After Ten Millennia in Hell

Side Story Chapter 155 - Master of the Tower (2)

“An... unfamiliar ceiling.”

Oh Kang-Woo was met with a place he had never seen before once he regained consciousness. It was neither the realm of the Constellations nor the forty-first floor— it was just an endless hallway.

It was not dark and gloomy like the tunnels in dungeons or caves; it was full of life. Sunflowers were growing on both sides of the hallway, the lights on the ceiling were as warm as the sun in autumn, and he could smell the refreshing scent of greens. Bees and butterflies were flying freely from flower to flower. One could even say the hallway was teeming with too much life.

“Shit!” Kang-Woo cursed as he looked around.

He sighed and swept his hair back.

‘I can’t believe I was summoned to the top just like that.’

He knew his existence was an anomaly in the tower’s perspective.

‘I’m like a hacker in a game.’

A GM would naturally be on high alert against a Level 1 newbie one-shotting an end-game dungeon boss.

“But seriously though, how am I in the wrong?”

Kang-Woo did not know the exact rules of the Tower of Creation but no matter how he thought about it, he did not start the issue. He had only gone to beat up the God of Depravity because she had tried to scam him first. He had only gone to catch the culprit who stole his money but was being punished for breaking the rules. He couldn’t help but be enraged.

‘What is this? Hell Joseon[1]? Why are you making such a huge deal out of things when you’re not even helping me get the money that’s rightfully mine?’

“You bet, I’m gonna fight this.”

Kang-Woo would at the very least get the ten million Nebula he was owed.

‘Ten million is an insane amount.’

He could pull the Trait gacha a hundred times.

‘It should be more than enough to get an SSS-rank Trait!’

No matter how unlucky he was, he should be able to get at least one useful Trait.

“Hup.”

He had reached the top much faster than he had expected but now that he was here, he couldn’t keep grumbling any longer.

‘I might as well meet this Master of the Tower.’

He had a feeling he could meet the Titan who created the Tower of Creation.

“But this hallway... it’s a bit too small for there to be a Titan here.”

Not even Kang-Woo knew just how large the Titans were.

‘Even Bauli, I doubt that was his true size.’

Since Bauli had been trapped in the Demonic Sea, the form Kang-Woo had seen likely was not his original form.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll find out.”

He wouldn’t find the answer even if he thought about it.

“Fuuu, haaa.”

Kang-Woo closed his eyes. He enveloped himself with demonic energy from the Abyss and stayed on guard so that he could react instantly to any situation.

‘I’d be fine if it were a Constellation but I need to keep my guard up against a Titan.’

But of course, resolving things through conversation was best— not even Kang-Woo wanted to avoid a battle against a Titan.

‘But if push comes to shove, I’ll fight.’

He had no intention of avoiding battles waged against him. Although his body reconstruction was incomplete, he would just unleash the Abyss in the worst-case scenario.

“But if that happens... I won’t be able to keep my promise with Darling.”

He would be trapped in the Abyss like after his battle against Bael if he unleashed the Abyss while the reconstruction was incomplete. He was more than capable of escaping it since he had done it before but it was impossible to come back in the month that he had promised with Seol-Ah to come back in.

‘I have to handle things so that it doesn’t lead to a battle.’

Kang-Woo did not like being passive but his promise with Han Seol-Ah was more important.

He walked as he looked around. He felt an inexplicable uneasiness as he walked down the hallway excessively teeming with life. He felt nauseous and dizzy. After about an hour, the endless hallway came to an end.

At the end of the hallway was a set of two white doors covered in ivy. Kang-Woo grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it.

Clack.

The giant door thirty meters tall opened all too easily.

Creak.

The two doors opened like an automatic door once Kang-Woo turned the handle. He was met with a beautiful garden filled with a myriad of flowers. It was so vast that he couldn’t see the end.

‘What is this...?’

Kang-Woo felt queasy after witnessing the garden— he felt strange as if seeing a puzzle piece or a cog that did not match. He felt unpleasant and anxious.

“Oh—” A young man was leisurely tidying twigs in the flower garden. “You’re here.”

The man smiled.

“...”

He was pure white. His white hair went down to his shoulders and his transparent skin was as pale as pottery. Kang-Woo felt an odd sex appeal from the man as the corners of his red lips went up— it was hard to believe he was a man.

‘No, is he even a man?’

The individual’s androgynous looks made it hard to distinguish their sex.

“Are you the Master of the Tower?” Kang-Woo asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Not even he, who was extraordinarily skilled in observing people, couldn’t get a read on the young man. Kang-Woo couldn’t get a read on the man’s personality, thoughts, ideologies, or beliefs. He looked as if he would break apart and scatter with just a touch.

