Chapter 218
Park Chan-woo currently had over 200 [Boxes].
And every single one of them was at least Gold Tier or higher.
Even before the stars were added, it was too unbelievable to be real.
‘One 7-Star Platinum Box, four 4-Star Platinum Boxes, eight 3-Star Platinum Boxes, fifteen 2-Star Platinum Boxes, thirty-four 1-Star Platinum Boxes…’
The number of [Boxes] he possessed—and their star ratings—was mind-boggling.
All thanks to the effect of [Easter Egg(003)], which added one star to each.
And that wasn’t all.
He had even more Gold [Boxes] than that.
‘Two 5-Star Gold Boxes, ten 4-Star Gold Boxes, seventeen 3-Star Gold Boxes, thirty 2-Star Gold Boxes, eighty 1-Star Gold Boxes!’
First of all, the basic “Normal Tier” had disappeared entirely.
There wasn’t a single [Box] without a star.
That meant any [Box] he obtained would be at least “1-Star.”
It went without saying how broken this option was.
Because it wasn’t limited to just Gold and Platinum [Boxes].
Even Zero Tier [Boxes]—or other special [Boxes] with stars—would gain an additional star.
It changed the starting line itself.
Honestly, he wouldn’t have anything to say even if people called him a “bug user.”
If Han Shin saw this, he would go berserk.
‘[Easter Egg] is above the rules of the Abyss.’
Every option defied common sense.
Overwhelming luck, harmony between species, even the miracle of adding stars to [Boxes].
An egg even the demons—residents of the Abyss—couldn’t believe in, an egg above the rules of the Abyss.
However, one question lingered in his mind.
He thought about it every time he obtained one—what was the purpose of the [Easter Egg]?
A hidden message. There had to be intent behind it, from the Creator of the Invisible Hand.
Even Transcender Lil didn’t know about the [Easter Egg].
Neither did the Creators.
It was highly likely that even the Great Nine Lords were unaware.
And yet, in the past, humanity had obtained the [Easter Egg] exactly twice.
Two eggs numbered 5 and 7.
The exact options were unknown, but Han Shin possessed one of them.
If his memory was correct, it was definitely [Easter Egg(005)].
‘I can’t get it even if I want to right now.’
However, he knew the acquisition route.
The First Species Wars.
In the interspecies competition coming in a few months, there would be a chance to acquire [Easter Egg(005)].
The problem was the method.
Han Shin, being the center of attention, had spread the news about acquiring [Easter Egg(005)] far and wide.
He revealed where he got it, but “how” he got it was unclear.
So Park Chan-woo had left it out of his plans for now.
But his mind had changed.
‘I must get it.’
He decided he had to collect every [Easter Egg].
And along with that, he planned to steal the “God’s Teardrop” as well.
Of course, he couldn’t do it alone.
The God’s Teardrop was a treasure held by the host of the Species Wars.
In the past, humanity had consistently placed last in the Species Wars, yet the Creator of the Invisible Hand and his Incarnations had succeeded in stealing the God’s Teardrop from the host.
This, too, was something he could pull off with Kim Byung-han’s help.
‘To kill two birds… no, three birds with one stone.’
He couldn’t afford to miss the [Easter Egg], the God’s Teardrop, and humanity’s ranking in the Species Wars.
To do that, he needed to get stronger first.
It still wasn’t enough.
Right now, he had only climbed the Tower of God by relying on tricks.
It would have been impossible without Ataraxia.
And the number of times he could summon Chronos was now only two.
But the Species Wars didn’t allow for tricks.
It was a battle between warriors.
If he tried to cheat in front of all the species, he would be crushed.
He had to compete head-on, with nothing but the skills he possessed.
That meant humanity had to place at least 8th or higher.
Because 8th place or higher in the Species Wars came with no penalties.
Before his regression, however, humanity had consistently placed last—and 120 million humans had been sacrificed.
Ten million to each of the Twelve Species.
‘…I can’t repeat that day again.’
Just thinking about it made his stomach turn.
People of all ages and genders, innocent people, vanished at random.
The day the results of the First Species Wars were carried out was called the worst day in human history, and it wasn’t an exaggeration.
Park Chan-woo remembered that day clearly.
…There was no way he could forget.
Despair swept across the entire Earth.
No matter where he went, all he heard was crying.
And after that day, humanity gave up.
They resigned themselves to their fate.
The number of Incarnations exploded.
People stopped showing kindness to one another.
The conviction that they could never win no matter how hard they tried changed humanity’s very foundation.
He couldn’t repeat that day.
Absolutely. No matter what.
So… he had to get stronger.
Stronger than he was now.
He could never win if he became satisfied with this moment.
‘Three minutes left.’
The duration of the [Combination Zone] was one hour.
Clearing the 20th floor had taken 57 minutes.
That meant there was no time to climb to the 21st floor and claim additional rewards.
He had to do it here.
He only had one chance.
‘Dump all the [Boxes] in.’
There was no reason to hesitate.
He only had one chance, so he had to cram in as much as possible.
The problem was that he didn’t know what the combined [Box] would become.
