Chapter 52
Arrogance.
It means being rude and conceited.
This tower, true to its name, was indeed arrogant.
First of all, the focus was not on the challengers climbing the tower.
Only Kankun and Adora could ascend the tower.
Obtaining holy relics, helping the two grow, and hunting the floor guardians were the only ways to move to the next floor.
The problem was that the higher you went, the harder it became even to acquire holy relics.
‘That’s why you have to become Kankun and Adora’s closest aide.’
Only by becoming their closest aide and overcoming trials together could you obtain higher-grade holy relics.
Even then, it was only by having Kankun and Adora ‘hand them over.’
Everyone else was just a background character for those two.
In short—
‘If you don’t please Kankun and Adora, you can’t climb the tower.’
Displaying holy relics?
No matter how many you displayed, it was difficult to become a close aide.
It was just one of several possible methods; the most important thing was ‘how you won their favor.’
Kankun valued bravery.
Kankun tended to show grace to the strong warriors who followed him.
However, the number of such people was extremely limited.
Even then, as you went higher, if he thought they became a hindrance or a burden, he would never keep them by his side.
The problem was Adora.
Unlike Kankun, Adora had never kept anyone by her side.
She simply climbed the tower alone.
No matter what achievements were made or what powerful relics were displayed, Adora never allowed anyone to stay beside her.
Therefore—
…Park Chan-woo’s current situation could only be described as a miracle.
“Is this enough?”
Adora spoke while holding a spear.
A holy relic with a bluish glow contained within the spearhead.
It was obtained by killing the mountain-sized ‘Muscle Spider King.’
“It’s more than enough.”
When Park Chan-woo nodded, Adora placed the spear in his hand.
At that moment—
[You have acquired the [High-grade Holy Relic, Spear of Breaking Magic].]
[Among the 10 relics currently displayed, it is the best.]
[Would you like to display the ‘Spear of Breaking Magic’?]
[You have replaced the [Intermediate Relic of Super Strength] with the ‘Spear of Breaking Magic.’]
[All of Adora’s stats have increased by 30.]
[Adora gains strong resistance to the evil attribute.]
[Adora can use ‘Rushing Spear of Death.’]
[By displaying a ‘High-grade Holy Relic’ for the first time, you have obtained [3 Arrogance Boxes].]
[You have displayed a total of 8 holy relics.]
[The quality of the displayed relics is high.]
[Each time you clear a floor, you can obtain 600% increased rewards.]
Countless messages appeared.
Park Chan-woo smiled inwardly.
‘The Tower of Arrogance isn’t a place for challengers to hunt.’
The real hunting is done by Kankun and Adora.
Especially Adora was quite proactive in obtaining relics.
It was because she thought Park Chan-woo was sacrificing himself to help her.
‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’
Naturally, Park Chan-woo had no intention of refusing the relics that Adora offered him.
He opened his mouth wide like a baby bird and eagerly accepted them.
This was the real way to conquer the ‘Tower of Arrogance.’
Challengers here had to give up on trying to conquer it by force.
They had to thoroughly accept the role of a background character.
Believing that Kankun and Adora would handle everything!
Such ‘arrogance’ was the secret to monopolizing the rewards.
Park Chan-woo decided to become a supporting character through and through.
All he did was leave everything to Adora and occasionally hold her hand to help her master death.
“…Now I understand a little. That I haven’t truly mastered ‘death.’”
Adora was changing too.
Every time she took Park Chan-woo’s hand, she came to understand how ‘death’ functioned.
‘I really knew nothing.’
Adora had no choice but to admit it.
She truly knew nothing about herself.
To her, death was as natural as breathing. She had never even thought to try to learn how to breathe.
But not yet.
Only when Park Chan-woo could avoid fainting could she truly say she had mastered ‘death.’
“You can do it.”
It was an exceedingly brief remark.
But Park Chan-woo meant it wholeheartedly.
To be honest, that was all he could do.
However, sometimes, that kind of encouragement becomes an immense source of strength for someone.
‘I can do it…….’
Was it really possible?
Could she really completely master ‘death’?
She had her doubts, but for some reason, she felt empowered.
It was a strange phenomenon.
It was the first time Adora had ever received someone’s encouragement.
‘Even the Black Witch never taught me about death.’
The mother of all witches, the Black Witch, was no different.
She was strict.
She taught black magic, made sure Adora knew what witches must never do, and drove her to her limits.
Other witches or archwitches?
They merely watched Adora from afar and ridiculed her.
To witches, even ‘death’ was considered the worst curse.
Even the most powerful black magic master could not escape death.
For them, the thing they feared most was, of course, ‘death.’
Maybe that was why.
No one tried to approach Adora.
She had never received encouragement, comfort, or support.
A situation where someone sacrificed themselves for her?
