Climbing the Tower was an extremely dangerous undertaking.
After all, to ascend the Tower, one had to encounter unknown beings filled with hostility and emerge victorious from fierce battles against them.
And yet I'd cleared the first floor simply by poking the immobilized Dead Ones with a tree branch.
"Is this really how it's supposed to work?"
It had been so ridiculously easy that I was practically experiencing cognitive dissonance.
─ Did I not tell you? A Divine Shaman is one who foresees the future and prepares for it in advance.
The Ancestral God spoke smugly.
"So all of this was part of your plan, Ancestral God!"
─ Ahem.
I hadn't known it before, but apparently the branch I was holding came from a peach blossom tree. In other words, a peach tree.
Although I'd never learned the shamanic arts, I was still a descendant of the Divine Shaman Family.
I remembered hearing that peach tree branches had been used to ward off evil spirits since ancient times.
"Even so......"
It wasn't as though I'd beaten the Dead Ones into submission. I'd merely poked them with a peach tree branch, and those creatures classified as monsters had simply collapsed.
It was difficult to comprehend.
─ You bastard, you should at least know what your own skills do.
"My skills? Ah!"
My trait was Spirit Command.
As befitted someone whose class was Divine Shaman, I could command spirits.
I had three Trait Skills.
[Trait Skills: Lending / Spirit Communion (Inactive) / Divine Descent (Inactive)]
No, I had one.
At least for now.
My only available skill was Lending.
I suspected it meant I could borrow the Ancestral God's power.
─ Correct. I lent you my Spell Power.
"Aha."
Now I understood.
One of the primary duties of a shaman—or rather, a Divine Shaman—was to drive away evil spirits.
If the Spell Power I borrowed contained the divine power of an Ancestral God renowned for his unparalleled spiritual abilities, then it was only natural that wandering Dead Ones, which were essentially restless spirits, would be powerless against it.
─ Your capacity is still small, descendant, so this is no different from spraying the contents of a water tank through a little spray bottle. Even so, these Dead Ones wandering the boundary between worlds cannot possibly withstand it. Ahem.
As I watched the Ancestral God bask in his own magnificence, a question suddenly occurred to me.
Now that I was aware of my skill's existence, I realized that something about our current situation wasn't quite normal.
"By the way, Ancestral God?"
─ Speak.
"If my trait is Spirit Command, shouldn't you be the one fighting?"
I was the main body, and the Ancestral God was my skill.
Normally, caster-type classes were supposed to protect their main bodies and fight using their skills.
The question might have sounded somewhat unfilial, but surely there was nothing wrong with clarifying the facts.
─ ......
The Ancestral God remained silent for a moment before answering.
─ I am not particularly good at fighting.
"Aha."
So he was a support-type.
***
In any case, I'd defeated all seven Dead Ones.
The system had announced that I'd completed my mission, so all that remained was to leave the Tower.
The process was similar to entering it.
All I had to do was shout "Mission Complete!"
As far as I knew, that wouldn't take me directly outside. Instead, I'd be transported to the Reward Space.
My performance during the climb would be evaluated there. Normally, I'd receive Magic Crystals, but if I was lucky, I might obtain skills or other byproducts. And if I hit the real jackpot, I could even receive an item possessing supernatural abilities.
"Should we leave now?"
I asked the Ancestral God.
Normally, I was the sort of person who made decisions about such minor matters on my own, but having the Ancestral God beside me made me want to consult him.
It certainly wasn't because I was hoping a few extra crumbs of reward might fall my way.
I was simply a young man who respected his elders.
─ Wait a moment.
The Ancestral God stopped me.
"Oh?"
An inexplicable sense of anticipation began to rise within me.
─ You are still a Divine Shaman, are you not? At the very least, close their eyes so that the Dead Ones may depart in peace.
Come to think of it, all the Dead Ones that had fallen after being poked with the peach tree branch still had their eyes open.
"Ah......"
I suddenly felt a little ashamed.
I approached the fallen Dead Ones.
Their appearances were grotesque, like zombies, but there was no denying that every one of them had once been human.
"May you rest in peace."
Even though I'd never learned the shamanic arts, I was the successor to the Divine Shaman Family and had Awakened as a Divine Shaman myself.
I was at least conscious of that responsibility.
Although I lacked the training to perform the proper funeral preparations and rites for them, I still had a duty to pray that they would attain peaceful rebirth in paradise.
Gently.
I covered a Dead One's face with my palm and carefully closed its eyes.
Clatter.
"Huh?"
Something appeared in my hand.
It was a crystal-like object of unknown origin.
I'd heard that Awakened occasionally obtained byproducts before reaching the Reward Space.
To identify such an object, one would normally have to hire an Awakened who possessed an Appraisal Skill.
