I blinked, montarily pausing as I rubbed my forehead.
Soon, under the guidance of the Tower of Knowledge's master, I sat across from her at a table.
The first floor of the tower was bare, except for the chair she had been sitting in.
“Please excuse for a mont.”
Snap!
But when she snapped her fingers, a table and chairs appeared nearby, as if they had always been there.
Snap!
Next, a beautiful water bottle and cups appeared on the table.
‘…She didn’t just pull this from a spatial pocket?’
I couldn’t help but be amazed as I closely observed the Tower master’s movents.
She didn’t bring these objects from another space. There was no process of taking materials and crafting them.
It seed to be magic... but it wasn’t the kind of illusion that disappears when mana runs out.
It was a complete, real object.
In other words, it was a form of creation, albeit in a small, fragnted way.
“I apologize for bringing you to such a humble place.”
[No, it is not humble at all.]
Creation. It was sothing different from re imitation, and it felt like I had been taken off guard by the divine skill. It was as if I had glimpsed a part of her abilities.
For so reason, the state of my powers also felt weird. Could I escape with this? I couldn’t get a clear estimate...
Drip...
As I gingerly sat down, the water bottle floated up on its own and filled my glass.
Other than that, no sounds could be heard. The sound of water filling the glass echoed in the silence, and my mouth began to dry out.
The Tower master sat across from , her hands resting on her knees. She seed to be giving ti to relax, with her eyes gently closed.
‘What is this?’
I didn’t feel relaxed by her actions. Instead, an odd sense of discomfort kept poking at my mind.
My power of observation was acting strangely within the tower. This wasn’t an issue—nothing I couldn’t adjust.
But the Tower master herself couldn’t be properly observed.
Even though I was focusing, my power of observation kept slipping into irrelevant information. It felt as if the Tower master was just another background elent, sothing I could dismiss as natural and pass over casually.
As I tried to focus on this odd feeling...
‘!’
Suddenly, the Tower master moved her hand, and I flinched. She, too, trembled when I moved, and the awkward atmosphere hung between us for a mont.
“Hmm hmm…”
She cleared her throat to break the tension and, with a small gesture, opened her eyes, taking a sip of water.
I followed suit and quietly drank from my glass. The cool water seed to wash away so of the tension.
In the midst of this, the Tower master glanced around, her gaze scanning the edges of the room before she spoke.
“The Tower of Knowledge is less restricted than the other towers. As a result, the rules of silence are more flexible, and I can share more truths with you.”
Fewer restrictions. More truths to be shared. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“However, there are still limitations. It’s not possible to reveal all truths, and for that, I must first offer my apologies.”
The gleam in her eyes dimd, and she seed to shrink slightly, as if she were unsure of how to proceed.
...
[May I ask a few questions?]
“Of course, I will answer anything, to the best of my ability, within the limits of what I can share.”
She nodded calmly.
Questions. There were so many, I wasn’t sure where to start. From the ti I arrived here to now, there were countless doubts in my mind.
[Why do you refer to as the ‘Savior’?]
The Savior. Soone who rescues people in distress and danger.
[Did you... did you intend to bring here?]
Savior. A term I had beco familiar with, used in the gas I used to play back in my previous world.
Her white, snow-like eyes captured my frozen expression. The Tower master, who had been sitting like a stiff statue, nodded slightly.
“Yes, we intentionally brought you here, to this world.”
[For what purpose?]
“Before I answer that, it might be easier for you to understand if I explain our situation. May I have your permission to explain?”
She continued with another question, but her tone was calm, polite. Despite the sharpness of my inquiry, the Tower master answered without hesitation.
[Yes]
[Please go ahead.]
“Thank you for your kindness.”
She lowered her head and glanced at the confession necklace before lifting her gaze. Taking a deep breath, she began speaking, preparing for the long explanation.
...
The Great Change. It was a disaster and a transformation known to everyone in this world.
Family, lovers, friends. Even distant relatives you rarely et, strangers. Countless people from all walks of life t their end in innurable ways.
So were killed by monsters, others beca food for a single al. So were swept away by rampaging dungeons, and others were rcilessly murdered by their fellow humans in the chaos.
Moreover, countless artifacts, relics, and historical records, mixing gold and blood, were destroyed in the aftermath.
The Great Change. The confusion that followed was a catastrophe that left those living in that ti unable to predict the future.
“But the real disaster has yet to co,” the Tower master said, shaking her head.
The Great Change wasn’t trivial. It wiped out much, and brought much new into the world. The world we live in now is built from the elents that erged from the Great Change, so it’s undeniable that it was an unprecedented event in history.
“But…” she trailed off, “…as masters of the Tower, we believed we could manage the Great Change.”
Growth, space, observation, adjustnt, and the powers of knowledge. The functions of the Tower. And, alongside those, the many powerful forces and factions erging in response.
Given that, we thought we could overco the Great Change.
“But,” she continued, “we were far more concerned with an even greater disaster that was about to strike.”
[A greater disaster?]
“The invasion of the Tower Masters.”
I clenched my fists tightly, my body tensing up at the ntion.
The Tower master, having noticed my reaction, continued.
