My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

-- Kkkrrrrrriiiiieeeeehkkkkhh...!!

"..."

In front of me, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of Nightmares of various forms screeched and howled in glitchy unison, appearing like a force that emerged directly from Hell.

If it were not part of the Magic Tower's trials, then I would be apprehensive about the situation, however, for this Phase One of the 10th Floor trial, I figured there was no need to take any specific action.

The tower only instructed me to 'observe' without casting magic, and considering that this was a place solely intended for mages, I was certain that nothing would happen even if I didn't move an inch from where I stood.

Of course, even if something were about to happen, I would simply stop it with Reality.

As I was watching the ear-shattering rally of devilish shadows in front of me, suddenly.

-- Kkriiieee--

The monstrous cries ceased.

Simultaneously, the Nightmares stopped their thrashing around and their whining, and they all turned their heads in one direction―up.

Following their combined gaze, I saw it.

Crack-!

Craaaccckkkk...!!

Like a grand, cataclysmic event occurring in real-time, the heavens above fissured with a mind-rumbling sound that seemed to reverberate throughout every nook and cranny of the earth, vibrating even the ground beneath my feet.

Then, as the sky began to splinter, something emerged from the rift.

A gooey substance, black like tar, fell from the ruptured sky like sticky ooze trickling, almost resembling black congealed blood.

I could already see where things were headed plain as day, but as I had not yet received a notification to say that I had passed Phase One of the trial, I decided to wait a little longer.

As I postponed my action, however, the murky ooze continued to pour.

Fortunately, it only seemed to appear and fall in the sky above the Nightmares, and as the Nightmares were being washed away, drowned by their own infernal essence, the ooze began to coalesce, growing bigger, and bigger, and eventually grazing the clouds.

It didn't take long before 'it' had fully manifested, and alongside its awakening, the unfathomably large Nightmare, easily surpassing the size of a mountain or two, made the world aware of its presence.

-- ...!!!

The instant it opened its mouth, my eardrums imploded, but that was fine; I healed them after confirming the disturbed baby's tantrum had ended by feeling the dissipated vibrations in the air that shook my body to its core.

As I gazed at the unspeakable monster, I wondered for a moment if it truly existed, and if so just how the Otherworld was able to persist for so long, before finally receiving a message.

[Phase One Complete.]

"..."

[Phase Two.]

[The Lord of Dreaded Purgatory and Eternal Torment, Nightmare King has awoken.]

[If Nightmare King is not eliminated, all worlds, equal under one, will gradually be consumed and ultimately terminated.]

[Before Nightmare King devours the world, identify its target destination.]

I stared at the Phase Two completion condition for a short while, as well as the lore that accompanied it.

Repeatedly re-reading the information it had given me, I found there was a surprising amount to unpack in an extremely succinct amount of words. Your journey begins at m|v|lempyr.

"'All worlds, equal under one'..." I mumbled.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn't help but consider many possibilities of what it might mean―unfortunately, pondering such questions was useless after Truth was gone, so I suppressed my desire to find a conclusive answer and pushed the thought aside for now.

Target destination, huh.

Understanding the idiolect of the Magic Tower's trials after having gone through so many of them, it felt like specific wording to me, and I could sense the hidden meaning it veiled.

Most likely, it was implying that the Nightmare King was not able to absorb or eat the world whenever it wanted, but by arriving at its target destination, it would then gain the power to do so.

Then, the only thing I had to do was figure out where it was headed. And, something like that...

"...There."

It was effortless―simply by turning my head to follow the Nightmare King's foul gaze and disastrous trail, the job was done.

What lay at the end of my sight was one thing, perched on the boundary of the distant horizon that divided the earth and sky.

A nonsensically tall tree that seemed to pierce even space itself as its top couldn't be seen.

The World Tree, which I heard could be spotted from any corner of the world, and the first Transcendent that I had planned to return me to Earth.

But, why had the Nightmare King pinned a magical tree as its destination?

[Phase Two complete.]

[The Nightmare King is headed towards the World Tree and aims to absorb her energy.]

[If Nightmare King succeeds, it will start to consume all, and the process of equal world termination will begin.]

Suddenly, my view changed, and the world transformed into somewhere else.

In an instant, I found myself back in the small wooden room from the first couple of floors, and it was such an abrupt change in scenario that it almost gave me whiplash.

I already knew what to do to trigger the next phase, and so I took a seat in the free chair without hesitation.

A thick stack of parchments and scrolls materialised in front of me, alongside a magic quill.

[Phase Three.]

