CH 184

Gabinji11-14 minutes 24.09.2022

When Kronos grabbed his hand so unexpectedly, Gi-Gyu couldn’t do anything to stop him. It appeared that it was true Kronos was like God in this space.

Still holding Gi-Gyu’s wrist, Kronos explained, “She wanted the world to return to its original state. That is why she recreated the original dimensions and reinstated the rulers I had killed. She even returned Chaos to its prison.”

Kronos’ speech became faster as his face crumpled. “In the end, only the Tower, Gaia, and I remained the same.”

Meanwhile, Gi-Gyu could only watch Kronos’s eyes as if he were dreaming because Kronos was speaking like he was reading an incantation.

Kronos continued, “And she created a new world. A world only she could touch. One that suited her needs—”

Suddenly, Kronos stopped talking. His eyes, his lips, his fingers—everything stopped moving. Gi-Gyu followed suit and remained quiet.

“It was—” Kronos was about to say something when the system warned.

[Fraudulent access has been detected.]

[Blocking will begin.]

Kronos stepped back and finished his sentence, “The earth you call home.”

“...?”

Gi-Gyu tried to understand the unexpected information thrown at him, but his mind turned blank.

[The fraudulent access has been blocked.]

[The axis of time will be restored.]

As the system announcements rang in Gi-Gyu’s head, Kronos waved his hand, and a watch appeared on his finger.

Gi-Gyu’s watch.

The same watch that originally belonged to Kronos.

The only item left of his father.

That very watch was in Kronos’s hand.

Fwoosh.

With a strange noise, the watch broke down. Resentment in his voice, Kronos announced, “Gaia, I finally found what is mine.”

The watch was no more; instead, Kronos was now holding his scythe.

“Since I have found my Scythe of Time, I am finally at the same level as you… Well, not really, but I can at least try to do something.” Kronos smiled.

Gi-Gyu yelled, “Kronos! What are you doing…?!”

“Since you have passed the test, your seal has been strengthened further. So don’t worry. This watch was only a medium for your seal. The seal is now securely in your shell, which we want. After all, it will be troublesome even for me if it breaks,” Kronos replied.

The situation was becoming hectic, but Gi-Gyu’s mind had cleared a little. He no longer called Kronos “Father.” He didn’t know what it was, but Gi-Gyu knew Kronos had done something to him just now. All Gi-Gyu knew was that Kronos had hypnotized him.

Kronos smiled and murmured, “The real Kronos loved you.” His smile deepened as he added, “We shall meet each other again, Son.”

Kronos’s form slowly disappeared.

[The order has been restored.]

[Time has returned to normal.]

[The fraudulent assessor has been blocked.]

[A new job has been given.]

[...]

Despite the many announcements ringing in his head, Gi-Gyu didn’t stop looking at the spot from which Kronos had vanished. Again, his father was gone.

Drip.

He didn’t want to cry, but tears still rolled down his cheeks. Why was he crying? Because his father loved him? Or did he feel betrayed because someone he had believed was his father did something to him?

Gi-Gyu didn’t know the answer. And he didn’t bother to wipe away his tears this time.

-Master…

El called out to him quietly.

“I feel better. Like a heavy burden has been lifted,” Gi-Gyu whispered.

-Moron…

Lou muttered. Somehow, that expletive sounded kind.

Gi-Gyu knew the tears and the confusing emotions from when he saw Kronos weren’t his own.

‘They are Jupiter’s…’ Gi-Gyu felt certain they belonged to his other self.

***

“Stat screen.” After what seemed like an eternity, he finally saw that familiar transparent screen again. The very first thing he noticed was his level.

[Level 1]

“Still one? Even after all that I have gone through?” Gi-Gyu felt bitter, but his smile looked mysterious. After all, he was now as strong as most high rankers; he even suspected he could go toe to toe with Soo-Jung. So how laughable was it that he was still at the lowest level?

“Well, who cares?” It was only a number, so Gi-Gyu didn’t care about it anymore. He continued to study the screen.

[Job: Ego Master]

[Unique ability: Sync]

-Abilities-

[Assimilation (SS): You can use 90% of Ego’s abilities.]

[Death: Can control death.]

[Life: Can control life.]

[Chaos: Can control chaos.]

[Combination: Can combine Egos.]

[Grant: Can grant an Ego.]

[Possession: Can temporarily possess an Ego to use 100% of its abilities.]

[The hidden ability hasn’t been opened yet.]

[Retained Ego: Flame Giant (Hwang Chae-Il)]

[Retained Ego Fragments: 112 pieces.]

Gi-Gyu read his status screen carefully and sighed.

“Is this a good thing?” he muttered. After conquering the 50th floor, he had obtained a new job: Ego master. Apart from that, his stat screen also had three new lines.

“An Ego master…”

His antecedent title was Egos’ partner, but the change had brought along an increased assimilation level, allowing him to use up to 90% of his Egos’ abilities.

“If Possession is also related to the job change… I guess the other hidden ability will be revealed later,” Gi-Gyu mumbled. Gi-Gyu had also gained an ability like Death and Life—Chaos.

“As for Possession…” Gi-Gyu wondered aloud.

Lou explained,

-It’s similar to how I took over your body before. But, it’s only similar, so you must study the skill to learn the differences.

El suggested,

-I think it will be slightly different from what Lou did, Master. The 50th floor is known to maximize a player’s potential. So, I doubt you would be rewarded with something you can already do.

Gi-Gyu replied, “Yeah, that makes sense. Anyway, that inaccessible ability is a bit disappointing.”

-Usually, it happens when a player’s level isn’t high enough. However, I think there must be another reason in your case. I believe there is a different restriction here, and it’s your job to learn about it, Master.

