Chapter 215 : Chapter 215
Chapter 215 - Tower of Causalitas (3)
The Wind Spears flying at me simultaneously had reached a point where it was difficult to count them with my senses.
It was impossible to deflect all these attacks coming from every direction with a sword.
Ultimately, I raised my mana and surrounded myself with a barrier.
HUMMM.
An absolute defensive shield was deployed that couldn't be scratched by ordinary attacks.
However, the Wind Spears currently flying toward me did not fall under the category of ordinary attacks. According to the fairy's words, they were imbued with the power of a Dragon.
CRACK!
CRACKLE!
Cracks began to form immediately. It was as I expected. As the barrier broke, several Wind Spears eventually pierced my body.
A considerable amount of pain rushed in, but I slightly raised the corners of my mouth. If not for the Tower of Causalitas, it would be impossible to experience attacks of this caliber.
Furthermore, the body does not die and the enlightenment remains, so the experience here was the best training for me.
"Phew."
With a deep breath, the wind energy that had pierced my body vanished.
"Are you laughing? Are you perhaps a pervert?"
As I smiled instead of looking painful, the fairy seemed anxious.
"It's fun."
"Liar! There's no way this is fun!"
"Everyone has different tastes and ideas of fun."
"That's nonsense!"
"Have I come about two-thirds of the way now?"
During the first attempt, I couldn't even cross a quarter of the bridge before returning to the starting point. The Wind Spears that flew frantically had stuck in my body like a hedgehog's quills. But now, the end of the quest on the second floor was in sight. The other end of the bridge revealed itself through the mist, allowing me to gauge its entire length.
"Alicia, how many times have I repeated this?"
"I don't know. I stopped counting a long time ago."
"Well, I'll still have to repeat this for a long time. But by the time I clear the second floor, wouldn't I be in a significantly grown state?"
"Then, are you telling me you were smiling because of that just now?"
"What else did you think the reason was?"
"Ridiculous. You'll spend an eternity trapped in this tower anyway. What's the point of growth when you'll never go outside?"
"Couldn't I leave once I clear the final floor?"
"Then try and see! See if that's even possible!"
I had never once thought it would be impossible. There was always a solution to the problems set by the Abyss.
"Despair already! You are destined to suffer eternally in this tower!"
I ignored the fairy's words and took another step. With every step, the wind attacks became even fiercer. And this time would be no exception.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
The baptism of Wind Spears flew again. I tried to counter them by raising my sword qi, but it was not enough to block them all. I seemed to have grown tired as well. This time, seven spearheads pierced into my body.
[Quest failure.]
[Returning to the starting point.]
***
I don't know how many more times I tried after that. I crossed the Bridge of Storms without rest, failed countless times, fell, and had my body crushed. At some point, the fairy stopped coming near me. She had given up on seeing me in pain during this second floor.
"If you're going to be like this, just hurry up and go to the third floor!"
Of course, that was easier said than done. In particular, the single spear that flew at the very last moment of the Bridge of Storms—that had a power that felt as if a Dragon had fired it from right in front of me.
WHOOOOOOSH!
A roar as if it would swallow the world. Before that massive wind, I held the Holy Sword Bastian straight.
My friend!
I don't know how many times I had fallen at this specific point. Above all, there was no way my body was in good condition after getting this far.
Even now, I was in a situation where I was scraping mana from my tattered dantian and pouring it into the Holy Sword. It didn't matter if I failed. I could just return to the beginning and start again as I had done until now.
But for some reason, the sensation flowing through my hand from the sword was sweet this time.
SWOOSH!
The Holy Sword, swung upward nonchalantly, sliced through the Wind Spear. The massive wind energy scattered and vanished before my eyes. After the time of the storm ended, what came to this place was silence itself.
The handful of enlightenment gained through countless failures had borne fruit.
My friend! You have finally done it!
And the final step. As my foot reached the opposite end of the Bridge of Storms, the mist that had been enveloping the world of the second floor vanished, and light arrived.
[You have cleared the quest.]
[A portion of the karma accumulated by the twisted law of causality is dissipated.]
[The connection between Earth and the Abyss becomes even clearer.]
Only then did the fairy fly from the other side and plunk down next to me. She had a look of utter spite on her face.
"Turn that frown upside down."
"Whether I frown or not is my business!"
"By the way, did you say the theme of the third floor quest is fire?"
"Yes. Now a real hell will unfold. It'll be very different from the second floor, so I hope you don't wear that smug expression anymore."
With that, she added more spite to her face.
"It's also my business whether I wear a smug expression or not."
"You won't give in even a single word! But do you know this? That the greatest pain a human can feel is burning pain?"
"I'm not sure."
