Chapter 273: #Yu Il-Shin in a Happy World (3)

Ssss—

My editor—no, Silently Crawling Nightmare—took off her glasses. Her crimson eyes stared straight through me.

“When did you find out? I’m pretty sure my mind distortion was perfect.”

“

Geez

.” I chuckled, waving my hand at her. “It was too obvious. My editor-in-charge is a middle-aged man with a potbelly and receding hairline, but you’re so pretty and slim, the ideal editor I’ve always wanted. Huh? Nightmare, why are you smiling?”

When she realized she was smiling, her expression stiffened immediately.

“When did you switch with Il-Shin?”

“Hm, technically speaking, we didn’t switch.”

With a single movement of my fingers...

Sss—

Like Seong-Yeon drawing on paper with her crayons, an awkward-looking lizard appeared, and I cut its hideous tail off.

“Strictly speaking, he had cut me off and left me behind. Well, using the tail as a metaphor makes me feel slightly unpleasant.”

Nightmare’s expression hardened even further.

“Anyway, what do you think of this name I’ve given myself? Yu Sa-Shin. Sa-Shin on its own sounds kind of cool, but adding Yu in front of it gives it a fake, imitation feel. It feels strange.”

I made a joke, yet there was no response from her. So, I briefly clarified things.

Ding!

[Congratulations! The Twenty-Fifth Floor of the Tower of Gods: Trial of Elements has been cleared.]

[You have been rewarded the Four Great Elemental Kings’ Faith and 1 Fate Alteration point.]

[Fate Alteration Points: 25/100]

This happened when we had just cleared the twenty-fifth floor.

“

Haa, haa!

”

To be honest, we were in a terrible state back then, and not just physically. We were always in a constant state of anxiety and pressure, like a rubber band about to snap.

How long could the human mind maintain its sanity? A hundred years? Two hundred years? We stopped counting at some point, but we should’ve been climbing the tower for at least five hundred years. However, we hadn’t just been passing time.

Every floor, we had to possess characters from other worlds, altering their fates of destruction. Not a single trial was easy. Just like in Lazenca’s world, there were countless other instances where we almost fully assimilated with the character. The loss of a lover, a relative, or a close friend slowly erodes our sense of self like sand.

“W-we have to go on to the next floor...”

Despite that, we had to keep climbing the tower to save our world and the people we cherished...

We were about to head onto the next floor’s trial when we stopped in our tracks.

“...We can’t remember anymore.”

We couldn’t remember our world, the faces of the people we loved.

“

Aaargh!

” An excruciating pain hit our heads.

The memories of our world, which we had only lived in for twenty years, had been swallowed by the countless lives we had experienced in the tower. Suddenly, a doubt came to our minds. Did our world even exist? Or did we simply believe it did, like a mirage in the desert, or words printed on paper?

Riiip!

Once the crack formed, it spread uncontrollably, swallowing us whole.

Who are we? Why are we climbing the Tower of Gods?

Pssss!

At the same time, like a sandcastle washed away by huge waves, we slowly crumbled.

Ding!

Just then, new messages rang out.

[Silently Crawling Nightmare put all her remaining divine power into the trial!]

[The Twenty-Sixth Floor of the Tower of Gods: Trial of Oblivion has been replaced with Trial of Nightmare!]

Rose vines shot out from all directions, holding our crumbling selves together.

“

Ah...

”

We eventually fell into a deep sleep, like babies in their mother’s arms.

***

“Mr. Yu, wake up~”

“

Mmm...

Let me sleep a bit more.”

“Fuck! Wake up while I’m still asking nicely!”

Clatter!

The blanket wrapping me like a cocoon was torn away roughly. Startled awake, I looked up to see a familiar ceiling of a room. A beautiful woman, donning a suit and horn-rimmed glasses, disdainfully looked down at me.

“Who... are you?”

The beauty glared at me like a furious lioness. “Mr. Yu Il-Shin, have you become an idiot after going MIA on us?! Who do you think I am?! I’m your editor!”

“Ed...itor? Mr. Yu Il-Shin? Is my name Yu Il-Shin?”

“

Haa...

Are you not awake yet? What are you doing! Hand over your overdue manuscript now!”

And this was how I returned to Earth—to the third-rate, unpopular author Yu Il-Shin’s world.

When I couldn’t write, I would pull at my hair the entire night. I’d also babysit my niece at my older sister’s request in exchange for pocket money. That was how my ordinary, peaceful life continued. And of course, the most enjoyable parts of it were the date-like meetings I had with my gorgeous editor.

“

Jeez,

Mr. Yu. Why are you using a pen? Who still uses a pen in this day and age? Isn’t it a hassle? You’ll need to rewrite it into a digital version, anyway!”

“For some reason, writing with a pen feels great lately.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter as long as you turn in the manuscript on time...” She sighed as she watched me twirl my pen. “By the way, Mr. Yu. How about removing the part about ‘

absolutely no hiatus’

in this novel’s introduction? The title is already On Hiatus: God’s Personal Reasons. Having that line in the introduction just invites criticism every time you go on a hiatus.”

