Grasping the Four Elements
A brilliant light burst from my body, and I felt something change.
The accumulated fatigue from the past few days melted away.
It was on a level where I could intuitively grasp that my power had simply grown stronger.
Yeah, I already knew about the stats.
If my body didn't strengthen like this, how could an ordinary human fight a monster like Arakhan?
The first thing to check: the additional reward had been converted to mental strength.
"Grimoire, show me the elemental magic page."
As I gave the command I remembered, the pages rustled and flipped.
[Tier 1 Water Attribute Magic]
Acquisition Condition: Water Comprehension (30%)
Current Comprehension: 23%
"!"
The "insufficient mental strength" note in the remarks had vanished.
The text became readable again. My head no longer felt like it was splitting open.
Just 7% more comprehension, and I'd be able to acquire a new spell immediately.
The Tower was the right call, after all.
The refreshing sensation of breaking through a blocked wall was short-lived.
⇒ Normal ⇒ END
Seeing the unidentified difficulty setting floating before me made the frustration return.
I even searched the Hunter Gallery just in case, but nothing came up.
So I posted a thread.
Urgent, quick answers pls
Banned from Trading Board for 30 days.
Reason: Trolling
With bans everywhere else, the trading board was my last resort.
"Fucking assholes."
I hadn't expected much anyway.
The Mage Gallery seniors didn't know about the Tower either, so now I had to decide alone.
One phrase flashed through my mind: high risk, high return.
It was like the moment I'd hesitated before calling the orphanage director. In the end, I'd resolved the crisis and reached Tier 2.
I'd even earned nearly 4,000 points.
By the same logic, the difficulty I should choose here was END.
The problem is the total lack of info.
Unlike Arakhan, there was nothing I could learn beforehand.
Every floor would be my first, so in the worst case, I might end up with no rewards and just a hard mode badge, like in console games.
What to do? What's the right choice?
As my resolve wavered like a reed, another window appeared.
A countdown? Damn it, fine, just go with Normal.
Rustle—!
The moment I decided, the grimoire flipped open.
This can't be...
Crack!
Space tore open beside me again.
The finger of that great being was descending once more.
This meant only one thing.
Reach the end.
End.
END.
[You have selected END difficulty.]
[A new possibility unlocks for humanity.]
So end referred to the top of the Tower, after all.
The moment I chose, the countdown stopped, and the tearing space healed. No finger emerged to slit my throat.
"You damn outer god bastard."
The curse slipped out naturally.
Was this thing being kind or cruel? Telling a criminal-catching outer god host to climb the high-difficulty Tower diligently.
What the hell did it want from me?
"Answer me, you crazy book fucker!"
The grimoire, which only flipped pages when it pleased, stayed silent. I barely held back from ripping a page out in rage.
[Clear complete.]
[Returning to original dimension in 60 seconds.]
"...Ha."
I let out a light sigh, calming my anger.
Park Jin-su from the Seoul branch was probably waiting outside. I couldn't show up disheveled. After straightening my clothes, the warp began.
At the same time, all hunters in Korea were in an uproar.
It started with a minor post. But chaos followed.
I checked the Hunter Gallery thinking it was a glitch. Posts were regenerating like crazy.
"Team leader, did you get it too?"
"No, what the hell is this, Seo-yeon?"
It was noisy not just online but outside the VIP room. Employees bustled in response to the unprecedented situation.
It's real?
Park Jin-su, waiting at the Association's Seoul branch, gaped.
"No way."
This glitch-like ranking change notice appeared less than five minutes after Baek Seo-hu entered the Tower.
"Coincidence?"
Overseas hunters overwriting rankings was common enough. But 20 floors? That was off the charts.
It's a bug to begin with.
Otherwise, 20 hunters clearing simultaneously by sheer coincidence.
That makes even less sense.
The Tower's secrets remained unsolved. A bizarre place where anything could happen.
What kind of power allows that...?
Doubt gave way to greater awe.
As Elise said. He's no ordinary one. There might really be hope.
Park Jin-su, who had pledged loyalty, clenched his fist.
"Great work, sir!"
"...?"
The moment I exited the Tower, the first thing I saw was Park Jin-su bowing at a 90-degree angle.
Did this guy stay like that the whole time? Creepy as hell.
"It was truly an honor to serve you!"
Overkill. The intensity had ramped up even more.
I quickly figured out why from the commotion outside.
All hunters got the notice, huh.
Good thing I went anonymous.
I'd have been swarmed by bees otherwise, and even I didn't know what happened.
"I'm heading out."
"No, we'll escort you home."
Better than the bus. I accepted the courtesy.
"Pwah!"
Huuuugh.
I yanked my face from the sink and gulped air desperately.
Whoa, that was close.
[Tier 1 Water Attribute Magic 0/10]
Thanks to it, my comprehension rose, and I acquired a new spell. Cupping my palms, water droplets formed in midair with a trickle.
Slurp.
A taste wasn't bad.
Handy for drinking water during long Tower stays.
Wind and earth remained.
"This is fun."
Learning new magic after so long ignited my thirst for knowledge, like the first time I made a magic scroll.
The flow was here. No putting it off—finish them all now.
"Invisible, wind mode ON."
No time for paragliding.
My method: turn myself into a temporary pig head.
Whirr whirr whirr—!
Invisible grabbed my legs and spun me like a net in the studio apartment's air.
My vision whirled, sharp wind whistling past my ears.
I'm gonna die!!
[Current Comprehension: 27%...]
"St-stop...!"
Something clicked, but I couldn't even read it.
"Guhwehehek!"
I made it to the toilet just in time. Puking up dinner cleared another task.
[Tier 1 Wind Attribute Magic 0/10]
Last: earth.
I went to the nearby playground and started munching sand.
[Tier 1 Earth Attribute Magic 0/10]
Done.
I'd successfully gathered the four basic elements for any mage. At the same time, a new realization swirled in my mind.
It felt like walls crumbling, revealing paths beyond Tier 3.
Fwoosh!
A small flame ignited in my open palm.
"Envelop it."
At my command, ambient moisture formed a sphere around the flame's exterior.
Zzzzzzt—.
Opposites that should explode on contact tenuously coexisted.
Add flow and core here.
Sharp wind swirled over the fire-water barrier, with a rock crystal balancing at the center.
Facing this beautiful phenomenon, comprehension slammed into my mind.
"In the end, they're all just in the same vessel."
I crushed my fist, merging them into one. Only a black-and-white orb remained, everything blended.
Tap, tap.
The surroundings had darkened unnoticed. Footsteps echoed near the now-empty playground.
"Hm?"
Lifting my head at the odd sensation, a goat stood before me.
"What are you?"
As I reached to pet it, the goat's mouth opened.
What? Goats talk these days now?
The voice came through clear, without noise.
Ah... no good.
My magic-soaked brain wasn't working right. I reached for its long, slit pupils. A beautiful, wondrous being.
Just before I touched it.
Crunch!
Something burst from behind me. It was Invisible Hand. My extended palm seized the goat's head.
Squelch!
Muscles bulged as if to crush its skull. A gap opened on the back of my hand, and a tongue slithered out lewdly.
A chilling warmth enveloped my body.
Yours? Who the hell are you to say?
Splatter!
The goat's head exploded, and the surrounding darkness lifted. I patted my cheek. Reason returned like fog clearing.
"Invisible."
The massive hand waved at my call.
"You can talk too?"
[Kyuu!]
Invisible made a cute noise, somehow seeming a bit larger than before.