[The Trial of the 97th Floor is beginning.]
There was no time to stop.
There was no time to rest.
Even now, people on the outside would be desperately fending off the Monster Waves; how could I rest alone?
However.
“Master, we will handle the Trial.”
“Right, thanks.”
“It is only natural, Master.”
Because my soldiers fought so well, the necessity for me to do anything had decreased significantly.
They handled the Trial perfectly, even without my direct command.
Thanks to that, I had some free time.
[Using the Crafting Skill.]
In that interval, I began crafting items as a Blacksmith.
I was someone who had spent a long time swinging a hammer inside Hephaestus’s Forge.
No matter how high-grade the material was, it no longer took me one hour to make a single item.
Every time I swung the hammer, points were consumed, and the material transformed into the shape I desired.
Of course, I wasn’t making something particularly grand.
[Shell of Destruction]
I was simply preparing powerful, disposable attacks like shells in case the Trial suddenly became much more difficult.
Using such good materials to make disposable items…
It was such a waste, but this wasn’t a situation where I could afford to be stingy.
If I didn’t climb to the top of the Tower as quickly as possible, the world would eventually meet its end.
As I focused on crafting, the Trial of the 97th Floor concluded before I knew it.
[The Trial of the 98th Floor is beginning.]
The next Trial began immediately.
“Combat 1, can you handle this?”
“Of course, Master.”
Entrusting this Trial to the soldiers as well, I focused on production.
As I worked hard crafting items with the materials obtained from the 97th floor, the Trial was cleared after a short while.
[The Trial of the 99th Floor is beginning.]
The Trial of the 99th Floor began immediately.
When I briefly looked up from my crafting, I saw a truly mythical battle.
While all sorts of demons covered the sky and stained the ground with blood, my soldiers used their respective powers to block them.
Since 500 soldiers were wielding specialized powers with equipment of different attributes, the visual effects were incredibly flashy.
They could block any attack the enemy threw at them and break through any defense the enemy displayed.
It was as if they were rewarding my trust in them.
As those powerful attacks continued…
“Thud—.”
The seven great demons covering the sky and the seventy-two Demon Kings below them all fell.
Thanks to the soldiers’ efforts, the Trial was cleared quickly, but it still took a fair amount of time.
I was starting to worry about the situation outside.
Because of that, I had to climb the Tower even faster.
And so.
[The Trial of the 100th Floor is beginning.]
[100th Floor: Gigantomachy]
The Trial of the 100th Floor began.
A Trial on the level of a Boss Monster.
I couldn’t even imagine how powerful the enemies would be in this Trial named Gigantomachy.
I had heard of it before.
The Great War of the gods in Greek mythology.
It was the great war that occurred when Gaia, the goddess of the earth, led the giants, including the Gigantes, to attack Olympus.
True to its name.
“O gods!”
“How can you live your lives so peacefully after daring to bury us in that dark underground!”
“We have returned!”
“Now our purpose is one!”
“The destruction of the gods! And the world!”
Numerous giants began to emerge from the depths of the earth.
The giants known as Titans and Gigantes were each at least Rank 10 Monsters.
They were powerful enough that I wondered if they were perhaps similar to Surtr, whom I had faced on the 95th Floor.
Against them…
“Clank.”
A Hercules-type soldier stepped forward.
“Clank—.”
A total of 500 of my soldiers, including him, formed a battle formation.
Compared to the giants, they were tiny in size, but…
“Rumble!”
My soldiers were powerful.
Just as Zeus brandished lightning to attack the Gigantes in Greek mythology.
Just as Poseidon brandished his trident to sweep the giants away.
Just as Hercules signaled the end of the war by brandishing his club.
They reproduced myth and history with their own bodies, defeating the Titans and Gigantes.
It was going smoother than expected.
The moment I thought that.
“I have come to bring forth a storm of revenge! The typhoon that shall destroy the gods! The parent of all monsters! I, Typhon, have ascended!”
The true protagonist of the 100th Floor finally began to reveal itself.
The parent of all monsters, whom Zeus was said to have cast into the deepest part of Tartarus.
An incomparable monster that was the essence of chaos and destruction, throwing mountains and breathing out fierce storms while burning the land.
A monster with such incredible Regeneration that two heads would grow if one was cut, and two pairs of wings would grow if one pair was severed.
Typhon appeared and beside him.
“Daring to hurl my children into the deep darkness… As the primordial goddess and the mother of these children, I cannot forgive you.”
The one who had incited this Gigantomachy.
The goddess of the earth, Gaia, appeared.
Were they L-grade Monsters like Surtr?
No they were beings who transcended L-grade Monsters.
No, they were beings who transcended the very limits of grades.
They were truly powerful enemies worthy of the Trial of the 100th Floor.
“Master, it is dangerous. Please step back.”
“I’ll be preparing an attack as well, so you all be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern, Master.”
While I was literally ‘preparing,’ my soldiers began to exert their power in earnest.
-Slash!
A golden scythe, said to have been wielded by Demeter, the goddess of grain, swung and cut into Typhon.
Typhon tried to regenerate the wound immediately, but thanks to Demeter’s power, grain sprouted from the wound and hindered the regeneration.
“Crunch!”
The axe Parashu, said to have been used by Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, swung and struck Gaia, who had risen as colossally as the earth itself.
-Stab!
Trishula, known as the trident of Shiva, the god of destruction, pierced through Typhon’s body.
“Gagagagak—!”
