Chapter 387: Eighty-Seventh Floor, Mystical Beast Treatment (7)

[Heal the mystical beast under the alchemist’s protection. Time remaining: 95 hours 52 minutes.]

Despite the pale mist still blocking my senses, I felt the same omen from before. At some point, a gaze had fallen on me—completely silent without any trace of presence.

Determined not to repeat my earlier mistake, I immediately activated Flash Strike and launched forward.

Only then did the mysterious figure come into view, but I still could only see a vague outline, a hazy silhouette at best. It was undeniably there, though, even if it remained indistinct.

Just like it is half-submerged in the mist.

What stood out more than its appearance, however, was how its demeanor had changed.

Yesterday, it had only observed me, neither hostile nor friendly. Now, it felt like it was trying to send a message or a signal, as if it wanted to help. I had a hard time describing the situation, but the fact that it hadn’t disappeared despite having the ability to, felt like enough proof.

I stopped running and started walking toward it, almost as if in a trance.

Even as the distance between us steadily shrank, the figure didn’t vanish. It remained there, though still only a blurry form.

A childlike figure with what looks like tufts of fur on its back.

As I drew nearer, the figure seemed to sharpen briefly as its outline gained clarity. However, it dissolved once more into the surrounding mist.

In that fleeting moment, I realized the shapes on its back were not bristling tufts of fur or a tail as I had first assumed. Though I hadn’t seen them clearly, they resembled something else entirely, something more delicate and deliberate.

Wings, perhaps.

A memory from the past quietly surfaced in the depths of my mind.

Seorden was a fairy.

It was the name I had seen when I used the lie detector to analyze the bracelet.

Of course, I didn’t know exactly what a fairy was in the context of the tower. Using Earth’s mythology, though, they were small, winged beings, no larger than the palm of a hand. This being was larger, but considering all the clues I had gathered so far, the possibility still remained.

Is the mysterious figure Seorden? Or one another fairy?

The likelihood seemed high.

Even if it didn’t match my expectation of a fairy, it could have undergone a similar transformation to the mystical beasts.

For now, I decided to assume it was a fairy.

Although it had disappeared just as it had the day before, I didn’t feel disappointed. A faint trace of its energy remained in the air—it was the same energy I had sensed from the mystical beast earlier.

In the silent and foggy forest, the beast’s energy shimmered faintly, swaying subtly like a weaving path.

Is it pointing me somewhere?

The feeling that it wanted to help had only grown stronger.

I had suspected something like this would happen, so the sudden shift hadn’t caught me off guard. It was probably the result of the connection I had formed with the mystical beast. Perhaps the creature had extended its blessing, encouraging the forest’s inhabitants to assist me.

I turned and began walking in the direction the energy pointed. Since the aura was faint, I had to concentrate.

Tch.

Unfortunately, the trail didn’t last long. After just a few minutes, the energy abruptly vanished.

Is it limited somehow?

That wouldn’t be surprising, especially if the fairy didn’t have much strength left. It didn’t bother me because the direction it had indicated was already set.

Just as I was about to move again, I felt another gaze. The fairy had reappeared.

What happened next mirrored what I had experienced earlier. As I approached, the fairy vanished again, and the mystical beast’s energy lingered in its place. There was no doubt now that it was showing me the way.

So this is how it plans to guide me, piece by piece.

One thing still didn’t make sense to me, however.

The second remnant aura pointed toward a completely different direction from the first. Moreover, it wasn’t like I hadn’t followed the original arrow; the second was more than ninety degrees off the first.

What is this, exactly? Is it leading me to a sacred site?

Perhaps it was trying to hide the path from an outsider like me. Of course, I couldn’t be sure, but that seemed plausible.

For now, I would just have to follow it.

I picked up my pace. Despite the forest’s unsettling atmosphere, my steps felt light.

Yesterday, the clues had felt like pieces of a puzzle that wouldn’t quite fit. Thankfully, since waking up this morning, it felt like they were falling into place on their own.

Given how the land responded to my divinity and the mystical beast’s reaction, part of me wondered if the tower had set everything up for my success.

