Many things had happened during the past fifteen days. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the Nove1Fire.net [The Whip of the Self-Tormentors has regained her Star Sign.] [The Sun-Grasping Fist is recruiting new followers for the first time in 233 years!] [The Southeast Guardian has been released from their seal.] [The Night-Scratching Claw has been released from their seal.] [The Failed Soliloquy has been released from their seal.] First, the five Constellations that the Magic Tower sealed were freed. Not all Constellations were fortunate to have a devoted follower like the Berserker. Some had been sealed for as long as nine hundred years, while others had been sealed for as little as two hundred years. They had truly been sealed for a very long time. There was even a Constellation that may have once been glorious but now fell into decline, with no followers remaining. “My last follower who served me died three hundred two years ago,” the Constellation muttered. They had beautiful long black hair that cascaded down onto the carpet, covering the entire room. The Night-Scratching Claw looked up at the sky with starry eyes that matched their title. “Well, I was always a low-level Constellation.” “What kind of Constellation were you?” I asked. “It’s nothing fancy. If you were to lie on a bed in this room or anywhere else, stretch your arm toward the night sky, and try to scratch it with your nails even once in your lifetime, that would lead to my Faith. What do you think? It’s really trivial, right?” The Constellation of the night sky smiled. “No, it’s wonderful. Wait, you didn’t even pretend to be a god. Why did the Gray Spider stake a Constellation like you?” “I don’t know. She probably had her own reasons. Maybe she was annoyed that a message about me appeared whenever she reached toward the night sky. Maybe she coveted my power as a Constellation. Or maybe she did it to save my life.” “Huh?” I tilted my head in confusion. Just a few days ago, the Constellation, pierced through the heart and drained of mana for hundreds of years, had been gazing out the window. The Constellation continued, “Regardless, I don’t hate her. Hatred is a powerful energy. It defines both the sender and the receiver more clearly and it keeps someone who should die alive just as much as love, greed, and hope do. Death King, our savior, do you understand what I’m saying?” “Yes.” I remembered my eternity of over four thousand days and met the eyes of the night sky. “I understand what you mean. I know it very well.” Many things happened. The Spiders lost their Magic Tower. In exchange, they gained a vast battlefield, as well as the right to migrate to the Lion Realm. The Shellmounts, using their architectural skills, built homes for the Spiders. The Spiders had diverse choices. Some wanted to live on the New Continent, some in Raviel’s empire, and some in Babylon. The Black Witch, who had been suffering from a chronic labor shortage and talent crisis, was overjoyed. “Most of them are mages who have lived for over a hundred years! They’re top-tier talent! Can we recruit them as we please? Please?” “It doesn’t really matter to me, but if anyone challenges them to a duel, don’t stop them.” “Huh? What are you talking about?” After hearing the whole story, the Black Witch sighed. “Why is there no one with both a good personality and great skills? I’m not the one to say this, but...” “Yeah, you shouldn’t be saying that either.” The Black Witch sighed deeply and lay face down on the desk. “I understand. As I’ve said time and time again, I’m in no position to judge anyone. Anyway, good job.” “Is everything okay here?” “You can focus on your work. We’ll take care of the problems here. Oh, do you know that Hamustra said he wanted to compile our stories and release spinoffs?” “I’ve volunteered for the cooking genre. I was thinking the title could be ‘Black Dragon Food Fighter.’ It’s a story where I travel to different worlds and eat delicious food. It’ll sell, right?” “What the... Well, I can tell that you need a vacation, Anastasha. Try to take breaks from time to time. I’ll get going.” Whether The Black Dragon Food Fighter would ever be written was uncertain, but the competition to recruit the Magic Tower mages was heating up. Even considering the occasional life-or-death duel complication that they couldn’t refuse, the mages were clearly valuable talent. The ultimate winner of the competition was the Countess. She said, “Whatever offer you’ve received so far, I’ll double it as your annual salary. Moreover, my MA already has a talented species known as Sylvans who are natural-born merchants. They make very good subordinates. The Black Dragon and the Pantheon are both great guilds with noble causes, but why go there and suffer under a ton of responsibility?” “I swear my loyalty! Woof! Woof!” “Good. Good. Now we’re talking. You understand what I’m saying, but since you’re here, please meow like a cat.” “Meow! Meow! Could you spare my life, too? I really don’t want to fight a duel.” The Countess smiled gracefully. “I can’t help you with that.” Some Spiders who had originally sworn loyalty to the Magic Tower then changed their loyalty to me and the MA. Everything happened in half a month. Such was life. However, some Spiders did not register with any faction. Of course, the former leader of the Magic Tower, the Gray Spider, was one of them. “How could I do that?” she shrugged. “Do you have a plan?” “I have to take responsibility,” the Gray Spider said, drinking water from a paper cup. “Have you seen the dueling requests that I received?” I nodded. I couldn’t help but think of the high quantity of paper, enough to seriously impact the ecosystem of the fiftieth floor, which was already short on trees. I said, “Yes, there are many.” “Yeah. They’re probably still coming. I have to accept those and see them through to the end. It’s the only way I can move forward, don’t you think?” The Gray Spider’s words were vague. Among those who sent the challenge letters, there were surely people who couldn’t sleep without tearing her apart and others who wouldn’t rest until they saw her corpse. Those people wouldn’t be able to take a single step forward unless they found their closure with the Gray