In fact, I had no memory of it. I had died without even having time to feel pain the moment I was hit by the breath of Devrias. I only remembered that the sight of the world turning red was oddly beautiful.
"Again! Again you're pretending to be composed. I'll watch to see how long you can maintain that expression!"
I wondered what was wrong with her.
***
The quest on the third floor was to climb a staircase that stretched straight up toward the sky. The end of the stairs was not even visible. It was hidden by clouds.
"Does it mean fireballs fall while climbing the stairs?"
"The problem is they aren't ordinary fireballs. Once you're hit and fall once, you won't even think about climbing the stairs again, will you?"
"That's unexpected. I thought you'd be waiting for me to be in pain while being constantly roasted like a rotisserie chicken."
"Well, that wouldn't be bad either, but there's a specific look I like best."
"There's something else?"
"The look of completely giving up and being lethargic. If you have the look of despair in your eyes within the eternity of time, that will be eternal happiness for me as well."
"You're crazy."
"You can say that all you want. I've been waiting here for four thousand years, after all."
"I should hurry to the final floor just so I don't have to hear your crazy talk."
Fairy Alicia. She would act as my guide only until just before the final floor of the tower.
" I'll admit that you passed the first and second floors very quickly. Even compared to that person from four thousand years ago, it was overwhelming. But that doesn't mean you'll definitely be able to reach the final floor."
"Why?"
"Because you didn't stay long on the first and second floors, you haven't had much time to train yourself. Did you not know that this tower is a place where you get stronger the more you suffer?"
"So you're telling me to show you the most painful look possible. And if I give up and despair while doing that, it'll be the icing on the cake."
"Nothing would be better than that."
"Then what about that guy who came here before me?"
The fact that his current position was the final floor meant he had overcome all the trials of this tower. I didn't know how that process was, though.
"He always suffered, reproached himself, and showed many tears."
"You must have been very happy."
"I was so happy that my heart truly ached when he left. In that sense, I hope you'll stay with me forever."
The greatest pain I could give this crazy creature was to reach the final floor as soon as possible. Since she had waited for me for a long time, the sense of deprivation would be great.
'Of course, I should make sure to gain as much growth as possible.'
I began to climb the stairs one by one. Alicia stuck close to my side, her expression full of anticipation for something. I didn't know at what frequency the fire attacks would pour down while climbing these stairs that stretched high into the sky. However, it was a clear fact that the strength of the attacks would be much greater than on the second floor.
Suddenly, memories of the day I entered the Red Dragon's nest passed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
The memories of that day when all my certainties, which I had prided myself on having reached the pinnacle of the sword, were miserably crushed.
What had come to swallow me was not a simple fireball. It was an overwhelming aggregate of mana, a small sun that seemed capable of heating the entire world.
Brandishing that overwhelming power, the Dragon had said to me: to try and beg for my life. And even if the same situation were to unfold again, I would give the same answer.
"Bullshit!"
"Pardon? What did you just say to me?"
The fairy gave me a bewildered look. And at that moment, a single red dot sparkled in the sky. I felt an incredibly powerful aura of a fire demon. It felt as if the Red Dragon were here. The red dot grew larger at an incredible speed and began to fall toward me.
"It's Hellfire!"
The fairy gave a joyful scream and flew far away. Then she shouted toward me again.
"If you're scared, just jump off!"
Perhaps she preferred for me to do that. I immediately raised the mana in my dantian and pulled out a dormant power. The Yeti's Cold Qi. All the mana I possessed began to be converted into the attribute of freezing. I didn't know if I could handle that fire demon with this, but it was clearly the best move I could make at this point.
SWOOSH!
The Holy Sword Bastian stretched a straight line toward the sky, emitting cold air as if it would freeze the heavens. The falling fire and the surging cold collided and began a contest of strength. That battle did not last long. I felt the burning energy of the fire acting through the tip of Bastian. At the same time, the massive fire demon swallowed me.
It felt as if déjà vu were unfolding. It felt like a recreation of that day when my body turned into a pile of ash. And a single memory I had forgotten was revived. Although it was only for a split second, the pain of my entire body being burned rushed in.
'It was something like this.'
[Quest failure]
[Returning to the starting point.]
"How was it! Didn't you feel extreme agony?"
The fairy had flown to my side at some point and was smiling brightly.
"It certainly was."
Alicia began to giggle, as if my answer pleased her.
"Very good."
I felt like I understood something. A momentary realization felt at the boundary between life and death. Because it was extremely fleeting, it had evaporated and flown away immediately, but I felt like it would be within my grasp if I experienced it one more time.
"What will you do now? You'll need quite a bit of time to overcome the trauma."
"Actually, I prefer it this way."
"Pardon?"
I climbed the stairs again without hesitation, one step at a time. I felt certain. I was certain that this third floor would not take very long either.