[5F, Materialized Demon Realm]

I returned to the Materialized Demon Realm. Players had conquered the demon castles, but no one knew about the secret underground bases and the NPCs that hadn’t been rescued.

“Is it here?”

I brought my trustworthy comrade, Cheok Jungyeong, because of the unfavorable terrain for sharpshooters.

“Yep.”

We followed a secret passageway on the outskirts until we reached a huge boulder. I glanced at Cheok Jungyeong.

“It better not be boring.”

Cheok Jungyeong looked like a legendary giant with the armor I gave him. His body grew even bigger with the special skill, [Secret March].

“It’ll be somewhat interesting.”

The demons should be high level according to my settings and a demon had even tamed a drake here. I planned to make myself a wrist protector with the drake leather.

“Let’s go.”

“Sure.”

We entered what looked like a manhole.

The darkness didn’t hinder my vision at all. My eyes penetrated the walls and detected several heat sources. This underground base contained at least 30 enemies and the NPCs resided on the bottom floor.

[Quest discovered!] [Rank – High] [Summary – The demon Ryukai has hypnotized and enslaved many NPCs. The NPCs will only regain their sanity for 3 hours per day.] [Goal – Rescue all the trapped NPCs and undo Ryukai’s mind control magic.] [Reward – Mystical Whetstone, Mandrake]

A quest popped up. Cheok Jungyeong saw it too as he squinted at the air.

“Mmm… so what’s our plan?”

“Just follow me.”

I led Cheok Jungyeong, but the base’s defensive system activated before I could even take a few steps. Koong— Koong— Koong— Koong— Something rumbled as Cheok Jungyeong glared in its direction.

“What are those?”

“They’re demons.”

Cheok Jungyeong looked frightening at 2.16 meters and 140 kilograms. However, the two giants in front of us appeared even bigger.

[Lv.10 Demon Giant]

“Leave this place.”

One of the giants spoke mechanically and his voice caused the earth to rumble. Crack, crack. Cheok Jungyeong lightly stretched.

“Newbie, I’ve been wondering, but what’s the difference between djinns and demons?”

“Huh?”

“Just curious.”

Cheok Jungyeong thought about such things? Well, he was a general in his past life, so he must be a strategist as well.

“Demons are born in the demon realm and djinns are humans who borrow the demon realm’s power.”

“Demon realm? Does it exist?”

“Who knows?”

I shrugged.

“Why wouldn’t it? The universe is vast.”

The demon realm certainly existed. Parts of Earth would soon be devoured by it. This core event would trigger the story’s latter half. The evil gods who commanded djinns always wanted to conquer Earth.

“I won’t repeat myself a second time.”

The demon giant spoke again.

“Leave."

“You better shut your trap, kiddo.”

Cheok Jungyeong stepped forward. His footsteps sounded quieter and his body looked weaker.

“Take care of them however you want. I’m going ahead.”

“Sure.”

I left them to Cheok Jungyeong and stuck to the ceiling like Spiderman with parkour. Of course, parkour couldn’t ignore the laws of physics, so I used a bit of stigma’s magic power and shot past the two giants.

A huge wind blew from behind as I almost reached the lower floors. KWANG! Cheok Jungyeong’s punch exploded into a shockwave and a demon giant smashed against the wall.

I smiled in satisfaction and headed downstairs. A total of 9 demons occupied the second floor. They prepared to fight from the ruckus upstairs.

— Get your weapons!

— Intruders!

— Report to Count Ryukai!

I transformed aether into a bow and took out 5 dark ore arrows. I could’ve used the Desert Eagle, but didn’t want to waste bullets on small fries. I fired the arrows simultaneously without hesitation. Chwaaaa. It didn’t matter if my targets hid behind a wall. These arrows could penetrate any obstacles. The 5 arrows pierced every demon’s vital organs. Only a split second had passed since they spotted me.

“You done?” Cheok Jungyeong immediately came down with black blood on his face.

