Side Story Chapter 146 - Tower of Creation (4)

Oh Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the translucent message windows in front of him.

‘The Constellations are watching this situation right now?’

It wasn’t incomprehensible; they needed to select apostles to climb to the top of the tower, and this was where the candidates who had yet to be chosen by anyone were. They were likely here to see if any candidates were worth selecting as their apostles.

‘I must’ve caught their attention because I beat the shit out of the guide.’

Kang-Woo looked down at the rabbit shaking on the ground. There probably had not been anyone who subdued this guide before the tutorial even began. The people gathered in the hall were still ordinary people who had yet to be chosen by a Constellation, and Ritty was too powerful for the ordinary to face.

‘By their standards, anyway.’

By Kang-Woo’s standards, Ritty the rabbit was so weak that he couldn’t help but sigh— so weak that Kang-Woo couldn’t even tell how weak he was.

[The ‘God of Rupture’ expresses amazement as he examines the star guide!]

‘Is this being livestreamed or something? What a pain in the ass.’

Kang-Woo had no intention to become an apostle so he couldn’t care less about the Constellations’ attention. He swiped away the message windows that kept popping up in front of him annoyingly.

-빰빠라방!

Just then, he heard a notification sound different from the others so far.

[The ‘God of Rupture’ sponsors you with 100 Nebula!]

‘The hell is this?’

“Nebula...?”

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder and walked over to Ritty sprawled on the ground.

“Hey,” Kang-Woo called.

“Kurgh... urgh, arghh,” Ritty groaned as he clenched the area where his ears were ripped off.

Kang-Woo grabbed the back of Ritty’s neck and lifted him.

“What’s a Nebula?”

“Th-They’re a form of currency the Constellations u-use to grant the apostles their powers.”

“But I’m not an apostle yet.”

“E-Even if you aren’t, they can still give it to you.”

‘So, that’s how it works, huh? He's pretty much bribing me to become his apostle, is it?’

Based on this, it seemed like the Constellations didn’t choose their apostles but the other way around— the apostles could choose from the Constellations who showed interest in them.

‘Interesting.’

Kang-Woo stared at the sponsor window with great interest.

“But... how am I supposed to use this?”

He had no idea what to do with the 100 Nebula he was sponsored or whether it would even be of use to him.

“Th-The Nebula can be used in the

Temple of Stars

on every floor.”

“What can I buy with them?”

Ritty bit his lip as he endured the pain and answered, “Kurgh... Y-You can purchase various things. You can boost your strength and stamina. You can also boost mana, which is required when using your starscape. In addition—”

“No, that’s all I need to know.”

In game terms, Nebula seemed to be stat points.

“Tsk,” Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and scratched his head in disinterest.

He wasn’t too interested in the fact that Nebula could boost stats.

‘What could change just from boosting a stat or two at where I am?’

It wouldn’t be completely useless but it was like adding a drop of water into an ocean. Kang-Woo had become far too strong to become stronger just by receiving sponsors from Constellations.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Riiing!

[Sir Guardian Deity!!]

Just then, a blue message window appeared in front of him.

“What?”

[I-I just checked, and those things called Nebula contain the power of Titans, just like the relics!]

[〣(ºΔº)〣!]

“For real?” Kang-oo’s eyes widened. “Wait, that means...”

[Yes! If you gather those Nebula, you can pull for more Traits!]

[ (ง°̀ﾛ°́)ง !]

Kang-Woo’s wide eyes shone. He didn’t care about boosting stats with Nebula but it was a different story if he could pull Traits with them. Unlike meaningless stat boosts, he could hope for unreal power boosts as long as he was lucky, just like when he acquired the Trait [Usurpation of Flame].

Kang-Woo was not the only one who got something out of the Trait Gacha; Kim Si-Hun, Balrog, Lilith, and Han Seol-Ah all got something out of it, whether it be minuscule or massive.

‘Except Yeon-Joo.’

Insert sad music here; cue tears.

‘Anyway.’

The idea of pulling for new Traits caught Kang-Woo’s interest. He smirked, having acquired another objective for conquering the tower.

“Thank you for your support,” said Kang-Woo as he looked up.

He slightly nodded, making sure not to make a big deal out of it. It was important to match his reaction to the amount of support given.

[The ‘God of Rupture’ suggests you become his apostle.]

The God of Rupture seemed to have taken a liking to Kang-Woo, considering he made such an offer despite the tutorial not having even begun.

‘Makes sense. He’s the God of Rupture, after all.’

He would have naturally enjoyed the brutal beating Kang-Woo gave Ritty.

“I appreciate your offer but I don’t think I can give you a definitive answer at the moment.”

Kang-Woo smiled as he shook his head. He had no intention to accept the God of Rupture’s offer. Now that he decided to collect as much Nebula as possible, he needed to raise his price as much as possible.

‘I’ll make it so that you go crazy over the fact that you can’t get me.’

