The Sealed Tower of the Land (1)
Screeech. The moment we pushed open the tower door and stepped inside, my party members immediately squinted.
"...Huh?"
"What is this...?"
"Hold on, is this even possible?"
It looked like any ordinary magic tower from the outside, but the sight that unfolded the instant we crossed the threshold had everyone frantically scanning up and down.
"It's magic."
Beyond the door stretched a vast grassland. The sky was clear and blue, a cool breeze whispering through the air. The only sign we'd entered a magic tower was the entrance shimmering with white light behind us. Without that, we might've mistaken it for some spatial warp dumping us into a random plain. The place felt that real.
If you blinked and reopened your eyes, the world briefly resembled a digital realm of zeros and ones from a computer simulation. But blink again, and it snapped back to an utterly ordinary, realistic space.
"This is where we'll gain 'experience'—facing the monsters the Four Founders once battled."
"...I was mentally prepared, but I never imagined it'd be like this."
Rydmila tilted her head toward the sky.
"I figured a tower would look like a modern magic tower. Is the top open?"
"It just looks open."
"And in reality?"
"Who knows. Probably a transparent barrier about 10km up."
I mimed tapping an invisible glass wall, gesturing around us.
"Same with everywhere else. Head east far enough, and you'll hit a blockage. All directions are like that. We're basically inside a giant cube right now."
"Then... knowing where the entrance is should be key."
Unia extended her hand, mana swirling in the air. A golden cube materialized, spinning and sparkling with power. She pressed her palm firmly against it, just like the cube enclosing us.
"Are we about here?"
Unia's finger pointed to the cube's dead center. Inside the now-opaque model, tiny figures of our four-person party—plus one chibi Mont Blanc—stood like miniatures.
"I'd say we're here."
Rydmila pointed to the side.
"Being the entrance, we can pass... through this way."
"Whoa, nothing behind it, huh?"
I'd assumed a barrier blocked the gate's rear, but Evangeline had already hopped behind it, waving wildly.
"Phoenix. If we go through from this side, does it lead somewhere else?"
"Probably, but not right now."
"What do you mean—eek?!"
I grabbed Evangeline and shoved her against the gate's back side.
"Ugh, what the hell are you—huh?"
"See?"
"It's... blocked?"
Unlike the glowing white entrance, the reverse was dull like the back of a mirror. Shoving Evangeline against it just squished her like she was pressing into a wall.
"You knew about this?"
"Obviously."
"What if it was some weird space we couldn't come back from?"
"If it felt like that, I'd have grabbed your lower half and poked your upper body through first. Or hopped over myself and come right back."
"...What if you couldn't return at all?"
"Sure, traps like that exist, but would the Four Founders leave something that vicious? Doubt it."
The Founders weren't devils. That kind of nasty trap was more the angels' style, crammed into their facilities.
"The monsters appearing here are trial enough. No need for gimmicky bullshit—unless the trial demands wisdom beyond just fighting monsters."
In games, you sometimes hit mechanics like that. Puzzles disguised as boss strategies—not just smashing weak points mid-fight, but entire processes of solving riddles to even reach the boss.
If the Founders endured that, it'd show up here. Otherwise, it'd just be endless monster grinding.
Couldn't spoil Evangeline, but luckily(?), layers matching her expectations existed.
"We need to gather intel here. Knowing the top floor count would help with the other towers. Probably the same number of floors across them, right?"
"...Balance."
Unia whispered softly.
"Assuming the seven manas maintain equilibrium, sealed simultaneously on that basis... the floors should match. Internal difficulties might vary by attribute, but the structure itself would be similar. Just flavored differently per element."
"Spot-on reasoning, Miss Unia."
Maybe from focusing on non-attribute mana lately— she'd honed a real sense for mana 'balance'.
"But this isn't the time for calm deductions."
"......!"
Rydmila conjured her mana spear in an instant. Unia swept her hand through the air, summoning a magic staff just as fast.
"Whoa, how'd you do that?!"
Evangeline panicked at their casual weapon draws but thrust her hand forward, mana bursting out with realization.
Paang!
A massive teddy bear doll emerged—the kind you'd flop on a bed or couch as decor. It lumbered upright, striking a boxing pose, and sidled protectively beside Evangeline.
"Oh, they're coming, right?"
"Yeah. From now on, we're up against... the monsters the Four Founders—and humanity—faced 500 years ago."
Beasts rare even in records or legends now.
"Wanna hear a scary story?"
"If it's relevant, it's probably really bad for us, right?"
"Yep, Miss Rydmila. Would love to chat leisurely, but situation's shit, so straight to the point."
This was an Nth-run exclusive zone.
"Monsters and demons from 500 years ago were stronger and fiercer than today's versions."
"......!!"
"Today's are downright tame by comparison. Why? Starting with the Four Founders, heroes like the Ash Witch, Ghost King, Golden Mirror, and countless others who staked their lives... killed every last top-tier specimen."
If SS-rank beasts had survived to now, could humanity have kept this peace? Absurd. But the heroes lived too diligently, sacrificing themselves to eradicate the strongest threats. Leftover young spawned weaklings that barely hit A or S-rank in later generations.
SS-ranks would've forced humanity to evolve stronger. Instead, with S-ranks like Ratatosk as the peak threat, human ceilings dropped on average.
Hard to swallow. Common sense says 500 years brought tech booms and civilization. Truth? We're weaker now. Tragically, we faced the barbaric era of 500 years past.
"Incoming."
Guuuuugu.
The ground rumbled with dust clouds. Countless somethings charged us at once.
"Oh. Shoulda mentioned this sooner."
"What?"
"Even if you 'die' here, the pain's like stubbing your pinky toe on a doorframe. I'll handle it."
"Ah."
Unia's face drained pale.
"You say that now because...!"
"Fall back!!"
Rydmila realized something, grabbing me as she yelled.
"Where do we retreat to?!"
"Retreat?"
I pointed at the white door. Before I could explain, Rydmila leveled her spear forward, signaling the party.
"Hurry!"
Whatever they were became visible, barreling toward us faster than galloping horses. Bipedal beasts. Short arms, but heads thrust forward like massive hammers. Each around 3m tall. Hundreds by rough count, all headbutting straight at us—at nearly 80km/h.
"Wh-what the hell are those?!"
"No idea what, but...!"
Rydmila snatched panicking Evangeline for escape. I grabbed Unia, bolting for the exit.
'What else?'
Shock therapy worked fine. Who'd have thought? In an era where 'monster surges' meant A-rank named mobs and C-ranks, we'd witness a true monster horde.
Paaat.
Crossing the white door returned us outside. The party stared at me, drenched in cold sweat.
"That was... real?"
"Yup."
We were back pre-entry. But we'd gained one key piece of intel.
"So?"
"...Each one was at least A-rank."
The Tower of the Land, first floor. A-rank monster [Hammertops] x400.
"Impossible!"
Evangeline shrieked.
"Hundreds of A-rank monsters charging on the first floor?!"
"Guess that's how it was 500 years ago."
"Hah...!"
"Evangeline. Think the Founders' trials were a joke?"
Obvious.
"And you don't suppose those hundreds were the only ones?"
"......This is deliberate illusion, right?"
"Yup."
"And that illusion recreates what the Founders actually faced?"
"Exactly."
This illusory world perfectly replicated a real monster purge from 500 years ago.