value will be stacked on the next floor's reward.]
Though they didn't explain it separately, there existed a system in the Trial Layer where you could double down. I probably wouldn't have noticed such a system existed if Yoo So-eun hadn't told me about it.
Who would have the nerve to press No here when the reward might disappear entirely? But our curious Yoo So-eun-ssi did it. Thanks to that, I was enjoying the benefits.
Since the difficulty would also increase as the floors went up, if I had barely cleared the previous floor, I would definitely have to take the reward, but I still had plenty of leeway left. I was even thinking it might be possible to continue stacking rewards like this and receive them all at once on the 10th floor.
Yoo So-eun held out until the 10th floor on Imagination Difficulty, which is just below the highest, and even after receiving the reward, I heard she obtained an S-rank trait, Unique-grade artifacts, and various byproducts. Then what kind of reward would Hell Difficulty, which is 3 stages higher than Imagination, give?
Since I was more curious about the 10-stack reward than the immediate reward, I could somehow endure the current curiosity.
When I skipped the reward, a portal leading to the next space opened before my eyes. This time it was properly blue. Without hesitation, I entered inside, and a space equipped with basic furniture like the tutorial dormitory appeared.
This must be the waiting room.
From the 11th floor onward, the waiting room is a shared space used with other people, but I heard they give individual rooms like this until you break through the Trial Layer.
Having consumed a lot of stamina by throwing my body directly at traps to build resistance, I was hungry. I was going to just heat up some ramen and frozen food, but there was one piece of advice stuck in my mind.
-Master. Please don't just eat instant food and make sure to cook yourself. I'll check what you ate when you come up, okay?
There was one disciple who had already foreseen this situation and made a move first. Instinctively stopping my hand that was going for instant food, I just took out ingredients from the refrigerator.
As I trimmed and measured, I could feel the cooking skill integrated into All-Mastery growing.
"Oh... come to think of it, this is also training, isn't it?"
The reason I had become sloppy with cooking was because I was the only one eating anyway, and since I had already reached Intermediate Level 1, I wondered if there was any need to do more. But now the proficiency constraints were lifted.
[Time remaining until next floor opens: 23 hours 37 minutes]
There wasn't anything else I could do until the next floor opened anyway. Since I was forbidden from using divine authority, training in that area was also impossible, so it seemed good to spend the remaining time growing All-Mastery.
It's not just that there's nothing bad about growing the skill that forms my foundation - it's just unconditionally beneficial.
It's regrettable that I can't raise stats through training in the Tower.
The only ways to raise stats are through rewards given by the Tower and by absorbing elixirs obtained in the Tower. That's why I heard that elixirs boast abnormal market prices in the Tower.
You might ask why not bring elixirs from outside, but such tricks are naturally blocked. While artifacts are recognized as individual abilities, elixirs seemed to be outside that realm. Because elixirs are treasures that raise stats, one of the most precious values in the Tower.
Of course, manufacturing isn't completely blocked, so if we could somehow gather elixir ingredients in the Tower, it seemed like we could make enough elixirs for our party to use through alchemy.
Similarly, the only ways to obtain artifacts are through Tower rewards or through crafting. Thanks to this, I heard that high-grade artifacts also boast considerable prices. That's why artisans are important.
‘Mythic-grade would probably be worth whatever you ask for.’
Of course, there's no way anyone would sell a Mythic-grade artifact instead of using it themselves. I think Legendary-grade artifacts are probably the upper limit for trading. Actually, I heard that even Legendary-grade ones have auctions opened as soon as they appear.
I should also consider gifting artifacts to gain favor with faction leaders. If I appeal how outstanding an artisan I am, wouldn't they at least try to maintain friendly relations?
‘They might even try to make an exclusive contract.’
I supply artifacts to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult supplies useful martial arts to Earthlings. Even if only this kind of exchange were possible, it would be very helpful in raising the overall level of Earthlings.
Even if not the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I could exchange with the Black Magic Tower to supply their black magic to Earthlings.
But wouldn't this create a Demon King among Earthlings?
Thinking that what I'm supplying to them is martial arts and black magic, it seemed like I was increasing the probability of a Demon King emerging among Earthlings. Since I'm definitely not one, it means there's a Demon King candidate among Earthlings, and I couldn't help but think whether I might be causing something irreversible.
