CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 62: END OF 21ST FLOOR [1]

There were still a few minutes left until the 21st floor officially ended.

...

The White Zone had become more peaceful.

Those ghosts had completely disappeared.

But at the same time, the White Zone was about to disappear.

"So you changed my memories, Kael?"

Evelyn asked, leaning against the tree.

Her fingers intertwined with his.

"Of course. It was the only way."

"No wonder I suddenly felt my mind become much more at ease, and some of my memories have become very different from what I remember."

"Well, you are the gate to summon the Rust Seraph, which means you have a certain hatred for this world, for everything."

"...You understand me better than I do."

Her red lips curled up slightly.

He smiled.

"Of course, I’m your lover."

To be honest, Kael didn’t understand why the game developer included this memory-altering action in Tower of Glory.

However... he didn’t hate it that much.

Because thanks to it, he learned a lot more about Evelyn Evernight.

"But, isn’t what you did an invasion of privacy?"

Suddenly, the villainess opened her mouth.

Causing Kael to pause for a few seconds.

But then, very quickly, he regained his usual sly expression.

"Will you hate me for that?"

The villainess sighed.

"Of course not."

...

[Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

A huge noise unexpectedly rang out.

Following that was the collapse of the White Zone.

"What is that sound?"

Evelyn frowned slightly, displeased by the overly loud sound.

Kael kindly explained:

"That’s the congratulatory sound after a floor’s mission is completed."

He chuckled.

"You should get used to it, because you’re going to climb the Tower with me in the future, right?"

"...Fine, I’ll try."

The system continued to send notifications.

Notifications that only Kael could see.

[Today is a good day.]

[The 21st floor mission has been completed!]

By a single person.

[Calculating the merits...]

[Completed.]

[Top 1: Climber - Kael Draven.]

And that’s all.

[Congratulations! You have received 400 Experience from clearing the 21st floor.]

Kael smirked.

That was more than enough.

He could vaguely guess what the next system message would be.

[Congratulations!]

[You have become an Awakener!]

’Awesome!’

Kael couldn’t hide his smile, his joy.

Beside him, the villainess tilted her head in wonder.

"What are you smiling at?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing, I just got stronger. That means from now on, I won’t need you to protect me anymore."

"Oh, I protect you? How come I didn’t know that?"

He scratched his head.

"Well... you are really much, much stronger than me."

That wasn’t all.

[Tower has appreciated your contributions.]

"Huh?"

Kael’s eyes widened.

"Don’t tell me..."

His smile grew even brighter.

[You’ve officially become a Ranker!]

[Your top is 95, work harder in the future!]

To be honest, being a Ranker didn’t have too many perks.

All Ranker got was fame, and received a crazy cool Title from the Tower.

...

And that’s exactly what Kael was aiming for!

’I mean, who wouldn’t want to become famous, then get a cool nickname?’

[Your Title has been decided.]

[The Masochist.]

"..."

He blinked a few times.

"Huh?"

Kael rubbed his eyes a few times.

The Title was still the same.

[The Masochist.]

That was his Title.

He took a deep breath.

’Are you kidding me, Tower Master?!?!?!?!’

Just like that, the notification messages ended.

To sum it up, this time, Kael had successfully become an Awakener.

At the same time, he became a Ranker.

However, he had a Title that couldn’t be any worse.

But!

The worst thing was...

He didn’t receive any new Ability.

[Better luck next time.😂]

— — — — — — — — — — —

Name: [Kael Draven]

Rank: [Awakener]

Experience: [0/1000]

Ability: [Authority of Gluttony]

Artifact: None

Title: [The Masochist]

— — — — — — — — — — —

***

Floor 10.

Located extremely deep in the Deadly Forest, so deep that no one, not even a Ranker, dared to enter.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out.

Shaking the heavens and earth.

At the same time, when the explosion ended, it was also the end of another mountain.

Recently, the mountains deep in the Deadly Forest had been continuously disappearing.

And this was the result of a single person.

Not a monster.

Nor a Ranker in the top 10.

But more than that.

That was the achievement of Hans Varun - the protagonist - the regressor - the owner of [Sword Saint].

Yes, that was true.

While Kael was spending his days happily with his lover...

Uhm...

While he was struggling to complete the 21st floor’s mission, Hans had received his first strongest Ability.

[Sword Saint.]

"So tired."

Complaining, the protagonist wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"As expected, I still need to train. A lot."

In his previous life, people always said that he was extremely lucky to possess such a powerful Ability.

But they didn’t understand that in order to truly use it, the wielder had to become worthy of it.

Then, he glanced at his achievements during this time.

The entire beautiful and somewhat eerie forest from before was now...

...A pile of scrap.

Thousands of trees were uprooted.

Dozens of holes appeared.

And the craziest thing was that hundreds of mountains were erased from reality.

Forever.

— — — — — — — —

Name: [Hans Varun]

Rank: [Awakener]

Experience: [21/1000]

Ability: [Night Eye], [Authority of Envy], [Sword Saint]

Artifact: None

Title: None

— — — — — — — —

During this time, Hans had also officially become an Awakener.

As expected, the efforts he had put in had not been wasted.

The protagonist let out a satisfied smile.

Yet, at that moment...

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

A continuous clapping sound rang out.

Followed by a familiar voice.

"That’s amazing. I’ve only been gone for about 2 weeks, and you’ve already grown to this level?"

The protagonist’s facial muscles froze.

But very quickly, a smile as bright as the sun appeared on his lips.

"Kael!"

Filled with joy, Hans spread his arms wide, and without hesitation, ran towards him.

Expecting a warm hug.

To be honest, it would be a lie to say that Kael didn’t feel disgusted.

After all, the protagonist’s body was currently covered in sweat, and gave off the distinct scent of someone who hadn’t bathed in a long time.

"Sigh. Whatever, he’s the protagonist of this game after all."

Then, he accepted the hug.

***

Sitting in a cave that seemed to be Hans’s home during his training period, they began to chat.

"How was your life on the 21st floor, Kael? Was it bad? Were you bullied? If so, do you need me to take revenge?"

The protagonist spoke too much, and too quickly.

To the point that he didn’t even have a chance to interrupt.

"I’ve gotten stronger now, Kael! That’s for sure. So you can trust me too!"

"You’ve truly gotten stronger, a lot."

Kael glanced at Hans’s achievements.

"But don’t worry, my time on the 21st floor was pretty good, and I wasn’t bullied like you were worried about."

"Really?"

He let out a sigh of relief.

’...What’s this? Why is Hans more worried about me than I am about myself?’

He thought, scratching his head.

"So, did interesting things happen?"

Kael rolled his eyes.

"Yes."

"Oh, and what is it?"

"I have a lover. And maybe we’re going to get married soon."

"..."

The protagonist was so shocked that he was speechless.