Climbing from the 80th floor wasn’t difficult.
As befitting a place called the Altar of Growth, it continued to present a respectable challenge, but it wasn’t enough to stop Leo and me.
Before reaching the 89th floor, Leo and I managed to max out our growth stats at 100%, allowing us to smoothly climb all the way to the 99th floor without major obstacles.
It would’ve been nice if Yena were here, but seeing how she usually performs, there’s no way she’d reach here with only 65%.
“Finally, the 99th floor.”
“Wow.”
The 99th floor was a space completely shrouded in black, with a golden table at its center, letting in a shaft of light, and there was a rabbit standing nearby.
An impeccably dressed rabbit in a golden suit.
This rabbit had golden fur.
Upon seeing us, the rabbit lavished us with praise for achieving this stage so quickly and guided us on how to proceed to the next floor.
“Will we just need to turn this coin?”
“That’s right. Esteemed Challenger. By turning the coin we have provided, you will be able to begin the final trial of this tower—where your body itself will ascend to greatness.”
[Is this a scam as well?]
[I’m feeling uneasy.]
[Let’s kill it.]
[Haha, it took forever.]
[Let’s move already.]
The coin was gold, unlike the Growth Coin, with no image of a box carved on it but instead the image of some tower.
Leo looked at the coin with interest and asked,
“Shall we turn it now?”
“Just a moment.”
While idly stroking the coin, I remembered the conversation I had with Immensus.
“As you might have noticed, I, or rather ‘we,’ are not the real masters of the altar.”
“The current Altar Masters are all beings imprisoned for some reason. The true masters were someone else entirely, and we merely fill their place.”
“You’ll understand naturally as you go on.”
“The confirmation of altars soon leads to information about raccoons…”
Immensus, along with the current Altar Masters, are ‘imprisoned’ beings.
Considering the Sealed Altar Master I met at first, and even Immensus, the Altar Master of Growth, it’s highly likely that most Altar Masters are either from the Celestial Race or Demon Race.
After the ridiculous reconciliation between the Celestials and Demons, they disappeared from the world, but that doesn’t mean they ceased to exist.
Even today, the Deoen Continent still harbors beings like Duke Huangyeol, the Forgotten Emperor, and calamity-inducing demons—evidence of both Celestial and Demon races.
The surviving beings such as Loreliess or the Demon King of the One could also be examples.
“If so, what about the raccoons?”
The raccoons, a.k.a. laquons, the Yellow-Guardian race.
At first glance, they might just be a strong race, but these are the ones who were managing even the Celestial and Demon Races and were putting immense pressure on entities like Immensus who once reached the upper echelons.
It’s implausible that a race like this appeared out of nowhere; likely, someone with an extremely high rank lent them that kind of power.
“Someone who is unknown.”
At the very least, it’s someone at the very peak of the Celestial and Demon races, or at the highest extent, one of the Eight Seats or the Six Demon Kings.
Judging from the context, it seems that one of them must be involved.
There are still remnants of the Celestial and Demon Races in this world, and given that they’ve reconciled, it’s likely that at least some survivors persist.
But the question remains:
“Why?”
Why exactly are they using minions to manage and play with the world, viewing humans as mere insects, while giving them opportunities to grow stronger through their trials?
And doing so with such “consideration.”
“…My head hurts.”
“Huh?”
“I’m fine.”
I shook my head.
I’ve contemplated these things numerous times after returning, but I haven’t found the answers.
Somewhere on Earth, at the peak of a towering structure, there might be the master of the raccoons, but realistically, I’m just a regular person.
Even if I make a fuss as a regular person, it’s impossible for me to reach that far.
Most importantly,
“I’ve already returned.”
In the past, I followed the system’s demands, ended the war, and came back.
Regardless of whether they made peace or not, the war ended, and I’ve been living a pretty decent life since then. Why stir things up and risk danger?
Moreover, in this world, “Deoen,” I keep getting stronger.
Someday, if I regain all the strength I had in the past, I’ll end up knowing everything I didn’t want to anyway.
“Let’s go.”
“Understood!”
As Leo and I turned the coin simultaneously, our vision flipped.
[Let’s go!]
[Move it move it move it!]
[Breaking news: Yena already at floor 47 lolol]
[Entering the 99th floor…]
[Dimensional travel is underway. Some dizziness may accompany the transition…]
■
[You have entered the Altar of Growth, Floor 99.]
[To ascend to the next floor, you must complete a specific ‘mission’.]
[Mission—Ascend the Primordial Tower of Growth.]
“…?”
My eyes gradually opened.
A rustling sensation.
The grass in my hand was green, and the vast blue sky stretched above me.
The earth, the sky, and countless otherworldly races.
“Wow.”
“What is this?”
“Where are we?”
“I was just heading home…”
“Kyaaah! A talking lion!”
“Is that a panda talking?”
“They’re monsters!”
“You’re the one who looks like a monster! You sea cucumber!”
Lions, pandas, raccoons, beastmen, humans, nymphs, squids, and many other races were pointing fingers at each other.
And naturally, there I was—a human—surveying the situation while spotting a small child tilting their head in confusion.