However, that did not mean the young man looked weak. The man was like a mirage— one who seemed like he was right in front of Kang-Woo but did not exist.

“Yes, that’s correct.” The pure-white man smiled like a fully bloomed flower and bowed courteously. “I apologize for summoning you to the top so suddenly.”

His voice was as refreshing and welcoming as the spring breeze.

“Although it is forbidden to interfere with a climber’s actions, this is a rather special case.”

“Is that why you summoned me to the top of the tower without my permission?” Kang-Woo criticized.

He had no intention of fighting but needed to stand his ground to get the ten million Nebula he failed to get from the God of Depravity.

“Haha.” The young man swept back his white hair. “I have no excuse. The fault is mine.”

“If you know it’s your fault, I expect a corresponding payment for my troubles.”

The young man thought for a moment and gently shook his head. “Mmm... I don’t think I can.”

Kang-Woo frowned. “So you’re saying you acknowledge your mistake but won’t pay me what I’m owed?”

“No, that is not what I mean.” The young man shook his head again. “I mean that nothing I have can be considered a reward for you.”

“I wonder about that. We can only find out once you lay everything out, won’t we?”

“Hahaha. I will give you time to do that later.” The young man smiled and put down the twig in his hand. “How about a cup of tea? It’s made with dried leaves and it’s excellent, if I do say so myself.”

“I’m not much of a tea person.”

“Oh, is that so? What a shame.” The young man sighed as if genuinely disappointed and shook his head. He pointed at the table in the middle of the garden and suggested, “Take a seat. We have much to discuss, don’t we?” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The table was as white as his hair.

“Very well.”

Kang-Woo nodded and pulled a chair back. A drop of black mucus fell from his finger to the ground at the same time and quickly smeared into a flower.

“Mmm... before we talk,” the pure-white man said. It seemed like he did not notice the black mucus. “May I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Which one—” The young man stared at Kang-Woo with his white eyes. “Are you?”

Kang-Woo did not quite understand the question. He shrugged and answered, “I’m not interested in men.”

‘I already have three wives.’

“Hm? Oh, hahaha!!!” The young man tilted his head in confusion and burst into laughter. “Hahaha, that is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“Oh, it looks like you didn’t know.” The man nodded and smiled. “I was asking whether you were the Sky or the Sea.”

“...?”

The man’s clarification did not make the question any clearer.

“Hm? Was I not clear enough? In that case, allow me to change the question.” The man smiled, showing his transparent and white teeth, and asked, “Which one do you have— the Black Sky or the Demonic Sea?”

“Black... Sky?”

Kang-Woo frowned intensely. A term he had never heard before swirled in his head.

‘What the hell is that?’

He had no idea.

“From your reaction, it seems you are the Sea.”

The young man nodded in understanding. His gesture, as if he understood everything about Kang-Woo while he knew nothing about the man, made Kang-Woo feel even more unpleasant.

“...”

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stared at the pure-white man. He wanted to ask in more detail what the Black Sky was but there was something else he needed to ask first.

‘Authority of the Watcher.’

The black mucus, that had smeared into a flower, had now spread throughout the garden. He shared his vision with the black mucus.

“Then may I ask something as well?” Kang-Woo asked.

“Oh, yes. Of course.” The young man smiled.

“Are you... the Master of the Tower?”

“Hm? Was that not the first thing you asked?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Haha. Yes, I am the Master of the Tower,” the young man answered as he nodded.

“Is that so?” Kang-Woo reached down and gently caressed a leaf of a flower. He gazed at the man with narrowed eyes. “In that case, whose corpse is this?”

“...”

It felt as if time had frozen. The young man smiled awkwardly in the silence.

“I’m not quite sure what you m—”

“What a large garden you have here.”

Kang-Woo recalled the uneasiness he had felt when he saw the beautiful garden. He found out the true nature of the flower garden through the Authority of the Watcher.”

“As large as the corpse of a Titan.”

“...” The pure-white man smiled as gently and full of life as before. “It is true that I am the Master of the Tower. However... it hasn’t been very long since I have taken on the position.”

“Who was the former Master of the Tower?”

“Someone named Nostrian.”

Kang-Woo had never met the individual but was familiar with the name.

“How did he die?” he asked.

“Oh. About that...”

Kang-Woo’s transcendental senses were blaring warnings at him.

“I killed him,” the man said with a smile as if it were nothing.

“...”

“Oh, right! Come to think of it, we haven’t even introduced ourselves.” The young man clapped his hands together. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The pure-white man stood up from the chair. He brought his feet together, placed one hand on his stomach, and bowed.

“My name is...”

His shoulder-length hair brushed against his cheeks.

“Akart.”

1. Hell Joseon is a satirical term used to criticize the hellish socioeconomic situation in South Korea. ☜