---

Meanwhile, Conra, who had come to the final tower in the center of the city to unlock the last artifact, the Divine Sword Catena, was facing an extremely troublesome situation.

“Wait, why is it glowing…….”

The moment Conra arrived near the central tower, for some reason, the tower began to vibrate and emit a strange light in all directions. And it didn’t stop at just glowing. As the dungeon began to vibrate and shine, Conra could feel countless presences rushing in from all directions—no, from the entire sky city that had turned into a dungeon.

{It’s the presence of giants. It seems like that’s some kind of alarm system. The giants are probably gathering to protect the final tower.}

{Looking at the spell reaction, I can roughly understand the principle. It seems the tower’s response is related to the artifacts. If the boots, cloak, and harp are out of their designated positions and approach the final tower, it triggers a reaction.}

‘Tch, so what am I supposed to do about it?’

Listening to the explanations from the spirits, Conra clicked his tongue. Borrowing the power of the transparent cloak, the boy hid in the shadows of an alley, his eyes darting around as he scanned his surroundings.

{What else? You’ll just have to find a way through. It seems like this is the final gimmick created by the dungeonization.}

‘A gimmick created by dungeonization?’

{Yes. At least as far as I know, when Jack O’Lantern dropped this city, there wasn’t such a sudden and massive last stand. I’m not sure why, but in dungeons that recreate events from the past, the gimmicks often change to create a different outcome from what originally happened.}

{That’s probably due to the nature of dungeons themselves.}

Taking over from Spirit Rugus-Artaeus, Spirit Esras-Hermes stepped forward to continue the explanation.

{People often say that dungeons are like exposed layers of a bygone era. Think about it. We can imagine what the past was like through the traces left in those layers. But is the scenery we imagine, or the appearance of those layers, truly the same as it was back then?}

‘Well… probably not.’

The appearance of the layers, covered and hardened by soil, would have been altered by various natural processes. Even if there are fossils, they wouldn’t look exactly as they did when they were alive, and in reality, they’re often too degraded to even be considered remains.

So, scholars infer the past from ruins, artifacts, geology, and fossils found in those layers, using their imagination to reconstruct the world as it was.

{Dungeons are the same. The scenery we see when we enter a dungeon isn’t something that exists in reality. It’s merely a recreation of traces from a bygone era, brought to life by the phenomenon of dungeons.}

In a tone reminiscent of a professor lecturing students, the spirit continued.

{And the dungeon phenomenon is heavily influenced by the main strength flowing through the land. As you know, the main strength of the land is easily influenced by human thoughts.}

Countless people come and go, are born and die, on a single piece of land. As this repeats, the history of the land accumulates and settles. Those well-versed in the mysteries of main strength call this the “layers of time.”

If the dungeon phenomenon is the manifestation of those accumulated layers of the past meeting the land’s main strength, then it’s only natural that the scenery shown by the dungeon would differ from reality. Influenced by the lingering regrets and thoughts left behind by the people of that era, “what-if” stories that never actually happened can unfold.

‘So, you’re saying…….’

By this point, Conra couldn’t help but understand.

The giant soldiers rushing toward the final tower were the result of the lingering regrets of the giants from the end of the Bronze Age, when the city fell. And since this is a “dungeon,” this phenomenon isn’t an anomaly but a legitimate “dungeon gimmick” that must be properly dealt with.

‘In the end, there’s no other way but to face it head-on.’

Head-on—meaning it must be dealt with properly. There’s no shortcut around a set gimmick.

But even within a head-on approach, methods vary from person to person. If one is confident in their martial power, they might consider a frontal clash with the giant soldiers. If one is skilled in stealth and cunning, they might find a way to approach the tower while avoiding the giants’ attention.

‘The former is out of the question.’

In Conra’s opinion, unless one possessed overwhelming martial power on the level of his revered master, Sophia de Chazel, who could wipe out entire armies, a frontal assault on the giant soldiers wasn’t a wise move.

At first, it might seem effective. A warrior’s body, forged through harsh training, could overcome numerical disadvantages to some extent.

But fundamentally, human stamina isn’t infinite, and one hand can’t handle many.

Just as a hunter can lure or drive a large beast but can’t win a head-on fight against a desperate beast, even a superhuman can only pick off an army in favorable conditions or break their morale, but can’t win a direct clash with an unyielding army.

