“Then, shall I make Park Gilsu’s shield and spear now?”
There was not much time remaining.
Once I finished crafting them and properly arranged the Sharp Matte Thread around the Guardian Stones, every preparation would be complete.
[Boundless]
Synthesis Material Items: Radioactively Contaminated Metal Fragment + Reinforced Steel Structure
Planned Item: Shield
Synthesis Probability: Failure 70%, Unranked 20%, Normal 8%, Magic 1%, Rare 0.999%, Legendary 0.001%.
[Materials used in synthesis will disappear.]
“The probability was fairly high when I made traps. Is it much lower because this is equipment? Well, even if it is low, the fact that Junk can be put to practical use is valuable enough. I have plenty of materials anyway.”
Excluding the 70 percent chance of failure, there was a mere 30 percent chance of producing a shield between Unranked and Magic rank.
I brought my finger toward the synthesis button.
I wanted a shield, but ideally, the radioactive metal would produce something offensive with spikes.
I concentrated on the holographic screen, fervently envisioning the object I wanted.
As before, it resembled an intricate assembly of interlocking machinery that would only appear in science fiction. Upon closer inspection, its design differed slightly from the Skill Synthesis window, but they were still similar.
I touched the synthesis button.
The moment I clicked it, the Junk I had prepared was drawn into the machinery.
The gears began interlocking, accompanied by the sound of the materials being ground together.
“It needs to be at least Normal rank. If it is Unranked, it will be nothing more than a sheet of metal with no abilities.”
As I fervently wished for success, blue light radiated from the operating machinery.
HSSSS-!
FLASH-!
The screen released a cloud of pure-white smoke, and the obscured result window appeared.
“…Huh?”
A piece of equipment surrounded by a blue border was stored in my Inventory.
[Radioactive Shield]
-Rank: Magic
-Attributes: Radiation, Physical Defense
-Description: A shield created by combining metal fragments permeated with radiation and a Reinforced Steel Structure. When it blocks an enemy’s attack, the radioactive contamination effect spreads to nearby enemies.
-Effects: Inflicts the Vitality Reduction status ailment on the attacker. Emits a green glow in dark places and shines more brightly when struck.
“A Magic item actually came out of Junk…?”
I had overcome the 1 percent probability and produced a Magic item.
This was troublesome.
The item I had crafted was far too good.
I had intended to make something for Park Gilsu, yet it was valuable enough to awaken my greed.
True to its straightforward name, the Radioactive Shield’s appearance was equally direct.
“The weight is reasonable, and it is large enough to cover the entire upper body. Its construction looks exactly as I imagined, but its abilities are far too impressive.”
Its surface consisted of coarse metal mottled with greenish-blue stains, while a faded radiation warning symbol was ominously engraved into the center.
It lacked the spikes I had imagined, but its sharply serrated edges looked capable of inflicting a serious wound if someone was struck with the rim.
When I equipped it, my Physical Defense increased by approximately 25 percent.
It also continuously reduced the attacker’s Vitality.
Among Magic-rank equipment, it could be considered one of the finest items available.
Perhaps only a shield with Damage Reflection could rival it.
“Ah. What is this?”
However, after equipping it, I noticed something strange.
“It reduces my Vitality too?”
The item possessed a mechanic not included in its description.
It continuously reduced the wearer’s Vitality as well.
No matter how much the tower’s System resembled a game, it was not an actual game. There were many cases in which the explanations did not include every minor detail.
Such features were referred to as hidden mechanics or Hidden Effects.
This shield possessed a negative Hidden Effect.
“That makes it rather awkward.”
It was too valuable to give away, but not useful enough for me to keep.
If I sold it well, I could probably receive more than a thousand Points.
I set it aside for the moment and crafted the spear next.
[Contaminated Scrap Spear]
-Rank: Normal
-Attributes: Physical, Penetration, Paralysis
-Description: Created by combining contaminated metal fragments with parts from a destroyed vehicle.
-Effect: Inflicts Tetanus. As the effect accumulates, the target suffers muscle spasms and Paralysis.
“I failed several times, but this is still an excellent result.”
It was the sort of weapon that would cost at least a hundred Points in the Shop.
I placed the Contaminated Scrap Spear beside the Radioactive Shield and considered them briefly before reaching a decision.
“They are not suitable for me anyway.”
A shield would certainly be useful, but while my Vitality remained this low, equipment that continuously inflicted a Vitality Reduction Debuff was worthless to me.
It would be better to give it to Park Gilsu and have him remain in the backline, protecting the ranged fighters.
The more actively the wearer moved, the faster the Vitality Reduction Debuff drained them. If Park Gilsu remained stationary and merely blocked incoming attacks, the shield should be useful.
The spear’s Paralysis effect should also help him protect the backline.
After finishing the equipment, I checked the remaining time.
[Tower of Beginnings]
-STAGE. 002
Sentinels & Raiders
Fulfill your assigned role.
-Success: Random skill granted to the final survivors.
-Failure: Incineration
Time until Week 2 opens: 01:00:06
“One hour. That is more than enough.”
I headed toward the Guardian Stones.
Everyone was moving busily around the Guardian Stones.
They knew that murderers would invade in an hour, so none of them could remain still. They desperately tried to find anything useful to do.
As the next invasion approached, conversations gradually faded, and their expressions became increasingly grave.