She had never experienced anything like that.
She would have been exiled forever just for having emotions.
That’s how strict witch society was.
‘I will master death.’
Adora thought.
She would no longer be controlled by ‘death.’
She would completely overcome it and place it beneath her!
…So she would never have to regret it again.
* * *
“…This is absurd.”
And from a distance, ‘Han Shin’ was watching.
He was genuinely dumbfounded.
He had never been so taken aback in his life.
A man dressed like a bizarre mage suddenly appeared next to Adora and was monopolizing all the relics.
When Han Shin had displayed five relics before, Adora hadn’t even bothered to speak to him.
He had no idea why she was suddenly keeping that guy by her side, but what was even stranger was that Adora was personally obtaining holy relics and handing them over to that man.
Just like a mother bird and a baby bird.
He was thoroughly being fed.
Even calling it a “bus ride” didn’t do it justice.
No, it went beyond the level of a bus.
Jet. Even a rocket wasn’t enough of a comparison.
What’s more, with the relics he was given, he replaced every relic Han Shin had displayed.
It would’ve been better to have his setup stolen back in the ‘Water God Dungeon.’
At least then, it wasn’t this absurd.
He’d just been curious.
How had his setup been stolen? Who was the culprit?
But…what he was seeing now was far beyond the scope of Han Shin’s understanding.
“What the hell is that guy?”
“He’s taking everything without doing anything, isn’t he?”
“Somebody say something!”
Everyone watching was expressing their dissatisfaction.
He was obviously a person and a challenger, given that he could change relics, but he was snatching all the rewards without actually doing anything.
Then Han Shin caught sight of the man next to Adora suddenly holding hands with her.
‘Why are they holding hands?’
Every now and then, they held hands, and the man closed his eyes.
Then he lay comfortably atop the giant muscle spider, as if he’d fainted.
That was all the man ever did.
Why he did that, and why Adora accepted his handshake, Han Shin had no idea.
Han Shin’s ability didn’t work within Adora’s domain, so he couldn’t figure out anything.
‘Is he a fellow black magician?’
But Adora’s “death” was extremely dangerous.
That man was enduring it right beside her.
That meant he must have a black magician-type class.
“If you have a class related to darkness or death, you can approach Adora.”
Han Shin spoke firmly.
Han Shin was someone who had held five relics on his own.
When he spoke, people began to respond.
“So it’s possible to be free from Adora’s ‘curse’?”
“That’s right. Like that man. That must be the way to become ‘Adora’s closest aide.’”
“Like that man……”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the man, Park Chan-woo.
Lying there, being looked after by Adora, living in luxury.
They couldn’t help but envy him as he single-handedly scooped up all the relics.
The higher the floors they climbed, the more coins and rewards he would monopolize.
Eventually, one man stepped forward.
“Let me try.”
He was a bald, muscular man.
He wore a black martial arts uniform and had the ‘Demon’ class.
If Adora’s curse was really ineffective against those with classes related to darkness or death, he could get close and become her aide.
“Let’s go together.”
“Three is better than two.”
A party was quickly formed.
They were all people with darkness-related classes.
Greed glimmered in their eyes.
If Han Shin was right, just bravely approaching Adora could bring overwhelming wealth.
If they achieved results in the ‘Tower of Arrogance’ and returned to Korea, success was guaranteed.
The wealth and power they could gain was unimaginable.
‘Each coin is at least a billion won.’
‘As long as I can stick by Adora’s side, I’m set for life.’
‘It’s worth risking my life!’
You got coins just by being nearby.
If you could stick close and share in the relics, you could collect lots of coins.
Currently, in Korea, coins were worth at least a billion won each.
And you couldn’t even get them, even if you wanted to.
‘Is he trying to take everything for himself?’
‘There’s no way I’m letting that happen.’
‘That guy next to Adora—if he does nothing, he must be nothing special.’
No wonder his every move was so irritating.
He really didn’t look like much.
All he did next to Adora was sleep.
First come, first served.
Someone unremarkable was keeping the strategy secret and reaping all the rewards for himself.
Finally, three men stepped into Adora’s domain.
“Oh……!”
“They really didn’t get cursed!”
People’s eyes widened.
The moment you entered Adora’s ‘curse domain,’ your skin should begin to necrotize.
But all three challengers were fine.
Smiles of delight crept across their faces.
Just as Han Shin said, Adora was clearly looking at class type.
She did not cast her curse on those with similar classes.
They strode confidently toward Adora.
As soon as they drew close, they glanced between Park Chan-woo and Adora, then dropped to one knee and respectfully spoke.
“Great Witch of Death Adora, please accept us as your aides!”
“We’ll be far more useful than that guy!”
“We’re sure we’re much better than that bug who does nothing!”