“Actually, I wrote it to reassure them that we absolutely won’t have a hiatus this time... Should I remove it then?”

My editor hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head. “Never mind. For some reason, I feel that we might end up missing deadlines and going MIA altogether if we remove it. Let’s leave it in for now.”

“Damn... I didn’t know that you had such little faith in me, Ms. Editor.”

“Let’s talk about trust when you hand in all the overdue manuscripts.”

I dejectedly lowered my head.

“Why are you being so dramatic? Well, since this novel has been doing well, they’re looking to turn it into a webtoon, so cheer up! Here, I’ll treat you to some barbecue, so let’s go!”

“Okay!” I exclaimed, excited at the word barbecue.

“...You’re that excited?”

“Barbeque is always the way!”

She smiled softly as if I were a dog wagging his tail uncontrollably.

Then, she asked, “Mr. Yu, are you happy?”

We were, so much so that we’d rather stay in this world, the world that seemed to have been created solely for us, forever. Yet, we couldn’t. Thanks to this world, we were able to recall the people and things were cherished—with one of them being Ms. Editor—or rather, Silently Crawling Nightmare.

She was crying.

“Thanks to you, we could recall my purpose. Thank you for protecting us all this time. But please, let me go to Il-Shin now.”

“No, you’ll die. You guys can’t defeat that War God old man.”

I shrugged. “We’ll see. We’ve actually grown stronger too.”

“Besides me, he also has Infinite Abundance! It’s impossible for you guys to defeat him!”

“Oh, that’s the first time I’m hearing it. Abundance noonim fell prey to him too?”

Nightmare’s voice grew increasingly intense. “That’s right! That mad, vengeful War God must’ve invested the most causality into building the Tower of Gods! Do you know why? It’s all just to build up your divine power and devour you at the end! Of course he knows how strong you’ve gotten! You! Your name is Sa-Shin, right? Bring Il-Shin back here immediately!”

“It’s too late for that. He’s already in the 99th floor trial.”

“Shut it and bring him here immediately!” Nightmare crushed her horn-rimmed glasses. “Or I’ll show you why this place is called the Trial of Nightmare!”

Her hair had transformed into rose vines, wrapping me like a cocoon. The dreamlike world shattered. The aesthetic cafe that resembled a botanical garden transformed into a terrifying, carnivorous plant. Night Roses, who once protected me in my past life, now circled me, drooling with anticipation.

“

Haa..

.” Unable to move, I let out a deep sigh. “I’m not a fan of hard mode.”

“Kill him!”

The roses blossomed at her command, scattering beautiful petals and fragrance as they swallowed me all at once.

***

Three gods stood in front of the gates of The Ninety-Ninth Floor of the Tower of Gods: Trial of War God. Each of them exuded an extraordinary aura, equivalent to Top-tier gods.

“You’ve all worked hard, I appreciate your efforts.”

“

Hmph!

Don’t get the wrong idea, I didn’t do it for your sake! It’s so that I can reach the pinnacle of all gods one day!” grumbled Yi-Shin, crossing his arms in annoyance. He had red eyes and huge horns, resembling a handsome demon king from most romance fantasy novels.

“Yeah, yeah. Hello Sam-Shin. It’s been a while. You’ve grown quite a bit, too.” I reached out, wanting to stroke his head.

“D-destroy!” But Sam-Shin took a step back, protesting that he was no longer a child, but a young boy.

“Are you going through puberty already...?”

“Go wash up at least. Why are you so filthy?”

“Am I?” I absentmindedly scratched my matted hair like a barbarian.

“Destroy! Destroy!” Sam-Shin yelled in agreement as he avoided the dandruff that was falling from my head like snowflakes.

“

Tsk.

I have to be reunited with you again? Darn it. Let’s settle this once and for all, then we’ll have a talk.” Yi-Shin clicked his tongue in disdain, then reached a hand out.

Sss—

“Des...troy.” Sam-Shin let out a somewhat depressing sigh, and an image of Seong-Yeon flashed across his mind.

Closing his eyes tightly, Sam-Shin showed his willingness to cooperate for Seong-Yeon’s sake. Finally, he reached out his hand.

“Thank you all.”

We held hands.

Kwaaaa!

The divine powers of the benevolent god, the malevolent god, and the God of Destruction, long separated, had finally united as one. As I relished in the immense powers, I thought of my last alter ego, who hadn’t returned.

“It seems like Sa-Shin won’t be coming back. There’s nothing I can do.”

I had expected as much. I turned my gaze toward the spear-wielding god, patiently awaiting me in silence. In my past life, it wasn’t only Il-Ho who’d challenged the Tower of Warriors. There was another warrior of the Gayami Tribe, whom I’d bestowed a name upon as well. Though he fell short of Il-Ho, he too had surpassed his limits through relentless effort and countless years of training, ultimately ascending to the highest tier of godhood.

“You’ve waited for a long time, right, Yi-Ho? Or should I call you Eternal Seeker?”

“Yi-Ho is enough, my lord.”

As one of the gods who had helped build this tower, the new Eternal Seeker, Yi-Ho, bowed before me with utmost respect.