“Yeah, follow me.”

We seemed like an undefeatable pair and continued crushing our way down until we reached the bottom floor in just 5 minutes. There, we found a Dracula-like demon and a chubby drake.

[Lv.12 Ryukai]

“Haha, foolish humans. You dare to intrude upon my abode?”

The ferocious giant charged at the murmuring Dracula. Cheok Jungyeong instantly grabbed Ryukai’s neck and slammed him to the ground.

“Auu… uuuk… ek… kek…”

Ryukai groaned in pain and tried to resist, but failed like a human trying to push an elephant. The demon noble’s face turned blue as he flailed and tore apart his fancy suit.

“Kuk.”

Soon, Ryukai stopped breathing. Crack— Cheok Jungyeong twisted his neck to confirm his death.

“The real trouble is there.”

“I know.”

Cheok Jungyeong glared at the drake, which joyfully looked at its dead master.

“You don’t need my help, right?” I asked.

“Of course.”

I walked past them and headed to the enslaved NPCs. Surprisingly, this place didn’t look like a prison. The bottom floor seemed like a noble’s mansion and the enslaved NPCs performed physical labor in a stupor.

I walked up to them and took out the mystic key. Then I inserted it in their heads and unlocked the spell that controlled their minds. The NPCs briefly panicked before choosing a young man as their spokesperson.

[Lv.9 Yuken]

This handsome young man had high potential as a master in city management and stronghold defense and offense. Prestige could use his talents.

“Everyone, I’ve come from Prestige to rescue you. My name is… Kim Huijuin. Let us return to Prestige.”

The NPCs hesitated at my words. Meanwhile, a fierce battle progressed nearby. KWANG! KOONG! Thunderous roars resounded as Cheok Jungyeong’s fist crushed the drake’s bones and claws.

“Is Ryukai dead?” Yuken asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“Then… we refuse.”

Yuken shook his head. I expected as much.

“If Ryukai is dead, it’ll be better for us to live here. To us, Prestige is no different than hell.”

According to my settings, they had left the 3rd floor to escape from Prestige. However, demons had captured them and forced them into slavery. Returning to Prestige only meant exchanging one hell for another.

“Don’t worry.” I shook my head.

“It’ll be okay. Prestige has changed a lot since you last saw it.”

The current Prestige… KOONG! KOONG! Cheok Jungyeong was —KOONG! … kind of noisy —KWANG! … but I used hypnotic suggestion regardless.

“A sun is being created in Prestige. Its citizens are working and living meaningful lives. Children run around the streets with smiles now. There is no shortage of food and water.”

My voice gently flowed into their ears.

“Moreover, Prestige needs your talents.”

***

I easily convinced Yuken and the 15 NPCs with the demon’s cunning speech. Then I guided them back to Prestige.

“This… where… what…”

“Where are we?”

“Is this really Prestige?”

The NPCs couldn’t hide their shock. Meanwhile, Henry and Kiri showed up to take care of them.

“Welcome, everyone. Come here.”

Henry and Kiri led them away as I sent them off with a smile. I turned to Cheok Jungyeong after they disappeared.

“Cheok Jungyeong.”

“Huh?”

I handed him a parchment.

“What’s this?” Cheok Jungyeong’s eyebrows perked up.

“Locations where NPCs are trapped on the 5th floor.”

“What? Why are you giving this to me?”

I smiled at Cheok Jungyeong, who looked confused.

“I don’t have time to save all of them.”

“You’re telling me to save them?”

Cheok Jungyeong shoved his intimidating face forward. “Look at you. Ordering me around now!”

Honestly, I felt scared, but already prepared a response. “Your shoes, clothes, and armor.”

Cheok Jungyeong slightly flinched every time I pointed at something he wore.

“Not a single one didn’t come from me.”

“…”

“I didn’t ask for anything when I gave them, did I?”

Cheok Jungyeong dodged my gaze and scratched his head. I just had to give a reason that wouldn’t hurt his pride after convincing him.

