Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: 36th Floor (2)
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The flag sent the absorbed light back to me. Like an antenna.
I felt a foreign power accumulating inside me.
The amount wasn't much.
About the size of a fingernail.
I instinctively knew what this was.
‘Is this the power of faith that the Sandworm mentioned last time?’
Gathering faith to raise one's realm.
The path to becoming a god.
Of course, I'd never even thought about becoming a god.
But somehow, I'd stepped into the threshold of a similar path without realizing it.
“Sage, are you alright?”
Sharon asked in a worried voice.
Only then did I snap back to my senses.
I'd have to look into this slowly later.
I answered awkwardly.
“Okay. But… what is all this? It feels like a festival or something.”
Sharon beamed at my question.
“Yes! It's a festival just for you, Sage!”
Sharon recounted what happened after I vanished from the 35th floor.
Victory had already been all but assured.
The remaining orcs fled at the mere sight of the hourglass emblem, making short work of them.
She said this festival today was the first to celebrate the victory and honor the Sage.
“Without your help, Sage, this kingdom would have fallen long ago. We will remember you forever.”
“Hmm, no need to go that far….”
Sharon's eyes sparkled.
I barely managed to suppress the grin tugging at my lips.
That would look too undignified.
When called a sage, I had to act the part.
It'd be nice if I had a beard to stroke at times like this.
‘So, no more orcs to fight now? Can I just enjoy the festival and move on from this floor?’
It couldn't possibly end that easily, could it?
Staying inwardly vigilant, I followed the guidance and took my seat.
On a platform overlooking the square.
Right beside me stood the Super High Gear, still holding the flag with majestic pride.
It seemed to be enjoying this situation the most.
‘Sigh, what on earth will this thing become when it grows up?’
That was when the king called out to me and issued some orders to the crowd.
“Sage, if you could pay attention for a moment?”
The massive tent in the center of the square was pulled away.
What emerged was a colossal statue that appeared unfinished.
Draped in the same robe as me, one hand extended—it was my exact likeness.
No, on closer inspection, it was a bit taller, with longer limbs.
Like me, but aged five or ten years.
But that wasn't what mattered.
A statue in my image? For real?
“To honor your great feats for eternity, we've assembled the kingdom's finest artisans to erect this statue of you.”
“My god….”
Emotion surged up.
I was at a loss for words, overwhelmed.
They'd accomplished here what I'd dreamed of doing back in Daejeon.
There was so much to learn inside this tower.
I needed to reshape Korea into a society like this as soon as possible.
“This is definitely one for the photo album.”
I'd reference it when making something similar in Daejeon later.
That statue exuded even more dignity than I did in real life.
It'd make a perfect model.
“Huh?”
That was the moment.
Whiiing—
A grating, unpleasant ringing filled the entire square.
The festive music cut off in an instant.
People glanced around in confusion.
And then it appeared.
Black smoke billowed from the cracks between the cobblestones in the square.
It gave off a vibe similar to the 35th floor boss.
But it lacked that special aura of intimidation.
Just a foul, grudge-laden presence that turned the stomach.
“Wh-what is that…? A ghost?”
“Orc witchcraft?”
Murmurs rose as people backed away.
[Ke ke ke…]
The black specter circled the square menacingly, as if to intimidate the crowd.
Then it moved straight toward one spot.
My statue.
Sizzle—!
Where the smoke touched, the statue began melting like it had been doused in acid.
Crunch!
The massive statue lost its balance, toppled sideways, and slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash.
In seconds, my statue had become a grotesque heap of rubble.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“R-run away!”
Only then did people scream and scatter.
The festival grounds descended into total chaos.
I burned with fury at the enemy's sheer audacity—more than ever before.
“You bastard!”
I reflexively gripped my staff.
Rumble—
The ground beneath the platform shifted.
Like a massive conveyor belt, the moving earth gently carried the people to the safe outer edges of the square.
In an instant, only me and a handful of others remained in the square.
I glared at the thing.
“Doesn't look all that strong…”
I recalled the orc warlord's spirit from the 35th floor.
Compared to that, this was a pathetic ghost.
The sheer volume of mana coursing through its form was pitiful.
“You dare destroy my statue?”
