Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Lesson 15. Weren't You Taught to Make Contracts Carefully? - 5
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With nothing left to gain in Room 10, the group took a brief rest, snacking lightly—saving the Life Elixir Jam for injuries in the Tower—before heading straight to Room 11.
Starting from Room 11, the rooms grew larger, and the monsters tougher, so Eve and Lilith alone couldn't sweep them away. But with the pair's unique utility in support, the party cleared the Tower far faster than before.
"At this rate, we might reach Room 20 by the end of the day."
"Obviously. As long as Light doesn't have a meltdown."
"I'm fine, see? I'm swinging this spear properly!"
It wasn't just Eve and Lilith, either.
During the previous run, Lucelle had been tormented by her heart demon, and Light by his holy sword's impulses, turning everything into chaos. But now, both were in peak condition.
Ban Yu-won's abilities—the weakest link among the four—had surged dramatically, leaving the party without a single weakness!
Charging ahead at breakneck speed, he snapped back to reality.
"Whoa, Room 17 already."
"We've broken our previous record. Not that it was much of one."
"Yu-won and I made it to Room 19 once."
"Beast, if you want to get lost, just say so... Hm?"
Their blistering pace had another reason.
Unlike before, where elites popped up every other room, nothing special had appeared from Room 1 to 16. It might even tie into their climbing record.
Fortunately, that streak broke the moment they entered Room 17.
—Clack clack clack clack
—Thud, boom, thuuud!
A sinister wave of magic filled the air as the Tower Spiders eroded the walls, pillars, and floor like black ink, their creepy noises blending with earth-shaking footsteps that rattled the entire room.
Gripping his spear shaft tightly, Light muttered,
"Elite."
—Boom!
The room expanded in an instant.
A house-sized spider descended the wall, blocking their path and landing with a thud.
Squish—the floor spiders crushed beneath it, emitting a nauseating sound.
"Another Tower Spider variant. What's with all these evolution types? It's not like it's Eve."
"This one's a bit unusual. That shell on its back... What the hell is it carrying?"
Dokgo Yeon and the others couldn't tell, but Ban Yu-won knew at a glance.
The Tower Spider bore a cannon on its carapace.
This damn thing was using modern weaponry that climbers couldn't even bring into the Tower!
—Screeech, skreeech.
"Hm? I sense its energy gathering in that cylinder. ...Is something inside? Is it about to fire?"
"Spot on. No idea what'll come out, so everyone, gather by me."
Proven through multiple battles—regardless of type, once a weapon or projectile was fired, it fell under Ban Yu-won's authority, losing power, stripped of its concept, and vanishing.
In short, he had a live ammo nullification barrier.
Powerful ability on its own!
—Bang!
The moment the group clustered around him, the Elite Tower Spider fired without warning.
His upgraded All-Reading Eyes, growing with his dynamic vision, captured the incoming shell perfectly.
It was a watermelon-sized projectile of white silk threads.
'Come to think of it...'
Ban Yu-won extended his hand, manifesting his authority to dismantle and absorb the projectile's concept entirely, pondering.
'Even if I can absorb object concepts, getting hit before I see it is pointless. Just need to avoid ambushes.'
The absorbed concepts from the shell: Thread, Magical Power, Adhesion—three in total.
The last one was key.
"Insane adhesion. Careful not to get stuck, Light."
"Why single me out?"
He probably remembered some past humiliation from it.
Light charged the giant spider in irritation, spear at the ready. It screeched, firing rapidly at him.
"Think I'll get hit by something I've already seen?!"
Kicking off the ground, he dodged effortlessly, swinging his spear to sever its front leg in one stroke!
Krunch—boom!
Infusing mana into the shaft, he smashed its head, cracking the shell, then spun the blade to impale it—
"Dodge!"
"Tch!"
—Kaboom!
Multiple shells slammed in succession, webbing his spot like a spider's trap.
Not only had the severed leg regenerated into a new cannon, but the one on its back had split into four!
"Ban!"
"Got it!"
He'd been eyeing the Adhesion concept anyway.
Ban Yu-won absorbed the webbing scattered on the floor and charged the spider.
"Eve, Lilith! You handle the shells."
"Shiiit!"
—Paaang!
—Screeeee!
The division of labor was efficient.
The spider transformed body parts into cannons with every hit, unleashing horrific adhesive shells...
But Lilith raced across the ground—thanks to the expanded room—and Eve swam through the air, absorbing them all cleanly.
"Finish it!"
"—Absorb!"
Meanwhile, Ban Yu-won and Light pulverized it.
Lucelle and Dokgo Yeon didn't even need to step in.
Life 1, Body 0.5, Magic Beast 1, Artillery 13, Carapace 7, Transformation 5
"...Sigh."
