Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Breakwater
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If the information Alfredo had provided about the giant was true, it was more than enough reason to spare his life.
‘However.’
I still had no way of knowing if his words were genuine.
“For now, I’ll let you live. But if your story about the giant turns out to be false, you won’t survive.”
Alfredo crossed his arms with an arrogant posture and replied.
“Of course.”
How could this be the attitude of a guy who’d been begging for his life just moments ago?
‘His shamelessness pierces the heavens.’
After finishing my conversation with him, I exchanged farewells with Gregory.
“I’ll have to cut this visit short today.”
“No helping it. Next time, bring some good booze.”
“I will.”
Gregory looked concerned as I turned to leave and asked.
“No trouble, right?”
“Yeah? And if there was, you’d help?”
“As if. I’m stuck here and can’t move.”
I lightly patted his shoulder and replied.
“Exactly. What’s the point of telling you? Apostles can’t leave this tower.”
“...Berddin, if you need help, just say the word. I can’t leave my tower, but I can exert some influence over what happens here.”
“Oh? Then could you fight a dragon for me?”
“A dragon?”
“Yeah, a dragon.”
Gregory scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression.
“If needed, sure. But I can’t guarantee victory. That thing is beyond even our master’s reach.”
“...What?”
“What?”
“No, what you just said. You said even the tower’s master can’t do anything about the dragon, right?”
“Correct. The master doesn’t even know their true nature or why they linger in the tower.”
That didn’t match the history I knew at all. In my past life, the records I’d seen on the tower’s upper floors clearly stated that the tower’s creator had summoned the dragon.
I patted his shoulder lightly once more and said.
“Just kidding. I’ll handle it with my own strength.”
“...Right.”
“One more thing I wanted to ask. I heard some weird rumor.”
“Weird rumor?”
“They say an apostle fought another apostle outside the tower recently. And there were plenty of witnesses.”
Gregory nodded without denying it.
“I heard the new apostle, some guy named Edward, clashed big time with Amon.”
“?!”
“The tower’s master appointed that mage as the new apostle on the 50th floor. But he refused and fled outside.”
“New apostle on the 50th floor?”
“Yeah.”
“What about the previous one?”
He mimed slicing his own throat with his finger.
“Done for.”
“Done for?”
“Yeah. No idea what the story was, but Amon carried out the master’s orders and took care of it.”
What was this now?
The apostle guarding the 50th floor wasn’t weak enough to fall to Amon. He’d maintained an undefeated record for over a century, blocking my father and other adventurers from advancing further.
‘What on earth for?’
I couldn’t fathom the reason, but it was shocking news nonetheless. If I’d climbed the tower without knowing this, I might have been caught off guard.
“So now, the apostle from the 60th floor has come down to fill the vacancy. If you don’t reach it first, you might have to face his trial.”
No problem.
In fact, it was perfect.
The 60th floor apostle wasn’t particularly strong, and his trial was something my party members could handle without me.
“Got it. Thanks for the valuable info.”
“It’s nothing. By the way, those two you sent me—”
I reached out and clamped my hand over Gregory’s mouth.
Pak!
Then I pressed my index finger to my lips and winked lightly.
“We’ll talk about them later.”
“......”
“Rox told me you sent them to the 20th floor. Excellent judgment.”
“...Mmph.”
He smiled with his eyes.
I removed my hand from his mouth and glanced at Cynthia. From that gesture alone, Gregory seemed to understand my intent and nodded slightly.
“Safe travels. Come back soon.”
“Will do.”
“And that guy’s been waiting for you.”
Gregory pointed to the empty air above the cathedral. Right as his words ended, space tore open, and Timeless appeared.
Shiiik—
“Come on, Gregory. Warn a guy? I was going for a surprise to startle Berddin.”
The creature flew over giggling and bowed deeply before me.
“I came to pick you up myself to save you the trouble. The head of the Strange Family, who toppled the Glazers and rose as the continent’s strongest!”
I let out a long sigh and stepped toward the spatial rift he’d created.
“Coming from your mouth, that sounds grating. Just call me by name from now on.”
Timeless chuckled and replied.
“Understood. So, are all of them here for the trial too?”
“Yeah. Alfredo, Cynthia, Rox, and me. Four in total.”
“Oh ho, what about Terezsia?”
“She sits this one out. That’s fine, right?”
She could reach the upper floors without facing Timeless’s trial anyway.
“...A shame, but understood. Then allow me to guide you to my domain at once.”
As we entered the space Timeless had opened, countless clocks ticked away at different times, filling the air with their tick-tock rhythm.
‘To think such a space existed.’
