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Chapter 190

“...”

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the dark sky covered by storm clouds. A deep darkness filled in the cracks, as if the universe was trying to reach in. He then sat up, finding a black sea stretching beyond the horizon.

The black waves slowly approached, swallowing everything in their path. Finding himself in the unforgettable landscape once again, Se-Hoon sat still, blankly staring at the sea.

Was he dreaming about his past life, or... had he just woken up from a long dream? Unable to distinguish the truth, he just continued to stare blankly at the sea, entranced.

[Activating Awakening Dream]

Swoosh!

Shocked by the cold water washing over his mind, the thoughts that had clung to him were dispelled. With his mind now clear, he finally tore his gaze away from the scenery in front of him and glanced down at his own body.

Yup, just as I expected.

His body wasn\'t the war-weary one from before the regression but rather the young body full of life from after. He stood up, convinced that he was in a dream or something similar.

There’s no way I ended up in such a wretched place without any reason. Is this the Dream Demon’s doing?

If that were the case, then it wouldn\'t be a surprise, given that he had willingly followed the Dream Demon\'s plan. But for that to be the case, there were too many perplexing aspects.

This place is too crude to be the work of the Dream Demon.

If he was in a creation of hers, it would have taken him a considerable amount of time to realize he was in a dream. Moreover, the surroundings somehow resembled the familiar scene in his memories—that was the strangest thing.

No matter how powerful her dream magic is, she couldn’t have known any of this.

The information related to his regression was the most important thing to Se-Hoon, so he had stored those memories in his blood with Soul Honing, hiding them deep within his heart. It was virtually impossible for outsiders to peek in, and even if someone managed to, it would have triggered a pain in his heart.

And there’s a peculiar sense of dissonance...

Though the landscape was familiar, something felt different.

Examining his surroundings, Se-Hoon slowly turned around.

“...Huh?”

And his mouth dropped open at the sight of the towering white tower that seemed to reach the sky.

It was one of the Towers of Heroes, which had descended from the heavens, seemingly to stand against the Abyss of Demons, which had risen from the ground. Thanks to the Towers, countless heroes had been birthed over the decades, as well as many Perfect Ones.

Seeing such a tower amidst the familiar scenery, Se-Hoon became utterly baffled.

Why... why is that thing here?

It didn’t make sense. Near the end of his previous life, every Tower of Heroes had already collapsed, and there wasn’t one near where he had died.

So why was there one where he had met his end? Looking up at the surreal scene, a thought crossed his mind.

Could it be...

There was only one place where the unnatural sight of a Tower of Heroes could be created.

Inside a Tower of Heroes itself.

When one entered a Tower of Heroes, they faced trials based on the synesthetic mindscape rooted deep within that person\'s heart. That would explain the scenery that came from his memories, which Soul Honing should have securely stored, as well as the dissonance between the dream-like and realistic experiences.

Yet, despite somewhat figuring out the situation, Se-Hoon just became even more confused.

Why am I inside a Tower of Heroes?

According to the rules of Babel, first-year students couldn’t enter the Tower. And more importantly, Se-Hoon had never approached it in the first place.

How did I even get here...

Did someone sneak him in while he was asleep? But then, according to his memories, a Tower of Heroes would only give the trial if one entered of their own will. Completely lost now, his gaze fell to the golden ring on his right hand.

The possibility of spatial magic being used to conduct this special exam, the construction of Babel around a Tower of Heroes, and the special facilities of Babel mentioned in the Frost Dog’s records—piece by piece, information clicked in Se-Hoon’s mind, forming the most likely story.

Wanting to verify it, Se-Hoon infused the Ascension Ring with his mana and amplified its power.

Spatial Distortion

Woong-

The space around him twisted, revealing a new location.

The first thing he saw was himself sleeping in his bed. Naturally, the first thing he assumed was that his soul had departed his body.

Is this what they call astral projection? No, my body seemed real earlier.

He could feel the sensations from the things around him and his heart pumping blood throughout his body. But, at the same time, he could feel the same things from the body sleeping in the bed. The bizarreness of it all made Se-Hoon feel a headache.

Let’s figure out the situation first.

Deciding to check outside, he moved to the living room and looked out the window.

“...”

It was still dawn in Babel, before the sunrise. Yet, it was as bright as day since the entire sky was bathed Babel in a golden light. Seeking the cause of the surreal sky, he scanned Babel. After a sweep, he fixed his gaze on the Tower of Heroes at Babel\'s center.

Just like I expected; that’s the cause.

Looking up at the Tower, a golden aura could be seen flowing down, centered around the peak of the Tower that lay beyond the clouds. It had the be the cause of Babel\'s colored sky and the creator of the strange space he was currently in. Convinced, Se-Hoon quietly observed the mystical sight.