“It’s Boss’ order.”

“Huh? Oh, then just say so from the beginning!” Cheok Jungyeong laughed heartily and snatched the parchment from my hand.

“It should be a piece of cake. Let’s see… Ah, there’s only 5 people.”

“Five places. There should be around 100 NPCs in total.”

“Tsk.”

His face quickly contorted as he put away the parchment.

“Fine, I’ll get it done within 4 days.”

“Thanks.”

— Pieeeek

Spartan suddenly appeared and flew onto my shoulder. A group attempted to challenge the World’s End Bridge again.

“Where did this bird head come from?” Cheok Jungyeong stared at Spartan, who appeared out of nowhere.

“I’ll be off now. Don’t lose that parchment!”

I took out the portable crystal stele and used it for the 3rd time. The crystal stele remained just as bright after I recharged it with the Orb of Regeneration. Items with limited uses could last forever like this.

Sssss—

The ground instantly changed from a brick pedestrian walkway to a wooden board when I infused stigma’s magic power into the crystal stele.

I had built a temporary watchtower and looked down from a height that reached the clouds. Far away, a group… no, an army slowly marched towards the World’s End Bridge.

“The Chinese Alliance.”

I could tell their numbers at a glance. One, two, three, four… sixty-seven. They planned on breaking through with sheer numbers.

“Like that’ll work.”

I coldly muttered. I held the aether bow and dark ore arrows. As always, I shot a wooden arrow first as a warning. Chwaaak— Of course, they would ignore it like most players.

***

The martial tournament took place the next day on floor 8-3 in Crevon. I applied because of the first place prize and currently looked through the community in my waiting room. I pushed myself quite a bit yesterday, but I should easily pass the preliminary round.

[Another failed attempt to pass the bridge of death.] 

— The Chinese Alliance challenged it this time and Black Lotus absolutely destroyed them. Half of them died and the other half ran away.

— RIP Chinese Alliance lol That’s what they get for always pushing people around with their numbers. I’m not even mad.

— Don’t be racist ^^ You should be sad that people died. Their nationality shouldn’t matter, right?

— Wow… You have to hand it to Black Lotus. He’s amazing. But isn’t he being a bit selfish? He’s saying he’s the only one allowed to train on the 9th floor!

— No, we didn’t receive any alert that a player reached the 9th floor. He probably can’t go up either, so I think he’s blocking the way until he can.

[Black Lotus is going wild, but what’s the Divine Archer Jin Seyeon doing? Isn’t it common sense for a sharpshooter to deal with another sharpshooter?]

— She should do something about it since she’s in the tower.

— Divine Archer’s in the middle of her training montage.

— I don’t think the Divine Archer has a chance with what Black Lotus has shown. She only came in recently, so her stats are restricted even more.

[The Hero Association told Black Lotus to stop.]

— The Hero Association advised Black Lotus to stop blocking the way. It seems more like a threat. This is the first time the outside world interfered with matters inside the tower. They must have realized no one inside can do anything, so they took action outside.

— Who the hell’s gonna listen to any warning from the outside world? Not even the association head has any power here.

— I wouldn’t say that…

— No, he’s right. I can beat up Chae Joochul as long as he enters the tower.

— You must’ve lost your mind… You should get that treated.

I finally reached 5000 SP because of Black Lotus’ name all around the community and the outside world. I should be able to create another gift now.

— Preliminary round 37! In the blue corner! The beautiful obsidian jewel, Boshy!

The martial tournament host announced the 37th preliminary round. Boss used Boshy as her alias.

— In the red corner! The chickenhead Conrad!

I didn’t know any Conrad, but I would be up next. I prepared to stretch… Tiriring— My messenger suddenly rang.

Nayunjajangman: Hyung, what’s your main weapon?

Nayunjajangman: Do you want to do a quest with me?

