Chapter 447: Ninety-Third Floor, The Swamp of Time (3)

[Escape the world. Time remaining: 2 seconds.]

Despite countless failures, I finally glimpsed a flicker of hope after my tenth respawn. In my Lightning Transformation, I propelled myself vertically into the sky. Clouds streaked by, torn open by my ascent.

This was my first time flying straight upward for more than a moment. I had never had a reason to, and even if I had remained in the air for extended periods of time, it had been during combat where I would hurl myself toward enemies, not the heavens themselves.

As I breathed, I sensed the ambient oxygen dropping. A question struck me mid-ascent.

Wait, I won’t die once I enter space, will I?

I had never cared much for my science classes, so my memory was hazy, but I recalled that the atmosphere was divided into layers. First, the stratosphere, then the mesosphere—although perhaps I had mixed them up.

I didn’t know how high I could climb before it grew inhospitable.

Maybe I won’t be able to endure it.

One thing was certain, however. An ordinary human would never survive in space. That just made me all the more curious about how far I could go. Considering that gods traveled freely between worlds, perhaps my mana and divinity would be sufficient.

Moreover, I had slain two gods, and I already rivaled low-ranking ones. Surely I wouldn’t die so easily. I tilted my head downward, admiring the vast collection of clouds below me. The one I had flown through still sported a hole. My journey had shredded the mist, leaving it whirling sluggishly as if trying to chase my path. It was, admittedly, an almost picturesque sight.

That wasn’t why I was looking down, though—I wanted to check my progress. Thankfully, the ground appeared almost impossibly far.

Am I safe?

As I considered that, I realized something else.

Or maybe not.

The explosion had always come from underground, shattering my best attempts at defense in less than a second, including ones infused with causality. There was no way it was a simple explosion. Also, if something was powerful enough to detonate an entire planet, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how strong the resulting shockwaves would be.

I ran through my memory. Vaguely, I remembered that a science channel I used to watch called the explosion of an astral body—like a planet—a supernova. Supposedly, it unleashed colossal amounts of radiation. Even above the atmosphere, I would be exposed.

Can causality block something like radiation?

I had no idea. In theory, causality could make the impossible possible. The real question, however, was whether rising further would bring me outside of the blast radius.

Hmm.

Looking at the information I had, I realized the attempt had been doomed from the start. I had wasted another chance.

I should have studied harder back in school.

Regret was pointless now. Having come this far, there was no reason to stop now. I had already reached my maximum speed. Perhaps I would break free soon—

Thud!

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

An impact cut my thoughts short. Because I had been soaring in a perfect line, I headbutted the barrier powerfully. At such velocity—and with how unexpected it had been—the collision rattled me despite my power. My vision shuddered violently, and pain bloomed at the crown of my skull.

“Damn it.”

My scalp throbbed dully. If my mouth had been open, I probably would have bitten my tongue. I scratched at my head, more frustrated than in pain. I had half-expected the attempt wouldn’t work, but to see all my speculation dismissed outright made the waste sting even more.

There was a barrier overhead, one that couldn’t be breached, no matter how high I flew. The damned tower had it out for me.

It left me with a lingering grievance.

Why not set the ceiling lower if there was just going to be a barrier? Why let me waste all that time?

Still, from the tower’s standpoint, it made sense. Even I had suspected it wouldn’t work halfway through the ascent.

“Ugh.

”

I had already climbed so far, and more than a second had passed. Even if I wanted to descend, the explosion would come for me regardless. I dispelled Flash Strike.

Bzzzzt.

As expected, a roar came from below me, and a shockwave surged upward. Moments later, a pillar of fire erupted, incinerating me.

[Escape the world. Time remaining: 2 seconds.]

My twelfth attempt had begun.

I instantly triggered Flash Strike. I really had been hopeful about my last strategy, but it proved futile. Unfortunately, inspiration hadn’t struck in the meantime.

Should I just try sprinting again? Or take another moment to sort my thoughts?

I shook my head inwardly as staying still would only squander time. Running would at least allow me to strategize and test theories. Remaining shackled to fruitless speculation was nothing but inefficient.

I had already traveled along the four cardinal directions and upward. Next up would be traveling along the diagonals.

First, I will head to my eleven o’clock.

I kicked off the ground.

***

[Escape the world. Time remaining: 2 seconds.]

My sixteenth attempt had arrived, signifying another four failures. Repetition consumed my allotted chances rapidly, and the situation grew grim. I had sprinted in four separate diagonal directions, yet none had yielded an answer. There were, of course, more directions to head, but in truth, the odds of them being successful were slim.

During my last sprint, I resolved to do something else.

Ok, time to retry digging.

The explosion always began directly beneath my respawn point. If some kind of trigger lay below, perhaps destroying it could halt the blast. I pulled out my shovel without hesitation and plunged it into the ground, feeding the soil to Mung-chi as I worked ceaselessly.

Time passed by in a haze. I had no idea how deep I had dug, but experience allowed me to roughly gauge how long I had left.

The explosion will come soon.

Still, I didn’t stop. Even a single clue would be worth the effort. Perhaps I could find a way to reach it. Then, just before the eruption, I felt it.