Gi-Gyu nodded at El’s explanation. Thankfully, his screen wasn’t blank like when El had evolved. This thought prompted him to look at El in her ring form. He wondered why her stat screen went blank after her evolution.

He commented, “It’s unlikely El has escaped the system’s influence. After all, the system, Gaia, we met here is God in all the places connected by the Tower. That must mean…”

Gi-Gyu tried to think hard as he continued, “Does that mean Gaia didn’t create the new El? Is El’s evolution independent of Gaia? Is this why Gaia can’t determine El’s stats?”

Gi-Gyu’s guess was logical.

-I’m impressed. I didn’t expect you to be able to come up with a theory like that.

Lou said.

Gi-Gyu shrugged and continued, “By the way… Kronos and Jupiter… And Gaia…” Gi-Gyu thought about the three names before whispering, “I’m missing something. Jupiter is supposedly another form of me, but I don’t think his materialization had anything to do with me becoming stronger. I feel Jupiter existed even before I did.”

Gi-Gyu thought of how he cried when he saw Kronos.

“Jupiter… What he felt toward Kronos…” Gi-Gyu tried to come up with an answer but couldn’t. Gi-Gyu only remembered his father’s resentful eyes, so why did he cry as if he missed him terribly? Such emotion wasn’t something Gi-Gyu could understand easily.

‘This emotion had to be something Jupiter felt. And based on what Kronos said…’ Gi-Gyu thought.

“He isn’t my father,” Gi-Gyu announced.

Lou smirked.

-Haa… You finally figured it out. Gosh! A million yankee dimes to your improved smarts.

“Shut up.”

Kronos had to be his father, but that figure resembling Kronos couldn’t be his father. The one who married his mother and fathered him had to be someone different.

“Now, the last thing to check,” Gi-Gyu mumbled and raised a never-before-seen glowing box. It was different from the diamond box that had held the elixir.

-How amazing. I can’t believe I get to see this!

Lou exclaimed.

-It’s the Orharkon box…

The Orharkon box.

Gi-Gyu gulped when he heard the legendary name. He knew that it was the highest level reward box a player could receive. But as far as he knew, no player had ever obtained it. The world only knew about it because the system had mentioned it before.

And this incredible box was in Gi-Gyu’s hands.

El proposed,

-The Orharkon is made of a dimension’s essence. It’s the box with the purest and highest form of energy. Please think carefully about what you want to do with it. Instead of opening it, it might be better to give it to Old Man Hwang to be studied. If the reward inside isn’t worthwhile, you might unnecessarily lose this box, which is a powerful item.

El’s suggestion was unexpected; she considered this box a great treasure.

Lou agreed,

-El’s not wrong about this. This box is indeed a powerful item. Damn! You must be someone real important. Not only did you get to see the memories of such legendary figures, but you also got this box.

Then, Lou went silent, seemingly thinking about something.

-I would expect something unbelievable from this box. Maybe even God’s power. But in case it doesn’t contain something comparable to that, it would be best not to open it at all. It won’t be worth it.

Lou continued,

-The essence of any dimension is basically a piece of God’s power. Researching this box will be a good way for you to become stronger.

Gi-Gyu stared at the Orharkon box.

“Hmm…” He didn’t know what to do. It was like he was holding a lottery ticket with a high probability of winning. However, there was also a tiny chance it could be a dud. So, should he just sell it at a slightly lower price? It wouldn’t be a big win, but it wouldn’t be a dud either.

“What a dilemma…” Gi-Gyu grinned. But, he suddenly realized how silly his worries were. “I must gamble.”

-You’re incorrigible.

-I respect your decision, Master.

Fwoosh.

The Orharkon box opened, and abundant magic oozed out with blinding brilliance. Consequently, Gi-Gyu couldn't see what was inside the box.

[You have made the right decision.]

The system, or Gaia, announced.

‘Was this also a test?’

[Life is growing.]

[Your shell is being reconstructed.]

[Death is growing.]

[Your shell is being reconstructed.]

[You have gained greeted control over Chaos’ power.]

[Your shell is being reconstructed.]

‘Three times?! My shell was reconstructed three times?’ It was as if Gi-Gyu had drunk over three bottles of elixir. Just this alone made it worth opening this box. But this wasn’t the end of the reward.

[Lou and El’s information is being updated. They will gain previously missing information.]

Gi-Gyu guessed they would gain the information they had been missing from their past.

[Your Egos will become a little stronger.]

[Your Egos will become a little more specialized.]

[Your Egos will gain a little more potential.]

Gi-Gyu couldn’t understand these announcements clearly, but he knew they had to be good things. And finally…

[Your last reward is this.]

Gaia was being so generous today. Gi-Gyu’s heart pounded widely.

‘I’m so glad I chose to open it.’ Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure what he might have gained by having Old Man Hwang study the Orharkon box, but he felt he had made the right decision. Gaia had already given him so much, yet that wasn’t the end.

‘Thank you, Gaia!’ Gi-Gyu thanked Gaia silently. He couldn’t wait to see what he would get next.

But…

“Huh?” Gi-Gyu was surprised when nothing happened. He waited a long time, yet he felt no changes.

Then suddenly, he heard a voice.

[Please climb the Tower. Please conquer the Tower.]

“Huh?” Gi-Gyu became confused. Didn’t the system promise to give him one more reward? Were these encouraging words supposed to be a reward?

[If you conquer the Tower…]

Gaia trailed off. After a short silence, the last reward was revealed.

[You can sync with Babel.]

Gi-Gyu’s eyes widened when he heard that.

[That is your last reward.]

Gi-Gyu couldn't think at all. The last reward he got was potential.

The potential to sync with the Tower.

Slowly, darkness filled the surrounding space.