— Monsters are rampaging in the south side too.

— Monsters are invading from the northern beach.

Tomer sighed as she received reports from her communication crystal.

Crevon’s monsters began to stir. Not only had their numbers tripled, but they also possessed higher levels than normal. It happened so quickly that players living in Central Crevon didn’t even notice.

“And the damages?”

— The northern castle is heavily damaged. It hasn’t been toppled, but they’re having difficulty holding the monsters back.

“Tsk.”

Truth be told, Crevon enjoyed peace for far too long. Tomer heard the last war occurred 100 years ago. As such, Crevon’s soldiers also grew lax. Of course, demons had recently attacked. However, they dealt with it in just 3 hours, so Crevon’s soldiers and nobles only grew lazier and more arrogant.

“What is the royal family’s plan?”

— They plan on dispatching Lü Bu and other generals. They’re also planning on hiring outsiders. How are the damages on the western front? It must contain more monsters.

“It’s okay for now, but the monsters are growing stronger.”

Surprisingly, Western Crevon suffered little damage despite bordering the land transformed by the demon realm. Tomer had hellishly trained her soldiers for the past 3-4 months. She also used aid from the central government and her personal funds to upgrade their equipment. As a result, ordinary soldiers averaged level 10 and knights who swore loyalty to her reached level 16. Furthermore, she had extraordinary guests like Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Yohan who enjoyed fighting.

“I’ll need more funds.”

She ran out of funds to pay the soldiers’ salaries, provide their meals, and reinforce the castle walls.

— Understood. I will let His Majesty know about the western front’s situation.

“Thanks.”

Tomer turned off the communication crystal and sighed. A soft voice entered her ears as she pressed her temples.

“Looks like this place is safer than the royal palace.”

Tomer held back from sighing again when she saw Araha lying on the office couch with a sleepy face.

“Princess, when are you going back?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Pardon?”

“They won’t mind even if someone like me disappears.” Araha smiled. “I’m low rank.”

“No, you have to go back.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel uncomfortable.”

Araha frowned at Tomer’s blunt statement.

“See, even Margrave looks down on me because of my low rank.”

“I am not. I have to deal with the monster attack.”

Tomer’s dukedom sat at Crevon’s western border. She received the Margrave title along with her own army and always had to be wary of potential attacks because of the demon realm. Such an environment didn’t suit a royal princess.

“You speak like you’ve been ruling for more than 20 years, Duchess,” Araha muttered curtly.

“My heart says this is my homeland.”

“Fine, then I’ll return after I get what I came for.”

“You mean the Crane Feather Fan?”

“…” Araha nodded without a word. Another report came in from Tomer’s crystal ball.

— Duchess, Phiunel is here.

The sudden report surprised both of them.

“Phiunel? Why is that old man here?”

“Phiunel?”

— He heard that his savior is here and wanted to express his gratitude.

“Savior…”

Tomer recalled the woman working as a centurion in her army who sparred with her at least 5 times a day.

“You mean the centurion?”

—Pardon? Um… which centurion are you referring to?

“Let him in.”

Tomer ended the communication and messaged her centurion.

“Where are you?”

— I’m eating.

A dry voice rang out. Boss currently held the official position of dukedom centurion. They spoke politely in public because of this, but acted casually in private.

“Come find me after you’re done eating. Someone wants to see you.”

***

[7F, Game Center’s Luxury Hotel, 31st floor]

“…”

I opened my eyes to a fancy ceiling. The executive suite was second only to the presidential suite. I rested for half a day while doing nothing.

“How comfortable.”

Of course, I could’ve rested in my waiting room, but this hotel felt better for lazing away.

— I will help you shower.

The robots gathered around me after I woke up. I continued looking at the ceiling as they did what they wanted.

[Crevon just made an official announcement. They’re handing out TP for killing monsters.] [The monsters are too strong. You’d have to be damn powerful if you don’t want to die.] [I heard this is all because Black Lotus got killed. Is this true?] [Don’t tell Crevon citizens that.]