They looked like an elf with their pointed ears and cute appearance, carrying a spirit on their shoulder.
“Who are you, little one…” *Gag*
“Ahh! Lady Lily!”
Waving my hand toward Leo, Leo lit up, pushing the pig-human who was trying to shove him aside, and came toward me.
Speaking of which, the pig-human—which had a pig’s head and a human body—tried to retaliate against Leo but disappeared into the crowd. Leo just turned his back dismissively.
“Oh wow! We’ve ended up in some strange place!”
“Indeed. This feels different from the mission room…”
The flow of mana in this world felt different, and it wasn’t a sealed-off world like the typical mission rooms.
It felt like a truly ‘real’ world.
As I alternated my gaze between the confused masses and Leo, I suddenly turned my attention elsewhere.
[?]
[???]
[What is this place lol]
[This seems familiar…somewhere I’ve seen before]
[Huh?]
[What’s with the squid?!]
[Is that a raccoon?]
[Kill them all]
[Too much talking]
The chat window was still active, confirming we weren’t in any sort of spirit world.
“Something feels like my powers are restricted…”
Crackle!!
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
An alien sound erupted, and a black fissure appeared in the sky, capturing everyone’s attention.
Through the rift emerged a black-suited rabbit with black fur.
It resembled Immensus but was clearly not Immensus.
Its appearance differed, but most importantly, it wasn’t using demonic power, which made the biggest difference.
“Welcome, lowly challengers.”
“What?”
“You were chosen! Having been born with such lowly blood, through the blessings of our lord ‘Levine,’ you gained the privilege to climb this tower. Hmm… don’t you feel thrilled yet?”
A rabbit that suddenly appeared in mid-air delivering insults and offering strange opportunities.
The various races all screamed and criticized the rabbit, while the rabbit simply smiled.
This scene eerily resembled…
“A tutorial story?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve seen this in a manga before! It was super entertaining.”
Leo said this without any hint of tension.
A tutorial story, huh?
According to Immensus, the altars existed ‘originally,’ so I suppose it wouldn’t be strange for a place like this to exist.
There are many dimensions in this world beyond just the celestial and demon realms.
[Whoa]
[Tutorial Fairy over there, Fairy!]
[Holy]
[Isn’t this gonna make our heads explode?]
[Lily, be careful!]
[Now that I think about it, she does look like a tutorial fairy lol]
[Head about to explode in T-5 seconds]
[I think Lily is just gonna blow up the rabbit lol]
The chat window also reacted as if familiar with these tutorial scenarios.
“Uh… my head is about to explode.”
“Your head?”
“Yes. If you don’t listen, it will be blown off by this fairy.”
Leo said this with a playful laugh.
Still, it seems a bit excessive to blow heads off just for disobedience.
“Psh, sure… Alright then, I’ll explain the rules of this tower to you.”
“Yo! I don’t know if you’re some kind of rabbit or some rat pup, but send me back right now! If you don’t, I’ll fry you and eat you!”
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?! Get me out of here, right now!”
BAM! Cluck! Cluck!—The pig-human, who had been yelling at the rabbit all along.
Immensus-lookalike rabbit turned its head slightly and looked down at the pig-human.
“Say that again, please.”
“My blood boils when you speak to me like this! Send me back right now, or you’ll regret it—”
BOOM!
His head exploded.
The pig-human’s head blew up, and once it was gone, his headless body fell and rolled on the ground.
His head actually exploded.
[Whoa!]
[N]
[N]
[I saw this coming…]
[This is such a tutorial fairy]
[Holy!]
Kyaah—!
“Kyaah!?”
“……”
Mouths of all the various races fell silent in an uproar.
It finally seemed like they realized the gravity of the situation, and they began to visibly tremble.
“Phew~ This is why animals don’t work. Anyways, before receiving ‘His’ power, you’re trash—just trash.”
“……”
“Alright. Is there anyone else who’s going to open their mouth without thinking? Even if I have to write reports today, I’ll showcase a few examples. Come on out! You’re invited.”
“……”
“Tsk. Trash.”
“Shall we leave?”
Leo whispered this to me inaudibly to anyone else, pacing back and forth as if ready to bolt at any moment.
A mischievous grin played on Leo’s lips.
Even though I’ve weakened, it seems unlikely that Leo could die. Even if he did die, I could revive him instantly. Honestly, I don’t think he’d lose even in a fight right now.
However, I noticed someone else stepping forward into the distance, so I grabbed Leo’s cheek to pull him back.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s our turn to step in just yet.”
“Huh?”
[Hmm?]
[Huh?]
[That person…]
“Hence… Who are you?”
“I have questions.”
The rabbit initially raised its hand to immediately ‘deal with’ the newcomer but then froze in astonishment and lowered its hand.
The immense power emanating from this mere ‘insect’ was overwhelming.
“You, you… how have you already reached… a Celestial?”
“Do you have the authority to kill challengers at will?”
A golden raccoon wearing a blue ring.
“A raccoon?”
It’s a Yellow-Guardian.
[!– Additional code seems like an unrelated web component or banner, thus omitted from translation. –]
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