Chapter 50

Chapter 50. Blessing (2)

'I was even turning a blind eye to keeping that insane gambler alive…'

The Patriot had been biding his time.

All this while, he had shown countless mercies, trusting in the 'sincerity' of President Lee Seok-hyeon and the Righteous Prosecutor Kang Mu-jin.

Yet now they were trying to chart a different course from his.

The moment that Shin Si-woo bastard entered a Gate, he'd teach Kang Mu-jin and President Lee Seok-hyeon a lesson!

That was what the Patriot had resolved.

But…

"As expected, Lord Patriot. Magnificent!"

"We have nothing to worry about anymore!"

Why are these guys being so friendly?

They'd always been good at reading his mood, but today it was worse than usual.

Before long, the Patriot understood why.

"Look at those polluted-beast corpses disintegrating like nothing!"

The enormous pit near Paju.

The site where the military had stockpiled polluted-beast corpses and the Patriot had periodically shelled.

The hideous products of the North Korean puppets and the Chinese Red Army, which had refused to vanish despite countless bombings…

'They really are gone.'

As a result of strengthening Constellation Yi Sun-sin in the [Tower], the Patriot had finally obtained the ability to eliminate polluted beasts completely.

"Lord Patriot, your nuclear warheads are on another level entirely!"

"Ahem, nukes fired by the great Yi Sun-sin shouldn't be compared to mere lumps of radiation."

"Indeed, it is the power of Chungmugong."

"Magnificent!!!"

At this point, his shoulders were puffed up enough that he could let it slide.

The Patriot's cheeks twitched.

He'd discipline them next time.

"Hmm—."

The Patriot nodded with feigned solemnity and murmured that he had merely done what was expected of him as this nation's Transcendent.

"After all, historians themselves describe Admiral Yi Sun-sin's achievements as nothing less than the miracles of a god."

"There's a reason he is considered the greatest hero alongside King Sejong the Great, who created Hangul."

Truly, the grandeur befitting Constellation Yi Sun-sin!

Praise upon praise.

The Patriot soothed his soaring cheeks and returned to the carrier.

He intended to share this joy with the Constellations.

But…

"Patriot, it's an emergency!"

The Constellations had assembled in the command center at maximum alert.

Yi Sun-sin and Yulgok Yi I were staring at the [WorldNet] linked to the carrier, and what they said was shocking.

At that, the Patriot hastily checked today's articles.

"Why is there so little praise for me?"

Right after returning from the [Tower], the Patriot had held a parade.

Next on the schedule, he'd annihilated the polluted-beast corpses near Paju with his new weapons, and fired a few rounds toward Japan while he was at it.

Shouldn't the articles have been full of praise for the Patriot's greatness?

But reality was different.

"Why is everything about other people?"

His own articles did appear here and there.

But the news currently shaking Korea to its core was something else entirely.

[Republic of Korea: new Awakened count increases by over 170,000.]

An achievement even the Patriot could not deny.

A full 170,000 citizens of South Korea had become natural Awakened.

Natural Awakened with no mental issues, at that!

Looking at that blessing-laden article, the Patriot furrowed his brow.

"Did the statistics bureau fabricate this?"

Fabrication meant execution.

In today's South Korea, no one in public office would dare.

Even so, it looked fabricated.

Because the [Awakened Status] — transparently disclosed to all citizens — displayed a profoundly bizarre figure.

A single bar graph that tore through every other graph and shot through the ceiling on its own.

The mind-boggling number [171,553], bursting through numbers that were usually [1], [2], at most in the [10]s.

"The date is yesterday?"

"Patriot, look at the documents first."

The Patriot took the documents the Constellations had organized.

He reviewed the series of events that had supposedly occurred in the single day he'd been conquering the [Tower].

In pure time, it hadn't even been a full day.

'Does this even make sense?'

The Patriot couldn't hide his bewilderment.

Shin Si-woo's accomplishments defied reason.

In less than a day, he'd dealt with the [Void] of Jeonju in Jeolla-do and rescued 170,000 survivors from within.

And then Shin Si-woo had humbly credited all of it to a man called 'Guardian Sword, Kim Jun.'

