Chapter: 06
The Dragon of the Great Catastrophe
Countless “Seeds” glared at me with murderous eyes.
But I didn’t care in the slightest.
I was someone who hadn’t cowered even before Heimdal, the God of Storms.
Why would I fear the stares of children who hadn’t even become gods yet?
Instead, I responded with complete composure.
The reason I deliberately provoked them was simple.
‘Absolute first place.’
Here, I had to become a god by taking first place beyond all doubt.
To do that, I needed to draw attention to myself, even if it meant taking some risks.
Besides, if I established dominance from the start, no one would look down on me.
‘I’m not afraid of any of you.’
That was something I had to make crystal clear.
In the past, I couldn’t even have imagined acting like this.
But not anymore.
I had boldly abandoned the conventional approach.
Just as the atmosphere became ready to explode—
Clap!
A crisp clap echoed throughout the underground chamber.
“Now, now.”
It was a cute voice.
But the power contained within it was anything but light.
The entire space froze by force.
Everyone’s bodies stiffened.
“You all seem full of fighting spirit. But fighting isn’t allowed. You may only battle in designated locations.”
The owner of the voice appeared.
Waddle. Waddle.
A beast in a tuxedo walked forward on its short legs.
“…A penguin?”
Someone muttered blankly.
It was exactly as they had said.
An emperor penguin.
It stood barely over one meter tall.
With round eyes and glossy feathers, it looked like an adorable stuffed toy.
The little creature—or rather, its flippers—thumped proudly against its chest.
“Nice to meet you, future gods! I am the supervisor and administrator of the First Floor Promotion Test—Gugu!”
An administrator.
I searched through the memories of my previous life climbing the Tower.
‘I’ve never seen one.’
Even after reaching the very end of the Tower, I had never once encountered an administrator.
‘Are they the ones who maintain the Tower’s system?’
If so, they must be beings that even gods couldn’t treat carelessly.
Gugu spread his flippers and smiled.
Well, it only looked like he was smiling because of his beak.
“Alright then, enough chatting. Since a seat on the First Floor has opened up, we’d better get started.”
Clap!
Gugu clapped once more.
In that instant—
Whoooosh!
An overwhelming sense of distortion swept over my entire body.
My vision flipped.
Gravity twisted.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Forced spatial transfer.’
And not just that—
It was on a massive scale.
Thousands of people had been moved with a single clap, without even casting a spell.
‘This far surpasses the level of a Great Archmage.’
The ultimate form of spatial magic.
An absolute authority that skipped tedious calculations of coordinates altogether.
These administrators…
They might be even more troublesome than I expected.
Flash!
The light faded.
The scenery had completely changed.
It was no longer the gloomy underground prison.
Instead…
A white temple stretching endlessly into the distance.
Thousands of stone altars stood in perfect rows.
“Where are we?”
The Seeds murmured anxiously.
Confusion was written all over their faces.
Gugu hopped onto a raised platform.
“Don’t be alarmed. This is the Chamber of Selection.”
He pointed his flipper toward the crowd.
“There are currently 5,501 Seeds gathered here. That includes the final participant who just arrived—Lord Rag.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
I simply shrugged.
“There sure are a lot of you. But unfortunately, there’s only one vacant seat on the First Floor!”
Gugu raised the tip of his flipper.
“Through fair competition, only the single most qualified individual will ascend to the seat of godhood.”
Gulp.
The sound of people swallowing nervously echoed from every direction.
Competition.
5,501 against 1.
The odds weren’t even 0.01%.
“The examination consists of three trials.”
Only after passing all three would the master of the First Floor be decided.
“The first trial is extremely simple.”
Gugu pointed toward the stone altars.
“A god needs an assistant to act as their hands and feet. So, let’s begin the Familiar Summoning Ritual.”
A familiar.
Essentially a servant or subordinate.
The angels, demons, and divine beasts that served the gods all fell into this category.
“The method is very simple. Place the most valuable item you possess upon the altar before you.”
A sacrifice.
The law of equivalent exchange.
“The value of the item you offer determines the rank of the familiar you summon. Naturally, the stronger your familiar, the higher your score.”
Gugu grinned.
“Now then… begin!”
The moment he finished speaking, the Seeds sprang into action.
As if they’d been waiting for this very moment, everyone rummaged through their belongings.
“This should be enough!”
A goblin-like man with horns pulled out a fist-sized gemstone.
It was a crimson Blood Jade.
Apparently, it was a treasure his race had preserved for generations.
Boom!
The instant he placed the Blood Jade on the altar, a magic circle lit up.
ROOOAR!
A gigantic wolf burst out amid red smoke.
A demonic beast with flames blazing across its back.
“Hellfire Wolf! 65 points!”
Gugu announced the score immediately.
“What a start!”
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Encouraged by that result, the other Seeds hurriedly presented their treasures.
“I offer my tribe’s greatest holy sword!”
“This is a branch from the World Tree in the Elven Forest!”
“A pearl from the deepest sea should be enough!”
Countless treasures poured forth.
Each one represented the pride of its race.
These were the assets they had brought without hesitation in pursuit of becoming gods.
Flash! Flash!
The altars glowed without pause.
“Vampire Lord! 77 points!”
“Gryphon! 79 points!”
One formidable familiar after another was summoned.
