Sword or Spear? Why Not Both?

The debate that set the Constellation Gallery ablaze raged on for quite a while.

Sword or spear—which weapon could pull me out of my predicament?

There were plenty of opinions flying around, but the posts that garnered the most support were naturally from the two martial world constellations.

Cheonma, championing the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword, versus the Shaolin monk backing the 100-Day Spear.

The two clashed fiercely over whether to teach me sword or spear.

Banya declared he'd teach me his spear arts and promised to stick with me going forward.

"This one's pretty tempting."

Having read his previous posts, the monk's offer felt like a godsend.

Banya was a paragon of virtue, universally respected by all the constellations.

Like any strong personality, he had his triggers, but usually, that meant you'd messed up first.

Even a gambling, womanizing slacker climber could receive his guidance as long as they didn't cross basic human lines.

In the extreme conditions of Madness difficulty, getting shunned by a constellation was a real risk. This option was a no-brainer for me.

Cheonma pushed the sword, touting its rapid growth.

As Banya said, it offered a high floor with quick ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gains, but you'd eventually hit a wall.

High risk of qi deviation on the path to higher realms.

Compensating low proficiency with massive internal energy, huh.

"Not bad either."

The Absorbing Star Great Law…

Digging deeper, it involved discordant alien qi that lacked harmony or unity, weakening restraint and causing absorbed energy to backlash, plunging the user into qi deviation.

Honestly, I had no clue what that meant.

Martial arts were just fantasy from wuxia novels in my old world.

I could picture it, but imagining it happening in my body gave me chills.

Apparently, there was something called dual cultivation that absorbed women's yin energy. And the opposite, channeling yin for nourishment.

"Tsk..."

Suddenly, mischief struck. The vibe was perfect for some teasing without hard feelings.

Trolling a constellation? What achievement could top that?

Cheonma looked ready to explode at the slightest poke.

"Can't resist this."

I quickly replied to her comment.

In the end, I had two paths to choose from.

Slow but pure qi refinement from righteous faction arts, paired with an easy-to-wield spear for newbies.

The spear's utility was historically proven.

Ancient humans hunting mammoths, armed peasants—they all wielded spears.

Human history walked hand-in-spear with it, no exaggeration.

Next, rapid qi accumulation via Absorbing Star Great Law and a tricky sword.

Snapping accounted for. Spears needed a workaround there.

I didn't want to die pathetically over a broken shaft.

Come to think of it, inventory?

I pushed the Constellation Gallery aside and checked the system window.

"There it is."

The interface was as user-unfriendly as it gets—no exclamation mark linking to a help menu or anything.

What did that 20 mean?

I focused on item slots for now.

"Will this fit?"

I picked up a rock fragment from the floor and shoved it into the interface. A ding rang out, and notifications scrolled up.

I reached back into the interface, visualized the stalactite, and pulled out the rock.

Storage and retrieval worked like that, huh.

A good idea hit me.

I dropped the rock and picked up a sword rolling on the floor.

"Borrowing this for a sec."

Owner unknown, dead now. No permission possible, but basic courtesy, right?

I tried shoving the sword into the interface, but...

"Won't go in."

Every push repelled it like magnets.

This Tower was a real asshole.

Drop us in this hellhole, at least give decent QoL features.

Not some soulslike with perma-death RNG.

It felt like pure malice to block climbing.

Back to square one. Both options had clear pros and cons—equally appealing.

Time to consider other factors.

Would the tricks that got me through the 0th Floor work up to 9th? Even cheaty awakening users died pathetically.

Could grinding one thing change my fate with zero talents? The Tower turns best efforts into worst outcomes.

Heard even Hard has frequent surprise deaths from variables—not just lack of clears.

"Boss every 5 floors, right."

Need to handle bosses, regular mobs per floor, and quests from Floor 1.

"Better ask."

My only ability: chatting with constellations. Max survival meant leveraging their info.

Even tutorial-like 0th Floor had a boss. How to beat it? I reopened the gallery.

A martial world-style argument was brewing. "What the—why are they fighting all of a sudden?" Specifically, Cheonma unloading on Banya one-sidedly.

Where did this start?

Too many comments piled up while I checked inventory. No way to find it.

Sounded 0th Floor-related, but I gave up scrolling.

Knowing the cause wouldn't change much.

Other constellations would've stopped it otherwise.

Stories from their world slipped in—ones I didn't know. The rift ran deep.

Destruction and screams.

Words unthinkable from a world with two constellations.

Why did the Tower fall? What happened there?

The demonic sect star preaching righteousness and harmony, while the righteous one argued reality.

Curiosity piqued, but no vibe to ask.

Best move: calm this now. If admin spots it, both get banned—leaving me high and dry.

Think.

End this WWE-to-UFC mess anticlimactically!

Life's biggest crisis.

Desperation breeds genius, right?

"Aha!"

The one move to end the debate flashed in my mind.

And my path forward crystallized.

To climb Madness 100 floors home, time to go all out.

All means all—no pickiness.

I hurriedly posted to share the genius idea.

Reactions were solid. Everyone welcomed my entry into the shitstorm.

Now, the fuming Cheonma.

I waited anxiously for her reply. No clue on her personal beef, so caution.

A beat of silence. Then.

Luckily, no admin intervention. Tension eased.

Was there an arena here? Hope not.

If they fought and one vanished, I'd lose a future master.

That'd suck.

Magic on hold till I have spare time. 3 months for sparkles?

Hmm.

Magic I'd seen wasn't like that.

One post showed circle-free magic, fundamentally different.

Would love to learn it, but.

Manipulates notifications? No way they'd teach on request.