Chương 304: Chapter 304
"The Tower of Babel?"
Although Seong Jihan didn't follow any religion,
He was well-aware of the Tower of Babel.
A tower built to reach heaven but, in the end, crumbled due to God's wrath. Furthermore, the myth depicted how it confused humanity's unified language into a babel of diverse tongues.
And now, to think Gilgamesh's abode was this "Tower of Babel."
"This tower… it's said to become increasingly dangerous the higher you go. Even though we've entered through BattleNet connectors as avatars, my constellation has advised once more that logging out might be wise."
"Hmm."
Crunch!
Chewing on the golden fruit, Seong Jihan pondered.
The unsettling Tower of Babel.
Considering safety, logging out would be the right decision.
Even if he didn't become a candidate for the constellation this time, there wasn't much left until he could ascend.
But,
"I should see how high I can climb."
Seong Jihan became intrigued by Gilgamesh's Tower of Babel that offered golden fruits.
"Let's go a bit higher. If it gets dangerous, both of you log out immediately."
"Hmm… I guess hanging around won't help Uncle much, right? Alright, I'll scoot when it's time."
"Me too. And if my constellation sends any more messages, I'll let you know right away."
The two readily agreed to his request.
"But Uncle, shouldn't you avoid eating those fruits?"
"Ah, I can purify myself, so it's okay for me."
"Oh, Then can I eat too?"
"No, you can't."
"Tch, they do look tasty."
Yoon Seah watched enviously as Seong Jihan continued to consume the fruits.
The golden fruits appeared more delicious than any other food in the world.
If it weren't for her mother's strict advice, she might have already rushed towards them.
'With this level of vitality, it's about 1/5th of the World Tree's fruit.'
And the 'secret energy' hidden within, also roughly 1/5th and definitely inferior to the golden fruit derived from the World Tree.
Seong Jihan deliberately chose not to purify that energy, scooping up as much fruit as he could.
"No! Who keeps taking them?!"
Players engrossed in eating the fruit became angry as it kept disappearing.
"Look, behind! It's Mr. Seong Jihan…!"
"Ah…"
"Well, can't do anything about it then."
"Ugh, so powerful… and he's still hogging all of it…"
Knowing it was Seong Jihan taking the fruit, they could only murmur in discontent, unwilling to confront him openly.
"Wow… they're bad-mouthing Uncle. Seriously, what's with them? Even if it raises stamina."
"Exactly. How dare they act like that to Jihan?"
"…But Sophia, why are you closing your eyes?"
"It looks too delicious. I decided not to look."
"I should do the same."
As the two closed their eyes in resistance,
Seong Jihan smiled at their actions and began to eat the fruits more earnestly.
Crunch! Crunch!
Having swept almost half of the fruits dropped by the steel giant, The rest of the team's gaze gradually fastened on him.
And then,
"Ah, please…!"
"Mr. Seong Jihan, could you please stop…?!"
Players, normally revered as sacrosanct beings,
Voiced their displeasure openly against Seong Jihan.
-Wow, they dare to speak against Seong Jihan ㅡㅡ Ingrates.
-No matter the boost in stamina stats, isn't that a bit too brazen?
-They seem genuinely possessed. Literally lost their minds.
-We're better off. The US team is already fighting each other, haha.
Even as the heaps of golden fruits, Voraciously consumed by the 50 players, quickly ran out,
The players sensitive to the remaining quantity started eyeing each other with murderous intent.
[Move forward.]
The steel giant Enkidu cleared a path,
Revealing the stairs behind it.
Those stairs within the golden realm of the Tower of Babel were made of wood.
Seeing this,
"Ah… it's over."
"What a pity."
"My stamina… increased by 3."
"I got +5."
"Wish we could have eaten more…"
The excitement quickly subdued as people regained their composure.
But that was momentary.
"Let's head to the next floor then!"
"Who knows what treasures await us on the next level!"
"I will eat them all this time…!"
Most players rushed to climb to the next floor,
Forgetting they were part of the final match of the championship and belonged to a national team.
One person, however, didn't get swept up in the frenzy.
The Sword King, Yoon Sejin, crossed his arms and turned to Seong Jihan.
"So, are you going up, Jihan?"
"I am."
"A wise choice."
With a smirk,
Yoon Sejin ascended the stairs first.
* * *
= I can't quite grasp what kind of this Tuseong map is…
=Just now, according to information from the Korean national team, player Sophia's Constellation identified this place as Etemenanki, the Tower of Babel.
=The Tower of Babel, you say? Doesn't seem to match the Tower of Babel I know. When did it become such an extravagant tower of gold?
=They said it's a dungeon map, but it seems to be only offering benefits to the players, from what we've seen so far.
The finale of the Champions League's 5th match.
A match that should have been fiercely contested was veering in a completely unexpected direction.
As both teams ascended the Tower of Babel on different routes without ever encountering each other,
With each level climbed, they received gifts from Enkidu.
[Show reverence to the king and consume the leaf. Then you may proceed to the next level.]
"Oh, another gift. Thank you!"
"Hail to the King of Humans!"
While the Sword King was the first to bow during the fruit episode,
Now players rushed ahead to compete.
They munched on the giant leaves as if they were herbivores.
"…Those don't look that appetizing."
"Really? Koreans eat meat wrapped in lettuce."
"That's all about the meat at the end of the day."
Perhaps the leaves seemed more manageable compared to the fruit frenzy.
Yoon Seah and Sophia looked on with relief at people's madness.
Seong Jihan summoned the leaves with the power of Martial Souls, filling the tower's ceiling.
'If these are also related to the World Tree, they should be its leaves.'
Chomp! Chomp!
Indeed, the leaves of the Tower of Babel had a healing effect, though not as potent as the fruits.
