The Realm Of Creation(3)
What a ridiculous question.
The system acted as though the choice mattered.
It didn't.
There was no need for hesitation, nor for pointless deliberation.
When only one path had ever existed, calling it a "choice" was nothing more than a bad joke.
"Yes."
The answer left his lips without the slightest pause.
The moment the word settled into the silence....
The sword trembled.
The tremor wasn't one of hostility.
It resembled excitement.
As though the blade had been waiting for this moment.
Seo Jun raised his left hand.
Without hesitation, he pressed his palm against the blade.
A thin crimson line appeared.
Blood slid across the dark steel.
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
The moment the first drop touched the sword…
The forge disappeared.
For an instant, Seo Jun saw something impossible.
An endless night sky.
Countless stars.
A horizon illuminated by a distant dawn.
Then…
Everything vanished.
CRIMSON LIGHT erupted from the blade.
The stars within the steel awakened.
One by one.
Like constellations being born.
The sword's radiance filled the workshop.
Then gradually settled.
Silence returned.
Yet something had changed.
Seo Jun could feel it immediately.
The connection wasn't physical.
It wasn't magical.
It existed deeper than both.
A bond tied directly to his soul.
He could feel the sword.
Its state.
Its condition.
Its growth.
Almost as naturally as feeling his own heartbeat.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
The sword no longer felt like a weapon.
It felt like a companion and a witness.
Something that would accompany him until the very end.
Seo Jun slowly raised Dawn's Edge.
Then casually swung.
SHHH…
No sound. No resistance.
The blade passed through the air so cleanly that reality itself seemed delayed in recognizing the cut.
His eyes narrowed.
Dangerous. Very dangerous.
Not because it was loud.
Not because it was powerful.
Because it was silent.
And silent weapons were always the most terrifying.
DING.
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DING.
DING.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Blood-Soul Covenant Complete.]
[Dawn's Edge has recognized Lee Seo Jun as its sole master.]
[Stage 6: Realm of Creation Cleared.]
✦ ✦ ✦
The forge began to disappear.
His mana, strength, and everything else instantly recovered.
The unbearable heat gradually faded.
The roaring furnace weakened.
Its white flames dimmed.
White became orange.
Orange became red.
Red became scattered sparks.
Then…
Nothing remained.
The stone walls dissolved into countless particles of light.
The anvil vanished.
The furnace vanished.
The workshop itself crumbled into stardust.
As though it had never existed in the first place.
✦ ✦ ✦
A moment later…
Seo Jun opened his eyes.
The endless mirrored galaxy had returned.
Countless stars stretched across the heavens.
An identical universe reflected beneath his feet.
Above and below.
The Realm of Creation was gone.
Seo Jun lowered his gaze toward the sword in his hand.
The black blade reflected countless stars.
A weapon born from impossible circumstances.
A weapon that should not have existed within the Tutorial.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
His gains had exceeded every expectation.
The hidden stage.
The Growth Artifact.
Dexterity.
And countless opportunities that did not exist in his previous life.
By all accounts, he should have already completed the Tutorial.
He should have been returned to Earth.
Yet...
Nothing happened.
The galaxy remained silent.
Seo Jun's expression gradually became serious.
"...That's strange."
The Tower was waiting.
He could feel it.
Not hostility. Not danger. But expectation.
As though something had been observing him from the very beginning.
Evaluating.
Waiting for this exact moment.
His grip on Dawn's Edge tightened slightly.
The longer the silence continued, the more unusual it felt.
Then…
The stars trembled.
A ripple spread through the mirrored galaxy.
The endless universe seemed to hold its breath.
A massive golden window appeared before him.
Seo Jun's eyes narrowed.
The moment he saw it, he knew.
This was different.
Completely different.
The letters slowly appeared one by one.
Each character was written in flowing golden strokes.
Elegantly.
The words looked less like a system message and more like something written by hand.
As though someone had personally prepared it.
