Chapter 213
'Nullification of physical attacks? Is such a thing even possible?'
Then, Zeke recalled Tyr suddenly disappearing when they were fighting earlier.
As if noticing Zeke's thoughts, Tyr nodded.
"Yes, that's right. What I used earlier was the power of the scabbard."
If that was true, then the power of the scabbard held unimaginable value.
If one could approach an enemy while completely ignoring physical attacks, even the emperor of the Rom Empire wouldn't be able to avoid assassination.
Tyr looked at the scabbard and said,
"Kaisir originally had it, but I received it as a gift after I lost to him in a match and became his comrade. Kaisir was so strong that he didn't really need something like this."
"Legends say that Lord Kaisir and Lord Tyr were rivals of equal skill."
At those words, Tyr gave a bitter smile.
"If only that were true, but it's not. When Kaisir unleashed his true power, even the dragons trembled. So much so that even the prickly Bahamut chose his words carefully in front of Kaisir."
Having directly experienced Kaisir's fastidious personality, Zeke fully understood what she meant.
"The fact that Master Kaisir gave you the holy artifact shows how much he trusted you, Lord Tyr. That finicky man wouldn't have just given away a holy artifact for nothing."
At Zeke's words, Tyr asked with a flustered expression,
"W-wait a minute. What? Master?"
Seeing Tyr's confusion, Zeke replied,
"I haven't had a chance to explain. Actually, I inherited Lord Kaisir's Elemental Sword."
"Good heavens."
She looked at Zeke with an expression of disbelief.
"Y-you really inherited the Elemental Sword? Huh, to think there's actually a human who inherited it. It's hard to believe."
Zeke asked Tyr,
"Is the Elemental Sword that strong of a technique? I've learned it, but it doesn't seem much different from a high-performance magic sword."
At Zeke's words, Tyr wore an incredulous expression.
"Kaisir was probably the strongest being among all recorded existences in the mortal realm. Do you know why he left for the Fairy Realm? He became so strong that the mortal realm could no longer contain him, so he abandoned his physical body and went to the Fairy Realm himself. It was because he felt his very existence was disrupting the laws of Karma."
"His very existence disrupting the laws of Karma..."
"If Kaisir swung his sword once, earthquakes would occur and tsunamis would rise. It's no wonder. The Elemental Sword wasn't so much a swordsmanship as it was a natural disaster itself."
'So the legends about the earth splitting and tsunamis weren't exaggerations.'
Tyr looked at Zeke thoughtfully, then nodded.
"Hmm. Originally, I wasn't planning on returning the holy artifact to the mortal realm, even though I was impressed that you made it this far. But if you are Kaisir's successor, then the story is different."
She said to Zeke,
"If the successor of Kaisir has appeared along with the prophecy of destruction, then perhaps that too is a revelation."
Tyr picked up her scabbard and said to Zeke,
"Give me your scabbard."
Zeke took out Golin's scabbard from his back and handed it to her.
Tyr held her own scabbard and Golin's scabbard in both hands and focused her power.
Whoooooom!
A halo of light rose from Tyr's scabbard. Then, the halo of light seeped into Golin's scabbard.
Whoooooom!
Soon, all the light subsided.
Golin's scabbard looked no different than before.
Tyr handed Golin's scabbard back to Zeke.
"I've transferred the magic over here."
"So this scabbard has become a holy artifact?"
"You could say so. Actually, the Fairy King's power is so strong that the sage placed restrictions on it. Don't forget that if you're not careful when using it, you might not be able to escape the gap between the mortal and fairy realms and wander within it forever."
"Understood."
As Zeke received the scabbard, a message appeared.
[You have acquired the second holy artifact, 'Fairy King's Stone Containing Brilliant Light'.]
[The 'Fairy King's Stone Containing Brilliant Light' senses the title 'Knight of Light'.]
[Due to the influence of the holy artifact, the title 'Knight of Light' has changed to 'Knight of Brilliant Light'.]
[The proficiency of the active skills Sun Bomb, Shield of Light, Mace of Light, and Holy Flame has increased.]
