She had never felt a cool breeze before, but she did meet a hot breeze one day. The hot wind blew from behind. “Hey. I’ve heard your name a lot. You’re the Gray Spider, right? That’s an awfully long name. I’ll just call you Gray. How is it? Doesn’t it sound friendly? But why is it so stuffy here? Are there no windows? Where’s the ventilation? Do people really live here?” The Gray Spider sighed and turned around. The man was red and fiery. Though it was fall and the leaves were turning red, his hair and eyes looked more like the sun than autumn leaves. The corners of his mouth were always slightly curled up, revealing his shiny, white teeth. Everything about him glowed like summer. It was as if he had been born in the wrong season. The word “sword” was scribbled on his sleeveless martial arts uniform. When the spider used magic to see behind him, she saw the word “emperor” written on the back. “Fuck, you’re a real wacko,” she grumbled. The man, who was as hot as summer, clearly went mental from his own scorching heat. Even his sweat felt hot. It wasn’t the kind of smelly sweat that stuck to the skin for a long time, but the kind that had poured down during intense exercise. His blood vessels and meridians seemed to constantly flow with aura, leaving no room for waste to accumulate. This made his sweat as clean as a newborn’s. The droplets of perspiration on his skin were clearer than a baby’s, like dewdrops on a sun-ripened apple. The only thing that she could sense from his sweat was the heat that reminded her of the scorching wind. His well-defined muscles glistened in the sunlight from the dewdrops. If the sun had a face, it would probably be smiling and shining brightly and unabashedly. Everything about him denied death. The Sword Emperor smirked. “Why? Are you jealous?” “I won’t ask how you easily managed to visit the top floor of the headquarters and enter the secret laboratory that only I can access. First, it would be a waste of my time. Second, it would only give you the chance to brag.” The Sword Emperor tousled her hair. “My Gray is such a smart girl.” “And I won’t fight either. Why? Because if we fight here, my precious research tools will fly everywhere. Sword Emperor, I’m trying my best to maintain my composure, so for the sake of your life and my peace of mind, please stop provoking me. Otherwise, I’ll kill you, you motherfucker.” “What? You’re saner than I thought.” The Sword Emperor plopped down on the sofa. She had coincidentally discovered the sofa while destroying a kingdom six hundred years ago. The incredible treasure hugged her bottom perfectly with its soft cushions. It was also the Gray Spider’s favorite spot to sit and rest when she grew tired of researching. The Sword Emperor said, “Wow. Hey, this sofa is super soft! What is this material? It’s amazing!” The sofa was also a magical, intelligent item. The Gray Spider sighed. “Get to the point before I rip your mouth open and use it as a scarf.” “This sofa opened its mouth and bit my beautiful ass!” “I know you’re a legendary Hunter, Sword Emperor. You’ve only been on the fiftieth floor for half a month, yet the streets are already buzzing about your achievements.” “My ass! My ass! Aaaaah! My cute little ass!” “My Magic Tower has been keeping an eye on you, too. Though I didn’t expect you to come looking for us first. So, what’s your business here? Are you here to cooperate with us and get to the fifty-first floor? Or do you want to take us on?” “My ass is being torn apaaaaaaaart!” The Gray Spider struck the sofa with her staff. Only then did the sofa release the Sword Emperor and close its mouth. “Hah, heh, hu... Hah, heh, hu... I almost died.” “Just tell me what you’re going to do.” “Nothing. I just came to see you. You’ve been stuck here for over a thousand years, right? I wanted to know what kind of person is at that unprecedented level of homebody.” “You seem more normal than I expected. Ouch, that hurts.” The Sword Emperor brushed off his bottom. The Gray Spider frowned. “Normal? Who are you calling normal right now?” “I’m talking about you, Gray.” “I’ve heard a lot of things, but it’s been a while since someone called me normal.” The Sword Emperor shrugged. “You get angry at things that deserve anger. After getting angry, you take responsibility in your own way. You’re just a normal adult.” The Gray Spider was speechless for a moment. “You do know that six Constellations are currently staked in the Magic Tower’s basement, serving as mana supplies, right? And are you aware that we’ve also conquered dozens of worlds so far, correct?” “I’m sure you have your reasons. I can tell just by looking into people’s eyes if they are brats taking out their frustration on the world or if they are people who have their own rules and are weaving a web around the world. You’re the latter, Gray. You were hurt in the past, but you’ve overcome it somehow.” “Ha. A bastard I met three minutes ago is pretending to be a sage.” “I don’t think I’m being presumptuous,” the Sword Emperor said with a grin. “It took you a