***

“Poong-Wol, I hope you won’t come to hate me. I’m not some emotionless being. Seorden’s death wasn’t something I chose or accepted willingly. I told you that, didn’t I?”

Forced to listen to Cho-Yeon, the ailing mystical beast bared its teeth, its hostility unmistakable.

‘What right does the lifeless have to speak for the living?’

Its eyes seemed to communicate

Cho-Yeon offered a quiet, somber smile. “I grieved just as deeply as any of you.”

The beast didn’t lower its guard. It continued baring its teeth.

Cho-Yeon turned her head toward the forest, her expression hardening. “Rather than resenting me, wouldn’t it be better to feel joy? My first performance may have been awkward, but now... the forest is finally beginning to reclaim its master and its life.”

***

[Heal the mystical beast under the alchemist’s protection. Time remaining: 92 hours 45 minutes.]

The fairy’s sudden appearances and disappearances continued for three hours. The directions kept shifting, looping back and forth, until I no longer had any idea where I was.

At first, I stayed focused. With each repetition, however, it grew harder and harder not to feel worn down. At one point, I even wondered if the fairy was just messing with me.

Though I suppose that is unlikely.

However, the boredom didn’t last long as the forest eventually began to press down on me. The deeper I went, the thicker the strange fog grew, and the more the forest’s pressure intensified. I tried to protect myself with divinity, but it made no difference.

As I trudged forward, exhaustion started to set in. My divine energy was draining fast, and the psychological weight was becoming hard to ignore.

It wasn’t quite the same as the ordeal on the fifty-second floor. That had been about enduring suffering. This felt like the forest was crushing my very existence.

I let out a slow breath, “

Haaaaa.

”

The fog had grown so thick that I could barely see even a step ahead of me. My hands were hazy even when they moved right in front of me.

My sensory field had shrunk dramatically and was barely two meters now.

Yet, the gaze watching me had only grown clearer. At some point, it stopped fading altogether.

I followed it. The forest remained dark, oppressive, and eerie. Strangely enough, it was also starting to feel mystical.

Part of that was me, of course.

I was cutting through the fog-drenched forest with a faint blue-gold light of divinity trailing behind me.

It felt like I had been walking forever. Then, I suddenly felt countless gazes all at once—dozens, maybe hundreds. I came to a stop.

This was different. Before, there had only ever been one.

As I prepared myself for combat, a strange force instantly wrapped around me. I couldn’t grasp what was happening. It was a force beyond the reach of even divinity, something I couldn’t resist.

In that single fleeting moment, the world around me shifted.

Whether it had truly changed, I couldn’t say. One thing was certain, however: the countless gazes that had been fixed on me had vanished.

Moreover, the thick mist that had once filled my vision had begun to thin ever so slightly.

Before I had the chance to question the sudden turn of events, a deep instinct stirred within me. Something was drawing me forward.

What is this?

The question surfaced belatedly as I took a single step forward. The mist continued to thin.

Then, without the slightest warning, the fog disappeared completely, revealing the space in front of me.

A small lake lay at the end of the path. It was surrounded by trees and a veil of mist, and was filled with black water, its depth impossible to gauge.

There was no mistaking the sense of deep unease it generated within me, however.

Whatever the case, this has to be an important place.

At the lake’s center, a single, unopened lotus flower floated idly. It was small, pink, and tinged with black. Its petals were barely parted, just enough for a glimpse of a blue orb nestled between them.

I found it.

The blue orb held the same energy as the mystical beast and had been supporting the forest all along.

Although it probably wasn’t identical to the legends from Earth, the orb was something like a dragon pearl.

Roughly, I could now make sense of the situation.

That lotus is the heart of the forest.

Originally, something else had been housed in its place, but something had gone wrong. To save the forest, the mystical beast had placed its own core within the flower.

Thanks to that blue orb, the forest and its creatures had not lost their vitality or consciousness. That was likely why the others had rubbed their faces against the beast affectionately.

Perhaps it now resembled an imoogi instead of a dragon because it no longer possessed the orb.