The comfortable bed I lay in changed into a bathtub. Several hands massaged me and washed my hair as I read the public forum.

“What a party.”

The community turned into a ruckus, but the real calamities had yet to descend. Aileen’s party lasted longer than I thought.

The Door of Calamity wouldn’t impact players much. They could simply abandon Crevon in the worst-case scenario. The 9th floor’s calamities could only stay on the 8th and 9th floors. The residential area on the 3rd floor still remained. People wouldn’t miss Crevon that much since Prestige changed from nearly uninhabitable slums to a medieval city.

— Shower has been completed.

Of course, I didn’t plan on letting that happen. I got up as soon as the shower ended. The robots also prepared food on the table. I quickly ate and went out to the lobby.

The 7th floor’s luxury hotel couldn’t be compared to an inn. Most players could never afford a room here and only administrators visited. Was there one here right now? Only two rooms existed on each floor. I gazed through the other room’s door.

“You still haven’t figured out who the maker is?”

A woman spoke with someone through a crystal ball. I shuddered as soon as I saw her. Medea frowned unhappily in the next room.

“Heimdall wouldn’t say?”

I could hear their conversation.

— Yes, he is refusing to talk to us.

“Tsk, fine. What about Aphrodite? She and Helena looked into it as well.”

— It seems neither of them found anything about the maker. After all, none of us can interfere in the 8th floor’s matters.

“That’s good news, at least.”

I could somewhat guess what they talked about. Aphrodite, Medea, and Helena. These three administrators all liked luxury items and probably wanted to buy the Wolf’s Fragrance. Even I had to admit it truly looked like a work of art. As expected of an item that took all my effort and high quality materials. It probably reached the pinnacle of a luxury item.

“We’ll talk later. Wait, no, you said the 8th floor was experiencing some trouble, correct?”

— Yes.

“In that case, why don’t we…”

Medea paused and suddenly looked around. She probably sensed me.

“I’m hanging up now.”

She walked to the door and slowly opened it. I walked away before she could find me.

“Huh?”

Soon, she found me in front of the elevator. We made eye contact and tilted my head as though I had just seen her.

“Medea?”

“…”

She glared at me without a word. Her eyes looked somewhat aggressive, but she soon put on a fake expression and smiled.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Did you come to gamble again?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t gamble anymore.”

“I see.”

Medea slightly clenched her teeth. How scary… Should I make up an excuse and run away? Medea spoke first while I contemplated.

“Oh right, I’m using the robe you gave me as a consolation prize.”

A faint hostility flickered in her voice. The kind that felt much more threatening than open hostility.

“Consolation prize? That was a present.”

“I’m no fool. You took off with 300,000 TP and left that robe to appease me.”

“…”

Medea looked at me with a bright smile as I scratched my neck. She might’ve struck me with a magic spell if we weren’t on the 7th floor. Damn, she got greedy and lost, so why was it my fault?

“Cough.”

It felt wasteful to give her a present without asking for anything in return, but I had to maintain a good relationship for Prestige. Plus, I made the Wolf’s Fragrance look pretty on purpose. It should be the fanciest robe in the tower. Its high level (Lv.10) also indicated that, but it lacked in practical use.

“I prepared a present for you, Medea.”

I resolved myself and spoke with determination. However, she immediately declined.

“Yeah, no thanks.”

She continued with a twisted sneer. “I don’t need your sympathy or pity either.”

She completely hates me, doesn’t she?

“Cough, well.”

I felt slightly flustered, but it was her loss. Let’s see her face when she sees my robe with some other administrator.

“What a shame. I worked hard to make it.”

“It’s fine. How good can an item made by someone like you be? I threw away the robe you gave me after one use.”

I planned on just leaving, but she kept provoking me. Was she also mad that I got rid of her tracking spell? I started to get angry.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

I smiled forcefully. Ding— The elevator arrived and we got on at the same time.

