Ch-142
—
For a long time, he had encountered countless stories as the **Constellation of the Radiant Hero**, yet he had been disappointed time after time.
But then… he saw it.
*“Randolph.”*
A writer who transcended everything to a suspicious degree.
He had gambled with his own life on the line.
If it had been him—would he have been able to make the same choice in that situation?
To deliberately consume the pollutant, corrupt himself, and summon the *Blood King*?
No. He would not have.
Even conceiving such an idea would have been difficult.
He would have followed Isabella’s final wish and sunk the city into the Abyss.
*‘I want to… see more.’*
Was that why?
He had thought himself filled, yet he was not.
He wanted to see just a little more of his story.
He wanted to draw the heroic saga Randolph would forge from here on—together with him.
No matter the sacrifice. Even if he had to burn himself further.
…He simply wanted to see it.
—*Do you have more to offer?*
As the starlight dimmed and faded away,
a mouth appeared in the darkness.
—*You said you wanted to see more, didn’t you? Then you must have something more to give.*
What?
Had he not already offered everything?
…Ah.
There was still one thing.
Something he had not offered.
Something he had not given *to that thing*.
—*The story you have built up until now. How amusing.*
The stories he had witnessed and accumulated wrapped into the form of a book.
Then they were pulled into the mouth.
*Heh!*
After savoring the taste for a long moment, the “mouth” smiled in satisfaction.
—
—
The moment he entered the Tower of Rifts, he surveyed his surroundings.
*“A Level-1 Zone.”*
A grassland.
What he could see was a vast field.
Thick grass, trees growing here and there.
Thanks to the Heart of the Eternal Monarch, the restrictions had been shattered, allowing him alone to reach the Level-1 zone.
*“So the Rifts really do scatter people apart.”*
It separated party members according to their levels.
Hence the Tower of Rifts.
But the party’s scores would be tallied together for the final raid.
**《If the total score of five party members exceeds 500, you may challenge ‘Solbaren, Lord of the First Floor.’》**
**《Victory against ‘Lord Solbaren’ grants the right to proceed to the second floor and unlocks one stage of the ‘level-restricted zones.’》**
**《Higher scores reduce Lord Solbaren’s combat power.》**
**《More fissures increase Lord Solbaren’s combat power.》**
**《Current Combat Power of ‘Lord Solbaren’: 999,999》**
Combat power?
Was it the combined sum of stats and rank, expressed as a single measure of strength?
What was clear was that this tower felt fundamentally different from the ones that had existed in Pangaenia until now.
*“This tower wasn’t created simply because the Blood King was eliminated. His death was merely a trigger.”*
Come to think of it, no one knew the origin of the towers.
There were countless towers in Pangaenia, each with different owners and trials.
Perhaps towers surfaced whenever a being like the Blood King died—or when a world vanished.
Considering how even Jörmungandr warned him, the Blood King had indeed been an overwhelmingly powerful entity.
*“…As expected of a Level-1 zone, there’s no one around.”*
He saw no other people.
Naturally—what Level-1 would dare attempt climbing a tower?
Nobody would consider a Level-1 when forming a party.
Only someone wishing for suicide would attempt to climb at Level-1.
*Sssrk.*
*Ssshhhk!*
Just then, vines snaked out and bound his feet.
The entire grassland was filled with such vines.
*“Carnivorous plants.”*
Plants that ensnared, dragged, and devoured people.
Quite threatening to someone at Level-1.
*Rip! Crack!*
With every step he took, vines tore apart.
No matter how many of them wrapped around him, they could not impede his steps.
*“Such plants are weak to fire and frost.”*
He drew **Winter**.
And then—
*Fwoooooosh—!*
Winter came.
—
**《The entire zone freezes over.》**
**《Progress 100%》**
**《Level-3 Zone Boss has appeared.》**
**《Level-3 Zone Boss has been slain.》**
**《You have gained 30 SP.》**
**《You have obtained 10h of Golden Scale Fragments.》**
**《The path to the next zone has opened.》**
**《Total party score: 285》**
**《1st – Randolph (250)》**
**《2nd – Serengeti (20)》**
**《3rd – Rommel (15)》**
**《4th – Balte (5)》**
**《5th – Andrew (0)》**
**《Ranked 1st among 3,788 parties.》**
No one had yet reached the third floor.
Thus, he could surge ahead in an instant.
*“Everyone is putting in effort, it seems.”*
Andrew, being a priest, would struggle to earn points. And aside from someone like himself, other parties likely hadn’t secured proper scores yet.
*“13,788 parties… around sixty-nine thousand people.”*
Exactly **68,940 challengers** were attempting the Tower of Fissures.
More than expected.
Not only players—beings from Pangaenia were clearly participating in great numbers.
*“The rewards are indeed low in the lower zones.”*
30 SP and 10 hours of Golden Scale fragments.
That was the total reward from clearing floors 1 through 3.
Yet considering the level bracket, it was a considerable haul.
Where else would one obtain such rewards at low levels?
*“The higher I climb, the greater the rewards.”*
But he could not simply rush upward.
