Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 373: Eighty-Sixth Floor, Waiting Room (2)

[Time remaining until the eighty-sixth floor: 37 hours 35 minutes.]

Like usual, when I grasped the horn, a sharp jolt of pain shot through my fingertips. While I retrieved it, Natalie cleared the center of the table.

To be honest, I wanted to just toss it down, but I couldn’t bring myself to treat the nearly two-meter-long horn that way. Gritting my teeth from the pain, I carefully set it atop the table.

I frowned.

I still can’t get used to this.

Despite my resistance to pain—and the many times I had handled the horn before—the sensation remained as acute and cutting as ever.

Now that it had absorbed every trace of the corpse, the horn no longer emitted bursts of divine energy like before. Instead, a subdued current of divinity gently radiated from within.

Natalie, Gehenna, and even Hyang studied it closely, curiosity written all over their faces.

Gehenna reached out cautiously. “Hmm, so this is the corpse of a god. Fascinating.”

As soon as her fingers neared the horn’s surface, a surge of divine energy sparked and repelled her hand.

She had clearly anticipated it to react, as she stepped back while flicking her fingers in mild irritation. “Judging by how the horn absorbed all the power, I’d say the god used it often.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it was a compelling idea and piqued my interest again. “Really? Do you know much about divine corpses?”

Gehenna shook her head. “No, it’s just a guess. I’ve never seen one before either. I was simply thinking the god had a strong attachment to the horn.”

“She’s not wrong,” Natalie added, affirming the theory.

If Natalie said so, it likely held weight.

We turned our attention to her as she continued, “When a god dies, it isn’t drastically different from mortals, but it isn’t exactly the same either.”

At first, it sounded contradictory.

“What do you mean?”

“As long as even a single believer remains, a god’s death doesn’t mark the end of their existence. That is, unless the one who killed the god absorbs all of their divinity.”

“So are you saying this god is still alive?”

“No. Only their divinity remains, not life.”

Gehenna tilted her head, her expression clouded in confusion. She didn’t seem to understand a word.

However, I grasped the general idea. The god perished like any other being, but because they still possessed believers, the root of their divinity lingered.

Still, it wasn’t something I fully understood.

“Then does that mean the god’s will still resides in the horn?”

Natalie shook her head. “It’s ambiguous. I wouldn’t say there’s no will at all, but it doesn’t operate with full cognition either. It’s closer to instinct.”

I nodded.

I had sensed as much before. Even images had flashed through my mind at some points.

Back in its world, the horn had pointed to the ground, urging me to retrieve the corpse even as its people were moments from death.

Natalie went on, “Whatever divinity remains instinctively seeps into the safest nearby part of their remains or weapon.”

“You mean safe from enemies?”

Considering how I had gained divinity by defeating an apostle, that explanation made sense. Perhaps because it was a divine being, some of that power had managed to endure.

Though odds were, a significant portion had already been taken.

“Yes. In most battles between gods, neither side walks away unscathed. In rare cases, some divinity survives without being absorbed.”

“And by weapon, you mean, like, a holy sword?”

“No, that’s different. A holy sword is something a god directly bestows divinity upon. This is more accurately called a divine relic.”

Natalie further clarified, “Gods don’t die often, but when they do, their divinity usually ends up in their corpse rather than a weapon. Weapons often break, and a corpse is considered more precious. Divine energy bonds more easily with flesh than with steel.”

I nodded again.

Now I understood why she had said Gehenna’s earlier guess was close. It wasn’t that the horn held emotional significance, but was simply the safest vessel for what remained.

Come to think of it, the horn had been lodged in the volcano.

The god had died long ago. Their corpse had sunk beneath the lava, only to be unearthed by a massive earthquake and wedged into the trench.

Therefore, the horn had to have detached earlier, falling into the trench ahead of the corpse. That could also explain why some of their divinity had embedded itself there.

“Still, for something operating purely on instinct, it doesn’t seem to view me as a threat.”

“Right. If anything, their instinct would be cooperative. You did save the world, along with its believers.”

“But, it also—”

“It’s driven more by the instinct to reunite.” Natalie’s explanation felt like a gentle defense of the horn’s behavior earlier.

It was all speculation, of course. Perhaps other gods would have prioritized the people, even in their final moments and after death.

“So what exactly did you mean when you said it could be used differently?”

“You thought of using the horn as a weapon infused with powerful divinity, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. My hand gets injured just holding it, though.” As soon as I finished replying, a question came to mind. “Wait a second. Why can’t I absorb this divinity?”

“Because the absorption process still hasn’t been completed. The divinity and the god’s realm are still bound to the tower. If you’d killed the god yourself, you would’ve been able to absorb it.”

So, a god could only be absorbed by their slayer. That explained why I had gained Unrefined Divinity from killing an apostle.

“Either way, you can’t do anything about divine backlash. Unless you’re a true believer, ordinary people can’t even touch it. Only those who handle divinity or renowned craftsmen can.”

“Craftsmen?”

A memory resurfaced. One such artisan had crafted my armor.

“Divine corpses are rare, sure, but not nonexistent. Most of the time, another god absorbs the remaining divinity. But occasionally, if the god is friendly, their remains can be forged into a relic.”

“Then why was this one left untouched— Ah,” I started to ask, but formed an answer before I finished.

“The other side must’ve been in no condition to take it, and it ended up bound to the tower.”

