Chapter 24

I looked at the child who introduced itself as Sleet.

The child had light yellow short hair. It was a child with an androgynous appearance, making it difficult to tell if it was male or female.

It was dressed similarly to the dwarves who worked under ‘Time’.

Like fairies in fairy tales, it wore a green pointed hat and pointed shoes.

Instead of wings, it had something like a short cape on its back and ran around here and there. Every time it ran, the cape fluttered, making it look like wings.

“What’s wrong?”

Sleet had never been materialized before.

This was because people’s imagination and faith were not sufficient to form the concept.

So why does it exist now?

My head began to ache at the twisted appearance from the beginning. It’s just confusing.

“Hihi. Hello?”

Sleet greeted me with a bright smile, catching snowflakes falling from the sky.

Those snowflakes took the form of tiny fairies before quickly melting away.

“Heeng.”

Sleet’s eyes became moist.

Child-like appearance and behaviors.

I look around.

There was nothing that could be called a Tower.

There were only pillars supporting nothing and overgrown weeds.

Didn’t it say it was when the Tower was built? The Tower hasn’t even been built yet?

“Did I come to the wrong place? Did I fail?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

I looked at Sleet with mixed feelings.

I look at the pouch in my hand. I had been gripping it so tightly that my palm was full of sweat.

“Can I ask why I shouldn’t open this now?”

“It was ‘Time’s’ order. She said to stop Lib, who acts smart but is secretly stupid, who would definitely open it as soon as he arrived.”

I wanted to object, but it was hard to say anything since the prediction was accurate.

“What are you saying? You don’t know me well. I’m not that kind of person.”

Patting my shoulder with small hands, Sleet said,

“It’s okay. They say everyone gets confused when facing an unfamiliar situation. Especially Lib, who has weak mental strength and is a coward, would be even more so.”

“Either comfort me or insult me, pick one.”

“Fighting!”

For a moment, I was speechless at the sight of Sleet raising a small fist to cheer.

“Anyway, don’t worry now! I’ll take care of the incompetent Lib.”

“Okay, thanks.”

It feels strange. I feel like I should be the one taking care of this child.

Sleet seemed pleased by my thanks, puffing out its chest and acting proud.

Then, thumping its chest, it said,

“Mm-hmm. Despite my appearance, I’m the head of the Development department.”

“Huh? Who is?”

“Me. I’m the head of the Development department.”

This child is the head, no, team leader of the Development department?

While we had decided that Ber would be in charge of Human Resources, nothing had been decided for the Development department.

“Who said that?”

“‘Time’ said so.”

What could she be thinking?

I never could understand her thoughts, but now I really have no idea what she’s thinking.

“Well, that aside for now, do you know why there’s no Tower? I thought we returned to the time when the Tower was newly built.”

“The Tower? It’s right here.”

At Sleet’s words, I looked around, but still couldn’t see anything resembling a Tower.

“Where? Don’t joke around.”

“It’s right here.”

Sleet ran over and pointed to the pillars standing alone.

“How is that a Tower?”

Haah. As I sighed and touched my brow, Sleet flapped its arms as if feeling wronged.

“No. It’s really the Tower.”

It looks at me with desperate eyes, as if begging me to believe it.

“It’s real.”

It starts to shrink more and more. Its mouth protrudes, and its soft cheeks swell up.

Seeing it genuinely feeling wronged, I approached the pillar to examine it closely.

“Wait, this design looks familiar.”

A giant tree was engraved on the pillar. The overall shape of the giant tree resembled a mushroom more than a tree.

Bright light particles were floating around, like mushroom spores bursting.

The light emitted by those particles illuminates the dark world.

Water dripping from the leaves flows down, creating a rainbow. And below, a terrain similar to a sea is formed.

It clearly doesn’t look like an ordinary tree, more like a world tree.

That was all that was engraved on the first pillar.

“I definitely saw this somewhere.”

“See? I’m right, aren’t I?”

“It definitely doesn’t seem like an ordinary pillar. Is it really the material for the Tower?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying. Why won’t you believe me?!”

“I’m sorry.”

When I apologized, Sleet became flustered, not knowing how to react.

“Ah, eh? Um, it’s okay.”

“Amazing.”

Stroking Sleet’s head, I began to reconsider my situation.

The Tower has only completed its foundation work. In this situation, certainly no one can be summoned.

Only when the Tower is built can the concept be established and self-awareness be generated.

Even if we force it now, it would be unstable.

In severe cases, some of the power and memories might be lost.

That must be why Sleet stopped me from opening the pouch.

She said she would return me to when the Tower was built.

Was it not in the completed form but in progress? I chuckled, newly appreciating the greatness of the Korean language.

“She makes wordplays herself.”

“Huh? Who?”

Sleet looks up and asks.

