Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference room.

The entire team of Athenae executives and management personnel felt their hearts thump and burn with hope, as they watched an old man fly brilliantly, like a light in their time of despair. The old man saved Minhyuk, held him until Minhyuk stood up once again, and turned around to glare fiercely at Vormon before dying.

Of course, the old man did not die for real. The NPCs’ death in the Continent Cloud was not permanent. They would revive and come back to life in Asgan Continent. However, the power that he showed, his desire to protect, and his unwavering will to never show his back to Vormon, his enemy, until his very last moments were enough to light another flame of hope for them!

“Amazing…” Kang Taehoon exclaimed. He was the one that planned and created this game. But even his heart was pounding wildly right now.

Meanwhile, the entire world clapped as they watched Ghost Spear Ben’s sacrifice.

[Crazy. Very crazy. Isn’t that the weird old man that never failed to comb his black hair every day?]

[Wow. I got goosebumps right now. I really got goosebumps, for real… I will never forget this scene in my life.]

[Did you hear his words? Don’t give up, my King. I cried when I heard it.]

[Ghost Spear Ben. He’s hailed as the father of all the Spear Masters in Asgan Continent. In fact, he’s also one of the legendary figures of the continent.]

[A legendary figure sacrificed himself to save the Food God…]

[Ah. Guys, you know that they won’t completely die inside the Continent Cloud, right?]

The global community sites were discussing heatedly while Team Leader Park Minggyu watched the scene on the monitor with folded hands.

“The support troops have arrived.”

That was right. The rest of the support troops have arrived with Ghost Spear Ben.

“Hope is still with us in this desperate situation.”

President Kang Taehoon nodded in agreement with Team Leader Park’s words. They were not afraid of the ‘condemnation’ that the public would heap on them if they failed.

What they were afraid of was the frustration that the players would feel once they failed to stop Vormon. But what if the players succeeded? The impact and effect of their successful hunt would be beyond anyone’s imagination.

“That woman will arrive soon too.”

On one of the countless monitors opened in front of them, a silver-haired woman was seen crossing through the Continent Cloud at the speed of light. And…

“Black Mage Ali is also doing his best to awaken the Supreme Divine Beast.”

As long as Ali was able to get the final fragment of the Golden Crown, they would be able to awaken the Supreme Divine Beast.

Yes. Their fight was not yet over.

***

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Black Dragon Vormon writhed in pain. Standing in front of him was a glaring old man with folded arms. His expression showed his unwavering spirit and determination despite his body turning gray and disappearing into nothingness. Everyone at the scene looked at Ghost Spear Ben and the Food God.

Minhyuk clenched the fist that held his sword tightly. He was very aware that death in the Continent Cloud was not an actual death. As long as he went back to the Asgan Continent, he would still see Ghost Spear Ben. He was sure that he would even say this to him, ‘Hohoho. My son… no, my lord. Are you going to bottoms up 20 cups of coffee right now?’

Still, Ghost Spear Ben was like a grandfather to Minhyuk. Ever since he contracted his eating addiction, he had long distanced himself from his friends. Ben was someone that always joked around with him, gave pieces of advice to him, and silently gave him strength. And right now, he even sacrificed himself to save him.

‘I won’t give up.’

Swoosh—

Ghost Spear Ben had disappeared completely. The appearance of Ghost Spear Ben meant that reinforcements had arrived.

“Minhyuk!”

“Are you alright?!”

The members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild flocked towards Minhyuk.

[The members of Let’s Eat Sect Guild have arrived.]

[A small flame of hope is being ignited in this dark, dreary, and desperate situation.]

[Crazy Priest Locke, Fighter Khan, Red Flame Fighter Ace, Assassin of the Moon Lucia, Informant Abel, Whip Warrioress Genie, Knight of Agony Alicia, Master of Divine Beast Kaistra, Best Selling Author Aruvel, and Bounty Hunter Crow have arrived.]

[And that’s not all.]

“Kiyeeeeeeeeeeeee—“

Black bird-like figures appeared in the sky along with the commentators’ words. No, to be exact, the warriors of the Dragon Race have appeared and covered the skies. Then, among them, a man quickly landed in front of Minhyuk and said, “Son, are you alright?”

The man wore an armor made out of black scales. This man was none other than Black Dragon.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Black Dragon breathed a sigh of relief. He worried about what would happen if he met his son who was feeling frustrated after facing a strong opponent. However, his son’s eyes were still shining brightly.

‘Yeah. He’s my son, alright!’

There would always be times in life where one would meet strong opponents that they could not deal with. However, Black Dragon believed that even if they collapsed and fell down in front of such an opponent, as long as they stood up time and time again, they would eventually stand strong and gain victory.

Then, Minhyuk’s gaze turned back to Vormon.

Twitch, twitch, twitch—

The injuries on his neck twitched as they started to regenerate once again. The surviving troops continued to send their attacks at Vormon’s fallen body but…

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

Vormon’s defense was unimaginably high. Despite their all-out attacks, they could not deal any significant damage. There were even hundreds of translucent shields created around Vormon’s body. These shields defended him from the players’ attacks.