[Write a complete formula for the 'Yooju-Magma-Harmann Paradoxical Equation' that simultaneously solves the problem of the 'Del-Bitta Cycle' whilst also preventing the disrupted casting of Janna Newman's sixth-tier 'Glowing Emerald Lark' integrated spell.]

[Draw an interlocked magical circle for a seventh-tier spell of your choosing.]

[Draw two interlocked magical circles for two unique sixth-tier spells of your choosing.]

[Draw three interlocked magical circles for three unique fifth-tier spells of your choosing.]

[Design an original spell that is third-tier or above and draw its complete magical circle to create a functioning scroll.]

"..."

Huh.

No, I don't think I'm going to be doing all that.

"I have completed the Third Phase of the Magic Tower's Tenth Floor."

[Third Phase complete.]

[You have passed the Magic Tower 10th Floor Trial.]

[Congratulations on making it to the 11th Floor of the Magic Tower.]

It was the first time the Magic Tower had issued a congratulatory message, but perhaps that was only natural as less than three dozen individuals have ever been known to make it this far in the history of the Magic Tower.

Until me, I don't think anyone would be able to solve it this quickly, though.

Well, it was just that easy.

There was no way I was going to sit here and pretend to do all that useless work when I had the option of skipping it; there were more important matters I had to attend to.

[You solved this trial particularly fast. I hope you make it to the end.]

"Hm...?"

Randomly, as my surroundings dissolved and were replaced with the entrance of the 11th Floor, I received a seemingly personal notification from the tower.

What was that about?

"...Mm."

Well, in any case, if it wants me to climb the floors that badly, then I suppose I'll oblige.

My feeling about the Magic Tower―or for that matter, the Ancient Sage himself―wanting to show me some message, only grew stronger.

Nevertheless, there was nothing to be said about it until everything came to light.

The 11th Floor was noticeably more extravagant than all the previous floors and thrice as quiet. Most of it still resembled a grand library from what I could see, but I'm sure there wasn't a greater treasure trove of knowledge in the whole world for those who study the arcane.

Although it is worthless to me, I can understand why the mages of the Otherworld would sacrifice anything if it meant to catch a glimpse of the secrets buried away in this tower's higher floors.

Considering the person who made all this and designed all the trials of every floor was the same person who had presumably seen visions of the future from over two millennia prior, the one called Ancient Sage was surely a person of insurmountable intrigue.

Really, it was rather impressive when I thought about it, but that was all.

He was no longer alive, and even if he somehow knew of my existence back in the day and constructed this tower to communicate with me, he was not a god nor a person who could do whatever he pleased.

Once I arrive at the 13th Floor, the Magic Tower's summit, and hear whatever it is he has to say, that will be the end.

Thinking as much, I went straight to the end of the floor and headed through the portal.

As I said before, there was no need to waste any time, and if the Sage was as desperate to reach me as I suspect, then it is unlikely that he would intentionally obstruct my path.

"Oh. This is different."

Suddenly, I appeared in a world of white.

Whoooooosh~~!!

All around me, a raging blizzard blossomed.

The cold wouldn't affect me thanks to Reality, but it was impossible to see even just a few inches in front of me.

"I can see well despite the hazardous environment."

With no more than a single statement to exit my mouth, my vision immediately cleared up, though the wildly falling snow persisted.

Catching sight of something white and blue in my peripherals, I turned my head to see a gigantic structure of ice sitting with a solemn gracefulness in the middle of the vast snowfield.

[Magic Tower 11th Floor Trial.]

[Phase One.]

[In the northernmost district of the world, a place too cruel to support life, the Northern Star resides within her Glacial Palace.]

Before I could fully process the lines that had appeared, I teleported.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself floating at the bottom of the ocean, and far beneath me, there was a great chasm in the floor that extended endlessly downwards.

I didn't require Reality to breathe here nor to endure the crushing pressures of the ocean depths as it appeared the tower had taken care of that in my stead.

[At the farthest pits of the world's deepest, darkest abyss, the Leviathan of the Abyss lays underneath its largest sea.]

Once again, the location changed instantaneously, and a tremendous volcano stood before me.

[Within the boundless magma chambers of the vast western continent, the fabled Dragon King slumbers beneath the world's broadest and most renowned caldera.]

[These are beings who seem to be capable of things no other creature could imagine, and as if to prove their magnificence, some choose to live in inhospitable places.]

[They are known as Transcendents.]

Finally, I appeared in a forest with a tree of immeasurable proportions right in front of me that radiated a constant, gentle warmth.

[In order to reach the extremity of magic, one needs to understand transcendental power.]

[If you can successfully manipulate the transcendental energy being provided to you by the World Tree, you will pass Phase One of the trial.]