thousand years to get here, and it also took me a thousand years to meet you. Three minutes is just the result of all these years. A person’s life is ultimately about waiting to meet someone, but if you’re asking if I’m your destiny, I’m sorry. I’m not.” He stood up. “I need to climb the Tower alone.” “What does that mean?” “Countless people in the universe are more unfortunate than me, but even they can go higher when they choose to. I’ve decided to climb the Tower alone to prove that.” The Gray Spider sneered. “What a noble sacrifice.” “Yes, it’s noble.” The Sword Emperor bowed. “I’m sorry. I have to do what I want to do, no matter what. I’ll devote my entire life to leaving my sword stroke in this world. I don’t have time to worry about you. I’ll fulfill my mission, even if it means becoming a ghost.” A strange emotion overwhelmed the Gray Spider. She could sense that the man in front of her was genuinely apologizing to her. He seemed to know exactly what he had to apologize for and what she had to forgive him for. It had only been five minutes since they met, yet the Gray Spider felt the man’s footprints had already been imprinted on her desert-like heart. It would take a lot of wind to blow away the traces he would leave behind. “You’re merely living longer than others. That makes your clock a little bigger, so it takes more time for the second hand to catch up with the hour hand. Be patient and continue living. Better days will come.” “You...” the Gray Spider murmured. “You’re incredibly irresponsible, aren’t you?” He laughed. “I’ll climb to the fifty-first floor tomorrow.” “I never gave you permission.” “Don’t worry. I plan to give you a free remodeling and get paid for it.” “Do you think it’s that simple?” “If you’re annoyed or don’t like it, come after me. I have no friends or a lover. Being followed by a stalker while being unaware of it is my fate as a celebrity. Follow me, and engrave the sight of me reaching the hundredth floor in your memory. Believe in me, Gray! You can be the second Hunter to clear the hundredth floor!” The Sword Emperor’s smile shone like the sun. It was hotter than the desert. Constellation: Eternal Plains Warhorse. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net Goal: Defeat the Magic Tower on the fiftieth floor. Quest progress: Started. Constellation: Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye. Goal: Reveal and expose all facilities and terrain inside the Magic Tower. Quest progress: Started. Constellation: Tear-Bringing Bell of the Dead. Goal: Engrave the names of those sacrificed by the Magic Tower over the past one hundred fifty years on their five spires to commemorate them. Quest progress: Some progress has been made. Constellation: Lonely Seeker Goal: Find each follower’s archenemy of the Magic Tower and defeat them in a duel. Quest progress: Some progress has been made. Constellation: Incarnation of Love and Lust. Goal: Shake and break the heart of the elder, the Magic Tower’s leader. Quest progress: In progress. A storm of mana swept in. “You bastaaaaaaaaaaaaard!” “Wow, this attack is on a whole different level...” I murmured. “I knew you’d come back alive! Is this reincarnation or possession? Why did you come back alive instead of staying dead?” I quickly unleashed my aura and used the Demonic Heaven Arts, slicing my shadow into hundreds of pieces and using them to attack the elder. Hundreds of explosions erupted in the sky. Behind the dust, the elder stood unscathed. Enraged, she flew toward me. With each twitch of her fingers, dozens of spells were unleashed, intercepting all of my attacks. —Zombie. I’m sorry, but can you repeat what I’m going to say?” I don’t mind. Go ahead. —You don’t seem any stronger than you were one hundred fifty years ago. I chuckled. “Hey, Gray.” “You don’t seem any stronger than you were one hundred fifty years ago. That’s... how should I put it? A bit lame.” “I’ll kill you! Kill you!! I’ll tear your soul to pieces, scatter it across the universe, and cover it in my shit!” “You know full well what a person’s heart is like when they’re left behind. But you, Sword Emperor...!” The magic spells of the Magic Tower’s elder were indeed spectacular. Thirty-six spells were fired at me simultaneously. Each spell came from a different direction and at a different speed, mercilessly disrupting my flow of attack. There was no pattern to the incoming strikes, it was more like a bombardment. For the first time since the battle began, I got scratched. “After messing with a person’s heart as you pleased, you also lived and died as you pleased! You asked me to watch you clear the hundredth floor on your own, but you died alone!” “Allowing that man even a single chance was the only mistake of my life!” she yelled. —Well, the ninety-ninth floor was tougher than I expected. I had no choice! A blade-like mana scratched my calf. Fortunately, my nerves weren’t severed, but I could feel the pain. She screamed, “You bastards are always ! With all your sweet talk, you convince me that you’re different, that this