Clearing the lower zones thoroughly would be more advantageous.
*“There’s no downside to stockpiling SP.”*
After Wilhelm died and he created a new character, he dumped the entire 1.6 million SP into all-random.
As a result, every talent had reached Max level, and 13 hidden traits had emerged.
He had even gained *King of the Blood Demons*, maxing all related talents.
In terms of talents, he practically had nothing left to invest SP into.
But SP could still be exchanged for achievement points in the Achievement Shop.
And there were exactly two talents he still had not acquired:
*“Truth-Seeking and Dimensional Comprehension. Those two remain untouched.”*
Talents such as *Black Blood* and *Blood Awakening* were all maxed, yet those two alone had not been raised at all.
He could gather SP to exchange for achievement points or simply level those talents later.
“P-please help!”
“Aaaargh!”
It happened then.
Screams echoed from afar.
Definitely human voices.
It seemed challengers existed from the Level-4 zone onward.
As he approached, he found two people being chased by something.
“You never said anything about this!”
“Master, you bastard!!”
*Master?*
Surely the Master had not also challenged the Tower of Rifts?
But more than the two, his attention was drawn to the things chasing them.
*“Those are…?”*
Creatures oddly familiar in shape.
A human torso split open into two wings of flesh, lined with countless tooth-like spikes.
They were Bloodborne.
But unlike the Desert Queen, their spikes were smaller, their bodies much smaller—
barely reaching his thigh at most.
*Halt.*
As he drew closer, several Bloodborne tilted their heads in confusion.
Then—
*Sniff, sniff—*
They caught his scent and turned toward him.
Had they found a new prey?
“W-what?”
“They stopped chasing?”
The fleeing pair turned back in bewilderment, then looked at him just as the Bloodborne did.
The moment the Bloodborne suddenly rushed toward him, they shouted urgently:
“Hey! Run away!”
“These things never let go once they bite!”
They warned him, but he simply stood still.
Bloodborne in a Level-4 zone—how strong could they be?
*Screeeech!*
*Skreeeee!*
With eerie cries, the Bloodborne closed the distance.
Just as they reached him—
*“…What are they doing?”*
The small Bloodborne circled around him, forming a ring.
As if performing some ritual.
*Shaaah!*
Then, all at once, they opened their mouths toward him.
Like baby birds begging for food.
No hostility.
Just puzzling.
Considering they had gathered at his scent, they must have sensed some form of kinship.
*“Is it because of the hidden trait?”*
It was possible.
He was the King of the Blood Demons.
They might recognize him instinctively.
But what were they asking for?
*“Surely… blood?”*
The only thing that made sense.
His talents related to blood—what else could it be?
He pricked his finger using **Winter**, gathering a bead of blood.
He fed a single drop to the one in front.
*Shudder—!*
The tiny Bloodborne trembled violently, then began to grow.
Not only that—
**《Blood Contract has been completed.》**
**《The first vassal of the Blood King has been born.》**
**《Hidden Trait ‘Beast Lord’ is manifested.》**
**《The dominated species breaks through its limits!》**
*Crack—!*
The Bloodborne that swelled in size looked entirely different.
The flesh wings hardened into a black, cloak-like structure, and its whole body gleamed like polished steel.
**【Lv. 7】**
From Level 4, it had risen to Level 7.
From just a single drop of blood.
*“So increasing subjugation through blood is the ability granted to the Blood King.”*
He didn’t know if this applied only to Bloodborne, but one thing was certain—
with his blood, he could strengthen these creatures and bind them to him.
It was quite interesting.
He fed the remaining Bloodborne.
Once twenty of them had drunk his blood and become subjugated—
“W-what is that?”
“No way… he’s not a person but a boss monster…!”
The two witnesses were horrified.
They had expected him to be attacked—yet instead, he fed them, they transformed, and then kneeled before him as though before a king.
—*My king.*
But he paid the pair no attention.
A sudden chorus of voices arose.
—*Grant us more blood.*
—*We must determine the hierarchy.*
—*We need stronger vassals! Stronger kin!*
—*More blood!*
Since he had fed them equal amounts, it meant they lacked hierarchy.
If given more blood, perhaps they would evolve further.
Even if the Blood King’s hidden trait allowed his blood to serve as a means of domination, this evolution likely applied only to the Bloodborne.
Their very species grew stronger by consuming the Blood King’s blood.
*A species that evolves through my blood…*
It was truly fascinating.
**Sacrifice Skill**
Around twenty Bloodborne.
Those creatures were craving my blood.
They also desired a *hierarchy* among themselves.
They wished to become my loyal retainers in the order of those who consumed the most blood.
*“Just one drop raised its level by three.”*
A Level-4 creature had instantly become Level-7.
Even in low-level ranges, raising three levels usually required time.
*“How far can they be raised?”*
I was curious.
Blood Subjugation.
Since the hidden trait **Beast Lord** had been activated, it meant they were now fully acknowledged as my “pets.”
At the very least, these creatures would never betray me.
If so—
*Drip! Drip!*
When I fed two more drops to the first one, its body swelled once again.
