Chapter 158: Ancient Tower Part 5

Growth Orb.

It was the reward Jun had once received from Count Mordenain for saving many lives during the raid against the Fairy Queen.

Even Jun, who hadn’t expected it to actually appear, was quietly surprised…but not as much as Eleanor.

She had previously heard from Jun that the Growth Orb had raised his magic circle by a level.

Of course, it was unclear whether Eleanor possessed a skill like [Basic Magic Talent].

It’s not like there’s a status window like in the game.

Still, since Eleanor had longed for it so desperately, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think her magical aptitude might rise a level.

That was the only guess they could make.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was hugging the Growth Orb like it was the most precious thing in the world, practically wailing with joy.

“Wh-When should I take this? How? Huh?”

Though she was fairly experienced with Blackout, Eleanor had never actually used a Growth Orb before.

While she continued to fuss over it in excitement, Jun casually explained how to use it.

“Hoo, hoo! Okay, I’m doing it!”

With all eyes on her, Eleanor cautiously brought the orb to her mouth.

Jun, in that moment, briefly wondered if there might be some way to replicate the orb using End of Sorrow.

But even in the game, that wasn’t possible.

Many veteran players had tried. Growth Orbs couldn’t be copied using End of Sorrow.

So they simply waited a few minutes for the orb to fully absorb into Eleanor, who had sat down to begin the process.

“This… this is it…!”

The earlier fuss had completely vanished. Eleanor sat motionless, saying only those few words.

Jun and the others, knowing exactly what was happening, quietly kept watch over their surroundings.

And then, about half a day later—

“Whoa, whoa…!”

Eleanor’s eyes opened behind the black blindfold. She jumped to her feet and shouted to Jun.

“That thing we talked about before! This is how you cast that spell, right? Right?”

Though she still lacked a proper magic circle and couldn’t directly use magic, she drew out the theory onto the ground with her staff, seeking confirmation.

Jun, surprised, nodded in agreement.

“You understood that? It’s supposed to be tricky…it requires aligning mana, the caster, and environmental conditions.”

“Hahahaha!”

She burst into hearty laughter, like a scientist who had just discovered a new theory.

Then—

“I think you’re ready to move on to the next level.”

“Haha… wait, what?”

Her laughter stopped cold.

And behind her black blindfold, her gaze locked straight onto Jun.

“Hold on a second.”

Jun opened his dimensional bracelet, revealing a flood of books spilling out from within.

One, two, three… before long, they had surpassed a dozen volumes.

“I don’t think you’re ready to jump straight into the enlightenment I gained. Let’s start here.”

“W-What is all this?”

“The foundational materials that helped me develop my magical theories.”

“W-Wait a second…”

As Eleanor glanced over some of the books Jun had piled up on the ground, her face began to turn pale….matching the white surroundings.

“You… you want me to learn all this?”

Hmm. Judging from that reaction… maybe she didn’t get [Intermediate Magic Talent] after all.

He figured she likely received the lower rank, [Basic Magic Talent].

Still, since I’m here, it shouldn’t be too hard to teach her.

Of course, the journey ahead would be long and grueling…

“Now that you’re at this level, there’s a lot to learn. Hmm… well, it’s fine. We might be able to find another Growth Orb someday anyw—kgh!”

Before he could finish, Eleanor tackled him and instantly locked him into a joint hold.

“G-Good heavens! She moved that fast?!”

Even Aiden, watching from the side, was awestruck by her speed.

Don’t just be impressed…help me!!

Given how fierce she looked, Jun couldn’t help but wonder if Eleanor had accidentally upgraded a skill like [Wrestling] instead of [Magic Talent].

***

Jun didn’t regain his freedom until quite some time later.

By then, Eleanor had finally calmed down, her face still looking sulky as she reluctantly flipped through the books Jun had handed her.

“By the way… did you come to any insights about that stone with the World Tree’s essence?”

Maya’s growing curiosity about the World Tree’s essence prompted Eleanor to turn her thoughts inward again.

“Hmm… I think I have a general idea.”

“Really? Could you share it with me?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve developed a complete theory or anything yet; it’s still mostly intuition. For this part… we’ll need to consult our genius.”

She gestured toward Jun, who was still lying sprawled out on the floor, grateful just to be breathing. Maya gave a quiet nod in agreement.

Then, the next morning—

As planned, Eleanor and Jun spent much of the late night discussing the World Tree’s essence.

Since matters of the soul weren’t Jun’s specialty, Eleanor’s insight proved invaluable. Conversely, Eleanor struggled with formalizing those insights into a theory, where Jun’s strengths came into play.

As they complemented each other’s weaknesses, their work gradually took shape—

Eventually, they developed a theory that was surprisingly solid.

“So you’re saying that an object imbued with this tree’s energy is similar to a living being?”

“Calling it a living being might be a stretch. It’s more like… a collective consciousness.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hmm…”

By a mage’s standards, that explanation should have been more than enough. But to Maya, there were still parts that were hard to grasp.

“Do you remember, back in the alchemists’ city, how the mutants’ minds were all linked together as one?”

“I do, yes.”

“It’s based on a similar principle. Look, imagine these threads here. Each thread represents the will or spirit dwelling within a living being.”

