Episode 384 < Nine keys. (2) >
3.
Try to collect nine keys.
I tilted my head at that declaration.
“What keys do you mean to collect?”
“hmm! “Let me explain.”
When the princess snapped her fingers, a picture appeared as if it had been embroidered with platinum-colored thread on the flowing sand waterfall.
At first glance, the picture looked like a cross-section of an anthill or a replica of a tree with countless fine roots extending out.
“This… … .’
“huh! Myeongcheon. This is a cross-section of your tower. “Looking at it like this, it’s a bit different, isn’t it?”
As the saying goes, it was a map of the tower, displayed from the side by level.
Even when I was a Sunflower Hunter, maps of the early classes were being circulated among Al-Aum-Al-Eum hunters, and recently, the Black Dragon Guild and the Pantheon had joined hands to work on maps, so I easily recognized them.
The princess smiled brightly and held the baton in her hand.
“I’ll start by skipping the [basement 1st floor] where Myeongcheon was called before, or the [0th floor] where Myeongcheon’s hometown is located.”
The tip of the baton stabbed the first floor of the tower drawn on the flowing sand.
“The first floor of the tower is a [shelter].”
shelter.
“Advanced base. position. Accommodation facilities, etc. It can be called many different things, but the most appropriate name is probably that. A place where people who are running away from something can take a breather. “The role of the first floor is to be a breakwater that prevents you from having to suffer anymore from things that have escaped.”
Suddenly, the baton moved sideways, tearing the first floor into long strips.
Babylon, the city of towers.
The baton was lightly pressed against the large river that flows through Babylon.
“Water flows here. It’s raining. The composition of that water is… Umm. Anyway, the water contains some nutrients. “It’s colorless and odorless, but you can survive just by drinking it.”
“…….”
“But people who feel like they’re alive just because of that don’t feel like they’re alive.”
Sigh.
The tip of the baton rose through the sand and pointed toward the second floor of the tower.
“You can choose to be a [warrior].”
The princess’s baton swept around the second floor of the tower.
“Fruits and lumber from the trees placed here and there, stones and ores from the rocks, and herbs and medicinal herbs from the grasses. “You can get meat, leather, items, and gold by defeating monsters like wolves and goblins.”
“Yes, I know.”
“huh. Myeongcheon is also a path I have walked along. by the way.”
The princess tilted her head.
“Was this really necessary?”
It was indeed a sudden question.
But in a way, it was also an old question.
“Couldn’t I have just given it all? Whether it’s fruit, wood, ore, herbs, or meat. “Wouldn’t it have been okay if I just gave it whatever I asked for?”
“…….”
“What do you think, Myeongcheon?”
I was lost in thought.
It’s not that it’s not, what the princess just said was a question that countless people had in their heads over and over again in the early days of the tower’s development. Bambolina said that this is one of the reasons why pseudo-religion continues in relation to the tower.
I said.
“It’s probably due to lack of resources.”
“Hmm.”
“It provides unlimited food, clothing, and shelter for a large number of people… This would require a truly vast amount of resources. So I had no choice… … .”
When I thought about it that far, I realized something.
I said as if I was sighing while looking at the princess.
“indeed.”
“Hmmmm?”
“Is this on purpose?”
The princess smiled slightly at those words.
I said while pressing my forehead.
“I’m not sure because I’m not a complete pillar yet, but if you still answer me.”
At that moment, the princess’s smile deepened at the introduction. It seems that the meaning was to answer as a pillar who will manage the tower.
“The tower owner wants to be pointed out as the source of all evil. By intentionally placing threats such as monsters and encouraging trials, the top owner was criticized for not doing so even though he could save everyone indefinitely… … .”
no.
hmm. no.
This is too ideological a reason. There must be a reason that touches you more deeply.
“Because there needs to be a clear, visible enemy so that the people who have taken refuge in the tower can unite? … hmm. Something about this doesn’t seem right. then… .”
The princess was looking at me with her back to me. Her attitude was that she would wait as long as she wanted.
After thinking for a while, I spoke honestly.
“I don’t know, princess. “Why?”
“If the.”
The princess made her fortune like that.
“Before your world gets as hot as it is now. So, what would have happened if Bae Hu-ryeong had been born in your country at a time when the director who raised you was exactly the size of you?”
I glanced at Bae Hu-ryeong. As I looked at Bae Hu-ryeong, who was snoring with his arms crossed, the answer came out very naturally.
“uh… “It’s a fool.”
“and?”
“And um… bully? Gym leader? … Martial arts player? “Isn’t that the extent of it?”
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“huh.”
The princess nodded.
“I could have gone to a third country and become a mercenary or something, but that would have been the extent of it in the end, right? “Nothing more, nothing less.”
“…….”
“But it’s Myeongcheon. “What would have happened if Geomje had been born in ancient times?”
I glanced at the Geomje.
The answer to that also flowed naturally.
“He would have been a hero.”
“Not the king?”
“What about the king? What kind of laws will that nobleman make and how will he rule? The nation may have been created with people supporting themselves as they pleased, but it would have been torn apart after the death of the Geomje nobleman. Maybe he could have been like that while he was alive.”
“Ehehe. I know.”
The princess laughed. With her back behind her, she swiped, swiped, with her tiptoes, digging through the piles of sand on the floor in an innocent way.
“But, it must have been a much more fulfilling life than living as a martial arts athlete, right? “From the Geomje’s perspective.”
“… … “I guess so.”
“Such a world. Such times… A place where the era of warriors ended long ago. “In a place where warriors with swords give way to legions with guns, how will people like Geomje be treated?”
impediments.
A maverick.
madman.
Social misfit.
“I don’t think the Sword Emperor himself would care at all.”
