#180
It was an answer that didn’t even seem realistic. However, no one could call that statement sophistry. Only the nursery rhyme stayed in place. It was an unbelievable statement, but strangely enough, there was no doubt about it.
“brother… .”
“Come here, Jaeyoung. are you okay… .”
I felt Jaeyoung Lee holding my hand tightly next to me. Se-hyeon held Jae-young Lee’s hand, feeling her trembling, and pulled Jae-young Lee closer as if to tell her not to worry.
“Can you tell what that means?”
Agatha’s calm voice calmed the evil atmosphere, even if only slightly. Trembling glances passed between Agatha and Billwill countless times.
[Unfortunately, among the planets where life currently exists, the only one closest to here is Earth in the Sector 481 system. In addition, the Earth is a place full of the resentments that ‘Beusbrihel’ desires. This means that there is a high probability that the next destination will be Earth.]
“When the barrier cannot be maintained, it sounds like replacing the players means that the barrier can be restored… . “Can’t the barrier be maintained forever?”
[Reset is the power to ‘call in’ external beings. Even if we maintain the current barrier with this power, it will be difficult to maintain it long term. It is a force that is used in different ways. Also, a tremendous amount of force is required to ‘reset’. Our guides have already expended a lot of energy in the process of resetting numerous planets. If I have to tell you, I will do it once in the future.]
Billwill’s eyes closed deeply. With an expression of regret, he spoke to everyone as if he were telling the truth.
[This is the number of resets our guides can make when they gather all their strength.]
once. It was said that there was only one more time left to replace the next road player. In the end, from the beginning, everyone here had no right to make decisions or anywhere to retreat.
“Well, that means there’s still one time left. Okay, let’s send it back and tell the next people… Can’t I just leave it to you… ?”
“Resetting means you can send it back anyway!”
[Then let me ask you all. Assuming that everything is reset and the 43rd player after you comes to Elix, can you be sure that they will be able to reach the achievement?]
does not exist. It was a certainty, not an assumption. The answer was already decided in the part where only one of the forty-two planets reached the 90th floor.
Still, no one could open their mouths. It was because I knew the fear of a given answer.
[Furthermore, in its current state where the barrier is cracked, it is currently unknown whether the tower’s barrier will be maintained normally even if reset. The following players may find themselves in a situation where they need to conquer the tower within a tighter time frame than you. Of course, I have no intention of blaming you. This too must have been done with purpose.]
It was an overly calm and scary-sounding statement. Billwill’s red eyes glanced at her audience. When his eyes landed on Sehyeon, Billwill opened his mouth heavily.
[That’s why we think this is our last chance to reach the end.]
“at last… Is there a fixed answer? .”
[The choice is up to you. If you decide not to challenge, we may proceed with a reset right now. However, once you step onto the 90th floor, it is out of our control, so we cannot interfere in any way. In this case, reset is only possible in case of ‘failure’, which is a state in which the barrier cannot be maintained.]
“So, if I say I don’t want to do it, I can live?!”
[The explanation was insufficient. Reset means death here. When the reset occurs, all road players will disappear here.]
The voice telling the truth as it was was calm. One by one, people who realized the reality began to collapse in despair. Se-hyeon lowered her gaze and looked at Jae-young Lee, who had become an innocent child.
“brother… You can’t die… . “Stay by my side.”
What Jaeyoung Lee was afraid of was Sehyeon’s death. Sehyeon held his trembling fingertips tightly without saying a word. The gaze immediately shifted to the Celestial Race next to Jaeyoung Lee. Their eyes were full of tears as they were filled with anxiety, confusion, and gloom.
Nevertheless, they kept their mouths shut and endured by relying on each other.
So did others. Baek Do-hyeon, Kwak Jeong-han, Awl, and Kim Gap-jun also had stiff expressions, but they stood firmly in their positions.
There was no choice. Everyone, led by Agatha, had already strengthened their resolve. All that was left was Sehyeon.