<Without the Guardian Sword, Kim Jun, there would have been no possibility of the Jeonju citizens surviving. This entire miracle was made possible by one man's noble spirit of sacrifice.>

Watching the footage, it clearly wasn't false modesty.

He was genuinely acknowledging the man's contribution.

Even so, the Patriot couldn't help but be bewildered…

'He's even giving him an epithet?'

Just as the Patriot was the Patriot.

Epithets carried powerful weight.

As a Transcendent himself, Shin Si-woo would know that all too well.

And yet he seemed to want to bestow an [epithet] upon this man.

"He is worthy of an epithet."

"Right?"

The Patriot nodded at the Constellations' words.

The sheer number of citizens Kim Jun had saved was overwhelming to begin with, and the fact that every one of them had become Awakened was something the word 'overwhelming' couldn't even begin to cover.

Truly—

"Nothing short of a miracle…"

Oh!

A fitting epithet came to mind just then.

The Patriot declared he would award Kim Jun the Patriotic Mugunghwa Medal at the Blue House and arranged a press interview.

* * *

'The trial recreation doesn't really penalize me.'

Every natural Awakened had undergone a trial.

Since the backgrounds that led to Awakening all differed, the quests and trial contents assigned in the Tower all differed too.

The [Tower] was built by recreating or imitating those Awakening trials.

That was why the [Tower] was said to be terrifying.

It didn't apply to me, though.

[1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid manifests in the world.]

Reinhardt, with a value of [6/100], could manifest for 6 seconds outside.

But in the Tower, it was 6 hours.

So the [Tower]'s trials held no real significance for me.

Puaaaak————!!!

The entire trial floor was flooded with blue light.

The azure blue aura that Reinhardt commanded.

Normally, yang-energy took on a red hue.

But yang-energy tempered to its extreme limit turned blue, and when that deepened further still to reach the tier of Transcendence, it became Reinhardt's 'azure aura.'

⦗Sword Master, all trials have been dealt with.⦘

Paat!

[You have overcome the trial at an overwhelming pace.]

[The World Tree's traces vanish.]

[Calculating rewards…]

Ah, for reference — this trial featured a 'World Tree' as the enemy.

My experience outside and the Tower's rewards had intermingled, manifesting as the most relevant entity: the 'World Tree.'

'A branching point and experience points.'

When Reinhardt had completed his Forms, he'd unveiled his new power against a World Tree.

Extreme yang-energy that surpassed great nature itself.

The totality of swordsmanship called Forms, which wielded that energy.

Through the harmony of both, Reinhardt had overcome the branching point of the 'World Tree and elves.'

I'd been assigned a similar scenario as a quest, but before I could do anything, there was a flash and it was over.

Paat!

[You have cleared Floor 3 of the Tower.]

[Clear Time: 6 minutes]

[Grade: SSS]

[Preparing rewards…]

My Tower climb count was a mere 3 floors.

Considering how recently I'd Awakened, it was a fairly fast pace.

Was it because I'd learned the reality of the world?

I felt a slight impatience.

Paat!

[You have fully acquired Reinhardt's Forms.]

The reward from the quest I'd been given outside had appeared.

Right, this was just the quest reward.

The Tower conquest reward was still to come.

Tadak, tadatak—.

While waiting for the reward to be calculated, I gazed blankly around the [Tower]'s interior.

Watching the World Tree's remnants burn in blue flames naturally brought to mind my deliberation over the [seed].

Could I plant this on Earth?

⦗Are you deliberating whether to plant the seed?⦘

"I thought I should, but seeing this makes me wonder if I should just leave it alone."

If this seed germinated, a being bearing the name 'World Tree' would begin to grow.

But if that World Tree turned out to be the same as the one from [Raise a Sword], it might just cause needless suffering.

Like this trial's World Tree.

"Pig-headed naturalists who absolutely refuse to cooperate with humanity, insisting on fighting to the death with elves in their forest."

Were elves really that nature-friendly? The answer was obviously no.

These creatures were truly ridiculous.

They cut down trees to build houses, dug the earth to mine, and used mana collectors to drain the land's natural energy.

Their lifestyle was identical to humans'.

The difference being—

"They mindlessly obey the World Tree's will…"

Live like that, and the moment the World Tree says 'I hate humans!', they all charge screaming 'Kill the humans!'