─ That is a Dead One's Resentment.
There was no need.
The Ancestral God told me what it was.
As expected, the Ancestral God was the best.
I closed the eyes of the other Dead Ones as well.
Each time I did, another Dead One's Resentment appeared in my hand.
"What should I do with these?"
─ Keep them.
"Yes."
I started gathering the Dead Ones' Resentments and putting them into my pockets.
─ Not there. Put them in your Subspace Inventory.
"......Yes."
The Ancestral God seemed to understand my skills better than I did.
I summoned my Subspace Inventory and tried placing the Dead Ones' Resentments inside.
They went in without any trouble.
"Can I really complete the mission now?"
─ Let us take care of one more thing before we leave.
"......Can't we do it next time?"
It hadn't even been an hour since I'd entered the Tower, but I was tired. Even though my first climb had gone smoothly, it seemed I'd been more nervous than I'd realized.
─ I have a feeling something good will happen if you follow me.
The Ancestral God said this with a mysterious look in his eyes.
"Of course I'll go. How could I refuse a request from the Ancestral God?"
This time, I felt I really could expect something worthwhile.
........
─ Take the fourth fork.
"Yes."
After spending a considerable amount of time inside the Tower, I began to understand something.
[Physical abilities are readjusted according to your level.]
I finally understood the true meaning of the system notification I'd heard when entering the Tower.
In the real world, I was an ordinary young man.
If anything, I was closer to being physically unfit.
Yet even after wandering through the Labyrinth Tower for more than three hours, my legs didn't hurt.
It seemed to be thanks to the supernatural abilities of the Awakened, which manifested only inside the Tower.
"GRAAAAGH!"
Poke.
Thud.
"May you rest in peace."
I gave the Dead Ones we encountered along the way peaceful departures.
I'd already collected more than twenty Dead Ones' Resentments.
"Are you planning to help every last one of them attain peaceful release?"
It was only natural that the question occurred to me.
After all, I'd defeated more than twenty Dead Ones over the past three hours.
The time limit for Floor 1 was twenty-four hours.
My feet didn't hurt, I wasn't hungry, and I didn't feel sleepy. If I kept moving diligently, perhaps it would be possible.
After all, while the paths were as complicated as a maze, I'd heard that the space within each floor wasn't infinite.
─ A Divine Shaman does not act so inefficiently.
"Yes."
That was a relief.
My body might not have been physically exhausted, but there was nothing I could do about my mental fatigue.
─ Take the seventh fork.
Following yet another of the Ancestral God's directions, I entered the indicated passage.
"Hmm?"
Something felt strange.
A rich, fragrant floral scent was drifting through the cavern, which until now had been nothing but desolate and eerie.
[You have entered the Hidden Piece - ‘Seocheon Flower Garden’.]
Before my eyes stretched a dazzling flower garden, blooming in every imaginable color.
***
─ Tsk. Those fucking bastards. How dare they violate what belongs to others so outrageously?
The Ancestral God muttered curses at someone whose identity I couldn't guess.
My attention, however, was focused elsewhere.
"Seocheon Flower Garden?"
I remembered hearing that name before.
I believed it was from the legend of Hallakgungi.
My memory of the story was rather vague, but certain extraordinary flowers had left a strong impression on me: the Flesh-Restoring Flower, Blood-Restoring Flower, Bone-Restoring Flower, and Breath-Restoring Flower.
I didn't possess an Appraisal Skill, but I had a feeling that the yellow flowers were Flesh-Restoring Flowers, the red ones were Blood-Restoring Flowers, the white ones were Bone-Restoring Flowers, and the blue ones were Breath-Restoring Flowers.
I was probably right.
'Ah, so that's why.'
The first floor of the Labyrinth Tower was called 'Road to the Dead'.
If I remembered correctly, the Seocheon Flower Garden was said to lie along the journey between the world of the living and the afterlife, belonging fully to neither.
"Are those flowers real?"
─ They are not fake.
"Should I take some?"
To be perfectly frank, I was tempted.
I knew just how outrageously expensive Healing Potions were, despite being among the rewards obtained from the Tower with a low probability.
Even with my limited medical knowledge, I could imagine the Flesh-Restoring Flower becoming a miraculous ointment, while the Blood-Restoring Flower could completely replace blood transfusion packs.
If the legend was true, they would undoubtedly revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry.
─ It will be useless.
Despite the Ancestral God's warning, I couldn't resist trying.
I picked a flower and attempted to place it in my Subspace Inventory.
It wouldn't go in.
"Tsk. It doesn't work."
Items that couldn't be placed in the Subspace Inventory couldn't be taken outside the Tower.
