Chapter 253: Side Story 6  

The word dimension referred to a vast and expansive place that was beyond imagination. Therefore, it was impossible to fathom the limits of a dimension. At the same time, there were countless individuals whose role was to manage dimensions. They were called the managers of Dimensions.

The beings known as gods were placed higher than mortals, therefore, they were invisible to mortals. However, the world of the gods was not that different. Like mortals, gods sought higher places and desired to gain more power. In the end, they were not different from each other.

As the saying went, “justice will prevail”, everything would return to its rightful place eventually. The Tower was no different. Lee Shin had tried to confine the gods to the Tower and separate them from mortals, but the Tower twisted the flow back. Therefore, Lee Shin decided to just accept it.

"The Tower has started to change."

"It can't be helped, because you erased so many gods from the dimension."

Gene Ebrium, with purple hair and wearing round glasses, sipped his tea, while the black-haired, brown-eyed Lee Shin gazed into the vast land in the distance.

When Lee Shin realized that he had traveled back to the beginning of the Tower with Gene Ebrium, he returned Gene’s original body to him. Then, Lee Shin created a new body and transferred his existence and class to it.

"Will you be alright? Gene, I still can't decide if this is the right thing to do,” Lee Shin said to Gene Ebrium.

"Don't worry about me. Besides, if something that you feared does happen, you can stop it, right?" Gene Ebrium said.

"...Well, I’m saying this because I wish I don’t have to do that,” Lee Shin replied.

When Lee Shin returned to the time when the Tower was created, he encountered many gods in the Tower. Starting with the God of Chaos, he encountered the God of Destruction, God of Jealousy, God of Light, God of Blessings, and more, though not all of these gods were destroyed by the hands of Lee Shin.

The Tower had always been a place where individuals take on challenges by their free will. Those who rushed in with a determination to die would be permanently extinguished; those who did not, waited for their turn somewhere on the first floor.

The space in the Tower that Lee Shin had set in the beginning no longer existed. In order to take in gods with a relatively high class, the Tower expanded, rather than upward, horizontally. In the end, the world of the first floor of the Tower had become so vast that even Lee Shin found it hard to fathom the magnitude. Perhaps those gods were training to become stronger to kill Lee Shin and leave the Tower, but Lee Shin was determined to stop them from doing so.

"Do you really think the chief gods will appear?" Gene Ebrium asked Lee Shin.

"There's no way," Lee Shin replied and shook his head.

Even before time returned to its past, the gods of Astraia had done everything they could to become chief gods. However, it had been impossible. Therefore, Lee Shin thought that it would not make much of a difference even if all the gods were gathered here at this time.

"If I were to think of an individual who is able to become a chief god, I think it is you, Gene,” Lee Shin said, looking at Gene Ebrium.

"Haha, that's nonsense. There’s zero possibility,” Gene Ebrium replied with a chuckle.

"Gene, you’re underestimating the potential of humans too much,” Lee Shin said.

"Hey, it’s you who simply think too highly of humans. Just because you’re a genius, that doesn’t mean all the other humans are like that,” Gene Ebrium replied.

Lee Shin knew what Gene was getting at. However, this was something that they could not be sure of. Who knows if a second Lee Shin will appear? Lee Shin just hoped that in a case like this, that humans would not take the wrong path.

"Does that mean nothing changes in the end?” Lee Shin muttered, looking at the group of lightning streaks that were falling in the distance.

"Yeah, I guess. Because, in the end, everything goes in circles. The Tower is no different. Even if you have dealt with those gods who have twisted minds, the vacancies they leave behind will soon be filled by others. And the vacancies those leave behind will be filled by something else again," Gene explained.

"Yeah that’s right, just like those guys," Lee Shin said, looking at the two individuals who were approaching him.

The two individuals looked around, seemingly puzzled by the current situation. One of them was a handsome man with long hair, and the other was a Giant with a fit body and a huge sword on his back.

Their clothes were somewhat torn, as if they had fought a battle already. Looking at how they were glaring at each other and keeping a distance, it seemed like they already knew each other.

"What the hell! What’s going on! I already won though!”

"What do you mean you won! If you had entered from there, you would have died from my magic. Consider yourself lucky,"

"Bullshit, you must be out of your mind. Who says you won?”

There were some changes made to the stage on the first floor. Unlike before where one had to move through using only the portal, as the world of the first floor expanded and the stage and waiting area overlapped, the starting point of the first floor could be seen from where Lee Shin and Gene Ebrium were.