‘In the end, there’s only one way. I’ll find a path from here. Artaeus, Hermes, assist me.’

{Alright, leave it to us.}

{Then, shall we show our skills?}

Conra immediately began searching for a route to approach the tower. But before that, there was something to consider: the functions and limitations of the artifacts.

The first artifact Conra obtained, the Boots Seven League, was a spatial manipulation and movement-type artifact that could pull distant spaces closer by lifting the veil of space. However, this spatial movement wasn’t always possible.

When standing still or moving in a straight line without noticeable changes in trajectory, crossing spaces was easy. But if his posture was even slightly unstable or his movement trajectory changed abruptly, the risk of spatial movement increased significantly.

However, if the movement was part of a set footwork, body technique, or light-footed skill, the risk could be greatly reduced.

The second artifact, the Cloak Quiness, was a stealth tool based on epistemology, allowing the user to cross the boundary between existence and absence. When standing still or unnoticed, it provided near-perfect stealth. But when moving vigorously or exposed to others’ attention, stealth became difficult.

It could also be used to hide objects other than the user, but this had limitations. It didn’t work on others with clear intentions.

The third artifact, the Harp Pale Note, was a musical instrument with clear spell effects—essentially, a tool for playing spells. Sometimes, just holding it would cause the strings to vibrate and produce music. Other times, one could pluck the strings to play spells.

Its effectiveness had already been proven by putting the Crow Dragon Haegis to sleep and in battles with giant guests.

However, the harp’s auto-play function only worked when standing still or moving slowly. During vigorous movements like running, the auto-play function would fall silent.

The limitations weren’t unique to each artifact. Annoyingly, the artifacts couldn’t be activated simultaneously. While one artifact was active, the effects of the others had to be abandoned.

{It’s because your level is still low. Handling artifacts is ultimately a skill. As you become more proficient, you’ll be able to activate them in parallel.}

According to Spirit Rugus-Artaeus, this issue would be resolved in the future… but the problem was now.

To avoid the giants’ attention, the cloak’s stealth function was needed. To bypass the countless giants and reach the optimal path in one go, the boots’ spatial leap ability was necessary. And to optimize the process with minor tricks, playing spells with the harp was ideal.

But in reality, activating the boots required dropping stealth, spatial leaps couldn’t be performed while playing the harp, and playing the harp made stealth impossible. To maximize the effects of each artifact under these limitations, a well-prepared trick would be needed.

The problem wasn’t just the artifacts.

‘Sharp, huh…….’

Conra glanced at the final tower in the distance. The tower, standing tall with a simple yet majestic appearance, gave an impression that hinted at the giants’ aesthetic sense. But the problem wasn’t its external beauty.

The sharp, sword-like aura cutting into his skin. Strangely, the tower, despite being a structure, emitted a sword aura reminiscent of a master swordsman wielding a famous blade. The intricate and threatening sword aura formed a precise sword domain.

Of course, this sword aura was just a type of energy and didn’t pose a direct threat. But the problem lay elsewhere.

‘It seems I can’t cross spaces while exposed to the sword aura.’

The limitation of the Seven League boots—that spatial leaps couldn’t be performed when unstable—seemed to apply when exposed to the sword aura. Worse, the Quiness cloak’s stealth couldn’t be activated while exposed to the sword aura. The only saving grace was that if stealth was already active, passing through the sword aura wouldn’t break it.

{Still, it’s worth a try.}

‘Ah, right.’

For Conra, a skilled spearman, reading the flow of energy within a sword domain while naturally perceiving its structure was a familiar task. It was doable. Without much hesitation, Conra agreed with Spirit Rugus-Artaeus’s opinion.

‘Certainly, if the one emitting this sword domain were a real swordsman, they’d be above my level.’

And if he encountered such a swordsman in real combat, Conra would’ve been quickly cornered.

But the source of the sword aura was a tower, not a swordsman. And the sword aura was ultimately just an intangible energy, not a real threat. In a situation where his life wasn’t immediately at risk, calmly observing the sword domain to find a way through was entirely possible for Conra.

With the spirits’ assistance, Conra continuously simulated his path and eventually smiled.

‘Good. The path is set. Let’s move. Time won’t wait for us.’

Once a decision is made, hesitation is not an option. The path forward would require “maintaining high flexibility and adapting on the fly.”

 

---