The concepts from Room 15's elite barely bumped his Life by 1.
No—maybe it was impressive it rose by 1 at all.
Ban Yu-won felt how much he'd grown in the past two weeks while sorting the concepts. Something dropped from the vanishing elite corpse.
"Artifact?!"
Surprisingly, Light—the most loot-sensitive—cheered and rushed over.
But inspecting it, he let out a grotesque groan.
"Urghhh, this is gross... Ban, take it quick."
"Lately, you feel like my little brother sometimes."
"I often feel like you're the rookies."
"Include me too...!"
Ignoring them—("Then you're the pet," Dokgo Yeon teased Lucelle)—Ban Yu-won took the loot from Light.
Indeed, the cylinder-like thing explained Light's disgust.
It wasn't a processed artifact—it was the elite's cannon itself.
"It's not just a body part. All the cannon bits fused together. See? Looks like one big tube outside, but seven barrels inside."
"D-don't shove it at me!"
Cute.
Light bolted behind Dokgo Yeon; Lucelle glared at Ban Yu-won.
"Yu-won, bad."
"Not gross at all. Barely any spider traces."
Ban Yu-won shrugged, tapping the sturdy carapace exterior, then peering inside.
Not just bundled barrels—exquisitely fused. Load it up, and it'd fire seven shells at once, no problem.
Artifact? Pondering, he realized the truth.
'Of course—uses Adhesion. Didn't expect it fused so seamlessly.'
No wonder no Cannon or Adhesion concepts dropped—they were all in this barrel.
Monster traits created special byproducts like this for artifacts.
Or... could he craft one himself?
"Whatever it is, deal with it later, Ban Yu-won? Path ahead's blocked, no shift."
"I'm the expert at this."
He pocketed the multi-barrel cannon and turned.
A quick scan revealed the hint: fragments of a massive concept—likely triggering the Tower's change—embedded in the walls.
Gem shards, sparkling.
"I saw those too. Can't pull 'em out. Hesitant to smash."
"Not pulling or smashing. Connect them."
"Connect?"
"With spider silk."
Seeing the multi-barrel confirmed it: the elite's silk wasn't just sticky—it fully fused objects.
Standard clear: maneuver the elite, bait wall shots to link fragments with silk, restoring the concept.
"How... do you think of that?"
"Yu-won's a genius."
Dokgo Yeon puzzled at Lucelle's pride.
Ban Yu-won was used to it.
"Games have this stuff often. Linking scattered power sources with wires... Lucky this just needs fusing, no pattern."
No elite to fire? Tower doesn't fully block climbers.
Smashing all would trigger shift.
But standard method—like the shortcut in Room 6 with multi-shifts—meant extra rewards.
"And I can surpass the standard."
"Ban Yu-won, know what? You're seriously annoying right now."
"So cool...!"
"Lucelle, you're spoiling him, making him weirder."
He didn't need Adhesion—he verbalized and absorbed concepts from all things.
Extending his hand, concept strings poured from the wall gems.
"Ah."
"Gems breaking..."
"Empty shells don't matter."
The concepts gathered in his palm, shining brilliantly as one.
He read: Myriad Changes, Origin, Concealment, Passage.
But Tower rules intertwined them—he couldn't extract or process yet.
"Now inject back into the wall."
The concepts touched, radiating light, expanding into a human-sized hole.
This wouldn't just shift—maybe straight to Room 20?
"Well?"
The group stared expectantly, jaws dropped—proper audience reaction.
"...Traps or mazes, you bulldoze everything. Feels unreal climbing the same Tower as others."
"Calm down, Light. Real Tower starts post-100. Rooms explode in size then."
"We agreed no 'when we pass Room X' talk."
For Rebellion Channel revival, bigger rooms might help.
Today's footage lacked punch.
"Too smooth and monotonous. Should've hit a trap or maze once...?"
"What you just did was plenty interesting."
Dokgo Yeon retorted incredulously at his nonchalance.
But the real thrill was now.
—My god, an individual surpassed the Tower's design? At just Room 17!
—I believed in you, damn it! Didn't expect you'd pull off something this huge...!
—My child, the endless life force blooming within you has borne fruit so soon!
"...Huh?"
As the group stepped toward the light hole—
—The Tower halted, Constellations' voices echoing.
Many of them.
—Tower's stopped. Because of what just happened here!
—To meet again so soon... My beloved child! By the name of the Omniscient Observer, may this reunion be blessed!
—Oh, I designate this place a temporary Stellar Sanctuary. Stars, approach with utmost caution.
Everything turned blinding white as glowing orbs manifested everywhere, enveloping the group.
The phenomenon when many Constellations gathered: Sanctuary Formation.
A place where humans chose Constellations, not vice versa.
A miracle rare even in history.