Chapter 280

Chapter 280
Chapter 280

—

Leaking the Secrets of Heaven

“……”

—The fledgling crow is showing quite a bit of promise!

Both the God of Ill-Omen and the God of Calamity fixed their gazes upon me with profound curiosity. Standing upon the boundless flatlands, positioned before a towering heap of bleached remains that lay strewn across the earth, I let out a resonant, piercing cry.

“Caw!”

Caw!
Caaaaaw!

A greater number of ‘crows’ began to circle through the air around my position. Having consumed the crow’s core, I was currently in the process of refining my abilities by navigating the ‘trials’ dictated by these deities. It was a mystery to me why they had suddenly presented me with a challenge identical to the one I had once endured within the ‘Mystery Tower.’

‘This is far simpler than the previous time.’

From my perspective, this turn of events was a stroke of luck. During my initial transformation into a Corpse Crow upon reaching Kramdel, I had battled waves of skeletal infantry while ascending the Mystery Tower. Back then, I had managed a feat that even the White King was unable to duplicate, which led to my acquisition of ‘Eternal Randolph.’ Now, I found myself standing before the exact same test once more.

‘Level 4. Besides, my current attributes and gear are vastly superior to what I possessed back then.’

Ten thousand skeletal infantrymen at Level 4. Their highest individual attribute was a meager 40. With a combined attribute total of 200, they were opponents that even most novices could manage. These were mindless creatures, utterly lacking in tactical intelligence or refined combat prowess. Even if ten thousand of them swarmed together, there was no logical reason I—with attributes far outstripping Level 10—would fail to defeat them. My current armaments, and the powerful talismans etched into them, were beyond comparison to the gear I wore during my first climb of the Mystery Tower.

“……”

—Khahaha! This is a truly magnificent specimen of a crow.

The God of Ill-Omen spared me a brief look before turning away in indifference. In contrast, the God of Calamity erupted into a boisterous laugh, his grin so wide it seemed to split his face from side to side. The reason for their starkly different reactions was obvious.

‘It is because I consumed the core belonging to the Clan of Calamity.’

I had made the deliberate choice to align with the ‘Clan of Calamity’ instead of the ‘Clan of Ill-Omen.’ This was largely because Randolph had already evolved into the ‘Terrible Ill-Omen,’ carrying the legacy of that specific clan. More importantly, these two deities seemed to possess a subtle intuition regarding my true nature.

‘They are already aware that I am a mixture of many different essences.’

The fact that they had incessantly addressed me by various strange names—insect, hippo, elephant, cricket, and the like—wasn’t merely because they were crows or lacking in wit. One must never dismiss the utterances of a Primary God as mere chatter. Their modes of expression differed wildly from human speech, and the gravity behind their words was of a completely different magnitude.

Naturally, the same logic applied to the nicknames they used so flippantly. Those two gods had peered through my exterior and likely even sensed the existence of Randolph. No, there was no doubt they had.

‘Even the War God Karas identified Randolph as the Terrible Ill-Omen the moment they met. These two have surely perceived even more than what Karas saw.’

Consequently, I had to exercise extreme caution in my decision. When I finally selected the ‘Clan of Calamity,’ the God of Ill-Omen showed a hint of disappointment.

—I truly anticipated that you would attempt to consume both.

—Does this not serve as clear evidence that the Clan of Calamity is the superior choice? Khahahaha!

—You are a more perceptive crow than I gave you credit for. Had you attempted to ingest both, your internal vessel would have shattered, ending your life.

—Since the ‘other entity’ has already embraced the Clan of Ill-Omen, we can finally conduct a flawless comparison!

The dialogue between the two deities confirmed my suspicions. Choosing the core had been the initial phase of these divine tests. Had I succumbed to greed and tried to take both, I would have perished. Had I chosen the ‘Clan of Ill-Omen,’ a ‘comparison of military force’ would have been impossible to conduct, leaving me trapped here indefinitely. To truly measure the two gods against each other, I needed to understand both powers.