The destructive presence lurked deep beneath the strata. An immense force, steeped in causality and the tower’s power, was stirring below.

Huh?

A sudden, sharp, fleeting, and electric spark flared through my mind. I seized onto it with all my focus, unwilling to let it slip away.

THUD!

The ground erupted.

[Escape the world. Time remaining: 2 seconds.]

I respawned again.

Instead of lunging forward the moment Flash Strike ignited, I pondered what I had learned. A flash of inspiration had struck me earlier, and I had glimpsed a possibility, a way to exploit the destruction festering deep underground.

However, an exact strategy refused to take shape.

What the hell?

As it dawned on me, I felt my causality tremor faintly. It was as if a portion of my mind was sealed away, and a dissonant fog was pressing against me.

Did I finally find the core of the illusion? Or is this some form of psychic attack?

I couldn’t be sure, but regardless, something had tampered with my mind.

The source of the explosion... is that what I should call it?

Whatever it was, I had uncovered deep underground during my last attempt, and I knew it held the key to escape. Yet an unknown power hid it behind an unseen veil. I could tell this forgetfulness wasn’t natural—it felt like a curtain drawn deliberately over my mind.

What am I missing? What information is the tower withholding from me?

This was no natural phenomenon. The trial—or rather, the tower—had shackled me with some sort of prohibition. I drew on both my divinity and causality, flooding them through me until they surged upward into my head. Unfortunately, it didn’t change anything.

Is the tower’s restriction that absolute?

I scoured myself once more from head to toe, searching for irregularities. Again, it revealed nothing. Then, a faint whisper brushed against my ear.

“

...!

”

My mind lit up.

It was Soulbound. The weapon in my grip was crying out, resonating so purely that my very heart throbbed.

Crack!

Something shattered deep within my mind, and clarity rushed in like a flood. I immediately realized that something had shackled my mind, sealing my memory of the Heart Sword.

It prevented me from even considering severing the Swamp of Time.

The Heart Sword had helped me in similar situations before. I had used it to cut through Saboden’s tangled domains, and I had also cleaved through Stagnant Terror’s bloody world.

Normally, I would have immediately thought of it upon entering this trial. Given the name of the trial—Swamp of Time—the solution should have been obvious. Cut through it, and I would be free.

However, the shackle had erased the idea entirely.

When I had hacked apart the stone pillars, I had merely used Aura, not the Heart Sword. Therefore, it hadn’t interfered with whatever spell lay upon this land.

Hmm.

Once the mental barrier broke, my thoughts expanded naturally and flowed toward new conclusions. It was only after perceiving the destructive source below that I had slipped free of the restraint.

If I could sever that core, the source of the annihilation, then the world would cease to collapse. In that case, I wouldn’t even have to escape.

There is another angle to consider, though.

On one hand, my new theory could be the true solution. On the other hand, perhaps there was another escape method, and the shackle existed to prevent me from exploiting a loophole.

Either way, it would explain why the tower had forbidden the technique.

Which is intended?

Perhaps Natalie would have an answer once I cleared this floor. This was only a trial, after all, not the work of any god.

Slightly relieved, I let out a long breath.

“

Haaaaaaa.

”

At the very least, I had uncovered a way forward on my seventeenth attempt, which didn’t seem like it was too late. I couldn’t be certain whether another solution existed, but for now, I had something to attempt.

Shall I cut the Swamp of Time or the source of the destruction?

Between the two, the latter felt like the better choice. Unlike the swamp, the core was something I had only discovered after delving deep into the earth. Surely that was more likely to lead to a hidden mission.

Wait.

A new idea occurred to me. Perhaps the tower hadn’t shackled me in an attempt to hinder me. Based on the floor’s name and the fact that I was bound within a fixed loop, if I severed it, would I remain stranded in this perishing world? Wouldn’t that kill me? If so, the tower could have tried to protect me.

The more I mulled it over, the more likely that seemed.

Then another escape method exists, after all.

Since I couldn’t confirm anything with one hundred percent certainty, I firmed my resolve. I would sever the source of destruction.

Considering I had already used too much of this attempt’s time, I didn’t act immediately. It had taken most of my two seconds to even sense the core in my last attempt. Even with the Heart Sword, I had to sense it clearly before the explosion started.

I released Flash Strike.

Thud!

The explosion erupted, but my heart was steadier than ever.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has broken free of the Safety Shackle. All stats increased by 15.」

***

[Escape the world. Time remaining: 2 seconds.]

The moment the message reset, I triggered Flash Strike and drew out a shovel. I resumed the ceaseless rhythm of digging into the earth and Mung-chi devouring the soil. The cycle repeated without pause.

Time bled away. Soon, I sensed the core of destruction again, writhing far beneath the ground. I couldn’t see it, but sensing it was enough. If I could feel it, I could cut it.

Time is too short.

The last time I had reached this point, the explosion had already begun. I tossed the shovel aside and gripped Soulbound. With my will, I would sever the origin of the annihilation.

Blue-gold light shimmered along the blade as Soulbound howled. Closing my eyes, I fixed upon the presence pulsing in the depths below. I swung.