Chapter 120.

KOONG!

I touched the ground with a rough thud . However, I wasn’t hurt thanks to covering my back with Aether .

I quickly got up and looked around .

I was in an empty cave-like complex .

The only thing even remotely noteworthy were the rocks on the ground .

“…The Tower I know isn’t like this . ”

In truth, there was only one Tower that I carefully designed .

Tower of Wish, the largest Tower in history that was on a league of its own compared to other Towers .

The place would be called an alternate world, and it was the place I would go in the future . In fact, I had to go .

But that was for a future time .

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“Uwoooah!”

While I was looking around, a scream rang out from above as someone else fell to the ground .

A familiar face and a familiar body .

It was Chae Nayun .

Was it a coincidence? Or were stupid people more likely to fall for the trap? Though, that would mean I was stupid too .

“Auuu… . ”

Chae Nayun rubbed her back, then widened her eyes when she saw me .

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Kim-ssi . ”

Then, she narrowed her eyes and said some strange words .

“…Is your head hurt?”

I put my hand forward . Chae Nayun seemed to hesitate for a moment, but she soon grabbed my hand and got up .

She dusted off the dirt on her butt and back, then asked .

“Where are we?”

“How would I know? Rather, how did you fall down?”

“Well, a crossbow shot an arrow at me . When I destroyed it, the floor suddenly collapsed . ”

Crossbow… ah, come to think of it, the color of that crossbow was white .

One of the three commandments was [Cooperate with White] .

But how the hell were we supposed to cooperate with a crossbow that tried to kill us?

“Wait a minute . ”

I widened my eyes and looked forward . My Thousand-Mile vision quickly expanded out .

About a kilometer past the empty cave complex, I could see a group of dwarves at work . They were standing in front of a stone door, diligently pulling on a rope connected to it .

“I found the way . Follow me . ”

I gestured at Chae Nayun and walked forward . Chae Nayun looked at me somewhat grumpily, then began to follow me .

“Where are we going?”

“There are NPCs up ahead . ”

“NPCs?”

Tower NPCs, beings created by the Tower’s magic power that can only live inside the Tower .

These magic power existences were officially called ‘Tower residents’, but people liked to call them by the gaming language, NPC .

“There are even NPCs in this Tower?”

“I don’t see why not . ”

Even an artificial Tower like this one was still a mystical space .

In any case, the two of us walked together in a running pace .

After about five minutes, we could see the dwarf NPCs .

“Wow, your eyes really are freak… amazing . ”

“Just say freakish . ”

It wasn’t like her to use more kid-friendly language .

“W-What do you mean? I’m always like this . ”

Chae Nayun dodged my eyes as she flipped her hair over .

Ignoring her, I observed the NPCs up ahead . They were all wearing the same green clothes, but that was the only special thing about them .

“Ah! Who is it!?”

Once we walked a bit closer, one of the NPCs found us, causing the others to also look over .

“They must be here to help us!”

“O Venerable Giants! Please open this door for us!”

The dwarves ran up to us and pleaded .

“What do we do?”

“Hold on . ”

One of the three commandments was [Have Faith] .

I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but I couldn’t be too careless .

“…What are your names?”

“I’m One!”

“I’m Seven!”

“I’m Twelve!”

“Nevermind then . ”

I counted the dwarves .

One, two, three… seven .

I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to trust them .

“Is there anyone else?”

“We have other brothers!”

“How many?”

“100!”

“Fine, I’ll help you . ”

I looked at Chae Nayun, signaling to her that it was her turn .

Chae Nayun grabbed the rope hanging on the stone door .

“I just have to pull on this?”

“Yes! But it’ll be difficult to open alone!”

“You hear that?”

Without a choice, I also grabbed the rope .

When we pulled on the rope after a count of three, the stone door opened easily .

The problem was what was inside .

As soon as the door was opened, a giant praying mantis jumped out . From its black carapace, I could surmise that it was a fairly high-ranked insect-type monster .

Swinging its front legs, the praying mantis charged toward us .

However, Chae Nayun took out her sword before the praying mantis could get anywhere near us .

Moving faster than light, she slashed out in a clean motion .

The magic power extending from her sword cleanly cut the praying mantis’ shoulder .

Chae Nayun then kicked the shrieking mantis’ abdomen and slashed at it again as it flew backwards .

Swish—

A crescent wave of magic power plowed through the ground, obliterating the mantis upon contact .

Chae Nayun closed her eyes and put her sword back in its scabbard, her short hair softly fluttering from the wind caused by the attack .

I blinked several times as I watched her display of power .

She was crazy strong .

“Thank you, thank you!”

The dwarf NPCs bowed and walked through the door .