The awkward silence continued as we descended. Thankfully, the elevator only took 2 seconds to travel from the 31st floor to the 1st floor. Ding— The door opened again and I set foot outside.

— Hello.

AlphaGo suddenly appeared. Then I realized we hadn’t arrived on the 1st floor. We came to the administrator’s 17th floor. AlphaGo looked at me and spoke.

— The 7th floor administrator, Simad, has a message for you.

“Huh?”

— Are you the maker of Wolf’s Fragrance?

“Yes, but why?”

“What?”

Medea almost closed the elevator door when her eyes suddenly flashed. My luck helped me out once again to pay her back for looking down on me. I glanced back and forth between Medea and AlphaGo.

“Ah, yes. I’m the one who made Wolf’s Fragrance.”

— Administrator Simad would like to buy your work of art.

“But, how did he find out?”

— Simad has been watching over your craftsmanship.

Medea’s eyes widened the more AlphaGo talked. What words should I choose to make her angrier? While I had such delightful thoughts…

[The first party to enter the 9th floor has given up their right. The Door of Calamity has opened!]

A flurry of system messages popped up.

[The list of calamities is as follows:] [1. Half-man, Half-cow, Minotaur.] [2. Petrifying Enchantress, Medusa.] [3. One-eyed Giant, Cyclops.] [4. Living Hive Mind, Chimera.] [5. Bottom-dwelling Snake, Python.]

[The 9th floor’s calamities will now lead their armies towards the 8th floor.] [They will drive Crevon’s monsters mad!] [Crevon’s demons will now act more aggressively!]

My expression froze. As expected, two more calamities had been added to the ones in the original story.

“W-What did you just say? Wolf’s Fragrance? T-Then the gift you mentioned…”

Medea placed her hand on my shoulder, but I brushed it off with a snap of my wrist.

“Yes, but didn’t you say you didn’t want it?”

“No, no, no. But, uh, y-you made that thing? How?”

“Ah, something important just came up, so I have to return to the 8th floor. Sorry, Medea.”

Honestly, I wasn’t in much of a hurry, but acted otherwise as I ripped the 8th floor ticket.

“Wait, wait, I…!”

Medea’s voice cut off in the middle. Serves her right for being such a bitch.

***

[The Desert Eagle’s enhancement has been completed.] [Many functionalities have been added in addition to increased firepower.] 1. Tracking Bullet: Your bullets may now track the enemy. 2. Self-Tracking: The Desert Eagle will not leave your body. 3. Exploding Bullet 4. Piercing Bullet

I arrived in Crevon with the enhanced Desert Eagle. Despite such powerful monsters invading, Crevon’s city…

— Buy some beef jerky. Excellent food for traveling!

— This looks different than the cigarettes I’m used to.

— I hear they modified the design so that outsiders can smoke it. It has a weaker taste, but is easier to smoke.

— Mom, I’m hungry.

Its citizens didn’t stop laughing and every shop bustled with activity. One wouldn’t expect such a scene from a country facing a catastrophe. It didn’t feel too surprising considering its history. Crevon’s government hadn’t told its citizens about the calamities to prevent mass panic.

“Spartan, Sannuri.”

I summoned Spartan and Sannuri on the streets of Crevon.

— Hiiing!

Sannuri stomped her hooves. Her black fur, mane, and irises made her seem like darkness itself. Such a horse gathered everyone’s attention as I hopped on.

“Go to my companions.”

— Hiiing!

Sannuri charged forward as my robe fluttered in the wind. Clack, clack… She started on the ground, but began running on air before I noticed. Only a few horses could air walk. I arrived at the World’s End after about 10 minutes.

“You’re here, newbie. How flashy.”

Cheok Jungyeong greeted me from a mountain with a clear view of World’s End as I descended from the sky.

“Hello.”