“Keuaaaaack!”

Vormon once again spread his wings as he flew high up in the sky.

“Spread out!!!”

Everyone moved quickly after receiving Minhyuk’s orders once again. And even though the members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild had just arrived, they were all quickly engaged in battle. After all, they were faced with a very desperate situation the moment they arrived.

Then, Vormon opened his mouth and sucked in the mana in the surroundings.

[Vormon has devoured 10% of your MP.]

Blue energy seeped out from the troops’ bodies, before getting converted into black energy that entered Vormon’s mouth. Everyone present knew what Vormon was preparing to do.

“It’s… it’s Breath!”

“Stop it! We have to stop it, no matter what!”

The entire army was horrified. That was when Black Dragon threw his Dragon Tear Sword in the air with all his might.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

Black Dragon used Sword Manipulation and tried to attack Vormon, but a gigantic shield appeared and blocked his attacks.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

The shield was so solid and tough, that it was very hard for any of his attacks to pierce through it.

Thwaaaaack—

Genie swung her whip. But just when the flames created from her whip were about to hit Vormon, the shield moved and blocked her attack too. And the worst part…

[Shield Reflection]

[The shield reflects your attack and sends it back to you.]

Crackle—

“Keuaaaaaack!” Genie screamed as the fire engulfed her and spread all over her body in an instant.

Informant Abel lightly leapt forward, while Penrus, who Kaistra was riding on, let out a breath of light.

“Demonic Dragon Spear Arts Chapter 3. Exploding Spear!!!”

Even the Best Selling Author Aruvel also added his strength into the mix. However, their attacks remained useless. Most of their attacks were blocked by the shield, and even if they pierced through the shield, their attacks still could not pierce through Vormon. In the end, Vormon was still able to spit out his tremendous and horrifying power.

Keuhaaaaaaaaaaaa—

He let out a black breath that covered the entire army. The only ones that were able to rush out of the radius of the breath were the members of the Let’s Eat Sect Guild. The ones that received a direct hit from Vormon’s breath were instantly wiped out, and disappeared without leaving any trace. The black breath’s energy lingered in the battlefield. 8,000 people. That was the number of troops that died in that instant.

“Hiiiiiiiiik…!”

The troops were terrified after witnessing the sudden disappearance of the person right next to them. With the disappearance of the 8,000 people in the army, their once-overflowing will to fight and charge forward had disappeared completely. On top of that, all of Vormon’s injuries had healed completely thanks to his regenerative abilities.

“We’re done for…”

“We can’t beat something like that.”

“Goddamn! Damn it!!!”

[Vormon’s Terror]

[Your defensive power will drop by 30% while your attack hit rate and critical hit rate will drop by 20%.]

Vormon’s Terror debuff appeared and encroached upon the entire army. With the poison and breath from earlier, they only had at most 9,000 troops left. However, despite the crippling despair and frustration, there were still some people struggling against Vormon.

“Locke!!!”

“Okay!!!”

Khan ran to Locke. When Khan jumped up, Locke grabbed him by the ankle before spinning around.

Vwooooom—

And since Khan’s ankle had been grabbed by Locke, he also followed and spun along with him. When Locke released his grab on Khan’s ankle, Khan gained unprecedented momentum and power as he sped up through the air towards Vormon.

“Little Giant’s Wild Fist!”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Khan’s fast flying speed had allowed him to ignore the shield covering Vormon’s body. That was on top of his skill’s 50% chances of ignoring his opponent’s defenses.

“Keuaaaaack!” Vormon shrieked.

No one let the opportunity pass by. Aruvel already jumped up on Penrus’ back with Kaistra.

Daaaash—

Then, Aruvel lightly leapt up and narrated, “Not too long ago, Dragon Varoi had met up with his first dragon love again. It was a dreamy reunion after 5,000 years of not seeing each other. The two of them bang, bang, bang as they mated in the mountains. However, it turned out that the female dragon Ceroi was the female of Dragon Lord Chief Patnia!!!”

Was Aruvel spitting out nonsense in this situation? Not at all. His powerful voice was enough to distract and make the enemy turn his gaze towards him.

“Keuhaaaack?! That dragon Varoi dared to touch the Dragon Chief’s female?!”

Vormon showed interest in the story. Even the great black dragon could not avoid the temptation of rumors and stories! While his attention was dragged somewhere else, Abel, Ascar and Crow, who were preparing to attack, finally made their move.

“Abeeeeeeeeel!!!” The running Minhyuk shouted as he threw a dagger towards Abel.

Abel snatched the dagger in the air with a grin and said, “Thanks!”

The dagger was none other than the Bloody Dagger that Da Zhuang dropped on his death.

“Mortal’s Dagger!”

