CH 313

Chapter 313

Chapter 313 Good Day (3)

The statue was of a woman looking up and holding a sword dearly in her arms. Seeing this, Yoon-seok paused, and Cheon-ma followed him into the stone chamber.

“What are you doing? Why are you standing there?”

As expected, they looked alike. No, it was beyond similarities. He would even believe it if it was made with Cheon-ma as the model. But was it because the vibe was so different? It somehow didn’t feel like the same person. No matter how identical twins are, you can recognize them naturally once you get used to them.

“Hmm, this stone statue gives off a bad feeling.”

Did Cheon-ma herself realize that the stone statue resembled her as soon as she saw it? She frowned.

‘Who the hell made this?’

Yoon-seok realized that it was a meaningless question to ask. It was obvious. Who could do this other than the Tower? Besides, the important thing was not who but why.

Tap. Tap

Yoon-seok approached the statue, and he carefully touched the surface.

[The authority does not exist.]

He didn’t have the authority… the last time he was following Henigus in the Spacetime World, a similar message appeared, and he was kicked out to another world line.

“…Is something wrong?”

As soon as the message popped up, Cheon-ma felt something strange and moved closer. It was also the same as how the Dimensional Stone reacted earlier. Yoon-seok wondered if something might be different if she touched it, but…

“I think we need to find out a little more first. What the hell is this statue?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

She couldn’t just touch it without knowing what might happen. Precious colleagues, special power. Beyond that, Cheon-ma was now a precious person to Yoon-seok.

‘Well, it’s like a dog worrying about a tiger.’

After that, Yoon-seok, investigating the stone statue, stepped down. All that popped up was the message that he was not authorized. So it might be better to examine this stone chamber instead. However…

‘Is there no exit?’

Cheon-ma said it earlier. Originally, there was supposed to be a staircase going out instead of this stone chamber. But even after searching all over, there was no way out. Yoon-seok realized it only then.

‘Are we locked up in here…?’

Of course, he wasn’t very worried. There was another way to break down the wall and leave this space like before.

“So when are you going to tell me?”

“What?”

“How long are you going to leave me alone and think to yourself?”

Cheon-ma complained. Yoon-seok, coming to his senses, explained the situation to Cheon-ma. He couldn’t see anything special other than that stone statue. However, when he touched it, it only showed that he didn’t have the authority.

“Then, how about me? Don’t you think it would be different if I tried ?”

“That’s true, but we never know what might happen if you act hastily…”

“It’s been a while since you said something funny.”

“What?”

“When was that? You don’t know anything until you try it yourself.”

That was the case. He didn’t know what a sword was until he wielded one. He didn’t know he could win until he struggled. But the results weren’t always good.

“But you should be as careful as possible…”

“You sound like an old man from the Alliance.”

Yoon-seok said it all because he was worried about Cheon-ma. Still, to be honest, he didn’t feel good when such an answer returned.

“Let me tell you one last thing. Those who want certainty will only be complacent.”

Yoon-seok couldn’t refute Cheon-ma’s words. Just as countless hardships put Yoon-seok here now, there were some places in the world you couldn’t reach unless you walked off a cliff.

“Since when did you become so arrogant? Or did you get anxious because you have more things to protect?”

Perhaps he lost his initial intentions, as she said. Unlike back then, when he was alone, there were so many things he had to protect and take responsibility for.

“Keep in mind. Those who are complacent will have no choice but to watch it all be taken away one day.”

When Yoon-seok didn’t answer, Cheon-ma approached the statue. Then she reached out her hand and said in a very small voice.

“It was you who reminded me of that again.”

Her fingertips touched the stone statue. It was different from when Yoon-seok tried to activate it before.

Whooosh-!

Light erupted from the stone statue and covered Cheon-ma. What the hell was going on?

Yoon-seok watched anxiously.

Swoooosh-.

How long did it take? The light gradually faded, and the hall darkened again. Yoon-seok gulped and carefully opened his mouth.

“…Are you okay?”

“…”

No answer came back. Yoon-seok realized that she couldn’t answer, not that she wasn’t.

“…?”

As soon as she touched the stone statue, Cheon-ma hardened into stone. Her heart was still beating, but she wasn’t breathing,

Yoon-seok reached out for her.

“You better not touch her.”

A voice came from the darkness. It was the voice of a dignified man he heard just a little while ago – the first administrator.

“It’s not like something bad happened to her.”

Wasn’t it a bad thing? It was rather ominous to hear such words from him.

“…What is happening now?”

“I didn’t expect this to happen in this twisted round. As expected, you’re full of surprises.”

Yoon-seok abandoned any pretense at courtesy.

“Put the bullshit aside, why don’t you answer me?”

“You know? A total of 213 times so far. The timing was different, but she came to this room by chance. However, she has never touched that statue.”

“…”

“I don’t know why. No, maybe there was no reason. She said she had a bad feeling about it. Then, she just walked out.”

The man chuckled.

“You can take the donkey to the water, but it’s up to the donkey to drink, right? It has been that way so far.”

“…So, is this situation because of me?”

“Don’t blame yourself. As I said before, nothing bad happened.”

“Can you stop beating around the bush?”