We probably had to go in as well .

“…Let’s go . ”

“Take the lead, Kim-ssi . ”

“…Hm . ”

We quickly walked through the stone door .

However, what lied past the stone door was completely different than what it looked like from the outside .

In the blink of an eye, we found ourselves in a forest, with the dwarves waddling forward . Following the dwarves, we reached a town .

“Are Towers normally like this?”

“…Towers have intelligence, so I’m sure they can change their structures however they want . ”

According to my settings, Towers had intelligence exceeding that of humans . The only problem was that the goal of their intelligence wasn’t survival, but another reason .

“Let’s follow those NPCs . It looks like there are other cadets in the town . ”

“Sure, Kim-ssi . ”

“…Ehew . ”

We followed the NPCs into the town .

The town had all sorts of facilities, such as inns, restaurants, and weapon shops . Like I mentioned, there were other cadets here as well .

“Oh, it’s Nayun!”

One of the cadets shouted after seeing Chae Nayun .

“Nayun~~”

It was a high-ranking supporter, Yi Jiyoon .

“Yi Jiyoon? What is this place? How do you climb up?”

Hearing Chae Nayun’s barrage of questions, Yi Jiyoon pointed at the noticeboard in front of the town’s community hall .

“Take a look at that first . ”

I began to read the noticeboard .

Chae Nayun also joined in, standing right beside me .

[Stage – Dwarven Town]

[Dwarves are being terrorized by enemies and are seeking outside help . ]

[If you would like to join the war effort, please leave a thumbprint here . ]

[You will be awarded 25 points for every enemy invasion you stop . ]

[You require 100 points to get to the next stage . ]

[You will be given bonus points based on your contribution . ]

Once we finished reading, Yi Jiyoon spoke .

“Hurry up and sign up . It’s the only way you can get points . ”

We promptly left our thumbprints on the noticeboard .

It was then .

“Enemies—!”

A dwarf standing on the watchtower shouted at the top of his lungs .

I turned to the direction the dwarf pointed .

Goblin warriors in the front, goblin archers in the middle, and goblin magicians in the back .

A group of about 300 goblins was marching forward .

“Hey! Gather up!”

Adapting quickly to the situation, Chae Nayun shouted loudly . Soon, all the cadets in the town gathered around her . There were 27 in total 17 warriors, 8 supporters, and 2 sharpshooters including me .

After calling everyone over, Chae Nayun seemed to be at a loss for words . I nudged her shoulder .

“Everyone’s here, Chae-ssi . What should we do?”

“Um… argh, who cares? They’re just goblins, just fight . ”

“… . ”

A brief silence descended .

“Then I’ll snipe the goblin magicians . ”

“Huh? Oh, sure . ”

I looked around .

Sharpshooters wanted to fight from a high ground . Although the town had a watch tower, I wanted somewhere higher . Thankfully, there was a tall 40-meter tree nearby .

I ran to the tree and using Parkour, I jumped up and sat down on a large branch .

Looking at the goblin magicians in the distance, I took out the cadet handgun .

“Scan . ”

40% . It wasn’t too bad .

The attack power of the cadet handgun was incomparable to the Desert Eagle, but we were fighting goblins, and goblin magicians had especially weak defense .

I should be able to instakill them by hitting their heads .

—Kieeeeek!

One goblin raised its staff and howled .

Was that the leader of the group?

I fired at the howling goblin . The bullet drew a clear arc and pierced through the goblin’s head . As soon as I confirmed the goblin leader’s death, I fired at the goblin magicians .

Each bullet killed one goblin magician, and soon, there were none left on the field .

“Nice, Kim-ssi! Let’s go, guys!”

Along with Chae Nayun’s command, the warrior cadets charged forward .

**

Once the easy fight ended, the sun set, making this place even more realistic .

Chae Nayun and I walked into the town’s restaurant, wondering if we really were in a Tower .

“So, Chae-ssi, what are you going to eat?”

“Just fruit juice . By the way, why are you calling me Chae-ssi . It’s kind of annoying . ”

“You started it . ”

“But that doesn’t mean you can do it too . ”

I had no clue what she was saying, so I ignored her .

I looked around the restaurant, then turned back to Chae Nayun .

She was admiring the sunset with a smile of joy .

I let out a bitter sigh with a heavy heart . Then, I called Chae Nayun’s name .

“Hey, Chae Nayun . ”

Chae Nayun turned around and faced me .

“Eh? What’s up, Kim-ssi?”

“…How’s your oppa doing?”

Immediately, Chae Nayun made an obscure expression .

“What, you’re finally worried about him?”

