[Using the 91st to 100th Floor Compression Ticket!]
[Regardless of the remaining Despair Tower tickets, floors 92 through 100 are compressed!]
[One Despair Tower ticket stored in the ticket vault is consumed!]
Oh.
A compression ticket that not only compresses an entire section in one go but also only takes a single ticket.
It's an item that's hard to come by, separate from the fact that there's no demand for it.
Was that why it was placed in such a luxurious box?
'Was I too suspicious?'
I tossed the box away before crossing over the frog.
I couldn't let the location of my precious Baekyado be exposed.
I'll have to pick it up later after checking if there are any trackers on it when I go to Seopangyo.
[You are the first user of a compression ticket for this section! A record is inscribed in the Book of Achievements!]
[Floors 92 through 100 are compressed, and a previously non-existent floor, 'The Fallen World Tree, Nemesis's Grave,' is created!]
[Nemesis is a world tree known to have once supported the axis of a certain world! However, in the Tower of Despair, it was corrupted from the beginning, so the truth is unknown!]
[Nemesis now supports one axis of the Tower of Despair! The grave is where Nemesis's roots lie, a place where terrible corruption is concentrated!]
[You are placed within the influence of corruption upon entry! Do you wish to enter?]
First, I dismissed all my companions.
Like a proper taster, I decided to go ahead and gauge the level of corruption myself.
[Entering 'The Fallen World Tree, Nemesis's Grave,' somewhere between floors 92 and 100!]
Swoooosh...!
The vast sea of Baekyado vanished.
"Oh..."
A small exclamation escaped as the space was completed.
Rotten roots and vines covering the ground instead of soil, sap completely corrupted into black, and a floor where that sap had pooled and overflowed.
It looked more like a waste treatment plant than a world tree's grave.
'Ugh.'
And on top of that, the sap was writhing, albeit very subtly.
It had the visual of something that would melt you on contact.
'Can't even see the sky.'
I guess it's fitting for a world tree.
It was so huge that its rotten branches filled the entire space above.
An unknown light seeped through the gaps, but it was such a wrong color that I didn't particularly want to touch it.
"Haah."
I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
What choice did I have, even if I didn't want to touch it?
I had to fulfill my role as a taster... Ding!
[You have inhaled the air exhaled by the Fallen World Tree!]
[This gas is extremely lethal to living beings! The status ailment 'Erosion' is applied! If not removed within a certain time, your respiratory system will cease to function!]
[Innate Trait 'All Status Ailment Resistance SSS+' activates! You are immune to the status ailment 'Erosion'!]
Just breathing causes this much trouble.
No wonder the air seeping through my nose felt so unsettling!
Squelch!
I stepped into the black sap.
[This is sap containing a terrible concentrated essence of corruption! The status ailment 'Century's Corruption' is applied! After 10 seconds, you will transform into a corrupted being and become a part of Nemesis!]
[Innate Trait 'All Status Ailment Resistance SSS+' activates! You are immune to the status ailment 'Century's Corruption'!]
Cold sweat trickled down my temples with every status ailment message that poured in with each step.
If I didn't have status ailment resistance, I would have already become a twig of the Fallen World Tree.
Perhaps sensing the intruder, Nemesis writhed but didn't come closer.
Instead, I stopped in my tracks and nodded.
I decided to postpone summoning my companions!
Rustle.
A small sphere of light appeared in my vision.
It touched Nemesis's branches covering the sky and created a massive golden magic circle.
Familiar with the sight, I quietly stared at it.
[The Apostle of Lumende, their followers, and the legion they lead are summoned!]
'As I thought, it's the same bunch.'
Originally, it would have said 'The army of *#($*$ is summoned!'
Thanks to hearing the name in the Tower of Myth, it was properly displayed in the message now.
'Quite a lot.'
The scale of the summoning circle itself was different from when Marvin Rodogus was summoned.
A golden summoning circle that was drawn endlessly, covering half the floor.
From it, Lumende's friends began to appear one by one.
[High-ranking Follower 'Conductor of the Shattered Starlight, Gurt Omakhan' appears!]
[High-ranking Follower 'Holy Smile Blooming Upon Death, Osaman Gabin' appears!]
[High-ranking Follower 'Remnant of the Silent Light, Raton Revolve' appears!]
[High-ranking Follower 'Face of the Light Quietly Rotting, Valrid Rofo' appears!]
.
.
.
"Ugh."
My nose wrinkled involuntarily.
The appearance messages kept piling up, as if they never got tired of this.
A bunch of beings like Marvin Rodogus were swarming in.
And 'Face of the Light Quietly Rotting'—wasn't that just a straight-up insult?!
Could that really be called a high-ranking follower's title?!
The summoning process showed no signs of ending, even though it had already easily surpassed thousands.