“Leaving the exam site during an exam is a demerit.”

Turning to look at the owner of the sudden nonchalant voice, Se-Hoon found Ludwig, who had appeared without a hint of spatial distortion.

“Is this the special exam you mentioned, Chairman?” he replied calmly, having somewhat expected his appearance.

“Indeed. Do you understand what kind of exam it is?”

Gazing out the window, Ludwig smiled contentedly. Following his gaze, Se-Hoon turned his head back and contemplated everything: the aura flowing down from the peak of the Tower, Babel’s landscape, and the spatial distortions covering it.

“You connected Babel and the Tower of Heroes using your spatial magic, allowing us to experience the Tower’s trials indirectly.”

“Correct. You are indeed outstanding.”

Turning to Ludwig, Se-Hoon looked at the man who was smiling approvingly with tense eyes.

He actually tampered with a Tower of Heroes...

Throughout history, the Towers of Heroes were symbols of hope for humanity and untouchable, transcendent structures. Just entering and passing each of its trials granted one immense power, and reaching its summit allowed one to become a Perfect One.

The Towers were something that, even up until he regressed, human technology couldn\'t determine the materials composing them, which naturally invoked reverence.

Yet, Ludwig had connected a Tower with an external space. Even for Se-Hoon, who had experienced countless extraordinary events throughout both of his lives, it was an astounding feat.

If he can execute this on such a scale, he must have researched it for a long time.... But then, why didn\'t he ever reveal it to humanity before?

He knew from the Frost Dog\'s reports that Ludwig was doing research, but this was the first time he had ever heard anything about the Emperor of Ascension connecting a Tower with an external space.

Before I regressed, it was well-known that the Emperor of Ascension had been researching the Tower of Heroes for a long time and had some results. However, for some reason, he never revealed it even until he died. Yet, now, he’s disclosing it for the special exam...

It seemed like a waste to reveal the results of such significant research merely for an exam, but in a way, it was actually the perfect way to test it. After all, while the Towers of Heroes granted immense power to those who passed its trials, those who failed could never leave.

Because of that, many who entered never exited, essentially dying inside the Tower. And even now, with plenty of accumulated data, one in ten still failed to return each year.

If he managed to remove that risk and made it possible to attempt the trials repeatedly...

If that was the case, then Babel\'s status would soar beyond comparison. Reaching this thought, Se-Hoon realized something else.

“This is why the UD Group and the Pilgrimage Church are cooperating with you, isn’t it?”

“...I’ve always thought you were quite perceptive, and indeed you are,” Ludwig said with a soft smile, nodding approvingly.

He then continued, saying, “It’s just one of the many factors, but an important one nonetheless. In the end, a Tower of Heroes is also a valuable facility for them.”

“Your arrangements are truly... outstanding...”

Se-Hoon knew that Ludwig was preparing to counter the Demon Force in some way, but he had never even imagined that Ludwig was preparing such a monumental strategy.

Aware of its revolutionary role, Se-Hoon stared outside, stupefied. A shiver then overcame him as he realized the possibility of the sight before him being an outcome of his regression\'s butterfly effect.

“We can discuss this in more detail later. For now, let’s focus on the exam.”

Ludwig turned to face Se-Hoon.

“To be honest, you standing here like this shouldn’t be possible.”

“Well, if it weren’t for the ring you gave me, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get out...”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Ludwig cut in, shaking his head.

“This space, which’s connected to the Tower of Heroes, has been adjusted to make the students only focus on completing the trials. But with you, your synesthetic mindscape was so tough that the adjustment couldn’t influence you at all.”

“Ah...”

“I hesitated to go deeper because the connection might sever entirely, and that’s when you happened to use my power to somehow escape in such a state.”

From Ludwig’s explanation, Se-Hoon could roughly guess why things had turned out the way they had.

Was it because I hid my memories using Soul Honing?

“It looks like I’ve unintentionally broken the exam rules twice now.”

“Seems so. But isn’t that what it takes to be the year-wide honor student?”

“Of course... wait, what?”

Surprised, Se-Hoon spun to look at Ludwig, who was smiling awkwardly.

“Forget I said that. When you get back, try to focus on completing the trials.”

“Wait a minute...”

Snap!

With a snap of Ludwig’s fingers, Se-Hoon’s body in the living room vanished without a trace.

“Hm. Good, he returned properly this time.”

Though he still couldn’t see what was going on in Se-Hoon’s space, he could tell that Se-Hoon had returned correctly.

He always has a knack for surprising me.

Smiling, Ludwig glanced at the bedroom where Se-Hoon lay before turning his head and reappearing in the skies overlooking Babel.

Looking down, he quietly observed the students he had noted earlier.

“Huff... huff...”

Jake was walking barefoot on thousands of blades that rose from the ground, ascending toward the sky.

