Deus Ex Machina

Lucky break.

Probably because this is a Tower mission, the Titan was recognized as a unique existence rather than merely a species.

The system's structure never fails to surprise me.

Back on the first floor, even the color of the cloth scraps changed the essence it spat out.

Anyway.

“The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠God of Machines, huh.”

“Not a constellation. It’s a god made by humans.”

Considering the Titan was a weapon forged by mortals to reach transcendence…

“Fitting name.”

Who knows.

Even I can’t say for sure.

To use Deus Ex Machina, I’ll need metal, so testing will have to wait.

That aside.

My “experience” should include my previous life, right?

“Hehehe.”

“You’re smiling like that again.”

“A man can smile when he’s in a good mood.”

“Even that smile of yours now feels endearing.”

“……”

Oh boy.

That’s not what I meant.

I was at a loss for words.

“Master! We’ve finished cleaning up over here too!”

The remaining Titans had been reduced to scrap by the guild members’ coordinated teamwork.

“Enrique, this one’s for you.”

I pointed at a relatively intact Titan.

I’d shaken its insides with the White Tiger’s Roar, so only the player remained inside the machine.

It probably suffered some damage to its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana core, but it was still far better than the other piles of junk.

“Thank you, Uncle!”

“You won’t be able to use it right away. You’ll have to analyze the structure first.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll figure out how to make use of it somehow!”

Enrique answered confidently.

A genius who could manifest mana constructs just by recognizing the structure of war golems.

The Titan wasn’t an ordinary weapon, so it wouldn’t be easy to make it his own, but he had handled one in his previous life.

Time for him to put in some work.

After taking down ten Titans, we steadily eliminated the remaining dwarf players as well.

“This mission will be over in no time instead of half a day.”

“Not the standard way, though.”

The fifty-second floor mission placed slightly more emphasis on NPCs than players.

In the early stages, each side had to clear their assigned sub-missions or interfere with the opposing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠side’s objectives.

The defenders had missions to upgrade the fortress’s performance.

The attackers, as we had already experienced, summoned reinforcements like elves in the beginning.

Once both sides had gathered sufficient forces, the decisive blow would come from a clash of souls.

Thanks to the constellations’ intervention, the full force had been deployed from the start.

“Finishing early is a good thing, isn’t it?”

The moment we defeated the last dwarf player, the elven army that had been continuously summoned beyond the gate vanished without a trace.

A mission that had become hellishly difficult due to the constellations’ interference.

Yet, contrary to its fearsome reputation…

We had cleared it perfectly.

* * *

Those voyeuristic bastards.

There were so many messages from the constellations that I couldn’t check them all.

I waved my hand lightly, and the messages filling my vision disappeared.

“Just give me the reward already.”

The messages were more lively than usual.

Constellations I had never seen before were making their presence known one by one.

If it was the Sovereign of Flame and Volcano, that would be Hephaestus.

Probably because I had looked after his contractor, Enrique.

A massive door appeared before the party.

Right.

I had seen this door before.

It was the place the last desperate alliance of humanity had reached before the regression, thanks to the time they had bought.

The treasure vault of the Old Gods that existed within the Pantheon.

To think I would see it again like this.

“Um, Master. Do we just go inside?”

“Why don’t you ask the constellations?”

“Hehe, I just felt like you would know everything, Master.”

Jiyoung had an uncanny sense for the strangest things.

“Let’s go in.”

When I pushed against the door, it swung open to both sides with a heavy, rumbling sound.

A rich fragrance brushed against my nose.

This was only the second time I had experienced this space, counting both before and after the regression, yet it was unforgettable.

“Master, these are all incredibly powerful artifacts!”

“Idiot, they’re called sacred relics.”

“Jiyoung, I warned you not to provoke my anger!”

“Behhh, even when I tell you, you still complain?”

“This is a place steeped in the constellations’ energy. Don’t make so much noise.”