[The skills Shield of Light, Mace of Light, and Holy Flame have combined to register the special skill 'Holy Light Art [S-rank (Beginner)]’.]
[The power of the 'Fairy King's Stone Containing Brilliant Light' resides within Golin's scabbard.]
[The divine power 'Spirit Manifestation' has been inscribed on Golin's scabbard.]
'Special skill Holy Light Art? Divine power Spirit Manifestation?'
The ability Tyr explained seemed to be Spirit Manifestation. Still, to grasp it more accurately, Zeke checked the information on Holy Light Art and Spirit Manifestation.
---Skill Information---
Holy Light Art: Summons holy flames containing the attribute of brilliant light, which can be linked with other skills.
---Divine Power Information---
Spirit Manifestation: Allows the caster to become a spirit and move between the dimensional gaps, departing from the mortal realm. (However, it can only be used three times for one minute each day.)
Zeke grasped what kind of technique Holy Light Art was from its description.
'This means I can imbue the power of holy flames into all my techniques. This will be much more advantageous when facing the demonkin.'
He also examined the information on the divine power Spirit Manifestation.
It was an incredible ability to escape physical attacks by moving through dimensional gaps, but it had limitations.
'The limitations the great sage placed are probably the duration and number of times the skill can be used.'
Even so, the value of the Spirit Manifestation divine power was enormous.
Then, Tyr's spirit form began to fade away.
"Lord Tyr?"
At Zeke's words, Tyr nodded as if she had expected it.
"My spirit form was actually being maintained by the power of the holy artifact. Now that the holy artifact has moved to you, I can no longer maintain my spirit form."
"Then, will this tower also no longer be maintained?"
"This place was created by the power of the Elder Dragon for the training of warriors. The tower will probably continue to be maintained, but the spirits of the past that you encountered, like me, will no longer be able to appear."
This meant that while entering the tower in normal mode, like Rex Turunn who couldn't go below the 90th floor, was possible, progressing in Hell Mode like Zeke was impossible.
Tyr looked at Zeke and said,
"Zeke Draker, I will tell you what the final holy artifact is."
Zeke was startled by Tyr's unexpected words.
"Do you know where the final holy artifact is?"
"I don't know its location. I only know what that object is."
She spoke to Zeke with her body gradually fading.
"Seek the Mask of the Great Sage."
"Yes?"
Zeke asked back, bewildered by Tyr's words.
"A mask?"
"Yes. A mask containing the power of purification. That is the final holy artifact."
Zeke quickly took out the Mask of Agamemnon as he watched Tyr fade.
"W-wait a moment, Lord Tyr! Is this perhaps that mask?"
At Zeke's urgent words, Tyr, who was on the verge of disappearing completely, quickly examined the Mask of Agamemnon.
After a moment, she nodded in surprise.
"That's right. How do you possess this?"
"Well... it's complicated to explain. But is this really a holy artifact? If it were, the system should have recognized it, but there was nothing like that."
With her fading form, Tyr barely uttered her last words.
[You have received the recognition of Tyr, the God of War and guardian of the 100th floor.]
[As a reward, the title 'Blessing of the God of War' has been bestowed upon the user.]
[Due to the effect of the title 'Blessing of the God of War', the passive skill 'Senses of the Beast' has been changed to 'Senses of the God of War'.]
[Due to the effect of the title 'Blessing of the God of War', the bloodline talent 'Warrior's Blood' has awakened.]
[Due to the effect of the awakened 'Warrior's Blood', the constitution 'Divine Body' has been changed to 'Body of the God of War'.]
[As a reward, you have acquired Tyr, the God of War's 'Giant Hunter'.]
[As a reward, you have acquired the Scroll of Tyr, the God of War's 'Giant Hunting Art'.]
[You have automatically learned Tyr, the God of War's 'Giant Hunting Art'.]
[The constitution Body of the God of War has increased the proficiency of Giant Hunting Art.]