Kang-Woo licked his lips.

[The ‘God of Games’ sponsors you with 300 Nebulas!]

[The ‘God of Rupture’ expresses surprise!]

“Hm?”

‘It’s him this time, eh?’

[The ‘God of Games’ desires more entertainment!]

“Oh?”

Kang-Woo expected it to be an apostle offer but it wasn’t.

‘More entertainment, huh?’

There seemed to be Constellations who watched as if it were a variety show as well.

[The ‘God of Malevolence’ expresses interest after being called by the God of Games.]

[The ‘God of Compassion’ stares at you worryingly.]

The number of gods watching him rose over time, showing how shocking it was for someone to subdue the guide before the tutorial even began.

‘You shouldn’t be shocked over something like this. The fun hasn’t even begun yet.’

Kang-Woo poked Ritty with his foot and suggested, “Right, why don’t we get started already? People are waiting.”

“Urghh.” Ritty nodded with difficulty as he continued to put pressure on his bleeding wounds. “I-In that case, I will explain the details of the tutorial.”

He spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear; he at least seemed to have a sense of responsibility as a guide.

“The main objective of this tutorial is

survival

. All of you will fall into an island where the tutorial is held at random. Monster-type beasts ranging from one-star to five-star will attack you on the island. Your objective is to survive for a week as you avoid the beasts. Weapons and other necessities required for survival have been prepared inside buildings, caves, and various other places. The size of the island will shrink each day. The area of the island that will disappear will be indicated on your System window, so you must escape from the area before the day ends.”

Ritty finished his explanation. Kang-Woo thought of a certain game as he listened to the explanation.

‘Isn’t this just PUBG...? No, I guess it’s different. We’re not fighting against each other.’

“R-Right, let us move straight to the tutorial location!”

Ritty quickly chanted a spell, appearing he wanted to get his wounds treated immediately.

Whoooom!!

Kang-Woo was enveloped by white light and felt himself floating like when he had ripped the invitation letter. He felt a breeze brush past his cheeks and the smell of metal and dust tickled his nose.

‘This must be my starting point.’

Kang-Woo looked around and saw ruins of half-destroyed gray buildings. He lightly jumped up to a building to look around and was met with the landscape of a massive city.

Grrrr, krrk!

His ears faintly caught an unpleasant growl.

“Is that one of those beasts?”

The beast’s head was as smooth as an egg. It did not have eyes, ears, or a nose; all it had on its face was a widely split mouth with sharp teeth sprouting from it. Its body was glossy as if it were covered in mucus and its arms were so long that its fingers slid on the ground. Its form was similar to that of a human but its bulging muscles and two-meter height made it look ferocious and menacing.

‘But it doesn’t change the fact it’s only as strong as a First Hell demonic beast.’

“That aside...”

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and organized the rules of the tutorial in his head.

‘Survive for a week, huh?’

He smirked and shook his head. He couldn’t waste an entire week in this place.

“You said you wanted to be entertained more, didn't you?” asked Kang-Woo as he looked up at the ceiling covered by a translucent barrier.

He couldn’t see the Constellations but knew their attention was focused on him.

“As you wish.”

Kang-Woo’s hand split open and black mucus fell from it. He smirked as he looked down at the beast walking along the road. The way to clear the tutorial without wasting a week was rather simple.

“If the objective of the tutorial is survival...”

He would automatically pass if he wiped out the entities categorized as

threats

.

[The ‘God of Rupture’ is surprised by your decision!]

[The ‘God of Games’ rolls on the ground laughing!]

[The ‘God of Compassion’ stares at you in dissatisfaction.]

Since Kang-Woo had enough of an audience, all that was left was to prove his value.

“Dark Spears.”

Sprout—!!!

Black spikes shot up from where the black mucus fell on the ground.

“SKREEEEEE!”

The black spikes impaled the beast on the road. It was unprecedented in the entire history of the tower for a tutorial participant to kill the beasts instead of running away from them. However, Kang-Woo was only getting started.

Sprout—!!!

Like drops of ink falling in clear water, the black spikes spread throughout the entire city, aiming only for the beasts. It only took thirty seconds for the beasts on the island to be killed.

“Right, then.”

Kang-Woo looked down at the streets which were now free of beasts and looked back up. Soon after...

[The ‘God of Rupture’ sponsors you with 500 Nebulas!]

[The ‘God of Rupture’ suggests you become his apostle again!]

[The ‘God of Games’ sponsors you with 1,000 Nebulas!]

[The ‘God of Rupture’ condemns the God of Games!]

[The ‘God of Malevolence’ sponsors you with 300 Nebulas!]

[The ‘God of Compassion’ sponsors you with 1 Nebula!]

“Wow~~ my bros~~!!”

Kang-Woo brought his hands together and politely bowed to the message windows. He crossed his thumb and index fingers to make finger hearts and brought them forward.

“Thank you so much for the donos!!!”