Even though the building was called Magic tower, in all reality it was not actually a tower. Before the apocalypse, the magic research institute centre was called the Magic Tower, and the name had only been passed down.
However, Seongho, who did not know about that, grumbled as it was not really a tower.
âWhat kind of buildings is this?â
The space inside the Mage Tower was vastly different from how he envisioned it after looking at it from the outside. When he felt he was moving upstairs, he was downstairs when he got back to his senses.
âDamn, it confuses me.â
Is it because itâs a place where magicians live?
Seongho gave up on searching for more supplies and decided to secure only the ones he could reach. After all, with all the ruckus he had caused, the magicians were bound to know about his existence unless they were idiots. if he failed to run away at that time, he would be in trouble.
âThankfully, everyone is sleeping.â
To be frank, It wasnât like thereâs no magicians who was awake. However, Seongho sent them into the floor using the paralysis stinger. Thanks to that, he was able to take care of the shelves, bookshelves, and supplies contained in jars.
On top of that all, he also found a sword and a shield in a display case.
âMagicians make things like this too?â
ăOvermetal Sword: Increased Strength, Ether Resistance, Ether conductivityă
ăTitan Shield: Increased Strength, Elemental Resistance, Physical Resistanceă
Seongho picked up the sword that was neither a shortsowrd nor a longsword.
âIt will be a good weapon when using the Ether Blade.â
According to Margretha, a normal sword couldnât last long against an ether blade. At most, it could only hold for about ten seconds. Which means, it wasnât suitable for a long drawn fight. Of course, normal swords made of magic metal by great blacksmiths could last quite a while.
From Seonghoâs point of view, this overmetal sword seemed to be of that type. He wanted to know what overmetal is, but it makes sense when he thought of it as a kind of mixed metal.
âThe shield is also very goodâŠâ It had two resistance options and also had the options to increase the strength stats. So it will be very strong. It might even survive the attack of the monster of the 13th floor.
âI will be the one who wears the black one.â For the shield, I would give it to Margretha. After all, Seokhyun was good at ether fist, not ether blade, and Da-jeong was not good at using shields at all.
For a second he thought that it would be nice to get a sturdy gauntlet somewhereâŠ
Seongho, who was randomly throwing supplies into the dimensional warehouse, suddenly noticed a gauntlet stuck in the corner.
ăOvermetal Gauntlet: Increase strength and ether resistance. Able to transfer options of other gauntlet-type itemsă
âIs this an ogre glove?â Seokhyunâs Ogre Gloves had great options but had low durability. Well, the original material for it was a leather glove, so it was inevitable.
What if they moved that option into the gauntlet he just got?
âThis glove will last a long time.â
Since it had an ether resistance option, it would hold up well even if he used an ether fist on top of it. Which means, Itâs truly an item optimized for Seokhyun.
ââŠIsnât there anything for Da-jeong?â
Unlike Seongho and Seokhyun, she couldnât materialize the ether. She said she didnât care about it, but Seongho could feel that she was subtly upset.
âEh, whateverâŠâ Seongho put down his thoughts and shoved everything into his dimensional warehouse without sorting. The more supplies he got, the more he found it cumbersome to sort it out. In the end, he just decided to throw the bookshelf itself.
While Seongho continued to throw things around, loud noises could be heard everywhere. At the same time, his supersensory skill was activated and he felt chills creeping on his back.
âItâs not just one or two guys.â He decided he would leave as soon as he finished throwing everything in the room heâs currently out at that moment. He didnât know where the owner of the room was, but once they found out later, they would definitely cry.
When he put a book the size of a shield, an old man with a long white beard appeared on the stairs. As soon as he saw him, he raised a staff encrusted with colorful jewels.
However, Seongho was no longer there. It was because Margretha taught her how to deal with wizards.
-Someone who can fight always has a good habit of observing. Even more so for magicians. Therefore, if you encounter a magician as an enemy, just blow their head off first. Think about it later.
