Babel Tower, a super construct standing in the middle of the Labyrinth City, Orario.
Surrounded by its plaza, Babel Plaza, and a Tower Barrier that engulfed both the tower and its surroundings, it pierced the heavens—reaching the barrier that enclosed the world's sky.
As soon as I stepped into the Tower Barrier, my sight turned blurry. I felt like I was passing through a veil. For those below the ??? level, the barrier would be invisible—nonexistent to their senses. The only proof of its existence would be that brief distortion of vision when passing through it.
It felt as if I was walking through water. I took six steps before the sensation disappeared, and my vision returned to normal.
The sight that greeted me was a boundless plaza—a never-ending expanse. There was only a beginning, no end. Before me stretched the endless Babel Plaza, endless and immeasurable.
Far in the distance, beyond ??? Entirely Endlessly So, stood an unimaginably massive tower, dwarfing even that endless distance as though it were a speck of dust. It was like comparing a being countless times greater than everything to a single particle.
At the horizon of this boundless space lay a wall of mist that stretched infinitely toward the sky, covering the entire horizon. This mist was everywhere, visible only from a great distance.
Throughout the plaza stood countless red towers, each unfathomably massive yet smaller than Babel Tower. Every one of them varied in scale.
These red towers rose as tall as Babel Tower itself, their surfaces covered in colossal cannons, each a ???-caliber weapon—technology far beyond comprehension.
The cannons covered every inch of the red towers, aligned with perfect precision and order.
Deep within the mist at the horizon, immense shadows loomed—some humanoid, some dragon-like, others bestial or beyond form. They stood motionless, like statues.
Those were the Titanous Golems, guardians of this realm. The smallest among them treated all of existence as mere particles.
In the deepest depths of the mist, another shadow towered—a massive pyramid-like construct, dwarfing even the golems. There were countless such pyramids scattered across the plaza, their surfaces lined with silos holding missiles of incomprehensible scale and destructive might.
Behind me rose a pillar of light, as vast as the Tower Barrier outside. This radiant column served as both the exit and the inner face of the barrier. This boundless space existed within the Tower Barrier—it was the interior, and the barrier itself acted as both entrance and protector.
Adventurers came and went through that pillar, passing freely between realms.
The pillar of light stood within a vast square, at whose edges lay teleportation arrays. These arrays could send one directly into Babel Tower, to the smallest chamber holding the entrance to the dungeon known as The Great Hallow.
This vast square was known among adventurers as The Great Gate. Despite having no actual gate, the name persisted because it held the only true exit—the pillar of light.
Beyond the square stretched the endless plaza floor, paved with gray bricks of unknown origin and power.
I looked around. Countless adventurers filled the place—dwarves hefting massive axes, beautiful elves wielding staves and bows, humans bearing swords and shields, beastfolk, and pallums.
All kinds of adventurers walked this square, from the strongest to the weakest—all moving toward the teleportation arrays or the glowing pillar behind me.
I began walking toward the nearest teleportation array—a four-mile journey.
What an inconvenience. I could reach it instantly, but I didn't want to draw attention. That would be troublesome.
After a few minutes, I arrived.
The teleportation array was an elevated four-step platform, square in shape, with a massive magic circle engraved on top.
In front of me lay the array; one mile ahead was the edge of the square. Beyond that, the plaza floor stretched endlessly, forming visible borders which, when seen from above, created a perfect square.
Behind me, four miles away, at the center of the square, stood the pillar of light—the only exit.
Rows of adventurers stepped onto the array and vanished instantly, teleported away in a blink.
Occasionally, others appeared out of nowhere—clearly arriving through the same means.
I stepped onto the teleportation array, and the next moment, my vision went black.
John's figure vanished, carried away by the teleportation array.