‘I am already well-versed in the Clan of Ill-Omen. Therefore, only the Clan of Calamity remains.’

A cold bead of sweat trickled down my spine. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the pressure. I had seriously weighed the options of trying to take both cores or sticking with the Clan of Ill-Omen, which was familiar territory. Furthermore, from the beginning, my attention had been drawn more toward the ‘God of Ill-Omen.’ He was the one who usually initiated the dialogue, with the God of Calamity merely reacting. Naturally, it appeared as though the ‘God of Ill-Omen’ held the authority. Any typical person would have likely chosen to follow the path of the Clan of Ill-Omen.

‘It was all a clever deception.’

Looking back, every path except for the Clan of Calamity was a lethal deception. These two were nonchalantly throwing one deadly trial after another at me. I wondered if this callousness was the fundamental gap between the mortal and the divine. Just as a soft sigh escaped my lips, a series of notifications appeared.

《You have successfully completed ‘Trial of Calamity (2)’!》
《As your prize, you may claim the Mythic-grade Mystery ‘Calamity Crow.’》
《Declining this acquisition will advance you to the subsequent trial.》
《5,000 God Points (GP) have been granted.》
《God Points can be utilized to learn the skills of the ‘God of Calamity’ or to enhance the level of existing techniques.》
《Available skills for acquisition: ‘Red Sun,’ ‘Active Volcano,’ ‘Ash Heap,’ ‘Sea of Ash,’ ‘Sky of Ash,’ and ‘Red Sin.’》
《Current skill in possession: ‘Calamity Crow Summoning (Lv.5).’》
《Applying God Points to increase ‘Calamity Crow Summoning’ to Level 10.》
《‘Calamity Crow Summoning’ has reached its maximum proficiency (Lv.10).》
《The skill ‘Calamity Crow Summoning’ has evolved into ‘Advanced Calamity Crow Summoning (Lv.1).’》

This was the very same progression I had followed before Randolph became the Terrible Ill-Omen. It mirrored the sequence from when I ascended the Mystery Tower using Corpse Crow Summoning.

‘That is already the second one finished.’

The first ‘Trial of Calamity’ involved the selection of the core, while the second required the elimination of ten thousand skeletal soldiers of equivalent level. It was now time to confront the following challenge. And if my intuition was correct—

—The upcoming test is similarly to wipe out ten thousand skeletal soldiers. However, the warriors rising this time are far more formidable than the ones you just faced. Caw!

The God of Calamity gave a devious chuckle, seemingly questioning whether I could maintain my winning streak.

—Do you still wish to proceed?

I allowed myself a secret, internal grin.

‘He doesn’t have a complete picture of who I am.’

It appeared that even a deity like the God of Calamity was unaware of my full history—specifically, that I had already successfully reached the summit of the Mystery Tower once before. If he were aware of that fact, he likely wouldn’t be presenting me with the exact same challenges. I gave a bold, loud response.

“I accept the challenge, caw!”

In that instant, more messages flashed.

《The participant has opted for a higher-level trial.》
《You have earned the feat ‘Reckless Challenger Confronting the Myth of Calamity’!》

Rattle!
Rattle!

At the same time, the bones of the fallen soldiers began to knit back together, rising from the ground.

《The level of these ‘Skeleton Soldiers’ is now equal to your own.》
《These ‘Skeleton Soldiers’ are imbued with the Opposition Attribute born of ‘Nothingness.’》

The Opposition Attribute! I remembered how much of a struggle these specific enemies had been during my first run through the Mystery Tower. But today, a confident smile crossed my face. I was reaching the conclusion of this trial. I was certain that the prize awaiting me at the finish line would be far greater than anything I had imagined!

