Chapter 43

The first place inside the Tower of Infinity where the warp magic circle was installed was the shelter on the 17th floor. It took 12 days to install the magic circle. Not only did they install the magic circle, but they also made the shelter a more perfect space.

Illusion magic circles were installed all around so that whether it was a person or a monster, they would wander around and end up far from the shelter if they approached.

After completing the installation of the magic circle in the 17th-floor shelter, they moved straight to the 25th floor and installed a magic circle in the underground grand tomb shelter as well.

Wooong-

After completing the magic circle and activating it, a blue light flickers and the surrounding atmosphere shakes.

I walk to the magic circle and stand in the center.

“Warp.”

The blue light envelops me and the surrounding scenery changes in an instant.

I arrive at the underground magic circle of the external research building of the Tower of Infinity in no time.

I put various pre-prepared items into the infinite bag. These were long-lasting food, household goods, etc. I take them and move to the 25th floor.

After loading the items on the 25th floor, I leave the underground grand tomb.

This visit to the Tower of Infinity has the purpose of installing the warp magic circle, but there is also someone I need to meet.

*

The 30th floor is a battleground for the top-ranking countries attacking the Tower of Infinity. Just reaching the 30th floor means that the awakened forces are among the top ranks.

It is also the stage for the final test before reaching the 31st floor, where large monsters like ogres, trolls, and cyclops appear, and where the boss monster known as the ‘Naga Queen’ stands guard like a gatekeeper.

The Naga Queen opens the path to the 31st floor for those who have defeated her at least once, but those who haven’t can never pass.

The 30th and 31st floors.

The reason why the top-ranking countries and the ones below them are divided by just one floor.

The leading countries in attacking the 30th floor are the awakened powerhouses like the UK, Japan, France, and India. They both compete and help each other while searching for a strategy to defeat the Naga Queen.

They tried to obtain the strategy to defeat the Naga Queen through their ally, the United States, but all attempts failed. There was no need to create a strong competitor in the Tower of Infinity, also known as the ‘Infinite Treasury.’

The Twilight Swamp.

The name of the kingdom ruled by the Naga Queen.

The vast swamp is always tinged with a red sunset, so the awakened ones call it the Twilight Swamp.

The outskirts of the Twilight Swamp are saturated with awakened ones from various countries. They are here to hunt monsters like Poison Frogs, Giant Mosquitoes, Swamp Thorn Turtles, and Nagas.

While the goal is to level up, the corpses of the monsters appearing in the Twilight Swamp hold significant value.

I am swiftly passing through the Twilight Swamp, hidden by invisibility.

The deeper I go, the more frequently Nagas appear. The Nagas, with their snake-like lower bodies, slither across the swamp’s surface at high speed.

Since my purpose is not hunting, I bypass the Nagas and move deeper.

Here and there, I see wooden palisades made of thick logs.

This means I am close to the habitat of the Naga Queen, the ruler of the 30th floor.

“Watch out over there!”

“Healer! We have an injured one!”

Over a hundred people are fighting the Nagas.

Tanks with shields form a wall at the front, while archers and mages attack the Nagas from the rear.

The Nagas are not just taking the hits. Some of them use bows, and there are also shamans among them.

“Main tank is poisoned! Substitute tank, fill the spot!”

The fearsome thing about Nagas is, of course, their poison.

Tanks find themselves poisoned at some point while blocking the Nagas’ attacks. If there is a mage who has learned the Cure Poison spell, they can easily escape the poisoned state.

‘Are they Japanese?’

They are awakened ones who look and act slightly different from Koreans. They could be from Hong Kong or Taiwan, but since those countries have not yet reached the 30th floor, they are most likely Japanese.

As the tanks leave their positions one by one, the Japanese awakened ones are gradually pushed back. Although no one has died or had an accident, they are in a situation where they have to retreat without even seeing the shadow of the Naga Queen, their obvious target.

The Japanese awakened ones do not overextend and retreat from the battlefield in order.

After they all leave, I start moving again.

The deepest part of the Twilight Swamp.

The place where countless Nagas are stationed is the habitat of the Naga Queen.

I am flying high with the Fly spell, looking down at the Naga Queen’s habitat.

I see the Naga Queen, guarded by the innermost Nagas.

Unlike typical Nagas, she wears a red helmet and breastplate, and holds a red shield and sword, along with a wand-like weapon.

According to the records of the Magic Tower, the Naga Queen is a warrior, a shaman, and a strategist.

I cannot use the strategy of approaching invisibly and eliminating only the Naga Queen. The moment I attack the Naga Queen, all the surrounding Nagas will swarm in.

If I could one-shot, one-kill the Naga Queen with a single spell, the situation would be different, but if I fail, I will be surrounded by hundreds of Nagas.

I descend to the ground and deactivate invisibility.

A nearby Naga spots me and lets out a shriek. The heads of the surrounding Nagas all turn in my direction simultaneously.

And so begins the charge.

Allowing the naga to charge over the water is foolish.

“Ice Field.”

First, I slow them down.

As the water rapidly freezes, the nagas panic.

Around me, ice-attributed mana gathers. The ice mana quickly condenses into small crystals. Sharp-edged, diamond-shaped ice crystals.

This is a 3rd-circle ice-type spell, Cold Beam.

But it’s different from a typical Cold Beam. Instead of one ice projectile, there are two, three, four… the number keeps increasing.