Her advice matched Seonghoâs personality perfectly. Thus, the old man, who must have been a magician, faced the misfortune of his head being separated from his body before he could even activate his magic.
Once he did so, Seongho rushed to the window and met someone there. Heâs a sharp-eyed man wearing a long robe and a cape. Behind the man, he could see a muscular priest looking straight at him.
âHe must be KoleosâŠâ
He was the Heretic Inquisitor who led the combat priests.
Isnât it strange to have the position of Heretic Inquisitor when there is only one religion?
Maybe they see Earthâs survivors as targets for their evangelism.
âI feel an amazing ether from you. You must be the protagonist who fought Lady Pistel.â Koleos smiled as he said so.
Without saying a word, Seongho took out a shotgun from the dimension slot and shot it out.
Koleos was riddled by shotgun ammunition in an instant, but to Seonghoâs surprise he was alive. Blood evaporated from his body and he rose to his feet as black smoke came out from the wounds.
âHaha⊠you canât attack without thinking. What an impatient brother. If you welcome Giudecca, you will be a little calmer.â
The remark infuriated Seongho. After all, he was the one who hated Giudecca more than anyone else.
Koleos spread his arms from side to side.
âGudeccaâs apostles, letâs greet the heathens.â
The battle priests stepped forward with a shout. However, what greeted them next was not an ordinary weapon, but an M72 anti-tank rocket.
Warheads exploded in the cramped room. Without giving them an inch, Soengho threw the battle priests and Koleos out the window.
Koleos wasnât hit directly because he was behind the priests, but he was still hurt. As he rolled on the floor, Seongho stood on the dimensional wall and was holding onto the elderwood rope.
Koleos recklessly jumped at him even though his wounds had not yet healed. Seongho just watched it and calmly swung the mithril blade.
His forearm was severed and Koleos fell 20 meters to the ground. It was something which would kill an ordinary person in an instant. But Koleos was anything but normal people. He just grabbed his forearm and trembled. At the same time, light emanated from wounds on his hands.
âItâs not tentacles?â
It was clear that Koleos was not human. It just makes Seongho even more sure that thereâs no such thing as human among those who were related to Giudecca.
The griffon controlled by Da-jung flapped its wings vigorously at that moment. Belatedly, all sorts of magic flew up, but it only grazed the air.
After all, Seongho had disappeared into the night.
âWhat the fuck is that in the middle of the night?â
After robbing the ether stone mine, Dajeong and I came out to a shelter in Korea. I wanted to rob more, but the fervor of Ezekium guys was no joke. Thereâs no murderer system there, but it was a bit too much for my liking to kill soldiers who couldnât even resist properly.
Still, he was relieved that he had brought enough Ether Stone. With this, they would be able to craft a weapon that had given Giudecca a wound.
When they came out to the shelter, people were waiting for them. AMongst them, Tibris came out awkwardly.
âUh⊠can I call you Seongho? My name is Tibris. I am the exclusive magician of the Marquis Pistel.â
âThatâs enough. But what is that?â
What Tibris held out was a processed Aether Stone. On the outside, itâs no different from a dimensional jewel, but heâs sure it was something else.
Margretha removed the jewel embedded at the gauntlet of the shackles and said, âThis gauntlet has different options depending on which jewels are attached to it. Thereâs something T-Bris made in a hurryâŠâ
When she took a new jewel from her bosom and put it on, the options really changed.
ăEmission Gauntlet: Helps to release the wearerâs etheră
âIs this that? I can use Ether Blade without help now?â
Tibris hurriedly came out.
âLet me explain briefly. This is the MarquisâsâŠâ
âIâm not a marquis or anything anymore, so just call me Marie.â
âAh⊠then, I will do that. Marquis, no Marie⊠Anyway, this thing is Marieâs Ether Pass embodied in Ether Stone. Long story short, you can use that Ether Blaze without her help for a minute or two.â
Margretha winked, and Tibris patted his mouth with the palm of his hand and said, âSuddenly, there is a lot to explain⊠Anyway, Ether Blaze is an overflowing phenomenon. In the case of ordinary transcendental knights and Marie, purified ether is used. However, Seongho is not able to do that as your ether is in a state of overflowing. The destructive power will be perfect at that state, but there will be a lot of waste.â
To make an analogy, If someone suddenly poured a lot of water into a small bucket, it would overflow. Even with Margrethaâs help, the overflow was still a lot.
