Chapter 302: Seventy-Fifth Floor, the Old Man and the Spirits (8)

[Resolve the old man’s regrets. Time remaining: 9 hours 20 minutes.]

Although I wasn’t particularly old, I had received plenty of advice over the course of my life. Sometimes, it was by choice, while at other times, it was not. As was often the case on Earth, most of it concerned work, education, life in general, or relationships.

Naturally, every piece of advice was colored by the speaker’s personality, worldview, and life experience; therefore, it couldn’t be taken at face value. That was why the same guidance could be a lifesaver to one person and nothing more than tired lecturing to another.

In any case, I generally made it a point to listen to advice when it came my way. As long as it wasn’t completely nonsense from beginning to end, there was usually at least some merit in it.

Even if I didn’t take it to heart, I could weigh and pick out what could be useful. Even if none of it applied, I could still use it to understand how the other person viewed the world.

Despite that, among all the advice offered to me, there was one type I particularly disliked.

Advice that is completely irrelevant to me, or offered without reason.

For instance, when someone who had destroyed their life gambling turned around and solemnly told me not to gamble.

Since I had never even had the thought to begin with, that kind of unnecessary advice was downright infuriating.

More often than not, people who gave advice like that brimmed with self-importance. They assumed everyone thought and acted the way they did, or they couldn’t fully acknowledge their own mistakes.

Maybe it was just my own bias, but that was how it always seemed to play out in my experience. They treated their words as priceless insights from a wizened sage.

Additionally, the fact that such people were usually my seniors only added to the infuriation.

If it were a peer or acquaintance, I could simply avoid them. However, when it came from someone higher up, things became far more complicated.

Like right now.

When I didn’t respond, Hyun cast a sidelong glance my way. “Take it to heart. I don’t know what lies ahead for you, but this is an important point.”

It was more or less what I expected. I sighed internally as there was nothing I could do. I would just have to go along with it.

Interestingly, curiosity got the better of me.

What kind of deal did he make? What sort of deal could be worth putting an entire planet on the line?

I met Hyun’s gaze. “What kind of deal was it?”

“

Ahem.

That, I can’t tell you.”

From his expression, I could guess well enough.

Maybe he genuinely couldn’t say, but that awkward look told me everything I needed to know. It had clearly been a gamble with terrible odds.

At the very least, he seemed to feel some shame over it. Even if he played it cool on the outside, he at least recognized on some level that he had made a fool of himself.

Bit of a shame.

I had so little information about the tower or the gods. Not that I had any intention of staking Earth in some deal, but I had wondered if I could glean something even if it wasn’t immediately useful.

If he wasn’t planning to share, though, then there wasn’t much else I could do.

I shifted the conversation back to the original topic. “Then why exactly are you supposed to help me with divine energy?”

Hyun furrowed his brow slightly at the sudden change of subject. “You’re not really listening, are you?”

There was a trace of displeasure in his voice. I didn’t bother offering a response.

From the look in his eyes, he had clearly realized I hadn’t taken his advice kindly. If the other person already knew that, there was no point in pretending otherwise.

Therefore, I kept quiet. Hyun let out a dry chuckle. “You probably think my advice doesn’t apply to you. But I wasn’t speaking idly. Take it to heart.”

I gave him a small nod. “Understood.”

With how seriously he was putting it, it felt like I should at least acknowledge it.

I don’t plan to sign a deal with the tower unless my hand is forced.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to remember what he had to say. It was advice from a god, after all. Deals with the tower were likely just as ruinous as gambling.

As I made that mental note, Hyun’s face relaxed slightly, almost as if he had read my thoughts. “Now, let’s return to the matter at hand. You asked why this world is granting you divine energy.”

“Yes.”

“It’s because I stand to gain from it.”

“Sorry?”

That answer caught me off guard.

I had assumed it was something like he had been assigned to do it. This was a completely unexpected direction.

How does it benefit him for me to gain faith?

His demeanor shifted. “I can’t go into detail since the tower forbids it.”

This time, he sounded entirely genuine.

Well, I figured I should be grateful for having gotten this much out of him. Until now, I had heard almost nothing about the tower or the floors, all thanks to one restriction or another.

Considering that Hyun had even revealed his true appearance, maybe the only reason he was being this open was because he no longer cared about the tower’s watchful eye.

Regardless, I turned back to face him. “This won’t harm me in any way, right?”

That was the most important part. Given that the Tower of Ordeal had created the trial, I doubted it would include something genuinely harmful as a reward—after all, it seemed to benefit Challengers more often than not.

Still, there was always the chance it would hide a trick or trap somewhere along the way. Moreover, whether or not he would tell me the truth remained to be seen.

I watched his face closely.

“It won’t. On the contrary, it’ll actually benefit you.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. And besides, I benefit from your success as well. If all goes well, I’ll make sure to repay the favor someday.”

Despite the perfect performance he had given earlier, he didn’t seem to be lying this time.

It made sense, too. Unlike other trials, this one hadn’t left me any room to maneuver. I had done exactly what the trial intended. Then, thanks to Hyun’s unexpected interference, I had been dragged back on track against my will.