And when the World Tree says 'The Abyss is scary!', they abandon their homes and everything else, fleeing to the continent's outskirts.

The World Tree — called the Earth Mother — relocating was a massive event that affected every neighboring nation.

Surrounding countries would be hit by great famines and wither to death.

And did the fleeing World Tree then live well?

'As if.'

A World Tree that fled would eventually [Fall] and assault humanity.

That was how a monster that turned the entire world into fertilizer was born.

⦗It is difficult to conclude this would be the same World Tree, is it not?⦘

And yet, this was the reason I was considering planting the World Tree.

There was no guarantee the World Tree of [Raise a Sword] and one grown on Earth would be the same being.

Who knew?

"A World Tree infinitely friendly to humanity might be born."

Or I could simply erase its ego entirely at the sapling stage.

Using Iris's demons or Muratan's forging techniques to eat or separate its 'personality' altogether.

Whatever the case, I had my dependable swords.

So I intended to just go for it.

Right on cue, the conquest reward had been calculated.

Paat!

[You gain a deeper understanding of Reinhardt's experience.]

[As a special reward, manifestation value increases by +5.]

—1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid. [11/100]

Reinhardt's value had surged.

I hadn't even trained, and the Tower's rewards were clearly honey.

Additional rewards followed in succession.

[Floor 3 Tower conquest rewards are granted.]

1. You may strengthen the Baby Sword's traits.

2. Tower Entry Ticket x 3.

3. SSS-rank Random Box.

4. 10,000 Coins.

As always — a new cultivation method for the Baby Sword, a random box, and 10,000 Coins wrapped up the Tower trial.

Normally I would have left the Tower at this point, but this time was different.

'There's something I want to test.'

Paat!

[Choose a trait to strengthen.]

1. Time.

2. Space.

My Baby Sword possessed the Transcendent Authority to cleave time and space.

And this was the Tower — a place where my swords could manifest in 'hours.'

Reinhardt's manifestation time still had plenty left, didn't it?

'Perhaps…'

Having learned how dire humanity's situation was, I too intended to try something new.

* * *

Kuung————.

The eyes of the Sword Master, Shin Si-woo, appeared in the world of swords.

That gaze was endlessly tranquil.

Yet within it lurked an unknowable madness — and at that gaze, every sword shuddered.

"Sword Master…"

Knowing what Shin Si-woo intended, the swords felt a chill run through them.

What he was attempting was to pull the [Transcended swords] out of the world of swords and into the outside.

Something everyone had deemed impossible.

Only one sword could manifest at a time.

And yet…

'The Baby Sword is the foundation of all of us.'

Every sword began to entertain the thought: 'What if?'

Understandably so.

"The Sword Master truly—"

Shin Si-woo was using the Baby Sword's Authority, aimed at this very place — the world of swords.

Jjeojjeojjeok——.

A subtle fracture appeared across the world.

It began in the outermost zone — the Baby Sword's domain.

Tiny, minuscule.

But the fracture crept, bit by bit, toward the 1st Sword Reinhardt.

"How is such a thing possible?"

Every sword in this space waited for Shin Si-woo's summons and wished to be wielded by him.

And now, one more joy beyond that was being born.

"Ahhh…"

The one who had shown them the end of the world.

Who had, in whatever form, granted their wishes and desires.

They might be able to stand beside that being and swing their swords in tandem.

That possibility.

It shook the swords to their very core.

"Together with this maiden…"

The 5th Sword, Iris, wanted to look upon the Sword Master's face with her own eyes.

"A chance to hammer the iron called the Sword Master."

The 4th Sword, Muratan, found himself craving something he had never dared covet — to hammer the 'perfect iron' he hadn't even imagined.

"To meet other people. I-I too, that thing called a blind date…"

The 2nd Sword, Yuria, wanted to resolve her last remaining regret.

"I could train alongside the Sword Master."

The 1st Sword, Reinhardt, wanted to cultivate together with Shin Si-woo.

"I must help him properly learn all 33 Forms by correctly applying the Juvenile Abstinence Cultivation."

Since he had just acquired the Forms.

He would teach their application.

The moment his words ended.

Jjeeong—————.

A 'passage' appeared before Reinhardt's eyes.