That was the rule, apart from items obtained after completing a mission in the Reward Space.
Unlike the Dead Ones' Resentments, the flowers of the Seocheon Flower Garden weren't permitted to leave the Tower.
─ Descendant of the Cheon Family.
"Yes, Ancestral God."
The Ancestral God called to me.
─ Let us grant freedom to the poor souls wandering this place.
"Is that possible?"
─ We shall perform a Memorial Rite.
At last, I understood why the Ancestral God had guided me all the way here despite our mission already being complete.
"Do we have suitable offerings?"
There were no small number of Dead Ones.
We didn't have appropriate offerings to soothe all their souls.
─ We should be able to do it by borrowing the power of those flowers.
"Ah."
A Memorial Rite conducted by the most spiritually powerful Divine Shaman in the world.
And the offerings would be flowers from the Seocheon Flower Garden.
I felt certain that they would be more than sufficient to comfort the souls of the Dead Ones.
........
The Tower reset itself.
That was a fact that had long since been proven.
If someone else entered Floor 1 of the Labyrinth Tower—or even if I entered Floor 1 again—we would encounter a reset Tower.
In other words, even if we performed a Memorial Rite, new Dead Ones would greet us the next time we entered Floor 1.
However, our rite would at least be able to soothe the souls of the Dead Ones currently existing within the Tower.
If that was the case, there was no reason not to perform it.
After all, we were Divine Shamans.
─ Woooooohhhhh.
The Ancestral God's strange, seemingly meaningless vocalization carried a profound image within it.
─ Woooooohhhhh.
That image transformed into a mournful melody, filling the space with the Ancestral God's heartfelt emotions.
He called it a Soul-Pacifying Shamanic Rite.
Swoosh—.
The Ancestral God's ethereal form began to move in time with the melody.
─ Woooooohhhhh.
The movements became a flowing rhythm, the rhythm became a dance, and the dance became a gesture of consolation honoring the departed souls.
The Misfortune-Dispelling Dance.
The Ancestral God's offering of solace and repose began to adorn the Seocheon Flower Garden.
─ Even the bones have scattered and returned to the earth; at the end of the long journey, all is finally still.
With the opening verse of the funeral dirge...
Rustle—.
The Bone-Restoring Flowers fluttered into the air and disappeared.
A miracle.
It was a truly mystical sight.
Within the Tower, which existed beyond the laws of causality governing the mortal world, the Ancestral God began demonstrating his true divine abilities.
─ Even the winds that carved into your flesh have ceased, and pain has vanished beyond the distant shore.
Rustle—.
The Flesh-Restoring Flowers disappeared.
─ Upon the time engraved in blood, nothing remains but sorrowful memories.
Rustle—.
The Blood-Restoring Flowers disappeared.
─ One final breath, even its last trembling has dissolved into the heavens.
Rustle—.
The Breath-Restoring Flowers disappeared.
I understood it instinctively.
All the Dead Ones wandering Floor 1 must have been brought back to life.
But it couldn't end there.
Bringing the dead back to life was an unmistakable act of defying the heavens.
There was no way a benevolent and spiritually powerful spirit like the Ancestral God would perform such a miracle.
I knew from the beginning that what the Ancestral God was performing was a rite of consolation and repose, not an act of defying the heavens.
─ Haaah......
The Ancestral God let out a wistful sigh before finally reciting the last verse of the funeral dirge.
─ Dear souls, may you now sleep in peace, free from darkness.
With those words, the mystical energy that had filled the cavern vanished as though it had been washed away.
I could tell that the Memorial Rite had been completed magnificently.
"......Thank you for your hard work."
─ Indeed.
The Dead Ones who had wandered the boundary between worlds in their grotesque forms had regained their human appearances and found peace.
'Thank you.'
I thought I heard voices saying those words.
But I had little time to linger on the wonder of what I'd just witnessed.
[You are the first to clear Floor 1 of the Labyrinth Tower by the proper method.]
[Moving to the Reward Space.]
Even though I hadn't shouted "Mission Complete!", the first floor's mission had been cleared.
"Huh?"
Just as when I'd entered the Tower, my vision went black.
........
The moment I realized I'd arrived in the Reward Space, system notifications began ringing out one after another.
[Floor 1 mission completed successfully.]
[Rewards: Magic Crystal 10g, Dead One's Resentment x77, Seed of the Seocheon Flower Garden.]
[Level Up.]
[The player has been granted access to Floor 2.]
[You have cleared Floor 1 of the Labyrinth Tower by the proper method. 1 Achievement Point awarded.]
Amid the flood of notifications, one thing immediately caught my attention.
"Seed of the Seocheon Flower Garden?"
Inside my Subspace Inventory was a Seed of the Seocheon Flower Garden.