“Alright.”

“On their own, they’re just thin strands. But when several come together, they form something like a sphere.”

“Mhmm.”

As that energy of spirit continues to gather, lines become spheres.

This signifies a shift from the flatness of two dimensions into the breadth of three.

Simply by clustering together, the scope expands and with that expansion, the range of power that the gathered energy can exert broadens as well.

Like how, in a world of lines, only front and back exist. But once it becomes a sphere, the dimensions extend to up and down as well.

“The essence of the World Tree works on a similar principle. Pure magical power clusters and weaves into one, and through that, it can be assigned a role.”

With its range of movement expanded, spiritual power that normally couldn’t be wielded had begun to exert influence on Jun and his companions.

“Ahh… now I understand.”

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“For now, yes. I’ll need a moment to think. Thank you.”

With that, Maya left her seat, and Jun quietly watched her departing figure.

So everyone’s gaining some kind of enlightenment here, huh?

They had never stopped working hard even before, but in this ancient tower, it was uncanny how each person’s efforts were being rewarded.

In Maya’s case, she might be laying the groundwork to communicate with the spirits of her ancestors.

It was an event unseen in the game, but as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

In her case, she was likely trying to reinterpret the concept of a spiritual body into that of a soul in order to speak with her ancestors.

The voices of the ancestors’ souls had always been there, constantly reaching her…but that was never the same as true communication.

It must be even harder than conversing with the wind spirit.

If I were to imagine it, it’d probably go something like…

In danger: Hah!

When it’s related to the Eroder: Graaah!

That’s about as far as the distinctions would go.

From the perspective of Maya who was forced to merely listen without truly conversing, it must have been unbearably frustrating.

The only way she could really learn from the ancestral souls was by temporarily yielding control of her body to them.

If proper communication becomes possible, then she’ll be ready to step beyond the first gate and move toward the second.

Even without his intervention, his companions had begun accelerating in their growth all on their own.

It was a gratifying sight. And so Jun quietly opened his spellbook.

“Agh… ow…”

His neck still ached from the joint lock Eleanor had put him in.

***

If I think about it realistically, with our current strength the highest floor we can reach is probably the ninth.

From the tenth floor onward, the tower’s difficulty was on an entirely different level, so Jun set aside any lingering attachment and resolved to aim precisely for the ninth.

By this point, more than a month had passed since they had first entered the Ancient Tower.

Having just finished the battle on the eighth floor, Jun and his companions were sprawled on the ground, half-exhausted.

“This whiteness… it’s starting to feel unbearable, senior…”

“White was never exactly good for mental health to begin with…”

Though they took breaks here and there, preparing for each fight in places that were never proper rest areas brought with it a crushing mental fatigue.

Still, maybe I should say we’ve been pretty lucky so far.

The themes they had encountered had mostly been ones Jun recognized from the game, so they had rarely faced a deadlock.

In fact, there were times they had even delayed clearing floors just to allow his companions to integrate their new insights. Progress had been smooth enough to make him wonder—

Have I ever had things go this well before?

But of course, that thought didn’t last.

As soon as they reached the ninth floor, Jun’s perspective changed.

A theme I’ve never seen before.

A hazy white fog surrounded them, so thick they could hardly see a step ahead.

Without delay, Jun cast [Scan] to probe the surroundings, while Eleanor and Maya used their own methods to scout the area.

Aiden, with his sword in hand, readied himself to move at any moment when suddenly,

– Multiple trial participants detected. Collecting Hero’s Tower clear data.

From within the fog, it appeared without the slightest warning.

A massive clockwork construct. So large its size was difficult to grasp.

At its core were two colossal gearwheels resembling eyes, while countless smaller mechanisms clattered and whirred around them.

The two gear-eyes spun erratically, sweeping over the companions, as the machine emitted a grinding mechanical voice:

– Data collection complete. Numerous desires detected within these participants. Common traits: Growth. Survival. Cooperation. Calculating priority among them.

– Calculation complete. Compiling unified score. Compilation complete. Score: 8. Growth and survival themes excluded. Confirmed executable trial within the Hero’s Tower.

– Searching for a theme to test cooperative growth.

– Optimal entity for four participants identified.

– All ninth-floor trial constructs: unsuitable.

– Reinitiating search.

– Search complete. Tenth-floor entity A309 deemed suitable. Power will be reduced for trial execution.

The creature that had appeared with several tremendous bursts of steam vanished back into the fog as if it had never been there.

Jun and his companions remained frozen in place for a while.

“What… was that just now?”

At Eleanor’s slightly stiff voice, Jun wiped away cold sweat and replied.

“I don’t know. But… what a staggering presence it had…”

Eleanor who possessed [Mind’s Eye] felt her eyes ache, while Jun who was sensitive to mana nearly lost consciousness from the violent surge of magical power.

Maya sensed the ancestral spirits fall silent, and Aiden could barely stand on his trembling legs.

“It wasn’t as overwhelming as before, but… it felt almost like when we faced the Outer God.”

Could it have been some divine being? Or perhaps a machine created by one?

No one could give a definite answer.

As the white fog dissipated, the scenery around them came into view.