Chapter 40:

Chapter 40:

Chapter 40

The provocation made Gong Joo's temples throb. He chuckled as he spoke, "Are you insane? My zone is clearly going to win, so why should we be nervous?"

"Do you want the bet then?"

"Let's do it."

With the bet settled, she extended her hand for a handshake, which Gong Joo accepted challengingly. Seomun Yongneo then turned to leave with an enigmatic smile.

"Great. I'm looking forward to it. Well then, I'll take my leave. See you all later."

Seomun Yongneo left with a friendly smile, but the lounge was filled with tension. Gong Joo's face, which had been gentle just moments ago, was now a cold gust of wind. He spoke quietly in a chilling tone, "Did everyone hear that?"

"Yes, yes! We heard."

"This time, we must win."

Gong Joo's eyes blazed with determination. Annaby, who had been observing, asked, "So, what should we do?"

"We need special measures. Who currently has the highest comprehensive evaluation?"

Annaby immediately displayed the evaluation reports and reviewed them.

"Seo Gangrim and Dokgo Jun's evaluations are quite similar."

"Seo Gangrim and Dokgo Jun..."

While he cleared the First stage with trickery, Seo Gangrim's achievements were still worth noting. Dokgo Jun had also accomplished a stage first, a situation that had been expected. Between Dokgo Jun and Seo Gangrim, Gong Joo, who had been pondering, spoke up.

"Alright. It's decided. Then, let's send a gift."

Gong Joo pushed up his glasses with a meaningful voice.

"This time, someone from our zone must finish the next stage first."

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[Conquest of 'Blade Forest' is complete.]

[You have a message from 'Annaby'.].

Father Yohan stared blankly at the notification window. Even after receiving the message, he seemed more perplexed than pleased.

"I thought Seo Gangrim was joking...."

The promise was to clear four stages within three days. Father Yohan knew that Seo Gangrim was powerful, and he also knew Seo Gangrim had a record of clearing a stage first. Stories about him had spread through word of mouth. However, no matter how strong someone was, three days seemed unreasonable...

"Did the conquest completion message arrive?"

Seo Gangrim, who followed Father Yohan out, asked casually.

Father Yohan startled and nodded. "Yes, but I can't believe it. How could you clear all four stages in just two days?"

Although Seo Gangrim had stated that he would conquer the stages within three days, he had actually taken only two days. He had broken through the First stage’s geography as if he had memorized it all at once. The same went for the Second stage. Among them, the Third stage had taken the most time; he had to defeat ten types of devils and thoroughly search the place.

"I thought I couldn't clear the Third stage. Since the clearing condition was defeating devils...."

"If you contribute to the battle, even non-combatants receive rewards."

Since he couldn't attack the devils, Father Yohan had used a different method. Every time Seo Gangrim defeated a devil, Father Yohan used his healing ability to Seo Gangrim to help in the fight. It was a way to support the combatants in battle. At the Fourth stage, Seo Gangrim had simply given him his spirit pearls, and it had ended instantly.

"Thank you. I'll enjoy this."

With the complimentary star candy in hand and bags full of purchases, Seo Gangrim went on a shopping spree in the store window.

"I have to endure there for at least a week."

Basing from the memories from his past life, he bought the necessary items. Amidst that, he received a message. The name written there was unfamiliar.

["A message from 'Gong Joo' has arrived."]

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The sound of the waves was soothing. The white foam kissed the sandy beach, and the sun-kissed shores sparkled in white. Father Yohan, carrying a backpack the size of his own body, exclaimed, admiration in his eyes.

"This place has such a beautiful scenery, Brother. It's hard to believe it's a Demon World..."

Father Yohan and Seo Gangrim had just entered the Fifth stage. As Father Yohan said, at first glance, this place looked like a resort island. However, the reality was quite different.

"By the way, what could the mission here be? I'm getting worried..."

Father Yohan glanced at the notification window hovering in the air, which contained contents that would puzzle most people.

[The ‘Tongue Removal’ stage is about to start.]

[Acquire ■■■ and return to the lobby.]

[Time limit: None]

While there was no time limit, and it wasn't specified what exactly needed to do to accomplish the stage. In his past life, Seo Gangrim struggled because he didn't know the conditions and barely managed to clear this stage. Father Yohan, with a worn-out expression, peered at the notification through his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Moreover, it's called 'Tongue Removal'... Does that mean they are going to pull out our tongues?"

"It seems like it."

"It's unexpectedly harsh for a seaside landscape..."

As Seo Gangrim was pondering, voices that had become familiar started echoing.

【Wow! Gangrim, you're finally here!】

【I was waiting for you.】

【Why did you come so late? The earliest group came almost a week ago.】

【You brought someone we haven't seen before!】

Seo Gangrim's head was starting to ache due to the constant chatter as soon as he entered. Meanwhile, behind him, Father Yohan seemed not to hear these voices as he maintained a quite composed expression.

"By the way, are we going to keep walking along the coastline? It seems like there's a forest further inside..."

"First, we will check the outside and then proceed inside the forest. Since we arrived late, let's confirm those who came earlier first."

"Oh, okay."

They walked for about half an hour, examining the surroundings, but they couldn't find any signs of other people. Seo Gangrim surmised that since they entered late, the others probably had already gone deeper into the forest.

"But is this place actually an island? It does feel like a deserted island..."

Father Yohan's guess was right. This place was indeed an island - an island of devils where humans didn't reside. Father Yohan murmured with a gloomy face, "This time, the challenge seems to be more difficult. The special conditions are also quite challenging..."

Father Yohan's words were accurate. Unlike other stages, this one had unique constraints. There were three new constraints in total. The first one was that the rewards for the mission varied based on the difficulty of the conquest. Up to this point, it wasn't a difficult condition, but the issue lay with the remaining clauses. The second clause was that the use of the shop was not allowed. Until now, they could purchase recovery potions or provisions directly from the shop if needed. However, it was not possible this time. Among the three, the most difficult part was the third clause. 'After entering the stage, you cannot leave the room until the stage is cleared.'