I snapped my fingers.
Dozens of projectiles hurtled toward it.
“As expected, no dice?”
Whoosh—
Just as I'd anticipated.
The sand bullets passed straight through its body without any resistance.
[Kekekekeke….]
It let out a sound like it was mocking me.
“Damn it…”
I ground my teeth.
At this rate, it'd just be a rerun of the 35th floor.
I needed a different approach.
Conveniently, another mage stepped forward.
“Give me a shot at it.”
“Who are you?”
“I'm the chief disciple of Court Mage Gerard. A lowly grudge like that…”
“Go for it!”
The mage began chanting.
It was the same fireball spell I'd seen before.
The fireball streaked toward the specter.
[Ke ke ke….]
“Doesn't look like it's doing a thing.”
“No… My magic ineffective?”
Figures, coming from a disciple.
“Where's Gerard?”
“He passed away last year. Old age…”
Damn, nothing was going right.
If magic attacks don't work, what options did I have left?
One term flashed through my mind.
Holy magic, the kind priests use.
“Sharon, no priests around here?”
“Priests? There used to be some…”
“Used to be? What about now?”
“Th-they threw fits calling the honoring of you devil worship… Most fled to other countries. Only one or two left.”
“What the—?”
Me, a devil? Want me to show them what a real devil looks like?
Depending on how people treat me, I could be an angel or a demon.
A sudden urge welled up to inspect every priest's belongings.
That was when I was inwardly lamenting.
A familiar voice echoed in my head.
[The Sandworm suggests trying out the power you just gained.]
‘The power I just gained?’
[The power born from gathered faith. It's the seed of divine power. More than enough to purify that low-grade grudge.]
The Sandworm's words jolted me to clarity.
Right. I'd gotten a new power.
Without hesitation, I drew forth the power within me.
But right before launching the attack, I had to pause.
“It's a consumable?”
One-and-done. Faith energy with no way to replenish.
Using it on a single mob felt like such a waste.
[The Sandworm advises that faith can be regathered as long as the believers remain alive.]
That kind of system?
No helping it. I had to use it now.
Against my will, every drop of faith I possessed was funneled into a single projectile.
Tears pricked at my eyes.
The sand hovering above my hand began to transform.
Unlike before, the grains gleamed with a dazzling golden light.
Sand that anyone could see was holy.
[Ke—!]
The black smoke recoiled in horror and tried to flee.
It had instinctively sensed the power that could erase it.
“Trying to run now?”
I spoke coldly.
It had destroyed my statue and forced me to burn through my precious faith. Time to pay up.
I thrust out my hand.
The compacted golden sand shot forth like a bullet.
Boom—!
The instant the holy sand made contact, the specter ignited.
In mere seconds, it vanished completely—not even a handful of ash remained.
“Phew…”
I let out a breath.
That thing was mob-tier, no question.
And yet, I'd had to dump every bit of my brand-new faith to take it down.
‘Plus, the faith is so weak. From all these people, and it only lasted for one shot.’
How long would it take to stockpile enough points for the next upgrade like this?
This faith-derived power was far too unstable—a pure one-shot deal.
‘I need to find another way.’
I couldn't keep relying on these resource-draining fights.
I had to secure a stable counter for enemies like this.
I set my next goal.
Soon after, the familiar system messages appeared.
[Congratulations on clearing 36th Floor EXTREME difficulty.]
Level-up rewards followed.
Three books materialized before me.
“Huh?”
I let out an involuntary sound.
Skillbooks floating in midair.
Thick tomes radiating a lustrous platinum glow.
Definitely platinum grade.
‘What happens in this case?’
My mind reeled for a moment.
The ranking 1 bonus normally granted all-stats-up.
Or, during level-ups, it bumped skillbook grades by one step.
Up until now, it had been straightforward and potent.
Gold to platinum.
Platinum to rainbow.
A simple, intuitive upgrade.
But this one started at platinum.
‘Platinum plus one step… that's rainbow.’
The best possible outcome.
One lingering question, though.
What happens if it evolves rainbow one step further?
The First Clear bonus upgraded skillbooks too, after all.
As I watched, swallowing hard, the system kicked in.