Amid the air thick with tension and anxiety, Kang Sujeong suddenly climbed onto the platform and drew everyone’s attention.
“What is wrong with all of you? Why do you look as though you are already dead? Do you not remember yesterday? We won. We thought we were all going to die, but we survived.”
The people began listening to her.
“Mr. Seongwon, what did you say earlier? You said the Leader was right and that Flame Jet seemed more powerful at medium range. You told me to trust you because you would roast the enemies whole like pigs.”
Seongwon, a muscular man with an angular face, awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Mincheol, how many times have you checked whether the traps in this area are working properly?”
“About… ten times?”
“Did you find any problems?”
“No.”
“Then why are you still anxious? We have prepared perfectly. Of course, no matter how thorough the preparations are, we will always feel as though something is missing. But we have done our best. We have done everything we possibly can. Believe in yourselves. Believe in one another. And believe in that Leader over there. Let us trust the man who personally risked his life and led by example while destroying dozens of enemies alone. If I am going to die either way, I would rather die without spending every moment terrified.”
At Kang Sujeong’s words, everyone turned toward me as I entered the clearing.
Their expressions seemed to ask me to say something.
Kang Sujeong also made a show of stepping aside.
“…Good grief.”
I had no desire to become their leader.
I was merely using them to preserve my own life.
If I wanted to reach the summit of the towers, I had to survive the immediate danger first.
STEP. STEP.
I climbed onto the platform as Kang Sujeong descended, as though we were passing a baton.
Then I addressed the gazes gathered upon me.
“You are afraid of dying, correct? I understand. However, there is something even more wretched than death.”
Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.
What could possibly be worse than death?
“It is not knowing whom you should think about immediately before you die. The people you love. The people you miss. The people you desperately want to see. You cannot remember their voices or their faces. We are going to die without remembering anything about them.”
“I do not know who I am or what kind of person I used to be. I do not know where my family is or whether they are alive or dead. …Sometimes, I even wonder whether the person standing beside me might have been a member of my family. Perhaps they were once my friend.”
Throughout my regressions, I had often killed people with whom I had shared connections in the past.
At other times, I had simply allowed them to die.
“Does that not feel unjust? We are being forced to die without remembering anything. Does it not infuriate you that this entire situation is some fucking bastard’s game?”
Being forced to continue forward after losing every memory was far more miserable than people realized.
“That is why I am going to survive. I will remain alive until the end, recover my memories, and reunite with the people I miss. And then….”
I paused and looked around.
The light in everyone’s eyes began to change.
“I will find the bastards who threw us into this wretched situation and kill every last one of them. Whether they are gods or aliens, I do not care. Even if I cannot kill them myself, I will find some way to take revenge.”
A firm desire for revenge was a far more powerful reason to live than fleeting hope.
“To accomplish that, we have to survive. We must remain alive before we can do anything else.”
That driving force might not last long, but it could release tremendous energy while it endured.
“I am going to survive somehow and reach the very end! What will the rest of you do?”
“We have to go.”
“We will.”
“Let us see this through to the end!”
“You fucking bastards! Give me back my memories!”
“That is right! I cannot die like this.”
“I will survive, reunite with my family, and return to the world where I used to live!”
As though swept away by my words, everyone furiously shouted their determination.
As their adrenaline surged, I could see their fear fading.
‘They have to force themselves to become angry. That is how they can overcome their fear.’
It was not as though I felt no fear.
Perhaps I was more sensitive to death and more terrified of it than any of them.
Infinite regression meant enduring infinite deaths.
Death was not something a person could ever become numb to.
I had merely adapted to it.
It was always wretched.
Always fucking horrible.
The agony immediately before my breathing stopped.
The peace that arrived when the pain was finally nearing its end.
Then came the sensation of my consciousness falling toward some impossibly distant place.
The vileness of death reached its peak when I opened my eyes again.
The familiar System Window that threatened to drive me insane.
Remembering a past no one else knew and being forced to begin everything from the start again was a misery beyond comparison.
I slowly descended from the platform as I studied the determination on everyone’s faces.
The platform was merely a wrecked vehicle placed in a broad clearing, but it served its purpose well enough.
As I climbed down, I sensed someone staring intently at me and turned my head.
It was Kang Sujeong.
She was grinning as though telling me that I had done well.
“Ridiculous.”
Yet there was something familiar about that smile.
I stared at her while searching my memories.
Then a woman I had once briefly encountered in the distant past came to mind.
“Ah, I remember now. That was you?”
Her current expression overlapped with the face I remembered.
A woman with long hair, unlike the way she looked now.
‘It was during the Island of Adventure Mission. We met on a platform made from a wrecked vehicle then as well.’
It had been around eighty cycles ago.
Measured in the time I had experienced, it was approximately eight hundred years in the past.
‘She was a leader then too. She was decisive and willing to sacrifice herself for others.’
At the time, I had been half insane—a piece of human garbage who regarded other people’s lives as nothing more than tools.
There was no atrocity I would not commit if it meant clearing a mission.
“Perhaps I can repay the debt I owed you then during this cycle.”
She had been the only person who stopped my rampage.
-Get lost. I am going to die with my humanity intact. I will die as a human being.
Her death later became the reason I began trying to live with as much humanity as I could preserve.