[You have acquired the special skill 'Giant Hunting Art [A-rank (Proficient)]
"The Lake of the Fairies. Seek that place guarded by the druids and awaken the mask's true power. Only then will the seal be broken and you will regain the holy artifact's power."
With those words, Tyr's spirit form completely dissipated.
And a message appeared before Zeke's eyes again.
The messages did not end there.
[You have cleared all floors of the Inverted Tower.]
[The awarding rank will be determined based on the achievements made in the tower.]
[The title 'Conqueror of the Tower' is bestowed upon the challenger who cleared the tower with unbelievable capabilities.]
[Due to the effect of the title 'Conqueror of the Tower', the authority of the Kabbalah System Administrator has been promoted to Upper Administrator.]
[Upper Administrator System Authority has been activated.]
[System functions have been unlocked with the promotion to Upper Administrator.]
[The Intermediate Quest Book has been changed to the Advanced Quest Book.]
[The range of the map's portal movement system has been expanded.]
[Karma Points consumed when using portal movement have been reduced by 30%.]
[The locked state of Defense Mode has been unlocked.]
[1,000 Karma Points have been awarded as a reward.]
[One non-ranked random box has been awarded as a reward.]
Zeke was bewildered by the rapidly appearing text.
'The rewards are enormous.'
He had gained a new constitution, skill, and title, and even his system administrator rank had increased.
And then, the scenery of Cretan Castle that had been unfolding before Zeke's eyes changed.
Thump!
A massive door appeared before Zeke, who had closed and then opened his eyes.
Without Zeke even touching it, the door slowly opened.
Kugugugugu!
Bright light illuminated Zeke.
Just then, a presence was felt from outside the door.
"Good heavens! The Gate of Passage has opened!"
Another person shouted.
"The Trial of Struggle has been cleared! Zeke Draker has passed all 100 floors!"
Zeke slowly stepped out of the door.
Outside stood the administrators who managed the Trial of Struggle.
'It's dazzling.'
For some reason, it felt like it had been a very long time since he had seen sunlight.
Just then, one of the administrators approached Zeke and handed him a water bottle.
"L-Lord Zeke, are you alright?"
Zeke accepted the water bottle he offered, tilted his head, took a drink, and then asked,
"I'm fine. But... why is everyone so noisy?"
Then, the administrator said excitedly,
"It has been three months since Lord Zeke entered the Trial of Struggle! We were worried that something might have happened to you. But good heavens... we never expected the Gate of Passage to open!"
Only then did Zeke realize that he had come out of a different door than the one he had entered to take the Trial of Struggle.
'It seems that place was just an entrance, and the Inverted Tower was created somewhere else by the power of the Elder Dragon.'
It seemed to be structured so that upon clearing the tower, one would exit through a designated door.
Furthermore, Zeke couldn't help but be surprised at the administrator's words that he had been inside the tower for three months.
It seemed that time flowed differently inside the tower than in reality.
As all the abilities that had been restricted in the tower returned to normal, Zeke actually had trouble adjusting.
Perhaps it was because of the newly acquired passive skill 'Senses of the God of War' and the constitution 'Body of the God of War', but he could clearly feel the breathing and muscle movements of people far away, and his whole body felt full of power.
It was as if he was unintentionally enveloped in aura.
'Are these the senses that Tyr, the God of War, possessed? If I had trained repeatedly in this state, there's no way I wouldn't have become strong.'
Saturn had said that Tyr naturally accumulated mana in her body and exhibited transcendent power. In Tyr's case, it must have been possible to exhibit superhuman power because she possessed such a special constitution.
Zeke understood how the Turunn Clan, Tyr's descendants, were born with the blessing of the body.
At that moment, a question arose in Zeke's mind.
'Then, whose influence caused the blessing of aura that was passed down to the Draker Clan? Was it the influence of Saturn Draker?'
It was when Zeke was pondering deeply.
Thump!
The door opened, and someone entered.
A man dressed more like a martial artist than a knight, armed with muscles as hard as stone.
Rex Turunn, the head of the Turunn Clan, had personally appeared.