There was a towering cliff and a giant temple at the top. Lee Shin and Gene sat at a table placed at the entrance of the temple and looked at the first group of humans who entered the Tower, lost in thought.

"Irregulars. If you exist as one surpassing the standards of the world, you can enter the Tower... Come to think of it again, this could be a natural condition," Lee Shin muttered in a bitter tone.

"It was to prevent humans from being swept away, but in the end, it turned out like this," Gene Ebrium shook his head after taking a sip of his tea."You can't stop a leak in a cup using your hands forever. Instead, you've paved the way for the water to flow elsewhere. So don’t worry," Gene Ebrium said.

Instead of giving a response, Lee Shin was so lost in thought that he only looked at the challengers in the distance who were approaching him.

"If they wish, they can return to the original world. Well... would that really be enough?" Lee Shin muttered.

At that moment, the gaze of the two humans turned toward Lee Shin and Gene, who were sitting at the edge of the cliff.

“Whoa… Can they see us from there?”

"Well… it seems like some pretty capable folks have arrived."

What kind of world did they come from? Managers of Dimensions were needed indeed. As Lee Shin dealt with influential gods, the Tower was simply wanting to fill those vacancies. Therefore, individuals were bound to come from a different dimension in a different world ultimately.

Irregulars from those worlds enter the Tower to test their qualifications to become gods. With that, these individuals became the Managers to oversee dimensions.

Thud. Thud.

The handsome man and the Giant pounded the ground and charged toward the cliff. The handsome man soared into the sky, and the Giant leaped upward from the edge of the cliff. As they spotted Lee Shin and Gene, the man and the Giant kept some distance from them as if they were nervous.

"Are you guys challengers?" Gene Ebrium, taking a sip of his tea with an indifferent look, asked.

"Who are you guys? And what is this place?" the handsome man asked, staring at Gene as he landed.

"Ugh, isn’t this why I said to you that we should quickly make a guide?" Gene, seemingly displeased, muttered to Lee Shin,

"Well, I didn't expect that challengers, who are not gods, would come. I mean I can start creating one now," Lee Shin replied to Gene.

"What nonsense are you guys babbling right now? If you dare call me Alpenhier here, you should take the corresponding responsibility!" the Giant shouted.

The Giant grabbed his massive sword and rushed toward Lee Shin.

“Huh?” Suddenly, a bone sprouted from the ground and grabbed his ankle.

Crack—!

The bone was cut off abruptly, and beneath it, a skeleton with a severed left wrist grinned with glowing red eyes.

"Hey, it's been a while since I messed with a human, huh?" Warrie chuckled and said.

"Hey Warrie, enough with the jokes. Don’t mess with him too much and just send him back," Lee Shin said.

"Yes, Master!" Warrie replied.

The next moment, Warrie casually picked up the fallen bones on the ground and assembled them onto the severed part of his body. Then, black mana enveloped the area, and the severed wrist reattached itself. At such a sight, the Giant frowned and glared at Warrie.

"Hmm, I haven't had a duel with a human who uses such a massive sword in a while. Maybe I should be polite and fight this Giant appropriately," Warrie muttered, looking at the man.

The next moment, Warrie flicked his finger, and black mana covered his entire body. Then, the black mana disappeared. Warrie, who was now covered in a dark suit of armor, hung his sword over his shoulder and smiled.

"Bring it on,” Warrie said, looking at the Giant.

"Haha! I get to face off with a guy who only has bones left since his death. How interesting!" The Giant started laughing.

The Giant rushed forward, dragging his massive sword. At the same time, violet mana gathered above Warrie’s sword. The Giant extended his sword backward and then thrust it forward, unleashing a powerful slash. Blue mana surged from the Giant’s massive sword, but it was quickly absorbed, disappearing into Warrie’s violet mana.

"What the hell!” the Giant shouted as if he could not believe what was going on.

"Hahaha, this is the difference between your skill and mine. You’re just a greenhorn,” Warrie said to the Giant.

Warrie twisted his sword, parrying the Giant's sword. As a result, the Giant’s sword slipped out of his hands and stuck to the ground.

"...No way," the Giant muttered.

While the Giant stood there dumbfounded, behind them was an intense battle between Gene and the long-haired handsome man. Black mana floated in the air and attached itself to the handsome man’s magic, devouring all of the spells he had cast in the area.

"How dare you do that to my Layered Jerimond's magic!" the handsome man shouted with a confused look."Try harder," Gene Ebrium replied.

