Chapter 290. The Eternity Tower (3)

A soft radiance wrapped itself around Eun-Ho.

[There is a high probability that your five senses will awaken.]

[There is a low probability that your unique ability will transcend its limits.]

[There is a rare probability that the Mind’s Eye will open.]

His heart pounded.

Thump. Thump.

The sound grew louder and louder, until it felt as if someone were beating a drum inside his chest.

“Ha...” Eun-Ho exhaled.

The blood flowing from his fingertips to his toes felt rather hot. At the same time, it crackled, as if tiny sparks were bursting within it.

“This is...” he murmured.

Even his own voice sounded unfamiliar. It echoed with a deep resonance, as if reverberating through a cave. Yet it was clear and untainted, as if he had never once suffered from a sore throat in his life.

“Eun-Ho! Aaah!” Ji-Eun gasped.

Eun-Ho wasn’t the only one. Ji-Eun, Jae-Hyuk and even the Skeletons were reacting the same way.

“Commander! My bones! My bones feel strange!” one of the Skeletons cried.

“It feels like they’re pounding! Like they might fall apart!” another groaned.

[Five Senses - Awakened]

A golden message appeared, accompanied by a surge of exhilaration that flooded his entire being. Eun-Ho recognized the feeling. It was just like when his crippled leg had begun to recover.

[Trial reward has been granted.]

[Limp recovery rate: 20%.]

The physique, once weighed down without him even realizing it, was now shedding impurities. It grew lighter with each passing moment.

“H-huh?! What’s happening to us?” Jae-Hyuk blurted out, his voice caught somewhere between a scream and a question.

Then, a cluster of light engulfed them, slamming them into the ground.

Fwooosh—!

“Aaah!”

“Keugh!”

The ground was hard with no cushioning. Without warning, they experienced a brutal drop onto a smooth marble floor.

[The Second Trial will now begin.]

[Time limit: 10 minutes.]

[Find the key and proceed to the next trial area.]

Ji-Eun groaned. “Ugh... That hurts.”

“Are you alright?” Eun-Ho asked.

“Y-yes! What about you?”

“I’m fine. More importantly, where are we?”

It was just an empty expanse, with neither buildings nor structures. The polished marble floor caught faint reflections of their figures. For some reason, it all felt strangely familiar. The same went for the green circle etched into the floor.

“I didn’t think we’d see this again,” Eun-Ho said.

“I know right?” Jae-Hyuk muttered.

In the distance was a circle formed from green particles, looking as though it had been drawn with a fluorescent marker or projected like a hologram.

It was a safe zone. That same dreadful green circle that had once held their lives in its grasp had appeared again.

[10:00]

Above them, the countdown had begun.

“Let’s get going,” Eun-Ho said.

The trial had already started.

“Yes, sir! I’ll look for the key!” Jae-Hyuk clenched his fist with determination. However, as he stretched his neck and looked around, his expression faltered. “But there’s nothing to search for.”

“Yeah, why is there nothing here?” Ji-Eun asked.

The first trial had been filled with servants, furniture, and food. This place was the complete opposite. There were no enemies, no objects, and nowhere to search.

Darkness filled the ceiling and walls, while the pristine white floor stretched endlessly beneath them. Standing within the safe zone, they could see the entire trial area at a glance.

“There has to be something,” Eun-Ho said calmly. “Let’s find it.”

He didn’t waver. If this trial followed the same logic as the previous ones created by the former chairman, then there had to be rules.

Rules, information, clues or whatever it is, I can overcome it, Eun-Ho thought.

[Enhanced Hearing - Unlocked]

The moment that resolve settled in, his sharpened hearing picked up a faint sound. It sounded like a butterfly gently landing on a flower in an empty park before opening hours.

The image formed in his mind slipped out through his lips. “A butterfly?”

Normally, no one would have heard it, but everyone’s hearing had been heightened. All eyes turned toward him at once.

“It’s a butterfly,” Ji-Eun replied.

“Yeah, but it’s not like one would just wander into a place like this...” Eun-Ho muttered.

Jae-Hyuk, who was thinking for a moment, snapped his fingers. “Wait! Could that be the clue, Noonim?”

“Oh! Then maybe we’re supposed to follow it?” Ji-Eun replied.

Eun-Ho narrowed his eyes. From where they stood in the safe zone, the butterfly was as far as the length of an elementary school field. However, his vision, which was enhanced like a high-performance camera, zoomed in at will.

