Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Part 20

Before anyone even realized when she had cast her magic, the orcs had been cursed and were rotting away.

It was a curse that forcibly drained their life force.

“Haaah... Haaah...”

Seo Hwarin’s expression gradually worsened as she continued casting magic.

It was not the death energy tormenting her.

She was simply exhausted.

“As expected, that’s impressive.”

Yugeon nodded with a faint smile.

It was probably very difficult for her.

It would not be easy to control a power she had always suppressed and endured.

Was she not already breathing that heavily?

She had power overflowing from her, but it was like someone who had never run before.

Clatter.

Look at that.

The skeleton she had painstakingly created collapsed helplessly from a single blow by the ogre.

“J-Just a little more...”

Gritting her teeth, she continued summoning skeletons.

Tap.

But Yugeon placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You worked hard. I’ve seen enough.”

“I can still keep going.”

“There’ll be plenty of opportunities from now on. So stop and rest now.”

Swoosh.

Thud.

The moment Yugeon finished speaking, all the strength left her body and she collapsed to the ground.

It was her first time.

The first time she had used death energy until every last bit of her stamina was exhausted.

Crash.

When she collapsed, all the skeletons that had been holding on fell apart.

At the same time, the monsters began rapidly charging toward the three of them.

“Should I block them?”

“No. It’s about time we left.”

“Yes.”

Swoosh.

Understanding Yugeon’s words, Mincheol immediately moved aside without hesitation.

Ding!

【Infinite Realm】 has been activated.

[Consumes 1 Feat.]

Bzzzzzz.

The world stops.

Even the vibrations caused by the orcs and ogre.

Even the stench of blood.

Everything begins to stop within a world of gray.

Swoosh.

And within the time where everything had stopped.

Yugeon began moving his sword.

____________

With the ogre dead, Floor 27 was cleared as well.

“You look relieved.”

“H-Haha. I am.”

Lying flat on the ground, she smiled weakly.

Just as he said, she felt incredibly refreshed.

Her head no longer hurt, and she could no longer feel the death energy that had tormented her.

“Um... may I ask your name?”

“Han Yugeon.”

“I’m Cha Mincheol!”

Mincheol smiled and pointed at himself with a finger.

“My name is Seo Hwarin.”

“Even your name is prett... Ah... Ahem.”

Mincheol cleared his throat and turned his head away.

“You asked me to become your companion, right?”

Swoosh.

She rose from her seat and offered Yugeon a handshake.

The person who had reached out a hand to her.

The person who had accepted her, someone who had always felt empty, as a companion.

She wanted to stay with him and help him.

“I may still be lacking... but I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise. I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to working with you too!”

“Hahaha, my arm hurts.”

When Mincheol grabbed her arm and shook it vigorously, Seo Hwarin burst into laughter.

“Let’s talk about the rest after we leave. Things are going to get busy now.”

The second member of the Godslayers.

The future Saintess of Reversal and Queen of Corpse Flowers.

Seo Hwarin began moving alongside Yugeon.

Ding!

[You have changed the fate of a key figure from the future.]

[The Sanctuary groans upon seeing Seo Hwarin.]

[The Outer Realm feels uncomfortable with ■seung’s intervention upon seeing Seo Hwarin.]

[The Sanctuary becomes wary of Seo Hwarin’s power.]

[The Outer Realm becomes curious about Han Yugeon’s actions.]

Feat　　　+1

Ding!

[■seung has begun taking an interest in Han Yugeon’s actions.]

______________

[Today’s overseas news. This morning, the Pulkan Guild reportedly obtained a Legendary-rank item from Floor 37, [Maze of Coral Reefs]. The Polkan Guild is currently searching Floor 37 to determine whether any other hidden items remain...]

“Brother.”

“Yugeon.”

“Yeah, I saw it too.”

Yugeon clenched his fist tightly as he watched the news.

Twenty-eight days.

Twenty-eight days after Yugeon recruited Seo Hwarin as a companion, the news he had been waiting for finally appeared.

Now, one day later.

Monsters would pour out of the towers.

“The news really did come out saying they obtained an item from Floor 37.”

“To think what you told us was really true...”

Mincheol and Hwarin looked stunned.

No, in truth, the two of them completely trusted Yugeon’s words.

The reason their faces were shocked and darkened was because it meant another horrific wave was about to occur.

“A wave after decades of silence...”

“...”

Mincheol and Hwarin clenched their fists tightly.

Forty years since the towers appeared.

During that time, the towers had spat out monsters exactly twice.

And each time, the resulting disaster had been enormous.

Several cities had collapsed, and countless casualties had occurred.

“I know because you told us, Yugeon, but there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“What are you curious about?”