“…Hahaha. Indeed, you deserve to know.”

When Yoon-seok glared at him, the man nodded and continued.

“As time passes, she will open her eyes. And at that time, she’ll receive an incomparably strong power.”

The Tower grants power to the individual challenger. This was against the Tower’s rules, which always rewarded in proportion to effort and achievements.

Yoon-seok asked.

“What the hell is a Slayer?”

“Hmm, should I start from there? I thought you would know even if I didn’t tell you. Of course, the Slayer is meant to kill the Queen.”

Yoon-seok guessed as much, but it became clearer. What purpose did the Heavenly Sword Cave serve?

“But that’s a little misleading. The Heavenly Sword Cave has been dead for a long time. After all, it’s not as useful as expected.”

“It’s not useful, you say?”

“It’s because an easily gained power is as light as it should be.”

The conversation Yoon-seok had with the soul keeper the other day crossed his mind.

—In the first showdown, we learned that you couldn’t use it properly if we gave you a lot effortlessly. That’s how the ordeals were made.

The Tower now granted power only to those who proved their qualifications. It was more efficient, after all.

“Of course, apart from the ordeal, there have been several efforts, such as making a gateway to make use of this place, but… at some point, it was reduced to the exclusive property for only one religion.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you only activate it when the Tower is open?”

“That’s right. So this stone chamber isn’t normally active.”

That was why Cheon-ma didn’t find this stone chamber even after clearing it decades ago. However…

“But I still don’t get it.”

Why did they leave the Heavenly Sword Cave to function normally, even though they could block it if they wanted to?

“Even if we leave it alone, tens of thousands of youngsters filled this place with their spiritual powers, so do you think there’s a need to stop them?”

Yoon-seok realized. No matter how the Moorim people used this place, it was good for the Tower.

“Besides, isn’t it right to leave as many possibilities open as you can to see a new future?”

So, the Heavenly Sword Cave could be a remnant of the old era. At one time, countless Slayers were trained to kill the Queen, but now the ordeals had been created, and it lost its purpose. However, the reason it had been maintained up to now was simply because of the possibilities.

‘A new future?’

Yoon-seok smirked. It was because he felt anew that the future each of them wanted was so different.

“Then why does the stone statue look like her?”

“…That’s simple. Won’t you touch it only when you have a little curiosity?”

Was that the only reason? It was a somewhat vague answer, but logically, Yoon-seok couldn’t find anything to refute. However…

“Anyway, I’ll end the Q&A session here.”

It probably wasn’t just his feeling that the man looked like he was trying to run away.

“You can think as you please. It’s your opinion. Anyway, I’m sincerely rooting for you.”

“If you’re rooting for us, shouldn’t you tell me more about it?”

When Yoon-seok asked, the man grinned.

“But we don’t have time for that.”

What did that mean? Had the situation in the Tower grown worse in the meantime?

“Because more time has passed since you came here than you thought.”

He wasn’t talking about a day or two.

* * *

The man disappeared without warning, just like when he arrived.

‘More time has passed?’

Time is relative. That didn’t mean what a person perceives according to their emotions or the situation was different, but time wasn’t absolute in the Tower. Like the Spacetime World, which he visited recently. Five days there was like a day on Earth. After that, Yoon-seok counted the time after they entered the Heavenly Sword Cave.

‘It’s been about fifteen minutes…?’

That felt about right. Still, the man expressed that they didn’t have much time. In other words, the time to take a deep breath here must’ve been about an hour outside. In the worst case, it could be more than that.

‘…We have to leave quickly.’

Then, Yoon-seok approached Cheon-ma. Even now, she was still in the same position as before. The man said she would wake up on her own after some time, but…

How long did he have to wait?

“…!”

Just when he was thinking about that, Cheon-ma’s eyes fluttered open.

“Are you okay…?”

“How long has it been since I lost my mind?”

“About five minutes.”

“Five minutes…”

“For your information, that is based on the time I spent here. Time seems to pass quickly here, so let’s go out first and talk.”

“…I guess so?”

Yoon-seok led Cheon-ma out first. The way they came out was simple, as soon as Cheon-ma opened her eyes, a portal was opened in front of the stone statue.

“…”

They moved back to the rocky island located in Horizon Lake. The sky was as dark as to when they entered, and invaders were still pouring down. Because of that, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. However, Yoon-seok decided to check the changes to Cheon-ma first.

“I heard you’re going to get stronger. Do you feel anything?”

“…How did you know that?”

“While you were frozen, some guy came and told me about it.”

“What guy?”

Yoon-seok summarized his conversation with the first administrator.

“Gosh, he doesn’t sound pleasant.”

“Yes. So, anyway, is what he said true?

“Well, it’s okay to look at it like that. Since my stats have improved.”

“…Stats? Was there anything else?”

“Yeah, that was all.”

Slayer or what? He said she would become very strong after she opened her eyes. And she barely had her stats increased? That’s all? Yoon-seok felt somewhat disappointed, but…

“How much specifically did it go up?”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that.”

Yoon-seok suddenly hardened at Cheon-ma’s reply.

“But the last time I checked, I saw for sure that all my abilities reached their limits.”

“…What?”

Did he hear wrong?