The Cadine Crystal and a Challenger's Provocation
As I reached the end of the passage, a welcome message appeared before my eyes.
Main Mission — Passed through the Passage of Death.
Clear Time: 1 hour 1 minute 47 seconds.
New record set for the 3rd floor global server.
“Fufufu. As expected of this goddess’s contractor.”
“You were just spectating the whole time. Don’t act like you did anything.”
“Did this one not also grant you the Blessing of the Night?!”
“That only happened because I handed over the orichalcum.”
“Hmph. That statement sounds as if you are the one taking credit from this goddess…”
“Yep.”
“How truly impudent!”
Nyx turned her head away with an exaggerated huff, pretending to be sulky. She might have acted high and mighty about the orichalcum, but the truth was that the Blessing of the Night buff had played a massive role in shortening our clear time. Without it, we probably would have taken an extra twenty minutes.
Come to think of it, I’d promised the goddess some cotton candy. Once I finished the fourth-floor mission, I’d have to order a cotton-candy machine or something.
◈ A crystal imbued with mysterious power.
◈ It possesses the effect of elevating one’s mental state.
I frowned.
“This is the reward for setting the record?”
“My contractor, you look utterly disappointed.”
I swallowed the groan rising in my throat.
“It’s not bad. Mental-type gems are pretty useful when processed into artifacts.”
They were crafting materials for Legend or higher-grade items. Still, I kept my brow furrowed.
“Why do you look so displeased, then?”
“Because it’s useless to me.”
Cadine Crystals were mainly used as catalysts for staves and orbs. After the 67th floor was cleared, they became a regularly supplied resource and a favorite among magic-class players. But I had no reason to use a staff or an orb.
“If it holds no value for you, simply sell it. It appears to be a rather high-performing mineral.”
“The problem is that it’s cheap right now…”
I trailed off, swallowing the rest of the sentence. That’s right—this was still 2025. The Cadine Crystal’s value only plummeted after the 67th floor was cleared and a stable supply route opened up.
“What is it?”
“Ah, I just need to check something real quick.”
Babel Tower — Floor 57 (No current record)
“Oh… ohhh!”
“Contractor, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
I calmed my racing heart. The Cadine Crystal’s price only crashed after the 67th floor was cleared and a steady supply became available. Before that, the crystals only appeared as rewards or through the Midron Trading Company, so their value had been astronomical. I couldn’t remember the exact 2025 price, but it was definitely high.
Feeling much lighter, I pressed the button to challenge the fourth floor.
Matching 4th-floor mission…
Matching range — Korean server
[2/10]
[3/10]
…….
Five minutes passed, but the mission-start button still hadn’t activated. It looked like finding ten people on the Korean server alone was taking longer than expected. I knew the fourth-floor mission was popular, but the timing must have been off.
I might as well check the current Cadine Crystal price while I waited. I manipulated my phone and disconnected from the Tower. The scenery around me went dark, and in an instant I was back in my small one-room apartment.
* * *
While the hourglass on my phone’s lock screen spun nonstop, I sat down in front of my PC.
“Are you just going to leave that running?”
“Yeah. It’ll notify me with a sound when matching finishes.”
This was the Babel Tower system we were talking about—the same one that could twist the very laws of the world. Once matching completed, it would automatically appear before my eyes. There was no need to sit there nervously waiting for all ten spots to fill.
I searched for Cadine Crystals online. The lowest listed trade price was ten billion won.
“Insane.”
It really hit me again that I had regressed. Right before the age of destruction, this catalyst had struggled to break even one billion. Because supply was so unstable, the price had shot through the roof.
Actually, saying it “shot through the roof” wasn’t quite right. It would be more accurate to say it was going to crash in the near future.
“Lucky me.”
If I sold the Cadine Crystal, I might be able to buy at least one primitive-species fossil. I was after the highest-grade essence among the Legend-rank primitive species—the Tyrannosaurus fossil. It was also the very first essence I had devoured after regressing.
The more intact the excavated fossil, the denser the essence contained within. Collecting them through wooden training dolls relied too heavily on luck.
◈ Durability: 100/100
◈ A wooden doll placed in the basic training ground.
◈ When activated, it copies one of the player’s stats and possessed skills.
◈ The doll recognizes the user as an enemy. Defeating it raises the proficiency of the copied skill.
◈ Understanding — 33
◈ Can be reused once every 12 hours.
The Training Wooden Doll was the reward I’d received for clearing the Inferno difficulty of the basic training ground. When used, it would randomly copy one of my possessed skills and fight me with it. I could extract the essence from any doll I defeated, but because I now had quite a few skills, the chance of obtaining a Tyranno essence was only around three percent. The more essences I collected, the lower that probability would drop.
