Chapter 21

Chapter 21
Chapter: 21

## Chapter Title: Transcendent Reward

Revelation.

It refers to the act of exposing something hidden from the world, a thing that has possessed no prior existence until this very moment.

And in this instant, I had realized the discovery of a Heavenly Spirit.

Even with my history as a veteran “rotten water” player of five years, a spirit of this nature was entirely foreign to me.

By some twist of fate, it shared a title with one of my own concealed characteristics: Heavenly.

Was this merely a freak occurrence, or was my ability to find it tied directly to that hidden trait?

‘That is irrelevant.’

The only factor of consequence was that it was now in my possession.

I extended my hand toward the radiance pulsating at the peak of the Chaos Tower, a manifestation of the pure unknown.

From the center of that glow, I grasped and pulled forth a physical object.

‘A spirit egg.’

It was indeed an egg, yet it bore no resemblance to a standard one.

Typically, the shell of such an egg carries markings indicative of the spirit dwelling within.

An egg for a wind spirit might be etched with gust-like patterns, while one for a fire spirit would bear the marks of intense heat.

An egg of light would be composed entirely of shimmering luminescence.

However, the vessel holding the Heavenly Spirit defied all these conventions.

‘It is cloaked in plumage.’

The exterior was woven from a mixture of snow-white and midnight-black feathers.

The distribution was a perfect split.

Thousands of overlapping layers of these feathers gave the egg its structure.

I had never encountered such a form. It wasn’t just the designation that was strange—the physical manifestation was completely unprecedented.

I gazed at the object in a heavy silence.

Suddenly, a semi-transparent window containing its data manifested before me.

【Egg Containing a Heavenly Spirit(???)】

★ A mysterious egg of unidentified origin that descended from the Heavenly Realm, the terminus of light, shadow, and entropy.

★ The egg is visible to and can be incubated only by a ‘Heavenly One.’

The description was more laconic than I anticipated.

Nevertheless, I was able to extract several critical details from those few lines.

‘The Heavenly Realm is synonymous with the realm of the gods.’

The celestial domain. The residence of the goddess herself.

Furthermore, “Heavenly One” was a term used to describe the race of celestials.

The fact that I could even find this egg served as confirmation that I was recognized as a ‘Heavenly One.’

In reality, I wasn’t, of course. This recognition was undoubtedly a byproduct of my ‘Heavenly’ hidden trait.

‘Does this mean the Heavenly trait is fundamentally linked to the celestial lineage?’

I rubbed my jaw thoughtfully.

That seemed like the most logical deduction.

However, I had to be careful not to fall into a logic trap.

‘…The demon race also refers to their own underworld as the Heavenly Realm.’

While most people associate the term with the divine, demons often use the same phrase to describe the demon realm.

Because of this linguistic overlap, the text alone couldn’t confirm if this gift originated from the heavens or the abyss.

The contrasting feathers—half light, half dark—only served to deepen the mystery.

‘The truth will be revealed upon hatching.’

Speculation wouldn’t yield answers now.

What was undeniable, however, was that this was no commonplace treasure.

The entities of the Hundred Saints Hall, the various tower masters, and the Spirit Kings were all focusing their gaze here.

While the constellations are naturally drawn to anything novel, the scrutiny of the Spirit Kings was the true indicator of worth.

‘Spirits possess the raw power to manifest and protect entire ecosystems.’

They are the essential conduits that maintain the balance of the world.

When bound to a human through a contract, they grant dominion over the elements of nature; a high-ranking spirit is capable of leveling a mountain range.

And these were the sovereigns of such beings.

The sheer scale of a Spirit King’s power was almost unfathomable.

Even when compared to the constellations of the Hundred Saints Hall, the overlords of the abyssal cracks, the ancient earth dragons serving the goddess, or the Black and White Emperors of the poles… the Spirit Kings stood as peers.

‘No mortal has ever successfully formed a pact with a Spirit King.’

Throughout the history of Pangeniar, such a feat remained unaccomplished.

They existed in a state of total detachment, never deigning to involve themselves in human concerns.

The fact that every Spirit King was currently fixated on this ‘Heavenly Egg’ carried immense weight.

It suggested that the egg’s inherent worth was equal to, if not greater than, the Kings themselves.

《Calculation finalized.》

A fresh notification cut through my thoughts.

The evaluation for Main Quest 3 was finally concluding.

The processing time had been significantly longer than that of the first two quests.

‘This isn’t a typical tower where success is measured by level.’

In a standard tower with fixed level requirements, the math is easy. There are established benchmarks for scoring.

But the Chaos Tower operated on a different philosophy.

Ascending this spire was strictly a confrontation with one’s own soul.

‘My final tally might be lower than I’m hoping for.’

I braced myself for a potentially underwhelming score.

Measuring a struggle against ‘oneself’ is inherently biased and lacks concrete data points.

Without knowing the specific algorithms used for the score, I couldn’t be sure of the outcome.

Over-anticipation usually leads to a harder fall.

I decided to keep my hopes in check.

‘The Heavenly Egg is a massive win on its own.’

Steeling my nerves, I reviewed the final tally presented to me.

[‘Main Quest 3: Tower Climb’ fulfilled.]

[Status: First individual to reach the peak of the Chaos Tower.]

[Unrivaled Achievement. An unprecedented feat never before recorded.]

