Chapter 463: Ninety-Sixth Floor, Divine Armament (4)

[Find materials. Time remaining: 2 hours 17 minutes.]

A tempest roared through the oasis.

Whoooosh—

Under the immense pressure released by the spirit, countless ripples spread across the surface of the Spring of Storms, layered circles that shimmered beautifully. Even the surrounding sand responded, swirling violently until my entire view filled with a haze of golden dust. However, unlike the storm outside, the wind didn’t strike me directly, thanks to the spirit’s careful restraint.

Within that raging force, I could feel the spirit’s power growing stronger. Its presence deepened as its form grew.

Is it over?

After a brief stretch of time, the sand-laden wind gradually began to calm and settled quietly onto the ground. From within that stilling storm, the spirit revealed itself, radiating a surge of overwhelming energy—it was even stronger than Roxanne’s contracted Wind Spirit King. The power it emanated felt far less like the breeze it had before and more like a raging tempest.

Its translucent blue body glimmered faintly, shrouded in flowing garments of wind.

The spirit, bearing an androgynous grace, lifted its gaze to meet mine. “Greetings, The Coming Dawn. This Spirit of Storms offers its respects.”

I had communicated mentally with the spirit countless times, but hearing it produce an actual voice was new. It addressed me by my title, The Coming Dawn, too.

Hmm.

I didn’t dislike it, but it was a bit much. What caught my attention more, however, was how it had introduced itself as a Spirit of Storms, not a Wind Spirit King.

“Spirit of Storms? Not a Wind Spirit King?”

Though it did resemble a storm more than wind, the strength it radiated easily surpassed that of any spirit king I had encountered.

The spirit smiled faintly. “Yes. I absorbed the power of a primal spirit.”

“A primal spirit?”

“It was the power that resided within this spring.”

“What does that mean?”

Even when I had first arrived here, the storm had felt unnaturally deliberate. What was a primal spirit, though? That was something entirely new and unexpected, something I had never heard of before.

“Primal spirits were beings that could have become gods,” the spirit answered with a calm that belied its stormy appearance.

I frowned slightly, struggling to grasp its meaning.

After a moment, it added, “The Coming Dawn, may I ask for a moment? I’ve only recently absorbed this power and the knowledge that came with it. I need a bit of time to organize it.”

“

Oh?

Yeah, go ahead.”

That made sense. The Spirit of Storms had only just been born. It had possessed great strength even before this, but that didn’t mean it understood everything. I wasn’t sure how spirits processed information, but thinking back, the Wind Spirit King had known quite a bit about the tower. Perhaps that kind of awareness came after reaching this level of power.

After a brief silence, the spirit continued in a steadier tone, “In the beginning, the collective will of sentient beings birthed the Primordial God. They were the first and the last of their kind.”

It sounded extremely confident. I hadn’t heard anything like it before, and my thoughts began to race.

So the Primordial God didn’t create sentient beings but was born from them? Faith created a god, not the other way around.

When I thought about the Tower of Ordeal, it didn’t seem impossible. Even now, the system operated under similar principles. Looking back at Earth, humanity had done the same by worshiping the divine since the dawn of civilization.

It said the Primordial God was the first and the last of its kind.

Perhaps humanity had fallen behind in the grand flow of the universe, but if humans were among the earliest sentient races, then perhaps we had created the Primordial God.

“Primal spirits existed during that time. They were beings once revered like gods, and truly could have become ones, too. When the Primordial God appeared, though, they were forgotten.”

I nodded slowly as I began to understand. It aligned with how humans on Earth had once viewed the world. There had been a time when lightning striking from the sky was seen as divine punishment. One example of such a god was Zeus, the god of thunder in Greek Mythology.

“So, when the Primordial God was born, people’s faith shifted entirely to it?”

“I can not say for certain, but long ago, the primal spirits possessed power akin to the Primordial God. Something beyond all known limits. That is why traces of their strength remain, even though their existence has faded.”

The Spirit of Storms couldn’t confirm my theory, but I was certain I was close. Even on Earth, faith had evolved from primitive elements like fire and lightning. It was only natural for thought to develop that way. The primal spirits had existed within that same flow, and when the Primordial God emerged, they had simply faded away.

“And I merely absorbed what was left behind, the power of the storm.”

“I see.” I nodded again.

Even if I didn’t fully understand everything, it all made sense now. The immense pressure I had felt earlier also fit perfectly. At first, I had mistaken it for the presence of an unknown enemy, since the force had been neither divine nor causal in nature. Knowing now that it was the remnant power of a primal spirit—a being from the same era as the Primordial God—it all came together.

In the end, the outcome felt unexpectedly fortunate. I had gained information about the Primordial God that even Natalie had avoided sharing. It was likely only possible because this spirit and I had bonded completely.

With that, I had already secured the material. The spirit had grown stronger, and if I consumed one of the fruits myself, I could gain a similar form of power.

That isn’t even factoring in the water, too.

I turned my gaze toward the spirit. Now that it could speak aloud, referring to it by its description every time felt a little awkward.

“Thanks for explaining all that. But what should I call you? I can’t just keep saying ‘Spirit of Storms.’”

The spirit smiled softly. “You may name me, The Coming Dawn.”

“Me? Name you?”

“Yes. It was through your actions that I came into being. You are like a parent to me.”

I rubbed my cheek, feeling a mix of embarrassment and pride. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just complicated.

