Blood spattered.
The man let out a desperate scream. He stared ahead, his eyes smeared with blood. Looking like he was about to vomit blood, the man shouted, “Black Dragon Master... How could you...!”
The black-haired woman, the Black Dragon Master, burst into boisterous laughter as she unfurled her fan.
“Ohohohohohoho! My elaborate plan has yielded perfect success! Yes, Kim Gong-Ja! Thank you for trying so hard and serving victory to me on a silver platter!”
“Guh... D-did you betray me?”
“If I had done this alone, it would count as betrayal. But!” The Black Dragon Master closed her fan with a sharp crack.
People rushed in.
“Take this, Kim Gong-Ja!”
“Urgh, Paladin!"
“Here’s a knife stab! ”
“I-Inquisitor?!”
“Oi, oi. Don’t forget my sword as well!”
“Viper!”
“With this, I am once again ranked number one!”
“Sword Star, you too?!”
After enduring many blows, Kim Gong-Ja coughed up blood before falling to the ground. The Black Dragon Master covered her mouth with her fan and laughed loudly once more.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Since this is our plan, it’s not betrayal, but a consensus for the greater good!”
Kim Gong-Ja couldn’t say anything to those harsh words. Those people used to be his comrades, but they were actually villains who had never truly been by his side. Their loud laughter, mocking his end, seemed to ring out forever.
“Huh... Where am I?”
Kim Gong-Ja spitefully closed his eyes at the end of his life. Suddenly, he sprang to his feet. Before him stood a glowing hypercube leaning on a staff.
“I’m the master of the Tower.”
“T-the Tower master! Why are you here?”
“Gong-Ja, you weren’t meant to die, but you’ve suffered such misfortune. Therefore, I would like to grant you one more chance.”
Light enveloped Kim Gong-Ja. Trembling, he looked down at his hands. “Oh… Ohhh… T-this power!”
“It’s your potential.”
“T-this is my power?! I feel like I can kill a Constellation—no, destroy the Tower itself! ”
“That’s not all. Open your system window.”
Kim Gong-Ja did so and soon saw that the list of his Skills was full of ninety-nine Class SSS Skills.
The Tower master shone brightly. “Now I shall send you back to the timeline you desire.”
“Understood,” Kim Gong-Ja answered, gazing at the Tower Master with sunken eyes.
He soon sank into the gap of time and space.
“In my past life, I lived for others and was betrayed. I won’t repeat that same mistake,” Kim Gong-Ja declared in a cold voice. “This time, I’ll live only for myself!”
The man who would later be recorded as the one who destroyed even gods now regressed.
“Hmmm! This is good!”
With a flutter, the comic scripts fell onto the table. The Terra comic artist scratched the back of his bald head.
“I-is that so?”
The Sylvan editor nodded. “Yes, yes, it’s good. Really. I’m especially impressed by how you’ve portrayed this part. ‘I feel like I can kill a Constellation—no, destroy the Tower itself!’ It’s really great. Wow! I knew you were a great artist, but… I’m genuinely moved.”
“Well, I have a fair share of experience now…”
“Yes, it’s time for you to create your own popular series! You can’t stay as another’s assistant forever. Stop wandering from series to series and create one of your own! Don’t you think so?”
Upon hearing the editor’s words, the comic artist’s thick lips twitched for a moment. He soon laughed dryly and nodded. “If that happens, I’ll be very happy.”
“Ah, it will happen. This is the trend now. You know Kim Slaim, right? The Shellmount artist who debuted two years ago? Their first work was adapted into a Cavefire play and became a hit. From what I heard, they used that money to build a building over… Where was it? It isn’t in Babylon. Ah, the paradise on the twentieth floor. They built an entire building there.”
“Really?”
“Yes, of course, it’s true. Why would I lie?”
The editor’s confidence made the artist’s heart beat fast. A building on the twentieth floor? Or one in Babylon? He didn’t even hope for that. It all felt distant and unreal. But, maybe… maybe he could buy a house.
Maybe I can stop worrying about rent…
The comic artist looked down at his scripts with a displeased look. It was absurd to think that this was the work of an artist with fifteen years of experience. If it meant getting his long dream of financial stability, he’d have to accept it. That was what he was thinking when the Sylvan editor’s words brought him back to reality.
