CHAPTER 81: A RELIC OF THE OLD

KiRA didn’t know why there were exactly three certain elements on each floor that stood out from the entire theme of the floor or were simply not supposed to be there.

He knew there were a lot of things that were different in this tower, but since he had not found anything out of place on the first floor aside from the things that he knew about, he didn’t yet rule out the possibility of there being more different pieces.

The first floor’s traveling system, the mausoleum of a higher floor being that housed beings that weren’t supposed to be down here, and the demoness that was trapped here out of her will.

The presence of a different demon did not change the nature of the floor, instead, it simply made it more complex while keeping the theme of the hidden piece consistent.

KiRA found the Leaf Fay so easily thanks to their encounter with Lia and her party. The fact that they had not encountered the ’butterfly’ anywhere around this floor was proof that it might not be here.

But he could not conclude its existence before actually searching the entire floor a few times, and he did not have time for something like that just yet.

’Perhaps once the 3rd floor opens up...’

Having the Minimap ability or the map of the 2nd floor like the one had obtained for the 1st floor might have been a little helpful, but even with an item as special as that, he wouldn’t be able to capture a creature that only went to someone if it wanted to.

There had not been many times when it chose him, so he was not thinking about it anymore. Instead, he was here, in this cave, surrounded by the fragile mushroom people who walked around and interacted with each other.

The way they moved might give an illusion of a tiny colony that interacted with each other like the ants or bees, but they weren’t actually interacting.

Information was being shared among them when an interaction happened, nutrition and the dust particles were transferred from one place to another as it all ended up in a ’dump’ where they gathered everything.

These creatures were unique in many ways, the researchers that were interested in even the simplest of plant life outside would spend weeks and months in this cave if they discovered these fungi.

However, neither KiRA nor Izzy wanted the others to find this place— it would not only disturb these beings, and if they weren’t careful here, they might ultimately harm these creatures.

They were too delicate for a large group of people and if a portion of them ended up dead, the entire colony would move away to a different place and even though it would be difficult, they would start all over again.

’Now that would be a little too inconvenient for us.’

At the end of the day, hoarding resources was one of the few ways for a guild to grow.

There was a lot of competition. There were guilds that’d have a monopoly within the market going forward.

For a guild that wanted to focus on production, recurring materials would be the first and most difficult task.

’That’s why someone like Lia was a must-have.’

Be it within the tower or the world that the tower is ’invading’, resources were meant to be a war-starter. Those who had resources could obtain strength, power, and Authorities. Those who had the authority and the resources could rule over various parts of the tower like the higher beings on the higher floors were doing right now.

’They may have forsaken their own worlds, but they are masters of a new world now.’

There are those who still fight for the ultimate liberation, for reaching the end of the tower and ending the suffering of them all.

’The end goal of the Tower of Beginning was the clearance of the final floor.’

But to achieve that, countless sacrifices were made and countless resources were thrown away into a pit of gluttonous fire.

To reach the end, KiRA gave up more than he ever wanted... all for the sake of seeing the end that many weren’t willing enough to face.

’I didn’t really get much from doing that.’

He was selfish and he knew that. All those lost lives and all those wasted resources could have helped them reshape this tower into something better... but he chose to see the end.

He fought, he discovered the truths, and he reached his conclusion. That was how he finished the game... but here, things weren’t going to be the same.

"Here it is." At the end of the dark tunnel, they saw a blinding light akin to the sun.

As they reached this light and went past it, they entered a world that was completely different from the darkness they had been in all this time.

"It’s here... but, wow. Look at this, Izzy."

What greeted them was a fantastical sight, as well as something that seemed completely out of place— or perhaps, one could also call it the center of everything within these glowing walls.

"That’s really far more than what we remember, right? I mean, even the walls?"

Just like how the inside of the dark cave was covered by elemental iron, the glowing metal that seemed like a crystal, the inside of this new open area was completely covered in [Luminescent stones], another natural material that glowed naturally.

It was also present everywhere here— covering the entirety of the ceiling and making it as bright as the shining sun, covering the entire walls around them and making it seem like they had just entered an ice-covered cave.

Everything around them was glowing. There were plants here, which were also glowing. While it didn’t seem like there were any creatures here, the few fungi that were present here were also uniquely glowing.

Different from their mates inside the cave, the ones here seemed to have their special unique characteristics, but that wasn’t really the case.

They were also part of the common system of fungi that, simply put, served a unique function from the rest.

"That one’s the same though."

"That it is."

In the middle of this entire cave, something that wasn’t shining like the rest hovered above the ground.

It wasn’t natural, it wasn’t a biological entity like everything else present here.

Like an odd red flower in a garden full of yellow flowers, this entity was the relic of the past left behind by those who explored this floor above any of them, for the simple sake of those who arrive after them.

"Do you think it would have the same functions?" Izzy asked, taking in the pretty sight instead of the relic in question.

"It should be, I guess? But the bigger question is... will it have the same performance and rewards as we know?"

KiRA observed the place with his sensitive eyes and concluded there was nothing out of place aside from the obvious things.

The relic as well, seemed to be just right.

But then again, he couldn’t be certain of it until he tested it out himself.

"Shall we?" He asked his companion with a smile, extending his hand to ask for hers.

"No." But she declined, gracefully fixing her hair a little. "Now that we’re here anyway, don’t you think we should rest first? We were walking for three whole hours in that dark place!"

The valley is big and so is this floor. They had walked quite far within the last few hours without much light in that narrow place.

A little rest didn’t sound all that bad.

"Well..." He glanced around him, looking for anything that might help him change her mind.

But there was nothing so helpful around them.

"I guess a little break won’t hurt."

He had to give in to her request this time, taking a break that might just prove to be of great help in the next few hours...