“Sure, but…” Mike started to say his usual “it’ll cost you” line, then remembered he was talking to Apollo.
Besides, Apollo had already given him a major upgrade to his Money Tree. That counted as payment, right?
“Okay,” Mike agreed. Then, curiosity got the better of him. “According to the deal, the Supreme Demon God sent Afterskin into the Abyss, and two shadowy figures into the Tower of Truth. But there was no mention of giving them floors 31 through 49, right?”
Apollo nodded. “Correct.”
“Then why let them take those floors?” Mike asked, puzzled. It didn’t make sense.
Why not just ambush and eliminate the shadowy figures once they were inside the Tower of Truth?
“It’s not my tower,” Apollo replied matter-of-factly.
If it wasn’t his tower, why should he care if a few floors were occupied by the Supreme Demon God’s minions?
Those two shadowy figures wouldn’t dare to cause trouble on the ninety-ninth floor, even if you gave them a hundred years and a lifetime supply of courage.
One: They weren’t harming humanity.
Two: They weren’t disturbing Apollo’s peace and quiet.
There was no reason for him to intervene!
Apollo’s logic was sound, if a bit… detached.
But Mike detected a hint of… something else in his tone.
Was Apollo still mad?
Then he remembered.
Shadow Nine had tricked Apollo when he went to the Supreme Abyssal.
Apollo, trapped in the Tower of Truth, couldn’t confront the Supreme Demon God directly.
The Tower Spirit had intervened.
After returning from the Abyss, Mike had chatted with Apollo.
And then Apollo had spent the entire night zapping the tower with lightning.
The tower had become Apollo’s personal punching bag.
Apparently, he hadn’t fully vented his frustration yet. He needed a few more good zaps.
The Tower Spirit should know better than to mess with Apollo. That was just asking for trouble.
Mike would definitely be adding a surcharge for reclaiming those floors.
He wasn’t going in unprepared.
“So… those floors that were taken over… do I have to, like, fight my way through?”
The two shadowy figures were level 999 powerhouses.
In a straight-up fight, outnumbered, Thor wasn’t sure he could win.
“No,” Apollo explained. “The corrupted floors are just… slightly altered versions of the original challenges.”
Mike nodded, relieved.
So, the original challenges were normal mode.
And the corrupted versions were… hard mode.
Hard mode?
“Can I still get SSSS-rank ratings? What about SSSSS?”
“Yes,” Apollo confirmed. “And the Supreme Demon God will foot the bill.”
Mike: ???
Was this some kind of cosmic joke?
Mike asked a few questions about the corrupted floors, getting a general idea of what to expect.
The monsters on floors 30 through 49 had received a serious power boost. The weakest were now level 600!
Regular mobs were Chief tier, elite mobs were Lord tier, and the bosses were all Nine-Star Lord level or higher!
It would be a tough climb.
Especially if Mike wanted to achieve SSSS-rank with 100% exploration. The difficulty would be exponentially higher.
But that’s what made it fun!
He could already feel the adrenaline pumping.
“You can go now.”
As Apollo spoke, the white cloud descended, carrying Mike back to the ground.
He vanished from the base of the Tower of Truth, retracing his steps.
Shortly after Thor’s departure, a white cloud drifted down from the ninety-ninth floor.
It floated lazily towards the forty-ninth floor.
A shadowy figure lurked there, attempting to expand its control over the Tower of Truth, fulfilling the Supreme Demon God’s orders.
The white cloud drifted into the shadowy figure’s domain.
Without warning.
The level 999 powerhouse from the Elven race hadn’t expected Apollo to be this powerful.
“This… this is just an avatar!”
A simple cloud avatar had effortlessly bypassed all his defenses and appeared before him?
If this had been a real fight, he would be dead!
And this… this power was unlike anything he had ever encountered.
Even the Supreme Demon God hadn’t displayed such abilities.
The shadowy figure’s origins were… complicated.
He was an Elf Ancestor, a being who had once attempted to break through to level 1,000. He
had failed, but he had survived.
The price he had paid was steep, but compared to the Blood Ancestor’s sacrifice, it was
nothing.
In ancient times, failing to reach level 1,000 usually meant death.
The Elf Ancestor had not only survived but had also participated in the construction of the Tower of Truth. Later, he had pledged allegiance to the Supreme Demon God, becoming one of his most trusted lieutenants.
He was the leader of the three shadowy figures who had escaped the Supreme Abyssal!
Even the deceased Chaos race powerhouse obeyed his commands.
In other words, the Elf Ancestor was the biggest threat to Thor on floors 31 through 49.
And then, something even more baffling happened.
The cloud transformed into Apollo’s form, staring at the shadowy figure, deep in thought. After several minutes of silence, Apollo finally spoke. “Are you… perhaps… a wood?”
===
Mike didn’t return to New York immediately. He lingered at the edge of the Forest of Truth.
Some things were better handled outside the city.
“Since I have to tackle those corrupted floors, and there’s a level 999 threat, I should probably
replicate a powerful skill for self-defense,” he mused.
He only knew a handful of Ultimate Lords.