I bet it looked more like a proper dragon.

In the end, even that effort hadn’t been enough. The core couldn’t fully sustain the forest. It was weakening, slowly but surely, even now.

The Tower of Ordeal had almost certainly brought me here because I had used Seorden’s Bracelet. It had created a resting place for the beast, using my divine power.

I finally understood the broader picture, and several of my earlier questions had been answered. Yet one unresolved mystery remained.

Why did the forest begin to decay in the first place? Is it simply because the First God vanished?

That wasn’t something I could determine yet. The former mystical beasts seemed to hold the key, but they didn’t appear to be here.

Not that I even know if we can communicate with each other.

Right now, the only things present were myself, the lake, the lotus, and the blue orb.

Regardless, there was one thing I knew for certain.

I have to go.

If I were to heal the beast, I needed that orb. Despite that, I hesitated, if only slightly.

If I remove the orb that has been holding the forest together, what will happen to the forest?

There was no way it would remain intact.

Is the trial asking me to weigh the life of the entire forest against that of a single mystical beast? Or, like in the other trials, is this something I can resolve through divinity? Damn it.

To be honest, I didn’t feel very hopeful.

Even if I had divine energy to spare, I doubted it would be enough. Also, I had already exhausted a significant portion just traveling here.

I steadied myself. Deliberating wouldn’t change anything. I needed to focus on the trial.

First, save the beast.

For now, I had to retrieve the orb. I would deal with what came after to the best of my ability. If this trial truly required me to weigh one life against another, then I wouldn’t be to blame. That fault lay with the tower.

I stepped forward.

The black water that filled the lake was impossible to identify, and it exuded a repulsive vibe that made me instinctively hesitate to step into it.

I had no choice, however.

My mana is restricted.

In this strange space, the only thing I could rely on was Divine Power. Even so, I couldn’t wield it freely.

I could only wrap myself in divine energy and hope it would withstand the forest’s oppressive energy.

Even the Footsteps of the Abyss wouldn’t help here. They were supposed to let me walk across anything—lava, air, or the sea—but this place restricted divinity itself.

I carefully placed my foot onto the water.

Just as I thought.

The surface didn’t hold. A thick, clammy sensation enveloped my foot. I wasn’t surprised.

Fortunately, the water wasn’t deep. The black liquid reached only to my ankles.

“

Ugh.

”

I drew in a sharp breath and stepped forward.

The water level remained unchanged, but the black water kept pulling at me, an invisible force dragging at my feet. The deeper I ventured, the stronger that pull became. Even then, it wasn’t particularly difficult to endure.

If anything, it felt so easy that it made the three-hour detour I had taken to reach this place feel almost absurd.

Before long, I stood before the lotus. It was roughly the size of my torso, and through the slightly parted petals, I could see the blue orb nestled within.

I reached out carefully and took hold of it.

Nothing dramatic happened. The lotus simply parted its petals a little further, as if willingly offering the orb to me.

That is it?

I found myself taken aback.

Nothing stirred. Even after I had removed the orb, the lotus continued to bloom slowly and steadily.

At last, its petals fully unfurled.

As it blossomed, a faint ripple spread outward from its center. It was subtle, barely stronger than a crack forming in glass. Regardless, I sensed it immediately.

The collapse of the forest had begun.

It will be completely ruined soon.

The mystical beast I had rescued would survive, but the forest itself was already beyond saving.

At that moment, just like when I first arrived, an unknown force wrapped itself around me. A strange sense of distortion followed as space and thought twisted on themselves.

An instant later, I was outside the lake. The lotus remained in full bloom, and the blue orb rested in my hand.

Huh...

I stood still, blankly staring at the flower.

Just now, I heard the forest’s heart. It had spoken to me and begged me to at least save the mystical beast.

Ah, shit.

I could feel myself softening again.

The way the forest had resigned itself to death made it all the harder for me to walk away.

I didn’t know if saving it was even possible. However, now that a path forward had revealed itself, even if it was faint, I couldn’t bring myself to give up.

It won’t be easy...

Once more, I stepped toward the lake.