Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 226

My vision blurred, and the gloomy landscape vanished, replaced by the familiar, stark walls.

The very place where Pan’s compensation was discussed after his fall from divinity. The place from which Apelion was exiled from Olympus, Pan’s former home.

And, as expected, seated behind the familiar desk…

“…Player Jung Se-woon. It’s been a while.”

Tuning, Se-woon’s handler, greeted him with a serious expression.

‘He’s changed quite a bit.’

When they first met during the tutorial, Tuning had seemed like a jaded office worker, utterly bored.

Now, he was impeccably dressed in a freshly pressed suit, a pristine tie, and his hair was neatly styled.

He looked like a model employee, finally receiving recognition.

As soon as he saw Se-woon, he stood and offered a handshake.

“It’s been a while.”

He hadn’t made the best impression during the tutorial, but things had changed. Since becoming Se-woon’s handler, Tuning had gone out of his way to be helpful.

In fact, Tuning had been instrumental in pressuring Olympus to offer Se-woon favorable compensation after Pan’s attack.

So, Se-woon gladly shook his hand.

“First of all, congratulations.”

“What are you congratulating me for?”

“Ah, it seems the system message was cut off. Your recent achievement has officially qualified you as a ‘New Star’.”

New Star.

This was distinct from the power he wielded through the Sacred Imprint.

Literally, it meant a new star.

This term, also understood as a rising star, carried significant weight.

“Does that mean I’ve taken my first step toward becoming a constellation?”

“Oh, you understand perfectly. To grasp that much simply from the term New Star… you truly are an Irregular. Haha.”

Se-woon hadn’t intended to reveal his regression, but he couldn’t completely conceal his knowledge.

Tuning didn’t seem the type to exploit information, but those in such positions often held informational advantages and made proposals that favored them.

Revealing a fragment of knowledge like this might prevent them from underestimating him.

‘More importantly, a New Star.’

Before his regression, Se-woon had been the player with the longest survival record in the Tower, yet he had never qualified as a New Star.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely unfair.

The New Star qualification wasn’t easily granted, even to high-ranking players.

It was reserved for players who demonstrated exceptional skill in a specific area and consistently achieved significant feats that impacted the Tower.

Se-woon had accomplished feats as an adventurer before his regression, but most hadn’t evolved into myths.

Besides, back then, he harbored such animosity toward constellations that he would have rejected the New Star position even if offered.

‘But things are different now.’

Se-woon’s primary goal after his regression was to prevent the Divine-Demonic War.

However, an ordinary player had limited means to avert such a massive conflict.

One such avenue was to attain the position of New Star.

The reputation associated with a New Star surpassed the influence of most guilds.

“Besides, you haven’t signed a contract with a constellation yet, have you?”

“That’s right.”

“So, if you continue to grow at this rate, you might ascend as a complete star, not just a satellite.”

“You’re only painting a rosy picture.”

“Haha, isn’t it better to focus on the positive when we’re talking?”

Generally, most players progressed by contracting with constellations.

Even if they later qualified as New Stars, their best hope was to become satellites orbiting their respective constellations.

However, Se-woon was different.

He was borrowing power from the three Demon Gods, but he hadn’t formally contracted with them, allowing him the potential to become a complete star, as Tuning suggested.

Of course, this was the ideal scenario. In reality, no player in the Tower’s history had ever achieved star status without constellation assistance.

Furthermore, if Se-woon aimed to become a complete constellation without ever contracting with one, he would inevitably incur the envy of many constellations.

So, for now, securing the New Star qualification was sufficient.

‘Honestly, it’s almost unheard of to qualify as a New Star on the lower to middle floors.’

Se-woon was currently only on the fourth resting place [safe zones between Tower floors].

Considering that most New Stars he’d encountered before his regression were high-rankers who had reached at least the upper-middle floors, his growth rate was astonishingly rapid.

He was, in fact, the fastest player to ever acquire the New Star qualification in the Tower’s history.

“Anyway, you didn’t summon me here just to offer congratulations, did you?”

“Haha, you haven’t changed. Let’s get straight to the point then.”

Tuning pulled out a chair, and Se-woon sat down.

Tuning sat opposite him, rested his chin on his clasped hands, and adopted a serious expression.

“The upper echelons of the Tower have selected you as a ‘Candidate’.”

“Candidate?”

Despite his limited knowledge of the Administration, Se-woon prided himself on knowing more than most players. Yet, he had never encountered the term Candidate.

The New Star qualification immediately came to mind, but they wouldn’t use a different term to reiterate that after just discussing it.

“Well, to explain this, I need to tell you about the Tower’s original purpose.”

Tuning extended his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Immediately, the neat wall began to crackle with static.

He was blocking external connections to prevent their conversation from being leaked.

“What I’m about to share is a top secret known only to a select few administrators. Even among the constellations, very few are aware of this.”

Then, Tuning began his history lesson.

It was a lengthy and profound story, but in essence, the Tower was created because of the Outer Gods.