Furthermore, I wasn’t just accumulating God Points with every completed stage. The ‘Mysteries’ that one could find in the Mystery Tower were also undergoing a process of transcendence. The trials were the same as before, but they carried entirely different designations. I focused on my breathing and centered myself.

‘It is time to reach the end once again.’

—

The second the name ‘Park Hyunmyeong’ appeared as the first individual to conquer the 20th floor, the reactions were immediate.

—Wait, what?
—Park Hyunmyeong?
—You mean the guy who took 1st place in the ‘Island of God’ tutorial?
—Why is he suddenly making headlines here?

Confusion reigned. The name of a 2nd Generation Awakened, someone who had only recently emerged from the tutorial, had just been announced.

—Is it even possible for a 2nd Generation Awakened to enter the Tower of the War God yet?
—Yeah, it is.
—Since the stabilization of Pangaea began to slip, portals and towers have been popping up all over Earth. Some of those links lead straight into the Tower of the War God.
—That makes sense. 2nd Generation Awakened share the same Main Quest progression, after all.
—But isn’t ‘Climbing the Tower of the War God’ listed as Main Quest 9? How could he have reached it so fast?
—Exactly. Has he already blitzed through the quests that quickly?
—Wait, wasn’t that supposed to be an impossible feat for someone at his stage?

Regardless of how they analyzed it, people were stumped. They couldn’t fathom how Park Hyunmyeong had already managed to enter the Tower of the War God, let alone clear the 20th floor.

—It’s not strictly impossible. You can pull it off if your combat power far exceeds your actual level.
—That’s a lot easier to say than it is to actually do.
—That’s why you need to prepare. You have to grind out skills and stack the best gear possible. I’m sure the major guilds and power blocs saw this coming and are already making moves.
—Oh, so they’re basically just going to power-level people with top-tier items?
—That’s the standard play. But which massive organization is supporting Park Hyunmyeong?

Ever since the tutorial concluded, Park Hyunmyeong had essentially vanished from the public eye. Despite taking back the top spot from Randolph, he had lived as a complete hermit. Now, he had suddenly resurfaced at the Tower of the War God. Speculation grew that a ‘massive power’ must be pulling the strings for him. Following his lead, other individuals backed by ‘giant forces’ began to successfully navigate the Tower of the War God one after another.

By roughly the seventh day, a significant wave of challengers cleared the 20th floor at the same time.

《‘Gracia’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Lucifer’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Choi Kang-nam’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Kuku’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
……
《‘Saintess Seya’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Isera’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Lucaria’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
……
《‘Ant King Phermon’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘Dark Elf Lord Cassandra’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
《‘MintChocoIsDelicious’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》
……
《‘Great Earth Dragon’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》

Among the list were several names that no one had anticipated. Some were individuals who hadn’t even been on the radar. Predictably, every online hub for Awakened was thrown into a frenzy.

—How many people managed to beat the 20th floor in just twenty-four hours?
—Wow, even Choi Kang-nam and Kuku made the cut. What are the 1st Generation guys even doing?
—At least Gracia is on the list.
—Mint-Choco is there too!
—Mint-Choco fans, let’s go!
—What’s the deal with Isera and Lucaria? Are those… fake names or something?
—Are some of these the literal monsters that control Kramdel?
—Does that mean all of them just received the clue for Phase 2?
—Can someone please just leak it already!

—

《For conquering the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God, a ‘Hint’ regarding Phase 2 is revealed.》

“……”

The warriors who had struggled through the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God looked at the information they had been given and immediately scowled. It was a reasonable reaction. The hint provided for Phase 2—the secret to defeating the Blade Dragon Queen—seemed like a total joke. It was incredibly cryptic and brief, making it impossible to understand what the actual requirement was. And this was after they had pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion to get here!

“Are they seriously giving us this garbage as a clue?”

“Is this the whole thing?”

“What are we supposed to do with just this……”

With expressions of pure frustration, they looked once more at the single word that had been presented as their hint.

《Hint: Randolph》