Chapter 252: #Tower of Gods First Floor: Trial of Rock? (2)

And here I thought the first ever trial would be about protecting the mountain from the falling meteorites. However, it turned out to be wistful thinking on my part. Instead of clearing the floor, I ended up protecting Mountain-Gnawing Titan’s food.

Crunch crunch! Gulp!

Moreover, I got eaten by the titan song with the mountain!

Ugh! It's hot in here!

His insides felt like an active volcano!

Tsss!

The titan’s digestive fluid, which gave off intense heat reminiscent of the inferno, melted the mountain into red lava.

Damn it!

I hurriedly dodged the fluid, making my way up to the summit. But at the speed the mountain was melting, it didn’t seem like it’d take long for it to be digested.

“Damn it! There's no other way!”

I pointed Demon Lord at what I deemed to be the titan’s stomach walls. I was still uncertain if it was the same titan I knew, but above all, I had to survive!

“Demon Lord's Descent!”

I struck the dagger, which was filled with sword aura, at the walls.

Baaaam!

A deafening explosion rang through the air, yet the walls remained unscathed.

“What? Demon Lord's Pratāpana! Demon Lord's Disintegration! Crushing Forefinger of God!”

Panicking, I tried all the skills I could think of, but the results were still the same.

Is the titan too high-tiered? Or is my divine power too weak?

Tssss!

Sweat continued trickling down my face like rain as I looked down. The fluids had already melted eighty percent of the mountain.

“W-what should I do? Sir! Do you have any good ideas?”

-What makes you think I would?! Now that things have come to this, just relax. You can always regress again. Been there, done that. The pain will only last for a bit.

What kind of consolation is that, you old man?!

I was THIS close to throwing him into that digestive fluid!

Then, I looked at my pinky finger, which emitted a faint glow.

Regressing Pinky Finger of God... But I don't really want to use this recklessly.

Just like Sword Demon, I approached Kang Woo in his dream and took him in as my follower. That was how I’d regained the power I’d obtained the moment Despair killed me in my past life. However, I hadn’t had the chance to find out more about this skill. Furthermore, even if my regression succeeded, I didn’t know to which time period I would return. It’d be great if I could return to when I was on Earth, but what if I woke up in that cave again?

That'd be horrible!

I’d spent all my causality and tickets to access the Heavenly Sword Treasury. I knew my luck wouldn’t hold next time.

Ugh... Is there other useful skill or power I can use? If I knew this would happen, I would’ve gone the extra mile and took Bong-Shik as my follower for his teleportation skill!

Perhaps because Akdol hadn’t hatched yet, I couldn’t gain him as my follower. As such, I couldn’t use his Dead Dragon awakening skill. Nevertheless, in this life, aside from my friends on Earth, the Ten Swords of the Iron-Blood Empire and the strongest individuals in Antrinia had become my followers. Surely there was at least one skill that could save me!

Tsss!

As death approached in the form of digestive fluid, I frantically scanned the available skills in the Skill Sharing window.

“Huh?”

I discovered a completely unexpected character.

-----

[List of Followers with Skills Available for Sharing]

-New! God of Antrinia, Ant Emperor

-----

W-when did you become my follower?

“Mwahaha! That’s my friend! I believe in you, Yu Il-Shin!”

I vaguely recalled him saying that before I entered the Tower of Gods. Did it happen then? I thought he was just teasing me...

“Alright, Friend. Let me show you what I’m capable of.”

I forced myself to calm down as I looked at the digestive fluid beneath my feet, almost fully melting the mountain.

“Skill Sharing... Ant Emperor’s Young Parasitic God.”

***

What unfolded after was somewhat peculiar.

I looked down at a beautiful middle-aged woman before me. To be more precise, her voluptuous chest, which couldn’t be fully covered by her loose-fitting clothes.

Please don’t misunderstand as this wasn’t my intention.

The middle-aged woman looked up at me—or rather, at the Mountain-Gnawing Titan—with a worried look.

“O’ almighty Titan, you don’t look so well. Could you be sick?”

Then, a thunderous reply returned.

-I must’ve eaten a bad mountain yesterday. My stomach feels queasy.

“Alas... Even though you used to eat a hundred mountains every day in the past. You must’ve grown old as well.”

-

Huh?!

Old? What do you mean,

old

? Look here, Saintess! I’m still in my prime!

The titan flexed his rock-hard muscles, trying to appeal and prove his youthfulness.

“

Hoho.

You never change, great Titan.” The middle-aged saintess affectionately looked up at him.

The titan stared at her with a look of intense passion as well.

Thump thump thump!

The titan’s heartbeat echoed loudly.

I let out a soft sigh.

God, this cringe lovey-dovey couple!

The titan grimaced and rubbed his ears with his fingers.

-

Ugh!

Again!

“What’s wrong?”

-My ears have been acting up lately, too. I keep hearing strange noises.

“I think you’re getting old...”

-No, I am not!

“

Hoho.

If your ears feel itchy, shall I help you feel better?”

-

Keke!

Sounds good!

Thud!

The titan laid down expectantly. The saintess held a cotton swab larger than herself, then carefully cleaned the titan’s ears.

“How’s that? Do you feel better?”

-

Ooh~

Right there~ It feels great~!

Haa...

I never intended to be a third wheel! I blamed the inadvertent real-time view! I felt so uncomfortable, I could die. In other words, Ant Emperor’s Young Parasitic God had worked—partially, at least, since he was still alive.

