Chapter 167

Chapter 167
## Chapter 167: Ascending the Tower of Martial Gods

Had the Wish Bead’s power already been spent?

Regardless, given that it possessed the capacity to produce up to four hundred eggs in a single day, the plan to subjugate Isera appeared to be proceeding without significant hitches.

It was precisely at that moment.

—Kyakyakya!

A small form abruptly tore through the fabric of space.

“Where on earth did you wander off to?”

I questioned him, feeling bewildered, as Hel began rummaging through his pouch.

With a slow, deliberate motion, he pulled out two glass vials and offered them to me.

I couldn’t help but blink in disbelief at what I was seeing.

It was a shock, to say the least.

“……Accumulated Experience Potions?”

The items Hel held out were none other than ‘Union’s Accumulated Experience Potions.’

My gaze darted back and forth between the creature and the vials for several long seconds.

How in the world had this little fellow managed to snatch these?

These weren’t some run-of-the-mill boosters, either.

These potions were packed with a truly monumental amount of energy—essentially a concentrated vault of experience points.

—

Once I verified the contents of the vials, a grin spread across my lips.

No matter how you looked at it, the gambit of sending Hel into Union’s territory had been a triumph.

A resounding victory, in fact.

My intuition that the sorcerer of the Golden Rule was deeply intertwined with the Empire had been dead on.

Beyond that, I had successfully pinpointed Isera’s current coordinates and her ultimate aim.

And to top it off, he had somehow absconded with a potion brimming with Union’s own experience reserves.

Hel had effectively acted as a living Trojan Horse.

“……So, they’re going after the Dragon God.”

Isera. It was no mystery why she had been laying low—she had been nurturing a different plot in the shadows.

‘I have to reach it before she does.’

With her objective laid bare, I couldn’t afford to let her intercept the Dragon God first.

Luckily, I had a solid lead on how to track the deity down.

‘It’s time to accelerate the primary questline.’

Reaching Main Quest 10 would grant me an audience with the Radiant Dragon Ainhassar.

Ainhassar would be my bridge to the Dragon God.

But before that, it was time to partake in this unexpected windfall.

Gulp!

Gulp!

I tilted my head back and let Union’s experience essence flow down my throat.

《A massive quantity of experience points has been absorbed.》

《Experience progress has surged by 10%.》

……Hold on. 10%?

I felt a fresh wave of shock, comparable to when I first ascended to demon godhood.

A single vial provided a staggering 10%.

……Just how many character levels worth of data were compressed into this liquid?

And that was only the first bottle.

Hel had brought back two.

Moreover, it was certain that Union possessed far more than just these samples.

**The Tower of Martial Gods**

Since the onset of the second wave of the invasion, the ‘Player Talk’ forums had reached a fever pitch of activity.

-Is anyone currently under fire?

-Isn’t it a bit too quiet out there?

-The sky is completely clear.

-They hit us hard at the jump, but there hasn’t been a peep since.

Threads were popping up every second as people scrambled to trade intel.

The overwhelming sentiment among the players was that the situation was ‘unnervingly still.’

There was a brief chaotic window when the breach first opened, but no follow-up offensive had materialized.

-So, who exactly is leading this invasion?

-Is the next wave coming from the demonic pits of Hell?

-Ahram led the first charge.

-The veterans of the Great Expedition would know the details.

-Most people just high-tailed it during the first wave……

Ahram and his legion of undying ghouls were well-remembered.

Many had fled in terror from the first hell itself, the ‘Swamp of the Undead.’

However, very few people understood the hierarchy of the demonic realm or the identities of the lords ruling its various layers.

-Probably the Scorching Hell. That means Isera.

-Who is Isera?

-The Deathless Queen. You can’t scratch her unless you identify her hidden vulnerability.

-I think it took the community three or four days to figure it out last time.

-Ugh, the trauma. I never want to deal with that again……

A fair number of players had at least faced the second hell, the Scorching Hell.

The issue was the soul-crushing difficulty, which had caused a mass exodus of players who simply gave up.

Identifying Isera’s weak point alone had been a four-day ordeal.

If Wilhelm hadn’t been there to absorb the damage at the frontline while the clerics provided constant magical upkeep, a total wipeout would have been inevitable.

