Chapter 70
"The… God… of Destruction…” The Patriarch barely managed to say his name.
"The God of Destruction?" Lee Shin was surprised.
It sounded like the name of a dangerous god. Besides, it was a name that Lee Shin had never heard of in his previous life. Back then, Lee Shin could only gather meaningful information about gods when he had gone beyond the 80th floor. The fact that Lee Shin had not heard this name even when he had reached the 100th floor, made the name more threatening.
"He... enlightened… keugh..." The patriarch vomited blood vigorously.
It seemed like the patriarch was having a hard time talking because of the blood that was coming up in his throat.
[Divine Healing]
Lee Shin decided to heal the patriarch, because his condition looked serious. Nevertheless, he did not get much better. Lee Shin’s help only made the patriarch slightly more comfortable talking.
"Thank… you..." said the patriarch.
All the blood vessels in the patriarch’s body were already destroyed. However, that was not because of Lee Shin’s thunderbolt skill. It was because, a while ago, the patriarch had used the skill, Destruction Wave, that was far beyond what he could manage with his ability.
‘It seems like his divinity class is disappearing.’
Was it a temporary power? The Destruction Wave was a difficult skill to be done without the divinity class. Since the divinity class that had been supporting the patriarch was disappearing, the rebound that had been inflicted on him was more intense.
"The gods said… if I kill you… they will make me… their apostle...” said the patriarch.
Crunch—
Lee Shin clenched his teeth, disgusted by the gods. Would the gods really have made the patriarch their apostle? There was no way the gods would have done that. No matter how talented the patriarch was, he was not enough in the eyes of the gods.
Besides, if he were a human being skillful enough to be made into an apostle, he would not have been made a puppet of this stage.
Although Lee Shin was not sure about the God of Destruction, he was aware that the God of Blessings had no power to make the patriarch into his apostle. Making a character in a stage into an apostle and expanding the timeline of the world was only possible for gods who were in a similar class as the God of Death to do.
The truth was, the patriarch had only been used by the gods.
"Is this world… disappearing now…?” the patriarch asked with a disappointed voice.
"...Were you aware of that?” Lee Shin asked.
"...Even if I disappeared… I wanted to save the people here..." the patriarch explained.
"So… you weren’t planning on surviving in the first place,” Lee Shin muttered.
The patriarch had already known that he would not be able to survive when he used the Destruction Wave. The patriarch had been aware that the power that the gods had given him, which protected him, would not last long. The patriarch had thought that he would be able to protect this temple if he could kill Lee Shin by sacrificing himself and dealt with the other challengers quickly.
It was clear to Lee Shin that the patriarch did not care about becoming an apostle in the first place. Also, Lee Shin could tell that the patriarch did not trust the gods as well.
‘You bastards.’
Lee Shin was furious at the gods. The fate of a stage depended on the life of the patriarch. The moment the patriarch died, the world in this stage was over. Not knowing this fact, the patriarch had been deceived by the gods.
"I am… sorry..." the patriarch apologized.
His body was weakening very rapidly and finally, the patriarch took his last breath.
[You have cleared the 17th floor.]
[Your achievements will be recorded.]
[Amazing achievements! Many gods are paying attention to you.]
[You have achieved 175,000 points.]
[You have received 175,000 points.]
[Your Health Point has increased by 4200.]
[Your Mana has increased by 13,300.]
[Your Strength has increased by 4.]
[Your Agility has increased by 7.]
[Your Intelligence has increased by 13.]
[Your Dominance has increased by 12.]
[You have acquired a Herman cowl.]
A feeling of death emanated from his cold dead body. The trajectory of his life was overlaid onto this world.
Woong—
Suddenly, a portal was created above the peaceful Herman temple. The apostles and believers who came out of the portal invaded the temple.
One of the apostles shook his right hand rapidly and it transformed into a sharp blade. His hand became a sword.
"Where's Patriarch Ahn Jin?” one of the apostles asked.
"Who are yo—?" One of the monks got killed before he even finished asking his question.
Swoosh— Plop
The head of the monk fell onto the ground at the first slash of the apostle.
"Forget it, I'll find him on my own," the apostle muttered.
The apostle, who shook off the blood on his right hand, saw the monks rushing out.
"What brings you here?” one of the monks asked.
"I’m here for the Patriarch Ahn Jin. So go tell him that if he doesn’t come out as soon as possible, everyone in this place will die,” said the apostle, threatening the monks.
After saying that, the apostle held out swords with sharp blades on both hands.
"I’m here, so tell me what you want,” the patriarch Ahn Jin said.
At that time, Ahn Jin, who was walking out from a group of the monks, looked at the apostle, who had lumps of blue muscles. The apostle looked so strong that the patriarch thought that it would not be an easy game.
