‘Search the Large Desert?’
‘That crazy… . . !’
‘Like there’s something to see here!’
The mercenaries really wanted to cry . The Large Desert of the 12th floor they never wanted to return to . But they had a task they had to carry out here .
“Then within the limited time, find the item and come over to the 13th floor . I’ll be crossing the Large Desert in the meantime . ”
The mercenaries ended up following his order . And the time that Yeon-woo had given them was tight . They needed to be speedy .
Watching them spread out, Yeon-woo secretly called his Spirit Familiars .
‘It’ll be easy to tell if there’s a spy with this . ’
Yeon-woo began to cross the Large Desert . A breeze filled with heat and sand flew at him .
[But Master! Master!]
Chirpy climbed on Yeon-woo’s shoulder and spoke to Yeon-woo .
“What?”
[Why do they listen to you so well?]
“Not sure . ”
Yeon-woo avoided the question and stroked Chirpy’s head . Although he had grown, he was still young . It wouldn’t be good for him to hear all the dirty details .
[Then what are they going to find?]
“The Jewel of Fire . ”
[Jewel? What’s that?]
Chirpy adorably tilted his head .
“Something yummy . ”
[Wow . Really?]
Yeon-woo nodded his head at Chirpy’s shining eyes . The Jewel of Fire would definitely be a tasty treat for Chirpy . And healthy too .
‘I’ll give half to Chirpy and the other half to the Spirit Familiars . ’
Recently, the Spirit Familiars had been met with a limit with their growth . It was because of the limited growth of the Black Bracelet .
So Yeon-woo had been thinking of other ways to strengthen them .
‘Strengthening of properties . ’
If he could give them other properties than the dark and evil properties they already had . The reason why the Jewel of Fire was special was because it was a good stone for strengthening . Also, it was a good material for alchemy .
‘It can;t hurt having more of it . ’
Being able to mine those items with workers . For the first time, Yeon-woo liked Red Dragon .
[Then . You have to give me a lot of yummy things! Have to! Have to! Promise!]
“I will, so don’t worry . ’
[Hehehe . I hope they’re tasty . ]
Chirpy started drooling and his eyes were shining like stars .
And he made a big yawn with his beak . He blinked his eyes .
[Hng . I’m getting sleepy . I want to sleep . ]
“Rest a bit . ”
[Ok! You have to wake me up when the snack comes, ok?]
Chirpy nodded and scattered into a blue light to enter into Yeon-woo’s body . Unlike the 11th floor, where Legendary Beasts could comfortably exist, the rules of the 12th floor were completely different .
Because of that, they borrowed players’ bodies and assimilated to them . This was what Chirpy did . After evolving into a greater species, his energy wasn’t settled . If he swallowed the Jewel of Fire on top of that, it would take more time .
So Chirpy was sleeping for most of the day to take care of his energy . However . When Chirpy entered his body, the resting area was a bit special .
‘Stone . It’s here again . ’
Yeon-woo licked his lips feeling the stone that was located next to his heart . It was only a miniscule bit, but Yeon-woo could feel the stone moving a few times .
It didn’t give him energy, or do anything . It just acted as a brazier for the fire that the Phoenix left for him, and now it was a shelter for Chirpy .
Once, he had asked Chirpy why he rested in the stone . And Chirpy tilted his head as if he didn’t know and responded .
[I’m not sure . It’s just nice in there . ]
[Nice?]
[Yeah . It’s warm and cozy . So sleep just comes to me! Totally!]
He thought it was because that was where the Phoenix’s fire was . But after some observation, he realized that wasn’t the case . Chirpy’s energy settled faster inside the stone . And sturdily .
Better than the Magic Circuit .
Like it was different from how it looked like on the surface .
‘That might be the reason why the spark from the Phoenix settled there . ’
Yeon-woo’s gaze sunk while trying to feel the stone .
‘It’s only a minute amount, but I can feel parts of the Void in there . And the Sabertooth Tiger’s remains were tightly wrapped around it . ’
He realized that the stone he thought was a failure wasn’t a failure after all . It was just incomplete . It was ready to be completed if only given the materials .
And the parts of the Four Legendary Beasts might be materials as well . However, Yeon-woo couldn’t leave such an uncontrollable and creepy thing alone . He didn’t know when it might be a poison to him .
He didn’t like that it was the result of the sacrifice of multitudes, and if he couldn’t control it, it was useless .
But it wasn’t like there was a way to get rid of it . And it became more difficult now that the Legendary Beasts’ vestiges were there, and because Chirpy thought of it as his shelter .
‘Should I just complete it? Or should I think more about how to get rid of it . ’
Yeon-woo clicked his tongue at the stone that had become weak again . And he stopped thinking about it . Since Chirpy was using it, it probably couldn’t harm him for the time being . So he was going to focus on crossing the Large Desert first .
[All trials have been finished . ]
[You have accomplished the miracle of crossing the Large Desert without a single break . Additional karma is being rewarded . ]
[You have received 5,000 Karma . ]
[You have received an additional 3,000 Karma . ]
[The received Karma is being added to the total Karma . ]
[Will you put your name on the Hall of Honor?]
[You have denied registration,]
[You can change your mind regarding registration whenever you want as your accomplishments are being recorded in the history of the Tower despite not being revealed . ]
[Will you ascend to the 13th floor?]
Yeon-woo stepped inside the blue portal .
As he had expected, it wasn’t that difficult to cross the large desert . Rather, it was almost fun, like he was hiking . Since he could incorporate training .
