A three-meter-tall, two-legged creature stands motionless in the deepest depths of an inverted tower. Its face is clad in armor shaped like a pristine white dragon, crafted from some ultra-rare mineral. Its body and the massive greatsword in its hand are just as imposing. This is the aura of a one-of-a-kind legendary boss: Ragna, Origin of the ReTower.
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Rewind 300 days, just over 80 days after I got isekai'd to this world.
Back then, one thing was eating at me: the legend of an unbeatable boss, the one and only Ragna. Yup, I was still hung up on the theory I cooked up in Chapters 28 and 29—remember that? The one about the goddess's little "game" and my suspicion that there's another side out there, cooking up something to challenge the heroes. You're following, right?
And then there's my LV.100 Shapeshift skill. It can copy a ton, but it's got a blind spot: I can't copy the unique Talents of other heroes. I'm talking about the original, one-of-a-kind stuff, like May's [Pay2Win] or Tiny's [EXPlethora]. No matter how hard I try, those Talents are a no-go. But take Silica, for example. This world has a [Soul Bound] skill that Druids use, kinda like her Talent, but it's nowhere near as strong. Plus, it doesn't work on bosses. So, maybe these hero Talents have some extra juice or are just way higher level. Even when I copy them and crank 'em up to LV.20, they're still a pale imitation of the real deal.
You're probably seeing where this is going. The safest, most foolproof way to test my theory? Track down Ragna and try copying its powers. If I can't, or if the copy comes out weaker, that's proof there's a mastermind on the other side, cooking up counters to us heroes. Or, to put it another way—maybe we're just Players in their game?!
Normally, I'm not one to skip to the final boss or spoil the ending, but if knowing the truth could save the most hero lives, it's worth digging into early. No time to waste—I used every copied form I'd collected over those 80+ days, from people to monsters, to piece together the intel I needed to find Ragna.
But here's the kicker: when I finally pinpointed Ragna's location, it was equal parts shocking and disappointing. Imagine you're playing an epic RPG, exploring a vast world, reading lore, doing side quests, sinking 200 hours into it to hunt down the ultimate boss that's not even on the main storyline. And then you find out the strongest boss in the game… is right under your feet the whole time. Yeah, that's the letdown.
The ReTower, or as the monsters call it, the Root Tower, is a dungeon humans discovered ages ago. It's hidden in a secret underground passage beneath the starter dungeon of the capital city—the one no hero gets sent to. You know, the classic RPG trope with Rank F monsters crawling around? That one. But this dungeon's brutal. Clear the first floor, and you're already facing Rank A monsters, LV.220+ and up, with each floor getting tougher. By floor 10, a team of 100 of the era's strongest fighters went in, only to face a LV.999 boss for the first time. They got wrecked—casualties piled up, survivors barely escaped, and some monsters even chased them out. In the end, the nation's top mages had to seal the entrance shut.
Sounds impossible to reach Ragna and live to tell the tale, right? But here's the wild part: a few survivors claimed they saw Ragna. No clue how they got there, but they said no attack could touch it. It was too strong to even comprehend, and a single swing from it could wipe them out instantly. Yet, somehow, they didn't die and made it out to spread the tale. My take? The goddess might've given them a vision or something, a "legend" to hype up the so-called Players (us heroes?) coming to this world. It's like a giant neon sign screaming, "Here's the final boss! Here's how the story ends!" Or… maybe not.
End of Chapter 37
Ragna, Origin of the ReTower