time will be different. But the result is always failure! Sword Emperor, how are you any different from the other bastards? You’re just a loudmouth!” This was becoming dangerous. I had prided myself on surpassing the Constellation Murderer’s level, yet here I was, losing to the Gray Spider. Was it because I was facing an archwitch for the first time? Or was it because my opponent was maximizing the power of her magic because of her anger? “You are! Just one! Of the countless! Sons of bitches! How dare you make me feel so emotional?” She was strong. Despite using the First Form of the Demonic Heaven Arts, Starvation Death, she nullified it with ease. She seemed to know what hunger felt like. “What makes you so special, you scumbag? What the hell are you trying to do? Conquer the Tower alone and show the humans who are less fortunate than you? Sword Emperor, what did you show everyone?” It was the same when I used the Thirst Death and Drowning Death at the same time. The elder knew well what it meant to be thirsty and unable to breathe, so she quickly saw through my attacks and twisted them to nullify them. “Do you know that, after you died, the Sword Emperor Church was created? Ha! Can there be a more ridiculous masterpiece? A religion! You tried to show a human’s greatness, but people found a god’s greatness! People will never acknowledge someone greater than themselves. They’ll only do so after becoming gods themselves! Sword Emperor, in the end, you’ve just become another stranger in this world.” Freezing Death, Poisoning Death, Illness Death, Bludgeoning Death, Fire Death, even Self-Determination Death—from the Demonic Heaven’s first sky to the ninth, the elder broke through every sky and finally charged toward me. Some of her veins burst, too. Wounded by my sword strikes, blood spurted from her forearm and thigh, but none of the wounds were fatal. Had she lived too long to accept new wounds? The elder was right in front of me now. Her magic, moving like a spear, crossed paths with my sword. “I’ll ask you again! What reason do I have not to kill you?” she yelled. I had met the Tower Master and witnessed her trauma and the screams of everyone in the universe. Since then, this sixth sense had grown within me. It now quietly rose and showed me the past or future of the person I was fighting. This strange phenomenon had no set rules. Like deja vu, it came without warning, and the landscape that pierced my opponent’s heart also pierced mine. It wasn’t the voice of the Guardian behind me. Rather, it was the voice of the Sword Emperor that had spoken to the elder, echoing like an auditory hallucination. “Be patient and continue living. Engrave the sight of me reaching the hundredth floor in your memories. I’ll complete my goal even if I have to become a ghost. Trust me!” The elder’s emotions, overlapping with his voice, reached me as well. As the Sword Emperor had said, the elder had secretly followed him like a fleeting dream in broad daylight. When the Sword Emperor reached the ninety-ninth floor, the elder waited silently on the ninetieth floor without telling anyone. One week. Six months. Three years. Six years had passed by the time the elder stood up. As she turned back, she muttered, “Idiot.” The hallucination ended there. I seemed to have heard a clang. Was I imagining things? However, the brief moment that had unfolded before my eyes truly shattered like glass. Pushing aside countless glass shards, the elder rushed toward me until her fingers wrapped around my neck. She shouted, “Do you know why I didn’t rebuild the Magic Tower’s sixth spire? Why I left the ruins untouched for over a hundred years? It was to stake your remains to the ground, seal them, and make you the sixth spire’s offering! Pay the price for your defeat, Sword Emperor! Like the other humans and the Constellations, you’re nothing but a failure. I will make sure the whole world knows it! Never again shall humans dare to have vain hope!” Her fingers dug into my neck. The Guardian stood silently behind her, watching. The elder was shouting at the Sword Emperor, unaware that he was right behind her. I squinted one eye as pain dug into my neck, but I kept staring at the Guardian until the very end. The Guardian was calm and expressionless. Seeing his eyes, which showed no regret, remorse, or self-reproach, I realized something. It was as if I had finally found the answer to my question after a long time. “The Sword Emperor, your rival, didn’t fail.” I raised my left hand and grabbed the elder’s wrist. “Elder, the Sword Emperor never failed.” “What are you saying?” “He told you that he would achieve his goal, even if it meant becoming a ghost.” I looked down into the elder’s eyes. “The Sword Emperor didn’t fail. He just died, so he’s still clearing the ninety-ninth floor. Only now, he’s not doing it as a human, but as a spirit. From the first floor... all over again.” I looked at the Guardian. “Isn’t that right?” The elder remained silent. —Yes, you are right. I am still on the ninety-ninth floor quest, Gong-Ja.