Puhaaaaaaaaa—

Abel casted and triggered his one-shot kill skill ‘Mortal’s Dagger’ and stabbed it on Black Dragon Vormon’s back.

“Keuaaaaaack!”

Crow also used his Tornado Spear, while Ascar used her Dance of the Twin Swords. They fought and struggled against despair and hopelessness. Seeing them like that made the frustrated Chinese rankers grab their weapons tightly.

“We can’t be left behind by Korea!”

“Let’s go!”

“Uwoooooooooooh!”

They also moved to join the battle once again.

[The Chinese rankers that have lost their morale and fighting spirit have charged forward once again.]

[That’s right. The Cairon Continent should not be left behind and pushed back by Asgan Continent.]

[Player Minhyuk has flown forward and taken the lead.]

Minhyuk faced against Black Dragon Vormon with his sword surging and overflowing with powerful energy. Then this powerful energy stretched and shot out from his sword.

[Heaven Tearing Sword]

[You will be able to send a red sword light with a 350% additional damage and 20% increase in critical hit rate towards your enemies. Upon successful attack on a vital point, an explosion with additional 600% damage will engulf your enemy.]

A gigantic red sword light flew straight towards Vormon’s body.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

[Intangible Sword.]

[Your sword strike has ignored all of the enemy’s defenses.]

“Keuaaaaaaaaack!” Vormon screamed as his flesh was torn apart by the attack. But the attack did not end there, as the red sword lights sent a series of consecutive attacks towards Vormon’s body.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

The attacks would cause explosions with additional 600% damage in every successful strike.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—

Another scream ripped out of Vormon’s mouth, “Keuaaaaaaack!!!”

However, not long after, gigantic flames burst out of Vormon’s body.

Puhaaaaaaaaa—

“Uuuurk!”

“Keuaaack!”

“Ugh, aaaaaah!”

The players scrambled to get out of the fire’s vicinity. Unfortunately, Ascar was caught by the flames. The flames devoured her until she disappeared without a trace. Genie had reached out to her, but she still failed to get out of the flames’ radius of attack.

“Ascar…!”

“Everyone… finish it…”

This was Ascar’s last words. But unlike her confidence in them, Vormon brought them more despair.

[Vormon’s Fury]

[Vormon has released his hidden power.]

[Vormon’s defense has increased by 1.4x]

[Vormon’s speed of regeneration has increased by 1.4x]

[Vormon’s magic damage has increased by 30%.]

[Vormon has summoned his Legion of Despair.]

The space in the sky was torn apart as 3,000 lizardmen armed with various weapons appeared in front of the players. They held swords, spears, bows and axes. Some of them were even mages that held staves. All of them were also wearing black full-plated armor. And their levels…

[Warrior of Despair. Level 547.]

“…!”

…were unimaginable. Vormon not only increased his own power, but even brought his own army into the mix. Everyone that watched this scene all looked at Vormon with ugly faces.

***

Black Mage Ali was able to successfully acquire the final fragment of the Golden Crown. The place that he went to to get the fragment was Moldoron’s final resting place. This was a sanctuary filled with countless trials and various quests for Moldoron’s successor, Ali.

After acquiring the final fragment of the Golden Crown, Ali did not return to the game immediately. Before he could deliver the fragment, something urgent happened in reality, so he had to log out and check things out. Ali had watched on TV how Vormon turned furious and how he opened up more of his strength and summoned his Legion of Despair. He was sure that his friends would not be able to keep up and fight back against Vormon and his troops by themselves.

Originally, Ali’s level was not yet high enough to go and meet Moldoron. It was only possible because another route had been presented to him due to a different reason. Moldoron’s successors had a chance to open up and awaken his power once. But as a payment for this opportunity…

[My descendant, why do you wish to obtain such power? If you forcefully awaken and open up that power, when you haven’t reached the requirements yet, it would remove your qualifications to become my successor. There’s even a chance that your magical power and strength will disappear forever.]

This was what Great Mage Moldoron had told him. But, Ali just smiled slightly at him before saying, “It’s alright even if I lose everything to get that power.”

Moldoron looked at him as if he could not understand how his head worked. A mage with a power that transcended this world. This was who Moldoron was. What did he want to do for him to be willing to lose the chance to gain that power?

[By any chance, can you tell me the reason why?]

“There’s something that I need to protect.”

Moldoron chuckled, finding Ali’s reason to be interesting. What was he trying to protect that he would willingly take the risk of losing everything just so he could protect it?

[What is it that you want to protect?]

Ali turned to Moldoron. His eyes sparkled as he stared directly at Moldoron’s eyes before saying, “My friend.”

Then…

Puhaaaaaaaaaa—

…a golden pillar of light fell from the sky.

The reason why Ali was hailed as the Black Mage was because everything, from his staff to his robe, even to his hat, everything was black. But at this very moment, his robe, his staff, his hair, and even his eyes had turned golden.

A new legend was being written. This was the story of how Black Mage Ali became the ‘Golden Mage’ and how he reached ‘Godhood’.