The Outer Gods were like… waste that even the countless transcendent beings in the vast universe couldn’t manage.

Initially, they were confined to an empty space called the Black Universe, but their numbers gradually increased.

Eventually, the Outer Gods swelled to fill the Black Universe and began drifting through space, clinging to passing meteorites.

Planets were systematically destroyed by the Outer Gods.

So, someone gathered the destroyed planets and arranged them in a long line.

They repeated time to prevent the Outer Gods from escaping and invited powerful transcendent beings, the constellations, to the ceiling, the only exit.

That’s how the ‘Tower’ was created.

‘So, the invasion of the Outer Gods was a foreseen event.’

Those known as the upper echelons of the Tower were aware of this, but they failed to prevent it.

Whoever created the Tower was absent from it.

To avoid confusion, only a small number of administrators, the ‘Upper Echelons,’ were in charge, but ultimately, the world was destroyed by the Outer Gods.

“In fact, I’m not even sure if this is the complete truth. I’ve only pieced together fragments of information I overheard after being appointed as Player Jung Se-woon’s handler by the Upper Echelons.”

“The fact that you’re telling me this means…”

“Yes. A Candidate is a ‘Hero’ who will confront these Outer Gods.”

Hero.

Despite the grand title, it sounded like they simply needed ‘garbage disposal’.

Se-woon wasn’t thrilled by either word.

Frankly, Se-woon had little faith in the Tower Administration’s capabilities.

They had a grand purpose of managing the system, but they ultimately failed to defeat the Outer Gods and protect the Tower.

“If I become a Candidate, what benefits will I receive?”

“Pardon? No, Player Jung Se-woon has already been appointed as a Candidate. By the Upper Echelons of the Tower…”

“Does that mean I get no benefits at all?”

He was going to deal with the Outer Gods regardless, but he had no intention of being used as they pleased.

If he agreed now, he would become the Tower’s dog without realizing it. He needed to approach this as a superior, not an inferior.

“I have no intention of wearing a meaningless shackle without any compensation.”

Seeing Tuning’s blank expression, Se-woon stood, signaling the end of negotiations.

At this, Tuning hurriedly rose and approached Se-woon.

“Wait a minute, please? I don’t know the details, as it’s an order from the Upper Echelons. I’ll contact them right now.”

Tuning quickly made a call.

He probably hadn’t considered that Se-woon would reject the offer.

He had been treating Se-woon kindly recently, but Tuning was still just an administrator of the Tower, an ordinary office worker following the Upper Echelons’ instructions.

Moreover, as a member of the Tower, he likely viewed such a meaningless title as a great honor.

Like a meaningless award from a company.

However, Se-woon’s rejection seemed to have brought him back to reality.

“I’ve been rejected. No, that’s not it. However, as he said, we need to provide him with appropriate compensation…”

Se-woon pretended indifference, turning his back, but he focused on Tuning’s voice.

Although he couldn’t hear the other party, he could roughly guess the conversation’s content.

“Ah… Yes, I understand. Then, including that, within my capabilities…”

The call was quite lengthy.

As Se-woon stared at him from behind, Tuning looked back and forth, sweating profusely.

He was clearly only speaking to the person on the other end, but even so, his back was bent almost ninety degrees.

Fortunately, before Se-woon could give him another look.

“Hoo…”

Tuning’s call ended.

He seemed very nervous, but the conversation appeared to have concluded favorably.

He began to explain the benefits of being a Candidate with a slightly brighter expression.

“First of all, you will receive systematic benefits.”

“What kind of benefits are we talking about…”

“We can provide information about trials or resting places, or you can skip or revisit trials, as long as it doesn’t compromise fairness.”

Other benefits followed.

Most came with the restriction ‘within limits that do not greatly impair fairness,’ so they weren’t exceptional, but the convenience was notable.

However, one benefit seemed essential.

“As a Candidate, you can interfere with the constellations’ channels, blocking or summoning them.”

The power to interfere with constellation channels.

This was crucial for Se-woon, who planned to frequently clash with constellations while climbing the Tower, as with Olympus.

With this power, he could block channels in situations where he wanted to remain hidden or permanently block channels of constellations he disliked.

“Even outside the systematic elements, if you call me, I can directly assess the situation and provide assistance.”

Honestly, these were more valuable than decent item rewards.

After all, there was little that could aid Se-woon, who possessed the ‘Authority of Greed’ [ability to steal powers], even if it were a powerful item.

“Are you satisfied now? Here, just sign this.”

Tuning placed a piece of parchment on the desk, a contract outlining the Candidate qualifications and the aforementioned benefits.

Perhaps because Se-woon had already rejected the offer once, Tuning’s eyebrows twitched nervously, as if he believed it was a truly exceptional offer.

Watching him, Se-woon sat and picked up the pen.

The moment the pen approached the contract, a smile spread across Tuning’s face.

“If you add one more reward to the contract, I’ll sign it immediately.”

Tuning sighed and shook his head, looking exasperated.