[Aggregated Score: 240 points. Entry logged in Main Quest – ‘Hall of Fame.’]

Being placed in the Hall of Fame confirmed I had broken into the top tier.

The score was higher than anything I had achieved previously.

Survival (Main Quest 1): 220 points.

Class Acquisition (Main Quest 2): 230 points.

And now, the Tower Climb: an incredible 240 points.

With numbers like these, a top-ranking position was a real possibility.

But the notification stream continued.

[The ‘Constellation of Luck’ is stunned by your fortune. Reward tier elevated by one rank.]

[The ‘Constellation of Adventure’ watches with hunger, seeing you as the very soul of exploration. Reward tier elevated by one rank.]

[The ‘Constellation of Battle’ honors your victory over your own shadow. Reward tier elevated by one rank.]

[The ‘Cursed Constellation’ takes a dark interest in the keeper of the Heavenly Egg. Reward tier elevated by one rank.]

[The ‘Constellation Guiding Black Light’ marks your identity. Reward tier elevated by one rank.]

[Utilizing ‘Lucky Die.’ Bonus reward rank increased.]

[The die results in a six-rank total increase.]

[Reward status surpasses 20 levels, triggering reward transcendence.]

Three of my usual observers were joined by two new entities.

Five constellations had signaled their favor.

Combined with the Lucky Die’s influence, the total boost reached six levels, pushing the rewards into a state of “transcendence.”

Crossing the 20-level threshold meant the loot had evolved beyond normal limits.

Essentially, the base rewards for the tower summit had been boosted by at least 14 ranks.

I had suspected there was a hierarchy for rewards, but the system was far more intricate than I had guessed.

‘Transcendent rewards?’

I wondered what that actually entailed.

Was I getting items of a transcendent grade?

Or was the very nature of the rewards shifting?

The answer came immediately.

[Select two prizes from the following twenty options.]

[‘True Blade’], [‘Dire Demon Sword’], [‘Extreme Iron Helmet’], [‘Annihilation Gauntlets’], [‘True Stamina Potion’], [‘Extreme Wand’]……

True. Dire. Extreme. Annihilation.

These four prefixes represented the absolute peak of item quality.

A mundane object becomes a world-class relic when it carries one of these names.

Their stats and unique abilities are fundamentally altered, and they are beyond any monetary value. Transcendent gear is soul-bound; it cannot be traded or given away.

They are exclusive.

They function only for their rightful master.

Just as mortals must “consume stars” to achieve transcendence, these four titles only attach themselves to things that have crossed that same threshold.

‘…So this is what transcendence looks like.’

I found myself momentarily speechless.

If not for the dampening effect of the Iron-Blooded Lord’s Heart, my pulse would have been racing out of control.

The sheer grind required to obtain an item with these prefixes is legendary—comparable to circumnavigating the globe on foot.

Usually, you’d never see these prefixes on standard equipment unless you crafted them through unimaginable labor… but here they were, offered as quest rewards.

Winning just one would be a life-changing event, and I was being offered two.

The thrill I felt now dwarfed the excitement of the previous quests.

In fact, the way the Iron-Blooded Lord’s Heart was forced to suppress my joy felt almost like a burden in this moment.

‘Unbelievable.’

I marveled at the list, meticulously scanning every single item.

The wealth of options was staggering.

It happened as I was exiting the tower and stepping through the transition gate.

-You have done well, Knight King.

The voice belonged to the golden spirit that had initially granted me passage.

The sentinel of the Spirit Tower.

A mere gatekeeper shouldn’t have been aware of what happened during my ascent.

Furthermore, it addressed me as Knight King—the name I bore when I was Wilhelm.

Startled, I spun around to look, but the gateway snapped shut instantly.

……Was that entity something more than just a guard?

“Incredible! You actually conquered the Spirit Tower!”

The High Dryad was suddenly standing before me.

Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was flanked by a multitude of Dryad sentries.

I took a steadying breath and asked,

“How long was I inside?”

“Less than a full day.”

Only twenty-four hours.

Despite how it felt to me—at least a hundred days spent within the Chaos Tower—only a single day had elapsed in the outside world.

Whirrr!

Another rift opened nearby, and Hudson and Isabella tumbled out.

“Gah! Blegh! *Heave*!”

Hudson began retching up bile and fake blood the second he hit the ground.

He was a walking disaster area.

His garments were shredded, and his hair looked like it had been through an explosion.

Isabella, however, simply gave me a curt nod.

She looked entirely unchanged, as if she had just gone for a light stroll in the park.

“Druid! I must apologize for my earlier skepticism.”

The High Dryad adjusted her demeanor, adopting a respectful tone.

She was now regarding me as an honored visitor.

“As we agreed, once you hand over the ‘spirit egg’ to our grove, you will be named a permanent ally of the forest. We will, of course, provide you with gifts suitable for such a contribution.”

Ah.

……That’s right.

I had made a pact to surrender a spirit egg to the Dryads.

The issue was that I only possessed one.

When I had scaled this tower in my past life as Wilhelm, I had walked away with five eggs.

I had operated under the assumption that this trip would yield the same result, but I had only received the ‘Heavenly Egg.’

‘Maybe I should just bolt?’

At that exact thought, the High Dryad’s expression sharpened.

“Druid! You aren’t contemplating a breach of contract, are you?”

……Her intuition was terrifyingly accurate.