There was still one question lingering in the back of my mind. It wasn’t about what Hyun had said, but something adjacent to it.

“Are you really allowed to tell me all this?”

It was a fair question. After all, he had initially stated the tower wouldn’t let him speak in detail. Whether he had simply gotten carried away or if this much was permitted, I couldn’t say.

Most gods never spoke a word.

Hyun grinned in response. “You figured me out. That alone lets me share this much.”

“Is that really why?”

“Well, you’re the reason I can say anything at all. I can’t explain in detail, but let’s just say that this trial was made for that.”

I furrowed my brow. There was something buried in his phrasing that felt like an answer, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Because of me?

So there had to be more to it than just uncovering his identity. It didn’t seem like successfully changing the past twice was the other trigger, either.

Is it because I have already generated so much divine energy?

Hyun gave a lopsided smile. “And if I ever fall out of favor, the tower will probably just erase me.”

“What?”

He waved it off with a chuckle. “Just kidding.”

Still, I was a little taken aback—I didn’t know the tower could eliminate a god.

When I first started climbing, I assumed the tower was simply a system that created gods. The more I saw, however, the more I started to wonder if it would be the true final boss.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Regardless, Hyun wore a strangely serene expression now, like someone who had nothing left to lose, speaking freely just because he could.

Maybe he felt cornered, with his power restricted and his planet locked down.

Hmm.

Judging by that faraway look on his face, perhaps he was simply speaking from the heart, simply because he wanted to.

It wasn’t a particularly important matter.

Now that I had a rough grasp of the nature of this trial, what I needed to do was simple. I had to travel to the third event and accumulate as much divinity as possible.

My mana had almost fully recovered, and my divine energy was a little under halfway there.

Another twenty to thirty minutes should do it.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like talking to Hyun any longer. Despite his appearance, he didn’t strike me as a particularly admirable god.

Is there a polite way to end this conversation?

After a moment of deliberation, I turned toward him. “Well, understood. So I just need to do the same thing I’ve been doing until now, correct?”

“Right. Why? Are you planning to head out already?”

“No, not yet. I used up quite a bit of mana and divine energy. I thought I’d spend the next thirty minutes or so focusing on recovery.”

“

Hmm

, go ahead.”

He looked slightly disappointed, as if he wanted to keep talking.

As I subtly averted my gaze, Hyun scratched his chin for a moment, then reluctantly admitted, “It’s been a while since I talked to someone in my true form. I was actually enjoying it.”

Seriously? Just a moment ago, he was still pretending to be the dignified royal shaman. Guess he has been lonely for a while.

He felt a little clingy, to be honest. Between the unnecessary advice and everything else, he hadn’t left the best impression on me. This was someone who had knowingly thrown his people into the jaws of death.

“

Haha.

”

I scratched my head awkwardly and turned away.

Doppy was watching us with a somewhat stunned expression. He was probably still shocked that Hyun was a god.

“Doppy, keep casting the recovery and enhancement spells,” I called out before Hyun could say anything to him.

I was making good on what I had promised before the second event.

“Got it!” Doppy nodded vigorously and began chanting.

Receiving his buffs again made me a little wistful. Those skills utilized divine energy, too. If I ever had the chance, I wanted to learn them. It would be handy to cast them myself when Doppy wasn’t around.

I had actually tried before, but failed. Still, once I got more used to channeling divinity, maybe I could pull it off.

Just as I was about to sit down, I remembered there was something I still wanted to ask Hyun.

I quickly turned back. “Hyun.”

“Yes?” He looked at me, his expression brightening slightly.

Well, he probably wasn’t expecting the kind of question I was about to ask.

“What’s the next event like? Just give me a quick overview before I focus.”

***

[Resolve the old man’s regrets. Time remaining: 8 hours 53 minutes.]

I had been sent to an open plain. Concealing myself with Shadow Veil, I scanned the battlefield.

The fighting had already begun.

To my right, a castle lay under siege, with a massive army consisting of hundreds of thousands of monstrous soldiers attacking it. It already looked half-ruined.

Even though I had already taken down two of the corrupted divine entities, the battle didn’t seem to be going well.

Well, it isn’t like the environment in the future has fully recovered, even after saving all those people.

It seemed like, as a part of his deal, the inhabitants of this world didn’t have divine entities or energy. So, of course, they were losing.

Their enemies still possessed divinity, even if it had been corrupted. Also, their numbers were staggering. The castle looked like it could fall at any moment.

This is brutal.

I couldn’t help but suspect Hyun had sent me into a deliberately desperate situation.

Letting out a deep breath, I readied myself. “

Phew.

”

Of course, I hadn’t spent the entire thirty minutes doing nothing.

Hyun hadn’t told me everything, but I had learned enough to understand the general shape of the battlefield. Thanks to uncovering his identity, he had given me more information than during the previous events.

It still looks tougher than I expected, though.

Regardless, it was time to move.

***

「Invisible message: Tales of Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s endeavors have continued spreading across the world.」

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok currently holds twenty-one percent of this world’s faith.」

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok will have completed the hidden mission ‘World Unlock’ upon holding fifty percent of the world’s faith.」