Chapter 277: Seventy-Third Floor, The Furnace’s Conspiracy (1)

The Community of the Dead, on the seventy-third floor.

[Hey guys, doesn’t Su-Hyeok feel a little different lately?]

[Huh? Really? I didn’t notice anything.]

[Wait, so it’s not just me? You noticed it too?]

[Yeah, I kinda felt it too. Ever since he opened the stone door, he seems different.]

[What the hell are these idiots talking about?]

[LMAO, what’s supposed to be different?]

[You’re the type who always gets called out for being oblivious to this shit, aren’t you?]

[Seriously, you don’t see it? Doesn’t he look a bit... divine? Like there’s a faint halo behind him or something?]

[Ugh, it’s just the Shadow Su-Hyeok Fan Club spouting nonsense again.]

[😂 Exactly, cut it out, you lunatics.]

[No, seriously. Are you all blind? You’re telling me you don’t see the change?]

***

[Dismantle the conspiracy attempting to consume the world. Time remaining: 47 hours 57 minutes.]

After offering the crowd a brief, awkward wave, I immediately grabbed Tunyak by the arm and pulled him aside.

“Wh-what is this? What exactly is going on?”

“What do you think? It’s a celebration to honor the one who saved the goddess. Remember how I said a mechanical arm and eye weren’t nearly enough appreciation?”

I frowned at his reply. Gifts were meant to hold some sort of physical value, such as objects or currency. If the mechanical parts weren’t enough, then he should’ve prepared something else—tangible.

A thank-you speech? That doesn’t cut it.

“Wait. You’re not telling me that’s all, right?”

Tunyak chuckled, amused. “Of course not.”

He turned his head and motioned toward one of the natives at the front of the crowd. The man quickly darted off to the side, clearly off to retrieve something.

Ah, so he did think this through.

I met Tunyak’s gaze, a subtle sense of anticipation growing inside me.

His gentle eyes curved with a familiar warmth. “I spent some time thinking about what you would like.”

He did, huh? So then, what did he finally decide on?

Tunyak studied me for a beat, then declared, “In the end, I figured—why not just give you everything?”

“What?”

“I said, we decided to give you everything.”

Right on cue, three natives came hurrying over, their arms full.

One of them laid out a cloth in front of me before the others set a jumble of things down. In total, they placed a bow and a set of arrows, a solid number of bullets, a necklace, and two small wooden chests.

The bullets were likely prepped after I had mentioned needing ammunition. The chests probably contained elixirs or rare herbs.

“I actually thought about crafting you a new axe, but there wasn’t anything I could give you that would be better than what you already have. Your axe looks pretty exceptional.”

“Right?”

Soulbound had grown more refined over time, becoming more shapely and radiant as it matured. There was no point in giving me something inferior because I wouldn’t use it anyway.

“So, I prepared the finest bow and arrows we have. Moreover, the goddess has blessed both. Among our weapons, these are the best we can offer.”

“And the necklace and the chests?”

“The necklace is a tribal treasure, passed down through generations. The boxes contain spirit herbs, grown from the land nurtured by the divine beast.”

“You’re seriously giving me all of this?”

“Of course.”

“Damn. Thanks.”

“What do you mean, thanks? We’re the ones who owe you.”

Smiling, I turned my attention to the items.

To be honest, a bow and arrows weren’t exactly well-suited to my fighting style. Not that I couldn’t use them, but I figured swinging my axe one more time would be more effective than lining up a shot.

For now, I stowed everything in Mung-chi. I was tempted to pull up their descriptions right away, but it seemed wiser to stay focused on this floor’s trial first.

The rewards weren’t going anywhere, after all.

“By the way, what’s with all these people? You didn’t seriously gather them just to thank me, did you?”

“Sogorong wouldn’t talk.”

“He didn’t?”

“No. We tried every form of interrogation we could think of, but he wouldn’t open his mouth. Honestly, I think he really doesn’t know anything.”

Every form of interrogation, huh.

That was beyond the scope of what I wanted to imagine.

I cleared my throat and steered the topic elsewhere, “So, how does that connect to all these people? What about the pioneers? Didn’t that cause tension?”

Tunyak grinned. “That’s why we’re traveling across the continent. To spread the goddess’s name as we go.”