“When each of us had achieved growth, filled with hope for the recovery from the Great Change, we received word that the Master of the Tower of Observation had died with a blackened face. Moreover, this enemy was one we could not hope to stop with our current strength.”
[The Master of the Tower of Observation...?]
“The powers we wield are not always as straightforward as they seem. Although the power gained from the Tower is external, it can be used differently by each user. The Master of the Tower of Observation focused on range and foresight, which allowed her to detect the invasion ahead of ti, in collaboration with the Master of the Tower of Space.”
With their current strength, they couldn’t block the invaders.
Still, they hadn’t given up, and had tried to find ways to fend off the invasion. But they faced limitations.
“The invasion ca too quickly. Even before we beca Tower Masters, they were already approaching, and we didn’t notice in ti. So, we had to impose restrictions to slow them down and buy so ti. We searched for strategies, but…”
The Tower master shook her head.
“There were no imdiate solutions. The invading Tower Masters were too strong, and their military forces overwhelming. No matter how much ti we bought, the gap was too wide to overco.”
[Can there really be such a large difference between Tower Masters?]
“Being a Tower Master is not solely determined by strength. The Master of the Tower of Adjustnt, for example—well, she’s rather ‘eccentric’… no, she was only a mid-level hero when she first beca a Tower Master.”
[The Tower Master... was mid-level?]
It was hard to believe that soone of such strength could be so weak.
“The Tower is sowhat like an artifact. Much larger and more functional, but like the artifact you’re wearing, it grants powers if the right conditions are t.”
I touched my left arm. The Proof of Protection. The condition, I guessed, was probably for soone with a pure-hearted inclination. Why it was a fit, I wasn’t entirely sure, but it worked well enough.
“If the conditions aren’t t, no power will be granted. You must have experienced it in the gas you played. Even after conquering an untouched tower like the 11th, if you don’t et the requirents, you can’t beco a Tower Master.”
I rembered the 8th round failing to conquer the Tower due to the unexpected interference of the cold Tower Master and Baek Arin’s betrayal, but the 11th round succeeded and gained the Tower’s wish.
With the wish granted, his dormant potential had been drawn out, amplifying his already exceptional physical abilities.
“Though he wasn’t qualified, he did conquer the Tower. Instead of granting powers, the Tower granted him a wish within the limits of its own strength.”
[Really...?]
“And I think the interference from the cold Tower Master was… —%#$)*#$)(@”
[?]
Her voice abruptly cut off, and the strange, garbled continuation was incomprehensible.
“This part is restricted,” the Tower master said, furrowing her brow.
“Returning to the main story, we spent the remaining ti searching for ways to stop the invasion. Thanks to the efforts of the Master of the Tower of Observation, who used her powers to foresee different futures, we found a solution.”
[What was it?]
I expected an answer, but I still asked, hoping there might be sothing new.
The Tower master paused for a mont.
Her white eyes stared at , her deep, serene gaze making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“We discovered your body in a certain region, Lee Ha-yul.”
I had guessed the answer, but the complexity of the expression that crossed my face startled .
[What? My body...?]
The term "body" struck as odd.
My body was found, but why call it my “body”?
In the expression on my face, the Tower master seed to understand and nodded.
“To be exact, it was an empty shell, devoid of a soul.”
[What?]
I couldn’t understand. My head tilted in confusion.
The Tower master’s words left speechless, my head still spinning with confusion.
[What?]
The term "empty shell" stuck in my mind. My body, but with no soul.
Her words didn’t make sense, and I couldn’t help but tilt my head even further, trying to understand the aning.
The Tower master nodded in acknowledgnt of my confusion.
“To be more precise, it was a body with no soul, an empty vessel.”
[What...?]
I stared at her, still struggling to grasp what she ant.
My body? An empty shell? I had a hard ti wrapping my mind around it.
[Player Correction System: Favorability]
Lee Ha-yul → Tower Master (?)
●●●○○○○○○○ (31/100)
“Complexity” “Confusion” “Suspicion” “Miscommunication” “Gratitude” “Resentnt” “Is she crazy?”
▽Change▽
Lee Ha-yul → Ariel Segnis Ternovcia
●●●○○○○○○○ (31▷32/100)
“Tower Master” “Complexity” “Confusion” “Suspicion” “Gratitude” “Resentnt” “Is she crazy?”
...
[Player Correction System: Favorability]
Lee Ha-yul → Adjustnt Tower Master (?)
●●●○○○○○○○ (30/100)
“Mid-level” “Complexity” “Confusion” “Suspicion” “Miscommunication” “Gratitude” “Resentnt”
[Adjustnt Tower Master is shocked by your words.]
As I processed the information, a strange sense of disbelief flooded my mind. Why would she say that? Was I truly just an empty shell? Was this all just another part of the twisted ga I was part of?
This revelation shook , and I had no choice but to try to understand it, no matter how strange and impossible it seed.
The Tower master’s calm and polite manner only made things more unsettling. She’d told that I was the "Savior," yet what did that really an? What purpose did they have in bringing here?
I could feel that there was so much more to this story, but the answers were buried deep, wrapped in layers of mystery that I couldn’t peel back just yet.
In this vast and complex world, I realized that even the most unassuming mont could be hiding sothing profound—sothing that would change everything once I truly understood it.
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