Then, Gene unleashed his magic, leaning back in his chair as if he was already bored dealing with this man, as if he was only playing with his cat using a long stick. In the face of Gene’s careless manner and indifferent attitude, the man’s self-esteem shattered.

"Ugh! Let me show you my real skill," the handsome man gritted his teeth and glared at Gene Ebrium.

"Oh yeah? Alright, show me it quickly!” Gene replied as if he had been waiting for that statement.

Gene unleashed all of his magic, and waited for the man to complete his spell. Although the man was frustrated, he concentrated on making a mana circle as big as possible, knowing that he had no other way to deal with Gene. The man thought that his opponent, Gene, was probably overconfident about his victory so he would not bother to seriously attack the man. Therefore, not caring about his opponent’s potential counterattacks, the man tried to formulate the largest and most powerful mana circle.

"...Keugh!" Suddenly, the man groaned in pain.

While he was trying hard to expand the mana circle, an arrow pierced through his abdomen. At a powerful curse, the mana circle shattered, and the recoil from the broken circle made him vomit blood as he rolled onto the ground.

"This is unfair...!" the man muttered, glaring at Gene.

"Huh? What are you saying? Shouldn’t I attack you if you’re making a mana circle?” Gene Ebrium replied.

The handsome man had nothing to say. He could not understand what he had just done.

"Is it because the Tower has just opened? The fight is more boring than I thought," Gene Ebrium muttered with a puzzled look, looking at the man.

The two individuals, the Giant and the man, lay on the ground with their faces buried and their pride wounded, unable to get up.

"Of course. We've been dealing with gods so far, so did you think we'd find any entertainment with these guys? Let's just play with them for a bit, so they can improve their skills, and then send them out," Lee Shin replied to Gene.

'What the heck is this...'

"What did you just say? Play with us for a bit to let us improve our skills, and send us out? Ha! When was the last time I heard such nonsense?" the Giant shouted in anger.

Angered, the Giant tried to get up on his feet. However, as he lifted his head up, Warrie thrust his glaring eyes right in front of his nose, forcing him to put his head back on the ground.

"What are we going to do with these guys?" Gene Ebrium asked.

"Well, I think we'll have to let them go. Let's think about that a bit more. Now that we have a sample, we should be able to find a way to send them back to their original world and create a gate that leads there," Lee Shin replied.

"Yeah, you guys." Gene forcibly raised those two individuals off the ground and called them forward.

The two stood quietly, unable to resist although they were in a humiliating state.

"I'll explain to you guys about this world, so do whatever to survive on your own for a while,” Gene Ebrium said.

"Are you letting us go?" the handsome man, who was also a wizard, asked.

"Yeah. But remember. We can only manage and control the place you first came to, to the central area. By the way, if you go to the central area, all of your injuries will be healed, so keep that in mind," Gene Ebrium explained.

"What does that mean?" the man asked as if he was confused.

"There are terrifying beings beyond the central area, so it’s best not to venture out there to prevent yourselves from dying a needless death," Gene explained.

The two frowned at Gene’s explanation. If these two found them terrifying, exactly how strong were they? Could it be an exaggeration intended to scare them? The man could not be sure.

"That should be enough of a warning. Survive on your own. And if you think you’ve become stronger, you're welcome to come back and challenge us again," Gene Ebrium said to the man and the Giant.

"Thank you," they replied.

After saying that, the wizard and the Giant disappeared below the cliff. Watching them, Lee Shin smirked.

"Well, with that level of skill, they won't be beaten up by any gods,” Lee Shin muttered, looking at Gene.

"Yeah, since all the high-ranking gods have disappeared, as long as they stay near the central area, they won't die,” Gene Ebrium replied.

"Alright then. It's time to execute that plan now," Lee Shin said.

"Do you mean your plan to disperse the Immortal Sphere?” Gene Ebrium asked.

"Yeah, that’s right," Lee Shin replied.

The next moment, Lee Shin raised his hand and condensed the violet energy within it. Gradually, a purple sphere was formed.

"Well, the Tower has become a structure that only connects when an Irregular of that world appears. To connect the Earth and the Tower, we have no choice but to create an Irregular on Earth using the Immortal Sphere," Lee Shin said.

"Hmm… So you’re going to scatter the Immortal Sphere outside the Tower, making it go to Earth, and create an Irregular with that power…? I’m not sure if that would be possible though. The chance is very slim,” Gene Ebrium replied, casting doubt on Lee Shin’s plan.

"But what other option do we have?" Lee Shin asked Gene and gave a bitter smile. "Besides, I have no choice but to do that if I want to return to Earth."