"Are you the Patriarch Ahn Jin?" the apostle asked.
"That's right," Ahn Jin replied with a calm voice.
"Did you hide your strength or..." the apostle muttered.
Woong— Bam!
The apostle kicked the ground, rushed towards Ahn Jin, and swung his fist. The collision between Ahn Jin and the apostle caused a loud bang, but Ahn Jin was the only one who was flung out by the impact.
Thud!
"... Is this all you’ve got?” the apostle asked.
"Keugh..." Ahn Jin gasped.
"Then I'm very disappointed in you,” the apostle muttered.
The apostle rushed towards Ahn Jinn once again and Ahn Jin tried to block him. The two continued to attack each other in rapid succession, but the odds of the fight did not change.
"Keurgh!" Ahn Jin coughed.
Ahn Jin collapsed on the floor, vomiting blood. The next moment, he looked at the apostle in front of him with his bloodshot eyes. The apostle was a monster, and Ahn Jin knew that he would not be able to deal even a single critical hit to that monster. It was a bitter defeat that Ahn Jin had never experienced in his life before.
"I came here for no reason then. You are nothing more than a tool,” said the apostle.
Swoosh—! Splash!
The apostle’s hand, which turned into a blade again, penetrated Ahn Jin's head and blood splattered all over the place.
Then, the background returned to the current state. In front of Lee Shin was Ahn Jin, who had collapsed just like what he had just seen in the flashback.
"You bastards." Lee Shin clenched his teeth.
It was the same for this stage. The life of a patriarch was forcibly taken away by the gods—the patriarchs were simply puppets of the tower. Ahn Jin was sentenced to death simply because he lacked the talent or qualifications to be an apostle. It was not just the humans on Earth, but countless species from all dimensions had been oppressed by the gods.
"Hey you!" Vuela shouted.
Lee Shin looked back at the sudden sound. Vuela, who approached Lee Shin with his injured body, had a complicated look.
"So… you really killed the patriarch on your own,” Vuela muttered.
“...” Lee Shin remained speechless.
"I realized a lot thanks to you this time. I finally figured out my future plans. Thank you.” Vuela thanked Lee Shin from the bottom of his heart.
"Vuela," Lee Shin called out.
"Yeah, why?” Vuela replied.
Lee Shin's expression was still stiff and the atmosphere was heavy.
[Chat Room]
An intangible membrane had surrounded Lee Shin and Vuela.
[Challenger Lee Shin had used the Chat Room.]
[Challenger Vuela has been invited to the Chat Room.]
[The conversation made in the Chat Room cannot be overheard by anyone.]
Vuela was surprised by the sudden use of an item called the Chat Room. Vuela looked at Lee Shin with wide eyes.
"What do you think of gods?" Lee Shin asked Vuela.
"Gods? What the hell are you talking about all of a su—” Vuela got cut off.
"Just say it," said Lee Shin.
"Well... Gods..." Vuela held his chin and thought for a second.
"There was a God that us Elves used to believe in. The tribal chief used to always say that ‘this god will protect us, and we are living safely because the god is taking care of us.’”
As Vuela started speaking, Vuela’s expressionless face gradually turned bitter.
"When I was a child, I used to believe what the tribal chief had said… but in the end, our tribe was wiped out because another tribe had invaded us. But, would we have gone extinct if God was really protecting us?” Vuela said.
Vuela’s voice began to fill with anger as he recalled the past.
"God did not give us any help. But our stupid tribal elders were praying to God even up to the point of death! What a jerk! With the help of the tribal chief, I was the only one who could survive. I was very lucky,” Vuela explained.
From tranquility to anger, then to sadness, various emotions showed on Vuela’s face in a short period of time.
"I stopped believing in God ever since. I will never believe in the existence of God until I see it with my own eyes," said Vuela.
By the time Vuela finished speaking, Lee Shin’s stiffened expression had returned to normal.
"You’re right. God is not that great of a thing. They are just a little bit more talented than us," Lee Shin explained.
"But why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Vuela asked Lee Shin.
"I am going to kill God," said Lee Shin with determination.
"What?" Vuela’s face hardened this time due to Lee Shin's sudden declaration.
"Are you serious?" Vuela asked again to clarify.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
Whether Lee Shin did or did not believe in God, the fact remained that a being referred to as a god was a great being. Giving such rewards through the system of the tower and observing the challengers from somewhere was an unimaginable and unattainable thing for Lee Shin.
"Have you ever received the power of a deity?” Lee Shin asked Vuela.
“Didn't I tell you? I don't believe in God. I only believe in my own ability," Vuela explained.