The sword Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, said to have been used by the god of sea and storms, Susanoo, when he defeated Yamata no Orochi, slashed through Gaia’s body.
It was a feast of mythic-level attacks.
What I just described were only the soldiers engaging in close combat with Gaia and Typhon.
In the back, other soldiers were firing bows and magic, attacking all the enemies of the Gigantomachy,
including Gaia and Typhon.
Meanwhile.
[Production complete.]
[You have acquired the ‘Gustav Railway Gun.’]
I finished my ‘preparations.’
The Gustav Railway Gun.
An EX-grade cannon created through Myth Creation.
I had used Myth Creation to make various equipment from myths and legends, but what Myth Creation could produce wasn’t limited to such things.
Most objects that had a great impact on the human world or possessed strong symbolism could be ‘itemized’ and created.
A representative example was this.
The Gustav Railway Gun.
The artillery of the German Wehrmacht during World War II, and the largest cannon in human history to be directly deployed and used in actual combat.
It could be called the strongest cannon until the advent of nuclear weapons.
I was curious, but fortunately, it was implemented as a proper EX-grade item.
Its item abilities were also top-tier compared to any cannons I had seen so far.
I loaded a [Shell of Destruction], which I had made during the previous Trial, into the railway gun.
“Fire!”
“Boom!”
The shell flew out, erupting with a tremendous roar befitting its size and power.
The distance to the enemy was quite far, but fortunately, because the enemy was so massive…
“KABOOM—!!”
It hit squarely.
The target was, of course, one of the two most problematic monsters, Gaia or Typhon.
It was Typhon.
“Kaaaaaaagh—!”
Typhon screamed in pain.
Since he was hit directly by a shell made from L-grade materials, even Typhon would have taken significant damage.
He tried to heal the wound quickly using his powerful Regeneration, but…
-Whoosh!
Hot flames erupted from the Shell of Destruction.
A shell imbued with the power of Surtr, the king of fire giants.
The shell was fully infused with the fire power that Surtr possessed.
“It’s hot—!!” Typhon screamed.
The flames of destruction erupting from the shell hindered Typhon’s regeneration.
Befitting someone called the parent of monsters, he tried to continuously regenerate the burned areas, but the flames showed no signs of going out.
In the meantime, my soldiers continued to attack Typhon, stacking up damage.
Of course, this wasn’t the end of my attacks.
“Boom!”
A shell made from Satan’s Horn was fired.
A shell that was pointed exactly like Satan’s horn, just as the name implied.
The shell flew in a straight line and then…
“BOOM—!!”
“Kyaaaaaagh!”
It pierced through Gaia’s body.
It didn’t just dig in halfway; it pierced through the massive Gaia’s body in a straight line.
Unfortunately, all its power was spent in the process of piercing her, but to think it could pierce through that massive body…
As expected, it possessed tremendous power.
Besides those, I used all the shells I had made with the materials obtained starting from the 95th Floor Trial.
“Boom—!!”
Making disposable shells with such precious materials was a huge waste, but it was the final chapter anyway.
Rather than worrying about crafting equipment that took a long time, it was better to make shells that could explode the material’s power in an instant.
By the time I had fired most of the shells I possessed.
“This can’t be…!”
“Thump.”
The parent of all monsters.
Typhon fell.
Now only one enemy remained.
The goddess of the earth, Gaia.
Just as I thought the long, tedious Trials of the Tower were finally coming to an end.
“How dare you… my children…!”
“Rumble, rumble—!”
The earth began to shake with Gaia’s rage.
Soon after, the bodies of the Titans, Gigantes, and even Typhon, whom the soldiers and I had just defeated, began to sink into the earth.
No, it wasn’t just the fallen ones.
Even the Titans and Gigantes who were still alive fell into the cracks in the ground.
And after a moment.
“I shall never forgive you…!”
Gaia began to drape the earth, soaked with the blood and flesh of the giants, over her body.
All the wounds inflicted until now vanished, and the already massive Gaia grew even larger.
Gaia, who continued to grow without stopping, became one with the blood and flesh of every monster and giant.
“Grrrrrrr—”
She looked down at the soldiers and me, having become a literal ‘monster.’
This was likely Gaia’s final phase and the Tower’s final Trial.
There was nothing after this.
Judging by the pressure she exuded, she was by no means an easy enemy.
However, the fortunate thing was…
[Chaos and Destruction Storm]
The moment Typhon fell just now.
Combat 1 had brought me the materials obtained from Typhon.
With this, I could aim for a proper finishing blow.
It was none other than the highest-grade material left behind by Typhon.
With this, I could deal a fatal blow even to Gaia in her final phase.
But.
‘Can they hold out?’
Doubt arose.
My soldiers were all powerful, but even so, that enemy looked far too strong.
As I was wondering if my soldiers could block Gaia…
-Flash!
Nine lights descended around me.
And what emerged from there…
“Vulcanus.”
“Were you already challenging the 100th Floor?”
“I almost missed our final battle, Vulcanus.”
“Thanks to you, we were able to block the fifth Monster Wave, Vulcanus.”
The Sword Saint, Cheon Seung-heon, Cheongryong, the Shadow King, the Berserker, and the Spirit Emperor.
And Douglas, the Lightning Caster, and the Saintess, who had recently joined my party.
They had entered the Tower’s Trial to follow me.
And then.
“Do we just need to take that thing down?”
“It seems you have something in mind, so we will hold out as long as possible.”
Following my will, they raised their weapons toward Gaia.