Chapter 421
They didn’t answer Taesan’s words—instead, they charged at him again.
Vrrrrrm!
Light wrapped around them. Taesan could easily tell what it was.
It was a skill from the Tower.
They each activated their [skills] as they pressured Taesan. He responded in kind.
[You have activated Baal’s Surge of the Sevenfold Black Space.]
Riiip.
Space turned black.
The charging man flinched instantly. The darkening space rapidly spread and engulfed them.
Kwagagagang!
The blackened space rampaged in all directions.
It crushed the space itself and obliterated everything in its path. The attackers activated [defensive skills] to try and block it, but it was useless.
They were buried by the space itself.
Rumble…
When the black space faded, only one man remained—the one they had called the leader.
“…Huff!”
The man exhaled sharply and collapsed. There were no visible wounds on his body. Taesan was slightly surprised.
“You blocked it perfectly.”
[Surge of the Sevenfold Black Space] wasn’t as powerful as [Great Collapse],
but it far surpassed mid-tier spells in power. It was a force that mortals found nearly impossible to withstand.
Yet the man before him, while completely drained, had succeeded in defending against it.
As he looked around and realized he was the only one left, the man chuckled hollowly.
“A monstrous rookie has arrived.”
“You’re adventurers from the Tower, aren’t you?”
He had suspected as much from their gear, but was sure of it after seeing them use [skills]. Though no activation window appeared, those were definitely Tower [skills].
The man nodded.
“Not all of us, but most are.”
“What are you doing in this place?”
“…I’d rather not say it myself.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
The man lifted his sword with trembling arms.
“You’ll find out soon enough anyway. The meddler will show up soon.”
The man charged at Taesan.
Taesan raised his sword.
Crunch.
Effortlessly defending, Taesan pierced the man’s chest.
Though the man was dying, his expression showed neither fear nor pain.
“Didn’t think I’d die to a rookie—”
He left those words behind and vanished.
Taesan watched the man’s soul drift somewhere within the Model Garden.
After staring in that direction for a moment, he resumed walking.
No matter how far he walked, the plain did not end. The same scenery stretched endlessly as if copy-pasted.
‘They said there’s no death here.’
Death wasn’t the end in this place.
It likely meant resurrection. Since these were all souls trapped by Essence, it wasn’t surprising.
Still, all actions had purpose.
This place was the Model Garden—a prison for souls captured by the God of Fall.
Why had the God of Fall created this place? That remained unknown.
“This might be a clue.”
Taesan raised his gaze upward. Floating above his eyes was a white window.
[Points: 5]
When he first arrived, it had read 0.
Defeating five had raised it to 5.
It appeared he gained [points] for each defeat.
There had to be a reason for the [points]. As Taesan pondered, he sensed the approach of eight presences.
“Perfect.”
He could ask them for information. Taesan stopped walking.
“A rookie, huh? Sorry about this. But it’s not necessarily bad news for you.”
The ones who approached weren’t much different from those Taesan had first encountered.
They wore gear similar to Tower adventurers, but showed no hostility or greed toward Taesan—only weariness.
“You’ll answer me, won’t you?”
Just as Taesan said that and drew his sword—
“Stop!!”
“Ghh!”
“Ugh!”
A booming voice echoed out.
The sound seemed to directly stimulate the brain, causing the group to clutch their heads. The man who had spoken to Taesan grimaced.
“She’s already here.”
“I’m here!”
The owner of the voice came running at full speed. Launching herself forward, she landed gracefully between Taesan and the others.
Golden hair swayed. Shimmering golden eyes sparkled like jewels.
“Whew. Tiring.”
She must have run quite a distance—
She panted softly, looking a bit tired.
Yet even so, her dignity was undeniable.
An innate nobility radiated from her.
The man spoke bluntly.
“Here to meddle again, Golden Princess?”
Seeing the woman, Taesan quietly admired her.
‘She’s strong.’
Among the adventurers he’d met in the Model Garden, she was the strongest. Even if he went all out, she wouldn’t be easily defeated.
She was one step away from reaching the realm of the immortal.
The woman known as the Golden Princess nodded proudly.
“He’s a rookie, right? I’ll take charge of his education for now.”
“You’re always meddling. He’ll learn on his own after a few experiences.”
“But if someone teaches him, he won’t need to suffer to learn.”
The Golden Princess spoke warmly.
“You troublesome woman.”
The man clicked his tongue.
“Where’s the old man who’s always tagging along with you?”
“I’m right here.”
An old man walked over slowly. He carried a long spear in hand.
“Our princess always acts before she speaks. Hard to keep up with her.”
“My apologies.”
“I’ve heard that too many times. I’ve given up, so don’t worry.”
The old man, seemingly her companion, didn’t stand at the boundary, but was clearly stronger than the others.
“Even the old man’s here. No chance of winning now.”
The man stated plainly. Yet none of them backed down. All eight drew their weapons.
“Just to confirm—how many are left?”
“Probably just you all.”
“Perfect.”
The man grinned, baring his teeth.
The battle began.
—
“Hello?”
The Golden Princess smiled at Taesan.
“What’s your name?”
“Kang Taesan.”
“Kang Taesan! That’s a unique name. I’m Diana!”
“I’m Reynald.”
The old man behind her spoke.
The battle had ended in an instant.
The Golden Princess stood at the boundary. The others hadn’t reached it. The gap in power was enormous.
Yet those who were defeated didn’t wear dark expressions.