[Ranking 1 bonus applied.]
[Grade rises one step.]
Flash—!
The platinum skillbook erupted in brilliant light.
The platinum sheen swiftly shifted to rainbow hues.
Expected so far.
But what came next was a system window I'd never seen.
[Special achievement unlocked.]
[Achievement: Beyond the Rainbow]
[Witnessed the stage beyond rainbow for the first time.]
[Mana +100]
“Crazy…”
Jackpot.
A grade no one had ever laid eyes on.
The system itself had just confirmed its existence.
If word got out, the world would lose its mind.
I whipped out my phone and started recording video.
Heart pounding, I awaited the next shift.
[Additional grade-up opportunity granted.]
[Commencing enhancement.]
Bam-para-bam~.
Upbeat music chimed in.
The rainbow skillbook, now pulsing with radiant light, began to quiver.
Bam-para-bam~.
With the jaunty tune, the book dissolved into pure light and thrashed about.
Thump-thump-thump!
My heart hammered like it might burst.
Every nerve focused on the skillbook as the glow intensified.
At last, the light crested.
Blinding—impossible to keep my eyes open.
I held my breath.
“Di-did it… work?”
And then.
Pop!
With a cheerful burst, every trace of light vanished in an instant.
The sudden void left the world feeling plunged into darkness.
“……?”
My palm was empty.
No—precisely, a mere pinch of charred black ash remained.
Black cinders sifting through my fingers.
[Oh no! Skillbook enhancement failed.]
[Reward destroyed.]
“Fucking hell… There was a failure chance?”
Utterly ridiculous.
“Uh, no refunds? You don't have to enhance it…”
In response to my plea, the system displayed the same window again.
[Oh no! Skillbook enhancement failed.]
“…”
A beat of silence passed.
“Huh huh huh huh…”
This couldn't be the end, right?
Surely not?
Games always gave fragments or something on enhancement fails.
There had to be some safety net here too.
[Oh no! Skillbook enhancement failed.]
“You're really grinding my gears…”
That was when.
A new system message appeared.
[Deep condolences for your enhancement failure.]
[Enhancement failure compensation provided.]
“Compensation?”
My eyes lit up.
Yeah, enhancements needed safeguards.
Looked like it was handing over something else.
But the compensation that followed blew past all my expectations.
[Compensation: 'Tower Secret Gacha' 1-use ticket granted.]
“Gacha, seriously?”
Had I just manifested a gacha game?
Luck test right after another luck test?
I calmly checked the next message.
A flashy roulette wheel materialized before me.
It was crammed full of all sorts of rewards.
And the lineup was no joke.
[~Spin Spin Roulette~]
[Tower Floor Skip Ticket: Instantly clear any desired floor without challenge.]
[Skill Grade-Up Ticket: Raises the grade of one possessed skill.]
[Realm-Up Ticket: Permanently elevates the player's realm by one step.]
[Elixir: Revives you even from wounds near death.]
“…What the hell is this?”
I rubbed my eyes.
The rewards defied imagination.
Floor skip? Skill upgrade?
Rewards that straight-up hacked the tower's systems.
“These seem way better than a rainbow skill…”
Of course, the odds were abysmal.
Each prize sat in slivers of space.
Plus, the wheel was littered with duds like [Magic Stone 100g].
Still, hope flickered.
“I can do this.”
I nodded, satisfied.
If they compensated like this, it wasn't a bad deal.
Without hesitation, I tapped the [Start Draw] button at the roulette's center.
With dazzling effects, the wheel spun furiously.
Rewards blurred past in a frenzy.
My heart raced to match its speed.
The wheel began to slow.
I swallowed hard.
[Skill Grade-Up Ticket] whipped by.
“So close…”
[Tower Floor Skip Ticket] followed suit.
Come on, just one more spin?
The wheel decelerated further, finally halting on a single slot.
…Ding!
[Congratulations! You've won the 'Previous Floor Re-entry Ticket'!]
A single ticket appeared before me.
“Huh?”
I picked up the ticket and stared at it blankly for a moment.
Not a massive jackpot, nor a total bust—an utterly middling reward.
“Where am I supposed to use this?”
I gazed down at the ticket in my hand, saying nothing.