“But listen.”
The comic artist tilted his head. “Hmm?”
“There are some parts that are bugging me.”
The comic artist hesitated, looking down at the scripts. Anxiety sank in his stomach. Whenever he heard something like this, it never meant anything good.
“Which parts?”
“What do you think?”
The editor crossed his arms and gestured to the comic artist with his chin.
Why the fuck would he ask me that? This isn’t elementary school, so he could just tell me what’s bothering him.
Still, the comic artist couldn’t say his thoughts aloud. Instead, as he always did when this happened, he studied the editor’s face and cautiously said, “Um… I guess using God Gong-Ja as the lead is too obvious.”
“No, that’s fine. Gong-Ja and his group are public figures. Remember the stone slab with the vote results carved on it? On the Babylonian version of interpretations, it states in bold that you may use them as you like!”
“Then, perhaps having ninety-nine Class SSS Skills is too much…?”
“Phew. That’s wrong, too. You’re really dense. Here, look.”
Bewildered, the comic artist stared down at the spot the Sylvan editor pointed to. It was the panel where the Tower master appeared.
With a sigh, the Sylvan editor continued, “Why is the Tower master like this? What is this? What is this supposed to be?”
“Well, it’s called a hypercube, a four-dimensional shape.”
“Why four-dimensional? Are your thoughts four-dimensional, too? Why did you design it this way?”
The comic artist lowered his head and mumbled something.
The Sylvan editor leaned in closer. “Huh? What did you say?”
After a long pause, the editor’s big ears finally grasped the comic artist’s answer.
“Um... I thought that since the Tower master is a goddess, she should look like an indescribable mystery.”
The Sylvan editor let out a deep sigh. “What are you talking about? No, no. Make her a pretty girl in frilly clothes… But that might overlap with the vision of the author of Viper Millennium. Then… how about making the Tower master a pretty boy?”
“P-pretty boy?”
“Yes. Pretty boy. Make her—no, him very handsome! Then we can make figurines and sell them!”
The Sylvan editor became more excited, but the comic artist’s face darkened. Nevertheless, the Sylvan editor continued his criticism, tapping the scripts with the sugar stick in his hand.
“And… don’t send Kim Gong-Ja back this quickly. You know, do something like… Since you’re making the Tower master a pretty boy, let’s add some heat. For example, the pretty boy plants a kiss on Kim Gong-Ja’s forehead. Then light buuuuursts out! How about that? Readers would be pleased, don’t you think? Ah, even though I’m an editor, I shouldn’t give away ideas like this for free. I should be paid for them. I’m losing money out here. It’s a shame to my Sylvan blood.”
“Umm…” the comic artist muttered, his head dropping. “I… I’ll think more about it.”
The editor frowned. “You’ll think about it? What exactly is there to think about?"
The comic artist rose from his seat without another word. True to being a Terra, the comic artist’s shadow was large enough to tower over the Sylvan editor.
The editor didn’t even flinch. He asked, “What now? You’re not going to say you want to draw a comic of true passion again, are you?”
Without saying a word, the comic artist turned away, his shoulders slumped.
“That won’t work! It won’t make money!” the editor shouted as the comic artist kept walking away. “You already went through hell for fifteen years! It’s about time you realize that won’t work!”
His voice was closer to a plea than a criticism.
“Gosh! It WON’T make money!”
The comic artist stepped outside the cafe, clutching his scripts. The editor’s voice didn’t follow him past the cafe door. The artist breathed in, looking down at the pages he had drawn. As if to throw them away, his arms tensed. However, he held them in his arms as he walked away, looking like he was about to cry.
The Tower made its announcement.
[One of the Nine Keys has been forged.]
[Your path of life is now a commonly known myth in this world.]
[The ninety-fifth floor has been cleared!]
Of course, the comic artist didn’t hear the announcement as he walked in silence toward his studio. The one who did hear the Tower’s words followed him without a word.
[Entering the ninety-sixth floor.]
✦ ✦ ✦
Translator's Thoughts