A wooden doll I could only use once every twelve hours, combined with a low probability… I couldn’t rely on it alone to gather primitive-species essences.
I let out a short groan.
“Young one, why do you sigh like an old man who has seen the end of the world?”
“Because there’s a limit to how many essences I can gather with the wooden doll.”
“Then could you not simply devour fewer essences to raise the probability?”
“That would be missing the forest for the trees.”
I immediately shot down the goddess’s suggestion. Devour was the very foundation of my power. Giving up on using it just to farm a few primitive essences through a wooden doll would be an enormous loss.
“It’s better to earn money and buy the fossils outright.”
Though I’d have to earn quite a lot—actually, an absurd amount. An intact Tyrannosaurus fossil traded in units of ten billion won. To fill a hundred percent of a primitive essence, I’d need to spend a fortune. Still, it was much faster than before my regression. I didn’t feel impatient at all.
In this second life, I was growing at a far quicker pace. At this rate, defeating the Old Gods alone might not be impossible.
That aside, the wooden doll’s understanding level was steadily rising. It really was the perfect essence shuttle for me. Originally it was meant for raising skill proficiency, so its performance felt a little disappointing for a Unique item. Maybe I needed to raise its understanding to 100% to discover its true value?
Well, time would solve that eventually. I decided to take it easy. If I kept using it while aiming for primitive essences, the understanding would eventually hit 100.
“Contractor.”
“Hm?”
“This goddess sees many people who would willingly hand you money.”
Nyx pointed at the internet articles floating on my monitor.
I looked at the articles with a lukewarm gaze. Some claimed the one-hundred-billion figure was realistic, while others seemed to have written them while gnashing their teeth, trying to tear me down. Still, because I had kept breaking Tower records, the prevailing opinion was that my market value would be at least ten billion.
“If I take that money, I’ll have to work even harder than that amount is worth.”
“But would it not save you time, contractor?”
“A wolf cub doesn’t crawl under a dog.”
I let out a short laugh. I might not look it, but I had reached the rank of Monarch before my regression. If I wanted to challenge the position of Monarch again later, it would be far better to create my own guild than to join someone else’s. It would be a bit annoying, sure, but still.
Once synchronization reached twenty percent, all the talk about my inflated market value would disappear anyway. The moment gates started appearing all over the world, players would stop being mere treasure hunters and become a defensive force protecting the safety of the people.
“Show me more articles.”
Nyx climbed onto my head and began to pester me. While I reluctantly scrolled through more news,
“Oho, there is a player who mentioned you.”
Nyx’s gaze locked onto one particular article.
“This is way too blatant.”
I barely held back a sigh. It looked like he was trying to ride my rising fame for his own benefit… Wait. Ping Lei?
Death’s Hand, Ping Lei.
A player who had chosen the evil-aligned constellation Set as his guardian. The guy would eventually take over China’s underworld, select awakened individuals who hadn’t registered with the government, and build a massive guild. For him, the number of players equaled power. Using the ability granted by Set and his own ruthless methods, he would grow into a giant who controlled the global underworld.
A bastard whose very act of breathing was a waste of oxygen and a harm to the planet!
…No, wait.
I stroked my chin. Hadn’t he only reached the ninth floor so far? If that was the case, he probably hadn’t formed a contract with Set yet. Ping Lei’s provocation. If I used it well, I might be able to eliminate a future evil right here.
I’d smash him so thoroughly in the promotion match that he’d never be able to stand again. Ping Lei’s talent was outstanding enough to contract with the S-rank evil god Set. Set was probably watching him even now. But what if he got completely destroyed by me without being able to lift a single finger?
Set might lose interest. Although Ping Lei was a talented player, the reason he could so easily dominate the underworld was thanks to Set’s protection. If I could steal away his chance to contract with a guardian constellation, I would be able to gather even more of humanity’s strength for the coming battle against the Old Gods.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing at all.”
“A sinister smile has risen on your lips, contractor.”
“……”
When I checked the mirror, a rather chilling smile was indeed hanging on my mouth.
[9/10]
[10/10]
Matching completed with Korean server team (13).
The 4th-floor mission will begin in 60 seconds.
“Finally done.”
Pretending I hadn’t heard Nyx’s earlier question, I glanced at my phone.
“If matching fails, can you not proceed?”
“Ah, if it doesn’t fill after an hour, they ask the remaining people whether they want to continue with fewer members or give up.”
Most regular players would abandon the mission and queue for a different floor. The Tower had its reasons for imposing a full-party restriction.
Once the waiting time finished, a powerful light burst from my phone.