[Enhanced Vision - Unlocked]

What came into focus was a butterfly with four bright yellow wings fluttering gently, like forsythia petals in spring.

“No,” Eun-Ho muttered. “That’s not it.”

“Huh?” Ji-Eun looked confused.

“It’s the key.”

“What?”

There were no antennae, no eyes, nor a fuzzy body. Where its body should have been, there was only a key, hidden between the yellow wings like camouflage.

“That’s the key,” Eun-Ho said.

Rather than a butterfly, it was a golden key with four flat wings.

“I see it too! We found it right away!” Jae-Hyuk exclaimed.

Ji-Eun quietly sighed in relief. “Looks like this trial is giving us a break.”

She didn’t show it openly, but the earlier explosion had clearly shaken her.

“Maybe they designed it so only those who can fly can pass,” Eun-Ho said.

“Heh, what idiots.” Jae-Hyuk scoffed. “They must not have known we’ve got someone like Noonim here.”

The former chairman’s true form had been a dragon. Considering the wings that had once spread majestically from the back of that crimson beast, it wasn’t an unreasonable idea.

But it’s too easy, Eun-Ho thought.

During the battle at the desert fortress, Eun-Ho saw at least half a dozen flying-capable subordinates under the chairman’s command. Would he really test something so simple?

“I’ll lift you,” Ji-Eun said.

Jae-Hyuk grinned. “Lift me high, Noonim!”

“Wait... Something feels off—”

Before Eun-Ho could finish, Jae-Hyuk shot upward.

Whoosh!

“Noonim, you seemed to be extra energized toda—huh?”

Without even a moment’s delay, he was launched like a bullet, following Ji-Eun’s gaze.

Jae-Hyuk shot straight up to the ceiling, still in the same sturdy stance he’d been standing in. “Waaait, wait, wait?! Noonim! I think you overdid it—aaaaah!”

“What’s going on?!” Ji-Eun shouted, panicking.

She clenched her fist and brought it down, trying to control him.

“Stop! It’s too fast—aaaaaah!” However, this time, Jae-Hyuk plummeted downward like a meteor. “Someone save meeeee—!”

“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I don’t know what’s happening today!” Ji-Eun cried.

She barely managed to stop him just before he smashed headfirst into the floor.

This wasn’t like her. After unlocking her Psychokinesis, she had once taken Eun-Ho all the way to the edge of the sky without a problem.

Wait a second. There was that increase in rank, Eun-Ho thought.

[Your rank has slightly increased from 0% to 20%.]

[There is a low probability that your unique ability will transcend its limits.]

The messages echoed in his mind.

That must be it. This needs a closer look, Eun-Ho thought.

“Jae-Hyuk! Are you okay? That must’ve scared you!” Ji-Eun asked.

Jae-Hyuk lowered himself carefully back toward the safe zone. “Whew... Give me a second to catch my breath.”

“I’m really sorry. Something must’ve gone wrong just now,” Ji-Eun said.

As Eun-Ho was still piecing things together, Jae-Hyuk finally reached the edge of the safe zone. He bent forward, hands on his knees, trying to steady his breathing.

Just then, a harsh, grinding noise echoed, like a rusted window being forced open.

Creeeeak—

Then, the ground tilted.

“Aaaaah!” Ji-Eun cried.

Clang—!

Eun-Ho grabbed her just as the floor beneath them shifted.

From below, a wave of heat surged upward like the jaws of hell itself opening, waiting for them to fall in.

“Aaaaaah!” Jae-Hyuk screamed.

Eun-Ho grabbed him and yanked him back just as he began to topple forward. “Jae-Hyuk!”

Thud!

Jae-Hyuk landed hard on his back and the floor returned to normal.

“I-it looks like we absolutely can’t step outside the safe zone!” Jae-Hyuk said, his voice shaking.

“It tilted,” Eun-Ho said quietly.

It had all happened in an instant.

Still shaken, Jae-Hyuk remained seated where he had fallen, his legs refusing to cooperate. However, Eun-Ho’s mind was racing.

“But why?” he murmured.

Eun-Ho replayed the scene in his head. His enhanced senses reconstructed everything with perfect clarity.

After Ji-Eun lowered Jae-Hyuk...

Jae-Hyuk’s feet hadn’t even fully touched the ground. Startled, Jae-Hyuk had bent forward and braced himself, taking a deep breath. Then, the floor tilted in the direction he was leaning.

It seemed as if it followed his weight...

Ji-Eun’s eyes widened. “W-wait! Don’t tell me this is like before?!”