Originally, the main effect of the World Tree's leaves was curing ailments.
"Too delicious…!"
"Thank you, my King!"
"Bow before eating and your stats will increase!"
"Did it really go up!?"
As players tore into the leaves, their frenzy seemed to worsen rather than calm any ailments.
They were more diligent in their bows to these leaves than to their own ancestors.
"Mr. Seong Jihan! That's too much! Stop taking them all for yourself!"
"Indeed…! How can you monopolize the king's gifts like that!"
"Hey! I'm the elder here, so listen. Stop hogging it all!"
Now, they even lodged complaints against Seong Jihan.
Players, who normally spoke respectfully of Seong Jihan, now tried to overpower him with age.
-Huh? To Seong Jihan?
-They've totally lost their minds…
-Is this Tower of Babel just an experiment to see who keeps their sanity, or what?
The audience was dumbfounded.
To see such in-fighting among allies in the eagerly awaited final 5th match.
They longed for the concluded matches 1, 2, or the somewhat fiercely contested matches 3, 4.
Then,
[He is the king's favored one.]
[The king does not tolerate disobedience.]
The steel giant that had only passed out leaves now grabbed a player who was pointing at Seong Jihan.
"Uh…?"
As the steel giant clenched its hand.
Boom!
The player exploded like a balloon without even a chance to rebel.
A warrior of considerable strength couldn't even respond before bursting.
=Oh, no…!
=Enkidu is showing aggression for the first time!
=Acting on behalf of player Seong for confronting him, what kind of relationship do he have with the 'king,' the master of the Tower of Babel?
=Looks like the first conflict will erupt from the Korean national team's side…!
The commentators, excited, shifted their focus to the Korean team.
Expecting a conflict since one of the team members died at the hands of Enkidu.
However,
"Ah… So Mr. Seong Jihan was the king's favored one."
"Then, there's nothing we can do…"
"I'll be more careful with my words…"
The Korean team players, despite one of their own being killed,
Seemed to accept Enkidu's words and became even more respectful to Seong Jihan than before.
The team showed no intention of resisting the steel giant.
"Really… Why are the players acting like that? Even though one of their own died…."
"This must be why the constellation advised against eating the fruit. It's like they're all marionettes…"
While the two who hadn't eaten the fruits were shocked by this reaction,
The more surprising event occurred next.
"Uh, uh…?"
One of the players who had been eating the leaves suddenly gripped their chest and then,
Clink! Clink!
Turned into golden chains, stretching toward the steel giant Enkidu.
And then, the chains were absorbed into the giant's body and disappeared.
In a blink, one player exploded and died, and another turned into chains and absorbed, leaving the team with only 48 members.
Yet,
Chomp! Chomp…
The majority of the players seemed uninterested, too engrossed in eating the leaves,
"To have become the true vassal of the king."
As Yoon Sejin made his comment,
"Ah, so that's what becoming a true vassal is… Nice."
"I want that too."
"We need to eat more quickly!"
The motions of leaf-eating only intensified.
And then,
Clink! Clink!
Later seven more players transformed into chains and disappeared,
[Proceed.]
Enkidu allowed them to ascend to the next level.
-Why does the final match of the championship feel so unsettling…?
-Ordered another chicken, but my appetite is gone.
-The US team also lost 8 members to the chains 🙄
-Do we have to survive without vanishing to reach the top floor to win?
-Ugh, it would've been better to see a straightforward fight, not… this.
Viewers, watching the national team members rapidly devolve into fanatical followers of the King of Humans, felt discomfort growing inside.
"Uncle… are you going to continue?"
"Wouldn't it be better to log out as the constellation suggested?"
Watching the national team players increasingly becoming a cult, Yoon Seah and Sophia suggested Seong Jihan consider their option.
"I have something I need to investigate. You two log out first."
"…Uncle, is this the dangerous situation you mentioned earlier?"
"So far, it was okay, but from the next floor onwards, it will definitely be dangerous."
"What about you?"
"I still have things to investigate."
With that, Seong Jihan raised his left hand.
Then,
Clink!
From his hand sprung chains similar to those that had transformed the players.
"Eh, is that… It couldn't be that Jihan is also being consumed by it…?!"
"No. I'm nurturing it on purpose for its research value."
The chains emitted by the Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit and these golden chains were definitely related.
'I might be able to learn something about the unanalyzed Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit inside this Tower of Babel.'
"Understood. It's better to log out than be a burden."
"Yes, we'll only be a burden from the next level onwards."
"Ugh… Saying I'm useless right to my face hurts, but can't be helped."
"Let me give you a full buff before I go!"
Agreeing that it was better not to be a burden if they couldn't assist,
The two complied smoothly with Seong Jihan's suggestion to log out.
Flash!
As Yoon Seah and Sophia logged out,
"You did well sending them off. Now, there are no worries."
Watching them, Yoon Sejin commented,
"Let's go to the very top."
"A good decision."
And with that, Yoon Sejin started walking towards the next set of stairs.
Seong Jihan quietly observed his back, then decided to ask.
"Hey, there's something I want to ask."
"To me?"
"Yeah, not to you, brother-in-law. To Gilgamesh."
"Huh, what is it?"
Without any intent to hide his identity,
Yoon Sejin turned to Seong Jihan, his eyes sparkling golden as he smiled.
Seong Jihan initiated the Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit.
Nameless Divine Arts, Annihilation God's Secret – Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit
Clink! Clink!
Chains spread in all directions from Seong Jihan's body.
Once they reached everywhere on the second floor of the golden tower,
Shhhhh…
The golden gleams that were on the floor, walls, and ceiling began to fade quickly.
And soon,
They turned into the brown, wooden material just like the stairs.
"Is this Tower of Babel… related to the World Tree?"
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