The hill I arrived at, guided by members of the Scangus Guild.
I slowly looked around.
No doubt about it.
This was Myard, the village I had seen on the 29th floor.
Though now it was shattered and reduced to ruins.
"Could it be... you recognize this place?"
I must have unconsciously let my expression sour.
Rina, the girl who had shown me the map, asked cautiously.
"Yeah. A friend of mine used to live here. Do you happen to know what happened here?"
"I heard it was attacked by corrupted monsters a few years ago. They said it was such a massive army that it caused an uproar even in the kingdom, but it's still unknown why they targeted this remote village."
"What about the knight who protected this place? A friend of mine who used a giant hammer and blue flames."
"A hammer and flames...?"
Rina thought for a long moment, then shook her head.
"I've never heard of them. That's strange. There shouldn't be any strong figures in the kingdom that I don't know about."
Muttering to herself, Rina's face flushed red.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound arrogant... It's just... it's my hobby. Collecting information on famous people and strong individuals in the kingdom."
"Don't worry. I didn't think you were showing off."
I forced a smile and rubbed my chin.
Something didn't add up.
I didn't know the exact level of the kingdom's strong figures Rina was talking about, but it made no sense that Leon's name wasn't known.
He was, by any measure, a born powerhouse.
"What happened to the villagers?"
"I heard they all died except for one who had left the village. After Myard was wiped out, that survivor supposedly settled in the kingdom, but I've never met them. Oh, and Metia, which Scangus belongs to, is a kingdom made up of a single massive capital city. That's how I can easily access information on various strong figures."
Rina explained things I might be curious about before I even asked.
She had the makings of an excellent informant.
I nodded for a moment, then clasped my hands together.
And closed my eyes.
*A small prayer can bring great peace to some souls.*
Recalling Kamela's words, I offered a prayer for the souls of Myard's people.
I had only met them briefly on the 29th floor, but the memory was still vivid.
Their brave willingness to release the crystal ball without hesitation, saying saving Leon was the priority.
After finishing the prayer, I walked toward the direction of the church.
"There's nothing over there."
"I have something to check."
According to Elia's hypothesis, the 28th and 29th floors were created by someone deliberately twisting time.
I had met Leon Morther there, talked with him, and fought alongside him.
I wondered if those moments had vanished with the end of the 29th floor, or if they continued into the present.
'If Leon didn't only exist on those floors, if he's alive somewhere in this timeline, would he be the same Leon I met?'
Carrying both doubt and hope, I kept walking.
If it was connected, traces would remain in the church.
"Hey... wait for me!"
Rina, who had been glancing toward the base camp, ran over to me.
As we walked side by side, I spoke up.
"Rina, why did you join the Scangus Guild? Isn't it dangerous, having to fight corrupted monsters all the time?"
She looked about middle school age, by Korean standards.
Seemed too young to be fighting monsters.
"I was curious. About what a world without corruption would be like."
Rina let out a small chuckle and continued.
"Once, I read an old book in the grand library. It described how beautiful and peaceful this land was in the era when the World Tree tended it, before corruption existed. So I joined a purification guild. I wanted to help, even if just a little, in removing the corruption. It's really insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but even if it helps as much as a single ant's tear, that's still rewarding in its own way, isn't it?"
I found myself covering my mouth.
At such a young age, to have such grand aspirations and a beautiful mindset.
From Leon to Rina, the future of this kingdom was truly bright.
*Thud.*
I stopped walking at my destination.
As time had passed and the attack had occurred, much had changed here.
The lake where Kanmoduo used to play had dried up and withered, and the area where we used to light bonfires and roast sweet potatoes was now corrupted, emitting a foul stench.
After taking a small breath, I walked toward the collapsed building.
"It's completely shattered. I don't think we'll find anything."
Rina was right.
I had tried to find the mural Dark had carved into the ceiling.
But it was so broken apart that I couldn't even be sure this place had been a church.
*Tap tap tap tap tap.*
A chubby little hand poked my calf, and I turned my head.
Momo was tugging at my pant leg and pointing in one direction.
Then, with a *pop*, she unsummoned herself.
'The chubby fairy has come and gone.'
Smiling, I walked to where Momo had pointed.
The base of a pillar that had once supported the church.
It was the area that had best preserved its original shape compared to the rest.
'What's here?'
I bent down low to examine it.
And then, after a moment.
"...!!"
I spotted a small carving etched into the pillar.
Though faded with time, it was still legible.
A crooked little drawing of me, my friends, and the church's owner, Leon.
"Huh? Is there something there?"
I brushed off my pants and stood up.
A smile spread across my face.
'I found it.'
Everything I had experienced on the 28th and 29th floors wasn't just a fleeting dream that scattered away.
It was a past we had lived through, one that had truly existed, no matter what anyone said.
'And yet, no one knows Leon's name?'
