Chapter 1189: What Doesn't Kill Me...

As Logos worked to the bone to expel the death energy from his body, Varian leaned on an inclined bed, crossed his legs, rested his head on the hands and looked at the ceiling with a relaxed expression.

It was an unexpected observation, but he noticed something interesting.

If he stared long enough at the ceiling, the blue surface with bizzare and beautiful designs would vanish and a tree would appear.

The tree was enormous, breaking his sense of vastness. The planets could barely match the size of its leaves. The stars were only as big as its fruits.

In the dark space of endless cosmos, the tree glowed with dreamy white light. Like a divine gift from the heavens, it was otherwordly.

'The 31st to 60th floors...' The corner of Varian's lips rose.

[You can choose to exit the tower after clearing Zone 2.]

He got the aura-devouring creature's corpse. He grew stronger than he expected. And he also got all the materials to improve the artifacts. Additionally, he got a few interesting treasures.

[]

Toy Sun

Dew Of The Fairy

Tear Of Maiden

Belt Of The Brave

Thief Of Tower

Broken Seed

[]

Quite handy, he must admit.

If he wasn't in the safe zone when that attack hit him, Varian would've swallowed the Fairy Dew without hesitation. And it'd have saved his life without a doubt.

Toy Sun and Tears of Maiden could kill even rank 6s. Depending on usage, even peak rank 6s would die. But it wasn't easy as it sounded.

Even if a rank 4 tried to use these items, a rank 6 could easily respond and escape. It's like putting a sharp sword in the hands of a baby, a powerful weapon that could kill an adult, but practically useless since a baby could never use it.

What interested Varian was the 'Thief of Tower'.

With a silver glow, a mask appeared in front of him. Before he could even notice its details, it stuck onto his face and the silver glow enveloped him.

'Ha! Haah! Haah!' Varian felt his heart race as he went into a fight mode but there was no enemy to fight.

"It's so...fast! I couldn't even react!" Varian grew more cautious of the tower. But the treasure had to be tested.

He sneaked into the joint practice room where Maria was meditating and trying to rest. He waved his hand in front of her.

Maria, despite her acute senses, felt nothing. Then, he walked around her, and imitated her gestures. She stopped meditating all of a sudden and Varian thought he got caught.

But Maria started punching the wall while cursing the group that chased them.

"Son of a bitch! I'll break your bones and feed you to a dog! No, to a pig-dog breed! And your skull will be the ball for soccer! How about that?"

Varian tilted his head at her outburst. He knew this girl had no elegance expected from a princess. But the curses that flew out next made him embarrassed.

They're so bad.

With a complex heart at discovering that he was so pure that even a girl swore worse than him, Varian walked out of the practice room.

— — — —

The safe zone provided excellent services to everyone. Best food, best drinks, best technology, best weapons—you name it, it'd be there!

The ones managing the safe zone were a race called Xehars, the managers picked by the tower itself.

Under certain conditions, members of Xehars could even leave the tower. Of course, only a few ever did.

Most of them managed the safe zone and amassed enormous wealth and influence.

One of the most profitable businesses they made was the intelligence body. They knew almost 70% of all shady things in the tower.

So, while Slaughter Shade successfully hid the truth that he was from the Jai Empire, him sending his group to hunt down Varian, and Maria was still found.

Even the great spy and slaughter didn't expect the tower intelligence to be this efficient.

"Who attacked the 3rd Princess of Arbor?"

"Royalty enemies always come from within."

"She's not any royalty. She's the crown princess and the next queen."

A silence filled the well-decorated room that most challengers would never be able to enter.

While the Xehars—palm-sized beings that looked like a fusion between a human and a rat, fervently among themselves, there were two guests at the meeting who looked out of place.

The man with a black overcoat clasped his fingers and leaned back on the chair. His fists were clenched on the exquisite table, they weren't even touching it but the table started to crack.

The woman, in a rosy red top and pants, was deathly silent. There was a bright smile on her face but it didn't match the cold look in her eyes.

Both of them were staring at the images of Maria along with Varian floating around.

"Please keep an eye on her movements," The man said in a hoarse voice, barely suppressing his killing intent.

"W-What do you mean?" The head of the intelligence group was baffled by the man's tone.

Until now, they were commissioned to confirm the safety of the woman. But that man's killing intent, even if suppressed, was too obvious for a veteran like him.

"It means what it means," The man rose to his feet and walked out of the door with heavy steps.

"I don't want to affect the pillars of the Diamond Triangle!" The Xehar's intelligence head shifted in his tiny chair but his words were loud and resolute.

"Diamond Triangle, huh." The man chuckled at the irony. "If you do what I say, it might still stay that way. Or it'll be like Mythril Quadrilateral, one more kingdom will be gone."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need to know. This is an order from the alliance." The man flashed them an insignia before leaving.

The woman left after him but before she did, she gave them a quiet but chilling stare. Her gaze promised them hell if they didn't heed orders.

The Xehars looked at each other with fear before heading back to work.

If something terrible did happen now, it better not be their responsibility. Else, the safe zone would get new managers.

Oblivious to becoming targets of people he never met, Varian relaxed in a sauna. A mini-sun was heating up the room, relaxing his nerves and tense muscles.

It was the <Toy Sun> he got from the rewards. If anyone saw him use such a precious for this activity, they'd chase him with a blade while shouting 'Blasphemy!'.

Of course, Varian wasn't only messing around. The Toy Sun was like an open textbook, showing him the secrets in the paths of Matter and Energy, pushing him further every second.

"If the girls are here, it'd be better," Varian mumbled.

His body had fully recovered, thanks to the labor by the system which he got for free.

And as expected, what didn't kill him did make him stronger.

Like always.

[Mystic Rank 3: 200/500 [+100]

<Your body endured some real hardship in that state>

Famine Rank 3: 400/500 [+300]

<You observed the death energy closely and learned some very important things. Life and death are two sides of the same coin>

Spirit Rank 3: 200/500 [+50]

<...Why did relaxing in the safe zone improve your comprehension of the spirit? This is weird.>

Matter Rank 3: 200/500 [+190]

Energy Rank 3: 200/500 [+190]

<Making good use of that treasure, aren't you? But using it for the sauna is a bit...>

Space Rank 3: 50/500 [+40]

Time Rank 3: 50/500 [+40]

<Minor improvements from the battle. Try harder.>]