"That is a very good mindset. Why don't you join me in my plan to kill gods?" Lee Shin suggested.
Vuela could not simply say yes, because he thought it was such a ridiculous goal.
"Ha." Lee Shin laughed at Veula when he saw Vuela’s troubled face.
"What's so funny?" Vuela asked with an annoyed look.
"Are you scared?" Lee Shin said.
As soon as the word came out of Lee Shin's mouth, Vuela rolled his eyes at Lee Shin.
‘Alright, it’s going as I’ve planned.’
"Did you really just say scared? What the hell are you saying? I, Vuela, wi—” Vuela was interrupted.
Lee Shin, who had been quietly listening to Vuela speak with enthusiasm for a while, interrupted him and asked.
"So, are you going to join me?” Lee Shin asked.
"Hahaha! Of course! If I just climb the tower a little more, I can easily kill gods,” said Vuela with a confident voice.
"All right, then let's sign a contract," Lee Shin said.
Lee Shin took out a scroll that was almost damaged by the patriarch’s psychic energy blast. However, thanks to Lee Shin’s defense spell, Lee Shin could prevent it from being destroyed.
When the scroll was thrown in the air, the mana circle that was inscribed inside the scroll appeared like light and was drawn beneath Lee Shin and Vuela’s feet.
"Wait, a c-c-contract?" Vuela was stunned because he did not expect Lee Shin to suggest that.
"Don't worry, I’m not planning on forcing you into a slave contract,” said Lee Shin.
[Mana Contract]
Drafter: Lee Shin
Signatory: Vuela
1. The drafter and the signatory do not harm each other until the completion of the conquest of the Tower. However, if a situation arises where they must fight in the Tower’s tests, Article 1 shall be temporarily suspended.
2. The signatory must cooperate with the drafter in killing gods.
3. The signatory must cooperate with the drafter in the conquest of the tower.
4. The signatory must not disclose the contents of the contract.
Failure to comply with any of the above four articles will result in the loss of all mana.
A copy of the Mana Contract appeared in front of Lee Shin and Vuela.
"And you’re saying that this isn't a slave contract?" Vuela laughed after reading the articles listed.
"Yes, these conditions are just telling us that we need to cooperate until we kill the gods,” said Lee Shin, justifying why he included such articles.
"Do you think I’m stupid?" Vuela was angry after seeing how ridiculous the contract was.
The next moment, Vuela activated his mana.
"Why do you think I made a Chat Room?" Lee Shin asked Vuela.
"What did you say?" Vuela asked.
"It is to keep this story from leaking out. So then, why would I believe you and let you go free? If we don't make a contract here, I have no choice but to get rid of you right away," said Lee Shin.
Lee Shin’s black magic rapidly soared and covered the entire place.
‘Was there more to the power that Lee Shin had shown me earlier?’
Strong morale and intense pressure could be felt from Lee Shin’s black magic. Moreover, the purity and density of Lee Shin’s mana was more outstanding compared to Vuela’s mana. This made Vuela wonder how high Lee Shin’s intelligence stat was.
"Are you… really going to kill me?” Vuela asked.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't force me into a slave contract?" Vuela asked.
"But this is not it," said Lee Shin, looking at Vuela, unashamed.
Vuela wondered if Lee Shin really believed it, or if he was just pretending.
Either way, Vuela could not hide his nervousness.
"You really don’t think it is?" Vuela asked again.
"Yes," Lee Shin replied.
"Do necromancers increase their number of subordinates like this?" Vuela asked Lee Shin.
“...” Lee Shin remained silent.
"Oh! I finally figured it out. You are just a wizard pretending to be a necromancer. Now everything makes sense. This was how you could have dominance over such a strong subordinate on top of that unbelievable magical abili—” Vuela got cut off.
Rumble— Crack!
Veula, who detected a sudden thunderbolt, quickly moved to avoid it. When he looked at the ground, there were clear traces of the thunderbolt left on the ground.
"You talk too much. You're not going to do it, right?” Lee Shin asked and threatened Vuela.
"W-w-what are you talking about! Gods are nothing! Didn't I say I can kill them? I will o-o-of course make the contract with you!" Vuela said with a nervous voice, because he was starting to panic.
[The contract is complete.]
[Lee Shin and Vuela are now bound by the Mana Contract.]
[The duration of the Chat Room has ended.]
[The Chat Room will now disappear.]
Vuela’s pale face, which had now become very red, appeared as the membrane vanished. On the other hand, Lee Shin was smiling brightly as if he was very satisfied.
"Alright, good. You will come up to the 20th floor with me,” said Lee Shin with satisfaction.
"Ugh, what's so good about it!" Vuela replied with annoyance.
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