It felt like they had deliberately swarmed in because our friend Marvin was missing.
And finally, the last one.
Ding!
[The Apostle of Lumende, 'Messenger of Eternal Radiance, Radiana' appears!]
[Apostle Radiana is selected as the commander of this holy war!]
Boom!!!
"Oh, for crying out loud."
Being the big boss, she was much flashier than the other followers.
My hair was flying everywhere, turning into a complete mess.
I should just cut it short.
Rustle.
The falling light subsided, and a woman with a blunt bob cut appeared.
Judging people solely by their appearance is a very bad habit, but my instincts screamed a warning the moment I saw her.
That woman was not only stubborn as a mule but also incredibly arrogant and ill-tempered.
At the apostle's appearance, the army and followers who had arrived earlier made way.
Radiana slowly walked out through the miracle of the Red Sea.
She stopped right in front of me and opened her mouth.
"I came to carry out the god's command, but..."
The corner of Radiana's mouth twisted.
"I still don't quite understand. Why I have to fight alongside you."
"Are you, an apostle, doubting the god's words now?"
Swish!
Various weapons were thrust towards my eyes, forehead, chin, neck, shoulders, and chest.
It was those followers with their ridiculous names.
"Didn't I say anyone could speak?"
"You must ask for permission when addressing the apostle."
They seemed ready to each have their say again.
That woman, Radiana or Radiator or whatever, also looked like she was about to give a long speech.
I'm tired of this, so let's skip ahead.
Click.
I moved my fingers without them noticing.
The Iron Brand I had engraved the moment I entered.
A Black Dragon scale shot out from an unseen spot, slicing through a branch of the World Tree Nemesis.
Ding!
[The World Tree Nemesis begins to move! It will not stop until it has corrupted every living thing that breathes!]
A massive tremor shook the ground beneath my feet.
The earth split, and monsters began to rise one by one.
[A soldier of the Fallen World Tree appears!]
[Those who were swallowed by the corrupted sap awaken!]
Gooooooh...!
A single monster slowly rose from the center.
A dragon almost as massive as the Black Dragon Drakkan.
[The Ancient Dragon Molterak, who guarded the world's axis alongside Nemesis, awakens!]
[The first being swallowed when Nemesis fell, it has been reborn as a being close to a calamity, empowered by corruption!]
I swallowed dryly at the dragon's immense presence.
What a relief.
Lumende was here to go and smash it first.
I turned my head and looked at the commander, Radiana.
My eyes said, 'Go on, go kill each other now.'
"Pfft."
She met my gaze for a moment.
Then Radiana burst into laughter and shook her head.
"Pathetic little tricks."
I guess she deserves the title of apostle; she's quick-witted.
I moved the scale as carefully as possible, but she still noticed.
"Wait a moment. I need to hear the truth from you directly."
Radiana turned around and elegantly pointed forward.
"My followers. Clear that stinking tree from my sight immediately. The stench is unbearable."
'Look who's talking, with your own rotten core.'
I wanted to peel off her shell with Gwangshik, but I held back.
At this moment, Radiator and her followers were my lovely auto-hunting bots.
"We shall carry out the apostle's command!"
"With my blessing, victory."
"Victory!!"
Flash!
A blinding light burst forth, and the Lumende soldiers nearby shot forward.
Their movements were quite similar to that Russian friend.
What was his name? Ana... Anas... whatever, Ana-something.
"Pathetic human. I can see right through your thoughts. You plan to make us clash with the tower's beings and wear us down. But you've overlooked one thing. We are beings on a completely different level from those who supported you last time. There is not a chance in hell that we would be worn down by some rotten tree like..."
Radiana stopped mid-sentence, realizing something, and looked to the side.
When did this trash get over there?
Jinhyeok was slowly slinking away from her like a maggot, blatantly showing he didn't want to be near her.
Grit.
She silently ground her teeth.
For a mere human to make her, an apostle of the god, lose track of his position, even for a fleeting moment.
It was infuriating.
'Just wait a little while.'
She let out a low breath and glared at Jinhyeok, who was now far away.
She intended to uncover everything before the god confronted him.
What happened to Marvin Rodogus, and what his true hidden intentions were.
Boooom!!
She shifted her gaze to where the massive explosion had occurred.
The god's legion clashing with the forces of the World Tree Nemesis.
She stared at the tree, which ceaselessly spewed curses and corruption, through narrowed eyes.
She hated plants.
Because they reminded her of bad... no, more precisely, the worst memories.
'Needless worry.'
Apostle Radiana brushed back her hair.
This place was a completely separate dimension.
The world where those memories were made was a terrible world of calamity she could never return to, even if she wanted to, and would never return to, even if she could.
This was not that world.
Therefore, she would never have to face something like that again.
Just as it had been until now, and forevermore.
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T/N:
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