When I looked at Tibris, he looked like he was dying to measure the amount of my ether.
âIt shouldnât be for long. But c-can I measure your ether?â
âThe purity of his ether was amazing. The amount will certainly be substantial.â Margretha added.
At his request, I nodded. It was unpleasant to have a guy touch my breast, but I would have to let it slide since we had to measure my ether.
Before long, Tibris put his hand on my chest and made a happy face.
âThis feeling as if I was drowning in the sea⊠ah, itâs really amazing⊠itâs very clear and deepâŠâ
âThe ether of any other transcendental knight couldnât compare against yours⊠It was just like moonlight and fireflies canât be comparedâŠâ
âSo youâre saying heâs better than me.â Margretha seemed a little resentful, but she soon let go of her expression.
Yeah, thatâs not whatâs important now.
Tibris looked at the rabbit monster who asked that question. He might be wondering whether the man in front of him was a human or a monster.
âI will not eat you.â
Tibris, who put his hand on his chest, was startled again.
âUh, itâs also amazing⊠However, compared to Seongho, it lags behind a bitâŠâ
âI want to be measured too!â Da-jeong joined as she thrust her chest towards Tibris. Unfortunately for her, Tibris couldnât stand it and ran away. He must have been frightened to see a woman thrust her breasts at him, a young man with raging hormones, without fear.
âLook at him running away! Did he think heâll be alright?â
I hold Da-jeong and force her to calm down. Then I proceeded to ask Seokhyun.
âThereâs no news yet?â
âSomeone said they heard screams on the third floor of the Great Labyrinth.â
â3rd Floor? Someone was hunting there? Who?â
âPeople from our shelter. For now, they have withdrawn to the entrance of the Great Labyrinth. There is no one there now.â
Seokhyunâs words contained two meanings. The first was that the monsters might soon come up from the 13th floor. The second was that our shelter members had already gone down as far as the third floor.
Even though we had cleared the 6th floor, it was limited to some members. Excluding me, Seokhyun, Da-jeong, Geomin, and Sangshin, no one could even break the second floor properly.
But now, they were already on the third floor. If we managed to pass the current predicament, it seemed that I would be able to entrust the battle to them in the future.
I opened the dimensional warehouse and took out a few items. Overmetal Gauntlet for Seokhyun and Titan Shield for Margretha.
Both of their mouths split open.
âThis is great. Can I really transfer ogre gloveâs options into this?â
âMaybe? You can just try it.â
As I expected, the options were moved. Seokhyun then proceeds to put on the ogre gauntlet. It looked much stronger and better than before.
Margretha was taken aback by the sudden exclamation.
âHeâs just saying it, donât worry about it.â
I said so before clapping my hands.
âGuys, can I have your attention for a moment? Although we had looted some items from the magic tower and got Tibrisâ cooperation, we are still not ready. As of the current time, please evacuate from the Korea Shelter. The only ones who should remain are me, Seokhyun, Margretha, Tibris, and Yuzuka.â
Dajeong pursed her lips at my words.
âWhy should I evacuate when Yuzuka should stay all of a sudden?â
âItâs because Yuzuka is the only person I can entrust the etheric arrow to.â
âTsk⊠Iâm good at archery too.â
âNot as good as her.. Itâs an urgent situation so I canât help but make such a decision.â
The arrowhead that could create ether overload which was created by Tibris, would be used by Yuzuka to shoot at the monsters. After all, her unique ability was related to archery. As she passed level 25, her accuracy reached 100%. Even if itâs fired backwards, the arrow would hit the target no matter what, so it should be regarded as a guided missile. That was the reason why I could entrust her with the ether arrows, which were in short supply.