“See that? My familiar is Medusa!”
“Damn it! Why did I get a Slime King?!”
“Cerberus!”
Joy and despair mixed together.
Cheers and groans echoed everywhere.
Meanwhile, I simply stood there with my arms crossed.
‘My most valuable possession…’
It was a difficult choice.
Not because I lacked valuable items.
Rather…
Everything I had was too valuable.
I opened my inventory.
[Spirit’s Wings]
[Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule]
[Dragon Egg]
The list was short.
Everything had come from the tutorial and hidden rewards.
‘The Spirit’s Wings are useful.’
I wasn’t willing to give up the ability to fly.
‘The Fragment of the Golden Rule is essential.’
Without it, I couldn’t use my power at full capacity.
It was directly tied to my survival.
Which left only one option.
‘The Dragon Egg.’
The highest-grade reward I’d won from the Lucky Dice.
But to me…
It was little more than a white elephant.
‘Who knows how long it’ll take to hatch?’
Dragons took an incredibly long time to hatch.
To make proper use of one would require an enormous amount of time.
‘I can’t use it right now anyway.’
I reached my conclusion.
In that case…
I’d get more value by using it here.
More importantly—
‘If it’s a Dragon Egg, something worthwhile should come out of it.’
Judging purely by value, it ranked among the best possible sacrifices.
I made my decision.
Just then—
“What the hell?!”
“It’s an Abyss Dragon!”
The surroundings suddenly erupted into chaos.
Apparently, someone had summoned a dragon.
Gugu excitedly flapped his flippers.
“Excellent! Abyss Dragon! 95 points!”
The Abyss Dragon was one of the strongest magical beasts found only on the Tower’s highest floors.
Calling it a divine beast wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
And if it reached adulthood…
It would become even more terrifying.
Even the Final Expedition Force had struggled greatly against such a monster.
As a familiar serving a god, there were few creatures superior to an Abyss Dragon.
“Hey, parachute.”
A mocking voice rang out.
I turned to see a Dark Elf man sneering at me.
He was the one who had summoned the Abyss Dragon.
“What? Don’t have anything worth offering, so you’re just watching? Guess you’re broke.”
The surrounding Seeds all looked at me.
Their eyes held suspicion, curiosity…
And ridicule.
So this was Heimdal’s favored newcomer?
Their expressions seemed to say I wasn’t much after all.
“Who knows.”
I chuckled and took something out of my inventory.
“I’m not exactly broke.”
The moment I produced an egg the size of an ostrich egg, the Dark Elf burst into laughter.
“Looks like you picked up the egg of some dead dragon.”
Behind him, the Abyss Dragon exhaled roughly.
Dark blue scales.
Savage fangs.
Even though it had only just been summoned, its oppressive presence was undeniable.
“It’s useless. Even if that egg hatches, it’ll never defeat my Abyss Dragon.”
The surrounding Seeds nodded.
He wasn’t wrong.
Not all dragons were equal.
Just as there were countless kinds of lizards…
The gap between different dragon species was as vast as heaven and earth.
So—
‘I agree.’
I silently admitted it.
The chances of this egg producing a legendary monster like an Abyss Dragon were slim.
At best, it might hatch into a wyvern.
If I were lucky, perhaps a drake.
I shrugged and walked toward the altar.
The Dark Elf’s mocking laughter followed behind me.
“Struggle all you want, parachute!”
I ignored him.
I casually placed the Dragon Egg upon the altar.
At that very moment—
Hummmmmm…
The altar trembled slightly.
The trembling quickly became violent shaking.
The stone altar let out a groan.
Ding!
A system message appeared before my eyes.
[The ‘First Altar’ can summon a Familiar only once by offering a sacrifice.]
[Offering sacrifice: ‘Unknown Dragon Egg.’]
[Beginning the summoning ritual.]
[Rolling dice (1–100).]
Dice?
Was there a system like this?
Well, summoning was ultimately a matter of probability.
If the test had been designed like a game, it made perfect sense.
I stared indifferently at the floating die.
It rolled.
Then stopped.
A number appeared.
[100!]
[Maximum value!]
[JACKPOT!]
The highest possible number.
At the same time—
[Measuring the summoner’s talents.]
[Necromancy (MAX), Spirit Arts (MAX), Summoning (MAX)…]
[You have reached the domain of Creation.]
[All attributes (Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind) have reached the Ultimate level.]
[The measured talents forcibly unlock the sacrifice’s limits!]
KWWWWAAAAAAAH!!
A pillar of black light erupted from the altar.
It shot upward with enough force to pierce the ceiling.
“W-What is that?!”
“An earthquake?! Another earthquake?!”
The Seeds screamed as they were thrown onto the floor.
Even the administrator Gugu flapped his flippers in panic.
“I-I’ve never seen a reaction like this before!”
Crack! Crack!
Fractures spread across the altar.
It couldn’t endure.
A mere stone altar was incapable of containing the existence that was about to be summoned.
I instinctively took a step back.
My instincts were screaming.
Danger.
Yet at the same time…
A thrill ran through my body.
BOOOOOOM!!
With a deafening explosion, the altar shattered into countless pieces.
Fragments flew in every direction.
And from within the wreckage—
[The Dragon of the Great Catastrophe, ‘Angragon,’ has been summoned!]