Instead, they smiled as if satisfied.
Diana handed Taesan a piece of dried jerky.
“Would you like some? It’s rare food around here. Even though there’s no hunger in this place, eating something still has meaning.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh my. Alright.”
Diana popped the jerky into her mouth. Though it was a casual motion, every gesture still carried elegance.
“Now, let me ask you something. Are you perhaps an adventurer who was descending the Tower?”
Taesan nodded. Diana’s eyes sparkled.
“In that case…”
She seemed about to ask something.
But she stopped. After some thought, she closed her mouth with a wry smile.
“Never mind. No need to check so early. I’ll save it for later—it’ll be more fun that way.”
She reached her own conclusion.
After watching her for a moment, Taesan asked,
“Why did you save me?”
“To inform you about this place. I don’t care, but the princess here can’t leave people like you alone.”
“It’s in my nature. Think of it as self-satisfaction, if that helps.”
Diana continued gently.
“Your presence here means you were also used by the God of Fall, Mr. Taesan. That’s unfortunate. We were all deceived by him, and we sympathize with your situation.”
Taesan had more or less come here of his own will, but he quietly listened to Diana’s words.
“As you’ve probably guessed, everyone here was used by the God of Fall. This place is a toy for his amusement—a Model Garden.”
Diana raised a finger.
“First, in this place, the concept of death does not exist. If you die, you resurrect at a certain location after one day.”
“You can’t die by any means?”
“No. One person even ground their entire body to powder as a test, but came back to life with horrific pain.”
There was no death. They were forced to live here forever.
The princess pointed toward the horizon.
Only a barren plain was visible.
“As you can see, this Model Garden has nothing. Some engineers tried to invent things, but everything turned to ash.”
Change was not permitted.
“The only entertainment is fighting one another. But according to the God of Fall’s rules, when a battle starts, both sides must fight to the death. And the pain of resurrection isn’t light.”
“He’s a god with awful taste. Truly.”
Reynald clicked his tongue.
Taesan asked them,
“How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know. I lost track ages ago.”
“Me too. Feels like it’s been centuries, but I’m not sure.”
They answered without emotion.
A world of stasis, where nothing was allowed.
They couldn’t die. Change wasn’t allowed. They couldn’t even fight freely.
This place was a vast prison.
“You weren’t hostile to me… that must be why.”
“No one fights here because they want to. We’re all in the same situation. Anger and resentment are pointless.”
They were all victims.
There was only one enemy: the God of Fall.
But something didn’t add up.
“Then why did those others try to kill me?”
If what Diana said was true, fights here had no real meaning. There was no reason to kill a newcomer like Taesan.
“And you don’t seem completely in despair.”
This was a terrible place. Nothing changed. Nothing was allowed. Not even death could free them.
Yet the people Taesan met were mentally stable.
Tired, worn—but they acted with clear reason. They didn’t seem like people who had suffered for hundreds or thousands of years.
“There’s a simple reason. Whether it’s just whimsy or because it’s more fun to see us sane, he’s provided a few conveniences.”
Diana smiled bitterly.
“Remember how I said you resurrect in a specific place after death? That place is a huge village.
It’s somewhere the God of Fall created. There, people can eat bland food, sleep on hard beds, and enjoy some simple pastimes.”
There were minimal living facilities.
“Most importantly, there’s a [point] system. As you may have noticed, above our eyes, a system window shows our points. Each time we kill someone, we gain 1 point. And those points can be used in various ways.”
The uses of the [points] were easy to guess.
“Temporary upgrades to the facilities.”
“Correct.”
Diana nodded.
“If you use 1 point on a meal, a bland soup becomes a juicy steak. Use it on a room, and instead of a hay bed, you get a soft bed and a shower for a day. The more points used at once, the better the facilities.”
“So that’s why they tried to kill me.”
To earn points and enjoy food and lodging.
“It’s a transparent ploy, but it’s effective. Most rely on it to keep their minds intact.”
“A sick joke.”
“Truly.”
Talented mortals who had reached the deep layers of the Tower and might’ve cleared it, killing each other for food and a bed.
And clinging to that for mental survival.
This system revealed the God of Fall’s true purpose.
“But that’s not all.”
It was certainly a system to help retain sanity—but that was its limit. There was no hope.
Yet in Diana and the others, Taesan saw something else:
Hope that they could escape.
Diana grinned.
“You’re lucky. You just got here and already have a chance to return to the world.”
“Return?”
“It’ll be easier to show you. Let’s go, Reynald.”
“Now? No need to practice first?”
“No need. I’ve practiced this moment thousands of times.”
Diana’s eyes blazed as she gripped her sword.
“Follow me. I will save you.”
Taesan followed behind her.
They walked across the plain. Along the way, others appeared and blocked Diana’s path.
Diana said just one thing to them.
“I’ve gathered them all.”
“…Ho.”
With just those words, the ones who blocked her lowered their weapons.
And began to follow Diana.
The group grew and grew, until it became a crowd of hundreds.
Standing at their head, Diana marched forward with confidence.
“You remember how I said there are several uses for points? This is one of them.”
Then she reached the center of the plain.
There stood a single pillar.
Diana shouted toward it.
“O God of Fall! I, the Princess of the ruined world who was abandoned by you, have come!”
Rumble!
The pillar began to activate.
The God of Fall’s gaze descended.
Diana’s eyes gleamed as she spoke.
“I have fulfilled your conditions! So I request it! The Colosseum of Liberation!”