“Go!”

More than twenty Cold Beams fly towards the nagas at a speed too fast to follow with the eyes.

Thud- Thud- Thud-!

The Cold Beams pierce through the nagas’ bodies. The nagas scream as if being torn apart. They don’t fall immediately, but they reach a state where they can’t continue fighting.

The surrounding nagas recognize me at the sound of their comrades’ screams.

The nagas swarm in.

Earlier, I blocked their charge with ice; this time, it’s lightning.

“Lightning Field.”

A lightning field forms, boasting a range overwhelmingly wider than a typical Lightning Field. In the constantly discharging lightning field, the nagas writhe.

“Sever.”

A wind-type spell, Sever, which only I can use, cuts through a group of nagas. The nagas, split into upper and lower halves, collapse in heaps.

“Shield, shield.”

I hurriedly twist my body, casting shields repeatedly.

As the naga shamans cast their spells, streams of water engulf the spot where I stood. I fire lightning-attributed magic bullets to check the naga shamans and reduce the number of nearby nagas.

– Your level has increased.

I hear the message that my level has increased as I eliminate the nagas, but there’s no time to celebrate.

Because the nagas keep coming endlessly.

The naga shamans’ magic is joined by the archers’ arrows. While I hesitate under the long-range attacks, the naga warriors finally succeed in closing the distance.

“Earth Shield. Iron Skin. Lightning Slash.”

I wrap myself in a triple-layered shield with earth attributes and turn my skin to steel. The blade of mana, imbued with the energy of lightning, sweeps away the nagas in front of me.

Magic bullets scatter in all directions, and the nagas with holes in their foreheads scream and collapse.

“What a nuisance.”

The suppressive fire from the naga shamans and archers subtly grated on my nerves.

I pulled out the Infinity Staff adorned with dazzling jewels from the infinite bag.

“You brought this upon yourselves.”

I aimed the Infinity Staff at the naga shamans and archers.

“Blizzard.”

Among the four 7th-circle attack spells enchanted on the Infinity Staff, I summoned Blizzard, the ice-type spell, calling forth a storm of ice.

The air around the naga shamans and archers rapidly cooled, and ice crystals began to form. The suddenly swirling wind turned the ice crystals into sharp projectiles, sweeping through the naga shamans and archers.

“Wow-!”

The power of the 7th-circle attack spell was indeed formidable.

Where dozens of naga shamans and archers once stood, there were now as many ice statues.

With the long-range attackers subdued, the battle with the remaining naga warriors became easier.

*

By the time I reached the naga queen, I had reached level 27.

Despite having slain over two hundred nagas, I had only gained two levels. It made me realize how much effort the world’s top-tier awakened ones, who had surpassed level 100, must have put in.

Of course, they had awakened early and had been fighting monsters in the Tower of Infinity for years. The fact that I had reached level 27 in just a few months since awakening was astonishingly fast.

“But-.”

In terms of stats, I was not envious of the top-tier awakened ones. No, I was actually surpassing them.

The naga queen, whether out of arrogance or confidence in her abilities, did not move an inch until all her subordinates were dead.

It was only when I approached that she finally reacted.

Sha- kyarrr- shashasha-

She made a strange sound, which could have been either laughter or speech, and extended the wand in her hand forward.

“Huh-!”

My instincts warned me of danger, and I immediately flew up with the Fly spell. I could see dozens of massive spears made of water rising from below.

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The naga queen, disappointed that I had dodged, flicked her long tongue.

Ping- ping-!

I countered with bullets imbued with the mana of lightning and ice, landing back on the ground. Using the Fly spell to float would inevitably restrict my movements.

The naga queen’s spells continued to pour down. Waves surged in the once-calm swamp, and sharp ice spikes flew at me.

When it came to long-range attacks, I was not to be outdone.

No matter how strong her spells were, they could not surpass magic.

Dodging the naga queen’s spells, I formed a seal with my left hand. A magic circle shimmered in the air. The space in front of me twisted. I created an Ice Spear, amplified several times over. It was more of a pillar than a spear, a gigantic Ice Spear.

My left hand is moving without rest.

Calculating while standing still and calculating in the midst of a fierce battle are entirely different matters. That’s why I form the hand seals. A distortion occurs in the space behind the Naga Queen.

It’s an application of spatial magic.

The Ice Spear disappears into the spatial distortion.

“Fireball. Fire Spear.”

Using fire magic against the Naga Queen, who is well-versed in water-based spells, is foolish. Water and fire are opposites. As expected, the Naga Queen sneers and extinguishes the flying fireball and fire spear with her spells.

The only reason I used obviously useless fire magic was to hold the Naga Queen’s attention.

“Pierce through!”

From the distortion in the space behind the Naga Queen, a massive ice spear, as large as a temple pillar, shoots out.

The gigantic Ice Spear pierces the Naga Queen’s chest.

The Naga Queen looks down at her gaping chest in disbelief. She raises her eyes, filled with distrust, to look at me.

“Well done.”

The Naga Queen collapses.

– Level Up.

I hear the message that my level has increased.

I approach the fallen body of the Naga Queen. Next to her, the red metal shield and wand she was holding have fallen.

And there is also a single orb, radiating a brilliant golden light.

The one that every Awakener hopes to obtain.

“A Skill Stone?”

A Skill Stone has dropped.

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