No. I still have to do it.
It would be better for a Demon King to emerge from among Earthlings. At least that guy wouldn't be hostile to Earthlings, right? If Estelle, the god of Earth, and a new Demon King of Earthling origin cooperate, the probability of preventing the massacre of Earthlings would rise exponentially.
It's better to have even one more card to play. I want to place expectations on that guy who will become the Demon King too.
I took about an hour of sleep in the middle and woke up to cook again. Whether there were cooking-related things among the potential I had absorbed, proficiency in cooking skills rose steeply.
Time passed quickly as I repeated cooking and eating, practicing martial arts while digesting, then cooking and eating again.
[The level of Intermediate All-Mastery increases.]
Eventually, I was able to raise the level of Intermediate All-Mastery through the growth of pure cooking skills alone. Having taken sleep and having the mysteries of Transcendence Limitless Path excluding divine authority become more familiar, my body felt light as if it could fly.
Condition is optimal.
[Time remaining until next floor opens: 0 hours 0 minutes]
The unit went down to 0 minutes, and after 59 seconds passed, a red portal appeared before my eyes again.
"Can't you make this a more normal color?"
If this had originally been red, my companions would have given me a hint, but seeing as there was no separate mention, it seemed like only I experienced this.
It wasn't like I wouldn't enter because it was ominous, so I threw my body into the portal once more. The place I arrived at this time was a space like a colosseum, different from the maze on the 1st floor.
[Trial of Hell Difficulty Floor 2 of the Trial Layer.]
[We will manifest the existence you think is strongest.]
[Gain recognition from your opponent.]
[During the Trial Layer progression, the use of Limit-Breaking stats, divine authority, and manifestation is restricted.]
[The trial's rewards are further enhanced due to penalties.]
"The strongest existence...?"
Among those I've actually met, the strongest existence would be Estelle, and if I include all those I've met indirectly, it would be among those who had sent avatars. The most likely candidate was Baal. My mentor, my master, now even occupying the position of my father.
Whether Estelle or Baal appeared, it seemed like it would be an interesting match. The fact that it says to gain recognition rather than win suggests it will come out with much higher manifestation than the tutorial.
A formless black something appeared and began to take shape. As it took shape, an impossibly dense aura flowed out from within. From the form of that aura, I could guess who my opponent was.
It's Baal.
If nothing else, this sticky dominating mana was impossible not to recognize. A whole 25 years. 25 years. An aura I had handled for longer than the time I spent on Earth.
The appearance is more detailed?
Unlike other avatars, Baal's avatar felt like some kind of incompletely made red lump. An existence whose original appearance was completely unguessable, only giving the feeling of being a demon.
But what was being manifested now had a complete form. I was excited thinking I could finally see father's real appearance, but something was strange.
"Uh... who are you?"
What emerged after the black something finished its transformation was not the muscular large man I had imagined. The black horns on the head and red eyes were the same, but the body was slender, the height was shorter than mine, and the white hair was long enough to reach the waist.
It's not even a man in the first place.
The trained body was correct, but the gender was different. From the swollen chest that I couldn't believe belonged to a man, to the pretty face, it's definitely not a man.
At first I wondered if it wasn't Baal, but as soon as it recognized me, it grinned and swung its fist mercilessly.
THWACK!
I too somehow deflected it with Transcendence Limitless Path containing the mysteries of God Demon Annihilation Dance. Because if I took a direct hit with my current physical abilities, I would definitely die.
The moment the mystery contained in Baal's combat method, which is the original source of God Demon Annihilation Dance, tried to tear me to pieces, I had no choice but to acknowledge it. The existence before my eyes was indeed Baal.
It even had more detail and contained more destructive power than what the avatar had handled. Just capturing it with my eyes was opening new horizons regarding martial arts.
[The level of Transcendence Limitless Path increases.]
Though it was unlikely, it felt as if it was kindly teaching me that this is how to use one's combat method.
After acknowledging that my opponent was Baal, the shock I received was indescribable.
It wasn't father but... mama...?
An unbelievable reality had arrived. Then what did all the things I had done up until now amount to?
Because I didn't know... because I didn't know she was a woman!
Father... no, mama would understand too. It absolutely had to be that way. Without fail.