I met the Tower master, became a Pillar, parted ways with the Sword Emperor, and talked with my comrades. I accepted the first event calmly. In fact, when the Tower master appeared in the fallen world after the last key was turned, neither the Sword Emperor nor I had any energy to react.
The Tower master commented, “You guys are like two exhausted sergeants after an intense round of soccer.”
I lay on my back, panting, not even bothering to turn my head to look at those purple eyes.
“What? Tower Master... What are you talking about? How can you play soccer with just two people? Isn’t that a sport for twelve players?”
“This shows that you’re from the generation where mandatory military service[3] was abolished. Truly, what a brilliant resolve of foreshadowing.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. Finally, I turned toward her Tower master. Like the crest of a mountain, the top of the tower was just a white dot up close. The Tower master stood alone on that white dot, looking down at me and the Sword Emperor.
The Sword Emperor raised a hand. “Hello, old lady.”
The Tower master did the same. “Wassup, man?”
I laughed. “Shouldn’t you blush and say ‘W-who are you calling old lady!’ or cover one eye and ask, ‘What did you just say?’”
“Scream Sky, please note that what you just said is not normal. What kind of person do you think I am?”
She was indeed the goddess of fertility who had twenty-four children. Although I had no mother, this had to be how I would feel if my mom discovered the comic I was reading.
The Tower master sighed, her sleeves fluttering as she waved her hands around. “If you insist on using the word ‘normal,’ you should say it like this. ‘Don’t people usually meet in a more sacred and impactful way than this?’”
“I already know the answer to that one. This was where we should have met for the first time.”
I had already met the Tower Master several times. The impact was weaker than my first encounter with the Sword Emperor. Still, I thought it could have been a more formal meeting than just “Wassup, man.”
Just as I thought that, the Sword Emperor scratched his cheek. “This is our first time meeting face to face, right? My memories don’t need to be censored anymore, so I now remember that several Pillar meetings were held because of me.”
“If we don’t count the time you met my terminal in the Lion Realm[4] or the time I’ve always been by your side… If we only count the time we met face to face, then yes, that is right.”
“Would you like a drink?” he asked.
“Is this really the first proposal made by the first people to set foot on the Absolute Heavenly Peak?” The Tower master laughed and snapped her fingers. “Not bad at all.”
A low table descended into the empty world, and the Sword Emperor pulled a porcelain liquor bottle from his robe. I was astonished.
“That liquor is at least one hundred forty years old, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Probably older. Time passes much faster where I come from.”
“Mr. Sword Emperor… Have you ever heard of an expiration date? When I lived alone, I would open a can of tuna past its expiration date by several years and mix it with old ramen. You shouldn’t do that. It makes life feel quite miserable, you know…"
“Don’t you know that liquor gets better with age? Stop talking nonsense and get some snacks ready.” The Sword Emperor kicked me in the back as he took a seat.
“Ah, this is bothersome,” I complained as I stood up. “Are the Pillars not coming?”
“I didn’t summon them,” the Tower master answered.
“Huh? Why not?”
“Well, most of the Pillars wouldn’t welcome you two, especially you, Scream Sky.”
I remembered how the Pillars except for the Mirage-Walking Princess had reacted when I defeated the Primordial Staff. I lit up my aura and laughed. “I do like annoying people.”
The Sword Emperor chuckled. “This weasel was born to annoy others.”
The Tower master shook her head, laughing. “You’re also good at pouring oil on the fire he starts, aren’t you, Sword Emperor?
“Now that I have a body and a mouth, maybe I’ll stay for a while and play by your side like I have been doing so far.”
I bowed. “I’m willing to recruit you to be the Death King Clan’s violence-instigating advisor.”
I cooked fried egg rice with the aura I lit. When I thought about it, the eggs and rice were probably old, but since they had been stored in my somewhat crude magic pouch, they were probably safe. Besides, these guys couldn’t get food poisoning.
The Tower master prepared cups and bowls. “I didn’t come here just for you two. Finally, people have made it all the way to the Absolute Heavenly Peak. Shouldn’t I get to enjoy the moment?"
“Tower Master, I think you’ll still enjoy watching me and the Sword Emperor annoying the Pillars a lot,” I said.
“Of course I will. I’ll probably get to watch that a lot in the future.” The Tower master smiled as she placed a cup before each of us. “Still, I want to relax and enjoy this moment for now.”
I finished cooking. After shaping the fried rice into fist-sized balls, I added a light drizzle of oyster sauce as a finishing touch. The Tower master seemed baffled by the fried egg rice ball.
“Do you eat rice balls when you drink alcohol, Scream Sky?” she asked.
“Fried egg rice with oyster sauce is delicious.”
“Do you eat rice as a side dish for your liquor? I’m asking again because I think you didn’t hear me.”
I shrugged. “It’s savory and goes well with alcohol, especially with the sweet type, like rice wine or fruit wine. Mr. Sword Emperor, that liquor is unfiltered, right?”
“It’s distilled.”
“Even when you aren’t my Guardian anymore, you’re still the Sword Emperor, so you’re useless at important moments…”
The Sword Emperor packed a drop of liquor with his aura and shot it at me, nearly piercing my heart and sending me back in time.
“How can you keep fighting before and after clearing the Absolute Heavenly Peak?” the Tower master scolded us.
“Tsk, tsk. Tower Master, life is an endless series of fights, you know?”
“Mr. Gong-Ja, please don’t try to rival Mr. Viper in that way. Pick up your cups.”
The Sword Emperor and I did just that.
The Tower Master poured wine into my cup first. “Great work.”
“Thank you.”
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1. Koreans often eat fried chicken to celebrate something. ☜
2. This is satire based on the incident where a Korean rapper named Tablo was accused of having a fake diploma. Although Stanford, the university he graduated from, verified his graduation, a group called "We Demand Truth From Tablo" didn't believe it and kept demanding the truth. The incident is often used as an example to show how blind a witch hunt can be. ☜
3. Although they have been granted more freedom now, Korean soldiers, who are doing their mandatory military service, used to have almost no source of entertainment. Playing soccer or any sport using a ball used to be their primary source of entertainment. ☜
4. Ja Su-Jeong. ☜
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