Chapter 54
When he opened his eyes, he was already on the 5th floor of the Tower of Arrogance.
While he was unconscious, Adora had hunted the floor guardian and ascended the tower on her own.
‘The number of reward boxes has increased.’
He nodded after checking the message at the top of his vision.
Eight coins and twenty-one Arrogance Boxes.
Truly unimaginable rewards.
With this, he had obtained a total of 33 coins from the Tower of Arrogance so far.
Arrogance Boxes now totaled 30.
‘No wonder the Creators are obsessed.’
A quantity of coins so large that most Creators couldn’t even dream of it.
Just climbing the tower, and it was as if they were showered upon you.
It was the reason so many Creators were obsessed with the name “Arrogance.”
When Incarnations acquired coins, a certain percentage was shared with the Creator, and even that alone was enough for Creators to strengthen their authority.
But that’s not all.
Arrogance Boxes were just as important as coins.
‘The more Arrogance Boxes you collect and open at once, the better the rewards get. If you go over 40, the chances of Legendary-grade rewards increase dramatically.’
The more boxes you had, the higher the grade of the reward when you opened them.
In the past, Han Shin collected the most boxes in the Tower of Arrogance.
He gathered 50 boxes and obtained the “Gloves of Wisdom.”
The grade was Legendary.
Among such treasures, it was a top-tier item, and Han Shin made use of it for quite some time.
Just as important as coins were level and equipment.
Since the Arrogance Boxes grew in value as you collected more, there was never any loss in saving them up.
Already 30. Just ten more, and he could realistically hope for a Legendary reward.
“Hmm…?”
The problem was the message that followed.
After checking the message following the reward, Park Chan-woo frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Adora asked as Park Chan-woo’s expression grew serious.
“No… it’s nothing.”
Park Chan-woo shook his head, forcing himself to dismiss it.
But no matter how many times he looked, the message was shocking.
‘A deal?’
…The Tower of Arrogance’s proposal.
It was beyond shocking—a truly unprecedented offer.
Fifty coins, one hundred Arrogance Boxes.
And—
‘Equipment of Arrogance…!’
…Insane.
Equipment of Arrogance.
And it wasn’t just that they were giving it away.
They were offering the right to choose among the equipment bearing the name “Arrogance.”
‘Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo’s cherished sword was one of the Swords of Arrogance.’
It was one of the five swords in Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo’s collection.
Among those five, the second-best sword was the “Sword of Arrogance.”
Lee Hyuk-soo only used the Sword of Arrogance against mortal enemies, and once it was drawn, he always killed.
Because of that, it even had nicknames like “Sword of Desperation” or “Sword of Instant Death.”
Lee Hyuk-soo would switch among his five swords depending on his opponent’s skill.
When he fought Park Chan-woo, he had only used the fifth sword, “Garth Knight’s Greatsword.”
‘In Japan, the spear demon Seiichi was famous for using the Spear of Arrogance.’
Seiichi was called the spear demon.
He died and became a real ghost before reaching level 99, but Park Chan-woo recognized his talent.
A high-ranking Japanese player whom everyone believed would reach max level.
When he wielded the Spear of Arrogance, Seiichi was like a goblin.
If he hadn’t lost his mind, his end would have been brilliant.
In the end, he went mad and was killed by Han Shin.
‘Iron Monster Alexei… the giant who wore the Armor of Arrogance. Right, there was him too.’
He was a monstrous guy.
His attack power was pitiful, but his defense was beyond amazing.
If asked to pick the one person you never wanted to face on the front lines, Alexei would always be in the top three.
When he charged in with the Armor of Arrogance, there was just no answer.
He was also likely to reach max level, but was killed by Han Shin.
‘Come to think of it, aside from Lee Hyuk-soo, every owner of the Equipment of Arrogance was killed by Han Shin.’
Not just the holders of Equipment of Arrogance.
Almost all who were likely to reach max level were killed by Han Shin.
That’s why there were only five people who reached level 99.
Of course, it’s not as if he killed them all without any reason.
He’d say they were mad, had committed heinous acts, or were the worst Incarnations, and then went on a massive hunt.
At the time, almost everyone believed it.
But it was all blatant lies.
‘Equipment of Arrogance is a kind of possibility. It’s a title given only to those with the talent to reach level 99. And Han Shin is the worst attention-seeker, who can’t stand anyone being more prominent than himself.’
Only those who weren’t a threat or who didn’t attract attention survived.
For example, Park Chan-woo was a magic swordsman.
Even though he belatedly walked the path of magic and reached level 99, he never had the stature to threaten Han Shin.
What about Sword King Lee Hyuk-soo?
He’s a reclusive loner who has no desire to step into the spotlight.
The other two were similar in disposition.
Everyone’s eyes naturally focused on Han Shin, and Han Shin reveled in that attention.
A psychopath who believed his every action was justified.
A madman who thought only he should be in the spotlight.
A bastard who thoroughly destroyed anything he couldn’t have for himself.
That was Han Shin.
So, if he accepted this proposal, he’d become the first human to obtain Equipment of Arrogance and have a way to spite Han Shin.
‘Just the 50 coins and 100 Arrogance Boxes are enough to drive anyone mad.’
If you weren’t tempted, you’d be lying.
No, you’d be called a fool if you didn’t accept.
No matter how safely he was climbing with Adora’s help, above this point, the path was full of variables.
There were even enemies dangerous enough to make Adora tense.
If she lost focus for even a moment, he could end up as just another corpse.
Park Chan-woo thought.
‘The Tower of Arrogance wants Kankun and Adora to fight at their peak.’