“Spreading her name?”

“We have divine power now, remember?”

“

Aaah

. right.”

It was true. Once-forgotten, Master of the Five Carriage Wheels had now returned, and Tunyak became her apostle. She had regained the power she had lost.

Tunyak, who had once looked on in awe while Doppy cast healing magic, could now replicate such feats himself.

“Plenty of pioneers have converted after witnessing her divine power. The goddess doesn’t seem to take issue with their machinery, so we left them alone. Though we did destroy a few items imbued with another deity’s power.”

He offered a sheepish smile. “Even the pioneers who were hostile at first changed their stance after witnessing the goddess’s power. Things have improved a lot. Though some of them still seem to be holding onto a grudge...”

His voice trailed off. I had a good sense of what he meant.

The worlds I had seen within the tower varied wildly. Some were godless, while others had gods who simply chose not to interfere. In places where gods did intervene, their will became law and truth.

“Because it’s the will of the goddess.”

“Exactly. It’s the will of the goddess.” Tunyak nodded softly, as if affirming it to himself.

At this point, I had a clear sense of why they were undergoing a pilgrimage around the continent.

“You’re gathering believers and waiting for

them

to make the next move.”

At first, I wondered what he was up to. Looking at it now, however, it was actually a smart approach. By spreading Master of the Five Carriage Wheels’s name and traveling across the land, they were gradually eliminating Endless Furnace’s ability to dominate the world from the shadows.

In the end, Endless Furnace would have two options: abandon this world, or strike before the goddess’s influence grew too strong.

“Exactly.” Tunyak nodded again, but there was still one thing that didn’t quite add up.

“So, the goddess can’t locate them?”

“No. She said she can’t pinpoint their position.”

Hmm.

That seemed plausible enough. She had only just awakened from her seal. Maybe it was like Ha Hee-Jeong and I had discussed—she hadn’t regained full strength yet.

Or maybe not.

Considering the Endless Furnace didn’t know where the goddess was, then perhaps this was an unspoken rule among the gods. It could be that the tower’s system disallowed different divine beings from tracking one another during a trial.

My eyes drifted toward the system window.

[Dismantle the conspiracy attempting to consume the world. Time remaining: 47 hours 53 minutes.]

I had two days. Considering the nature of this trial, something would inevitably happen within that time, no matter what I did.

There was one more thing I couldn’t overlook. It was the message from the tower itself.

Tunyak had stated that the goddess’s believers were waiting for the enemy to make their move, but the tower had described my task as dismantling a conspiracy. The fact that the entire floor was built as a single, cohesive trial only made it more likely that Endless Furnace had already begun their counterattack.

An ambush, perhaps. Something that will catch us unaware.

I glanced at Tunyak. “Do you understand the mechanism behind my ability to appear here and there?”

“More or less, now. The goddess summons you, right?”

Thinking briefly about it, I decided that was enough. Tunyak didn’t know the tower’s deeper mechanics, but he clearly grasped the basics.

“I’ve been given two days.”

“Two days?”

“That means something’s likely to happen within that window. Either we find them or they come to us.”

Tunyak nodded. “There’s quite a distance to the next village. In that case, odds are they’ll come to us.”

I gestured toward the crowd that had gathered to welcome me. “These people... most of them know how to fight, right?”

“Everyone except for the few who manage housing during travel.”

“We don’t know when their attack will happen. It could be at any moment, even right now. Let’s prepare for combat and move out.”

Tunyak nodded with a firm expression. “Thanks. Having you here makes everything feel more secure.”

I shrugged. “No big deal.”

Tunyak responded with a broad, sincere smile.

I felt unsure of how to respond. Getting a smile like that from another guy felt a little intense.

Moments later, he turned and summoned the mid-level commanders to brief them. The crowd quickly dispersed, and everyone began making preparations efficiently, albeit with a tense undertone.

I stood there for a second, watching people mount oxen-drawn wagons and divine-beast-led machines. Then, suddenly, I realized I had no ride of my own.

Right, the horse from the previous floor disappeared. Should I just climb into Tunyak’s chariot?

Just then, Tunyak returned, leading a divine beast by the reins. With its saddle and harness, it was clearly prepared for me.

Even so, I needed to be sure. “You’re offering me a divine beast?”