Nayunjajangman’s messages poured in like rain because I hadn’t checked them in 3 weeks.

Nayunjajangman: Hyung, why haven’t you been replying lately?

Nayunjajangman: Did something happen? You’re not dead, are you?

Nayunjajangman: Message me if you see this.

***

[8-3F, Crevon Mainland]

Various stone buildings existed in Crevon. Some looked like they came from the Middle Ages and others looked like shopping malls. Crevon’s streets looked like a strange mix between the Middle Ages and the modern era. It gave the city a somewhat mystical and beautiful look. Rachel walked through the main street like a tourist. Every view seemed special enough to store in her memory.

“The scenery is indeed better than Prestige.”

Rachel nodded at vice team leader Davin’s words. About 4 days ago, Rachel and 8 other elite Royal Court guild members charged through the Field of Trials with Rachel’s elementals. Then they cleared several quests on floor 8-2 to reach the Crevon Mainland.

Crevon’s civilization appeared far above Prestige’s like they had been hearing on the public forum.

“It looks like a mix of London and the Middle Ages. I’m in awe no matter where I look.”

However, Rachel didn’t feel like they wasted investing in Prestige.

“This beautiful scenery wouldn’t lose to Prestige.”

The Tower of Wish now had close to 60000 players. The first wave only consisted of 3000 tickets, which multiplied to 9000 during the second and 18000 on the third. Now, the tutorial contained close to 30000 players.

“I agree.”

However, only one or two thousand managed to reach the 8th floor. Many players still lived in Prestige and couldn’t earn enough performance points to climb up. Furthermore, investing in Prestige turned out to be the right decision since outsiders couldn’t buy living space in Crevon.

“Vice leader, I’ve noticed that you always wear that armor.”

“Ah.” Rachel shyly laughed.

“It’s a suit, not armor.”

“Is it?”

She had acquired the [Lv.4 Black Suit] after a fierce battle of wits. It performed fantastically until now as her favorite armor.

“Yes, I can’t recall how many times it saved my life.”

“Haha… Ah, have you heard the news? Black Lotus slaughtered the alliance that tried crossing the bridge.”

“Yes, I heard.”

Rachel’s smiling face quickly froze. Yesterday, another group challenged the World’s End Bridge. The Chinese guilds allied for the 8th attempt. A total of 67 people wanted to show off their nation’s greatness until Black Lotus massacred them.

“As long as it’s not too expensive, buy the footage of the battle when it comes out.”

“Yes, understood.”

Parties that challenged Black Lotus always filmed and sold their attempts. Otherwise, third parties would film them and sell it themselves. The most famous video showed the Djinn Alliance’s attempt. A single arrow completely blasted the bridge like a tactical nuke, instilling fear into the hearts of many.

“Ah, we’re here,” Davin muttered.

[Lv.11 Phiunel’s Mansion]

They planned to meet for their mission. Rachel spoke to the guards at the entrance and followed the servants inside.

“It’s here.”

They arrived in front of a door that read, [Conference Room]. The servants left as Rachel slowly opened the door.

“Hello.”

Rachel gracefully bowed before entering. The people inside all reacted differently to her greeting.

“Ah, nice to meet you, elementalist Rachel.”

“Hello.”

“Hi!”

“It’s been a while, my old friend.”

Rachel scanned the room. Hunter of the Vast Expanse, Kim Junwoo. Desolate Moon’s Shin Jonghak. Essence of the Strait’s Yi Jiyoon and Miyamoto Yohei. One of the recent rising rankers, Chae Nayun, and Essence of the Strait’s chief officer, Kim Youngjin.

Rachel faced old acquaintances that warmed her heart as well as powerful veterans who made her tremble. She tried to remain calm as she took a seat.

“Hiya.”

“…”

Rachel returned Chae Nayun’s greeting with a slight bow. The door opened again and a gentle old man with white hair walked in.

“Welcome, outsiders.”

The following name floated above his head:

[Lv.??? Phiunel]