Chapter 255: The Augury Tower (29)

Words : 1640 Updated : Oct 5th, 2025

Chapter 255: The Augury Tower (29) Standing still before me was a crystal golem. Its appearance could be called humanoid, but only by virtue of it having a torso, four limbs and a head―other than that, it was undoubtedly bigger than the average male, both in height and in simply the size of its evidently tough, crystalline body. Although, honestly, its presence wasn’t all that. In fact, I’m not sure if I could even call it a ‘boss’. Of course, we already knew this thing would be here thanks to those who Challenged the Floor before us and the information they shared, and that made me even more curious. ‘Hm...’ Even after I approached, it didn’t seem to take any action. Cassano said it would wait until we attacked first before doing anything, and that information certainly appeared to be accurate. I think the main challenge of this fight was simply finding a workaround for the gimmick that was the golem’s absurd hardness due to its body being made out of these crystals. It wasn’t exactly possessing lethal force, just a tough punching bag. ‘Well, in that case, there should be no problem, then.’ After all, I had an Indestructible weapon, and that was pretty damn effective for crushing. Shiiinng~! “...!!” Once again, the Villainous Blade was drawn, and with a single swing― BANG– Crash...!! ―The crystal golem was met with an incomparably heavy impact, its body instantly cracking all throughout before shattering into countless tiny fragments. “Fuuu...” I had to reinforce my body with a lot of divine energy that time, meaning I would probably run completely dry soon, but it also couldn’t be accomplished without the Level 2 Mana Corruption increasing my magic energy quantity, and by extension, enhancing my physical strength. Taking a deep breath, I sheathed the blade and picked up the bizarrely-shaped head of the golem, which was basically just a small crystal cluster that somehow remained entirely intact despite the blow. Judging by the circumstances, it seemed to be a key for the door ahead. And that was entirely right. Bringing it to the stone door, there was no obvious hole or slot to insert the head into, which made sense considering its awkward size and shape. However, just as I brought it up, a strange light shone from the top of the door down onto the golem’s head, upon which it slowly disintegrated in my grasp. ‘Oh, I see...’ Before long, it had completely dissolved and vanished, and the weighty door grated open. On the other side, a wide vista of sun-kissed nature was revealed. [Floors Cleared] [Obtained Token of Proven Worth (x2)] Again, we were stated to have obtained these ‘Tokens’, but despite it saying that, they never actually seemed to appear anywhere; not in my hand, not on the floor, not even directly in Storage. It was the same back when we cleared the Dungeon Floors, and although not a word about them has been spoken by the others even until now, they didn’t appear much confused, meaning there was probably some common knowledge about them that I was unaware of. ‘I’ll have a look into it online when I get back.’ Dismissing my curiosity like so, I only briefly noted the fact there were still no other rewards, something a little disappointing but that didn’t really affect me either way. Then, Cassano stepped beside me, peeking through the open door ahead to glimpse the picturesque view himself, muttering under his breath. “We did it...” “...” I didn’t plan on saying anything that would unnecessarily ruin his mood, however, for some reason, I felt like the Tower wouldn’t be kind enough to let us explore that outside landscape ourselves. Then again, we had just been trapped underground for five Floors in a row, so maybe it would... Or maybe even that was just to toy with those challenging the Tower even more. In any case. I wasn’t sure from which worlds all of these Floors were plucked from, but I’m sure they all existed out there somewhere, in some Illusory World. Whether it was all a conjuration to imitate the same world―the very world that Leinth herself came from, and the same world that had already succumbed to the death of an Antagonist in the past―or whether they were patches of several separate worlds being expertly stitched together, it was pretty much irrelevant. Regardless, the point remained the same, and that was that I couldn’t forget my purpose. It only served as a reminder for what I needed to do. “...” “I’ve almost run out of mana... If you both would like, could we take a while to rest and recover before continuing...? I think we make a great team, and I’d like to continue climbing the Tower with you guys, but I’m not sure if I can go for much longer...” Turning to face each of us and suddenly saying that, Cassano was obviously nervous. Why that was, well, it could have been a number of reasons. Anyway, it was good that he said it so that I didn’t have to. Like I said before, his information was quite useful, and the help of his Flare attack came in handy more than once or twice. The same went for Nina’s arrows, as well as her keen instincts which I had come to learn not to underestimate. I wasn’t sure where she had come from before entering the Tower, but it was clear, thinking back to how much she must have trained her magic energy too, that it must have been a very serious place in one way or another. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was smurfing――That is, she was a Challenger coming down from the higher Floors in order to fight alongside newbies for whatever reason. Well, either that, or she really just had a good teacher on the outside. Regardless. Putting the two of them together in one squad, I genuinely didn’t think there would be many Challenger teams who would be able to even come close to competing on the same level. ‘Climbing five Floors in one day is pretty decent progress, right...?’ There was no one to answer my question, but I was confident even without that. “That’s alright with me. I’m also tired, and there are some other matters I need to take care of. Shall we meet at the beginning of the Sixteenth Floor tomorrow? Let us say, in twelve hours’ time.” Nina replied to his request with that, ending with a question seemingly directed more so towards me, judging by her floating gaze. I wasn’t sure what the time was right now, or how long it would take to recover my divine energy once I returned and dismissed it, but I was sure it wouldn’t take too long. Sleeping and eating on top of that, and it should definitely be possible to sort everything out by morning. “It works.” Simply nodding at my curt answer, she continued. “Very well. Then, I shall take my leave for today... Farewell to you.” Saying that in the same blunt, somewhat harsh tone as always, though she surprisingly ended up saying something polite in the end, she then promptly proceeded to disappear into an amalgamation of distorted light and space. At least, they way she said that last part felt kind of like she was showing me respect, so I couldn’t help but return the favour with a nod. “Alright! I-I’ll also see you tomorrow! Bye...!” Perhaps flustered by being suddenly left alone with a suspicious person like me, Cassano likewise vanished without giving it more than ten seconds. All of a sudden, and just like that, I was alone. “...” For a few moments, I remained standing at the end of the chamber for a while, my gaze lingering on the peaceful outside scenery. “Haa...” The next Floor was the sixteenth. Considering how John Pierce was likely on any Floor from the thirty-first to the thirty-third right now, I was essentially halfway to reaching him. In fact, If I managed to keep up this current pace, I’d be catching up to him before the end of the week, even. ...Now that I think about it, once I kill him, it will be my tenth Protagonist Dispatched. ‘I’ve come a long way...’ Incidentally, that also means I’ll probably get another promotion. Once I get that, would I finally be strong enough to take on that Red Contract? The 5-Star one that I had been postponing all this time... To be honest, part of me was surprised it was still available. It probably meant the Antagonist was really trying their hardest to hold on, despite feeling like external help was necessary. ‘...I should clear this as soon as possible.’ There was a lot I needed to do. I felt like there was so much on my plate, in fact, that I was surprised at myself for being able to stay so calm about it. ‘Well... One thing at a time.’ For now, the priority was reaching John Pierce. Once I deal with him, I can take all the time I need to figure out what comes next. Until then... Or rather, from that point onwards, I will no longer hold anything back. The world has already been thrown through great upheaval, not just once but several times ever since the Tower appeared... and soon, it will shake again. ‘The most effective way to take people’s attention away from clearing the Tower... and, at the same time, to establish a proper Antagonist to maintain World Stability.’ Earth needed a Demon King. And not long remained until his advent.

Chapter 255: The Augury Tower (29)

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