Ping Lei and Jiyoung both shut their mouths tightly.

The reward was more generous than I had expected.

At the 3rd rank, we couldn’t obtain sacred relics directly connected to the constellations themselves.

That meant there wouldn’t be anything like the “First Offering to Ishtar” that had served as the trigger for the regression.

Nyx, now in her spiritual form, muttered softly.

“I’m not disappointed.”

Tsk.

Having tasted it once before the regression, greed had risen unbidden.

If only I could devour the essence of a constellation related to time…

“Pointless thoughts.”

I clicked my tongue and scolded myself.

Even the constellations who had inscribed their names upon countless stars had never achieved regression.

It was a miracle created by binding the concept of time itself and colliding it with the immense energy of the Old God Hyperion.

Looking back, the success rate had never been high to begin with.

“Sorry. Thinking about the past made me emotional.”

“Ah, you’ve gone way too far with that one.”

I let out a light laugh.

The goddess’s words had erased the shadow that had fallen over my heart.

In that case, perhaps I should entertain some more proactive thoughts.

I leisurely examined the 3rd-rank sacred relics one by one.

“The Grail of Wales. It possesses healing properties.”

“The Fangtian Huaji. A famous general’s weapon from ancient China.”

Nyx chattered on.

I slowly answered her questions.

Normally, I would have focused purely on efficiency and picked only what was necessary.

But it wasn’t only Nyx whose eyes had gone wide at the sight of the Twilight Altar.

“Wow, look at this shield! It increases barrier maintenance by two hundred percent!”

“The Fan of the Marquis of Fragrance. A sacred relic that aids in command abilities.”

The guild members excitedly rummaged through the Twilight Altar.

“Don’t decide on anything carelessly. Have everything checked by me first.”

“Yeees!”

My voice didn’t seem to reach their ears at all.

Each sacred relic was at least Legendary grade.

This was a golden opportunity to boost the guild members’ stats.

While examining the relics on the altar, I stopped.

“This one looks decent.”

I halted in front of a jar containing a silver-glowing liquid.

The Philosopher’s Stone.

The ultimate achievement of alchemy and a powerful catalyst capable of interfering with all natural phenomena.

A metal forged by melting that stone.

“No, I can’t eat this one.”

“It’s indestructible.”

It could become anything, yet at the same time, it would never change.

The silver-glowing liquid metal held that contradictory power.

“That means it can transform into any armor or weapon according to the user’s will.”

“I just obtained a good ability, remember?”

The God of Machines.

Deus Ex Machina.

The essence extracted from the Titan allowed me to manifest entities from my memories or experiences by consuming metal.

Since it was made by melting the Philosopher’s Stone, its rank wouldn’t be lacking.

And because it would eventually “restore” itself even after being consumed, it could serve as a medium for Deus Ex Machina and still return.

“Lucky again.”

I still didn’t know the full power of Deus Ex Machina.

Being a five-star skill, its power should be considerable.

It felt a bit wasteful to choose a sacred relic just to deploy one skill.

“No. There’s nothing worth taking at the 3rd rank anyway.”

Sacred relics containing the essences of heroes.

Devouring them would grant at least four-star skills or higher, but I could obtain what I needed through other means.

The sacred relics I absolutely had to acquire had already been marked using my knowledge from before the regression.

In times like this, it was better to create new variables.

I stored the Indestructible Metal in my subspace and assigned sacred relics to the other guild members one by one.

Sacred relics that would help elevate each guild member’s strength.

Opportunities like this didn’t come often.

“The Celestial Star must refer to Lu Zhishen, right?!”

“Ah, so you know Water Margin.”

“Master’s insight is truly something this disciple can never hope to match!”

Ping Lei prostrated himself in a deep bow.

He was making a huge fuss just because I had picked good items for him.

The other guild members also gazed at their sacred relics with satisfied eyes.

Guess I’ll have to climb the Tower with the guild members for a while.