“...”

Similarly, Erika was also ascending into the sky, but she was using a black staircase formed by thousands of crows.

“Hmph!”

Sung-Ha was running up golden stairs winding around the Tower’s exterior, fending off waves of flames and darkness with his twin spears.

“Ugh... This feels awful.”

Luize was cautiously climbing golden stairs, illuminating her pitch-black surroundings with Incantation Magic.

“Gyaaak!”

Lea was hurriedly ascending the tower, painting the fading golden stairs back into existence with her enchanted brush.

“Cough...”

And Amir was staggering up them, his body covered in cuts inflicted by a figure formed from purple mist.

“This is a wonderful sight, indeed...”

At the sight of everyone’s relentless efforts to improve and move forward, Ludwig smiled contentedly. Turning his back, he left to strengthen the connection between the Tower of Heroes and the exam space once more.

Woong-

A faint purple light flickered from the jewel box in Se-Hoon’s room.

***

He was once again by the black sea. However, now that he understood the situation, Se-Hoon focused on the Tower of Heroes.

Knowing the outcome takes away some of the excitement, but... I should still finish this exam well.

Just in case Ludwig might reconsider his year-wide honor student position if another student did better, Se-Hoon moved toward the tower.

Let’s see. If I do it like I did before...

Recalling the blueprint of the Tower in his mind, golden stairs immediately began to form around the Tower’s exterior, exactly as per the blueprint’s structure.

“Mhm.”

Satisfied with the sight, he started ascending the stairs. As he climbed higher and higher, the surrounding view began to clear.

“Not like there’s not much to see anyway...”

Other than the land where the Tower stood, everything was covered by a black sea. The desolate view, devoid of any sign of life, put a peculiar expression on his face.

It must have been like this just before I died, too.

Though it felt like he was looking at his regrets, it also reminded him not to repeat the same mistakes he made in the past.

I have to work harder than before.... Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder if I can climb a Tower in the future.

Glancing at the white outer wall to his right, he gazed up at the sky covered by clouds with an uncertain expression. The number of trials one needed to pass through varied for each person, and for Se-Hoon, there were ten, or rather ten floors, to be precise.

Passing all ten floors meant reaching the top of the Tower and becoming a Perfect One. However, Se-Hoon abandoned the challenge after passing the ninth floor.

It wasn’t really the right time to take on the last floor...

Though humanity had defeated three of the Six Harbingers of Destruction, the human alliance had also suffered severe losses, putting humanity on the brink of destruction. Had he made the attempt and died in the process, humanity would have faced immediate extinction, not just mutual destruction.

Well, if I had known that the end would be mutual destruction, I might have just attempted it... but I would have definitely failed at that time.

Though he didn’t know what trial awaited him on the tenth floor, he had a strong feeling that his past self wouldn’t have succeeded. Remembering the trials he had passed through in the past, he once again looked at his surroundings.

Judging by the look of it, the trials seem to have changed quite a bit... I should probably stay on Ludwig’s good side.

Rather than challenging a Tower of Heroes by himself, it would be safer to rely on Ludwig’s help to attempt it multiple times.

Organizing his thoughts, he reached just below the clouds, about to take the final step forming at the end.

The first floor should be easy.

He didn’t know how quickly the others had taken, but he had come up so far without any hindrance, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Thinking so, he stepped onto the last step.

At that moment, he felt an unpleasant sensation and a single question came to mind: How many steps did I take?

According to his blueprint, he should have taken 684 steps. However, when he included the step he was currently on, the total amounted to 685.

It would be easy to just dismiss it as a mistake on Ludwig\'s part, however, Se-Hoon was well aware that was impossible. Tensing, he quickly looked down at the step he was on again.

Flutter-

The step, which turned purple at some point, began releasing hundreds of butterflies.

“Huh?!”

In the blink of an eye, he was swept down the Tower, and as soon as he hit the ground, the butterflies scattered and disappeared.

Standing, the world before him was blurred, sticky, and covered in purple. The entire land gave off unpleasant sensations, as it would devour him the moment he let down his guard.

“This place should be...”

Realizing that he was now in a space filled with dream mana, he immediately figured out who had brought him here and raised his guard to the max.

Flutter-

Gathering, the hundreds of butterflies formed from the purple mist began to form a figure.

The figure had round, coiled black horns sprouting from its temples, hidden by a head of dark purple hair. It had black eyes with eerily glowing yellow pupils, and its light purple skin was draped in a lace dress.

“Ahh-”

Now fully revealed, a woman with a beautiful yet chilling presence stood there, smiling. Lifting the hem of her dress slightly with both hands, she curtsied gracefully.

“Nice to meet you, Lee Se-Hoon,” she whispered joyfully.

The Dream Demon, one of the Ten Evils, had appeared in front of him.