“It’s the one we purified last time.”

“

Oh!

”

That divine beast!

They all looked pretty similar, so I didn’t recognize it at first glance.

Even before Tunyak finished speaking, the divine beast pressed its head gently toward me. Its gaze was calm and kind.

I reached out and stroked its head. This would be my first time riding a divine beast.

Or wait, does riding the sky whale count?

Regardless, I hadn’t ridden this kind of divine beast before, so it practically counted.

After taking a moment to connect with it, I mounted the beast alongside Doppy.

The divine beast let out a low, pleased sound.

“

Hrrrrugh.

”

Tunyak looked up at me. “No need to deviate from our current path, right?”

“The goddess didn’t say anything?”

“No, nothing specific about the route.”

“Where were you headed originally?”

Tunyak pointed to his ten o’clock.

I turned to Doppy. When it came to navigating, he was always the best one to ask. “Doppy, what do you think? Which way should we go?”

“I’m not sensing anything right now! It’s probably best to go with Tunyak’s plan!”

Well, Tunyak was an apostle now. They were probably both right.

Nodding, I turned to Tunyak. “You heard him.”

“Got it. We stay on course.”

I grinned slightly. “Then let’s move.”

***

[Dismantle the conspiracy attempting to consume the world. Time remaining: 35 hours 24 minutes.]

Our journey began in the morning, and after only a few breaks along the way, we finally stopped after nearly twelve hours of traveling. Aside from encountering a few passing groups of pioneers, nothing particularly eventful happened.

Eventually, we set up camp between a set of towering rock formations to shelter ourselves from the wind. The dozen or so tents, along with the flickering campfires throughout, were far more organized than I had expected.

Chatting with Tunyak, I learned that forty-six days had passed since the events on the seventy-second floor. They had made considerable progress during that time.

After uniting the tribes, they traveled across the continent. They offered healing through the goddess’s power, earned money, and bought various supplies along the way.

Not everything had gone smoothly, of course. Many pioneers, still nursing grudges, had attacked them, though Tunyak had dealt with any obstacles.

Still, that is extremely impressive.

I looked around at the people resting throughout the camp.

As I pondered the complexities behind an intracontinental crossing, the image of the pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago came to mind.

Or maybe it isn’t quite the same.

I didn’t know much religious history, though, so I couldn’t say for sure.

Out of nowhere, a burst of light split the sky.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up. Far beyond the horizon, the sky glowed a vivid crimson. A single column of red light shot straight upward, painting the clouds in a blood-stained hue.

Boom—

A sound like a volcanic eruption followed. Then came a tremor of mana—a wild, oppressive wave surging across the land.

Though distant, the impact reached us. As it crossed the land, it violently tossed sand into the air and formed a massive sandstorm that barreled in our direction.

“Hold tight!”

“Take cover!”

Everyone scrambled to their feet, ensuring to pull the oxen and divine beasts behind the cover of the rocks. They clung to each other as the storm rolled in.

I grabbed Doppy’s hand, waiting for the surge to pass.

Tents and campfires were ripped away by the wind. Darkness settled over the nearby wasteland, but the pillar of fire still flickered faintly as it cast a dim glow in the distance.

A reddish gloom. Thankfully, the shockwave hit only once. As the sandstorm died down, I shifted my gaze toward the fire.

Though faint, the crimson light in the distance was steadily drawing closer.

“Damn it.”

That was it. The conspiracy Endless Furnace had prepared.

“Doppy!”

“On it!”

I leapt onto the divine beast with Doppy.

Tunyak moved at almost the same moment. “Units One, Two, and Three, prepare for battle! The rest, clean up and follow!”

Tunyak and the warriors climbed into their wagons and mounted their beasts. No one waited for a command. As if by instinct, we all began charging toward the red sky in unison.

The blazing light in the distance was steadily pushing back the darkness of the wasteland. A strange, oppressive crimson glow settled over the blackened earth.

As we rode, the pillar of fire drew nearer, and the rumbling in the ground only grew more pronounced.

Thoom— Thoom— Thoom— Thoom—

Then, something rose from beyond the horizon. It was a colossal mechanical fortress, reminiscent of Bark’s Moving Castle, thundering toward us at a terrifying speed.