A strange warmth emanated from the golden text.
Not the warmth of fire.
Not the warmth of sunlight.
But the warmth left behind by an old memory.
A forgotten story.
A distant era.
Seo Jun silently stared at the message.
For the first time since entering the Tutorial…
A feeling he had not experienced in a very long time surfaced within him.
Curiosity.
Because this...
This was something he had never seen before.
Not in this life.
Not in the previous one.
The golden letters continued to reveal themselves. One line at a time.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As though the one writing them wanted him to read every single word.
✦ ✦ ✦
[You have exceeded all projected outcomes.]
[You have reached a point that was impossible to be reached during the Tutorial.]
[The Tower acknowledges your qualification.]
[Not as a participant.]
[But as a candidate.]
[...]
[Many have climbed.]
[Many have struggled.]
[Many have failed.]
[Yet none fulfilled the required conditions.]
[Until now.]
[...]
[A sealed record remains hidden beneath the foundation of the Tower.]
[A forgotten history.]
[A forgotten beginning.]
[A forgotten truth.]
[One that was erased.]
[One that should not exist.]
[...]
[Strength alone will not reveal what lies ahead.]
[Knowledge is required.]
[Understanding is required.]
[Truth is required.]
[...]
[The Tower Quest has become available.]
[1st Tower Quest]
[Would you like to proceed?]
[YES]
[NO]
✦ ✦ ✦
The galaxy became silent.
Seo Jun stared at the golden window.
A Tower Quest.
Those words were unfamiliar.
In his previous life...
He had never seen them.
Not once.
Not from the strongest hunters.
Not from the greatest organizations.
Not from those who reached the highest levels of power.
It had never existed.
Which meant…
This was a new variable.
Seo Jun's expression slowly became serious.
The Tower had always followed a certain pattern.
Trials.
Rewards.
Growth.
A path built for those who climbed.
But this was different.
It felt less like a trial.
And more like an invitation.
His gaze lowered.
Dawn's Edge rested quietly in his hand.
The black blade reflected the endless galaxy.
The countless stars sleeping within the steel flickered softly.
As if listening.
As if waiting.
The Tower was offering him a choice.
He could leave.
Take his tutorial reward.
Return to Earth.
Prepare for what was coming.
Use everything he had gained.
With his current strength, he was already far beyond what most awakened humans could imagine.
Leaving now would not be a mistake.
It would be the logical choice.
But Seo Jun knew something others didn't.
Power alone was never enough.
He had already seen what happened when humanity fought without understanding.
The strongest warriors.
The greatest talents.
The bravest sacrifices.
All of them could fall when the enemy remained unknown.
The Tower.
The Outer Gods.
The apocalypse.
Everything was connected.
Yet the most important answers had always remained hidden.
Seo Jun slowly closed his eyes.
A ruined world appeared in his memories.
Faces.
Voices.
The final moments of people who fought until they had nothing left.
All of it was still clear.
Too clear.
This time would not be the same.
Not because he had become stronger.
But because he would no longer walk blindly.
If there was a truth hidden inside the Tower…
He would uncover it.
If there was a secret buried beneath history…
He would bring it into the light.
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
Not arrogance.
Not excitement.
Only certainty.
"I didn't return just to repeat the same ending."
His words disappeared into the endless galaxy.
His hand moved forward.
The golden choice appeared before him.
[YES]
[NO]
There was no hesitation.
Seo Jun selected YES.
The moment his finger touched the golden letters—
The entire galaxy trembled.
The stars froze.
The mirrored universe beneath his feet cracked like glass.
The golden window shattered into countless fragments of light.
Then…
Everything stopped.
Not the present.
Not the space around him.
Something deeper.
Something beyond ordinary perception.
The flow of time itself began to distort.
Cracks spread across reality.
And through those cracks…
A scene appeared.
Like a recording being played from the distant past.
A history that should have remained unchanged...
Started to move differently.