“No, I’m just wondering . It’s probably the same for everyone else . ”

“Heh, don’t lie . I know you were the first one to be at the hospital . Yeonha told me . ”

“… . ”

I stared at Chae Nayun .

To be honest… I wanted to ask .

I wanted to ask how she would feel if someone killed Chae Jinyoon .

But that was a question that shouldn’t be asked, so long as you were human .

“By the way, Kim-ssi…”

Seeing me just staring at her, Chae Nayun changed the subject, wriggling her fingers .

“Was it, um, last week?”

She stuttered, looking down on the ground .

“What were you, um, doing with Rachel? At night . ”

Was she calling me Kim-ssi because she was sulking about that? Well, it was true that Rachel and Chae Nayun were rivals .

I replied shortly .

“Training . ”

“Oh… . Why are you training so late?”

Grumbling, she stuck out her lips .

But I was more curious about Chae Jinyoon’s condition .

Also, I was curious about Boss’ decision .

Would Boss help me?

“…Also, I heard you’re going on a drive with Kim Suho . ”

Chae Nayun sure had a lot to say .

“I like motorcycles more than Kim Suho . ”

“No, that’s…”

“Let’s go on a trip . I’ll pay for all the expenses . ”

“No, I can’t . ”

“Why? Just tell me why you don’t have time . I’ll fit my schedule for when you’re free . ”

Seeing her throwing a tantrum, I just laughed silently .

**

Two nights passed by since the start of the final exam .

The first day was spent killing goblins, and the second day was spent killing trolls and yetis .

Over these two days, there were three attacks on the Dwarven Town .

We successfully blocked them all and obtained 75 points . Apparently, the bonus points would be given out once all four invasions were blocked .

“…Wow, I guess they saved the best for last . ”

Today was the third day .

As expected of the last day, a monster on the level of a middle boss appeared .

“Uaaak! It’s the Black Ogre!”

The dwarf on the watchtower ran away screaming .

Black Ogre .

Seeing the appearance of this mountain-sized ogre, a few cadets turned pale .

“…For real?”

“This has to be a prank, right?”

I watched the Black Ogre carefully .

Even the weakest Black Ogre was at the level of an intermediate-rank grade-3 monster . One thing to note was that its endurance was especially strong .

In other words, it was the perfect target to test my strength .

Now that I had 3 streaks of Stigma, I could add quite a bit of power to my attacks .

I tapped Chae Nayun, who was looking up at the giant ogre .

“Let’s do it like usual . I’ll support from the back, so you guys can kill it . ”

“But against a Black Ogre, a bullet wouldn’t… Eh? You’re using a bow?”

Chae Nayun tilted her head, seeing the bow in my hand .

I bought one from Cube just in case I needed it . The cadet handgun was just too weak . I also wanted to raise my rank until it was around rank 100 .

…And who knew, maybe that ogre was sent by Djinns .

“You’re going to use magic arrows?”

“Yeah, I can’t keep using a gun forever . Alright, I’m going ahead . ”

“Ah, hey, wait!”

I climbed up the usual tree and looked down at the Black Ogre .

Now that I was up high, I could see that the Black Ogre wasn’t as big as I originally thought .

Glaring at it calmly, I pulled the bowstring . Then, I imagined the arrow that would sit on the bowstring .

It couldn’t be a normal arrow . The tip had to be jagged to increase its attack power, and the entire arrow had to be perfectly balanced like a spear . I should be able to use the arrow as a weapon itself .

Ssss—

Sucking in the surrounding air, Stigma’s magic power gathered around the bowstring .

Repeating back and forth between compression and condensation, Stigma’s magic power formed the image of an arrow .

It was exactly the same as the arrow I imagined .

The attribute I infused was ‘light’ .

As a result, the arrow shone with a brilliant light .

However, I let out a sigh .

…This single arrow was all I could make using almost all 3 streaks of Stigma .

Of course, that meant its destructive power was unimaginable .

I pulled the bowstring using all the power I could muster .

The light shining from the arrow swirled like a tornado, and the light only grew brighter .

After a short breath, I let go of the bowstring .

The arrow shot forward like a beam of light . The Black Ogre seemed to have noticed its intense light as it raised its hand to block it .

However, the moment the arrow touched its hand… a silent explosion erupted .

With no flames or thunderous quakes, only a blinding light blazed, burning the Black Ogre’s flesh .

—Guooooo

The Black Ogre’s arm burned white . Its bloodcurdling scream rang out .

Although it only lost an arm, it simply couldn’t fight against Chae Nayun and over a dozen other warriors with one arm .

Not to mention, Yi Jiyoon had several buffs on Chae Nayun… .

“…Wow . ”

However, Chae Nayun was only blankly looking at the Black Ogre and not trying to charge in .

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