“You said your goal is to save humanity and civilization, right? And of course, you’ll clear the tower too.”

“That’s right.”

“But the towers exist all over the world. How are you going to defend against all of them...?”

During the twenty-eight days they had spent together, they had heard everything.

What Yugeon dreamed of accomplishing.

What they themselves needed to do.

But this was the one part they could not understand.

Towers existed all over the world.

It was impossible for the three people here to defend all of them.

They knew Yugeon was strong.

After all, they had not simply sat around doing nothing for twenty-eight days.

During that time, they had gone through the lower floors together, coordinating their movements, and had seen Yugeon’s strength countless times.

Yugeon was so strong that it made them wonder how a human being could possibly be that powerful.

But even Yugeon could not stop every tower.

Unless he could use some kind of cloning technique, it was impossible.

“Good question. Both of you, sit down.”

Plop.

At Yugeon’s words, Mincheol and Hwarin sat on the sofa.

“Do you know which cities have already been destroyed?”

“Yes, Sapporo, where we went, and...”

“Sri Lanka was destroyed.”

Unlike Japan, where only one city had fallen.

Sri Lanka itself had been completely destroyed as an island.

Part of it was because of the unique nature of being an island, but there had not been many Awakened there to begin with.

Of course, North Korea and several other countries had also been destroyed.

But North Korea had brought it upon itself, and the others had made various mistakes no less serious.

However, the only places that had been destroyed despite having no such issues were Sri Lanka and Sapporo, Japan.

“Why do you think only those two disappeared?”

“Uh... Because there weren’t enough Awakened?”

“Because Sri Lanka is an island?”

“Noona, Sri Lanka had a level 99 Awakened too.”

“Ah, right.”

“There are plenty of other islands too, and plenty of countries without many Awakened.”

“Ah...”

At Yugeon’s words, both of them nodded.

He was right.

Sapporo had even had plenty of Awakened.

“The world still hasn’t properly figured something out.”

“Figured out what?”

“The monsters that pour out of the towers...”

Form a collective.

In other words, there was an intelligent boss monster that acted as a commander.

“?!!”

“A-A boss?!”

“All the monsters that come out of the tower are mentally connected to their commander and follow the boss’s orders. And I said the boss possesses intelligence, right? Which means.”

“They’ll develop strategies and operate tactically.”

Mincheol, who had served in the military, immediately came to the answer.

“Exactly.”

“Then, Yugeon, what about the other races?”

“?”

“If there’s a commander and they even formulate strategies... could other races come out mixed in with them too?”

Seo Hwarin asked cautiously.

When climbing the tower, one occasionally encountered other races beginning from Area 3.

If they came pouring out mixed in with the monsters, there truly would be no answer.

Unlike monsters, the other races formed groups and used tactics just like humans.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Yugeon shook his head.

“Everything spat out during a wave belongs to the tower.”

“Ah...”

“The other races don’t belong to the tower, so they won’t be spat out either.”

“...”

“Why?”

When Seo Hwarin remained silent, Yugeon looked at her.

“Well... there are goblins and orcs that are monsters, right? And then there are goblins and orcs who are other races too... What if goblins or orcs appear outside the tower and we kill them, only for them to have actually been members of another race...”

Goblins and orcs belonging to other races were more pitiful than humans.

They were beings who climbed the tower while simultaneously being treated as monsters.

In truth, distinguishing them was easy.

If they lived inside the tower, they were monsters.

If they entered the tower from outside and climbed it, they were another race.

However, humans, elves, and dwarves lumped them all together and treated them as monsters even when they were members of another race.

Because it was much more convenient for hunting.

Because of that, goblins and orcs hated humans immensely.

“Think of it simply. Every goblin and orc spat out by the tower is not a member of another race. Interdimensional travel between races is impossible.”

At least, for now.

After enough time passed and a certain event occurred.

Interaction between different races would become possible.

More precisely, it would become possible to travel to the dimensions where they lived.

“And there’s something even more important.”

“What is it?”

“Whether they’re another race or not, if they try to kill us, then they’re simply enemies.”

“That’s true. Anyway, that’s a relief. I was really worried those things might come out too. Then the most dangerous one would be the boss acting as the commander.”

This was the key reason Earth had been destroyed.

Just as Seo Hwarin said, monsters were spat out from every tower across the world.

Furthermore, the towers spat out monsters stronger than those from the floors humanity had currently cleared.

Even so, if they had merely been ordinary monsters, humanity would have been able to stop them.

Then why had Earth been destroyed in the future?

Because of these commanders.

The boss monsters discreetly controlled the other monsters, and eventually, the monsters operating tactically destroyed multiple cities.

The boss monsters were eventually killed, but by then, far too much damage had already been done.