-Is it going to be the same grind this time?

-Unlikely. We don’t have Wilhelm to serve as a meat shield.

-True, without Wilhelm, crackling Isera’s code would have been impossible.

-Remind me, what was the trick?

-Buff duration windows.

-Wait, buff duration……?

-You could only deal damage during the tiny window when all her active buffs had less than 5 seconds remaining.

-That’s insane.

That was the reason it took three days of trial and error.

The constant stream of priestly blessings meant her buffs almost never faded.

With multiple layers of protection stacked high, the requirement to ‘strike when everything is under 5 seconds’ seemed like a cruel joke.

The exhausting struggle to reveal that mechanic had left the player base completely burnt out.

-Will it be the same mechanic now?

-No. Isera has the ability to redefine her own weaknesses.

-Are you serious? How are we supposed to find it then?

-If Phantom managed to handle Wilhelm, maybe he can do it?

-What about Randolph? His stats are climbing like crazy, but he’s not on Wilhelm’s level yet.

-Yeah, only a titan like Wilhelm could hold that line.

-But why is it so peaceful right now?

-Isera is a wildcard—you can never relax your guard.

Despite the apparent tranquility of the world, the invasion was undeniably in progress.

Every player was already on high alert.

Particularly those who had faced Isera before.

-The ‘8 Heroes Association’ just announced they’re going to take down Isera.

-Out of nowhere? Do they actually have the power?

-They’re claiming they’ll lead a global coalition. Is anyone signing up?

-Hold on, go look at the video on their main page. It’s wild.

-……What the hell.

-Is this actually legit?

-Darkstar is a 3-star Transcender now?

Darkstar had appeared in a new post on the 8 Heroes Association’s official social media.

He laid out their grand strategy while showcasing a clip proving his status as a ‘3-star Transcender,’ sending shockwaves through the community.

The video featured a sparring session with Gracia.

……And Darkstar was actually holding his own against her.

-Darkstar is on par with Gracia now?

-Is the footage altered?

-Wasn’t he just pleading for his life from the Death King the other day?

-It’s not just him—the word is that all the top heroes in the Association have reached a new stage of transcendence.

-Did they consume stars? Maybe Master-tier stars?

-Who knows. Also, the official statement says if you join the vanguard and prove yourself, they’ll reward you with ‘stars’ and ‘cities’ in Pangeniar.

-……Are stars just mass-produced now? They’re handing them out like flyers?

The viewership was stunned.

Most people considered Gracia to be in a league of her own—the undisputed pinnacle.

Yet Darkstar, who had recently been viewed as far inferior, was trading blows with her as an equal.

At certain points, he even seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

It defied logic.

It was hard to swallow.

But a video posted to an official verified account wasn’t something that could be easily dismissed as a fake.

-Was Gracia just overrated the whole time?

-Was it all just PR hype?

-Or has Darkstar actually hit a 3-star Transcender rank?

-I’ve watched this ten times and I still can’t process it.

The clip racked up 100 million views almost instantly.

Gracia versus Darkstar!

This single event restored the Heroes Association’s fading prestige.

If they possessed multiple combatants of Gracia’s caliber, their authority was undeniable.

-……I might join the alliance just to see what’s going on.

-With that kind of firepower, beating Isera might actually be possible.

-What about Randolph? Where has he gone?

-Probably off on some bizarre side quest again.

-But this is the second invasion—he needs to be here defending the home turf.

-Agreed, Earth is the priority over Pangeniar.

-Is Randolph going to sign up with the alliance?

-It’s more likely he’ll just end the invasion without ever showing his face.

-I’m betting he sneaks into the alliance incognito.

-I’ll take those odds.

-Make it three.

……

—

《Main Quest 9 – ‘Ascending the Tower of Martial Gods’ has commenced.》

《Compete within the Tower of Martial Gods to accumulate points!》

《Prizes will be granted based on your final point tally.》

The Tower of Martial Gods.

A spire where warriors climbed by testing their might against the elite.

It was the first landmark people recalled from ‘Main Quest 3 – The Tower Ascent.’

My reason for being here was straightforward.