Being called “The Coming Dawn” still bothered me, though.

“All right, I’ll think of a name for you. But can you not call me that? Just use my name instead.”

The spirit hesitated, its lips moving slightly out of discomfort. I had seen that expression before.

“If it feels weird, you can just call me Su-Hyeok. It’s fine. I’m just more comfortable that way.”

After a brief pause, the spirit nodded. “Very well, if that is your wish, Su-Hyeok.”

“I’ll decide on a name later, once I’ve thought of something fitting.”

Even if I had time, this was still a trial. People took great care when naming their children, so I couldn’t just pick something random here. Sure, I had come up with Mung-chi’s name on a whim, but this was different. The Spirit of Storms was a being comparable to a Spirit King.

Perhaps it was unfair to draw that comparison, but it couldn’t be helped.

“I’ll be waiting,” the spirit said with a bright smile.

Now that I thought about it, I did have a strange affinity with wind. The first spirit I had ever met was the Wind Spirit King. I had obtained the Ring of the Dawn Breeze, and even my divine beast Poong-Wol wielded the power of the wind.

It could all be a coincidence.

Or maybe it is something inherent to me.

Using lightning to enhance my speed could possibly have been another way for me to become closer to wind itself.

I turned back toward the Spring of Storms.

Wait a second.

If the wind spirit had transformed into the Spirit of Storms, then perhaps it had also come to understand something about this place.

“Did you happen to learn anything about this area? Is there a hidden room within the spring, or something concealed inside the storm?” I questioned with quiet expectation, but the spirit shook its head.

“There is nothing of that nature. The Spring of Storms merely contains the power of a primal spirit. By chance, I absorbed that power through the fruit I consumed and was reborn.”

So, draining the spring wouldn’t reveal a secret passage, nor was there anything hidden within the storm. In that case, I had likely obtained everything there was to find in this place. Once I took the water, I would return to the Flame of Aspiration.

As I approached the spring with a bottle in hand, a thought crossed my mind.

Do I really need to take only a small amount?

“If I take all the water, will it cause any problems for this world?”

“No. The only consequence would be that the storm outside would cease.”

“Really? Could you stop it yourself, then?”

“I did absorb the power of the primal spirit, but it was only from the fruit. It’s weak. The power contained in the water is far greater.”

In other words, it couldn’t.

“And if you were to drink the water, would that make you stronger?”

“You could say that.”

“Good. All right, Mung-chi. Drink it all.”

I hadn’t considered it at first, but with Mung-chi, I could take every drop. If it wouldn’t harm this world, that was clearly the better choice. The spring wasn’t especially large, anyway.

Later, I could drink some myself, and the Spirit of Storms could strengthen itself further.

At my command, Mung-chi spewed forth its strange, shadowy darkness that spread and swallowed the spring whole. In that instant, the fierce energy raging around the eye of the storm vanished completely. The swirling sand lost its strength and began to fall softly to the ground. The visible sky overhead grew as the storm gradually dispersed. Before it fully faded, I was already standing before the Flame of Aspiration once again.

The Spirit of Storms said it wouldn’t be an issue, so it should be fine.

Still, a faint worry crossed my mind.

What if there isn’t any more water in that world?

Well, even if it was, leaving that massive sandstorm to scour the world would have made it nigh on impossible to reach. Mung-chi had absorbed the spring without issue, and the Spirit of Storms remained by my side.

Not bad.

Contrary to my initial concerns, the first two chances had gone smoothly—the Breath of the World Tree and the Spring of Storms.

Though they weren’t directly connected, both bore traces of the primordial. One carried the lingering power of a Primordial World Tree, possibly the first, while the other held the essence of a primal spirit that had once stood on the verge of divinity.

What will come next?

Since the first two hadn’t involved combat, I expected the next would. Of course, it was becoming all the more possible that the four would be non-combat trials.

Either way, I would find out soon enough. I stepped into the Flame of Aspiration. The fire engulfed me, and my vision turned red.

[Find materials. Time remaining: 3 hours 59 minutes.]

When my sight returned, I realized it was night. The sky above and the land around me were shrouded in darkness. Yet before me, a faint silvery glow rose from the ground, emanating from a single point just ahead.

A sinkhole.

At my feet, a massive sinkhole gaped open, vast and impossibly deep. I extended my senses, just in case. The hole was too deep to sense the bottom, although at least there weren’t any living creatures nearby. Not only were there no living beings, but there also wasn’t anything in sight.

A barren expanse of blackened earth stretched in every direction, with the enormous pit lying perfectly at its center. As my eyes adjusted, I studied the terrain more closely. The ground sloped slightly downward toward the sinkhole, forming a massive crater around it.

Judging by the tilt of the land, that is probably what it is.

Leaning forward, I peered into the depths below. The sinkhole was so deep that I couldn’t even guess its true depth. Only the faint silver light seeped weakly from far beneath like moonlight.

Hmm.

The goal of this place seemed to be retrieving that light, yet the task felt so easy that it left me almost bewildered. At least the second had required me to fight through a sandstorm.

Will the first and third trials be the easiest, while the second and fourth are meant to be more difficult?

Still, I couldn’t assume anything yet.

There may be something waiting at the bottom.

I didn’t know how deep it went or what awaited below, but judging from the crater’s formation and the way the ground had caved in, it looked as if something massive had fallen from the sky. For now, confirming it came first.

I activated Awareness and leapt straight into the sinkhole.