I called Yuzuka, who was waiting at her dormitory, and entrusted my Elderwood Long War Bow to her.
âI ask for your support. If you can, please only use one arrow per monster.â
âYuzuka will do my best.â
âMargretha, go to Tibris and ask for an ether arrowhead.â
âI will ask him to make it as fast as possible.â
âSeokhyun and I will wait here.â
âI hope they come soon.â I shared the same sentiment as Seokhyun. I also wanted it to end soon.
Once the people left, the shelter became quiet. Not long after that, news came from Yoohyeon, who was scouting the entrance to the Great Labyrinth.
-Three monsters have appeared, hyung!
Giudeccaâs voice echoed in a room on the thirteenth floor.
The large cocoon hanging from the ceiling began to move bit by bit after hearing that voice.
Finally, the three cocoons tore apart and a blue creature fell to the ground. They all resemble humans. Two of the creatures were well over two meters tall and had muscular, stocky bodies. They were also bald, had very long arms, and didnât have any black on their eyes.
The creature in front of the two was rather small in comparison. Its body would remind anyone who saw it of a woman. Although itâs also bald and has the same creepy full white eyes.
As the female called silently, Giudecca replied.
-I created all of you in order to make a vessel. However, it has proven to be difficult to make vessels with you guys.
The female body looked up at the ceiling.
âAre we not good enough?â
-I want him. Bring me his body, or his seed. Thatâs your mission.
âNow I can meet himâŠâ
The two male figures bent their necks to the side and growled. With
With fighting power superior to that of an ogre, they had heard Giudeccaâs voice ever since they were inside the cocoon.
-You must be pure above all elseâŠ
-That is my goal for creating you guysâŠ
-Failure, failure, more failure⊠It was a mistake on my part for using thos impure humans as your base from the beginningâŠ
-I wonât expect anything from you anymoreâŠ
Thus, the three had tasted humiliation and inferiority before they were even born. It makes them feel resentful towards the human that their father, Giudecca, wanted.
The two male bodies went mad because the anger reached their head, and the female body was barely able to get rid of it.
Today, too, Giudecca asked for him.
-If you succeed in bringing him alive to me, I will give you freedomâŠ
âI donât want any freedom. I just want your love, father.â The female body said so, but Giudecca said nothing.
Not long after that, the door of the room opened. Giudeccaâs child left the thirteenth floor and started to go up. When they finally left the Great Labyrinth, someone greeted them.
âYou guys look better than I expected.â It was Seongho who said that. That was not a lie either as that was precisely what passed through his thoughts after seeing the Giudeccaâs children.
The one that looked like a female body looked pretty human and had a beautiful body. If she had only been wearing a wig, she would have been mistaken for a foreign model.
âItâs been a while since we last met.â
âIâm seeing you for the first time today, though?â
âWe met back in the Russian boat incident. The rubber boat.â
âAhâŠâ Seongho recalled an old memory at that moment. Back then, he had run into a person wearing a full black attire when he was about to leave the boat.
âI thought you were human, but it seemed like I was wrong.â
âI was once human. Although, thanks to Giudeccaâs protection, I had changed into such a wonderful person.â She said as she raised her arms to show off.
But Seongho only shook his head.
âI donât know what the hell happened, but, what a pity.â
âWhy do you say so? We are happy now. On top of that, we are glad that we will be able to take you to our father.â
âFather? What a shitshow. I have no intention of going to that monster, so scram!â
She secretly seduced Seongho.
âDo we really need to fight? If I accept your seed, everyone will be happy.â
Seongho pointed the overmetal sword at her.
âI donât want to do it with you even if you are the last woman on Earth, so go away.â
âHuhuhuhâŠâ She laughed. She then took a few steps back as the two huge male bodies stepped forwards.
âThese two are soldiers Ahn Geun-suk gave to father. They are stronger than an ogre, so youâd better be careful.â
âThanks for the advice.â
The real monsters had finally appeared.