‘At least 8-Star… I could aim for 9-Star.’
The higher the star rating, the greater the difference in rewards.
And the number of [Boxes] needed to raise the star rating by even one was, naturally, astronomical.
Since it included a 7-Star Platinum [Box], it was guaranteed to reach at least 8-Star.
But whether it could reach 9-Star was uncertain.
He shook his head, trying to throw away the thought.
He relentlessly emptied his inventory.
And crammed all 200-plus [Boxes] into the [Combination Zone].
At that moment—
Ding!
[201 boxes are being put into the ‘Combination Zone’.] [The number of boxes is too high!] [The types and star ratings of the boxes are too mixed.] [The territory has exceeded its capacity.] […’Easter Egg(001)’ brings good fortune.] […’Easter Egg(002)’ brings harmony.] [The ‘Combination Zone’ is strengthened once.] [The ‘Infinite Combination Zone’ is created.] [The territory begins to combine all the boxes.] [Breaks through the ‘Combination Limit’.]
Light engulfed the entire 20th floor.
Dazzling brilliance burst forth, beginning to brighten the world.
“…Ah! [Infinite Zone]!”
Ataraxia was shocked.
Because the suddenly appearing “Unique Authority” was swallowing not only the 20th floor, but the entire Tower of God.
He knew what kind of territory it was.
One of the miracles of the Abyss that had appeared only a handful of times throughout its history.
A miracle that created miracles.
No one knew what conditions triggered it, but one thing was certain—it brought “immeasurable somethings.”
It dealt only with what could not be achieved, what would never be achieved, what—true to its name—reached infinity.
Ataraxia had seen it before.
The one who had summoned that [Infinite Zone].
And the something that came out of it.
‘Sephiro has achieved the third infinity…!’
Dragon God Sephiro.
Among the dragons, it was said he had achieved “infinity” twice.
And Ataraxia—along with all the dragons—had witnessed the most recent territory.
About 500 years ago.
When Sephiro was frantically trying to fill the Mystery Codex.
While searching for the hidden treasures of the world, he had caused the [Infinite Zone] to appear.
The territory that manifested within the Dragon God Palace instantly filled the world of dragons with bright light.
At the same time, it appeared.
‘A living armor appeared.’
Something alive, yet not alive.
The moment he saw the bizarre, ominous armor, Sephiro had said—
—I’ve picked up something quite interesting.
Sephiro didn’t wear it himself.
It vanished without a trace.
Even the dragons didn’t know where that armor went.
And yet Dragon God Sephiro had expressed “interest.”
It was the first time mere equipment had drawn interest beyond simple curiosity.
At least, that was what Ataraxia knew.
And now…
He had stuffed in so many [Boxes] that he had made the [Infinite Zone] appear.
[A ‘Platinum Box (★★★★★★★★★)’ has been completed.] [The star rating of the box is increased by one level due to ‘Easter Egg(003)’.] [You have acquired a ’10-Star Platinum Box’. ‘Ten (十)’ means perfection.] [The title ‘One Who Obtained a Perfect Box’ has been added.]
Fwoooooosh!
The light grew even stronger.
It was definitely a Platinum [Box], but countless stars were engraved across its surface, shining with starlight.
’10-Star!’
To think the effect of [Easter Egg(003)] would apply here as well.
It seemed that once the combination was complete, it was treated as newly acquired.
Cheating beyond cheating.
His hands and feet trembled slightly. An emotion he had never experienced before surged over him like a tidal wave.
A sight he had never seen before.
He had never even heard of anyone obtaining a 10-Star Platinum [Box].
…But it wasn’t over yet.
[…’Easter Egg(001)’ brings even greater fortune.] [The ’10-Star Platinum Box’ transcends!]
The ability of [Easter Egg(001)], which brought good fortune when he leveled up, activated.
He had leveled up quite a bit here in the Tower of God.
Though it had never activated until now, the fortune that had piled up finally manifested as an even greater stroke of luck.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Light exploded. The [Box] exploded with it.
Then a [Box] of a completely different shape appeared.
Its color was the same.
It still retained that unique platinum beauty.
But the stars engraved on its surface were gone, replaced by the number 0.
A 0 Platinum [Box]?
Soon, he identified the transcended [Box].
[You have acquired the ‘Genesis Platinum Box’.] [It is the prototype of all ‘Platinum Boxes’ that existed during the time of Genesis.] [It is said to contain an unknown ‘miracle’.] [The title ‘One Who Obtained a Perfect Box’ evolves into ‘One Who Obtained a Genesis Box’.]
‘Genesis Platinum Box…!’
He had never seen it before.
From start to finish, everything was new.
He would have lost his mind over a 10-Star Platinum [Box] alone.
Genesis—an item that had existed since the creation of the world.
Gulp!
His lips went dry.
He swallowed without meaning to.
The thought of acting like Sephiro had long since been erased.
In the first place, no one could stay calm after seeing a [Box] like this.
Park Chan-woo took a deep breath.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
“Open.”
Ding!
[Opening the ‘Genesis Platinum Box’.] [You have acquired ‘Ragnarok’!]