“Exactly.”

“So the alternative method you mentioned will be to combine it with Soulbound?”

Natalie nodded.

“But would that even work? I doubt it’s compatible.”

“It isn’t. Yet.”

“Yet?”

“Even a master craftsman can’t forge a relic from it without the horn’s permission.”

“Because it retains an instinct?”

“Yes. It’s friendly toward you, but it still doesn’t fully trust you. Likely because you’re not a god.”

“The tower did say it would grant me additional rewards if I resolved her grievances. Is this an additional reward?”

“No. That’s a separate matter.”

Judging by her tone, Natalie seemed to know what the real reward was. Moreover, considering she hadn’t said more, she probably wasn’t allowed to.

Rather than pry, I decided to focus on embedding the horn into Soulbound. “So, if I earn its trust, will I be able to fuse it into my weapon? Until then, I’ll just have to endure the pain?”

“Yes.”

That was fine. Carrying out vengeance on someone else’s behalf sounded exhausting, but earning recognition? That wasn’t some distant dream.

For now, I just had to withstand the pain and wield it as a weapon.

When the time came and I endured whatever trials lay ahead, I had no doubt I would be deemed worthy.

“If it goes well, it shouldn’t take long.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I assumed that Natalie didn’t respond because of something in my remark. I decided not to think much of it either, though.

If I were to embed the horn into the Soulbound, placing it along the center of the double-headed axe, set in like a spearhead, would probably be ideal. It was a bit long, but it probably could be trimmed.

Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself.

Although on a similar topic...

Even if a master craftsman could forge a relic out of it, I had to go through the tower to make it happen last time. There hadn’t been a similar opportunity since.

“How do I even connect with a master craftsman? Can you arrange that?”

“Yes.”

“And the cost?”

Since I wouldn’t be going through the tower, I doubted I could pay with achievement points.

Natalie replied with little concern, “You can just purchase something with achievement points and trade.”

Ah, right.

I had traded a dragon’s corpse the last time. Bartering wasn’t all that rare. In fact, that would likely be even better.

The tower’s store sold rare items that were hard to come by elsewhere. Most climbers simply avoided them because they didn’t want to waste their hard-earned—and potentially life-saving—achievement points on things they didn’t urgently need. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Unlike the average climber, I had points to spare.

“Alright, that’s enough about the horn.”

The conversation had gone on longer than I had expected, but it had been worth it. I had learned a great deal about battles at the divine level and what became of their corpses.

That information was something I needed.

I had encountered my fair share of gods up to this point—some hostile, some not—and had created many unsettled scores and unfulfilled promises. I couldn’t afford to leave behind any loose ends.

Carefully securing the horn, I stored it back inside Mung-chi.

Gehenna, who had been listening quietly all this time, carefully remarked, “Thank you. That was quite the fascinating sight.”

“Hmm? What for? I only brought it out to ask you guys some questions.”

“You should’ve called me, by the way.”

“Huh? What do you mean? On the eighty-fifth floor?”

Gehenna dipped her head slightly. “Natalie told me you ventured into a world filled with lava.”

“And?”

“I wield the powers of fire and iron. A place teeming with lava would have been as nourishing to me as fertile soil.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Judging by the hint of disappointment on Gehenna’s face, it seemed there had been a real chance for her to grow stronger there.

Now that I thought about it, perhaps she could have controlled the lava itself.

“Wait, can you manipulate lava too?”

“Of course. I can’t guarantee anything if gods are involved, but if you had imbued it with your divinity, it would’ve been possible.”

“Yeah, I should’ve called you.”

It simply hadn’t occurred to me because I wasn’t used to relying on others.

Sure, I had made it to this point on my own, but the fact that Gehenna could have grown stronger mattered more.

As I thought this over, Natalie interjected, “No, you did the right thing. If you had summoned Gehenna, you could’ve ended up having an even harder time.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Natalie answered Gehenna’s question firmly.

Come to think of it, I had drained nearly all my divine energy and mana. Summoning Gehenna would have consumed even more divinity, so Natalie was probably right. I would have probably overexerted myself.

Besides, stopping the lava myself had yielded far more faith than if I had relied on Gehenna to do it.

The conversation was starting to drag, so I stood up from my seat. “It’s getting late. I just came here to ask about this, so I’ll get going.”

My scheduled training was just around the corner. This time, I planned to train while actually holding the horn, so every second mattered. If I didn’t get used to the pain now, it could become a real problem during actual combat.

Even now, my hand would tingle just thinking about it, but it was something I would have to overcome.

Natalie looked disappointed. “I’d like to ask you to stay a little longer, but I suppose you can’t. Take care on your way back.”

“‘Take care’? I’m just using a portal.”

“Even so.” Natalie smiled softly.

I turned to Gehenna and Hyang. I had been supplying them with divinity even without meeting in person, but handing it over directly still made a difference.

“Since I’m here, I’ll top you up with divinity before I go.”

I had accumulated plenty of it recently, so I had more than enough to spare.

Gehenna dipped her head slightly, something she rarely did. It was barely a nod, more of a subtle tilt. Still, it was a meaningful gesture.

She was always so stiff. It seemed the bond between us had grown deeper, likely thanks to the continual sharing of divinity.

I smiled in return and made my way back to the waiting room.

“Ugh.”

It was finally time to put the horn to real use.