For that purpose, the Tower of Arrogance had sent him to Adora’s side.
Because it wanted Kankun and Adora to overcome their weaknesses and fight in their best condition.
But now, they wanted him to leave.
‘So that’s it. They must think my presence is an obstacle to the fight between the two.’
He understood why such a proposal had been made.
Adora intended to overcome death and even attempt reconciliation with Kankun.
If she could completely control and master death, there was a chance that attempt could succeed.
At this point, Park Chan-woo’s presence was seen as a hindrance.
…Should he accept, or refuse?
[The structure of the 5th floor of the Tower of Arrogance is being changed.]
[From now on, inventory use is restricted.]
[Everything in the tower is beginning to contain powerful poison and curses.]
[From the 5th floor on, you cannot descend within the tower. Only complete exit is possible.]
Suddenly, the very structure of the tower changed.
It was as if his decision was being forced.
If inventory couldn’t be used from the 5th floor and everything was laced with poison and curses—
‘Food and water will be the problem.’
The biggest issue was food and water.
Humans have to eat to live.
You couldn’t survive without food and water.
Thanks to [Absolute Poison Immunity], he could withstand most poisons, but curses were a different story.
Aside from curses related to death, Park Chan-woo was vulnerable to all other curses.
“What’s troubling you?”
Adora noticed something was off and asked again.
She seemed to instinctively sense that Park Chan-woo was debating whether to leave the tower.
‘Leaving is the right choice.’
In many ways, leaving was the right decision.
Not only because of the contents of the proposal, but because the Tower of Arrogance no longer welcomed his continued ascent.
If he tried to keep going by force, there would only be harsher pushback.
“Are you planning to leave the tower?”
Adora’s intuition was sharp.
She immediately saw what he was wrestling with.
“…I’m considering it.”
So he answered honestly.
There was no point in lying here; it would only disappoint Adora.
Adora responded calmly.
“I won’t stop you. This is enough.”
As if she’d helped him enough.
She accepted that he would leave.
Even if he turned back here, Adora wouldn’t try to stop him.
Now, there was nothing preventing him from leaving the tower.
After much deliberation, Park Chan-woo spoke.
“Dagon.”
Pop!
With a puff of smoke, Dagon appeared in an awkward stance.
Demon merchant Dagon let out a heavy sigh.
“Aren’t you calling me a bit too often? And the one next to you is… k-ki! A witch?!”
The moment he recognized the Witch Adora, Dagon’s eyes widened and he took a quick step back.
Park Chan-woo spoke calmly.
“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t attack, you’ll be safe.”
“W-what are you talking about! Witches can never be trusted! They’re a blight on the Abyss!”
“Only to demons, perhaps.”
“…S-so, what did you call me for?”
Dagon forced himself to be calm as he asked.
He was used to these antics by now.
Besides, Dagon was convinced Park Chan-woo was “Sephiro.”
It was well known that Dragon God Sephiro was an unpredictable being.
Panicking or getting frustrated by his antics would only be a loss.
Asking for business first was best.
When Dagon asked, Park Chan-woo spoke as if it was nothing.
“You’ll have to put in some work for a while.”
“Me? What work do I have to do?”
“Cooking.”
“…?”
“Hunt the monsters, then cook them so I can eat.”
“Pardon…?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Ye-yes…?”
That was how Park Chan-woo gained a personal demon chef.
* * *
Park Chan-woo didn’t give up on climbing the tower.
‘The fact they offered for me to quit means there’s a chance I could get something even greater.’
Because he saw the possibility.
The tower’s offer.
In other words, it wasn’t much different from Creators trying desperately to reduce rewards right before bankruptcy.
When Creators are about to go bankrupt, they’ll twist everything to lower the payout.
If the Tower of Arrogance’s offer was in the same vein—
‘It’s worth a try.’
Surely the fruit he could reach at the end would be even sweeter than what was offered.
“This is delicious.”
As he ate a dish made from the ‘Blue Beholder’ that had occupied the 5th floor, Park Chan-woo gave a short compliment.
The Blue Beholder was a blue-eyed monster that shot blue beams from its eyes, making it a tricky opponent.
Dagon had butchered the Blue Beholder hunted by Adora, selected only the parts without curses, removed the poison, and turned it into a rather edible dish.
“Please keep this a secret from the other demons…”
Dagon, now turned into a monster chef, let out a sigh.
If it got out that there was a demon who cooked for a human, all the other demons would mock Dagon.
“…Still, I’m glad it suited your taste.”
But getting praised didn’t feel so bad.
Few demons had a hobby of cooking and gourmet food.
Dagon enjoyed making dishes from all sorts of ingredients.
Thanks to that, he could process the most bizarre foods to suit Park Chan-woo’s taste.
“Take this.”
Ting!
When the meal was over, Park Chan-woo flicked his finger.
Dagon’s eyes widened as he caught what flew toward him.
“Th-this is a coin…!”
“I’ll be relying on you from now on.”
“Just leave it to me!”
Dagon bowed his head.
Park Chan-woo was a contractor who rewarded well.
Besides, Park Chan-woo’s real identity was Dragon God Sephiro.
Not even a human—bowing was nothing.
If it were the real Sephiro, Dagon wouldn’t even be able to look him in the eye.
Thinking that, he didn’t feel any shame in expressing gratitude.
Park Chan-woo pulled out another coin from his pocket.
“Then, can I ask one more thing?”
“Yes! Anything!”
Dagon was filled with motivation.
If he could earn coins, a little embarrassment could be overlooked.
Park Chan-woo pointed at Adora.
“Try holding Adora’s hand.”