I curled the corners of my mouth.
The compass that had been wandering had found its direction.
It was time to find them.
The one who dared to hide the name of Myard's hero, Leon Morther.
*Ding!*
[The clear condition for the 30th floor of the Mythical Tower has been updated!]
---
On the road from Myard to the kingdom of Metia.
Bram and the guild members stared at the carriage with blank faces.
"Vice Guild Master. This isn't a dream, is it? Or some illusion magic?"
"I was about to ask the same thing, but I don't think that's necessary. Unless we've all fallen under a collective illusion."
The residue of corruption dropped from killing corrupted monsters or purifying tainted land.
Normally, with limits on stamina and supplies, filling about half a carriage was standard, but now every single carriage was completely full.
Vice Guild Master Bram swallowed dryly.
Even he, who had worked at Scangus for a long time, had never seen this much volume.
It was probably a first among all the purification guilds in the kingdom.
"Are you sure you don't want to bring more?"
Jinhyuk, the outsider, asked calmly.
He had been disappearing every so often, saying he wanted to take a walk.
And every time he returned, he had an absurd amount of residue in his hands.
When asked how he got it, Jinhyuk only answered with a mysterious smile.
Trade secret.
"Mr. Bram?"
"Ah, yes... Yes. There's no more room to load anything. As you can see, even the auxiliary storage outside the carriage is full."
"Is that so? Let me know if you need more."
"Understood."
Jinhyuk hummed a tune and looked straight ahead.
'The outsider position in the Mythical Tower is really convenient.'
Probably because they saw him as a complete foreigner, the Scangus guild members didn't pry or interrogate him even when he gave vague answers.
Since he had only extracted the residue from what his friends had already secured, he didn't have a proper excuse, but it was a relief.
"Dammit! I can't figure out the原理!"
A few guild members tore at their hair in frustration.
*Drip.*
At their desperate cries, cold sweat trickled down my temple.
They were desperately analyzing the orb I had called a magical weapon from another world.
"Even the detection rod made by the Magic Academy can't pick up its power... Just what is this otherworldly power...?!"
I kept my gaze fixed forward, pretending not to hear.
Of course they couldn't figure it out.
That orb wasn't a magical weapon at all; it was a psychic ball that Momo used when she danced Zumba, looking incredibly convincing on the outside.
'I'm sorry, everyone.'
It was better for them to be like this than to dig into me.
I decided to keep up the lie for a while longer.
"Oh?"
Beyond the distance, I could see a massive gate.
We were about to arrive at the kingdom of Metia.
'I'm looking forward to this.'
This might be a first.
Entering a kingdom-level city in the Mythical Tower.
I shifted my gaze and stared at the status window.
It had updated right after Momo found the carving.
[Mythical Tower 30th Floor: 'Corrupted Land']
# Clear Conditions
## Acquire Residue of Corruption after purification: 100,000 / 10,000.
## Find the Survivor.
### You must find the sole survivor of Myard from the past large-scale monster attack.
I didn't know which of the residents I met on the 29th floor had survived.
I didn't know their face or name, and searching through that massive city one by one was like finding a needle in a desert.
So I decided.
Instead of me finding them, I would make them come to me.
Since I had encountered all the villagers on the 29th floor, if they were here, they would surely recognize me.
"The gate is opening!"
It wasn't for nothing that I had gathered ten times more residue than needed.
Because I wanted to be the center of attention.
The moment I passed through that gate, I wanted the eyes of everyone in the city on me.
"Whoa! What's that?! Is all of that residue of corruption?"
"Wow, Scangus hit the jackpot. If you convert that to gold, it must be insane!"
"Hey! Gather around here! Scangus just struck it big!"
"I've never seen that much in my life! Isn't this a first in Metia's history?"
Just as intended.
People were gathering at a rapid pace.
'Good, good.'
I took a breath and stood up from the carriage.
Since I was going to attract attention anyway, I might as well go all out.
"Who's that? I've never seen that face before."
"That's... an outsider, isn't it?"
"What? Really? It's an outsider. Isn't this the first time?"
"Where? An outsider?"
"I just heard from a Scangus friend that it was that outsider who brought all that residue."
Maybe because I had suddenly stood up, all the attention focused on me in an instant.
It was burdensome, but I acted completely nonchalant, showing my face to the surroundings.
Hoping that the survivor of Myard would find me.
---
Late at night, in the lodging provided by the purification guild Scangus.
Jinhyuk, who had been lying on the bed, opened his eyes.
He quietly slipped out through the window and climbed onto the roof.
"!!!"
The pupils of the visitor who had arrived before him dilated.
*Ding!*
[You have encountered the survivor of Myard who survived the great attack!]
[The clear condition for the 30th floor of the Mythical Tower, 'Corrupted Land', has been achieved!]
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T/N:
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