It will be so.
“If someone pitied him, he would look at that person like he was crazy.”
It must have been so.
“But is that really a fair world for the Geomje?”
Still, somehow.
It was heartbreaking, just a little, like seeing a dinosaur corpse rotting away in the same amount of time it takes a mountain to rot.
“People have one embrace, so in order to have something, you have to throw away what you could have had otherwise. In order for society to grow, it must continue to throw away things. “Any civilization can stand on top of countless corpses of fetuses.”
“so… .”
“Mom wanted to create a place where no era would be left behind, or at least a place with the possibility of doing so.”
Again, the baton swept the second and third floors.
“A time of warriors and heroes. “A world where you can confirm your life by cutting something.”
The baton, which went up the sand waterfall like a salmon, touched the 10th floor.
“The era of priests and shamans. A world where those who have been cut down can find comfort.”
Eventually, the baton stopped once on the 11th floor.
“So, if the 1st to 10th floors correspond to the [Golden Age], then the 11th to 20th floors correspond to the [Silver Age].”
“Baek… .”
“You guys met the Aegim Empire here, right? “Other towers also face [another world] from the 11th to the 20th floor.”
Another world.
“A complete hitter. A place where there is no contact with you from beginning to end. … However, since we are still below the 50th floor, we will face not a [completely different world] but a [world that has already been destroyed once].”
The baton began to move again.
“The age of travelers. “A world where you can see what kind of life these people lived in the ruined castle ruins of a fallen kingdom.”
12th floor, 13th floor, 14th floor… .
“The era of generals. The era of merchants. The era of soldiers… .”
The baton that ran over the sand waterfall eventually reached the 20th floor.
“ruler. From here on, [The Age of Steel] begins.”
“In our tower, it was the Great Library.”
“huh. Hamust was a person like Zhuge Liang. “Mom said that the more you roll it, the more flavor comes out.”
I wondered if that was really too pitiful, but when I thought of Hamustra’s face again, my sympathy flew away like a mountain bird.
“What about the other towers?”
“As expected, there are many cases of Hamustra. After that, Mutiana Mahos has a high proportion. ah. Sometimes Bobbitt takes charge. “I once had a fox hanging around your neck.”
“I thought about taking issue with the fact that Babbit was in charge, but hey, you’re the fox, so I’ll choose the easy way to react.”
“Yep. And I will choose not to react.”
The princess kept her word. She moved on to commentary.
“Those who learned the cost of living during the Golden Age learn how to treat others in the Silver Age. And in the Age of Steel, he will finally meet the king of his world.”
“king… .”
Anastasia’s voice suddenly passed through my mind as she asked, “Are you ready to become our king?”
“So from there, only high rankers could participate in the strategy.”
“Yep. “If you want to call yourself the king of the world, you have to represent that world first.”
“In that sense, the Geomje nobleman eventually became king.”
– It’s a zombie. You just called me Geomje. What kind of disciple do you think I am?
Bae Hu-ryeong said. And I answered before those words could hit my eardrums and reach my brain.
“Do you know the Chinese character for crazy dog Je (猁)? “I didn’t know about it, but when I searched for it, it was there.”
– I did a good job of finding Chinese characters that looked like they would be broken like your head and displayed as ■ in Unicode characters.
“In that case, it would be written as 劍■. “It seems like a piece of cake.”
– I really want to beat you until you turn into a piece of cake… .
I scratched the back of my head embarrassed.
The princess waited until the two of us finished joking before speaking.
“And the 30th floor… [Age of Bronze]. Here you guys—”
“You’re going to have children.”
The princess smiled slightly.
“huh. Although there were more towers that simply interpreted it as having [below].”
I lowered my head. It was because a gray spider came to mind.
But anyway, I felt like I knew the structure.
“Self in the Golden Age. Others in the silver age. Up in the Age of Steel. Down from the Bronze Age.”
“huh. And the 40th floor. “There was an age of stones.”
The Age of Stone.
“Here you are [the one being evaluated]. “I don’t need to explain any more about this, right?”
“yes. “I had already gone through it once when I cast my final vote.”
“huh. In this way, from the 1st floor to the 49th floor, one cycle is formed. So then we repeat this cycle one layer deeper. “Mom likes music.”
While speaking the same words as the ancient wand had said, the princess’s baton suddenly pointed to the 50th floor.
“However, starting from this cycle, a more aggressive meaning is added. “The 50th floor is not a resting place, but functions as a complete [base] and [advanced base], and the 60th floor is when you start fighting with other worlds in earnest.”
“The 70th floor was the underworld… . indeed. “That is also [above] in a way.”
“huh. Myeongcheon must now know well how the 80-story tower functions.”
“yes.”
I nodded.
“Well sir. … I think I finally understand why cleared floors remain in place and allow others to enter and exit. “This is to ensure that no era disappears.”
“that’s right.”
“Thank you for the interesting explanation. …But you still haven’t heard about the most important thing.”
I said while looking straight at the princess walking through the mirage.
“So, what are the nine keys you are asked to collect?”
“There’s a hint in everything I’ve said so far!”
The tower owner’s daughter smiled brightly and took a spin.
“Myeongcheon, look back at the world you have passed through so far. Take a look. “Look at the things you left behind as you climbed the tower and the trajectory of your life so far.”
Purple eyes that resembled Tapju and were different from Tapju shined at me.
“The keys to the 100th floor will be right there.”
“indeed.”
So finally I realized.
“From the 90th to the 99th floor, not going up… .”
“huh.”
The princess walking through the mirage snapped her fingers. The sand waterfall flowing down the middle of this 90th floor split to the left and right, revealing a staircase.
The stairs were facing down, not up.
“Time to start [going down].”
etc,
