41
The fairy trembling in my grasp had clearly said this:
'That you'll be able to grow all your stats up to D-rank.'
However, there was a major flaw in this.
And that was the fact that my mana rank had already reached its limit at D-rank.
"I'll only say this once, so listen carefully. You definitely said all ranks, right? But my mana is already D-rank."
[ Uh, huh? ]
"Even before entering the tower, my mana was D-rank."
[ W-wait a moment! Verification! I, I'll verify it! ]
Not only was her body trembling, but Vivi's expression was completely filled with fear.
'What is this behavior.'
Was she trying to regress to a 20-year-old kid just because she turned a little over 20 in front of her parents, with her mind being affected too?
Having come to his senses, Baek Woojin acknowledged that he had taken out his anger on the wrong person and urged himself once more.
An apology should come first, but since Vivi was concentrating like when she summoned the box, he first relaxed the grip of his clenched hand──
[ Eek?! ]
Even without asking, it was a reaction that showed she had realized her own mistake.
"Vivi, I'm sorry for getting angry. I won't be angry anymore, so let's calm down first and talk slowly."
[ R-really...? ]
When he nodded slightly toward Vivi, who had slumped down on his open palm with the tension released, Vivi gulped once and nodded along with me.
[ Well, you see...? Uh, um, uh, how did this happen... ]
Vivi cutely fidgeted with her tiny hands and gathered the courage to start speaking.
[ The tower divides its zones based on the challenger's average rank, you see? So originally, Woojin, you should have gone to the D-rank promotion zone. ]
"But the place I fell to was the C-rank promotion zone."
[ T-that's right. It's the first time I've seen the tower make a mistake. ]
Vivi called it a mistake, but for some reason, I felt it wasn't a mistake.
[ Since there are many challengers entering each time the tower opens, the tower only displays the two lowest stats to manage challenger information efficiently. That's why I mistakenly thought you were a D-rank promotee. ]
And one more thing here.
The information board had stated that most fairies exchange points. However, hearing Vivi's words, I could tell that wasn't the case at all.
[ The tower requested detailed information about you, Woojin, and confirmed that your mana is D-rank just as you said. I'm sorry. ]
"I'm sorry too. I could have explained without getting angry."
[ Right! It was really scary!! ]
"I won't get angry anymore."
[ Really? ]
"Promise."
When he slightly extended his pinky finger, Vivi hesitated for a moment before grasping it firmly with her two tiny hands.
"Then since we've made up, shall we talk about the compensation again?"
[ Well... ]
Vivi fidgeted with her fingers again, looking cautious, then...
[ This kind of case isn't written in the manual, so I don't know what I should do!! ]
If someone else had said that, he definitely wouldn't have let it slide easily.
"Then how about asking the tower?"
[ Hehe, actually I already asked. ]
"But they didn't give you an answer?"
[ The tower said it wants to talk to you directly, Woojin. ]
"Directly?"
That was the moment.
The completely white space turned gray.
'Has time... stopped?'
Vivi, who had been sitting on my hand, was also dyed gray.
No matter how much strength I applied, she didn't budge at all, as if fixed at that moment colored in gray.
【Welcome.】
While he was fiddling with the petrified Vivi's head, a clear yet monotonous voice that felt quite rigid echoed in his mind.
【Since there is not much time allowed, I will get straight to the point.】
【First, there are two compensation options given to challenger Baek Woojin.】
『1. Be satisfied with the already given compensation, and in return, receive a favorable privilege when taking the test at the next tower visit.』
『2. Upgrade the compensation. Instead of raising the growth limit of all stats to C-rank, challenge an individual difficulty test when visiting the next tower.』
"Question."
【Permitted.】
"About the privilege in option 1. Does it affect the evaluation score?"
【Yes.】
Naturally, passing the tower didn't mean all stats' growth limits would be elevated. If all stats had grown with just one attempt, B-rank and above hunters wouldn't be receiving the precious treatment they do now.
"To option 2. But let me add one more thing. This is clearly your mistake, and I'm in the position of a victim, right? I'm only receiving the compensation I should have originally received, but adding an extra burden on top of that is a bit..."