Although the sand that sunk with every step and the atmosphere that was boiling hot enough to leave burn marks wasn’t that great . Not only was he able to increase his physical resistance to outer influences, it was also a big help in increasing his property of Holy Fire .
And he had installed additional Cores, so he was currently, he was finished with 108 Cores . He didn’t forget about training while crossing the desert either . Phante and Edora would’ve shaken their heads if they saw him .
Yeon-woo looked back at the Large Desert he had crossed, and was about to cross over to the 13th floor without any regrets . But then .
“Please wait just a moment . ”
A portal opened mid air and a rabbit guardian fell with a plop .
It was Laplace, the Guardian he met on the 11th floor . Yeon-woo looked at him with slightly surprised eyes . Why was someone that hadn’t appeared once during the 11th floor here?
Yeon-woo thought for a moment that he shouldn’t be caught here, but he shook his head .
The Guardians of the Tower were limited by the Tower’s system and couldn’t interfere in players’ businesses . Then why was he here?
Yeon-woo stopped walking and started at Laplace . Without any questions . Just a dry gaze . As if asking why he was here .
“You’re just like when I met you in the past, quiet . You seem to be busy, so I’ll just get straight to the point . ”
Yeon-woo didn’t make any reply . Laplace smoothed his face with his hands . He checked himself to see if he was smiling because he thought it might be interpreted in a different way and spoke .
“Currently, player ### is heading towards the Platform Three Goddess temple, am I correct?”
Yeon-woo’s eyes distorted under the mask . Even if it was the Guardian, no one liked their destinations being tracked . But Laplace just waved his arm as if saying not to worry .
“Don’t worry so much . Us Guardians only exist to ensure a smooth environment for the players . We won’t ever bother player ### or spread rumors, so you don’t need to worry about such things . ”
Yeon-woo just looked at Laplace’s red eyes . He didn’t know what he was thinking .
Now that he thought about it, even his brother had a hard time dealing with the Guardians . Especially the highest ranking 12 Guardians .
And from what Yeon-woo knew, Laplace was .
‘The Zodiac’s rabbit . Rabbits have lots of curiosity and like to stick their nose and interfere in others’ businesses . ’
He wasn’t a trustworthy fellow .
“Then . Why are you here?”
“I’m here to deliver the words of the higher-ups . ”
“Higher-ups?”
“You might not be aware, but us 12 Zodiac Guardians have another role . It’s to be a messenger of the gods and demons . ”
‘Messenger?’
Yeon-woo widened his eyes at the unexpected response .
“I’m here to deliver the words of one the demons . ”
Laplace’s smiling face while he was talking suddenly fell .
And the atmosphere turned cold . The heat of the Large Desert disappeared and a dark and cold aura spread into the surroundings .
Laplace’s eyes turned into a bitter blackish-red color . A shady aura blew in the air .
‘Magi . ’
Yeon-woo read the energy exuded by Laplace and frowned . Laplace spoke in the demon’s voice .
“Out of . The Platform . three goddesses . Beware . Of the oldest . ”
After he finished speaking, and magi in the air faded away like it was never there . The heat of the Large Desert returned, and Laplace’s eyes became red again .
“Beware of the Platform Three Goddesses? What does that mean? And who’s the demon that delivered those words?”
Laplace shrugged .
“I am only a messenger, I don’t know the details . Even if I do, I can’t say it because of the limits of the system . Player ### needs to determine the specifics . ”
Laplace laughed as he responded, but Yeon-woo didn’t focus on what he was saying and was lost in thought .
‘The oldest should be Urd . But why?’
Yeon-woo became annoyed . Now he was about to put his plans in action . But because of a variable, they were paused . It was the first time the messages that the gods and demons were observing him felt so annoying .
“Why are you delivering this to me?”
“I wouldn’t know . Would a mere errand-runner like me know what the gods and demons think? Isn’t that so?”
Yeon-woo thought Laplace was twisting his words . But even after this warning, he couldn’t not go to the 16th floor . It would be stupid to blindly trust the demon’s words .
A demon was a demon . They were a species that had a sly tongue . No, aside from that, he was annoyed that they were trying to move him however they wanted to .
So he was planning on ignoring it .
‘And I was expected to make the Three Goddesses mad anyway . ’
It was obvious they were going to leave the temple in ruins trying to take the Saber God’s son away . He didn’t think he would get a good reputation with the Three Goddesses after this anyway .
“Like I expected, you don’t seem to want to listen . Then . I hope you go your way . I’ve taken extra care, so on your way to the 16th floor, there won’t be anyone to bother you . ”
Laplace laughed and bowed like he read Yeon-woo’s thoughts .
Yeon-woo moved past Laplace and was transported to the 13th floor . A light covered his eyes .
[The 13th floor… . ]
[The trial has… . ]
After passing a few floors rapidly .
[This is the 16th, the gate of ‘Life’s Spinning Wheel . ’]
Yeon-woo was finally able to arrive at his destination .
The start zone was an empty area surrounded by an expansive forest . There were 3 paths to leave the forest .
The mercenaries were taking a break after having already arrived at the area . But they looked a lot different from when they had just left the 11th floor . It was the result of them searching for hidden pieces like the Jewel of Fire .
Yeon-woo flicked his finger to toss them his Holy Fire and spoke .
“Then pull out everything you’ve gathered . ”
An indifferent attitude without recognition of how hard they worked . The mercenaries all looked like there were going to cry .
‘This is like… . . ’
‘Collecting money . ’
‘The reason why he brought us along isn’t to… . . make us panhandlers, right? No way . ’
The mercenaries didn’t know that they were right on . No, they were avoiding the fact .
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