“Mr. Bill Will.”
[Please speak.]
“It was said that once you reach the 100th floor, you have a chance to kill monsters. “What exactly is there?”
Instead of answering, Billwill snapped his fingers. The surface of the mirror, tilted at an angle behind him, reflected something dark and massive in the form of a monster. It was the Tower of Tests.
[What do you see?]
It looked like something was standing there. The surface was so black that no clear shape could be seen, but it was clear that it looked like a tree rising from the ground.
“Yes, people… ?”
As someone muttered something, the surrounding area immediately became very agitated. Everyone nodded and looked for a person in the shape of the tower. Those words became true when a ray of sunlight broke through the dark clouds.
The tower took on the shape of a human being. There was a woman there, frozen in prayer, with her hands clasped to her heart.
[This is our great goddess, ‘Lyzebuia.’ The Tower of Trials is the final key and hope created by His sacrifice. And on the 100th floor of the tower, the ‘Mugu’ with His arrangements rests. That ‘armor’ is the final key to killing ‘Beusbrihel’.]
“That… “A goddess?”
The charred figure of the goddess took on the shape of a withered tree. Her rough, cracked surface fell apart when the wind touched it. Her appearance as if she was about to collapse at any moment was different from the sturdy tower I had seen before.
A goddess with a rotten appearance. This was the true nature of the Tower of Test.
[A long time ago, in order to kill ‘Beusbrihel’, the goddess became the main axis of the barrier and brought all the victims’ grudges here. Those are your princes and vassals. ‘Beusbrihel’ settled here in pursuit of that grudge, and is still trying to break the barrier to eat the grudge.]
[What we could do was bring in those who would oppose reason.]
[Those were the beings of the living planet.]
[So, we created a system to help players and distributed it to the entire planet. Among them, only those with potential were allowed to challenge the growth system called ‘achievements’ at Ellix.]
[And after countless attempts, we finally felt the end.]
Numerous voices penetrated my head. The disparate voices ended with Bill Will’s words.
[To handle the goddess’s weapon, you need sufficient qualifications and strength. We also needed a medium to maintain the barrier while the players grow. That is why the Tower of Test was born.]
“What are you… “Who are you?”
Sehyun had no choice but to ask. That was also something everyone was curious about. Every time the hundreds of guides expressed their emotions, breathtaking sorrow was conveyed.
The burden they were carrying didn’t really hit me right now, but there was one thing. There was no denying that it felt like a long time of hard work. Traces of many attempts and efforts were incorporated into their appearance.
[He was once called a god.]
[It was a long time ago.]
[Was it so… . Now that I think about it, it seems like that was the case.]
[but… Now it is just a guide to long history.]
It was a voice full of longing and sadness. The emotion at the end of the voice quickly faded away. When even the lingering feeling disappeared, Billwill laughed without holding anything back. She had a dull smile.
[We are just your guides.]
It was always unfamiliar, but today it looked particularly unfamiliar. Sehyun belatedly shook her head heavily. I heard all the answers. This was an answer that could only be found after reaching the 90th floor.
“We came here in the first place pledging to fight. So let’s move forward. I will inform you that the Chun Alliance will continue to oppose achievements. “Nothing will stop us.”
Kwaang-!
Agatha’s spear hit the floor hard. Those words gave me a faint shiver. Everyone was nodding their heads firmly as if agreeing with what he said. The blank stares of those sitting collapsed focused on Agatha.
her back. The back, which was straight and full of incisions, strengthened the core. Until the people who were looking at her back with blank expressions wiped their tears and stood up, Agatha’s hand that was tightly gripping the spear did not loosen, her bones turning white.
Sehyun’s hand holding Lee Jaeyoung was also like that. Se-hyeon had to hold on to Jae-young Lee’s hand so tightly that his bones turned white.
It was a day when I was weighed down by the weight of truth.