I fixed my disheveled robe and looked down. The calamities that came out from the Door of Calamity already claimed their respective territories and formed an organized army. I bitterly smiled at the scene. It looked like Eastern Crevon had already fallen.

“What’s our plan?” Cheok Jungyeong asked.

“We’re going to hunt one calamity and immediately go to the 10th floor.”

Aileen’s party should’ve received the reward for being the first to arrive on the 10th floor. I felt slightly regretful, but I preferred them instead of djinns like in the original story.

“And after we get there?”

“We start climbing the tower for real. We’ll be the first to reach every floor until the 15th. Hunting one of those calamities will give us a bonus too.”

From now on, climbing the tower alone would be hard even for me. I planned on climbing as a group while taking all the necessary rewards.

“Hunting those won’t be easy.” Jin Yohan spoke from next to Cheok Jungyeong. He smiled with the Serpent Spear in hand.

“It’s fine. Don’t look here, but way over there to the left of the canyon.” I pointed to a small canyon in the distance. One calamity, a large snake, had claimed its territory there.

“It’s by itself and practically asking to be killed.”

The python was the weakest of the calamities. It should be around level 30 if the minotaur was at level 40.

“I guess. Cheok Jungyeong, where’s Boss?”

Cheok Jungyeong scratched his head at Jin Yohan’s question. “How would I know? Boss likes this little guy.”

“Boss will be here soon. I have already messaged her.”

A group of players appeared on the plain not too far away. I pushed my hood down after spotting Essence of the Strait’s team. Several other groups also arrived. The English Royal Court guild, Kim Suho’s party, Desolate Moon, Frost Sanctuary, and various individual rankers including Vast Expanse’s Kim Junwoo. Players who could call themselves experts gathered one by one.

“Newbie, go out there and strike the first blow.”

“Pardon?” I tilted my head at Cheok Jungyeong’s suggestion.

“It looks like they’ll come together again. What are you going to do if they choose the same target?”

“Oh.”

As Cheok Jungyeong said, the players discussed how to approach the upcoming battle. A few of the smart ones should’ve noticed python was the weakest, but they would have to fight the nearby calamities and monsters if I shot an arrow to start the battle.

“Before that, give me the thing I asked for.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

Cheok Jungyeong took out several arrows from his inventory. A total of 60 [Lv.5 Dark Ore Arrows] made from dark ores I bought in the auction house or received through rolling the random dice.

[You have consumed spirit power to use Lv.6 Synthesis.] [Synthesizing Lv.5 Dark Ore Arrow with Lv.7 Dark Ore Arrow…] [Warning! The high level items will decrease the success rate.] [Synthesis has succeeded!] [Warning! The high level items will decrease the success rate.] [Synthesis has succeeded!] [Warning! The high level items will decrease the success rate.] [Synthesis has succeeded!]…

Of the 60 arrows, 50 successfully fused with my five Lv.7 arrows and they increased to level 9. Cheok Jungyeong stared at me.

“It’s interesting no matter how many times I see it. Why did you learn such a weird skill?”

I lightly smiled and nocked all 5 arrows onto my bow. A sudden question popped up in my head. Which was stronger between my gun and bow? I no longer knew the answer.

“I’m starting.”

“Don’t hide. Walk up to the mountain peak and show yourself.”

Cheok Jungyeong pushed me to the top.

“I’m not an attention-seeker or anything. I don’t mind.”

“What use is there in having cool items if you don’t show them off? You’re good at archery too, so show it off! There aren’t many chances in this vast world to make a name for yourself.”

“If you say so.”

I’d make some SP at least, so it wasn’t a disadvantageous offer. I grumbled and aimed 5 arrows at the monsters. Then I infused stigma’s magic power into them. Some players with keen eyesight noticed me before I even released my bowstring. They pointed and yelled something. This was all Cheok Jungyeong’s fault. I released the bowstring as the 5 dark ore arrows flew towards the armies of each calamity.