Terenas… was a bit too unpredictable. He’d pass.
Pecker and the White Wolf King were currently unavailable.
That left… Maxen.
Mike contacted Maxen.
“Replicate a skill? And you’ll pay me?” Maxen was intrigued, but he ultimately declined.
“You’ve got the wrong guy. Even if you replicate my skills, without my talent, they won’t be
nearly as effective.”
He offered some free advice. “Little Calderon is your best bet. His skills don’t rely on talent.”
With Maxen’s guidance, Mike immediately contacted Ace.
Thor: “Ace, do me a favor, and I’ll waive the interest on your debt.”
I Want to Be the First: “****fucking ****”
User [I Want to Be the First] has been muted for 8760 hours due to excessive profanity.
Mike: ???
That’s what you get for being a potty mouth.
A new message arrived.
I Want to Be the Second: “Thor, where are you?”
Thor: “Forest of Truth.”
I Want to Be the Second: “Stay put. I’m bringing someone over.”
It sounded like Ace had wrangled an Ultimate Lord!
Excited, Mike moved closer to the Tower of Truth. Soon, Ace and another man stormed into the Forest of Truth.
Before they even appeared, Ace’s voice echoed through the forest.
“Thor, you’re fucking strong! Why are you so scared of dying?!” Clearly, he had guessed Thor’s location and was on his way.
Ace found Thor about 800 meters from the Tower of Truth.
“You made it?” Thor greeted him.
“Fuck you!” Ace punched Thor in the head, shattering it like a watermelon.
“A decoy puppet?!” Little Calderon appeared, fuming. “Was that really necessary?”
“Yes,” Mike replied seriously.
His voice, filtered through runes, didn’t reveal his location.
Technically, this was Ace’s fault.
An Ultimate Lord, meeting Thor alone, was a potential threat.
Ace had figured that since they were in the Forest of Truth, Apollo and Morpheus’s territory,
an Ultimate Lord wouldn’t pose a threat.
The Ultimate Lord accompanying Ace was a thin, wiry man with a striking appearance: bald, with only a few wisps of straw-like hair clinging to his scalp.
He stepped forward, speaking respectfully, “Nova Voidwalker greets Supreme Being Apollo.”
For him, Ace was insignificant compared to the being residing in the Tower of Truth.
Humanity didn’t have many Ultimate Lords.
Besides Calderon and Shadow Nine, there were only a handful.
And Nova Voidwalker was the strongest among them.
Silence descended after Nova Voidwalker’s greeting. The atmosphere was… awkward.
After a long pause, Apollo’s voice echoed from the top of the tower.
“Oh.”
Nova Voidwalker’s eyes lit up, his few remaining hairs standing on end.
Supreme Being Apollo had acknowledged him!
He had spoken to him!
What an honor!
“Did you hear that? Did you hear that?” Nova Voidwalker grabbed Ace’s shoulders, shaking
him excitedly. “My idol spoke to me! I have to record this moment for posterity…”
Ace wanted to shove Nova Voidwalker headfirst into a toilet.
“Shut up, you embarrassing fanboy!”
Mike: “…”
That was a bit harsh…
Of all the powerful humans Mike had met, everyone respected, even feared, Apollo.
But treating him like an idol was… unusual.
Foreskin was one. Nova Voidwalker was the second.
Apollo’s presence was just too overwhelming.
Most powerhouses, upon meeting Apollo, would transform into… something else entirely.
Maxen had learned that the hard way.
This Nova Voidwalker was… interesting.
He took a moment to compose himself, but the excitement in his eyes was undeniable.
“Let’s get down to business.” Nova Voidwalker turned to Mike, introducing himself. “I
specialize in Space Element. I have two techniques capable of slaying Ultimate Lords…” Mike’s thrice-awakened Eye of Truth already displayed all of Nova Voidwalker’s information. No introductions needed.
He patiently listened to Nova Voidwalker’s explanation, then said, “I don’t need Ultimate
Lord slaying techniques. Those are too taxing for you.”
Mike never lacked the skills to inflict harm.
He preferred skills that kept him alive.
He scanned Nova Voidwalker’s skillset, finding the perfect match.
“Show me [Banishment to the Endless Void].”
This skill could banish anyone below level 990.
And it had a 30% success rate against those between levels 990 and 994!
“That one?” Nova Voidwalker raised an eyebrow. He would have refused anyone else.
Ultimate Lords were at the top of the food chain. Even Supreme Beings couldn’t force them to do anything.
But out of respect for Thor, he would make an exception.
Seeing Nova Voidwalker’s hesitation, Mike added, “I’ll compensate you for any costs
associated with this skill.”
“It’s nothing,” Nova Voidwalker said, taking a deep breath. A black sphere materialized at his
fingertips.
He flicked it towards the ground, banishing a fallen leaf.
[Banishment to the Endless Void, replicated!]
Success!
As Mike was about to celebrate, Nova Voidwalker let out a wail of despair, nearly bursting into
tears.
He clutched a single strand of straw-like hair in his palm…
The loss of this precious hair follicle had worsened his already dire baldness situation.
“Number sixty-three! No! You were so young!”