Spider. “Yes, I understand what you mean.” I nodded again, recalling my over four thousand days of eternity. Thus, the Gray Spider made the barren wasteland her new home. Anyone who harbored a grudge against her could come there to challenge her to a duel. There would come a day when she would be alone, but if that day ever came... This was very unlikely to happen, even after many thousands of years passed. Still, if there ever came a day when no one sought her out, not a single person, from the moment she woke up in the morning until she slept at night, if she were granted the luxury of sipping a single drop of water for an hour under the midday sun, then the Gray Spider would also be able to stand up from where she had stayed for a thousand years and finally head toward the next world. I asked, “What would you like to do when that day comes?” The Gray Spider smiled, reminding me of someone I knew. It was a smile that came from knowing one could die at any moment, so she no longer felt any pretense or regret. It contained the pure brightness born of complete acceptance. “Well, if I’m that lucky...” The Gray Spider looked up. It was nighttime, and she had decided to sleep without a roof over her head. The starry night stretched out infinitely when she reached for it. “If I’m that lucky, I’ll be able to climb the Tower.” “Are you going to try again?” “I’ve decided not to wait any longer.” I didn’t ask any more questions. The Gray Spider didn’t say anything else, either. The three of us simply looked up at the night sky. Half a month passed with no unusual occurrences. I finished arranging part-time jobs at Cafe Planetarium for Hamustra’s followers. When the Assistant Writer saw Hamustra dressed as a cafe employee, she let out a shrill scream of joy. “I missed you, Mr. Librarian! I can’t believe this!” “Neither can I...” Hamustra glared at me with a dead look in his eyes. He certainly had every reason to be angry. Around ten of his followers grabbed him and rubbed their faces against his cheeks. Considering Hamustra’s small stature, he looked like a hamster being stuck in the crevice of a couch. As he got his cheeks stretched, Hamustra grumbled, “Gong-Ja, didn’t I tell you that these guys are like stalkers, or even worse? I’m grateful for saving these people since I share my past with them, but I never asked you to bring them here—” “I’ll never let you go again, Mr. Librarian!” “We’ll be together forever.” “I’ll spend the rest of my life working here as a part-timer!” Hamustra sighed in resignation. “Living as a human is truly difficult and painful...” Everything turned out well. Well, not exactly everything. I wasn’t talking about Hamustra. Mahos’ apostle said, “Hey, wait a minute. Assistant Writer, didn’t you say you’d come with me to the fifty-first floor?” “Huh? Fuck off.” The Assistant Writer’s tongue responded before her brain did. After realizing what she said, she stammered, “U-umm, you see. There are things more important than life.” The number of people with a dead look in their eyes increased in the Cafe Planetarium. The Assistant Writer became angry. “What? Only a real protagonist can say that!” While humans under the sky reached out to feel the edges of the world, carefully searching where they could lean, stand for a moment, or pass by, the Constellations visited me. “I’ve been thinking hard about how to repay you,” the Night-Scratching Claw said on behalf of all the Constellations. “I didn’t make this decision alone. I discussed it with the other twelve Constellations. Thinking about what reward to bestow on a single Hunter who has just reached the fiftieth floor is... unprecedented.” “Thanks to you, I was able to reunite with my cute little girl...” the Whip on the Self-Tormentors added, gently touching the strands of the Night-Scratching Claw’s hair scattered on the ground. “I thought about giving you an incredible weapon, but the holy sword at your waist seems better.” “Honestly, it was difficult to reach a conclusion because you seem like the type who doesn’t care much about material things,” the Night-Scratching Claw said. “But you claim to be the Sword Emperor’s heir. Fortunately, some of us know what kind of gift he would have appreciated.” The Night-Scratching Claw clasped her hands together. “I hope this is your answer.” Soft light enveloped my body. [The Night-Scratching Claw has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fiftieth floor has been cleared!] As the world around me grew white, a new voice spoke up. “I pray that one day, a Constellation will appear that creates a quest solely for you, Death King. Though we aren’t your Constellations, having a Constellation like that is said to be a very happy thing...” [The Whip of the Self-Tormentors has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-first floor has been cleared!] The other Constellations from the Anti-Magic-Tower Alliance followed suit. [The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-second floor has been cleared!] [The Tear-Bringing Bell of the Dead has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-third floor has been cleared!] Those who held the right to judge whether a Hunter was qualified to ascend to the next floor appeared one by one. [The Last Sword in the Wilderness has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-fourth floor has been cleared!] They spoke to me in unison. [The Sun-Grasping Fist has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-fifth floor has been cleared!] [The Southeast Guardian has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-sixth floor has been cleared!] [The Failed Soliloquy has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-seventh floor has been cleared!] [The Lonely Seeker has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-eighth floor has been cleared!] [The Incarnation of Love and Lust has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The fifty-ninth floor has been cleared!] [The Eternal Plains Warhorse has acknowledged the quest completion.] [The sixtieth floor has been cleared!] Finally, the next world came into view. [Your presence has become stronger.] [The Death King’s level has increased.] [Your Skill Slots have increased] [Your Hunter Class is S.] [May luck be with you.]