Waving my hand as if it was nothing, I walked to the front of another pillar.

The picture engraved on the second pillar was of the once flourishing world tree gradually declining.

Instead of lush green leaves, only rusty-looking fallen leaves hung at the ends of the branches.

The energy it emitted like mushroom spores no longer shone brightly.

Despite being a simple picture, the gloomy atmosphere underlying it was profoundly felt.

Maybe I empathize more because it’s similar to our situation.

“Where did I see it?”

“See what?”

“Ah!!”

“Hyagyak! W-why are you like that?”

“I remembered.”

“Can’t you tell me what it is?”

Suddenly, like a light bulb turning on, the memory came back.

Such pictures were engraved on the temple pillars where the Moon was sitting.

It definitely made me feel how deformed the Tower’s structure was.

The pillars that should be at the bottom were there.

So they weren’t temple pillars originally, but Tower pillars.

“Then on the next pillar…”

“Tell me too.”

Sure enough, the same picture I saw then was engraved.

A deer supporting the collapsing world tree.

The world tree begins to settle like the deer’s antlers.

Like a cordyceps, the world tree parasitizes the deer’s head.

The deer suffers because of the world tree’s roots continuously digging into its brain.

Nevertheless, it pretends to be fine and calmly stands up, supporting the world tree.

“It seems they are indeed Tower pillars.”

They’re not simple pillars. Essential systems are sleeping in the pillars.

“I told you so. And can’t you hear me?”

I turned my head abruptly to look at Sleet.

Sleet was startled and jumped up.

With such impressive jumping power, it was like watching a cat.

“W-why are you like that?”

“I wonder how long it would take to build the entire Tower?”

“Well, considering the design, material procurement, and other things, wouldn’t it take quite a while?”

“I wonder if the two of us can do it. It seems overwhelming.”

If it were just building a structure, we could somehow do it using skills, but since we need to interweave it with the system, the difficulty skyrockets.

We need to naturally graft them so they don’t separate.

As soon as one enters a floor, they receive a trial. And when the trial is solved, appropriate rewards are given.

The current Tower has its physical and mental parts separated.

In human terms, it’s like being in a coma with the body and soul separated.

What we need to do is stitch them together like sewing, making them function as one.

“We can do it! That’s why I’m here.”

My doubts weren’t completely resolved.

I couldn’t figure out how this child, who introduced itself as Sleet, was formed or why it was formed.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on me?”

It would be rude to ask such things to this child.

Asking why it was born.

“Are you a boy or a girl?”

So I asked something else.

It was an important question in its own way.

Depending on whether it’s a female or male form, I could infer what this child’s origin is.

Because there’s always a basic recognition.

“It’s a secret.”

Like imitating ‘Time,’ Sleet placed its index finger on its lips.

The feeling was completely different, though.

“Why?”

“‘Time’ told me to keep it a secret. And she also said this.”

“What did she say?”

“You don’t know until you observe. ‘If you want to confirm the gender, observe it yourself!'”

My mind, which I had just managed to calm, was about to run away again.

My head ached at the dizzying words.

“Do you want to check?”

“Don’t make me a pervert.”

I stopped Sleet, who was about to take off its clothes, and quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s start by organizing the surroundings first. We need to properly prepare the site.”

Still, we have to do what needs to be done.

We need to clear the overgrown weeds around.

They’re various unnamed plants. Hence they’re called weeds.

In the Tower, human imagination has infinite potential.

NPCs are born from imagination, atmosphere is formed, and that atmosphere determines the overall theme of the Tower.

It even influences the skills players will acquire.

Weeds symbolizing tenacious vitality aren’t bad. But our goal wasn’t just simple survival.

I wanted to plant something more symbolic to form the basic atmosphere of the Tower.

“Well, it might not be of much help.”

If I had to say, it would just be a simple mood change.

Still, if it can help even a little, I should try something.

If even small things influence the atmosphere, I could at least give it a try.

And it was also a necessary task originally. We needed to distinguish between the inside and outside of the Tower.

“Then I’ll start.”

Sleet closes its eyes and begins to sing.

Sweet singing sounds flowed from Sleet’s mouth.

Snowflakes falling follow the flowing melody and gather.

Like musical notes moving along a staff, they hold each other’s hands and begin to dance up and down.

The snowflakes became little fairies and started dancing.

Accordingly, the weeds that filled the surroundings gradually began to disappear.

And covering them are lily of the valley flowers.

My eyes nearly popped out at Sleet’s unexpectedly capable performance.

“Hehe, how is it?”

“Well done.”

When I praised it, it pushed its head forward as if asking to be stroked.

While stroking its head, I asked,

“But why lily of the valley in particular?”

“Do you know the flower language of lily of the valley?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Hihi. It means ‘You will definitely be happy.'”