I also couldn’t control the target I was paratizing like the emperor. It seemed that all I could do right now was share the titan’s vision and sense. Was it due to the difference in divine power?

Although the titan wasn’t a Top-tier god, his divine power easily surpassed a High-tier god’s. When he was with his saintess, he’d shrink his form to about a hundred meters. His true form had a physique exceeding a hundred kilometers.

He was indeed worthy of the title Mountain-Gnawing Titan.

Based on the current situation, he seems to be the same god I know. But what on earth is happening here?

He was the original owner of the first divine sword I’d borrowed from the Heavenly Sword treasury. His world should’ve been destroyed by God of Destroyer’s alter ego a thousand years ago. Was this a mere illusion created by the Tower of Gods? Or did I truly transcend time and space, arriving at a point in time where his world still existed?

Maybe I should just observe for a while longer.

Escaping from the titan wouldn’t be difficult, but I decided to stay since I had to pass the Trial of Rock on the first floor. Besides, I still had no idea what to do. Thus began my coexistence with the titan.

-

Hoahm~

Is it the morning already?

He took his sweet time stretching, then plucked off a nearby mountain and ate it. After filling his belly, he rested his head on his towering, gigantic sword and laid back down, snoring loudly. That was how his routine usually went: ate when he felt hungry, and sleep when he felt tired. The only variation would be occasionally playing with the saintess.

“

Ooh!

It’s the Titan!”

“O’ almighty Titan, please grant us a bountiful harvest this year!”

Despite his personality, he still had many followers. They farmed on the flat lands where the mountains originally were. They called him the God of Agriculture, though to me, the God of Sloth felt more fitting.

After watching him repeat this routine for three days, I snapped.

I shouldn’t be here watching idly!

I had to conquer the Tower of Gods as soon as possible and save Earth from destruction!

Just then, an unexpected event occurred.

“We’re in huge trouble, Titan!”

Although incomparable to the titan, giant soldiers—each over five meters tall—rushed forward. Among them was a familiar handsome blond. Why, if it wasn’t Death Knight Hades, Necromancer Ko Myeong-Ji’s familiar from my previous life, and also my ex-follower! Fate truly had a strange sense of humor!

But, what happened?

They sure didn’t look good. They were covered in blood, with arrows piercing them all over. They shouted urgently, “O’ Titan, please wake up!”

-

Snoreee!

The damn titan didn’t show signs of waking up, though.

Hey! Wake up! It’s urgent!

Could the Tower of Gods be giving me a hint for the trial? The titan slowly up with a scowl on his face.

-

Uugh,

that bug is buzzing in my head again...

Huh?

What’s going on?

“T-the king has kidnapped the saintess! We tried to stop him, but there were just too many of them...”

-What!

The titan’s eyes widened in shock.

-That brainless swine! I’ve warned him so many times, yet he still dared to touch my saintess!

The titan brandished his gigantic sword.

-All this time, I’ve only spared him because of her! Today, I’ll crush him and his kingdom once and for all!

The titan roared so loudly that he could even destroy the heavens.

Bam bam bam!

Then, he charged toward the kingdom where the saintess had been kidnapped. What would have taken dozens of days on horseback, the enraged titan crossed in less than thirty minutes. He made the majestic royal castle seem like a toy fortress. Atop the castle’s spire stood a skeleton-like old man with a jewel-encrusted crown on his head, holding the saintess hostage.

-There you are!

Ruuuumble!

The titan swung his hand, about to crush the old man in one blow.

However, the old man pointed a bloody dagger at the saintess’ neck, yelling, “Stop, Monster! I’ll kill the saintess if you come any closer!”

-

Argh!

The titan stopped reflexively. He glared at the old man and raised his voice.

-Who are you! Where’s the swine?!

Then, the old man gritted his teeth, trembling. “How dare you refer to me in such a way, Monster! I’m the great King of Rockstone, Johannes the Fifth!”

-You?

Suspicion filled the titan’s eyes.

-The king I remember is as fat as a toad. Why are you suddenly so skinny?

The saintess cried with a pale face.

“O’ Titan, the prophetic dream of destruction I had a few days back is true! This man sold his soul to an evil god and is now killing the poor people...!

Aaah! Alas,

how could a king treat his people so cruelly...!”

“Silence, Saintess! You’re mistaken! In the first place, their lives belong to me, the king!”

The titan’s face contorted. He hadn’t noticed in all the rage, but the castle was filled with the stench of blood and rotting corpses.

-You. What have you done?

“I’ve offered sacrifices to him!” The old man glared at him with lunacy, yelling, “

Kehehe!

I'm the King of Rockstone—not you, you flagrant monster! Everything you possess, even the saintess, inherently belongs to me! How dare you, Monster! Today, I shall end everything!”

The old man raised his blood-soaked dagger toward the sky.

“O’ Goddess of Creation! O’ great and cruel God of Destroyer! As the true King of Rockstone and your apostle, I plead with you to teach this foolish giant who the true god is!”

Riiiip!

Then, the sky began to crack open.

The true king of Rockstone? Did Rockstone mean...

I recalled the message when I first entered the Tower of Gods.

[Clear conditions: Overcome the trial and save the world, Rockstone, from destruction.]

I finally understood the meaning of the trial.

Riiip!

The sky split open, and a planet-devouring monster began to descend. If my memory serves me correctly, that was...

Fuck! That thing is massive! I have to stop God of Destroyer right on the very first trial?!