Malevolent energy swirled from all directions, carrying a bone-chilling killing intent.
The fact that this hidden aspect lay within his domain—the one I’d cleared most easily—felt like stumbling upon a treasure chest.
“Berddin and his party members, congratulations on arriving in my secret space!”
Timeless spread his arms wide atop a massive clock tower, shouting energetically like a circus performer.
-Woooaaah!
Suddenly, cheers erupted from the empty void, as if countless spectators were watching us.
‘Amazing.’
They felt close by, yet my aura couldn’t reach them.
‘Meaning we’re in different spaces.’
Timeless bowed politely to me, then clapped his hands and approached.
“Shall we begin the trial?”
I leveled my sword at his throat and replied.
“Sure. I just need to kill you, right?”
“Whoa whoa! Calm down. First, let me explain why Berddin must face this trial. And why you’ve come to this place inaccessible to others.”
Timeless slowly removed his mask, revealing his face. It was grotesquely melted from severe burns, monstrous yet oddly pitiable.
“Start with my tragic backstory.”
“Tragic backstory?”
“Yes. I wanted to show you exactly why I so desperately wanted you dead.”
“Wanted me dead?”
“Oops! That was supposed to be a secret, but I spilled it.”
“......”
“Well, you’d have learned soon enough anyway. No need to hide it! Haha!”
He spread his arms wide, his body turning to darkness that began devouring the surroundings.
Ssssh—
“Then let the trial begin.”
A cold energy wrapped around my body, and my eyes began to close slowly.
This was the same ability I’d experienced from other apostles—and even the guardian spirit protecting our family.
‘Right, it’s an ability.’
I’d once overestimated this power. Or misunderstood it. I thought it was a technique reserved for gods and their chosen.
‘But.’
Now I knew the truth.
The guardian spirits of the Strange and Glazer families weren’t the holy beings I’d imagined—they were dragons.
They’d shown me the past in this very way. And from that, I’d gained a crucial hint about this ability.
‘The technique they use to reveal the past draws power from a mortal realm unbound by time.’
It was certain.
And there was someone who knew more about it. Once this trial ended, I’d confirm with him.
The moment I thought I’d fallen asleep.
My body floated, my vision cleared, and I found myself inside a small cabin. The items on the long table revealed the owner’s profession.
‘Alchemist.’
One with advanced skills—at least upper-tier alchemy.
The materials visible to me were rarities no ordinary alchemist could obtain.
‘Impressive. Isn’t that Hati’s claw in that vial? And the brown plant next to it—the mandragora stem.’
Who the hell was this guy?
To have not just one, but multiple ingredients that money couldn’t easily buy!
As I marveled at the materials, a voice came from the corner room where light seeped out.
“It’s finally complete, Timeless.”
‘Timeless?!’
“I’ve waited so long to meet you, my child.”
‘No way Timeless is a creation of an alchemist?’
Impossible.
No mere alchemist could defy divine will to create or imbue life.
“Are you my father?”
A voice like a baby’s, not a child’s. I rushed into the lit room to check.
There sat an elderly man with short white hair and a wooden doll on the table.
“Yes, I am your father. My name is Zepetto Giuseppe—just call me Zepetto.”
Zepetto Giuseppe.
‘That name rings a bell.’
The doll creaked its joints and placed a hand on the alchemist’s face.
“Pleased to meet you, Father. I am Timeless, your son. A toy born to record this world’s history.”
Record the world’s history?
More importantly, how did a doll possess the intelligence of a living being?
“Correct. You were born to chronicle the continent’s ‘true time’ and ‘unvarnished history,’ which I will now show you.”
The alchemist gently stroked the doll’s head and continued.
“And so that those who follow my path in the future will walk the right one.”
The doll beamed and replied.
“Yes, Father.”
They embraced.
It was like watching a real father and son.
‘Should’ve brought Philip.’
I had no idea what level of craft Zepetto used, but it was beyond my comprehension.
I’d never heard of granting a doll conversational intelligence.
‘...No.’
Looking at the doll called Timeless, I pondered. Made of wood, but up close, it resembled a green goblin from the forest edge.
‘Could it be.’
He hadn’t breathed life into wood—he’d turned a living being into wood?
Before I could conclude, space swirled, shifting locations.
We arrived in a rundown slum not far from the Papal Palace.
Probably the village with that cabin from before.
Pak!
A knight in silver armor kicked Giuseppe in the gut.
“Kuhk!”
As he writhed on the ground, Timeless—three steps away—charged the knight, swinging a fist and yelling.
“Damn you Strangians! I’ll never forgive you!”