【I will listen and make a judgment. However, please remember that there is not much time left.】
"Nothing major. I just want to decorate this space a bit. And it would be even better if Vivi could freely use this place even while the tower is closed."
【If you add the condition that things created in this space cannot be taken outside, I will accept it.】
"Good."
That was the moment.
"Ugh...!!"
Starting with a dizzying headache, pain as if my entire body's muscles and joints were being slashed by blades rushed over me.
【Then I look forward to your next visit.】
As the suddenly surging pain gradually began to subside, the tower's voice was heard again, and the space that had been dyed gray returned to its original pure white color.
[ Eek?! ]
Vivi, who had been fixed on the palm, fell downward as time began to flow again with the supporting hand gone.
[ How could you suddenly move your hand away! ]
However, as if proving that avoiding the halberd's blade when she first appeared wasn't a coincidence, Vivi quickly spread her wings and flew up again.
"I had a good reason."
Baek Woojin, whose headache and the pain that had struck his whole body had barely subsided, wiped the sweat from his forehead that had formed in that brief moment.
[ Kyaaak?! ]
Having narrowly avoided falling, Vivi, who was looking this way with her small hands on her hips and sullen eyes, flapped about like a pigeon that had been electrocuted before plummeting downward.
Fortunately, thanks to her light body, the falling speed wasn't very fast, so I was able to catch Vivi on my palm more leisurely than expected.
[ Ugh, y-you... ]
Vivi, who had been flapping on the palm, stopped convulsing and struggled to get up. And as a little more time passed, the previously stiff face of Vivi filled with deep emotion.
It seemed the tower had informed Vivi of the condition it added at the end as well.
Baek Woojin carefully placed Vivi, who was looking at him, on top of his head.
"I need to concentrate for a bit, so stay still up there."
The physical pain was growing pains that occurred as the growth limit suddenly increased by two stages.
The headache was not from something else but from the process of knowledge about how to decorate this pure white space flowing in.
'How thorough.'
What the tower added was a single clause that things created couldn't be taken outside the tower. And according to the injected knowledge, what could be created in this space was strictly limited to objects.
In other words, it meant that things like potions or food couldn't be created.
'I should ask next time if normal food is possible.'
The condition of asking to be allowed to decorate this pure white space wasn't solely for Vivi. First of all, time in the tower flowed much faster than outside.
There were differences for each hunter who challenged it, but at roughly a 1:10 ratio, it would be convenient to think that 10 hours in the tower equaled 1 hour in reality.
'Alright.'
Baek Woojin began to draw in his mind the structure of the room to be placed in the pure white space where he was currently sitting.
There was no need to be detailed.
According to the knowledge the tower had inserted, insufficient information and details would be automatically supplemented by the information stored in the tower.
'Is this much enough?'
Since it wasn't a one-time thing and could be modified at any time if desired, he decided to first check how it was formed.
Wooooom.
Along with a sound like a computer powering off, the surroundings went dark. And when the darkness that had draped over was completely lifted, the space had become a completely new place.
[ Kyaaaaah!! ]
Vivi, who had been sitting quietly on top of his head, let out an exclamation close to a scream and threw her body at the hotel room bed she had used frequently in Busan.
[ Amazing! So this is what a bed is! It's so fluffy!! ]
Leaving Vivi to bounce her small body and roll around on the bed, he moved to check whether it had been properly implemented according to the picture drawn in his mind.
The hotel room was, first of all, perfectly consistent with the structure he remembered.
From the positions of the bed and refrigerator to the structure of the bathroom and shower room.
The room check was finished, and now he opened the room's front door that should be connected to the hallway.
"This is beyond expectations."
Beyond the door, a vast space spread out luxuriously, and it wasn't just unreasonably wide but was divided into sections of a certain size.
In the divided sections, equipment for training various body parts was prepared, and at the center of the space surrounded by numerous equipment were five stands and halberds of different weights mounted on them.
Finally, straw dummies made of steel that would serve as partners for the halberds.
'I don't know when I'll come again, but.'
He swung the ones that had the exact same appearance as the halberd he was currently using but with different weights just once each, and organized his spot.
Rumble.
'I'll have to bring food with me next time I come.'
Baek Woojin rubbed his hungry stomach and moved to find Vivi, who might be doing who knows what.