To locate the Dragon God, I had to clear the prerequisite main story chapters.

I had only progressed as far as Main Quest 8, ‘Cleansing the Origin of Rot.’

‘Isera won’t make a move for at least two weeks.’

That window of time allowed me to remain in Pangeniar for the moment.

I was confident she wouldn’t initiate her main assault until her ‘Dragon God hunt’ was finalized.

She didn’t know me, but I knew her every habit.

This knowledge didn’t just come from our four-day stalemate during the weakness hunt.

I had been studying Isera since well before the Great Expedition began.

Analyzing the hell lords was a mandatory step before venturing into the demonic territories.

‘Isera is a slave to her own schedules.’

Therefore, I needed to blitz through Main Quest 9 as quickly as possible.

Certainly within a 14-day timeframe.

“Stay in your rows!”

“Standard entry is capped for the day!”

“I’ve got premium tickets for sale over here!”

The plaza surrounding the Tower of Martial Gods was teeming with people.

The duels held within were among the most celebrated events in all of Pangeniar.

Spectators traveled from every corner of the realm to witness the matches.

“……Do I really have to go through with this alongside you?”

Auril the Elf.

She surveyed the chaotic environment with a look of pure disgust and spoke.

For a forest-dwelling elf, being squeezed into such a dense throng was a trial in itself.

Never mind the prospect of becoming a public entertainment act while climbing the tower.

“You’re climbing it too,” I replied firmly, dismissing her complaints.

If I entered alone, I would draw far too much scrutiny.

I needed Auril to act as a distraction for the public eye.

“……You expect me to put this on?”

“What’s the problem? Don’t you think it’s a good look?”

“A rabbit mask……”

Her frown deepened as she stared at the headpiece I’d brought to conceal her identity.

It featured long, pointed rabbit ears.

However, the Tower of Martial Gods placed a heavy emphasis on ‘theatrics.’

Victory wasn’t the only metric—’crowd favor’ played a massive role in one’s ranking.

To reach the summit rapidly, a distinct persona was essential.

“And…… what exactly are you supposed to be?”

Auril tilted her head, looking at me with confusion.

Specifically, she was looking at my choice of attire.

“A penguin.”

“A what?”

“An emperor penguin. I wouldn’t expect an elf to recognize it.”

An elf who had spent her life in temperate woodlands would naturally be oblivious to polar fauna.

I pulled the emperor penguin mask over my head and remained shirtless, sporting the physique of a tribal warrior.

The Savage Penguin Gladiator persona.

I was confident nobody else in this crowd would have a costume quite like this.

It was the most efficient way to win the crowd and climb the ranks.

“Here, put this on as well.”

“This is……”

Auril’s expression turned to stone as she looked at the outfit I held out.

Her frame shivered as she tried to reject the reality of the situation.

The thought of herself in such an outfit was beyond her imagination.

But as the saying goes, if you can’t avoid it, you might as well lean into it.

I forced her to confront her new reality.

“A bunny girl.”

“……”

—

The tower’s overseer, ‘Sansha,’ let out a weary sigh as he flipped through a mountain of enrollment forms.

“Not a single promising newcomer in the bunch.”

“Shouldn’t we at least give them a preliminary evaluation?”

The subordinate who had delivered the files asked tentatively, but Sansha just shook his head dismissively.

“It’s a waste of time. Just more bottom-tier fighters who’ll make the crowd boo.”

“So what’s the plan? Do we reject the entire batch?”

The queue of people wanting to scale the Tower of Martial Gods was endless.

It represented a shortcut to massive wealth and social standing.

Dozens of hopefuls applied every single day.

However, to even set foot on the first floor, one needed Sansha’s seal of approval.

Having managed the tower for over two decades, he could sniff out genuine talent just by looking at a resume.

‘There are some strange ones this time, though.’

Even so, a few entries were peculiar enough that he didn’t want to toss them out immediately.

Sansha reconsidered the mass disqualification.

“Actually, let’s turn this into a spectacle.”

“A spectacle, sir?”

“Throw all these rookies into the pit with the ‘ogres.'”

“……Won’t that be a slaughter?”

“We’ll give them a fair warning first, obviously. Let them know they’re signing their own death warrants.”