Eun-Ho let out a dry laugh. “Ha.”

“Huh? What do you mean, Noonim?” Jae-Hyuk asked.

“Back when we first met at the exhibition in MS Tower. Don’t you remember?” Ji-Eun said.

Jae-Hyuk realized. “Oh.”

Ji-Eun was referring to the trial where the floor tilted toward concentrated weight. Hellfire awaited right beneath it.

So that’s it.

In a way, it was fortunate that Ji-Eun’s loss of control had only sent Jae-Hyuk straight up and down. If she had moved him horizontally, they would have triggered it without even realizing why.

As Eun-Ho organized the thoughts flashing through his mind, the remaining time dropped to nine minutes.

[09:00]

[One minute elapsed.]

Then came the announcement they would have preferred not to hear.

[The slope will become steeper.]

“Even steeper than earlier?!” Eun-Ho exclaimed.

“If it tilts again, we’ll fall instantly,” Ji-Eun said. “We need to be careful.”

“We absolutely cannot step out,” Jae-Hyuk said.

[You cannot forfeit midway, and death is possible.]

In fact, this was what that warning meant. Surely, it was a trial perfectly suited to this twisted company. Yet Eun-Ho did not despair. If the test existed, then there had to be an answer. There always was.

[08:50]

Eight minutes and fifty seconds remained.

“Ji-Eun,” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes?”

“Can you bring the key here with your Psychokinesis?”

“I’ll try,” she said, sounding unconfident.

Ji-Eun’s psychokinesis worked on things she felt a genuine affection for. Exceptions did exist, such as her dagger or even the bed once used by Eun-Ho, but such cases were exceedingly rare. In the end, it was an ability tied to emotion, and emotions weren’t something one could control easily.

“You can do it,” Eun-Ho said.

Ji-Eun blinked. “Sorry?”

[There is a low probability that your unique ability will transcend its limits.]

Eun-Ho could infer from the abnormal speed and power she had displayed earlier.

If her ability had grown, then it wasn’t strange to assume the range of what it could affect had expanded as well.

“Give it a try,” Eun-Ho said calmly.

Ji-Eun hesitated for a moment, then nodded with determination. She closed her eyes briefly, focusing, then opened them.

The butterfly trembled and as if caught in an invisible hand. It fluttered weakly, struggling.

“It’s working!” Ji-Eun exclaimed.

“It’s moving, Noonim!” Jae-Hyuk said.

The key-butterfly began to drift toward them. However, its four wings vibrated wildly, each twisting in a different direction. It appeared to be resisting.

“Ugh!” Ji-Eun groaned.

A bead of sweat slid down her forehead, which was not a good sign. For a moment, it seemed to draw closer, but then it stopped. Then, with a sudden burst of strength, it shot away, escaping her grasp.

“Ah.” Ji-Eun let out a quiet sigh. “The harder I pull, the farther it runs.”

“So it’s resisting?”

“Yes. I think my force isn’t strong enough. Jae-Hyuk was easy, but this one is different.”

“That’s because it’s not something you care about,” Eun-Ho said.

Ji-Eun bit her lower lip with a discouraged look. “What would the former chairman have done?”

Eun-Ho’s answer came immediately.

A whip.

“He could turn his staff into a whip,” Eun-Ho said.

Standing still, a single flick of his staff would have sufficed. At first, Eun-Ho had thought the staff’s ability was simply to change shape freely. However, seeing this trial now, he had another idea.

“A martial god who has mastered every weapon in existence. Footwork so fast it’s practically teleportation. And on top of that... time stop.”

The former chairman had mastered weapons themselves. He was a true martial god, capable of turning any weapon into exactly what he required.

He really was a one-man army, Eun-Ho thought.

[08:00]

[Two minutes elapsed.]

[The slope will become steeper.]

[The flames have been intensified.]

Time was running out and the penalties would only get worse. If they were going to act, it had to be now.

“So we can’t go out there, and we can’t pull the key in either, right?” Ji-Eun asked.

Jae-Hyuk grumbled. “That’s right, Noonim! Who knew such a tiny key would be this troublesome!”

They had to stay within the safe zone, but the moment they tried to pull the key, it fled.

Right!

Eun-Ho’s eyes sharpened because he thought of a way to clear this trial.

If the Chairman had used a weapon to retrieve it, then they could do the same.

The method will just be a little different, Eun-Ho thought.

“Ji-Eun,” Eun-Ho said.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to need you to show me what you can really do.”